#I planned this comic out after session 2 so anything that happens or has happened after does not matter Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[milo-media]

Life series Mumbo the things you do to me

Thought it might be fun to include the speedraw vv

[10hourshift]

Girl help the au is getting out of hand haha

Feel free 2 ignore this

For some reason I have spent quite some time doing some "world building" (if it can be called that) that I probably won't add in the comic, so, gonna dump it all here.

The school is not the best of all, not even by public school standards, if anything, the school is often a second choice, and most of those who enter there are mostly bc it has little requirements to get in, and is very lenient to special cases.

Some examples of these people would be Freddy (he enters after the classes started) Bon, Julian (both didn't enter the private school they were going to at the last minute, so they got "stuck" in that school, there's more to them later)

For the school itself, it's not that bad (there's a reason that many ppl prefer to go there as a second choice in comparison to other schools) the classes are fairly decent (though, some teachers are prone to not show up to class), and it has a bunch of academic and sports programs, even though it kinda lacks on the cultural aspect. Until a new benefactor steps in.

So, after Julian failed miserably during his entrance exams for the private school he was going into, his father got him into the school he is in now, and to "cover up" the incident his dad decided to become a benefactor of the school, and bc of that, now the school has more budget, with the condition of using it for the whole "art" section (idk how to call it). And out of the blue, the school now has an improved auditorium, a bunch of new material and instruments, and, of course, a variety of new activities for the students, starting with a brand new band contest where everyone can participate, who knows what might happen next, maybe there'll be an official school band, or a chorus or something, (this is all really just testing how the students might take the new situation)

**Julian exposition time again!. Let's go. He basically burned himself out for trying to study for the entrance exams, finish middle school, and all that. It was bad, like, forgetting weeks worth of studies the moment you start the exam bad, like staring at the questions for the whole 3ish hours of the test while none of the questions make sense bad, like, flunking so embarrassingly that it's basically a secret, to the point your dad makes up an elaborate plan to hide the true reason you're going to a certain school, and forces you to take a different path than the one he had already set up for you bc you couldn't keep up bad. Like, that bad. (Poor guy, every time I check on what his deal is, I add more to it. I'm sorry but I like it when the characters'actions are part of the setup of the story, idk how to explain but is Fun)

Now, onto the ppl behind the music contest.

Lana*- secretary- the one actually in charge of the contest

Vincent (yes, the waiter/presenter*) - intern teacher- the one who is supposed to do most of the work

Owynn- student 15 yr old- he helps out every now and then bc he has nothing better to do w no ulterior motives :)

Bon's dad*- music teacher (I'll get to that, hold on)- he has to set up practice sessions/ music classes for whoever enters the contest

[insert OC name here] (an oc wow)- student/intern 17 yr old- the one who ended up doing most of everything

*giving them roles bc I'm lazy 4 ocs, even [insert OC name] is almost the librarian, yeah he's another different character

The arrangement goes like this: Lana is the head of the project and the one who reports back to the boss (between the principal and Julian's dad idk). The planning of events, the coverage, and those administrative details get solved by Vincent, and Bon's dad is supposed to manage the music rooms and instruments, as well as make schedules for using those for practices. [Insert OC name] does most of the hard labor, checking registrations, putting up the signs, etc., since their job as an intern is basically to help w anything that needs to be done. And also basically doing all of Bon's dad responsibilities since he doesn't actually have the time to do his job as a teacher.

[theowritesfiction]

‘The Runaway’

This episode upon rewatch feels kind of odd, because after the tensions of Toph joining the group had passed, her relationship with Katara became very good, but for some reason we are now going to re-visit these tensions? Well... I guess Toph has to somehow score her first Jerk Points for the season, am I right?

Alright, right off the bat we have an escalating practice session incident. Normally, I wouldn't give either of the girls Jerk Points for kicking the crap out of one another, but Toph starts this by hitting Katara with a massive boulder (honestly, that should have hurt a lot more than it did), but what I hate the most is Toph and the entire group just unanimously deciding that Katara is the one who's going to clean up the mess, and they all just run off to have fun. Toph gets 50 Jerk Points for this episode, Aang and Sokka get 20 for going along with it.

But okay, I'll admit that Toph scamming the scammers is a seriously cool moment for her. Okay, it's not a smart move to attract attention, but it's true that they needed the money. If they had stopped there, I would have said: good on you, Toph. And some of the trio's scams are super fun and creative - and I love the reappearance of Wang Fire! - but they totally get out of control, because there is just no need for them to have this much money. Katara is 100% entitled to call Toph out on spiraling out of control and starting to endanger the group.

Also, shut up Toph - does this look like a girl who hates fun? Come on, she's a riot. :)

Okay, I have to say something about Aang again, and I hate to sound like a hater, but honestly he makes it so easy. In the previous few episodes Aang has: made fun of Katara's hair, mocked her sense of humor and here made a promise to her and broken it immediately. So, he wants to date her, but does he at ALL respect her??? 30 more Jerk Points, and I feel like I'm going easy here.

I suppose I should say something about the first and only appearance of the least celebrated member of the Gaang's pet group: Hawky! Umm well... that happened, I guess.

I feel like Toph is off the mark when saying that Katara is acting bossy and motherly, I'm trying to think of all the previous Book 3 episodes and she hasn't acted bossy in any of them. If her being the one who cooks, cleans, etc, is her being motherly... well, you kind of forced her in that role, even earlier in this very episode, when you all strode off and told Katara to clean up! Sure, Katara is the voice of reason and common sense in the group, and I guess that makes her come off parental? And I guess the way she is with Aang... the moment right here in this episode, ouch, RIP Kataang, I'm looking at your grave.

Sokka and Aang trying to mend the relationship between the girls was hilariously terrible. I remember keeping track of all of Sokka's plans and judging their success rate. He actually did really well in Book 1 (4 out of 6), but in Book 2 Sokka was used way too much as a comic relief, so I could only identify 2 solid plans throughout the entire season, and only one of them worked. Here in Book 3... it's getting hard to judge. I guess Sokka is in charge of charting their journey through the Fire Nation, and he's doing well with that? I can't think of anything else. And here, forgetting that Toph can't write... that is some serious brain rot, Sokka. Not doing so well, buddy.

okay, my favorite moment of the episode is definitely Katara overhearing Sokka talking about her with Toph. <3 I might have said before that I love the Water siblings and their relationship. Also, I think a lot of people don't like to remember what Sokka said regarding their mother in the later context when discussing the Southern Raiders, but I think it's incredibly important. Anyway, Katara overhearing it all and crying is such a soft and touching moment. <3

I think Katara and Toph's ultimate scam was actually a really cool idea. And I think it's so unfair that everything goes wrong just as Katara finally decides to let her hair down and have a bit of fun. Poor girl can't catch a break. Katara and Toph hashing out their differences in the cell and ending up hugging is another sweet moment, though. Also, Katara's discovery of sweatbending... this girl doesn't get enough credit for how clever she is.

Anyway, a very interesting episode and... hey, where did Hawky go?

Jerk Points for Book 3:

Zuko - 410 Aang – 170  Roku - 100 Hide, Sokka - 80 King Kuei - 60 Toph - 50

[smashmallowsblog]

Okay, that's a lot of information (take a deep breath), here we go:

Firstly I must say that Dulcy wears out in the middle of season 4 and even thinks about moving away from the clan, she doesn't hurt Britney because Celly calms her down and even makes peace with Angela after what happened with Hun.

Season 1: Before the mutation Dulcy would be Angela's personal psychologist during Baxter's "disappearance" (of course she knew he was being held hostage by the clan but just wanted to keep her at a distance so as not to interrupt her plans and Shredder's plans). Eventually the two build a friendly relationship, after all they both have important people far away and they get closer because of this.

She was also responsible for recommending Britney for some sessions, but she didn't have much interaction with the girl until she discovered that April was linked to her, that's when things changed.

Dulcy took her time with Angela so as not to involve her even more and not break her again.

complete season 2: Dulcy starts to act more frequently in the foot clan and is responsible for forwarding the call that Shredder made to Tiger's Claw (and of course he accepted), her plans for Britney change when she discovers that Angela is still desperate to find her husband.

Thus, in the middle of the second season Dulcy and Celly suffer injuries due to the little girl's “fault” (Britney kicked her in the face when grabbing her, when she tried to revive the weakened Celly to hold her tightly, until they both had their mutations unwanted).

Season 3: Britney disappears from Dulcy's radar and Celly knows very well where she is all this time but she doesn't say anything, risking her life to keep the girl away from the entire clan and also risking the trust that Dulcy had in her (I did a good sequence simple of that in the comics where Dulcy holds Britney). Eventually she begins to focus on Angela when necessary.

Season 4: At the end of the season, Dulcy breaks her arm thanks to the latest events and appears shortly after the "broken foot" events looking for Hun and Angela, she found Britney and Casey and lost control when she discovered that Celly knew more things than that she. She also stopped looking TC in the eye when he left her behind at the end of the fight against the triceratons (she also became jealous when he carried her lover instead of herself) and only spoke to him again after the events with Alopex. She finally forgets the girl and forgives Celly for everything, but continues after Angela with the intention of receiving information about the dragons and about conversations that Hun's team had already had with Don Vizioso, "helping" Angela against Hun. She also didn't speak with tiger claw about the turtles' hiding place and managed to hide Britney from him.

At the end of the season Dulcy helps Xever in the fight against the turtles and soon after she returns to the mansion finding Baxter fallen, so she drags him and leaves the keys to a van with him, before he thanks her she runs to help Claw. of tiger.

Season 5: She finds out about Angela's wedding, but can't plan to go because she's busy with Tiger Claw's new schedule.

Season 6 (from my au :>): Dulcy's brother hires Tiger Claw and some ex-foot clan members and now he's the one who's interested in Britney and Baxter.

I don't know how to relate Dulcy and Apep but if you know please tell me,but now that she's Britney's aunt, Apep has definitely butted heads with Dulcy.

What does Britney think of @dongpound's OC Apep?

And Dulcy from @smashmallowsblog?

They are both lizards apparently

Mainly because I haven't had the two OC's interact with Britney, I think Britney is on neutral grounds with Apep and Dulcy. All they know is that they're enemies. BTW, @dongpound and @smashmallowsblog, if y'all got ideas, please add on, I love OC interactions.

[incurablyromanticsblog]

Don't know how people are gonna feel about this but Loki should've been dealt with the way they dealt with Lucifer (from the Netflix show) I mean while the show straight up dismissed loki's feelings, lucifer netflix really showed us the natural and organic character growth with ups and downs while still maintaining the comic hilarity (WHICH WASNT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MC). It's love interest and side characters are all original characters dealt as independent characters rather as brownie or plot points.

And the scenes that prompted me to think this?

1. Lucifer asking his Mazikeen to cut off his wings because he's moved past being a pawn in his father's 'Great Plan'. We could've had loki come to this conclusion and tell Mobius (who would've been an actual all out ally who was forced into doin lg what he did) that he no longer wanted any place in a land that hated him. (Once again like Lucifer calling the silver city hell)

2. Lucifer actually being the way he's supposed to be (angel of light, light bringer etc.) We could've had Loki act like the way he Actually Is. Not like how @iamnmbr3 so eloquently put it 'like larry the dumb lookalike'. We could've had Loki being stern yet having that air of sarcasm and wit that he had in his the films. His eloquence, his physical prowess (none of the falling flat on his face stuff, a lot of people talk about how he was trying not to hurt the people in ep 2 but srsly Loki would just immediately disarm them), and most of all his agency and refusal to cower or the pathetic attempts at lying.

3. Costumes. The lucifer netflix team had an extensive costume department that ironically pales in comparison to what disney is capable of but still we see Lucifer have a wide array of clothes and styles. Have Loki take the first chance to change his clothes. If he wants the 50s aesthetic have at it! he can wear the tuxedos and the nice leather. Or maybe change into some nice Viking-inspired leathers and battle armor. Have him as a pirate, or a knight or a cowboy. You're traveling through time good man! you can at least hit some of the cool spots.

4. In depth analysis of lucifer's mental health. the only episode of the Loki tv show I liked (loose term) is the first one cause it's the only one that gave a fraction of what we were promised: an insight into loki. That's it.

5. Lucifer's organic growth. This is self-explanatory. Loki watched one video and was good. Very good five stars. I understand that they only had six episodes but come-on. You could've had the subtle changes through out all the eps and lead to the big finish finally. With each episode focusing on certain aspects of Loki.

5. Lucifer's exploration of self-loathing. This deserves to be a separate point because Istg it was done so well. Basically lucifer messes up and he's faced with the hatred that's been conditioned into him (not unlike Loki) and then he learns what it is and actually tries to love himself. And not by kissing a female variant of himself (ew and also respect the gender fluid persons). He actually saw the good in him by reflecting and his actual good friends helping him.

6. Lucifer actually wanting to be good. Look Idc what shut mike waldron wrote, loki is not selfish when his whole arc has been doing things for asgard, thor, odin, frigga etc. We all know that New York was mind control, I do not know why it's being swept under the rug. But here's the thing, that self loathing I mentioned earlier is a huge part of Loki thinking he's some monster and intent on proving it.

7. Lucifer facing his 'devil-face'. Loki should've come to terms with his Jotun heritage. The TVA could've had a case in Jotunheim concerning the Royal Family and Loki could've seen the entirety of Jotunheim and it's people not just that most-likely war propaganda the Asgardians force-fed him. Maybe have him meet his siblings or better yet his mother. There's a very nice fic on A03 called Asgardian Galdr that deals with this beautifully.

8. Luicfer having a Breakdown and Crying: First off this happens gradually, his problems pile up etc etc. and he faces off his father and gets angry until he finally breaks down. And basically God says, "I'm sorry but i can't fix you," And Lucifer in all his grief and desperation asks, "But you're God,'. I know we talk a lot about Loki being made weak in the Show but that's specifically about him being made weak and helpless to make Sylvie seem like a stronger character (Don't get me started on the Sif and Narcissm scene istfg), But maybe seeing Loki try awkwardly to be good and near the finish of the show we see it blow up in some angsty way? only for some conversation like this to happen and have Loki understand that being good is something that is innate and something he already had the potential for all along. Maybe learn that he's not lawful good but as always the morally grey character we know him as. (Protector of misfits, god of outcasts i.e all the shit Marvel shat on) and rise as the God of Chaos and Stories against the rigid bonds of The TVA and essentially Kang.

9. Lucifer having a nice healthy romantic interest and relationship. Lucifer and Chloe's relationship is more often than not the main point of the show but no matter how much it is focused on it remains health, organic and not a weird allegory for something disgusting. Even if Sylvie weren't a Loki (once again ew) the whole dynamic was toxic. She constantly put him down, and invalidated his feelings (Sounds like Odin huh?) and guess what Loki fell in love with her after one day, one conversation of what love was and Mobius calling her his girlfriend (he also said that it was freakish and i agree). We could've had Sigyn sweet lord. (I'll make another post about this)

10. Lucifer's Sexuality. There is a whole episode in which Loki's paramours are getting murdered and they all vary from men to women to all that comes in between. And there's no shame, no offensive jokes. Have Loki flirt with dudes, i understand ms.karen that this is for children, don't worry the casual sex ;) was offscreen. Have Loki turn into a woman and flirt with woman cowards, maybe make some questionable remarks about horses (That make Sigyn laugh)

11. Lucifer's Powers: lemme sum up, Lucifer can, let's call it, use compulsion on people. He is known for his strength and prowess and abilites to grant favors. Have Loki shapeshift into animals, absolutely mauling people. Have him use his silver-tongue to coax people into making or changing history (Yes Brutus, Caesar is getting to be a bit much, say have you heard how sharp knives are?)

I'm pretty sure there's more that i can't remember rn. And here is one thing i would like to make very clear.

You are not bad for liking the show or hating it whatever. The problem is that the show framed a lot of bad things as good (Anything the TVA did, Mobius' torture session with Loki, the way Sylvie treated Loki only for them to become romantic partners, the Sylkie fiasco as it was offensive to genderfluid people and the bare fucking minimum of LGBTQ and POC rep). The show was also marketed specifically to make us think hey! Loki might actually be the main character only for it to blow up in our faces. We were also promised an actual plot rather than a constantly plot twisting concept that could've been worth something.

Also i'm still working on a Loki fic rn after which i will write a Loki(TV) Rewrite but unitil then ig.

[blanska]

Did Sergey lie to Lera?

SPOILERS for the Plague Doctor comics up until issue #8

Disclaimer: I read most of the comics with the help of Google Translate, so it is highly likely that I don’t have the fully picture. I wrote this after reading #8 of the Plague Doctor.

In Plague Doctor #8 Sergey tells Lera in the car that the Bird has been destoryed, erased.

When I read that, I put down my phone and started pacing in my room, because this statement comepletely contradicted my interpretation of the story so far. It contradicted what I have seen.

My opinion: I think it wouldn’t be a great story if they truly killed off the bird forever. But here’s the thing. This is my taste in stories, which has no bearing on what happens in the comics. So instead, let’s talk about what my more objective side saw.

The Knife Scene

The most convincing part for me that the Bird is right there in the comics is the scene when Oleg takes out the knife. Next we see a close-up of Sergey’s eyes and the knife reflected in them. Immediately I thought of the Bird. The way this is presented makes this moment seem very important and ominous. The knife falls to the ground, and in the next moment Sergey pushes the blade to Lera’s side. He says, “Dead. Always watch your back.”

What makes this even more convincing and important is Oleg’s reaction. All of a sudden he acts almost like a prison guard, puts Sergey in his place, “Close the knife and hand it over to me. And step back!” I find it hard to interpret this in any other way than Oleg talking to the sociopath who just crossed a line. Sergey hands over the knife with a frown. Immediately after this things go back to normal.

If the Bird has been dead for years, why do we get this scene? Why would they show us specifically this scene in this way?

Two different people behind the wheel

In every scene when Sergey is present, for like 90% of the scene I saw one of two personalities. The one who seems to be less active (or just not as eccentric as the other one) I saw perhaps in #1 at the cafe, possibly in #2 when he gives Lera and Oleg their first job (he is dressed in white), in #3 when Lera tries on the suit, in #6 after the casino when he’s been up all night and they meet at the apartment and in #8 in the car with Lera.

Let’s call him “Sublte Sergey” bc I no better ideas.

The way he’s sitting, standing, the way he’s holding himself is different from the other personality. He doesn’t take up too much space, but he also doesn’t seem to lack confidence.

The way he phrases things is more matter of fact and he doesn’t talk down to others all the time.

Doesn’t joke about murdering the person he’s talking to and doesn’t do other things that seem very sociopathic.

The other personality is way more obvious. I saw him in #2 when they first gather in the apartment, then later during the first training session. In #3 during training when he attacks Lera and starts coplaining that Oleg didn’t do a good enough job. In #4 when they meet in the apartment before the casino. And the thing is, he acts just like during the Game when the Bird was in control and the other personality was essentially held hostage.

Let’s call him “Entitled Sergey” (bc I don’t wanna call him Bird for the sake of the discussion).

The way he’s holding himself. He looks like he’s always on a stage, he takes up a lot of space, he seems overly confident.

He frequently phrases things in a very condescending way, he seems to think he’s the smartest person in the room and he’s always surrounded by idiots. He very often complains about what the others are doing.

He jokes about hurting or murdering Lera on two occasions, he’s the one who picks up the knife, possibly the one who wants to suggest ideas that Oleg immediately shuts down (perhaps bc it would cross a certain line).

If the Bird is truly dead, then who am I seeing here? Why would there be a personality that acts just like the Bird during the Game? Did the Bird play the role of this personality back then? Is this the person who might know himself to be The Sergey and is that why the Bird would have played this role? If yes, who the hell is Subtle Sergey?

The Second One

In the car Sergey talks about the “second” personality, because idk he forgot to count himself, but sure let’s call him the Second One. “He doesn’t remember anything, shakes with horror, cannot fight.” It seems like this is the person who almost crashed the car twice driving to Lera’s home. The person who’s influence is slowly fading away during the conversation in the car. Nice to finally meet you, buddy.

I do not think that the Second One equals Subtle Sergey. Because as the scene goes on he starts to sound more and more like Subtle Sergey and not like Entitled Sergey. He says he is afraid of the Second One. The Second One wouldn’t say this, at least I do not think he would phrase it in this way. So these seem to be three distinct personalities.

Who is We?

In the car when Sergey is ranting about his, well.. their internal struggles, at some point he starts a sentence with “we” then pauses and corrects himself to “I”. I really like this, because of course he would say “we” occasionally as he seems to be co-conscious and living together with at least one other personality nowadays. At first I thought he corrected himself to try make his sentences more consistent and easier to understand, since most people refer to themselves as “I”.

But after it occured to me that he might have lied about the Bird being dead I thought pehaps that was not the case. He is talking about the Second One, “If I lose self control.” and then “The epitome of his greatest fear is absolute helplessness!“ He talks about the Second One in the third person and he clearly doesn’t want this person to be in control right now. 

Immediately after this as he starts to explain what happened with the Bird during the game, he says “We...” then corrects himself to “I've never made excuses with an evil alter ego.” What if when he said “we” he was thinking “the Bird and I”? But since he later claims that the Bird is gone, he corrects himself.

Sure, he could have done this for many other reasons, such as realizing that the other part(s) of the “we” have made those excuses before. But it still makes me wonder if he indeed lied.

So what if he did lie?

If he did lie, then I think Subtle Sergey and the Bird has been living and working together on this project and we’ve seen a lot of both of them. There were some moments of instantaneous switches just like back in the Game, but now the Bird is not trying to take over, he’s on board with the plans. He’s part of a system, even.

Especially with the intense reaction of the Second One, stepping to the foreground and having panic attacks, being unsure of himself, I can see why they would claim that the Bird is dead. Even if they’re not that unsure of themselves, it makes sense to say that. Because the Bird did all those horrible things when he was fully in control and running amok. Now they’re doing things differently. Saying “oh yes, he’s right here, but I promise he’s not gonne empty a round of bullets into you like the last time” isn’t very reassuring or believable. I would definitely consider lying in this situation.

What if he didn’t lie?

Then we have the Subtle and the Entitled Sergey, one of whom seems to behave like the Bird during the Game. Which is weird writing. It’s confusing. In the Plague Doctor, we don’t get to see what is going on inside Sergey’s mind. We don’t see alters talking to each other, or be represented by different character designs. We can only guess. And putting an alter in the story who acts like the Bird, without an explanation or anything to make clear that this is not the Bird, is extremely confusing to me.

If he didn’t lie, I have no idea why we had the Knife scene. What was the point? During the Game there was a Sergey trying to resist and fight the Bird unsuccessfully. I associate this sociopathic side of him with the Bird.

If the Bird is truly gone, then a part of Sergey has been thrown out the window. They didn’t get the chance to learn to live together, to get better, to figure out their life. It is not a good lesson. You don’t ignore or kill parts of you, especially the parts of you that make it incredibly hard to live your life and thrive. You deal with it. You come up with solutions to make it work for you or at least make it stop being an obstacle. If Sergey gets to be the Anti-hero and gets to live a better life, a healthier life, it shouldn’t be because we threw out the part of him who was causing trouble.

So I hope he lied. I desperately hope that he lied. But please, Bubble at least let us find out what the truth is in the end! I am getting tired of guessing who this person is in the scene with Oleg and Lera :D Whatever the case is, I am intrigued, I want to know more, I want to know what is really going on. And as of now I am absolutely confused.

[harlequinmoss]

How would you rewrite season 3 so it would be more coherent? I'm not talking about a full on rewrite of the entire episodes, I just mean how to make the plot lines and development flow better or changing them to be satisfying for all the characters.

Okay this is a really good question. I was going to say to make it more centered on FOWL but going back and reading the episode titles, it already kinda is. Like there's not that many episodes that don't tie into the finale in some way. I do have tweaks here and there that would help with plot and character development throughout the season. This ended up being a lot longer than I thought so here's a page break lol

Going in a linear format, Steelbeak should have made himself smart in Double-O-Duck instead of making the ray to make everyone else dumb. He'd be a more competent villain and more in line with his character in the original DWD. Maybe he could have even played a roll in LGD. It also would have avoided both him and Launchpad being mostly comic relief characters. I think there's too many jokes at Launchpad's expense about him being dumb. If he went back to his "normal" level of intelligence at the end, he could have told the family about FOWL without jeprodizing the search for the rest of the season. All they'll know is that FOWL is trying to take down the family and where the secret headquarters is. There's still the search for the leader and why FOWL is doing what they're doing. This makes it so that Huey has more to do and accomplish in what is supposed to be his season.

Next, The Rumble For Ragnorok. I'm just going off of memory here. I don't think that this episode did very much in the way of developing characters. Or at all. It was a forgettable filler episode where Dewey learned a lesson about humility or something and then it didn't come into play ever again. This episode could have been removed entirely to make room for an episode after LGD to give the Mallard-McQuack family more screen time and development. A general plot of this episode could be: Huey is helping Fenton and the other adults search the other realities for Gosalyn's missing grandpa. They end up finding him but he's either dead/a totally different person with different memories that doesn't remember Gosalyn at all. This event causes Gosalyn to give up the search and accept that her family is gone. Dewey has an emotional moment with her aside where he comforts her and relates the situation back to his mom and talks about found family while looking back at Launchpad and Drake. (Not really integrating this into any of my other points but if Della died on the moon in season 2 and the kids knew about this, it would make the interaction more impactful) At the end of the episode, its shown that Gosalyn has her own room, either in the lair or in a house similar to the original DWD, and Drake tucks her in while singing her lullaby.

The Phantom and the Sorceress. Oh God, what a mess. There's way too much wrong with this episode. Soup-Du-Silence had a good idea on how to fix it from Lena's perspective, which you can read about here. As for Gladstone, he could have still lost his powers and come to the mansion for help. But instead of him asking literal children, its Della and Donald (and maybe Fethry is there too) and then its a cousins adventure! Donald revels in Gladstone being unlucky but still wants to help. Gladstone doesn't seem so pathetic and played for comic relief. They track down the Blot together after Lena and her family fight him out of the Saberwing house, or they're about to find him when the Blot's gauntlet breaks and Gladstone magically gets his luck back for seemingly no reason, much to Donald's dismay. It might have to be two different episodes because cutting back and forth between the two plot lines would detract time from each and make the episode harder to follow. Idk but there's so many things they could have done that would have made the episode actually good and coherent

Let's Get Dangerous. It was good but it felt rushed. It needed to be longer. The timeline was hard to follow. Instead of the cheap shot at the end were Heron picks Bradford up in a FOWL helicopter, have the triplets being suspicious of him and figuring it out for themselves. Maybe they're all wary for different reasons and talking about it in a group huddle and Huey connects the dots in a dramatic reveal. They confront Bradford who does an evil villain slow clap congratulating them on figuring it out, but before anything else can happen, he's able to escape.

How Santa Stole Christmas. I don't think we needed this backstory. Instead, give us the opportunity to see bonding between characters. Its Della and Donald's first Christmas back together. Let us see that. Give us an interaction about the sweater. "You still have that sweater?" "Of course, wear it every year." And then they hug or something. That's literally all they had to do. Instead of following a Santa storyline that ends in Scrooge leaving an impoverished child alone in a house with nothing but a lump of coal when he could have given a tiny portion of his wealth to help her, let Scrooge learn the true meaning of Christmas through his family. Or even better yet, let him throw a party, inviting over recurring characters, and have it double as a brain storming session on how to defeat FOWL. Show them coming up with the plan for Webby's birthday party. Give us interactions with characters who haven't been there all season. Penumbra can help. Where has she been? She was building a ship back to the moon before, right? Give a conclusion to that. If she's decided to stay on Earth like it seemed in the end of her episode, all we really need is a short two second clip of her hanging out with the other Moonlanders, having their own form of Christmas or Hanukkah or whatever else.

As for the last few episodes leading up to the finale, I get what they were going for. Give each of the triplets one last centric episode. However, I think that the messages fell short in the Dewey and Louie episodes. I think they should have taken more of a Beaks in the Shell approach where the selected triplet still gets to shine, while also setting up high stakes for the finale. Don't be adding new characters so late in the game, be wrapping up storylines with already established ones. There wasn't really a point in adding Kit or Poe, other than the writers wanting to make reference to as many characters as possible. Same with April May and June.

Now for the finale. My main thing: don't make Webby a clone. It messes too much with all the dynamics in the show and ruins the found family message they've had this entire time. It would have been a lot better if Webby's parents were FOWL agents who had a change of heart after having their child and got killed by Bradford or Heron when trying to leave the organization. That's ample reason for Beakley not wanting Webby to know. I think the finale did a pretty good job of wrapping things up outside of that, honestly. Again, there wasn't really enough time to give all the characters a proper ending, like Gene who just disappeared once he was saved, never to be seen again, but if time was managed better in the episodes leading up to the finale, it would have made it so that more characters could have accomplished what they needed to. And what was with Bradford getting turned into a real buzzard at the end? You really going to just undomesticate him like that? Give him some poetic justice, push him into the void that makes people cease to exist.

That's about all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for the ask! It was fun to go through everything and think about what could have been done better

[bookish-mbti]

Some Frasier MBTI types

Scott has gotten me into watching Frasier and these characters are satisfyingly typable, so I wanted to make a post elaborating on the MBTI types of the Crane brothers.

Frasier Crane | ENFJ

Frasier’s functional stack is easily readable and because of it, he is a fantastic example of an ENFJ. The outer world and social structures are what defines Frasier’s reality.

Frasier exists in the outer world of established external structures, measurements of value, and social status. He appreciates things that can be thought of as impressive based on external reference, even such as the items he so values in his apartment: “This lamp by Corbusier, the chair by Eames, and this couch is an exact replica of the one Coco Chanel had in her Paris atelier.” He likes things that are socially recognized to be impressive or renowned.

ENFJs also use auxiliary Ni, and as such, Frasier is very insightful and thrives when guiding individuals towards their best path and potential. His radio show allows him to do this on a broader scale with a wider audience, while also allowing him to fulfill his role in a way noticeable externally within the societal structure he values. Fe-Ni tends to work with groups of people such as a classroom as a teacher, and in Frasier’s case, it is his radio show.

Se is tertiary in Frasier. ENJs, though they are not Se dominant, are often very action-based. This advice from Frasier, in my opinion, exemplifies healthy use of an ENFJ’s functions: “Six months ago, I was living in Boston. My wife had left me, which was very painful. Then she came back to me, which was excruciating. On top of that, my practice had grown stagnant, and my social life consisted of... hanging around a bar night after night. You see, I was clinging to a life that wasn’t working anymore, and I knew I had to do something, anything. So, I ended the marriage once and for all, packed up my things, and moved back here to my hometown of Seattle. I took action. And you can, too. Move, change, do something; if it’s a mistake, do something else.”

Tertiary Se is more noticeable than inferior and ENJs may score surprisingly high on Se, caught between their penchant for deriving meaning and passion for making their dreams realities.

Frasier is sensitive to criticism, which comes from inferior Ti. When he is criticized in a column in the Times with the simple statement “I hate Frasier Crane,” he can’t help but feel as though it is an unwarranted personal attack. Ti is a function based in impartial analysis and criticism of structures or methods, completely independent of people and in conflict with an Extraverted Feeling approach.

Further, after he is sold a false piece of artwork, he is infuriated by the injustice, the blatant lack of regard for ethics. His idealism that people are good, respectful, and care for the well-being of others (Fe-Ni) is shattered. He keeps grasping for some way others and systems may help him—first through calling the police, and then by considering hiring a lawyer. When both Martin and Niles say it isn’t worth it and when Martin tells him that sometimes bad things happen in life and there’s nothing you can do, Frasier has immense trouble coping with the concept. Feeling dominants often run into conflict with the approaches of the Thinking functions, which they perceive to be cold, heartless, and, in the more extreme, immoral.

Another characteristic of Frasier’s inferior Ti can be seen in the second episode, when he is still adjusting to his father and Daphne moving in with him. In the case of an inferior Ti eruption episode, Fe dominants become uncharacteristically cold and withdrawn. In this episode, Frasier is perturbed by all of the ways Martin and Daphne have infiltrated the life he worked to build for himself. He is uncharacteristically in a bad mood, seeking solitude, and short with understanding; his tertiary Se is used defensively to defend his uncharacteristic, self-based need for solitude by saying that since the situation isn’t working out now in the present moment, then there is no hope of it getting better and he should change something about it.

Niles Crane | INFJ

Niles’ function stack is also one that is very readable and makes him a great example of an INFJ.

While he is similar to his older brother, there are some distinct differences. Where Frasier’s typical impulse is to seek out others and talk to them, in need of feedback, Niles is more private and withdrawn, mulling over things internally before externally voicing a conclusion. Where Frasier thrives navigating the social world and being a prominent face in the community, Niles considers his radio show “pop psychiatry” and values a more typical setting where he can see patients one-on-one rather than seeking a broad audience and outward recognition. This is not to say that Extraversion and Introversion have to do with sociability or ability to perform in front of an audience—Niles frequently holds group therapy sessions and workshops etc.—but than IFJs and EFJs tend to differ in their natural preferences. EFJs like to immerse themselves actively in a society and have engagement and involvement. IFJs don’t require this external feedback or engagement, and many times like to help others in more controlled, individual sessions.

One example Niles’ Ni is evident is after he and Frasier see their father having dinner with an old family acquaintance. They remember that her family used to be close to theirs until one summer they had a falling out and were no longer acquainted. The next day, Niles arrives at Frasier’s apartment and announces he had been doing some thinking, wondering why their father was with that woman, so he dug up his old childhood journal and an old photo album their late mother had put together. In the journal around the time they remembered the family friends having a falling out, Niles had written that he had seen his father and her in each other’s arms. In the photo album photos from that summer, there were multiple photos with a woman cut out of them. With these things brought to attention, Niles suggests a theory that their father had an affair. This is Ni—seeing something, mulling it over, connecting separate pieces, and arriving at a conclusion. Frasier first strikes down the accusation, saying there isn’t enough evidence. Again, this is Niles’ Ni—the connections he has made are based on internal thought processes, not totally tangible, but make sense in his linear internal logical deductions based on a couple of pieces of evidence. Ni can derive insight and theory based on minimal things in reality and is not dependent exclusively on what is experienced through the senses.

Another example of Niles’ being his type, and perhaps a good example of how INFJs tend to offer advice in general, can be seen in this conversation between him and Frasier in episode 2.

Frasier: Niles, I don’t know what I’m going to do. Dad and I had another fight. I’m afraid if we stay under the same roof together we’ll do irreparable harm to the relationship we have as it is.

Niles: Well, what are the alternatives?

Frasier: Well, if I didn’t feel so guilty I’d, I’d do what I should have done in the first place: just move dad and Daphne into their own apartment.

Niles: Oh, for goodness sake, Frasier. It hasn’t been that long, you have to give it a chance. And you might remember why you moved him in in the first place.

Frasier: Refresh me.

Niles: You wanted to get closer to dad.

Frasier: I still do. There isn’t anything I’d like more, but he makes it impossible. I can’t read my book, I can’t have my coffee, I can’t have any peace in my own home.

Niles: So what you’re saying is, you want to be closer to dad, but you don’t actually want him around. Ask yourself Frasier, have you tried to sit down and talk to him—I mean, really talk to him?

Frasier: Well, I... Maybe I haven’t done my best. I guess I owe that to the old man, don’t I? Well, ah, thanks for the chat, Niles. You’re a good brother, and a credit to the psychiatric profession.

Niles’ dominant Ni urges Frasier to see past the interpersonal rifts and down to the heart of what matters most, which was Frasier’s original goal: to become closer to his father. Conflict that seems unsolvable through talking it out is a trigger to Fe dominants, and as such, it was hard for Frasier to see past it. Niles’ Ni reminds him of the goal despite this conflict, as Ni as a dominant function is more zoomed out and big-picture; while Niles too uses Fe and is people-focused, he primarily views the world through Ni, which sees things outside of the framework of relationships, whereas Frasier’s dominant Fe was stuck seeing only the relationships and the conflict within them and he forgot the original goal. Additionally, Niles’ use of Ni prompts Frasier to point his own auxiliary Ni at himself and remind himself of his personal responsibility and purpose to the situation with his father.

Niles’ inferior Se is noticed more comically, such as how he doesn’t remember meeting Roz even after he has met her multiple times, nor does he remember where they met. Ni is a very internally-based function, and with inferior Sensation, Ni dominants can have trouble recalling concrete information about their surroundings or people they come into contact with in the external world. Another example of an INJ’s inferior Se can be seen when Niles is gripping shortly after his divorce. He begins to date someone completely opposite from his normal temperament and is impulsive, spontaneous, and doesn’t give any deep thought to his actions or the purpose for these actions. He stays out all night, drinks more, plans a trip with his new girlfriend to another country. It is all very out of character for him, which happens when an INJ is gripping—usually notoriously inert and cerebrally-based, they become active and spontaneous in the outer world, over-indulging in sensory activities.

[dappercritter]

Invader Zim: Taller Tales of Terror - The First Fic That Wasn’t

This was going to be my first fanfiction that I ever published, but things came up and I found other story ideas and fandoms to get into. However, because there’s nothing I hate more than leaving a story untold and forgotten.

 So like a writer jilted by a big name studio working on a big superhero movie that went terribly wrong after they left, I’m going to share it with you good folks to see if you still think there’s hope for it in some capacity. If so maybe I’ll choose to revive it in some capacity, or one of you kind folks can adopt it. Whatever you think of the once untold tale I’m about tell you, I hope you enjoy it.

The fic would have been either a mini-series/anthology or a movie-esque sequel—or two—to Enter the Florpus.

It would have followed the stranger further misadventures the kids would go on as teenagers, all of which have at least something to do with getting taller, literally or metaphorically.

 Although I'd do my best to recreate the series' darkly comic tone, there'd be more to the story than just that. I'd like to do a sort of character study with my fanfics and explore what they would do as they got older, how they would change if they could change, if they'd mature and try to connect with each other more, or if they really do just hate each other. It'd be like a coming-of-age story but done in the style of Invader Zim.

 But don’t be fooled, folks! It's not going to be one of those big dramatic fanfics with high stakes (nor any smut) thrown in. At it's core it's still just a fun, dumb, mildly disturbed "What if?" sort of fic. There would be a bit more emphasis on character and plot than normal, because I do love me a good character-driven plot, but still plenty of room for (what I hoped would feel like) the usual weird dumb creepy fun that original series excelled at.

 The story is set in basically the same continuity (or at least the closest thing to a continuity that can exist in Invader Zim) as the show and comics. The only difference is that the Battle of Meekrob actually happened—but not really.

 Long backstory short, there was a big showdown between the Irken Armada and the Meekrob-allied Resisty, but Zim and Dib missed it because a food fight got them stuck in detention. Zim tried to get Skoodge (who was rooming with him at the time because the scrapped Season 2 episodes were sorta canon here) to cover for him until her got there, while Dib tried to get Gaz to take Tak’s ship to provide support against the Irken. By the time they got out, however, the battle was over, Gaz blew the whole thing off to get a new game, Skoodge and some other Invader became the war hero Zim always aspired to be, and The Almighty Tallest decided to cancel Operation Impending Doom 2 because after the big exciting space battle they felt like they couldn’t top anything after that. Suffice to say, Zim took it pretty hard. Dib however would have seen this as something of a win since Zim still failed in a sense. Albeit it was a very anticlimactic win, even to him.

The actual story would have taken place about 5 years after the Battle of Meekrob, where Zim, Dib, and Gaz have made it to high school (or “hi-skool” as this is the Invader Zim universe, after all). Setting wise, things haven't changed much but the characters have made a few surprising or not-so-surprising developments. The most important of all, so important that it would be the focus of the entire story, in fact! would have been Zim developing a brand-new disguise utilizing an exoskeleton, based partially on the Almighty Tallest, in attempt to make him look like a normal teenager AND impress superiors. Naturally, things go horribly yet amusingly wrong for everyone involved.

 Now just where and what has everyone been up to/going through in those five years? Here’s a rundown:

-Zim spent those 5 years obsessing over his crushing failure, begging the Tallest to give him another chance, which they refused every time. Being stuck on a planet of smelly, stupid, and increasingly annoying creatures for so long without any real victories has left him bitter and frantic with more shmoopiness than usual. Even the little "VICTORY FOR ZIM!" moments he used to have got harder and harder to come by. By the time he reached high school, he was so messed up he didn’t realize his classmates had all had growth spurts until Dib easily overpowered him in one of their petty fights and points it out to the whole school. Thus, leading to the new exoskeleton and subsequent schemes to redeem himself in the eyes of the Tallest while looking normal in the eyes of his human classmates. Unfortunately, due to his desperation and general lack of understanding about the human body, the exoskeleton comes out looking like a lanky robotic nightmare with clawed fingers that jerks around like a big cybernetic marionette.

-Dib meanwhile has been doing slightly better. He and his paranormal research are still looked down upon, but he's persevered through the hope that someday he'll prove he's right. After (indirectly) stopping Zim from joining the Battle of Meekrob, Dib got a small confidence boost, thinking of it as a big step to exposing for Zim real now that he’s effectively trapped on Earth with him now. Although, following a rather blunt intervention from his family, he's started thinking about what he’ll do with himself once Zim is gone. He still hates his guts and he's still hellbent on beating him, but he's also started getting out more and trying to socialize more—however awkward his attempts may be. That he's also gotten taller and his head isn't quite as big compared to the rest of his body has been good for his self-esteem too. But make no mistake—when he's not going for runs, working shifts at his dad’s lab, or looking into a “totally normal” science major, he's toiling away on improving his array of anti-Zim strategies and defenses.

-Gaz is doing pretty good but she is totally done with Zim and Dib's junk. Although she's still her old apathetic self, she's doing everything in her power to broaden her horizons so she doesn't end up in the same, stupid rut that they ended up in. She would have gotten into indie art and game development; although her work is still fairly obscure, it's quickly gaining attention for it's macabre, edgy, punishing and geeky nature. (Imagine the works of Jhonen Vasquez, Toby Fox, Hidetaka Miyazaki, and Hideki Kamiya mashed together.) She also participates in e-sports tournaments on occasion, if only because crushing countless so-called “gamers” brings her amusement. Her psychic powers have also gotten stronger with her age, and she likes to experiment with them whenever she can—usually when somebody really annoys her. She's doing fine in the story until, after a run-in with a certain unkillable spoiled brat at an e-sports tournament, sends her over the edge and she trashes the place in a Carrie-esque episode. This gets her sent to anger management therapy, and now she's trying to find a way out to avoid sitting through an endless slog of "sappy" sessions.

-Gir would still be insane.

-Minimoose would still be the ultimate techno-lifeform Minimoose.

-Zim's Computer is still tired.

 -Prof. Membrane is still the greatest and most powerful scientist who ever lived but he’s also trying to make time for his family more and mentoring Dib to be the successor to his legacy he always thinks he was meant to be. That is if is experimental new immortality machine doesn’t work out. May or may not have to fend off Clembrane whenever he comes to visit.

-The Almighty Tallest are still living content, tyrannical lives. They didn't take canceling Operation Impending Doom 2 very hard because, as it turns out, they just got bored with it after a while. (Of course, Zim's repeated interference didn't help keep their spirits up either). However, they'd come up with the perfect plan to obtain absolute control of the universe AND get the feeling back: by making Operation Impending Doom 3 a thing and setting up a huge hype campaign for it. Thing go pretty well for them until Zim calls them and tells them about his new exosuit. They believe that Zim is trying to make himself look like a Tallest so he can lead a rebellion against them and get revenge for treating him like garbage. (He's not, obviously, but they're too dumb and paranoid to realize this.) So, they pretend that they're ok with it and let him carry on his merry way while they figure out how to dispose of him without making him look like a martyr figure of some sort, thus giving the other Irkens they mistreated any ideas.

-Tak would show up again in the second half and this is where it gets spoiler-y. She would come to Earth on the Tallest’s orders with a squad consisting of a reformatted Mimi, rogue SIR units, as well as Tenn and Skoodge who she had recruited to aid in her vendetta against Zim. She would subsequently reveal that after drifting through space in an escape pod, she crashed landed on Meekrob just as the battle was about to begin, and using the element of surprise, rescued Tenn from captivity and assisted Skoodge and the Tallest in devising a battle strategy so brilliant that it crushed the Resisty and Meekrob’s alliance and earned her the status of Irken Elite. She grew comfortable in her new position but could never get over her fear that Zim would eventually ruin it all again, so she waited and prepared for the day she would strike back. I don’t know how or if she would adopt an updated disguise (perhaps a hologram of her older humansona projected over her, Tenn, and Skoodge standing on top of her shoulders?) or hide in the shadows while Tenn, Skoodge, Mimi and the berserk SIR squad did her dirty work.

 -Skoodge would have gone from aspiring to be Zim’s friend to being his worst enemy after Tak turned him to her side by digging into his past with him, making him realize how little his supposed old friend cared about him. Despite this he still keeps an unusually cheerful disposition—even repeatedly apologizing to Zim whenever he attacks him—and acts as the heart of Tak’s squad. He thinks of them as his real friends, so he always goes out of his way to help them out or keep the energy up. Even though Tak looks down on him because of his size, she appreciates his gullibility and unquestioning loyalty. Tenn just thinks he’s nice, especially since he’s good at keeping the SIRs in check.

 -Tenn has recovered from the traumatic escapades she endured on Meekrob at the hands of the rogue SIR units and imprisonment under the enemy, returning to her usual competant Invader self—something Tak values quite a bit in an armada largely composed of egomaniacs and morons. Tenn values Tak’s companionship even more, viewing her as a conquering hero who not only won the most important battle of Irken history, but also, her heart. …Not she’ll ever act on her feelings. That would inconveniance the mission! (Although Skoodge has picked up on this and gladly supports her, thinking they’d make an adorable couple.) After investation revealed that Zim was supposed to receive the rogue SIR units instead of her while he trashed the Megadoomer that was rightfully assigned to her, she bought into Tak’s view that Zim’s very existence was a threat to all Irkenkind, gladly assisting her efforts to eradicate him.

 -Mimi and the rogue SIR units have been reprogrammed to be less insane and follow orders again thanks to Tak and Skoodge’s efforts. However, Tak also had a berserk mode installed specfically for eradicating targets with optimal, brutal efficiency. Mimi still tends to glitch though. In addition to Mimi retaining her cat holo-disguise, the berserker SIRs would gain new disguises resembling either feral cats or rabid teacup poodles. (I hadn’t decided yet.) Tenn still gets anxious around them.

 -Gretchen might show up again and would possibly get to reconnect with Dib, maybe even finally be honest with him about her feelings for him when she surprises him with her surprising new position at Membrane Labs: the janitor.

 -Keef will… er, uh… actually, don’t get your hopes up.

 Well, I think that’s everyone important. Okay back to the plot now!

 So, right up front, the biggest part of the plot as well as the biggest reason why I got uncomfortable with the whole thing was there wiould be some romance in here between a few couples and that it would have figured into the plot. The most significant of all: ZAGR (a.k.a. Zim and Gaz Relationship). But I wanted to make it feel organic and even sweet without sacrificing the feel of sardonic madness but also keeping it in the wholesome zone.

 I always felt like Zim and Gaz were a natural fit for each other (like quite a few other people, admittedly) because I always felt like their personalities were a good fit and they could have a lot in common. The story would follow them as they unexpectedly developed a romantic friendship, bonding over their resentment of the Earth and humanity, their absent family members, a love of technology of questionable intent, and subjugating those who anger them. It would all start with Gaz agreeing to help Zim improve his suit and his unassuming human act just to get back at Dib for annoying her. At first they’d be acting entirely out of spite and necessity, but as they spent more time together, they’d start to enjoy each other’s company more.

 Gaz would be the first develop feelings, since she voluntarily rejected the concept of love instead of being programmed to reject it like Zim, as she slowly realizes how much they have in common—much to her horror. Zim would take more time but when he begins to understand how he feels about and just what these DISGUST feelings are, he’d handle it just as poorly. (e.g. I pictured a scene where Zim has such a hard time admitting his feelings for Gaz that he ends up vomiting black goo like he’s possessed or something. For comedy of course.) But they’d both start to open up to each other in the end, if only because they’re the only two people in the universe they can stand. Gaz would try to help him overcome his anxiety and stop caring as much about what humans think of him, while he would be someone that she can actually relate to.

 Dib, however, would take sincerest offense to it. He’d be totally freaking out, nearly diving off the deep end to put his plans to defeat Zim into action and expose him before he could be exposed. He’d also make a point of demanding what Gaz could see in a monster like him, even reminding her of everything that Zim had done. Probably in an exchange like this:

 DIB: He stole our organs! He tried to crush the planet with Mars! He kidnapped me and threatened to turn me inside out! He tricked me into helping him teleport Earth into outer space so his rulers could destroy it! He turned me into bologna, Gaz! (*holding back tears*) BOLOGNE!

 GAZ: I thought you got over that.

 DIB: Well, physically I did, yes, but not mentally.

 Gir would be pretty on board with it though.

The other biggest plot of the series would have been Tak’s return and the reveal of her and the Tallest’s master plan to destroy Zim once and for all: kick off Operation Impending Doom 3 by placing Zim on trial, executing him, and completing Tak’s plan to turn the planet Earth into a snack bowl for the Tallest (which she still insists is a good plan, she just never got to complete it) big enough to feed them while they watch the conquest of the rest of the universe in style. Zim and the Membranes get through to her and her squad, and possibly the other Irkens, by turning them against the Tallest to stop the Irkens once and for all. Maybe.

Finally to wrap this little nightmare up, here’s a vague outline of the stories I had planned for this wannabe whopper:  

 -A Whole New Nightmare – Following an amusing prologue about how Zim and Dib ended up missing the battle of Meekrob, Zim finally realizes that his natural Irken height threatens to expose his façade to all the classmates who have reached proper adolescent human height. He creates his exosuit then proceeds to cause a scene when he calls the Tallest and goes to hi-skool. Meanwhile, Gaz bugs Dib about still wasting his time bullying Zim. Zim then challenges Dib to a contest of normalcy: a series of challenges that are just overhyped normal teenage things like loitering, hanging out with friends, and finally a dance-off. Whoever loses has to admit they’re a complete weirdo and admit they’re most embarrassing secret. Dib wins the first round, but after he blows off Gaz to hang out with the other kids, she and Zim strike up a nice conversation and he wins the second round. The final dance-off ends in a draw when Zim and Dib both end up looking like total dorks. The story ends with Dib and Zim standing up for themselves against their judgemental peers, but Zim ends up overtaking his big speech and convincing his classmates to completely forget about his bizarre new appearance.

-Gaz the Befriended - Zim and Gaz make a deal: Gaz helps him fine tune his suit while posing as his "NORMAL HUMAN!" friend, and in return he helps her figure out how to control her powers while posing as her friend so she won't have to go to anger management counselling. While they do drive each other nuts, they eventually learn they have a lot in common and start acting like real friends. Dib grows suspicious of their "friendship," sets out to uncover the truth.

 -They Follow - Dib goes on social media to share his findings on Zim with the world in an attempt to verify all his evidence via wisdom of the crowd. Zim finds out and retaliates by joining social media as well to make himself look like a hard luck case in an effort to gain sympathy from the (basically ignorant) public. As their war of words escalate and their follower bases grow, they end up starting a flame war that threatens to destroy society itself.

-Star Dib - Hoping to find some real help, Dib sends a message to outer space looking for reinforcements. He ends up with what remains of the Resisty, who dissolved after their crushing defeat on The Battle of Meekrob. Taking pity on them, he volunteers to become their new leader. Shenanigans ensue on a galactic level.

 -C for Conspiracy - Dib stumbles across a mysterious conspiracy involving Earth tech being backwards compatible with alien tech. He wants to take it on himself, but realizes that he might actually need Zim’s help. So he has to swallow his pride and ask him for help, and as if that weren’t enough he has to put up with his and Gir’s (who tagged along) antics.

 -Night of the Living Prom-goers - Prom night comes along and all the hormonally-imbalanced kids are ready to go, except for Zim, Dib, and Gaz. Until Gaz works up the nerve to ask Zim out, which he actually accepts. While Gaz prepares for her perfect tolerable evening, Dib desperately tries to convince her that Zim’s up to something while trying uncover his true motives, only for her to snap at him and challenge his views on Zim. Little do either of them know, Zim plans to use the prom as an experiment to harness Gaz’s power for his own ends. But at the same time, he ponders whether his friendship with Gaz is just a means to an end or something more. Either way it will be a night they will never forget. Or survive! Probably.

 -The Return of Tak’s Revenge Rises - Tak finally returns to take her revenge on Zim and the Membrane siblings. Striking them when they least expect with the aid of an upgraded MiMi, a squad of berserk SIR units, and two fellow invaders Zim had wronged in the past.

 -Doomed Together - Following Tak’s strike, the Almighty Tallest kick off Operation Impending Doom 3 with a mission of utmost importance: sending in the Irken Armada to ensure Zim is destroyed once for all so they can finally proceed with absolute universal domination. Now, Gaz, Dib, and some unlikely allies must come up with a plan to save their even more unlikely new friend and the rest of the universe from the most fearsome force in the universe! It’s basically the grand finale.

 And that is all there is, or was, to Taller Tales of Terror. I can’t guarantee I’ll ever revisit it, what with all the other stuff on my plate right now, but I’m glad to have finally shared the story of my first fanfic with y’all.

 So, tell me, my filthy monkey maggot mutual friends. After all that horrible rambling, what did you think?

[herohotline]

Wet Clay (P.1)

Shouta Aizawa x Reader

A/N: alright let's try this again. take 2 everybody

Summary: You’ve been officially hired as U.A’s first school counselor. You’re assigned to help the hero course- learning more about their students and teachers along the way. And if you manage to catch a crush on one of said teachers... You just hope he doesn’t distract you from doing your job.

Word Count: 3,300+

Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

If there was one thing you knew about U.A, it was that the school seemed like a never-ending magnet for trouble. They’ve already been on the news twice this year due to villain attacks, and it made you wonder: hey, who’s taking care of the aftermath? 

You’ve been working as a freelance therapist for over ten years, and you reached into several things. Family sessions, PTSD recovery, addiction therapy, the works. So with high hopes, you came to U.A one day with a proposal for the principal. Getting a meeting with him wasn’t easy, so you intended to use the time you got with him wisely. 

Your meeting was scheduled at a random time of day- the middle of the school day, really, so when you made your way to Nezu’s office, you saw several students. They seemed like busy little bees, rushing over to the cafeteria with smiles- it must be lunch hour. The whole place was insanely big, and you wouldn’t have been able to navigate it on your own- so good thing you weren’t. 

Your tour guide sure was loud, though.

“It’s great that Nezu let someone in, but he wouldn’t tell us what it’s for!” The hero you recognized as Present Mic had been chatting animatedly the whole time, and you tried your best to keep up with his energy. 

“That’s strange,” you say back to him, adjusting the grip on your briefcase. They checked it at the front gate- happy to see it was only a few business papers. “I don’t think what I’m talking to Nezu about is very secretive.”

Present Mic waves his hand in the air, making a ‘ppsh’ noise with his teeth. “Nezu likes to mess around with us teachers a lot. I’m not surprised! Oh, and here we are!” He spins rather suddenly to face you, presenting the large office doors to you. 

You look at it curiously. “...Isn’t Nezu supposed to be a small animal?” How could he fit through the door…?

Mic laughs as if you had made some sort of joke. He opens the door for you, patting your back as you walk inside. “I’ll be here to escort you out when you’re done, good luck!” He whispers- well, his own way of whispering, which is still very loud, before thrusting you in the office and closing the door behind you. 

You blink once to try and realize what just happened.

“Ah, ___!” Nezu greets you as you stand still in the rather large office, his little body looking comical behind his desk. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting with you!” Oh boy, here we go. You don’t really appreciate Mic thrusting you into this, literally, but you smooth out your clothes and walk toward the principal’s desk.

“I feel the same way, Nezu,” you smile at him as you shake his little paw across the desk. “I’m glad you’re willing to listen to what I have to say.” He gestures to the seat beside you and you gladly take it, making yourself comfortable.

“Of course. It’s been chaotic but I’m always willing to hear ideas for the school. You mentioned therapy?” The business has begun- but oddly enough, the animal pulls out a tea set and begins to brew. 

“Simply put, yes. With all the events that have been happening at your school lately, I believe it’s due time for a therapist to be hired. You’re training heroes, and while it’s important that they’re physically ready for the world of heroics, I believe they should be mentally ready as well.” You take a cup from him, muttering a ‘thank you’ as you continue to give him your proposal. “Just this year, you had a kidnapping. I know you took care of it, but those sorts of things have a large impact on kids- they might be teenagers, but they aren’t fully developed. Then there’s just the thought of studying and working to be a hero- it’s stressful, and I believe every child should have a good outlet for when it gets to be too much.” 

Taking a sip of the tea, you hum under your breath. It’s a wonderful citrus flavor.

Nezu smiles. “I looked into you- I hope you aren’t offended, it’s merely what we must do for letting strangers into the campus. You’re a therapist, correct?”

You nod. “I’m not offended, I figured as much. And yes, I am. I’ve been in the field for over 10 years, so I’d like to think I know what I’m talking about when it comes to mental health.” 

“Of course! I don’t doubt you!” Nezu laughs- a squeaky little noise. “You’re right, the students deserve a good person to talk to about their struggles. The question is… are you sure you can be that person?”

So he had caught onto you. Yes, more than anything, you wanted to be the one to help these kids. It’s a bit ballsy to walk into an office and suggest they hire you, unprompted, but you believe it’s the right move to make. Nothing will get done if you don’t put the first foot in, after all.

“Yes,” you tell him, as determined as you can. “I would like to be the test driver in this. With how many students U.A holds, one therapist for so many kids is nearly impossible. I’d die of stress before they do,” you pull your briefcase up to your lap and open it, handing him a few papers. “These are the things I’ve planned if you were willing to go through with hiring me. I’d like to focus on the hero course first, a few sessions with each kid throughout a few months. I want to learn about these children, and from what I learn, I can fully deduce what sort of changes need to happen in U.A. Like if my work is even needed here, or what type of therapy should be offered or special programs.” 

Nezu flicks through your papers with an impressed smile. “You’ve thought a lot about this,” he says, “you seem to care very deeply.” 

“I’m passionate about helping others how I can,” you tell him honestly. “And frankly, if you don’t mind my honesty, U.A is long overdue for a school counselor. Every child deserves to have someone to confide in, plain and simple, Nezu.”

At your statement, he laughs. It’s not because he thinks you’re joking, but he knows you’re right. “I love your attitude!” He says. “And you’ve convinced me. We’ll start our hiring process right away, and you can show me more of your plans. I’m happy you came to me today.”

“Oh, what?” Your eyebrows stand up in shock. “Really? Wh… really?”

“Yes!” Nezu smiles. “I had already decided on hiring you before you came. But meeting you was a pleasure and convinced me more.” He hands out his small paw again and you slowly shake it.

“Welcome to U.A, ___.”

---

Getting home, you looked back at the meeting and for a second you think you were tricked. But you’re soon emailed several background check forms and sessions for drug testing- the works of getting hired at a very cautious school. So you deduce that it’s not a trick- but it’s very strange. 

You’re grateful though, and you accomplish what you can right away such as the background check, quirk information and license, and sending in your history with therapy. Nezu told you that if you were quick, you could have your first day in just a week. It shocks you- a week? It’s so soon!

Maybe, you think, they’ve already been thinking about hiring a counselor for a while. It was long overdue, and now they’re in a rush to get you in and working. You suppose that with everything that’s been going on for the school, that’s fair. 

You hope you can do this- the last thing you want is to let this opportunity slip through the cracks and let everyone down. 

---

After a full week of filling out paperwork, various meetings, and a lot of movement speeches that you’ve given yourself to get through it, your first day at U.A comes, bright and early on a Monday morning. And, interestingly enough, your first big task of the day is getting dressed. 

The students have uniforms, but the teachers all wear their hero costumes, and you’re not a hero. So what on earth do you wear? You glare at your closet for a long time before finally slipping on a simple button-up shirt tucked into some slacks. It’s the most professional-casual you can get, right?

Taking the train to U.A was a bit busy, but you were buzzing with first-day energy that you couldn’t even mind the pushing and shoving of people coming on and off the train. You’re sure that the longer you have to take the train, the more it will bother you, but today it seems like nothing can break through your hopeful exterior. 

God, you hope this works. You hope the kids like you. 

It feels funny to walk into U.A with no guards hounding you- but thanks to your I.D that you got just yesterday, you walk in without any problems. It makes you grin. Your first stop for the day is to find Eraserhead- you’re meeting with his class first and taking over homeroom for today. Tomorrow, you’ll meet with the other hero course. 

When you walk into the teacher's lounge, nerves are tingling your senses. It feels like it really is the first day of school, but instead of a student, now you’re a teacher, sort of. The room looks empty, so you assume the teachers have all gone to their classes for the day. You wonder where Eraserhead is…? 

It’s as you walk around the desks in a curious manner that a yellow bag on the floor catches your eye. Quite frankly, you do a double-take on it-- is someone sleeping in there?

“Hello?” You walk up to the bag. “Is that you, Eraserhead?” 

You remember Nezu joking about something like this, but you didn’t take him seriously. As the sleeping bag rolls around, your eyes widen in surprise as you see that yes- this is Pro-Hero Eraserhead sleeping on the floor. 

His tired, dry eyes look up at you. “You’re the therapist?” He asked, his voice deep and scratchy. 

“...Yes. ____.” It’s all you can manage to say as you watch him slowly crawl out of his bag, picking it up and standing on his feet. All of a sudden, he’s looming over you with his height and it almost catches you off guard. “Thank you for working with me,” you shake yourself out of your thoughts and present your hand to him. 

As he shakes it back, you notice that his hand basically engulfs yours. Woof. 

“I’m glad you’ll be working with the students,” he says, and his honesty throws you for a loop as he begins to walk off, you following him from behind. “Do you mind telling me what you have in store for the day?”

“Right!” You try to walk a little faster so you can walk side-by-side with the man, his legs quite longer than yours. “I figured I'd like to introduce myself, let the kids get to know me. It’s hard to suddenly have a new face around, as well as being expected to talk about your problems with a stranger. So I just need to not be a stranger anymore.” You look up to Eraserhead and he silently nods. You figure that’s his way of telling you ‘good idea’? 

“We’re here.” He stops in front of, again, another rather large door. They all seem to look like this. “Get ready.”

As the door opens, you’re immediately met with the sound of teenagers laughing and yelling. Eraserhead heads in first, thankfully, and you peek your head in to get a look of the students. You’ve seen a lot of them through the news, so some faces are familiar, while others aren’t. 

“Class,” Eraserhead’s authoritative voice cuts through all the noise. The students are quick to sit in their seats, heads up and attentive for their teacher. He sighs, his shoulders sagging in a tired manner. “Today, ____ will be taking over the class,” you take that as your cue to enter the room, standing next to Eraserhead silently. “I’ll still be here, so don’t disrespect them. Listen to them, take what they have to say seriously.”

That seems to be the end of his little speech as he shuffles away in that same sleeping bag you found him in. You step up to the podium, and your nerves are back as you look at the sea of students. Oh boy. 

“Hello, everyone,” you smile. “As Eraserhead mentioned, my name is ___. There’s no need for formalities with me, you can just call me by name. My job here at U.A is to be your school counselor.” You watch as several of their faces change and you laugh a little. “I know, it’s strange. I’m here today to ask you a few questions. My first question being, how many of you are comfortable talking with a stranger?” 

None of their hands raise beside a rather sparkly boy with blonde hair. 

“I appreciate your honesty!” You gesture for him to put his hand down and he does so. “Most of you aren’t going to come to me right away with struggles you may have, and I understand that. My job today is to have you all get to know me. We’ll be doing a few activities, and by the end of home-room, you’ll go back to your regular classes. Are there any questions?” 

A hand shoots up right away, and you nod your head to the girl it’s attached to. She looks very attentive and scholarly- you have a feeling she might be a class president or something like that. “Why has the school decided to hire a counselor?” 

“That’s a good question. What’s your name?” You ask. 

“Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“Thank you for asking, Yaoyorozu. Truthfully, with all the events that’s been going on in your district, the school believes we should be more attentive to our students' mental wellbeing.” You feel like you’ve gone over this pitch thousands of times… “It’s important that you all have an outlet when you’re stressed or upset.” 

Yaoyorozu seems satisfied with your answer as she nods, her hand going back in her lap. Another hand rises after that- not as confident as Yaoyorozu, but still there. 

“Yes?”

“I was wondering- my, uh, name is Midoriya Izuku! I was wondering what we’d talk about in your office?” The boy has wonderful green hair that curls at the ends, freckles on his cheeks that make him look innocent and cute. He’s somewhat nervous, which intrigues you, but you move on to his question. 

“Yes, in my office…”

The rest of the period goes like this. You eventually get a question out of almost every student, and they seem to be warming up to you already. You’ve learned most of their names- but you’ll probably need a few days until you remember them all. After the questions, you do a few games together that you thought up- things that typically would be done in middle school. You split up the classroom as you have them learn more about each other- things like ‘go to the left side if you’d rather lose your taste, go to the right if you’d lose your smell’. They were simple activities that the students seemed to mostly enjoy, and you participated in them as well. 

At one moment, you asked a very specific question on purpose: how do you feel about your quirk? If you like it, you would go to the right side of the room. If you dislike it, you’d go to the left. If you weren’t sure how you felt, you’d sit in the middle. In the end, only you and boy with white and red hair stand in the middle as the rest of the class sits on the right. 

“What is your quirk?” He asks you and you smile down at him. Everyone turns their attention toward you, clearly interested. 

“My quirk is called Sensory. If I use it right, I can heighten my own or someone else’s senses such as their hearing or sight. But if I use it wrong, the person goes into sensory overload.” You explain it as simple as you can, and a pink hand raises in the air. You can’t quite remember her name… 

“Why don’t you like your quirk?” 

“Well, I don’t dislike it,” you quickly reassure the class, “but I have my reasons, as I’m sure Todoroki has his own as well?” You look down at him and he nods silently. “Anyway, I asked this question so that you all would get to know who I am a little better. Quirks are a great way to express yourself, but it’s important to remember that it isn’t the only way. It’s okay to not feel completely at home with your Quirk, but it’s important to understand it and accept it as a part of you.” 

After the activity ends, the period is over and it’s time for you to go down to your office. Eraserhead offers to walk you there since you’re still new to the building and you gratefully take it. The two of you leave the classroom with a stern word from the teacher for his students to wait patiently for Present Mic to arrive ‘or else’. You have a feeling that there's no real threat behind his words, but it seems to work. 

“So,” you fill the silence in the hallway, “do you think it went well, Eraserhead? You know them best.” You look up at him and the hero reaches up to run his fingers through his hair. He’s not quite looking at you, but you know he’s paying attention. 

“You don’t have to call us by our hero names,” he huffs and his hands go back into his pockets. 

“Oh! Well… To be honest, the forms Nezu gave me never mentioned any of the teacher’s names, so I don’t actually know…” 

“Typical of him,” the man rolls his eyes, his lips tugging upward just a bit at the ends. “You can call me Aizawa,” all of a sudden you both come to a stop and you realize that you’re outside of your office on the first floor. “Mic is Yamada and Midnight is Kayama… I’m sure you know who Yagi is.” You nod. “You’ll learn the rest of their names along the way. The 1-B teacher is Kan, by the way.”

“Oh, good! Thank you, Aizawa,” you smile up at him. “And thank you for walking me back.”

“You’ll get used to it in a bit,” he sounds sure of himself, making you believe him. “And… you did fine with the kids. I can think of a few who might come over by the end of the week.”

His reassurance is honestly very touching, as you weren’t really sure of yourself. 

“I hope I have at least a week, my office is kind of baren right now,” you laugh at yourself a little. “And thank you- it’s good to hear. I really hope this goes well, you know? I think I can really help them- I want to help them.”

Aizawa just stares down at you but you’re honestly getting used to his silence. You can already tell that he’s a man of few words, so you’re grateful that he’s talked to you as much as he has. You laugh again- you’re not sure why- before opening your door and waving goodbye to him. He leaves after that, and now it’s just you alone in your office.

You sigh as you look around the room. It’s got the essentials- two chairs, a couch, and a table in the middle. Then there’s a desk in the corner of the room, but other than that, it’s empty. You’ll definitely have to fill up the area to make it seem more welcoming- maybe you can bring some things over from your apartment. 

All you know is that you’re determined. By the end of the week, you’re going to make this place feel like home.

[ochard-fics]

Bad Ideas - A Spider-man Story

Chapter Index: 1, 2, 3

Pronouns used: they/them

Genre: Enemies to lovers, slow burn, angst, fluff, young love

Warnings: Mild parental abuse

Word count: 10.4k+

Summary: Though you moved across the country about half a year ago, you are still trying to find your footing in the strange streets of New York. On top of that, you are desperately trying to balance your demanding school life at Midtown School of Science and Technology, where you like everyone but you was much more talented and smarter than you could ever imagine to be. Among those students is the one whom you loathe the most: Peter Benjamin Parker, the boy who’s success both in school and in Stark Industries is constantly shoved in your face. The only person who helps you escape those troubles is Spider-man, the hero of Queens and your crush.

A/N: Hello friends! First I would like to apologize for the delay of the third chapter. Several personal issues kept pilling on during these past few weeks which made it difficult for me to get the motivation to write. Hopefully this won’t happen again, as I was planning on getting a chapter out every 2-3 weeks. With that all said, please enjoy this latest installment! Likes, reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated!

Chapter 3: Pride, Prejudice, and Boba

When MJ and Ned arrived at school the following day, they were completely unprepared for the pettiness their two best friends were about to display towards the other. Both you and Peter refused to acknowledge the other’s existence, and when there were moments in the day that your eyes met they only showed daggers. The tension was suffocating for MJ and Ned, who were trying their hardest to advert their friend’s anger but it was to no avail. The both of you were sure that they didn’t do anything wrong, and that the other is the one to blame for their childish attitude. At one point MJ and Ned just had to give up, and they just had to sit back and watch as you and Peter seethed at each other throughout the day.

On Friday you awoke, groggy and disgruntled. The alarm had interrupted your much needed rest as you were working until 12 a.m. Additionally, you received an email from Ms. Lee, asking that you meet up with Peter again for your tutoring session. The e-mail left a sour taste in your mouth, which you could still feel as you recalled the message whilst getting dressed. Hopefully, the taste could go away with a nice breakfast.

As you headed downstairs, you noticed that your dad was at the dining table by the window, drinking his black cup of coffee while typing away on his laptop. You don’t say anything as you make your way to the fridge, grabbing the tub of cream cheese then snatching a bagel from the bread box on the counter beside it. You began to fix yourself a cream cheese bagel sandwich when your dad spoke up,

“What did you get on your chemistry quiz?” The butter knife you were using to cut the bagel froze in your hand, and you felt the sense of dread weigh over your shoulders again.

“I don’t know,” you lie, resuming your bagel cutting. There is silence, though you could feel his gaze on you, hoping to catch you off guard. In the past, whenever you failed an exam, you would’ve done everything to avoid telling your parents your true grade. It wasn’t an honest tactic, but you feared the wrath of your father if he were to know about your grades. And when he did find out, you had to hide in your room while he yelled insults behind the door. Thankfully, because of your fight regarding your wish to be less dependent on him, it’s been easier to evade his interrogation. Well, almost. You heard him let out a low grumble.

“I was told by your mom that Peter Parker is going to tutor you,” he speaks, “Your councilor called her to let her know.” You continued with your silence and focused on spreading the cream cheese on the bagel in a haste. You knew where he was going with this, and you wanted to get out of the house as soon as possible. 

“It’s tragic that he has to be the one tutoring you,” he says with a sarcastic sigh, “If only you weren’t such a lazy brat it could’ve been the other way around. Yet you chose to waste your time fooling around when you should be studying to get to the top. I raised you better than that.” A lump formed in your throat and you tried to swallow it, despite the pain it caused. Instead of saying goodbye to him you instead grabbed the bagel and headed towards the front door, avoiding eye contact with him. When you grabbed your bag and headed out the door, you made sure to shut it with a slam.

 The school day came and went with nothing interesting happening, though you and Peter were still giving each other the cold shoulder treatment. The e-mail Ms. Lee sent was still on your mind, though you were hoping that Peter wouldn’t fall through with her demands. This was not the case, though. As you were grabbing your sketchbook from your locker after your last period of the day, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket and take it out only to find a text message from Peter. 

Meet me at the library. It read. This made you let out an obnoxiously haughty scoff. There was absolutely no way in hell that you were going to see that stupid boy’s face. You knew if you had to see him again the first thing you’d do was swing a fist as his dumb rectangular face. Then, an idea lit up in your mind, making you smirk mischievously. Why should you have to listen to him? All he did was cause you trouble, and you didn’t need any more of that today. So instead of heading towards the locker, you turn your heals towards the entrance of the school. Making sure to look around for any sign of Peter or Ms. Lee, you blended into the crowd of students pouring out of the school, and made your way towards the nearest subway station.

-

You trudged your way up the exit of the musty-smelling subway station, where you found yourself stepping into NYC’s colorful Chinatown district. This was one of your favorite places to go in Manhattan. Every time you come here (which was very often), you get mesmerized by the aroma from the restaurants, large, bright signs written in Cantonese or Mandarin, and the soundtrack of shop owners offering their wares to anyone passing by them. Despite your parents wanting to actively avoid the area, you absolutely loved it. Plus, it was the home of the best boba tea in NYC.

Weaving through the bustling market area, where sellers were shouting deals in their native tongues as well as English, you made your way to your favorite boba tea joint in the district. It was tucked into a small, secretive courtyard away from the craziness of the main street, where it was inhabited by humble mom-and-pop shops that were nestled under apartment buildings. Just as you entered the alleyway, your phone vibrated. Pulling it out of your green sweatshirt pocket, you saw another test message from Parker, though this one was much more passive-aggressive than the one he had sent you before. You rolled your eyes and angrily shoved your cracked phone back in the pocket, adamant about ignoring your responsibilities today. 

You finally made it to Hi-Tea, the boba shop that you have been frequenting ever since you moved to New York. It was a small hole-in-the-wall establishment that you had found on a whim while you and your mom were exploring Chinatown upon your first week arriving in the state. Your mom found the place tacky, but you thought that it’s pastel color palette was quite charming. The glass doors leading you into the shop would always be painted every week to promote the flavor of the week, which you thought was really smart on their end. You practically came here once a week, sometimes twice if you were having an especially bad day. So, because of your frequent visits, you became friendly towards the staff that worked there, in particular Grace and Frankie. 

Both of them were in college, though Grace was older than Frankie by a year. Grace was much more outgoing and bubbly than Frankie, who was more reserved and soft spoken. Though you were also pretty shy around strangers, especially college kids, your recurring presence and Grace’s naturally charming personality allowed you to warm up to the two young adults. To your pleasure, you saw from the store’s front window that both of them were occupying the shop today. You excitingly scamper to the door, where upon opening it, the petite golden bells tied to the top alerting the two employees of your presence. They turn to look up and when they both spot you, Grace breaks out into a smile.

“Hey there (Y/N)!” Grace cheerfully greets you as she’s adjusting her cat themed enamel pins on her pastel green apron, “It’s so good to see you! Are you here for your usual? Brown sugar bubble tea with oat milk?” Yeah, you knew that boba was called bubble tea here on the East coast, but because you were an arrogant Angeleno you still referred to the tasty tapioca balls as boba, much to the annoyance of your fellow MSST classmates. You scrunch up your face in thought comically and stroked your chin, earning a giggle from Grace. Upon briefly scanning the menu that was placed on the counter with your eyes, you say “Could I have a jasmine milk tea today?” 

“Of course!” she cheerfully exclaims. As she gets to placing your order, her expression changes as if something occurred to her. She looks up at you and asks,

“Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at work today?” 

“I can’t work on Fridays anymore,” you reply in a huff.

“Huh? Why not?” she asks, a curious expression upon her face. You began to tell her all that had happened the past few days; meeting with your counselor, her forcing you to be tutored by the one person you despise, and you getting into a very heated verbal fight with said person. Then you told her that because of the circumstances revolving around the tutoring, you were forced to cut your Friday work hours to accommodate to your councilors demands, much to your chagrin. Frankie, who was listening in on the conversation as he was cleaning up the drink assembly station, looks to you and asks,

 “Wait, then aren’t you supposed to be at school right now?” You rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, but I decided, fuck it!” you cried and shrugged with raised arms, “I had a shitty past two days! I should treat myself!” Grace and Frankie look over at each other, exchanging expressions of concern and disapproval. 

“So,” Grace looks back at you, raising a brow, “you ditched your tutor?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t give a shit,” you reply, waving your hand dismissively, “It’s what he gets for being a prick.” 

“Still, don’t you think that’s kind of rude?” Frankie questions as he walks to the counter to join in on the conversation, “I mean, I know you guys fought, but can’t you come to some sort of truce?” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at Frankie’s absurd suggestion.

“Please, I’d rather jump off the Empire State than apologize to that shitbag,” you brashly say, rummaging through your backpack as you looked for your wallet, “No way would I say sorry to someone who constantly makes my life a living hell.” Grace and Frankie looked at each other, unsure of what to say. 

“But...what if he catches you ditching?” Grace asks as she looks back at you, dismayed. 

“There’s no way he can catch me,” you reply with a cheeky smirk, handing over the due amount for the boba to Winnie, “And even if he did, what’s he going to do? Drag me back to school?” To this you let out a short laugh, though Frankie and Grace didn’t seem to find this amusing. Frankie gives you one last judgemental look but says nothing, then goes to work on your order. Winnie opened her mouth to say something but then closed it, deciding it was pointless to get you to see the wrong in your doing. She takes the amount and gives you back the change, though you drop it in the tip jar for them. You moved to wait patiently by the pick-up section of the store, and in just about two minutes Frankie presented you with your drink. You took it excitingly and bid goodbye to the two young adults before heading back outside into the courtyard. A vibration from your phone rumbled in your jacket pocket, so you took it out again to see yet another text from penis Parker.

    Where are you? It read, You need to get here now or else. You narrowed your eyes at the text as you read it again, then let out a pretentious scoff. What the hell, was he trying to threaten you now? Little shit was getting a bit too confident! You shoved your phone back into your pocket and focused back on your chilled treat. Just as you were about to stab the plastic cover with the straw, something from above grabbed at the drink and yanked it right out of your hand. Bewildered, you looked at your hand then around your surroundings. 

“Shouldn’t you be at school right now?” a voice called out to you. You looked around until your eyes wandered up then widened. Spider-man was casually sitting on the edge of a fire escape, looking down at you with your boba tea in his hand

“You can’t drink that without the straw, you know,” you say loudly, holding up the straw. Suddenly, a web sling shoots at your hand and recoils back to its sender, who thanks you with a nod.

“You didn’t answer my question,” he says, stabbing the top of your drink with the straw, “You’re supposed to be at school right now, right?” 

“N-no,” you said, looking away from him.

“Really?” he holds up your beverage and looks at it, “Because Delmar told me you moved your Friday shifts to Thursday since you had a study date with Peter Parker today.” Gosh damn Delmar and his blabbermouth, now you were caught in the act! You shoved your hands in your jacket pocket and continued to look at everything around you but him.

“Care to tell me why you’re near the Lower East Side instead?” he asks, looking down at you. His tone sounded much less playful than usual, making you feel uneasy.

“I-,” you were flustered, unsure of what excuse to come up with on the spot. Then, you looked up at him, brows furrowed and ask,

“W-why are you so concerned?”

“I’m concerned because you ditched someone, which, by the way, is a pretty shit thing to do.” he replies cooly. You then watch as he lifts his mask up to his nose and takes a sip of your drink. At this moment you realized that this was the first time you had ever seen any part of Spider-man unveiled. Though you wished that he wasn’t high up, as the angle made it a bit hard for you to see much of his features. “Mmm, is this jasmine tea? I like the aftertaste. Very floral.”

“Did you steal my boba so you could lecture me?” You loudly ask him and you put your hands on your hips. 

“Not necessarily,” he says with a shrug, taking another sip of your drink, “Though the bubble tea is a nice bonus treat.”

 “Why does my personal life concern you?” you said, crossing your arms, “This is between me and that dumbfuck. And that dumbfuck deserves to get his ass ditched.” 

“That ‘dumbfuck’ is willing to help you out,” he simply says, then takes another sip, “By the way, I think you’re being a little harsh with those insults of yours.”

“Not my fault I tell it like it is,” you snap back, “He’s just wasting my time and his! I don’t need his help, or anyone’s! Plus, he has no idea how to tutor anyone! You should’ve seen how irritable he was!”

“Well, it’s his first time tutoring, right?” he asks you, “Maybe you need to cut him some slack. He means well.” To this you let out a short, cynical laugh.

“So what? He’s supposed to be the smartest kid in our grade!” you cry “It isn’t rocket science; it should be easy for him! Just like everything else is!”

“Have you ever tutored someone before?” he inquires, looking down at you. You didn’t respond. Instead, you ask him,

“What’s your deal with defending him, anyway?” 

“Because you’re being unfair to someone who’s trying to help you,” he replies, and you couldn’t help but laugh at his ridiculous claim.

“Help me?!” you shout out passively, “He does nothing but make my life miserable! I don’t want his help!”

“You need it whether you like it or not,” he says sternly, which you found was very out of character for him, “Just like that time I saved you from getting hit by that taxi.” The anger that was boiling inside of you was reaching its peak. All rational thoughts were replaced with the need to defend your ego. And when your ego got involved, it brought out the worst in you

“I didn’t ask for your help!” you spat back out of anger. 

“So what should I have done?!” he angrily shouts back, “Let you get killed?!”

“Maybe!” you roar back, your voice echoing within the courtyard. A heavy silence hung in the air, as the two of you glared at each other, a familiar setting to Wednesday. Your fists were clenched so tightly you could feel your shoulders strain. Finally, the masked hero lets out an irritated scoff.

“Fine, if you don’t like my help,” he stands up from the railing of the balcony, “Don’t ever expect it again.” You felt your heart drop into your stomach, regret immediately sweeping into your senses. You just fucked up big time. You wanted to shout back an apology, but before you could he shoots a web sling at a nearby building and begins to swing. You ran after him, calling out to him in anguish, but he was much too fast. Soon you found yourself back in the middle of Chinatown, desperately looking around for Spider-man as he disappeared into the city, leaving you guilt-ridden and ashamed.

    -

Misery plagued your emotions for the rest of your Friday through Sunday. All you could do was wallow in your sorrow over pissing off your crush. You couldn’t feel more humiliated!

You wondered, though if you were being as unreasonable as Spider-man claimed. Of course not! you think countering yourself. That little twerp always acts like he’s the best at everything and constantly rubs it in your face! Well, not literally, but it happens when he gets the highest exam scores, when he wins first prize at the school’s annual science fair, and when he boasts about how he’s working for Stark! Ugh, he just pisses you off!

It annoyed you how enamored your parents were by his success. Why couldn’t they set the bar lower, like comparing you to Flash! You’d at least beat him! But no, it’s always Peter. “If you studied harder, you’d be at the same level as Peter!”, “I bet Peter gets straight A’s in all of his classes!”, “You should pick a more practical major, like Peter!”. The constant praise they give him in contrast to the scolding you received only fueled your hatred for him. And Spider-man knew this! You had expressed your dismay with your classmate several times since you met him so it only made you more upset that he decided to defend Peter!

Yet you still felt guilty about snapping at him so harshly. Not only did you ruin your friendship with him, but all chance of finding out who his true identity was! Now you were never going to see him again! It took all the willpower you had in you to resist slamming your head against a wall. This regret was consuming you alive, so in order to relieve yourself of it, you turned to MJ for advice.

On Sunday you related to her the past two days as well as your emotional roller coaster while watching Pride and Prejudice through facetime together (the 2005 version, though MJ was very vocal about the historical inaccuracies of the costumes, but you didn’t care because Kiera Knightly was so damn good looking in this). She listened to you intently as she watched you explain everything, and as you wrapped up she leaned back onto her bed frame, taking all of this in.

“Well, that’s...something,” she finally says after a long pause, “You managed to piss off Spider-man...that’s pretty incredible.” 

“Now isn’t the time to be sarcastic, MJ!” you cry out as you hang your head in shame. MJ was the only person you had confined to about your friendship with the blue and red hero of Queens, as well as your harboring feelings for him. MJ teases you about it every now and then, but she overall has kept her word of secrecy on the matter, which you greatly appreciated. 

“You’re going to think I’m crazy,” she continues, “But I think he had a point about Peter. Listen, I love to poke fun at that little white boy, but you take it to a whole other level.” This makes you frown in response.

“He deserves it,” you mumble back, but just loud enough for her to hear. Now it was her turn to frown.

“Does he?” she asks you, “I can’t believe I’m taking his side, but Peter’s hasn’t done anything wrong. I think your jealousy is taking things out of context.”

“I’m not jealous of him!” you claim, “Why should I be!? I don’t want to be a stupid science nerd like him.”

“I’m a science nerd,” MJ points out, “So is Ned. Are we stupid?” 

“You’re different,” you retort back if a huff, “You’re cool and weird but in a good way.”

“As I should be,” she replies with a shrug, “But I still think that you have been a bit too hard on him. Which is kind of funny, because I remember that you had a crush on him.”

“T-That was in the beginning of the year!” you hastily quip back, feeling your cheeks flush up out of embarrassment, “That was before he started getting on my nerves!” It’s true, the first time you had met Peter, you were at a game shop with your mom buying a console. It was the first week since you moved from Los Angeles to Queens, and the both of you were still trying to navigate the city. To make you feel better about the move, your mom promised to buy you a console that had just been released which you had your eye on ever since it was announced. 

When you were in the game shop, you noticed him with Ned, who was accompanying him. The two of them were gushing over the release of a new Star Wars video game which had just been released recently. His smile was the first thing that attracted you. It really lit up his whole face so nicely that you couldn’t help but blush. Then you remembered the horror you felt when your overly extroverted mother approached them and started sparking up a conversation with them (her excuse was that they seemed to be about your age, which she wasn’t wrong about, but it seemed a bit unnecessary!). Peter then noticed you, awkwardly standing a few feet behind your mom with a bag of cupcakes that she had gotten from the city’s famous cupcake shop. He and Ned introduced themselves to you, and the kind smile he gave to you made your heart jump. 

The memory made you frown. Now you just felt embarrassed for having a crush on him. Yet again, you didn’t expect that you would be attending the same school, where you found out just how incredibly talented he was. It impressed you in the beginning, as soon as your parents got wind of the bright young boy with the Stark internship, it all blew up in your face. Watching you reminisce upon this, MJ asks you, 

“You sure you still don’t have a crush on him?” You answer with a profound and loud no, which MJ interprets as a good time to drop the subject. So decided to get back on track.

 “You’re going to hate me for suggesting this,” MJ says, then takes a bite at a pretzel stick from the bowl she had beside her, “But I think you should apologize to Peter.”

“WHAT?” you shout so loud that the crows in the tree out in the backyard were startled.

“Here me out,” MJ begins, her hands held up in defense, “You feel guilty about yelling at Spider-man, right?” You reply with a nod.

“Well, wasn’t the reason why he was upset with you was because you ditched Peter? Maybe if you apologize to Peter, Spider-man could forgive you.” 

“I don’t need to apologize to him!” you retort, crossing your arms in a huff.

“Even if you don’t want to, you should,” she replies, taking another bite of a pretzel stick, “It’s that or you never see your Spider-boyfriend again.” This makes you frown out of dissatisfaction, and you ask her,

“How would Spider-man even know that I apologized to him?!”

“Doesn’t Peter work at Stark? I remember him mentioning that he and Spider-man were buds. You could ask Peter if you could talk to Spider-man.” she answers. Though you doubted the possibility of this happening, MJ might not be wrong. If what she’s saying is true then that means if you apologized to Peter then you could make up with Spider-man! 

“How do I make up with Peter?” you ask her with a determined look on your face. MJ smirks in satisfaction, pleased to have gotten to you. She tells you,

“First you admit what a big dingus you’ve been towards him.” This makes your frown, much to the amusement of your friend. She continues,

“Then you should get to know him better, not as who you think he is, but for who he really is.” You frown in thought.

“Look at Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy’s relationship, for example,” she suggests, “At first she judges him based on her assumptions about him. She thinks he’s stuck up, cold, rude, and selfish, which leads her to probably one of the best roasts in literary history. Though it turns out that he’s just very socially awkward and that she was misled by false information about him.”

“What’chya getting at?” you ask her, suspicious of her ramblings

“Well, maybe like Elizabeth, you’re letting your pride misjudge Peter.” she proposes.

“Maybe my pride is correct.” you say firmly. 

“God, you are so stubborn!” MJ groans, “Do you want to see Spider-man or not?!” This makes you shut your mouth, and you allow her to continue.

“Okay,” she lets out a huff, “Whether you’re right or wrong, taking the time to get to know Peter will benefit you. You could learn a lot about him. And who knows? Maybe you can find out something about Spider-man, too?” This peaks your interest. Could she be right about that? You had no idea how close Spider-man and Peter were, but the tutoring lessons could be helpful in trying to use Peter to figure out who the masked hero was. It sounded sleazy, but it felt like good motivation to make up with him.

“Tomorrow, as soon as you get to school, talk to him privately and apologize to him,” she tells you, “And sound like you mean it, even if you don’t.” You let out a groan. It was annoying that you had to make up with him, but with MJ’s suggestion (and your grade on the line) you knew you were out of options. It was either suck it up and go with it or fail your classes and lose the potential freedom from your parents. As you and MJ continued to watch the movie, you could yourself ponder over your first feelings towards Peter again.

-

The next day at school you arrived early in order to locate Peter. The weather had chilled considerably, so today you dawned your red down coat that was perfect for the cool, overcast morning. You hustled yourself quickly to the lockers, hoping to catch Ned and Peter. Instead, you spotted Ms. Lee by your locker, staring down at you from across the hallway. His made you immediately stop you in your tracks, a cold sweat rushing throughout your body. She beckoned you to come towards her, to which you sheepishly complied. By the sour look on her face, you could tell you were in deep shit. She greets you with a cross-sounding “Good morning”, which you meekly wished her one as well. 

“Mr. Fill informed me that you didn’t show up to meet with Peter on Friday,” she tells you, “I was also told that you two also made quite the scene on Wednesday. Would you care to tell me what happened?”  You gulped. There was no way you could fabricate a response believable enough for her to take right now. She was visibly upset with you, and you could feel it weigh you down. The right thing to do was to tell the truth, but you were horrified by what would come out of that (see: your parent’s reaction). As you struggled to come up with a response, you didn’t notice that someone was approaching the two of you. 

“Hey (Y/N)!” a familiar voice called out to you. You turned about to see who it belonged to and were very shocked to see a cheery Peter Parker walking up to you.

“You left this at my place on Friday,” he hands you a blue spiral bound notebook, which you take with utter confusion. Ms. Lee shared your perplexed expression as well, looking at the teen boy with a raised brow. 

“Good morning Mr. Parker,” she greets him, regaining her authoritative aura, “I was just asking (Y/N) about your study session on Friday. Mr. Fill told me that while you were at the library on Friday, (Y/N) was nowhere to be seen. Did this have something to do with your bickering on Wednesday?” You looked over at Peter, wide-eyed with terror at what he would say. Knowing him, he was probably going to use this to his advantage and throw you under the bus-

“Oh, right!” he snaps his fingers as if he remembered something, then turns to Ms. Lee, “(Y/N) texted me the day before and said that the library was too distracting for them. So we agreed that we would study at my place from now on. For some reason I forgot about that and was waiting for them until I remembered! It’s my bad, Ms. Lee.”

…Huh?   

There was no way you were hearing this right now. Was Peter covering for you? Was this a prank? It had to be, right?! You sneaked a pinch on yourself and surely enough, this was all happening in real time. While you were busy being confused by your current reality, Ms. Lee and Peter continued conversing.

“I see,” she says, though she sounded suspicious, “And I presume you two made up?” 

“Of course!” he replies gleefully, giving you a nudge to help him sell the lie. You snap out of your confusion and give her a hasty nod.

“Well, I’m glad you were able to work things out,” she says with a pleased smile, then turns to you, “I do think it’s better for you to work in a more personal setting than a public one. And if it works, then who am I to complain.” She then bids you two a good day, where you and Peter both watch her walk down the hall. Just as she was out of earshot, you decided that this would be the perfect chance to apologize to him. 

“Peter,” you quickly turned to him, “I-”

“Meet me at the football bleachers during break,” he cuts you off coolly, still looking towards the hall, “We need to talk.” The first warning bell chimes throughout the school, and the hall begins to bustle with high schoolers desperate to make it to their first period on time. So he leaves you alone, perplexed with all that just occurred and anxious for what’s to come during break.

-

As soon as biology wrapped up, you sprinted past some students towards MSST’s football field. The chilled air hit you as soon as you opened the doors to the field , tickling your cheeks. You jogged across the football field, where students were spending their break tossing playing catch, jogging around the field, or just sitting on the grass and chatting. Halfway into your jog you spotted Peter, who was sitting in the mid-section of the bleachers. You hurried yourself towards his direction quickly, the anticipation clenching your stomach. He notices you and gives you a surprised look. 

Guess he didn’t expect me to show up, you think to yourself as you trudge up the metal bleachers. You finally reached him and sat beside him (leaving space between the two of you, of course) in a huff. There was silence at first, besides the sounds of the schoolyard. You wondered if you should speak up first, but for some reason you couldn’t think of anything to say. The cold air made you shove your hands in your pockets, and you look towards him, where he continued to look out to the field, a very serious expression plastered across his face. This was the first time you had ever seen the awkwardly goofy Peter Parker look so stern, and though you would usually find pleasure in seeing him so pissed, it actually scared you a little. After what felt like an eternity, Peter finally spoke up,

“You have a real shit attitude, you know.” The cool bluntness takes you by surprise. In all of the months you have bullied Peter, this was the first time he has ever cussed at you. You wondered how long he’s been waiting to do that. He exhales a long, controlled breath and continues to talk,

“I would love to know what I did for you to hate me so much. Because last time I checked, I’ve been nothing but nice to you since you moved here. Was it something I said? Something I did?!” He turns to you, his glare piercing through your soul as he waits for a response. You opened your mouth, but words evaded you. For the first time Peter has left you speechless. The cockiness you usually had towards him was nowhere to be found. No snarky comeback, no rolling of the eyes, all you could do was gape at him. Peter, seeing that you weren’t answering, turns back to look at the field and continue speaking,

“I’ll be honest, I don’t think this is going to work out. Us working together. I’m going to talk to Ms. Lee and see if she can set you up with someone else.” Shit, this wasn’t good! You were going to lose your chance at apologizing to Spider-man! You had to do something, quick!

“No!” you reply with a shout, grabbing his arm out of impulse. The shout was a little too loud as it echoes throughout the field, catching the attention of everyone there. He looks at you, startled by both the shout and the grip. Noticing the eyes turned to you and Peter, a blush flushing your cheeks. You immediately retreat your hand as students went back to minding their own business, then take a breath to control yourself. 

 “I-I mean,” you looked at him, sheepishly. Come on, (Y/N), it’s now or never!

“I’m sorry.” you say.

To say Peter was shocked was an understatement. He gave you the most puzzled you have ever seen anyone give you, and who could blame him? An apology from you wasn’t what he was expecting from you. He thought the most you would do was scoff and walk away, unbothered, so now he was caught off guard.

“I’m sorry for being such a huge asshole on Wednesday” you continue, forcing yourself to look him in the eyes, “And for ditching you on Friday. It was uncalled for. I should’ve talked to you instead of ignoring you.” 

“I’m so sorry,” you repeat, “I still want to work with you. Please forgive me.” There was silence yet again, and you could see that Peter was still processing your apology. You look at him, concerned and wondering if he was malfunctioning because he hadn’t said a word. He finally lets out an exhale, and you felt relieved that you hadn’t short circuited him. Finally, he says,

“Okay, I forgive you.” he says. You blink in surprise.

“What?” you say.

“I forgive you,” he repeats, amused by your reaction. Though today was just full of unexpected surprises, you felt a sense of relief from his words. However, a sense of guilt sat in your stomach, remembering that you were doing this for your own personal gain. 

As long as he doesn’t find out, you have nothing to worry about, you convince yourself, though the feeling didn’t go away. 

“Though if we’re going to continue working together, I suggest we make my lie a reality.” he says.

“What do you mean?” you ask him quizzically.

“I mean that you actually come over and study at my place.” he says. You widen your eyes in surprise. Was he being serious?! It was impressive that he wanted to be so committed to his fabricated tale, but didn’t this seem like a little much? 

“A-are you sure?” you ask, perplexed by the idea. He nods.

“I am,” he says, “My aunt wouldn’t mind. She likes the company, anyway.” You take a minute to think this through. Going to Peter’s place would mean you were going to spend much more time with him, considering the travel time from Midtown to Queens. And there would be no doubt that Flash would catch you two together and relentlessly tease you for being with his rival. However, being at his place means that you could get one step closer to finding out more about Spider-man. This was an opportunity you couldn’t refuse. You decided to take up his proposal.

“I’m in.” you finally tell him.

“Okay,” he says, rubbing his hands, “Because if Ms. Lee found out I lied to her we’re dead meat.”  

“Let’s shake on it,” you tell him, then hold your hand out towards him. You wait for him to take it, but instead he says,

“I want you to promise that you’re not going to ditch me again,” he says, “I’m doing this to help you pass.” This pinches you in the gut. The guilt you had felt before returned, making you second guess the sincerity of your actions. Why is he taking this so seriously, you wondered, does he really care about whether or not you pass? What benefit is he getting out of this. You didn’t have time to ponder this, so you shook off the thoughts and sincerely say,

“I promise.” Peter watches you, looking for any signs of feigning, but you held yourself up long enough for him to finally take your hand. You give each other a firm shake, settling on your agreement. As you pull your hands away from each other, you remember something.

“Oh, I should give this back to you.” you say to him as you grab your backpack. He watches as you rummage through it, your eyes lighting up when you finally locate it. You pull out the blue spiral-bound notebook he had given you in the morning. 

“I think you’ll need this,” you say, holding out the notebook to him.

“Oh, thanks, I need this,” he says, taking it from your hands, “U-um, so do you want to meet up Wednesday after school?” 

“Sure.” you say, giving him an awkward smile, to which he returns. Good, now your plan can kick off. All you had to do now was get through studying with Peter. Maybe MJ is right, it might not be all that bad. As the bell rang the two of you headed to your next class together, though the both of you were unaware that a folded slip of paper from Peter’s notebook was not sitting at the bottom of your backpack.

-

On Wednesday, you were waiting at the school’s front gate, as you promised. The chilled weather made you bury yourself into your coat, and you just hoped Peter would get out soon. He told you via text that he had to grab something from the chemistry room, and though you offered to wait for him by the classroom he insisted you waited for him outside. Watching students pass by, you began to wonder about Peter’s aunt. You had never seen her before, but MJ told you that she was very pretty and was very protective of her nephew. You then realized that Peter has definitely talked to her about you, and now you were beginning to grow anxious. You wouldn’t blame her for wanting to take you down for being a shithead to her nephew, but you obviously didn’t want to deal with her wrath. You could only hope that she wouldn’t be at home so you could be spared.

A tap on your shoulder breaks you from your thoughts and you look to see who touched you, only to be facing Peter.

“Ready to head out?” he asks you, motioning his head towards the closest subway station entrance. You nod, so the two of you begin to make your way towards Queens.

The two of you didn’t talk as you headed down to the subway station, and upon entering the car you grimaced over how it was practically full of people. The next train wouldn’t be until twenty minutes though, so the both of you squeezed your way into the crowd. The both of you were practically shoulder to shoulder, with you gripping the nearest stabilizing pole and Peter keeping himself up with the rail above him. Being so close to him made you feel so uncomfortable from the awkwardness, and you tried your best to avoid eye contact with him as you guys rode. That would only last so long, though. Halfway through the ride you felt your phone buzz in your pocket. Foolishly, you let go of the pole to retrieve it, but you didn’t realize that you were reaching another stop. The cart began to halt, the force of it all making you lose your footing. You tried to re-stabilize yourself but you felt your body fall backward, making you let out a scared yelp. Suddenly, you felt a hand grab your waist, stopping you from falling on top of the surrounding passengers. You turn and see it was Peter who had caught you. He pulls you back up and tugs you near him, making you even closer to him than before. 

“Are you okay?” he asks you, sounding genuinely concerned. Still dazed from the catch, you nod back and straighten yourself up. You realized that this is the closest you have ever been to Peter, and he seemed to recognize this revelation two and the two of you were stuck in this position for what felt like eternity. He suddenly realizes that he’s still got his arm around your waist, and he immediately retracts it, and you noticed that his cheeks were a slight tint of pink. You took a small step away from him to grab the pole again, and for the remainder of the ride the two of you avoided eye contact.

Soon the stop to Queens approached, and the two of you hopped out of the train car. You followed Peter closely as he navigated through the bustling Queens and eventually got to his apartment complex. Like all the buildings in the area, it was much smaller in size compared to the giants in Manhattan (though you didn’t mind; tall buildings weren’t your favorite thing). After he buzzed in, he let you inside of the complex, and like a duckling you followed him up two flights of stairs and into the second story hallway. Soon you were watching him as he approached a eggshell-\colored door with the numbers 205 plated in bronze above the peephole. He grabs his keys and puts them into the worn door handle, and with a twist and a click he pushes the door open and enters his apartment, where you slowly but carefully enter in suit.

While taking off your shoes you gazed around the space, which was small but it didn’t feel cramped. Peter leads you to the dining area, which was connected to both the kitchen and the living room. Upon the table were several papers and letters, to which Peter apologizes for and quickly gathers up the mess to make space for both of your study materials. Once it was clear of it’s chaos, you slink yourself into the bench situating your bag to left as he sits himself on the right side of the table.

“My aunt May told me she’ll be working late today, so don’t worry about any distractions,” he tells you, pulling his backpack beside him. This makes you internally exhale in relief. He goes into good host mode, offering you snacks and water but you declined it politely since you felt weirded out by your rival trying to be nice to you. The both of you shift uncomfortably in your seats, waiting for the other to speak up so the tension could be broken. Peter, always trying his best, decides to start,

“O-okay! Let’s get started! Um…” He looks at you as he begins to fiddle with his hands nervously, “We can work on inter-molecular forces! Or maybe we should go back to the basics and review atoms and ions? O-or look over the periodic table?”  You could tell by his body language that he was trying to be careful with your words, considering how you reacted last time. Though you were slightly amused by how hard he was trying, it did make you feel a bit bad for your reaction last week. You were starting to reconsider what Spider-man had said. You realized that you should probably respond before he throws out more suggestions, so you say, 

“Can we work on the quiz from last week? I mean, we got it back today, so maybe it’ll be good to look over it.” Peter was quite surprised by your input, and immediately you feared that you had said something wrong. Expecting to receive some sort of snarky comment, you were amazed when he smiles and agrees,

“Y-yeah! S-sounds good!”

It was quite embarrassing for you to see him look at the 19% grade that was scribbled in bright red on your quiz, while he gloated a proud 100%. Without thinking you made a stank face, until Peter pointed it out while he was looking over your quiz answers. You immediately dropped it, feeling embarrassed at getting caught, though you could help but stare at his perfect grade. For you, it was rare to see those triple digits on your assignments and tests, and when you were gifted with that lucky gem you felt invincible. Is that what Peter feels whenever he gets his scores back, or is it so common for him that he just shrugs it off? Before you could sink into your thoughts even more, Peter flips the quiz back to the front page and looks up at you.

“You didn’t finish the quiz?” he asks you, a brow raised, “Did something happen?” Immediately you felt ashamed, but you tried to hold your ground, not wanting to expose it to Peter. Instead, you say with attitude,

“Why’s that a problem? I just didn’t finish it. Happens to the best of us.” Peter gives you a look, not being fooled by your act.

“Did you run out of time?” he asks you. You didn’t respond, but instead looked away from him, which gave him confirmation.

“I noticed you got stuck on question three, and I get it, I had a though time with that one, too.” he tells you, looking back at the question.

“Don’t try to humble yourself.” you quip back.

“I’m not!” he cries, “Really!” You look at him as you’re not convinced, making Peter sigh in defeat.

“Look, why don’t we just go over this question and the ones you didn’t answer? Then I can get a better read on what’s troubling you with this subject.” You made a small groan, but reluctantly agreed to the proposal, and for the next two hours the two of you went through the quiz. Unlike last time, where he was just talking you ear off, Peter instructed you to write down notes and even re-do the questions, which actually turned out to be much more helpful to you. A few times Peter had to coax questions out of you, which was probably the hardest thing for you to do since you feared ridicule over what you asked. However, Peter didn’t find them ridiculous at all, and would even provide a simpler, straight to the point answer that was much easier to comprehend than Mr. Cobwell’s complex ones. After what felt like forever, the both of you were beginning to exhibit signs of burnout. Peter caught onto this after he watched you stare at your notebook in a daze.

“Let’s call it a day,” he suggests, stretching his arms out to relieve the tension built in them.

“Yes, please,” you mumble, blinking hard as your eyes were tiring out, “I think my brain is going to fry up if I look at another molecular equation.” While you were packing your stuff up, you looked out the window beside you and noticed that it’s already getting dark outside. You wondered if you’ll be back home in time for dinner. Not that you were anticipating it, anyway. The sound of keys being inserted into the apartment alarm the two of you. You and Peter look at the door, which opens to reveal a very beautiful middle aged woman, and you could help but gape at her aura.   

“Hiya Pete!” she happily exclaims as she takes off her jacket and hands it up on the hooks next to the door, “So sorry for being late, the manager had me sweep before I clocked out.” Realization hits you like a brick. She’s Peter's aunt?! Well, MJ wasn’t wrong about her looks, but you were not expecting her to be this attractive. It seems like she could feel your eyes on her, because she immediately takes notice of you.

“Pete, who is this?” she asks, pointing to you. You feel your body freeze, remembering that you were most likely going to meet your maker when she finds out who you are.

 “Oh, this is (Y/N),” Peter says, pointing his thumb to you, “The classmate I’m tutoring, remember? They moved from California last summer?” Out of fear you forced yourself to stand up straight and gave her a small, shy wave.    

“I-it’s nice to meet you, M-ms. Parker!” you stutter sheepishly. May took a second to remember your name, and when she recognizes her eyes light up in surprise. She looks over at you, then to Peter. May raises her brows at Peter as asks him,

“Are they…?” To which Peter nods in response. You watched anxiously  have their silent conversation, trying to decipher what on earth they were talking about. Was it about the bullying? Crud, you were going to be in deep shit! You glanced at the door, thinking that you should just book it, until May’s expression melts and is replaced with a bright, welcoming smile.

“Oh! You’re (Y/N)!” his aunt exclaimed with delight, then immediately makes a b line up to you, “You’re the one that works at Delmar’s, right?! Peter has told me so much about you!” 

“R-really?!” you expressed with confusion.

“Oh don’t worry, nothing bad,” she assures you, waving her hand dismissively, “Actually, quite the opposite!” This makes you turn to Peter, where you give him the most perplexed look you could give a person. Did Peter not tell his aunt about how you’ve treated him? If not, why would he withhold this information from her? Peter reads your expression, but instead of saying anything he looks the other way and rubs the back of his neck. Okay, you needed to ask him about this another time.  

“I was just about to invite Peter out for some Thai food!” she tells you, “Would you like to come with us?” Though you were flattered by the invitation, you felt like it wouldn’t be a good idea to tag along, so you say

“I think I should head home. I don’t want to overstay my wel-'' Before you could finish, an incredibly loud gargle emitted from your stomach. You blushed, horrified and betrayed by your own stomach, as Peter stifled a laugh. You give him a glare, making him shut up, which May finds very amusing. 

-

It seems like every other day the world kept challenging your expectations. 

Who would’ve guessed that you would be spending your Wednesday evening dining with your rival and his aunt at their favorite Thai restaurant located five minutes away from them? MJ was going to have a field day when you tell her this tomorrow. Well, at least this was better than eating at home, you thought to yourself. You and Peter were seated beside each other, while his aunt sat across from her nephew. The three of you were helping yourselves with servings of the sour and spicy tom yum soup, the sweet but flaming yellow curry, and juicy larb lettuce wraps (Peter’s favorite, or so his aunt claims). 

“I’m so glad your mother agreed to let me take you out for dinner, dear,” May says with a smile, “I can finally get to know you a little better!” 

“U-um, yeah. I’m kind of surprised she let me come.” you admit to her, then take a sip of your serving of soup.

“Why is that?” she asks you. It would be awkward to admit to her that you kind of expected your mom to make you come home to eat, which would have saved you from this very odd situation you got yourself into. On the other hand, it did save you from having to spend dinner with your parents. It was a strange blessing in disguise.

“My mom is usually strict about me going out with people she hasn’t met before.” you tell her, which was true. Your mom has always been adamant about meeting people you hang out with, though you usually tried to avoid such as she is pretty judgemental about other people. Thankfully, you have been able to save MJ from her unfair shrewdness. It also explains why you never mentioned to her about your acquaintance with Spider-man, as you knew she’d have a handful of shit to say about him. To you, the more you had your parents out of your personal life, the more at peace you were. 

“I can understand why,” May says after she swallows her bite of yellow curry, “Especially since you guys are still new to the area. New York is full of wacky characters, after all. Wouldn’t want you to get mixed up with the wrong kinds of people.” You take a glance at Peter, who hasn’t said much during the conversation, instead carefully watching the two of you as he munches down some larb. 

“So Peter told me you work at Delmar’s,” she says, “Why is someone as young as you working for him? Especially during junior year?” 

“Oh, I wanted to earn some extra cash,” you explain to her, “I want to be more financially independent, you know? So I was looking at other service and retail jobs, however the ones that had openings were full time or had a strict part time arrangement, which wouldn’t work out for school. But Delmar was nice enough to be compliant with my school schedule, so he took me in.” 

“Wow, lucky you!” she exclaims with a smile, “Then you must like working there, huh?” 

“I mean, it’s a bit boring at times, but it has its perks.” you tell, thinking about a certain someone. This makes your heart heavy again, making you look down at your food. 

“Has Delmar told you about what happened to that place last year?” she asks you.

“Oh, you mean the explosion caused by those bank robbers?” you say, perking your head up, “Yeah, he mentions it every once in a while. He always talks about how Spider-man saved him and Murph from the wreckage.” 

“Really?” May asks, an amused smile creeping upon her face as she looks over at Peter, who you noticed had froze up mid-bite.

“Yeah,” you say, raising your brow at your classmate’s odd behavior. You turn back to her and tell her, “Actually, Spider-man was one of the reasons I got hired by Delmar.”

“Is that so?” she asks with a delighted tone, her eyes watching her nephew as his eyes shift from her to you. This was just like their weird silent conversation at the apartment! Were they always like this? Maybe this is where Peter gets his uncanny behavior from. You had to pretend to not be bothered by it, so you continue,

“Yeah...he actually introduced me to Delmar a few weeks into my move. I was trying to get to know the Queens area a little more so I took the bus to this area. However about two hours into exploring I got completely lost, and on top of that I had left my house in a rush so I didn’t check how much battery life my phone had, so it had died. I tried to ask around for help but no one bothered, and I pretty much thought I was screwed.” You paused for a moment, feeling like you were saying too much, only to notice d that Peter and May were listening to you intently. Realizing you could continue, you say,

“But by sheer luck, Spider-man was in the area, and he found me by chance. I told him my situation and he offered to take me to a bodega that was selling portable chargers, and since he was the only other person I knew at the time I went with him. And that bodega was Delmar’s! He introduced me to him, and told him about my situation. Since Delmar was such a fan of Spider-man, he actually allowed me to charge my phone in the outlet behind the counter, but I didn’t have a charging cable so Spider-man offered to pay for one. 

“While I was waiting for my phone to charge Delmar was telling Spider-man that he was looking for a part-time employee, as his son who used to help him out was off to college in New Jersey. I mentioned that I was looking for work, but Delmar was hesitant about taking me in. For some reason Spider-man vouched for me, and because Delmar is a Spider-man fanboy he agreed to consider me. Next week I got a call from Delmar asking if I’d like to take on the job and I said yes.”

As you wrap up your tale, May was still watching you, seemingly fascinated by it. Peter, on the other hand, had resumed eating, but his expression had changed into a serious one.    

“Now that I think about it, I never paid him back for the charger,” you say without thinking. 

“Well, Pete here knows Spider-man,” May informs you, making Peter choke on the larb he was currently chewing on. 

“Y-yes, I am aware of this,” you say with a forced smile, “Everyone in our school knows about that.”

“Well, maybe Peter can help you out with paying him back, if you want,” she suggests. This makes your eyes perk up in hope. Maybe your initial mission will be finished sooner than you thought! You were just about to express your willingness for this, but Peter jumps into the conversation,

“I-I think Spider-man doesn’t care if you paid him back or not,” he says, still recovering from his sudden choking, “He was just happy to help you out. A-also he’s been really busy lately, so it’s been hard for me to get into contact with him.” Damn it! You hiss internally. You try your best to hide your disappointment, but May seemed to have caught onto it.

“Well, maybe next time you run into him!” May reassures you, but you highly doubt this. For a moment you thought you were going to be ten steps ahead, and now you felt like you were all the way back to the start. For the remainder of dinner, May carried on with talking, while both you and Peter continued to silently eat your food.  

-

 After the three of you finished up dinner, May offered that she drive you home, but you politely declined and said that you’d just walk to your bus stop. So then she offered that her and Peter escort you to your stop and see you off safely. Once all of you reached it, you turned to her and Peter, pulling your backpack strap higher to your shoulder and said,

“Thank you for taking me out for dinner. And for walking me here. I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, no problem, dear!” May exclaims as she takes your hand and clasps it between hers, “I’m just so happy I finally got to meet you!” You give her a shy smile, still taken aback by her kindness but appreciative of it. You turn to Peter, who met your eyes as he was fiddling with his hands uncomfortably.

“Um…thanks for today,” you say to him, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“U-uh, yeah,” he nods, “Get home safely.” You nod in response, and luckily just in time your bus pulls into the stop, freeing you from this delicate air.

“Please text Peter when you are home, okay dear?” May asks you as you make your way to the bus. 

“I will, ma’am!” you assure her, and then hop onto the vehicle, making yourself comfortable as you head for home. As May and Peter watch your bus drive off, she comments,

“(Y/N) is just how you described them to me. Definitely a shy clam, but they seem like a good kid.”

“Yeah.” Peter responds, his eyes still watching the bus disappear into traffic.

“Are you ever going to tell them?” she asks, looking down at her nephew

“I don’t know,”    he admits, frowning, “Honestly, I’m afraid of what will happen when they find out.”

----

Grace is based off of Chinese pop idol FeiFei Zhong

Frankie is based off of American actor Ian Alexander

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: July 2020

……….FILM……….

Palm Springs (2020) I feel like there was a big marketing push for this movie at the start of the month and it totally worked. All the good buzz and fun artwork I saw relating to this was perfect and it was a fun time at the movies...at home.

Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) It’s been yeeeeears since I last watched this and it turns out I remembered next to nothing. The worldbuilding was fantastic and while I still can’t piece together how the aging/curse on Sophie, it just feels that much more magical. Absolutely going to pick up the book to see if I can get a more in-depth narrative.

……….TELEVISION……….

What We Do In The Shadows (Episode 2.01 to 2.04) Hot dang this is continues to be a great series! I really hope Nadja’s doll sticks around for the whole season (or the rest of time) and it’s all just so fun!

Mad Men (Episode 4.07 to 4.11) Knowing there are 7 seasons really makes me feel like we’re in the middle of act 2. Things are getting real low for Don and I’m still baffled at the idea that anyone sees him as a role model/inspiration. It’s feeling bleak and I hope season 5 starts to point upwards again (not for Don but for everyone else).

Dear White People (Episode 1.01 to 2.10) So good! I don’t want to give too much away but what’s started out as a drama/comedy seems to be evolving into something else and I ready for it! I hope season 3 and 4 expand on what I hope it’s building.

……….READING……….

Forever and a Day by Anthony Hororwitz (Complete) A really fun Bond prequel and I think this is going to start me off on reading the original Fleming novels! Filled with all the best tropes from the movies (and maybe the books? Time will tell) and it was such a light and fun read. It was the perfect birthday gift as I needed a beach read.

Dracula by Bram Stoker (Complete) The pacing of this book is a good example of why I tend to prefer modern takes instead of the classics themselves. I appreciate what this book contributed to our collective consciousness, but the back drastically reduces the amount of vampire content in favour of Mina’s deteriorating health, the hunting party discussing their plans, and recounting an extensive travelogue. 

The Haunted Mansion: Imagineering a Classic by Jason Surrell (Complete) I’ve always loved this ride so I was hoping to learn more about what’s happening with each illusion and effect. While I got sooooome of that, they clearly held back a bunch of secrets and I suppose I understand why. With that said, the history of the original ride’s development was super interesting! Same goes for how the attraction has evolved over the years and when moving to other parks.

Delicious In Dungeon Vol. 8 by Ryoko Kui (Complete) Everything about this series, from the world to the characters, strikes a perfect balance (for me) between familiar and new. The monsters are typically based off of well-established mythology, but there’s usually enough of a twist that it feels more unique to this world. It’s excellent. And the same goes for the characters; at first glance they may look like simple tropes but the series consistently breaks them down or adds depth to inform why a character acts a certain way. Please go read this series.

Fun With Milk and Cheese by Evan Dorkin (Complete) This has the sort of confidence and frantic energy that it could only come out of the late nineties. Some of the stories work better than others, but I think that’s just my own taste.

Dragonball 3-in-1 Volume 1 by Akira Toriyama (Complete) Decided to return and reread this series and I always forget how jarring some of the early stuff is (mostly around gender and Bulma)...I know it’s likely cultural or a product of being over 30 years old, so I won’t fault it too much.

The Perry Bible Fellowship Almanack by Nicholas Gurwitch (Complete) It’d been years since I’d read through most (if not all) of the PBF comics and I appreciate the variety of style even more now. Despite each comic being illustrated in a way that suits the narrative/joke/premise, it all still feels cohesive. It’s something I need to remind myself as I question if any of my own work is unified by anything. Also the insight into the abandoned and forgotten comics at the back of the book were so interesting to read! I love seeing how other creatives think.

The Mushroom Fan Club by Elise Gravel (Complete) Very cute all-ages introduction to mushrooms! Illustrations are so fun and personable and it really encourages outdoor adventuring and wandering around in the woods (safely), so that gets an A+ from me.

Death Wins a Goldfish by Brian Rea (Complete) A wonderfully charming book about Death on vacation. The art is breezy and the light text was surprisingly funny. It was a good reminder to kinda just take a break and recharge, you know?

……….AUDIO……….

Cuz I Love You by Lizzo (2019) After hearing Juice on a friend’s birthday playlist, I couldn’t NOT check this album out. It took me about three listens to really get into and it’s all great.

Bastionland Podcast - Tabletop Roleplaying Game Design (Podcast) If you’re interested in what goes on behind the curtain of game design (specifically tabletop role-playing games, but I think the principles and takeaways are fairly universal) then check this out.

……….GAMING……….

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) The party has recovered a Mermaid’s prize coat and have a few other goals on the go, but most pressing is the weapon (an umbrella) of a Lich that they need to destroy in the lava flow of Neverland’s mountains (very Lord of the Rings). Also I’ve been doing more detailed write-ups on Reddit, if you’re into that sort of thing.

D&D Homebrew Adventure (Menace of Merlin) The group spent a session saying farewell to their undead minion (a yeti named Norm); role-playing games are fun.

And that’s it! As always, please feel free to send any recommendations my way and happy Friday!

[tempest2k]

[PAGES /2 - /84]

So, Vast Error, huh? I’m finally getting around to this thing after being aware of it for many, many years. For a long time I intended to get around to reading it, but it never seemed to happen. For last year I’ve actually been kind of avoiding it for unspecified reasons, but I’m finally ready to give it a shot, and I’m so glad I did. So far, I’m really enjoying myself. I’ve written quite a few notes, so let’s try to convert them into something professional before I pass out at my desk for the night.

Vast Error starts off as any typical fanventure would: an “enter name” gag, and an outline of our protagonist’s interests. Nothing really out of the ordinary. Wriggling days are unsignificant, and the 22nd bi-lunar perigee of the dark season's 3rd blink seems to be Arcjec’s. Oh right, his name is Arcjec Voorat. Moving on. We can tell from the Mountain Dew Code Red cans around the room that he appears to be the Repitonian equivalent of an alcoholic, assuming soda and alcohol have the same parallel on Repiton as on Alternia. So far I have no real way of knowing, but it’s safe to assume I could be wrong here. Just an interesting detail I noticed, because it makes Arcjec out to be even more of a supposed loser than he is already established to be (which I assume is the point, I don’t find his character uncompelling due to these traits).

Skorpe is a pretty obvious take on Skype, which immediately dates this comic to having started back when people still used Skype. I feel so fucking old saying that. Damn. Arcjec’s handle is animatedHumorist, which is funny because this guy seems to not be very animated unless he’s falling out a window. XDXD Also, his quirk is cringe. XDXD

On the subject of windows, some asshole throws a pebble at his. Following is a REALLY nice scrolling panel on page /28. I never get used to smooth scrolling in this art style, but I always absolutely adore it. Even early on, the tech on panels seems to be ahead of what I can imagine was its competition. Arcjec feels pretty certain he’s going to fucking die, so as all brave warriors do, he goes to hide under his desk. Unfortunately his plan is foiled when some asshole messages him. “Blue guy”, or windlessArtificer seems to want Arcjec to play a game, a trope all too common to fanvetures. We need you in the gaaaaame Arcjec. But of course he says no, as his life is in a bit of immediate danger.

It’s at this time I’d like to point out that Skorpe is a horrifying program, and I made a joke about it wanting to kill me in my notes so... maybe there’s something there. I don’t know. Let’s go back to windows, that was a fun subject.

Whoops.

Arcjec falls out of the window, and we move on to a different character. Before we do, though, we get some interesting prose here. It seems to imply that Repiton used to be a different place, or at least that Arcjec used to be in a much different situation. I’m curious how exactly Repiton was different, but it’s not as though there are a lot of clues. Perhaps the violent injustice used to be more comparable to Beforus’ civilization, rather than what appears to be a clear parallel to Alternia? I’m not really sure. Let’s be another character already. Not the blue guy though, because apparently he’s too good for us.

But there’s nothing to worry about apparently, because it’s clown time. I’m sure the audience is ecstatic, but please calm down. I haven’t even hit post yet. I haven’t even pasted the image in yet!

Ok, now you can lose your minds clapping.

That is, if clowns and wrestling are your sort of thing. This is Taz. No full name included here, but that’s alright. Another standard intro plays out, though this time more aggressive. The Merthful Messiahs we’re all so used to from Homestuck seem to be replaced by the much more present and violent Merthamaniacs. This appears to just be Repitonian wrestling, turned into a religion, complete with the violence and death provided by troll societies. Also Hulk Hogan is the twin-president usurper-equivalent on Repiton, I think. I understand what happened, I’m just not sure how to phrase it.

Not a whole lot happens here, though something very noteworthy is that the ocean is totally fucked up. Is this what that prose from earlier was referring to? The oceans are so poisoned and radioactive, that all sealife has become incredibly hostile and cannibalistic. Trolls have naturally evolved to avoid water at all costs. That’s like... a lot of worldbuilding to just casually drop? But I assume it’s going to come in handy for keeping our protagonists from cheesing their way out of predicaments.

I had some notes regarding the ferocity waver and Taz’s Skorpe handle, preniciousOverkill, but I don’t really have anything to say about the subjects. I also wrote “the clown wants to kill me, it’s like Skorpe all over again” in my notes, so if there’s any kind of running joke that would work here, please let me know.

Oh hey, a new Skorpelog. This time it’s with Murrit. I know I haven’t been introduced to him yet, but I’ve known three characters in Vast Error long before I ever started reading: Arcjec, Ellsee, and Murrit. Murrit seems pretty fun. I like how he just seems to streamroll the conversation into his favor. He also talks about that pesky game we heard about before. I smell a SBURB session, but maybe not a SBURB session because honestly anything could happen here. These tropes are all being set up, but will they be subverted? Who knows. Well, you might, if you’re reading this. Is Austin reading this? Hey Austin, how’s it going? Oh shit, sorry, no time to chat, I’ve gotta get back to this blog post.

Cool shot of Murrit. Not much to say here. The fish stuff I mentioned before is actually brought up AFTER this conversation, I kinda fucked up. Anyway, Murrit mentions something about an informant, and based on what little I know about this comic, I’m going to assume it’s the guy we see in a couple pages. Or in this case, the very next section.

Fuck is up with this dude? On the very first sound page, we see Arcjec have some kind of dream about this guy who I’m assuming is Murrit’s mentioned informant. When he wakes up, the narration says it happened “again”, implying skull guy is a regular cast member of Arcjec’s dreams. I don’t have much in the way of wrapping things up, so I’ll end with a random theory I just thought of. Is this guy related to why Repiton’s changed, assuming that’s what the prose meant? Does this guy know a guy who was responsible? Who’s to say?

This has been fun, but it’s 1:30am, and I need to get some sleep. Catch you next time.

[cherry3point14]

Stranger Than Fanfiction: Ch 3

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Dean x Reader Warnings: Meta baby. Pure meta. Word count: 2,100. Chapter Summary: Your google search turns up something unexpected. A/N: No author in this one for... reasons. Also this one is kind of short and lame. A means to an end if you will, but trust me, Ch 4 is a doozy. P.S it’s nearly 3am so Chapter 4 will be up when I wake up, ya dig.

Ao3 if you prefer

It’s almost funny how dramatic the voice in your head wants to be about those suited criminals and yet it doesn’t care to elaborate on anything important. Like, say, your imminent death. The mention of it was so casual, calm, but a couple of weirdos want to pretend to be insurance adjusters and suddenly it’s all pretty prose and run-on sentences. Flowery language about broad-shouldered men in roaring muscle cars that are going to change your life. She’d kept going while you’d interviewed Maggie Hall. She’d harped on and on about how you couldn’t stop thinking about them.

Of course, you couldn’t stop thinking about them, she wouldn’t shut up about them.

After an entire monologue about the way the paper felt in your hands and could never be replaced by computers—purists are the worst—you finally get to leave. That's when you get some respite. You’re walking out into the late afternoon sun and thanking Maggie for her time and it's bliss. Maggie's story sounds a little off, after years doing this you have this gut instinct for when you should investigate further. Funnily enough, you have drama in your life that you’ll submit a valid claim anyway. Just so you can get this cursed case out of your hair. You might even hurry it through the system before the thing has the chance to kill you.

You’re still not sure how a case could kill you. You’re a pencil pusher at best and the interview with Maggie is an excellent example of the majority of your fieldwork, obviously excluding the criminals at the start. Unless your demise is death by papercut.

For now, you’ve given up trying to fathom out the voice you’re hearing, especially since she's chosen to once again go radio silent. If she won’t say anything useful, like say how not to die, then you were going to have to figure out how to skip ahead on your own. Since she kept talking about the imposters you’d met that day, they seemed to be an excellent place to start.

CNK 80Q3. Ohio plates. That's as much as you know without google.

That evening you set yourself up in the same way you would to work from home. There's a desk in the corner of your dining room with a chair that offers enough lumbar support for the longest of research sessions. Although it’s your personal laptop and there’s not normally a large glass of wine sitting next to you when work.

After it powers on you’re assaulted by the usual pop-ups; windows you forgot to close last time and your emails. Procrastinating is not a new routine, and you’re on a mission, so they all get minimized instead of closed completely. Then you open a new browser window and a stark google homepage stares back at you. A hopeful new beginning.

CNK 80Q3. You’re genuinely surprised that she hasn’t started talking again to describe the change in the air as you type in the plate number. Or some drivel about the way your fingers emphasize each letter and number. It’s all there happening anyway, making the moment foreboding, but your narrator doesn’t seem care.

The first row of results are images. Weirdly its images of the license plate itself. That doesn't strike you as odd at first glance and then you think about it a little more. Why are there so many pictures of this particular license plate? Who is running around taking these pictures? You're pretty sure if you typed in your own plate number there would be no pictures of it. And then you see some shopping results where you can actually buy the plate. While the online shops might explain the images, it only really poses more questions. Why are so many people buying that license plate? What’s so special about it?

You take a sip of your wine before you scroll further, savoring the taste as well as the way it relaxes your shoulders. You don't own any 'fun' novelty coasters that say it but you're inclined to agree with the statement you've heard before. Wine really does make everything better.

You’re not yet into the murky depths of page 2 but you’re far enough down the page now to make it past the sponsored results. These links come thick and fast from websites that all seem to have one word in common. Supernatural.

Then you see your salvation. A page called Supernaturalwiki—the link is simply titled: Impala—and you stop scrolling, a grateful sound slipping past your lips as you do. Wiki, you know that word. Like Wikipedia. Wikipedia has references and moderators', clear and concise explanations. This was the easy way out you were looking for.

That’s what you hope as you click on the link anyway. Your naivety lasts all of twenty seconds before the page loads. With its stock image of a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and a quote about it being the most important object in the universe.

Or it's the most important object in some books at least.

Further clicking and longer sips of wine reveal it’s a series of books called Supernatural—with the title of the wiki you should have seen that coming. These were story after story of ghosts and demons and angels? There are pages that describe monsters, urban legends, and two men. Sam and Dean Winchester. They each have dedicated pages with their whole lives mapped out.

Sam and Dean are fictional brothers and apparently the heroes. Each of their respective profiles begins with an illustrated image from book covers, and then a series of quotes that contradict those pictures. Then their lives are intricately detailed, or should you say they are chronologically recorded according to each book. You would read their histories in full if it wasn't for how tiny the scroll bar is, indicating that these profile pages are ridiculously long.

You sit back in your chair and take a deep breath in the hopes of it being soothing. Or answering all your questions. It does neither. You have no answers and more stress.

This went beyond two men pretending to do your job now. Those guys were driving around in a car with fictional license plates. What was this? Some weirdly immersive cosplay? Was that something Sam and Dean did in the books?

Even so, those two guys weren’t roleplaying at comic con, they were actually in that woman's home. If you hadn't arrived they could have done anything. They could be doing anything now.

There's a ding from the kitchen which means the frozen meal you’d thrown in the oven is ready. Not that you stop thinking about this while you go and grab it because the more you think the less sense everything makes. Like why is a narrator who, until now, was obsessed with those guys, so very silent all of a sudden?

Back at your desk with hot food, you head back to google to see if you can buy these books anywhere because knowledge is power. Unfortunately, not even Amazon has copies. It’s only when you add the term “ebook” to your search do you find a Tumblr blog with links to download all the files, split into two categories. Published and unpublished. There are a lot of Supernatural books and from the looks of it there’s an equal amount of drama over how the unpublished ones got out.

You start downloading them without consciously making a decision to read them. Downloading kind of happens because your macaroni cheese is too hot for your mouth to handle yet, and your hands still need something to do. Besides you didn’t necessarily need to read all of them, if they were truly terrible you’d delete the files. No harm, no foul. But if this was the only way to get answers then you and your kindle were going to be pretty busy this weekend.

“Morning Laura.” Nobody likes Mondays, yet you have a little bounce in your step having made your usual green tea, got dressed, and driven to work in complete and utter silence. In fact, you’d heard nothing all weekend. The caveat was that, yes, you’d spent all weekend reading those books.

You liked reading and without discrimination. Trashy romance novels at the airport? You betcha. Fantasy books thicker than your mattress? Sure thing, order a pizza. But a mystery? Well, those were your favorite. Of course, the detective needed some sort of sketchy backstory and there had to be a fishy amount of red herrings. Most importantly there had to be something to solve. It was an elevation of your day to day life and you always get sucked in. In your job, you try to solve the most benign mysteries; people faking insurance claims. More often than not there isn’t even a mystery to solve, someone really did slip and break something. So, a mystery that grabs you out of nowhere is like a promotion for you, a challenge.

That had been how those Supernatural books had dragged you in. Ghosts and ghouls you could take or leave, you might have stopped reading if that’s all there was. Then this Carver Edlund went and put in that damn side plot about their missing father. It was too enticing, addicting. From the cryptic disappearance to the indecipherable journal of clues. John Winchester would be the death of you.

Or case 24-01 would be. The jury was still out on that.

And now it’s Monday. You’ve heard nothing more from the voice in your head—it may have been a low-level case of carbon monoxide poisoning—and the boys are so close to figuring everything out you can taste it. Technically they know John is alive by now, you finished Shadow some point yesterday afternoon and felt yourself choke up at the emotional goodbye with a father they just got back. But they still have no clue what he's up to, which is a hideous funhouse mirror reflection of your own life. Hopefully, by the time they figure out John’s game plan, you'll have your life figured out too. And fingers crossed figuring everything out will involve staying alive as well.

“You look like you’re feeling better this morning.” Laura is her perky self, always a little too happy for this side of 9am.

Oh right, you went home sick on Friday. You should remember things like that. “I think it was a bug or something I ate maybe.”

“Sure, sure. One of those convenient Friday bugs.” She winks at you.

If she accused you of that say, last week, you’d have laughed it off given that's a thing everyone has in common; trying to skip out on work. So, that's what you try to do this side of the weekend. You push out something that hopefully resembles a regular person's laugh like you’re in on the joke. You have to fake it because you’re still thinking about Providence. The book you’d finished that morning instead of watching the news. You’re still wondering if Sam is starting to move on after Jessica. 

Needless to say, you understand now. The many fan blogs and the artwork you’d glanced at before you started reading. All those things that you’d disregarded as an unhealthy fascination for a bunch of books. Now you’re one of them, obsessed. Walking into the office with your kindle tucked in your bag and Salvation just begging to be read.

This goes beyond finding John. That plot got its hooks in you but you’ve known John was alive since Home and you’re still reading. You could also blame this on your general love of reading except it goes beyond that too. Honestly, it’s hard to pick one thing. They’re really great books. Sam and Dean have such turbulent lives but they still have each other. They’re snarky, lost, angry, and caring. They’re both so different but the sibling relationship is so real. And the stories go beyond a new monster every book, there are these huge interesting story arcs that you couldn't stop reading if you tried. John Winchester had been the first example of these addictive plot points, but not the only one.

“Y/N?”

You snap your head up, “sorry, sorry.”

“I was only saying you’re going to be here all day then, lunch?”

Even though Laura must see the decision on your face she still pretends to hope until you start speaking. “Actually I have a lot to catch up on so I’ll probably be working through. Tomorrow?”

She smiles brightly and nods, “sure thing.”

As bad as you feel about lying to Laura she has presented you an opportunity. Everyone thinks you were sick on Friday. They even think you're behind on your work and they don’t know you’ve already conducted the initial interview. Which makes your decision to sit at your desk and prop your kindle up next to your screen even easier. Nobody would notice the difference between you concentrating or reading. If you skip lunch you might be able to get to Bloodlust out of the way too.

Continue to Chapter 4.

5eva tags: @divadinag @darthdeziewok @fluentinfiction @witch-of-letters @supernatural-teamfreewillpage @magnitude101999 @alexwinchester23  Dean babes: @thewinchesterchronicles @akshi8278​ @bloodydaydreamer StrangerThanFiction tags: @jaylarkson

[kainetestament]

Falcon and Winter Soldier Episode 1 and 2 breakdown.

My oh My, Marvel is really giving us some sort of like a reality check in here. They added twists here that our current society are facing to hopefully “probably” teach us about our humanity as an individual.

In Episode 1, the series started out with Sam being on a mission in Tunisian Airspace to save Captain Vassant, who is now help hostage by LAF, there’s no reference to LAF in the comic, but here in MCU – it is describe as a criminal organization who is taking advantage of the commotion of the reverse blip in order to make profit. And here, Batroc makes his appearance once again after his first appearance in Captain America and Winter Soldier. Just a quick fact, Georges Batroc is portrayed by Georges St-Pierre, who not only shares his first name, but St-Pierre is a MMA Champion with a record of 28 matches of 26 wins and 2 losses, *woooot*, no wonder his moves are so fluid.

Moving on, Sam is now in Washington giving his speech as he surrenders Captain America’s shield, in which he believed will be put in the museum in honor and respect for Steve Rogers, but little did her know, there was a conspiracy behind it (which we’ll discuss later). James Rhodes still tried to talk some sense out of him, but Sam’s always reply with “It feels like it belongs to someone else. That someone else is Steve.” But let’s try to pay attention to what Rhodey say’s to him back.

World’s a crazy place right now. People are… Well, nobody’s stable. Allies are now enemies. Alliances are all torn apart. The world’s broken. Everybody is just looking for somebody to fix it.

It makes me think that Rhodey is specifically referring to Wanda when he said nobody is stable, not the people of the world specifically, because when we speak to someone, we know that everyone else are experiencing hardship, but we will always use someone as an example for the conversation, but on this case, they avoided referencing Wanda directly. Also the series takes place “months after the blip”, we don’t have the exact timeline yet, but we do know it takes place after WandaVision (two months earliest) and before Spider-Man Far From Home. So Rhodey receiving a report of Wanda’s actions, and Vision’s revival and Westview rampage is not impossible. The “Allies are now enemies. Alliances are all torn apart.” reference can have double meaning, considering what they did in WandaVision where they made the audience feel there’s more to that statement. But this can be an easter egg to Dr. Strange where they use the same tagged line for the movie prep while the alliances could referring to Avengers itself (though it already is, but they still considered that HQ as their home till Thanos destroyed it), S.H.I.E.L.D (we know this is not the same SHIELD of Nick Fury as he is now in space as hinted in SM:FFH), S.W.O.R.D (with Hayward abusing his authorities), and possibly the Sokovia Accords because of what Wanda and Vision did in Westview. But as I said, because of what Marvel did in WandaVision, in the end , they could probably just dismiss it as some government related stuff.

We now have Barnes who is reliving in his nightmares of the killing. Plate Number 10872 FQ is a reference to Marvel Comics called Introducing the New Captain America and Bucky that was publish in October 1987, where John Walker is now the new Captain America as shown at the end of the episode. Other think I actually like about Bucky’s therapy session was when the doctor asked for his phone, he is using a flip phone, not just any flip phones, looks like a AT&T Cingular Flip 2 (I guess it pays off learning about phones because I used to work for them, ahahaha), and since its year 2023-24 in this timeline, it’s quite fun to see this small detail done so perfectly because AT&T no longer service 2G signals since January 2017 (if I remember it correctly), to give way into 5G services. Anyway, this attention to detail about Bucky using a 4G flip phone is pretty amazing. And how am I guessing this is an AT&T phone? Well, in Infinity War, the phone Steve gave Tony is also another AT&T Flip Phone which I think is a Z223 (a 3G flip phone – not to be confused with Z222 which is a 2G version and both phones look identical). It’s quite funny actually that AT&T, who is the parent company of WarnerMedia (WB who owns DC) is very present here.

Then now we see Sam going back to his family whom he hasn’t visited for quite some time. Here he sees the struggle of his sister, and tried to offer his help. We can probably assume as per his behavior that when they go to the bank, their loan request will be approve because of his affiliations of saving the world and for being the Falcon, but reality check slapped him hard, the guy didn’t even bother listening to their plans and straight out denied their loan application – which was made clear in Episode 2 as to what the problem could actually be.

We now also see Bucky answering the set-up date Yori made for him with the woman name Leah, who works as a waitress at the Japanese Bar/Restaurant called Izzy. As their conversation proceeded, Bucky ran away to find Yori under the pretense of owing him his lunch, when in reality, it was his guilt of killing his son who became witness of his assassination.

Episode 1 ends by introducing the new Captain America, holding the shield Sam surrendered in the museum.

Episode 2 started with John Walker visiting his Alma Mater, Custer’s Grove High School. His full introduction even played Captain America’s theme song only re-arrange to match modern era. During his interview for GMA, he mentions that “I’m not Tony Stark, I’m not Doctor Banner, okay? I don’t have the flashiest gadgets, I don’t have super strength. But what I do have is guts.” Mentioning these lines could probably a way of him to get the sympathy of the people, by saying I’m not Tony Stark is like an indication that he doesn’t have the money, brains (to invent), or Iron Man suit that can make him powerful. By saying he’s not Doctor Banner, who have seven PhD’s and can transform himself into the Hulk, and debatable as the strongest Avenger, he can make almost like an assurance to the people that as an ordinary human, he have the guts to fight to the best of his abilities.

Bucky who is watching the whole interview, have a smirk on his face for disbelief and disappointment that his best friend’s shield is now in the hands of a wanna be. It then cuts to Sam who is also in disbelief that everywhere he go, he is seeing the face an unfamiliar guy wielding the shield that Cap gave him. He got ambushed by Bucky to told him he shouldn’t have surrendered the shield to which Sam replied “No, of course I didn’t know that was gonna happen. You think it didn’t break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?” – which I believe is his wholehearted feeling as he was cheated and betrayed by the government. But let us also pay attention to what Sam said after Bucky told him “This isn’t what Steve want.”

Oh my God. So what do you want me to do? Call America and tell ‘em I change my mind?

It��s easy to assume that the government and him probably had a conversation about becoming the new Captain America, but more than likely he declined, that’s why in Episode 1, Rhodey told him “I see you’re gonna make me ask. Why didn’t you take up the mantle?” Well, it’s probably more complex than his “It feels like it belongs to someone else.” –but we’ll talk about it in a bit.

I find it really funny about Bucky jumping off the plane feeling nervous, yelling even. I think the purpose of the director and writers are doing this is basically to give Bucky the opportunity or making the audiences feel that, even though he was an emotionless, robotic-like assassin, he can change and by including the rules his therapist gave him, can help him gain his humanity back.  

1.    Can’t do anything illegal.

2.    Nobody gets hurt.

3.    Unspoken (probably to introduce himself not as the Winter Soldier but Bucky Barnes or just simply smile). Dr Raynor only says that “The whole point of making amends is to fulfill rule number three.”

Also I really just wanna guess who those under 10 contact numbers are. We are sure its Dr. Rayner and Sam, I’m guessing it also has Steve’s old number, I wanna guess T’Challa too, so that’s four of them. Hmmmm, can’t really think of anybody else.

By the way, the SMILING thing. Right now, Bucky’s smiling is so unnatural, but even so, if he keeps on doing it, one day, he can smile naturally. And now we can also see him showing another kind of emotion, NERVOUSNESS – when he was about to jump down the plan. I'm pretty sure if he is his former Winter Soldier, he won’t even feel the slightest nervousness jumping off the plane, let alone landing gracefully, in contrast to here where he landed, let’s admit it, quite shamefully, even Torres will surely agree with me here. Then there's also the AGGRAVATION towards the new Captain America because of the shield. And the most important part of his humanity that’s resurfacing is his GUILT or CONSCIENCE, where his nightmare and Yori’s presence speaks very loudly.

While Bucky is stealthily walking, Sam references him as a White Panther, which is basically him being Caucasian and came back from his like rehabilitation in Wakanda, he has become like opposite of T’Challa’s Black Panther. And now Bucky corrects him by saying his new moniker is now White Wolf, a name that T’Challa bestowed on him (if not referred only).

Now for the action part, we get to witness once more Bucky’s Super Soldier ability by seeing how he outruns the second truck and catch up with the first truck, and these are 14-wheeler trucks (they’re scary in real life ahaha). Anyway, the battle began after the suspected hostage turns out to the head of the group, threw Bucky onto the windshield of the second truck, then pulled up by the other two members on top of the truck and John Walker and Lamar Hoskins joining them after.

I’m pretty sure STACKIE fans out there went nuts with a bit of that fan-service they did, when Falcon dive under the first truck on the way to the second truck to save Bucky, but I think the wings got caught on the ground making Sam loose his balance that’s why they went rollin’ on the yellow flower field – which looks like either chrysanthemum or daisy, which is in flower language, Yellow Daisy means a good friend while Yellow Chrysanthemum can mean neglect of love or sorrow. It actually looks more like daisy, it’s just that the leaves kind of looks like chrysanthemum… I could be wrong, but if it is daisy, then putting a yellow daisy here will be could actually mean that a good friendship is about to start and the chrysanthemum could mean their sorrow stemming from Steve and living up to his expectations.

We now have Bucky and Sam being invited by John and Lamar to ride with them on their jeep stating that it’s about 20miles to the airport and they need a ride. After joining them on the jeep, we now can see finally having a proper conversation. But we can see that Sam actually have to asked them twice about what are they doing there, they have successfully avoided the first time by stating that they checked their location thru Red Wing and on the second time, Lemar responded with “Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable.” Then John followed it with “Yeah, violent revolutionaries aren’t usually good for anyone’s cause.” –which from my understanding, still doesn’t answer Sam’s question, that why Sam sarcastically responded with “Usually said by the people with the resources.” Then now John offered the two to join them, in which Bucky frankly declined, the Lemar tried to rub salt on their wound by saying their asses were getting kicked till they show up, that starts to tick off Bucky, until he mentions he’s called Battlestar, which pissed Bucky off even further. I’m not really sure why he got pissed after hearing that, but I’m guessing (yes, guessing, meaning I'm not sure) that the reason he got pissed was because Lemar have a hero name, pretty much like Bucky being the Winter Soldier/White Wolf and Sam being the Falcon, and of course Steve being the true Captain America, Bucky probably felt insulted that not only America made a new Captain America, they even gave him a side kick with a hero name.

Bucky got off the jeep first then John apologizing to Sam by saying he’s not Steve and is not trying be like him, but trying to be a Captain America in his own way. Sam left the jeep as well after he felt insulted when John wanted Sam and Bucky, who are Steve’s best friend and partners, to be his wingmen. John clearly have no idea of what their relationship really is and calling them Steve’s wingmen rather than Steve’s friend or partner, but he used wingmen, that John interprets as they are just someone that supports Steve, he’s clearly belittling them, that’s why Sam scoffs and responded with “It’s always that last line.”

We now see the Flagsmashers arriving on a place of one their group’s supporters to get some rest. Their leader Karli received a text message saying “You took what’s mine. I’m going to find you and kill you.” –which I think is a message from John Walker. Because in the comics, John became like a super soldier from Powerbroker, and in here, we can probably theorized that the real reason he is in Munich is to get his hand on the serum but Karli stole it from him before he could get his hands on it.

We now have Sam and Bucky on military plane and Bucky telling Sam that they should take the shield back, in which Sam told they can’t do it just like that cause the last time they did (also in Germany), Sharon – Peggy’s niece who was also a CIA, helped Steve and Sam get their weapons back (shield and wings before the airport battle in Civil War), then they went on hiding until Thanos came, and Bucky was taken in by T’Challa to cure him at Wakanda. Sharon was punished for her actions, and she will be making her appearance any time soon since the ED also have her picture included but her name is not yet present since she hasn’t made any appearance yet.

Bucky brought Sam to Baltimore, MD to meet the Black Super Soldier, Isaiah Bradley. As they walk thru the neighborhood on the way to Isaiah’s house , looks like the show have already hinted what’s about to come in the future. The kid upon being introduced called Sam the Black Falcon, instead of just simply the Falcon. Sam played with the kid by asking him “Is it because I’m black and I'm the Falcon?” and the kid confusedly replied with “Well, technically, I mean, yes.” Then Sam playfully responded with “So are you, like, Black kid?” and they started laughing it off. But if you look at it from a different perspective, it is kind of like the premonition, because within their conversation, it can only be done by them, because if a white person actually say that phrase? I’m pretty sure, that laugh in the end will not be present. There’s more to it but I’ll discuss it after.

Sam and Bucky arrived at Isaiah’s house, and Bucky introduced him to Sam by saying “He was a hero. One of the ones that HYDRA feared the most, like Steve.” As their conversation proceeded, Isaiah explained that others like him that were sent in Goyang never came back, so the military sent him to deal with Bucky and he won that battle. But instead of being celebrated as a hero, the military or government decided to brand him and put him in jail for 30 years. I’m not gonna use his comic s counterpart since MCU have their own story retelling. But as I mentioned before, it’s a premonition.

Then Bucky and Sam left the house and Sam feeling a bit frustrated due to disbelief that other than Bucky and Steve, there’s another Super Soldier still alive for decades. Then here comes a bit of reality check in America. A patrolling police catches them having an argument. Soon after, the police asked for Sam’s ID but didn’t asked for Bucky’s but instead asked Bucky if this man is bothering him. Now this is actually quite a very, very good reality check and I applaud the Malcolm Spellman and Kari Skogland for putting this kind of a wakeup call here. These scene or event is very powerful and it mirrors the reality of the black community experiencing the racial profiling from the police brutality in America. We can also see the house behind Sam that says STOP THE VIOLENCE, then on board beside it reads words like, HEAL THE SICK, STOP KILLING, PLANT A SEED, LOVE, TRUST. It was not until Bucky dropped the hint by saying “Do you know who this is?” and one of the police recognizing them as the Avengers and the police stared at Sam for bit and realized its Sam Wilson aka the Falcon and started apologizing by saying he didn’t recognized him since he isn’t wearing his goggles. With the police instead of just letting it go, still tried to look for a loophole, but sadly the loophole is not with Sam, but with Bucky, who missed his therapy session because of going with Sam on Munich then to Baltimore.

We now see Bucky being released thru John Walker’s authority and Dr. Raynor summoning both of them for a therapy session. The scene started out quite funny but later on, it hit hard again. Dr. Raynor asked Bucky why Sam aggravates him.

Bucky: Why did you gave up that shield?

Sam: Why are you making such a big deal out of something that has nothing to do with you?

Bucky: Steve believed in you. He trusted you. He gave you that shield for a reason. That shield, that is… that is everything he stood for. That is his legacy. He gave you that shield, and you threw it away like it was nothing.

Sam: Shut up.

Bucky: … So maybe he was wrong about you. And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me.

Sam: You finished?

Bucky: Yeah.

Sam: All right, good. Maybe this is something you or Steve will never understand. But can you accept that I did what I thought was right?

         We can now also see that before Bucky leaves, it dropped yet another hint of what’s about to happen by asking his doctor, “What was rule number two again?” which is more likely will be broken and even Dr Raynor acknowledges that it will.

         I’ll skip John Walker scene, and now we have Karli loadingthe plane with their Super Soldier serum supply. When a member of Flagsmashers stay behind to delay the Power Broker’s, one of Power Broker’s men who is seen wearing a bullet proof vest was seen talking over the phone saying “They got away.” whom I think he’s reporting to John Walker.

         Now let jump back with Sam and Bucky. Sam asked Bucky what he’s thinking, Bucky responded with “When Isaiah said my people”… Sam understood that when he said “my people” – meaning white people that’s why Sam said “Oh, don’t take it to heart. That’s not what he meant.” To which Bucky corrected him saying “No, he meant HYDRA. HYDRA used to be my people.” And now they are off to see Zemo and now we see Zemo inside his cell.

 Pheewwwwww, that’s a long post… ahahaha, see you on the next one, still working with Snyder Cut but im still considering of I should post it or not, after all, so many groups out there already made a video and article out it…but we’ll see…

[evil-overlord-scriptology]

Dating My Brother’s Archenemy Pt. 2 (ARCHIVED)

CrAzYArtist: Party? Like full out high school party? Drinking and drugs and everything? O.o I didn't know you were into that...

 GreenThumb: Yeah... and my sister is making me go. But it'd give us a chance to hang out.

 MonKeybiz: I'm for it! As long as you don't make me do anything against my will...

 $Cha-Ching$: Fine by me, never been to one before.

 CrAzYArtist: Where's it at?

 GreenThumb: Ermmm... It's Amber's party... My sister is friends with her and she's dragging me a long as her ride back home. Can't see why I can't just wait around in town until she's ready...

 MonKeybiz: ...You're kidding, right?

 $Cha-Ching$: Gives Kori a perfect chance to speak with Nathaniel though...

 MonKeybiz: True...

 CrAzYArtist: Say one more word about that and I'll break the record of my grudges.

 $Cha-Ching$: No idea of what you mean, but I can tell you're serious. Not crossing the line

 MonKeybiz: I second that!

 GreenThumb: Besides, it gives you three a perfect chance to crash Amber's party.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm in!

 $Cha-Ching$: Me too!

 MonKeybiz: Me three! lol

 *RabidsingeR has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Clear you weekend calendar, Lexsie, we're going to crash Amber's party!

 MonKeybiz: And do a little matchmaking between Nath and Kori on the side.

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey, this is Penni!

 GreenThumb: Plus you finally get to meet me in person!

 RabidsingeR: You had me at 'crash Amber's party' XD I'm going to thoroughly enjoy this...

 "You are not going out like that." Castiel said, not even looking up from his guitar. I looked down at my pure white flowing knee length dress and sheer tights with snowflakes picked out in silver. Lysander, who was sitting across from him scribbling away, glanced up, raised an eyebrow then looked at my brother, "She's not dressed inappropriately." Castiel still wouldn't look up, "She's going to that stupid party, so she's dressed inappropriately." He stated simply. I rolled my eyes to Lexsie who kept dabbing at her make up while Penni kept slapping her hand away. I wondered how Lexsie could even like my brother, he was just a pain sometimes. Penni smacked Lexsie's hand away again, "If you keep touching it, you're going to smudge my work!" The blonde girl snapped. Savannah sighed, "Really Lexsie. You're the one who wanted Penni to do your make up..." Lexsie's fingers started inching their way towards her face again, but one glare from Penni stopped them.

 Castiel finally looked up, "You look fine Lexsie. Stop fussing." He said flatly. Lexsie didn't really need the bright pink colored blush after that, she was so red in the face that the base couldn't hide it. Savannah, Penni and I giggled. Over the few days that we had to get our costumes ready for Amber's Halloween party Lexsie and Castiel went from Stage 1: 'You're Just My Friend, Whatever' to Stage 2: 'Blushes and Compliments.' It was all according to Tansy's '10 Stages of Relationships' chart. Penni was at Stage 7: the 'Can't be Without You' stage. Savannah was still at stage one with Lysander. Tansy said I was between Stage 5: 'Shyly Skipping Around the Subject of Dating' and Stage 6: 'Small Kisses and Presents.' I thought it was strange that Tansy had this whole thing already worked out, and that it made sense, somewhat.

 I sighed and snatched up my white wedge heels, “Let's go we're going to be late. Hey Castiel, are you using the car?” My brother, squinting at a page of lyrics, shook his head 'no'. I smirked, now came to part of tricking him, “I need the keys really fast, where are they?” Still trying to decipher the Lysander's writing, Castiel pointed to the small bowl sitting on the table, “There, stop bothering me.” He snapped. Before my twin realized he had been duped, I grabbed the car keys and ushered my snickering friends out the door, calling over my shoulder, “We'll be home late, see you later!” Before I closed the door, I could see Lysander smirking at me, he winked. So he knew my plan, but didn't bother to tell my brother. Guess he was on my side again.

 vvv

 So far the party was a total bore. The only thing exciting was when some random couple got into a major fight which ended with a major make out session that made me want to gag. Penni seemed to be enjoying herself though, having never been to a stereotypical teen party. Even I had been before, when Lexsie dragged me to one our freshmen year, that was when we met Savannah. And I met Ty, much to my later misfortune. I kept to the seats, sandwiched between couples who couldn't keep their hands off each other and druggies smoking themselves silly. Savannah had left in search for a soda, knowing it would be a lost cause, while Lexsie was busy warding off guys hitting on her. Penni, however, had headed straight for the dance floor. From my view, I could tell she was owning the floor with her crazy moves. I hadn't even known she was into dancing.

 Savannah reappeared, two Dr. Peppers in her hand, “Guess Nathaniel is cracking down on the beer, I couldn't find any.” She said as she handed me one of the frigid cans. I shot her a look, “Were you looking for them?” I asked suspiciously. Savannah plopped down next to me, not caring if her medieval lady dress was wrinkled in the process, and laughed, “Of course not. But you know how hard it is to find a coke at these parties. I was kinda suspicious when the first cooler was nothing but sodas, so was the second and the third... after I looked around, I couldn't find any beer.” I popped the tap on my soda and took a nice long drink. Something bumped into me, causing me to spew my drink... just as Amber walked past in her skimpy pirate girl costume.

 As Lexsie would say: It was an opportunity worth dying for, and from the look Amber gave me, I thought she really was going to kill me. Savannah dying of laughter beside me didn't help my case of it being an accident. Suddenly I went from being the invisible snow princess, to the girl facing Amber's wrath. I slouched a little in my seat, bracing myself for the hurricane that was about to be unleashed.

 “YOU LITTLE BITCH!! You did that on purpose! Why are you even here, I know I didn't f***ing invite you!” Amber started, her voice shrill to the point that I knew any dogs within a mile could hear her. I slumped down a little lower, my cheeks flaming red. I didn't like being the center of attention and suddenly I was on Broadway. “Uhh... I'm sorry, I didn't-” I started, but Amber didn't even let me explain, “You ruined my $200 costume! You are soooooo paying me back, bitch! Don't think you won't!” Amber shouted then stomped away, her whole right side drenched in my backwash. I buried my face in my hands, not sure if I should cry or laugh. Lexsie came up just as the rest of the crowd started returning to normal, “What happened?” I was still embarrassed to speak, but Savannah wasn't, “Well, you see. Kori decided it would be a good idea to spill Dr. Pepper on Amber and-” “It was an accident!” I practically wailed, both my friends cracked up.

 vvv

 Hours late Jade finally showed up as a green haired vampire. I didn't even have to make introductions, Lexsie and Savannah spotted him the minute he walked through the door, his bright green hair as out of place as Savannah's purple hair or my white locks. When I saw that there would be no awkwardness between the three I went to find Penni. She was surrounded by jocks trying to flirt with her, and she didn't look very pleased at all. I smiled and joined her, “Hey Penni, Jade's here. Do you want to meet him?” I asked. Penni looked at me confused, she had already met Jade before he went back to his own school, and she knew I knew that. I gave her a look, trying to express with my eyes that I was giving her the perfect chance to escape the jock's unwanted attention. She finally got the message and nodded before dragging me away with a force I didn't know she had.

 Of course, we never made it that far. As we walked underneath the upper story walkway, there was a voice shouting, “There she is!” It was followed by a show of ice cold water down on my head. I shrieked at the sudden change in temperature, throwing up my arms to deflect most of the downpour off my poor head. Laughter filled the air, and I was dragged back to the day that Amber had altered the comic I had drawn. Only this was worse, this was physical discomfort.

 Penni was staring at me, mouth open wide and eyes nearly popping out of her head. None of the water hit her luckily. Her gypsy costume was still in tact, but the same could be said for my snow princess dress. It had gone from gleaming white to sheer in .03 seconds, plastered to my body like a second skin. I hastily crossed my arms over my chest, shaking from the cold air that now wafted at my body. Amber appeared before me, taunting, “I told you you'd regret it, little bitch. How does it feel?” Penni glared at Amber and opened her mouth to defend me, but someone else beat her to it, “Amber! That's enough.” Shivering I looked over my shoulder just as Nathaniel wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. His sister backed down with a pout.

 Nathaniel took me to his bedroom. I sat on his bed, the blanket wrapped around me, watching him as he carefully made sure his door was cracked two inches. I couldn't help but smile at that, “I-It won't m-m-ma-matter. The-They w-w-will a-a-a-as-assume the w-w-worst.” I stuttered, my teeth clattering together loudly. Nathaniel didn't answer as he shifted through his drawers and pulled out a pair of grey sweats and a formless white T-shirt. He motioned to a closed door on the other side of the bed, “Bathroom is through there.” I didn't move. I just stared at the pile of clothes he gave me, then up at his golden eyes, “Why do you always help me?” I blurted out.

 Nathaniel blushed a little and looked away sheepishly, “Uh... I guess I feel responsible for what my sister does to you.” He said uncomfortably. I looked back down, disappointed, “...oh...” I stood and moved toward the bathroom to change, but Nathaniel grabbed my arm, “Korianna, wait...” I looked up at him, half hoping half dreading what he would say. Nathaniel studied me for a while before saying, “You know I like you, Korianna. I guess that's the real reason why I want to protect you from my sister's stupid pranks.” I stared at Nathaniel for a minute, my brain trying to catch up to what he just said. Nathaniel blushed even harder and started to let go of me, thinking that I was rejecting him, when I threw my arms around his neck and crashed my lips to his. Surprised he stumbled back a step and I was dragged with him, my feet skittering forward to avoid doing a face plant. Somehow my left foot got wedged behind his right and he tripped over it. To avoid falling to the floor, Nathaniel twisted and we both ended up on the bed, me on top of him, kissing...

 ...just as Melody opened the door.

 The three of us stared at each other for a minute, all of us blushing. Then I bolted off Nathaniel and fled for the bathroom, the clothes he gave me clutched in my arms. I stood leaning against the door, breathing heavily. I could not believe Nathaniel and I had just been caught by the girl who had a crush on him. Castiel seeing us kissing was bad enough, but Melody wasn't one to keep a secret like my brother. She was almost as bad as Peggy when it came to gossip, except when it dealt with Nathaniel. I just hoped her policy of not telling Peggy anything about Nathaniel would cover this incident. I could hear Melody speaking in a chocked tone, “What's going on? I-I came to tell you I was here and she- Did Kori... was she...?” Then came Nathaniel's much calmer voice, “Someone spilled something on Korianna's costume, she came to me for extra clothes.” His voice left no room to question how I had come in his bedroom looking for extra clothes and ended up kissing him. There was a small muffled sob and the sound of a door slamming.

 I finished tugging on the white shirt and tying the sweats tighter around my waist before leaving the bathroom, my wet dress flung over one arm. Nathaniel was standing in the middle of his room, staring down at something in his hands. I peered around him to see a pair of yellow cat ears attached to a head band teetering over his palm. Melody must have given them to him before she left. I gently touched his shoulder, startling him. Biting my lip I looked down, “I'm sorry... I-” Nathaniel pressed a finger to my lips, “You shouldn't be sorry. It's not your fault.” He said softly. I tried a small smile and took the cat ears from him, “These are nice. You should wear them.” I said timidly, trying to change the subject to a safer track.

 Nathaniel snorted, “I don't celebrate Halloween. I think it's stupid.” He said dully and I rolled my eyes, “You would.” I muttered then shoved the car ears down on his head, laughing at his expression of surprise. “There! You know, the ears really look good on you, I think you should wear them from now on.” I said between giggles. Nathaniel frowned at me and tried to pull the ear off, but I swatted his hands away, “No I like them. Leave them in.” Slowly he lowered his hands and didn't try to take them off again. I grinned at the thought that Nathaniel would wear something even if he didn't like it, because he knew I did. Mentally I made a note to tell Tansy I had gone from between Stage 5 and Stage 6 to fully on Stage 6 of her 10 Stages of Relationships. I knew she would be thrilled.

 *CrAzYArtist had signed in*

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey so what happened after the water accident yesterday? No one saw you after that.

 MonKeybiz: Seriously, girl. I know you want to be with your boy, but spend some time with your homeys!

 RabidsingeR: Savannah, don't try to be gangster. It's just atrocious.

 CrAzYArtist: 8 points for Lexsie!

 RabidsingeR: We're not playing Scrabble, Kori...

 GreenThumb: Back on subject... where did you go? I didn't get to even say hi before you disappeared.

 CrAzYArtist: No reason... I just didn't want to be in that house anymore

 $Cha-Ching$: So either you got into a fight with Nath or kissed him again...

 RabidsingeR: I'm going with kissing... At least here's hoping ;P

 CrAzYArtist: Since you'll drag it out of me anyway... Yes, Nath and I kissed again, and Melody walked in on us.

 MonKeybiz: ...Oh snap... doesn't she have a crush on Nath?

 $Cha-Ching$: Yep... ladies and Jade, prepare for World War 3

 CrAzYArtist: Oh come on! Melody and I are rational people, it's not like we'll end up cat fighting in the middle of the hall.

 RabidsingeR: When it comes to guys, all rationality goes out the window.

 $Cha-Ching$: Yeah, I mean look at how Lexsie first treated me for the whole Lysander mess... and she doesn't even like him (not like Savannah)!

 RabidsingeR: THAT WASN'T THE REASON!

 $Cha-Ching$: *read in sarcasm* You're right. It was because Kori forced Castiel into the whole mess, since that makes a whole lot more sense.

 MonKeybiz: Penni you're hilarious!

 RabidsingeR: Grrrrr...

 CrAzYArtist: Get over it, Lexsie.

 GreenThumb: Back on topic girls.

 MonKeybiz: lol, what are you the Topic Police?

 GreenThumb: Yes... don't make me write you a ticket! ^^

 MonKeybiz: I'm shaking in fear, Jade.

 CrAzYArtist: Has anyone seen Violette? She hasn't been on.

 GreenThumb: She was on briefly yesterday while you were getting ready for the party.

 RabidsingeR: Oh... and what did you two... discuss...? Hmm?

 GreenThumb: How nuts you are.

 $Cha-Ching$: 'You' as in all of us, or 'you' as in Lexsie?

 GreenThumb: You as in Lexsie.

 RabidsingeR: Love you too Jade! X(

 MonKeybiz: Okay guys, we have a crisis on our hands. Kori is possibly facing a cat fight with Melody...

 CrAzYArtist: I can handle myself, Savannah...

 RabidsingeR: We all know you can't, Korianna.

 CrAzYArtist: ...

 MonKeybiz: Nice going, dummy.

 RabidsingeR: ...Oops...

 *CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 I glared at the log in sign for ChatRoomzNet, normally I was used to Lexsie's hurtful comments, knowing she didn't really mean them, but that was just too far. Crossing my arms I slouched in my computer chair, but the more I thought about what she said, the more I realized... Lexsie was right. I couldn't take care of myself. It was always my brother or my friends who stepped in when something didn't go right. Now Nathaniel did the same. I closed my eyes wondering if I surrounded myself with people who had an instinct to protect me, so I wouldn't have to do so myself. Did I make friends or bodyguards? I shivered, scared of the answer. Maybe I wasn't so innocent as everyone made me out to be, maybe I was just a manipulative girl and a coward.

 My cell phone buzzed, bringing me out of my self depression. I answered it without thought, “Hello?” “Is this Korianna?” Someone, a guy by the deep tone of his voice, asked. I frowned, wondering who could have gotten my number. “Yeah, who's this?” “Nathaniel... You gave me your number last night, remember?” I shot straight up in my chair, I had forgotten that we had exchanged numbers when he walked me home. I leaned back in my chair, my right hand pressing into my forehead, “Sorry... I didn't add your number in yet, I was too tired last night.” I shut my mouth, knowing I was about to start babbling. There was a pause on the other side of the line, “Korianna... are you alright? You don't sound very happy.” Nathaniel ventured. I mentally cursed, why did Nathaniel have to be so good at guessing someone's emotions? I stayed silent, debating if I should tell him or not. I sighed, unable to lie to the guy who had been nothing but nice to me since I came to Sweet Amoris, “I'm not. I-” Nathaniel cut me off before I could explain “Don't say anything else. I'm coming to pick you up, then you can tell me what's bothering you.” I couldn't help but smile.

 vvv

 “Alright, now what's the matter?” Nathaniel asked after he returned with two ice cream cones, handing me the chocolate one. I licked the frozen dairy, taking my time in answering. When I didn't answer for a while Nathaniel shrugged and leaned back on the bench, eating his own ice cream contently, waiting patiently for me to answer. Crunch! I pulled back realizing I had just ate all my ice cream and was working on the cone now. I was stalling. I sighed and turned to Nathaniel, “Do you... think I'm helpless?” I asked him. The student council president blinked several times, his blonde eyebrows pulled low over the bridge of his nose. Nathaniel shot me a funny look, “What makes you say that?” I sighed and looked down at the remains of my melting cone. “Something Lexsie said earlier, about how I can't take care of myself.” I saw Nathaniel's gold eyes narrow and hurried on before he could say anything, “I think she's right. Looking back, I've never been able to get out of a mess by myself. Lexsie and Castiel were always taking care of my problems. Then Savannah and now you. I can't think of any time I solved a problem by myself.”

 It took forever to Nathaniel to answer. I could tell by his frown that he was still trying not to get angry at Lexsie and failing miserably. Finally he exhaled deeply, his head bent so that his bright blonde hair covered his face, “Do you... want... to not be protected?” I tilted my head, “Huh?” I asked him confused by the question. Nathaniel looked at me, “Do you want your friends not to care about what happens to you?” He asked, his expression unreadable. I shook my head, still confused at what he was asking. Nathaniel closed his eyes and smiled, “Then you have nothing to worry about. We all love you Korianna, that's why we step in, because no one wants to see you hurt.” My eyes widened a fraction at the word 'love' but I shoved that thought out of my mind before it could fully form; now wasn't the time to be thinking like that. I stared at my lap, dimly feeling the cold sludge of chocolate ice cream sliding down my fingers. I hadn't thought of it that way. I pushed a smile on my face, "Alright if you say so..." I murmured. Nathaniel grinned and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. I blushed, but didn't pull away, I could get used to this...

 vvv

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 RabidsingeR: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! FORGIVE ME! I'll never say another word again!

 CrAzYArtist: Just drop the subject Lexsie...

 $Cha-Ching$: Please! You've been going on and on about this for hours.

 RabidsingeR: You would too if your best friend is super mad at you!

 $Cha-Ching$: First off I wouldn't have even said it. Second, Ken would never be mad at me, it's against his nature.

 MonKeybiz: Well we all thought it was against Kori's nature to get mad enough to LOG OFF!

 GreenThumb: You three are terrible friends. Kori, are you okay?

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah...

 RabidsingeR: It doesn't sound like it! TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!!!

 MonKeybiz: Seriously? You're the one asking that?

 CrAzYArtist: Nothing's wrong. And Lexsie...

 RabidsingeR: *gulp* ...yes...?

 CrAzYArtist: I'm only forgiving you because it got me a date with Nathaniel.

 RabidsingeR: WHAT?!?!

 $Cha-Ching$: O[]O

 MonKeybiz: GIMME DETAILS WOMAN!!

 GreenThumb: Well what do you know? There IS a silver lining to every thundercloud! CX

 “So then my mum was all for sending me across the Pond to my uncle's home, studying abroad as it were. That's why I'm here.” Tansy explained before class that morning, twirling a strand of her springy brown hair around her finger. She was nodding her head to a song only she could hear, her teeth latching onto her bottom lip, her rabbit earrings bobbing at the motion. Lexsie nodded eagerly, determined just to keep the girl talking so she could listen to Tansy's accent. I would feel sorry for the British girl, if she wasn't so talkative to begin with. Savannah yawned and laid her head on my shoulder, “Wake me when the bell rings.” She mumbled, closing her red eyes for a few extra minutes of sleep. I glanced at my sleepy friend then returned to my sketchpad. It had been a while since I had drawn, not since Amber got a hold of that cursed comic. It was only because Ms. Orion, the art teacher, was determined to make me enter a drawing in some annual art exhibit that I was even drawing. I would have said no, but then the miraculous thing happened and both Nathaniel and Castiel said I should enter something.

 I had decided to continue working on the piece I started when I first moved to Sweet Amoris, the one with Ken and Penni smiling at each other. I filled the blank spaces with pictures of Savannah and Lexsie with their arms around each other's shoulders, both laughing. Opposite of my two friends I had drawn Tansy, her face aglow with the light of her laptop. I erased Nathaniel in the library and replaced it with another picture of him bent over a filing cabinet, leafing through some papers. I also erased Amber and her crew and replaced it with the principal when she was calm and grandmotherly. Now I had a problem of small spaces in between the drawings, too small to be of any use, but big enough that they were noticeable. Tapping my pencil against my lip I tried to think of a way to fill in the spaces. Shading them in would be tacky and would ruin the drawings, clashing with the light shading. Maybe I could smudge the drawing around the edges to get rid of the white spaces. Tilting my head I scanned my drawing, trying to imagine what it would look like. If done correctly the pictures would appear to be coming out of a fog, but it would be hard to get the smudges exact. If I did smudge the drawing, it would probably take up more time than drawing actual pictures.

 “Wow. You're really good.” Penni said behind me, causing me to startle. Savannah grunted and sat up, giving me a bleary-eyed glare. The blonde behind us was still staring at my drawing, more specifically Ken. I shrugged, “I've had a lot of practice.” I said, but I knew she wasn't listening to me, her stormy grey eyes were still on Ken. Tentatively her fingers reached out to graze her best friend's penciled cheek. I watched her, amused. “You know, if you want, I can copy the drawing for you so you can have one of your own...” I offered. Penni gave me a wide eyed look, “Really? Yeah, I'd love one!” She said in a rare show of excitement. I smiled at her and flipped the cover of my sketchpad back over the drawing, “I'll give it to you tomorrow then.” I told her. Savannah leaned against me again, “What about Lysander? Will you draw him for me?” She asked in a sugary sweet tone. I glared at her, “No.”

 vvv

 “I'm eating here.” I said to my friends at the beginning of lunch, pointing to the Student Council Room. My decision earned knowing looks from the girls and a glare from Castiel. Lysander just smirked, he had forgiven me for crashing the date with Penni, but we were just overly polite now. At least he helped Lexsie drag Castiel away, so I could avoid the drama of Nathaniel and Castiel butting heads. Nathaniel looked up when I entered, smiling when he saw who it was, “Hey Korianna.” He said before popping a carrot stick in his mouth. I gave him a flat look, “Carrot sticks? Really, Nathaniel?” I asked. Nathaniel shrugged, “My mom always packed them in my lunches when I was younger. I like them.” He stated nonchalantly, nibbling at another carrot. I shook my head and sat down in the chair to the right of his. “Well, my mom packed brownies. I think I got the better deal.” We both laughed.

 Nathaniel raised an eyebrow at my lunch; a roast beef sandwich, iced tea in a thermos, and a wild berry muffin. I chuckled sheepishly, “I like to cook...” I said sheepishly. It was Nathaniel's turn to shake his head, “Is there anything you're not good at?” I answered him quickly, “School.” It was true. Castiel didn't apply himself at all and managed to make As, I studied hard and still barely made Bs. Nathaniel seemed surprised, “Really?” He asked. I nodded glumly and waited for Nathaniel to start comparing me to my brother, but instead he said, “If you ever need help studying, I can help.” He offered. I shot him a surprised look, seeing that blush of his that I loved. Reaching over I swiped one of his carrot sticks, “Alright, thanks Nathaniel.” I said, biting the stick in half with a Cheshire Cat grin. Nathaniel shot me a dirty look, grumbling something about thief under his breath. I only smiled and finished off my stolen carrot stick.

 vvv

 A hand appeared in the middle of my face, waving. I jerked back, blinking and glared at Penni. The blonde was glaring back at me, “You should really get your hearing checked, girl.” Penni snapped. I began to turn back to the book Nathaniel had loaned me, but Penni snatched it out of my hands before I could focus on its words. “Oh no! You're going to put this book down and converse like a normal person.” Penni said. I crossed my arms, “Study Hall is supposed to be for studying, not talking.” I retorted. Penni scoffed and waved her hand around the room, “And how many people are actually studying? Zero.” I opened my mouth, but my blonde friend cut me off, “You were reading for pleasure, it doesn't count. Besides... if you read you can't read the letter Ken sent me...” Penni finished with a sly grin.

 I suddenly forgot the book, “Give me!” I yelped reaching for the crumbled paper that Penni was waving around. Penni rolled her eyes, “Geez, you're just like a three year old.” She said as she dropped the letter in my grasping hands. I stuck my tongue out at her, but my eyes were already on the scrawling handwriting:

 Hey Pen!

 Got your letter, finally (you wouldn't believe how long the mail takes getting here...). I'm glad I'm still your bestest friend! XP Can you believe how long it's been since we last saw each other? Too long in my opinion! And don't worry, I'm sure we'll see each other again before we're both sixty, maybe fifty-nine, lol. So you finally met Kori? I never got to talk to her in person, but like I said she sure seemed nice. Glad you could rectify that! See what MS is teaching me? 'Rectify' such a wonderful big word. Man I hate it here, it's all 'do this, do that, listen to the Sergeant or get your butt handed to you.' That's a direct quote from one of my MS friends. Her name is also Lexie, like the girl who's a friend of Kori- the one who seems to have it in for you. I've made a total of two friends at MS. Lexie, who is sarcastic and stubborn as a mule at times, but she's a good kid (lol I sound like an old man). Then there's Carson. Ooo Carson... that guy is

 Hey. I'm Lexie. Kentin isn't here right now, and he left this letter in plain sight, he should know better by now that if anything is left in the open, I'm going to be all over it! I'm a raccoon in a sense... MUST. HAVE. SHINY!! lol but it doesn't have to be shiny, just interesting. So, Pen... are you a guy or a girl? To be honest the name doesn't really give anything away, no offense. Kentin really doesn't talk about his life before he came to MS, but then I don't know anyone who does. Sergeant Krisp would probably go on and on about how wussy it would be if someone shared their sob story BC. Sorry, using MS lingo here. BC means 'Before Camp' kinda ironic, no? Ha ha, I sound like a frenchy. So, Pen, have any dirt to share on our good friend Kentin? That kid is as solid as a steel wall when it comes to BC life. I mean, even I'm more open then Kenny-boy and I've had a hard life. Not that I'm going to tell you, I don't even know you! Oops! Gotta go, Kenny is comin' back!

 Sorry about the paragraph above, I'm too lazy to rewrite this letter, and too lazy to scribble out what Lex wrote. Anyway, before Lexie got a hold of this I was talking about Carson. Well, I have to say if you weren't my best friend already, Carson probably would take that title. I think he might be a long lost brother or something... but we look nothing alike so it couldn't be that. Maybe a distant cousin. And yes, I wrote to my mom like you asked *cough cough ORDERED cough cough* I haven't received a reply yet. I wonder if my 'wonderful' father/master burned the letter, he probably did considering contact with someone's mother makes the person a wuss. Sorry, Pen, but MS can make a person bitter. Only the thought of you keeps me me. I know that sounds extremely cheesy, but it's true. You're the only person who ever thought of me as Kentin and not who I should be. That's why you're my bestest friend!

 Say hi to 'Cuddles' for me!

 Kentin Pierce

 P.S. What's this about Kori drawing us? I want to see! Can you send me it? And tell Korianna thanks for doing that.

 4rm Lex: Hey, Pen. So after reading Kenny's letter (behind his back I might add) and concluded that you were a girl (at least I hope), I have to know. Do you like like Kentin? Or are you just 'bestest friends'? Not that I'm trying to move in on your space, girl, just want to know. Cuz if so I'll be keeping the other ladies off Kentin's back. Not that he needs any help, but Kenny-boy is a real catch in MS. Probably the cutest guy here. All the girls swoon at the sight of him! Anyway, send me an answer! Us girls have to stick together and protect our men! ;3 (Kentin's probably going to kill me for this, but I don't care!)

 I set down the letter very slowly, then turned to Penni. “So what did you write in return?” I asked, carefully keeping my tone nonchalant. Penni glared at me, probably mad that I could read her mind so well, and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. I unfolded it and turned my back to Penni so she wouldn't see what I was doing.

 Dear Ken,

 I'm glad things are going so well, and that you made friends. Does Lex really call you Kenny-boy to your face? O.o And Lexie, I'm not tell you if I like like Ken or not, I don't want to create any confusions as to how I feel for Ken, besides that information is between him and me alone. But if you feel it necessary to keep other girls off him, go right ahead. Ken, I'm not going to send you the drawing Kori did of us, because I can use it as another incentive to come home, you know... blackmail. X)) Besides seeing me again of course. And also, when did you get so popular? WHERE'S MY DORK AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HIM!?!?!?! lol XD Anyway, me and Lexsie are now relatively good friends, we still have our hard times, but that's because she's a hot head and has a crush on Kori's twin brother (you remember Castiel, right?). Well... I guess that's another long story to save for WHEN you come home, there's a lot of long stories. Like how Kori has a crush on the student body pres Nathaniel Powers and visa-versa (they're such an adorable couple!!) or how there's now a British techie girl going here. Oh! How about the Amber's Halloween Party Mishap? Starring Korianna, Amber, and an accident involving soda... that one is a doozy! I swear, if you put Kori and Amber withing five feet of each other, there's bound to be some interesting (and very amusing) events that will- whatever I completely forgot what I was going to say.

 I scooted a little farther away from Penni and started writing:

 Hiya! This is Korianna West, and this is to Lex (I'm just going to call you that since my own best friend is names Lexsie- with an 's' though): Penni likes Ken. I repeat, Penni likes Ken. She likes him just as much as I like Nathaniel, which is a lot, just sayin'. And since I'm sure Ken is reading this... if you break my friend's heart I'll track you all the way down to Military School and castrate you with a rusty spork. Don't think I won't, after all my twin brother is Castiel! But other than that you're good! ^^ But I still have to approve of you before I give my consent for you to date Penni. Otherwise you're out of luck. So when are you coming back, Ken? Cuz I'm tired of having to chase off idiot boys who thinks they have a chance at our lovely Penni (one of which being my own friend; and boy was Lys pissed at me! O.O). You had better come back and claim what's yours cuz

 The letter was snatched from my hand before I could finish. Penni was standing over me, red in the face. I could almost see the steam coming out of her ears like a cartoon. I smiled at her, “I've got his address now, so I'll just send my note to him if you don't.” I told my friend, knowing how much it would frustrate her. Penni turned even more red, if that were possible; for a moment I thought she would hit me.

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed in*

 $Cha-Ching$: KORIANNA!

 CrAzYArtist: Really? I thought you already blew all your anger off at me in Study Hall.

 MonKeybiz: Now I'm curious what you did, Kori.

 RabidsingeR: Who isn't?

 GreenThumb: If it has anything to do with boys, then I'm not. Why can't we have a NORMAL discussion?

 MonKeybiz: Because you happen to be the only guy here.

 XxSilentBlossomxX: It is true Jade.

 GreenThumb: Kori! Make Nath join!!!

 RabidsingeR: Really? Then they can just flirt over the internet too.

 CrAzYArtist: Thanks for talking about me like I'm not here. AND WE WOULD NOT!!

 $Cha-Ching$: Hey, I have a crisis here!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: Oh no! What happened?

$Cha-Ching$: Kori wrote to Ken that I like him and then blacked mailed me into sending it.

 CrAzYArtist: Guilty as charged!! X3

 RabidsingeR: ROTFL!!!!

 MonKeybiz: Oh so cruel, Kori. I commend you!

 XxSilentBlossomxX: That wasn't very nice, Korianna...

 GreenThumb: I agree with Violette.

 RabidsingeR: WOULD YOU TWO JUST DATE ALREADY!?!?!?!

 GreenThumb: LEXSIE!

 CrAzYArtist: BTW, did you know Ken apparently has a friend also names Lexie? She doesn't spell it with an 's' though.

 $Cha-Ching$: Kori...

 MonKeybiz: You know, I think Violette fainted...

 RabidsingeR: That could be a valid reason why she's not answering.

 GreenThumb: ...I'm going to murder you one day...

 RabidsingeR: But you won't! ^^

 $Cha-Ching$: Back on topic...

 CrAzYArtist: Oh please, I know you played matchmaker that day you and Nath took me to the mall. Pretty convenient for your parents to show up JUST THEN.

 $Cha-Ching$: …

 MonKeybiz: 1 point to Korianna.

 RabidsingeR: Tell me one person who can out-argue our friend.

 GreenThumb: I can name two- Castiel and Nathaniel.

 MonKeybiz: Oh, touche. :{D lol mustache!

 RabidsingeR: I seriously question your sanity, Savannah...

 MonKeybiz: Why do you and Kori always say that?

 CrAzYArtist: Because it's true!

 RabidsingeR: Like that time you made us perform live in the courtyard of the school! I told you we weren't ready for publicity!

 GreenThumb: Oh geez, here they go again... talk of the old days.

 $Cha-Ching$: You have to admit it is amusing to watch them...

 CrAzYArtist: I don't even know why you made me play along, I can't play an instrument or sing worth a flip.

 RabidsingeR: You're still the prettiest of us three. Plus you were popular back then.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm not the prettiest!!

 MonKeybiz: No I really think you are. Your silver hair and purple eyes really works, makes you look exotic. As opposed to Witch Eyes over here.

 RabidsingeR: Or Goth Girl. Admit it Kori, you're the prettiest!

 CrAzYArtist: AM NOT!

 MonKeybiz: Oh really, then why are you the one with a semi-boyfriend and neither of us have even a smidgen that our crushes even notice our presence?

 RabidsingeR: You might as well agree, when Savannah starts actually making sense you know that she's right.

 CrAzYArtist: I. AM. NOT. THE. PRETTIEST!!

 GreenThumb: She's right. I'm the prettiest, can we change the subject now?

 $Cha-Ching$: XDDDDDDDDDD I think I'm going to die of laughter!!!

 MonKeybiz: ...I don't even know how to respond to that...

 CrAzYArtist: I think Penni has the good idea.

 RabidsingeR: *cough cough* Kori's still the prettiest! *cough cough*

 CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE!!!

 “Ouch!” I yelped and stuck my jabbed pinkie into my mouth to try and suck away the pain. The couple in front of me shot me a strange look, but didn't pay me any other attention. I glared at the pencil that I had pricked my finger on, if it wasn't so important I would have snapped the drawing utensil out of spite. When I was sure that the pencil didn't have any other evil plots up it's sleeve, I grabbed it again, careful to keep the point away from my fingers this time, and started sketching a rough outline of the couple. I had originally meant to spend the day at the park, just drawing scenery, but then someone saw my drawings and asked if I did portraits. I was about to tell him no when the man shoved a ten dollar bill in my hand and sat his girlfriend down in front of me. After that I started up a little business of drawing people for ten dollars a drawing, twenty if they wanted it colored.

 As I began finding the right curve of the woman's cheek, a shadow fell over my drawing pad. I looked up to see a sleazy looking teen, the kind normally found smoking pot down shadowy alleyways, leering down at me, “Hey there... haven't seen you here before.” He sneered. I scrunched my nose up in disgust at his breath, no wonder Castiel didn't like me coming here. The couple frowned at the guy, but didn't move. I was glad, I had already sketched them out and didn't want to ruin the pose. Besides, I could handle one druggie teen. My ex-boyfriend, Ty, was an addict as well, so I knew how to deal with drug heads. “Excuse me, I'm trying to concentrate, can you wait?” I asked politely, though I knew he wouldn't do anything. The sleaze cast a bloodshot glace at my drawing, “You're good... what do you say of drawing me?” He asked, smirking. I wanted to gag. I shot him a look, “Do you have ten bucks?” I knew he didn't, there was no way, and even if he did he probably wouldn't want to pay for a picture.

 Before he could answer someone sat down beside me and threw an arm around my shoulders, “Sorry to keep you waiting, babe. This guy bothering you?” A new guy asked. The couple sighed and I gave them an apologetic look before turning to my rescuer, “Yeah...” I mumbled. The new guy shot Sleazy Druggie a cocky smile, “Begone, and stop bothering my girlfriend.” He ordered airily. Sleazy Druggie gave me a glare, as if it was my fault he had to leave, and slunk away, his greasy dreadlocks dangling low over his face in defeat. False Boyfriend grinned at me when Sleazy Druggie was gone, “So... my name is Kyle, what's yours?” The couple I was drawing groaned, exchanging knowing looks. They thought I was about to hit it off with False Boyfriend, as if. I did smile at him, knowing it would be rude not to at least thank him. “My name is Korianna, thanks for saving me, but I didn't need help.” I said. Kyle seemed to ignore that last part, “Korianna, huh? Nice name. So what are you doing right now?” I gave him a look that said 'I'm on to you', “Being paid to draw. Can I finish this couple please?” I said flatly. Kyle gave me a winning grin, “Sure, I'll go get you some ice cream while you are!” He hopped up before I could tell him no. Sighing I returned to drawing the poor couple, making sure I made it perfect, they deserved to have the best drawing I could give them after waiting patiently.

 Kyle came back just as I handed the couple their finished drawing, two ice cream cones in his hand. He handed me the vanilla one, much to my dismay. At least Nathaniel knew I liked chocolate. Kyle sat down again, too close for my comfort, but considering my side was already pressed against the arm rest of the bench, I had no where to go. Kyle gave me an appraising look, “So, Korianna... where do you go to school, I think I would have noticed your white hair if you went to my high school.” I took a cautious lick of the vanilla ice cream and had to suppress the grimace, I really didn't like vanilla. “I go to Sweet Amoris.” I said nonchalantly. Kyle laughed, “Really? That place is the most drama filled school in this town.” I frowned at the guy, that comment was making him lose points, not that I cared; I was still sitting there because I was too polite to blow him off, especially after he rescued me from Sleazy Druggie. Kyle seemed to catch on to what I was thinking, he faked a cough, “Sorry...” He mumbled, looking sheepish.

 I pretended to check my watch, “Excuse me, but I'm supposed to be meeting my boyfriend for lunch.” I said in a false cheerful tone. Kyle's face fell, leaving no doubt that he had been trying to flirt with me. “Bye!” I called as I walked away, waving over my shoulder as I headed for the cafe across the park. I hadn't ever eaten there myself, but it seems I was the only soul in town that hadn't, even Savannah and Lexsie had been. I was seated almost immediately, given a small two-party table in the back corner of the cafe, near the kitchen. I set my drawing supplies on the table in front of me and ducked behind my menu, lest some other creepy guy decided to hit on me today.

 I hadn't even scanned the first column before my waitress was at my table, asking if I was ready to order. Talk about super service. When I didn't answer right away, she began blathering about today's special and what her favorite meal was. I ended up choosing the special, something called Slammer's Choice, which turned out to be nothing but a fully loaded hamburger, and a chocolate milkshake topped with whipped cream. I was hoping that the milkshake would help tone down on the super sweet vanilla taste still coating my tongue. I opened my drawing pad, intending to work Castiel's birthday present, a drawing of Demon, while I waited for my food.

 “One Slammer's Choice and milkshake.” Someone said a little later, while I was coloring in the right eye of Demon. My head jerked up at the familiar voice and I found myself staring at Nathaniel, looking very odd out of his crisp white shirt and blue tie he always wore at school. “Korianna?” He asked, startled, proving it wasn't just my imagination. I shook my head in disbelief, “You work here? I didn't know that.” Nathaniel blushed and looked away, "Yeah... My father wants me to have a job, and this was the only place hiring." He said sheepishly. I smiled and shook my head again, this time with amusement, "Only you, Nathaniel..." The blonde's eyebrows drew together and he opened his mouth to speak, but I continued before a word could pass his lips, "I used to work at an art supply shop, it's what got me hooked on drawing. Who knows, maybe you'll become a great cook!" "I don't cook the food." Nathaniel said flatly, I shrugged playfully and grinned at him fluttering my eyelashes, "Then you'll be a great host, for when your all rich and famous and host all those fancy parties with your spoiled wife and bratty kids." The look on Nathaniel's face could curdle milk, I hid my milkshake from view just in case he ruined it.

 Just as Nathaniel opened his mouth to speak, a boy our age pokes his head out of the kitchen, “Hey Nate, stop flirting with the pretty girl and come get Table 7's order!” Nathaniel rolled his golden eyes and called back, tucking his serving tray underneath his arm, “Alright, TC, be right there.” The boy, TC, grumbled something under his breath that I didn't catch and disappeared back into the kitchen. Nathaniel looked back at me, “My shift is almost done, do you want to wait around...?” He asked hesitantly. I smiled, “Of course.” I said, I could wait for Nathaniel forever, but I kept that part to myself.

 vvv

 I eagerly licked at my second ice cream cone of the day, this one chocolate. Nathaniel walked beside me, still laughing over my story of the flirting fiasco I had suffered before I ran into him, “I knew you were pretty, Korianna, but-” Nathaniel broke off laughing again. I rolled my purple eyes at him, “I'm going to take that as a compliment and ignore the 'but'. Also, if you ever buy me vanilla ice cream, I won't speak to you ever again.” I said snippishly. Nathaniel started to crack up again. After a while I nudged him in the ribs, “Okay, your turn to tell a funny story.” Nathaniel shrugged, “My day isn't as... interesting as yours.” He said nonchalantly. Having already suffered through one of his failed attempts at a joke, I conceded the point; Nathaniel was too serious to have funny days.

 “Fine, tell me about TC, what's those initials stand for?” I asked, changing the subject. Nathaniel made a face, “Why are you thinking about getting him to flirt with you too?” He teased. I mock glared and swatted his arm, “Speak!” I demanded playfully. Nathaniel laughed and threw his arm over my shoulders and drew me closer, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, “Well, TC's real name Tyrone Cyril, so you can imagine why he goes by his initials.” I snorted, “And I thought Lexsie's full name was bad!” I said between giggles. Nathaniel smirked, “Yes... what is her full name?” I turned my nose in the air, “She made me promise not to tell. A secret is a secret and nothing, not even a kiss, will pry it from me.” I said airily, Nathaniel smirked, “Oh come on, Korianna. I told you TC's real name, and he made me promise never to tell either... I won't tell a soul.”

 I looked my boyfriend up and down, pretending to consider if he was trustworthy or not. Finally I stage whispered, “You promise?” He nodded, trying to act serious, but his lips kept twitching. I glanced left and right and dramatically waved Nathaniel down. Grinning he leaned down until our faces were inches from each other. The air suddenly got a lot tenser and more serious. We stared at each other, aware how close we were. My tongue darted out to wet my lips, and Nathaniel's gold eyes zeroed in on my mouth. I couldn't believe how much I wanted him to kiss me, how much I needed him to. Nathaniel leaned even farther in, so close that I could feel the presence of his mouth, just millimeters from mine. One tiny movement and we would be kissing.

 Nathaniel's eyes flicked back up to my wide ones and he smirked, “I'm not kissing you until you tell me Lexsie's name.” He said, pulling just a little farther away. I glared at him, darn his everlasting sense of cruel jokes. I think he was learning too much from the villains in those mystery books he was always reading. With one last look of surliness, I leaned up and whispered Lexsie's name in Nathaniel's ear, nipping at his earlobe just to get revenge. Nathaniel jerked back, his golden eyes wide with surprise, then he crashed his lips to mine. I guess I lied when I said a kiss wouldn't be able to pry the secret from me, because when Nathaniel finally pulled away from my tender and kiss-swollen lips, I was ready to spill any secret he asked, just so he could kiss me like that again.

 I was trying to concentrate on my English paper due next week when my cell phone buzzed on my bed. It was Savannah, *U better get on ChatRoomz.* I sighed, I had specifically told my friends last night before I logged off that today I wasn't going to get on so I could finish my homework. *Homework, remember?* I texted back. Savannah's answer came quickly, *K, I just thought u might want 2 defend urself. Jades gettin pretty tired of doin the job 4 u* I blinked at the text, was it just me or did Savannah sound mad? I minimized my essay and pulled up ChatRoomzNet, dreading what was going to happen.

 *CrAzYArtist has signed in*

 RabidsingeR: YOU!

 GreenThumb: Finally!

 *GreenThumb has signed out*

 RabidsingeR: HOW COULD YOU?!?!

 CrAzYArtist: Whoa, whoa what did I do?

 $Cha-Ching$: You staying on Savannah?

 MonKeybiz: Yeah... someone needs to be the mediator.

 $Cha-Ching$: Alright then I'm out, text me when the chat room is safe again.

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed out*

 MonKeybiz: Will do!

 RabidsingeR: Korianna Rillei West, who did you tell!?

 CrAzYArtist: WHO DID I TELL WHAT?!

 RabidsingeR: My ****ing name!

 MonKeybiz: Hey hey, let's keep it PG.

 RabidsingeR: Butt out, Savannah! It's none of your business.

 MonKeybiz: Are you sure Kori is even the person who told?

 RabidsingeR: Because she's the only person who actually knows my full name besides my PARENTS!

 I gulped staring at the screen and suddenly understanding what Lexsie was so upset about. I quickly swiveled my chair around so I wasn't facing the computer and texted Nathaniel *Please tell me you didn't tell anyone Lexsie's full name...* It was a long moment before he answered *No, why?* *Because someone must of overheard us and told everyone else. I'm dead* Nathaniel took a while in answering, *I doubt Lexsie will kill you.* *Well if I don't show up Monday you know who to blame. I have to deal with this mess now. Bye* *Good luck O.o* I turned back to the computer screen and grimaced. I hadn't spent more than a minute texted Nathaniel but Lexsie was already shouting at me again

 RabidsingeR: KORIANNA YOU COWARD, COME BACK AND FACE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!!!!

 MonKeybiz: Castiel might have had something for her to do. She hasn't logged out.

 RabidsingeR: KORIANNA!! Get your butt back on and take it like a woman!

 CrAzYArtist: I'm back. Geez I had to ask Nathaniel something, sorry!

 RabidsingeR: What did you ask him? If he told anyone my name?

 CrAzYArtist: ...yes...

 MonKeybiz: Kori! O.O

 RabidsingeR: WHAT?!?!? You actually did tell your boyfriend my topmost secret in the universe?! You promised never to tell!

 CrAzYArtist: It's a name, Lexsie.

 RabidsingeR: SO? You made a promise never to tell, and guess what, *****, you did!

 MonKeybiz: Hey hey, PG remember?

 CrAzYArtist: It's Nathaniel I told, do you really think I would just share with anyone? You can trust Nathaniel, he can keep a secret.

 RabidsingeR: Yeah sure, that is why Amber texted me about my name this morning? Because your boyfriend can keep a secret?

 *SBPrez has joined the Chat Room*

 CrAzYArtist: She must have overheard us!

 RabidsingeR: Uh-huh, sure. You told her AND Nathaniel! I know you did.

 CrAzYArtist: Are you even listening to yourself? I hate Amber, why would I ever tell her anything besides 'get lost'?

 RabidsingeR: Because you are always defending her when I try to talk bad about her.

 CrAzYArtist: That's because I hate gossip and you know it!

 RabidsingeR: I don't know anything about you Korianna West. I thought you were a promise keeper, but obviously you're not!

 CrAzYArtist: You are over reacting, Lexsie. It is a NAME!

 RabidsingeR: That you know I hate!

 CrAzYArtist: You know what I find amusing? You have no qualms of spilling other people's secrets, say... Jade's crush on Violet, but I dare whisper your real name and suddenly I'm the most horrible person on Earth!

 RabidsingeR: Well, if the shoe fits.

 CrAzYArtist: Alright, hypocrite. I'm the most horrible person on Earth. I should just bow down to you and beg for forgiveness for all eternity, because it's obvious that I will never be able to redeem myself.

 RabidsingeR: What did you call me?

 CrAzYArtist: Are you so incompetent that you don't understand the word 'hypocrite'? I'll try to spell it out so you can understand: It means that you can do anything you want but God forbid someone else do the same thing. Do you understand now?

 MonKeybiz: Kori... calm down.

 CrAzYArtist: You asked me to defend myself, I am. So BUTT OUT!

 RabidsingeR: Geez, aren't you defensive when your little innocent image is at stake. You know I'm glad I found out what you were really like so now I can just avoid you.

 CrAzYArtist: I guess you'll have to give up your foolish dreams about Castiel then, since he is my twin.

 SBPrez: BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP!

 MonKeybiz: Hey who are you? This is a private chat room, how did you get in here!?

 SBPrez: I'm Nathaniel.

 RabidsingeR: Great, did you tell your boy to come and defend you, Korianna? Two against one is it? You're a coward.

 SBPrez: Korianna didn't invite me. Penni did. She thought I could give a better explanation.

 RabidsingeR: I'm all ears, traitor.

 SBPrez: Alright. I blackmailed Kori to tell me. She tried to not tell me, but I got it out of her. She also made sure no one was around before she told me and whispered your name in my ear.

 RabidsingeR: So how did that *****y sister of yours know my name?

 SBPrez: -_- When I asked her about it, Amber admitted to breaking into the Student Council Room and stealing some student files. She happened to grab yours, Lexsie.

 *RockStar has signed in*

 RockStar: So Penni told me to get on and break up a fight between Lexsie and Kori... My solution: Stop butting heads and forgive each other already. And Kori, it's your turn to make dinner.

 SBPrez: Oh great...

 RockStar: Please tell me that isn't who I think it is.

 MonKeybiz: *gulp* Why am I suddenly in the middle of two fights?

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie?

 RabidsingeR: What?

 CrAzYArtist: Call a truce so we can watch Nath and Castiel fight? :)

 RabidsingeR: ...alright...

 SBPrez: Sorry to disappoint you, slacker.

 RockStar: Say that to my face, Goody Two Shoes.

 SBPrez: Gladly. You're reading the computer screen, so I said it to your face.

 RockStar: I MEANT IN PERSON!!!!

 SBPrez: I'm typing this in person, slacker. So I'm saying it in person.

 RockStar: Stop being a ****

 SBPrez: Gladly, when you do the same.

 RockStar: GRRRRRRRRRR!!!! You're dead tomorrow Mr. Goody-goody!

 SBPrez: You've been saying that for years, West.

 RockStar: Well this time it's real, Powers.

 CrAzYArtist: Ah, be silent both of you before I come after you!

 SBPrez: Fine.

 RockStar: HA! You're whipped, goody-goody!

 I glared at my brother's response, he was going to regret that. I dug around my drawing until I came up with a small silver whistle. Sticking it in the corner of my mouth I began blowing with each breath as I continued to watch Nathaniel and Castiel fight between them. Demon began barking like crazy and I could hear loud crashing downstairs. My brother started yelling at me, but I was too busy blowing on the whistle to answer. Finally he typed on ChatRoomz:

 RockStar: KORIANNA RILLEI WEST!!! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!?!?!

 MonKeybiz: Huh? She's not doing anything.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm blowing a doggy whistle. I thought I told you to stop fighting.

 RockStar: **** it, Kori!

 SBPrez: Hey, watch your language.

 RockStar: Oh I remember when you used to say that, goody-goody. Don't deny it.

 SBPrez: Shut up...

 CrAzYArtist: Do I smell a back story?

 RabidsingeR: Tell tell!

 RockStar: Never.

 SBPrez: For once I agree with West, I'm not telling. And you were stupid, slacker, to believe her over me.

 RockStar: Oh was I? I saw you, Goody Two Shoes!

 SBPrez: Ever thought that it was her fault?

 RockStar: She wouldn't ever do anything like that!

 SBPrez: You obviously didn't know her then.

 RockStar: I'm sure you knew her.

 SBPrez: As much as I would say I did just to annoy you, that would be lying.

 RockStar: Yeah, right.

 RockStar: KORI STOP BLOWING THAT **** WHISTLE!!

 CrAzYArtist: Then stop arguing with my boyfriend. And Nathaniel, stop arguing with my brother.

 SBPrez: You don't have a whistle to bother me with.

 CrAzYArtist: I'm not kissing you again if you continue.

 SBPrez: ...fine...

 MonKeybiz: Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, you got him there, Kori!

 RockStar: *gag* I think I'm going to vomit.

 RabidsingeR: I'm still mad at you, but I have to say that is perfect blackmail.

 CrAzYArtist: I should know, that's what Nath used to get me to tell him your name.

 RabidsingeR: In that case... I guess I forgive you. Kisses are hard to abstain from.

 “So... how bad do you think it will be?” Lexsie asked me and Castiel as we started up the stairs towards Sweet Amoris. My brother shrugged, not commenting. I tried to keep an optimistic view on it all, “Well, not many people really like Amber, so they will probably zone her out if she tries to talk to them and-” I cut off abruptly when the three of us entered the main hallway, my mouth dropping open a little at the sight of the redecorated halls. Everywhere there was papers taped to the lockers and walls, scattered over the floors, and in neat stacks by the doors. Every last one had Lexsie's student ID photo and her full name printed in capital letters across the page in red ink. If that wasn't injury enough, drooping from the ceiling was a white banner that said LEXSIE LIARD IS LEXSINGTON CONCORD LIARD!!* Castiel and I exchanged worried looked over Lexsie's head then looked down at our friend. She actually looked like she was going to cry.

 Some jerk spotted us standing there at the entrance of the school and shouted, “Hey! There's the Walking History Book!” Everyone standing in the hall started laughing. Castiel glared and stalked towards the source of the jerk, murder written clearly on his face. Everyone made a clear path for my brother, giving me a clear view of the idiot who opened his mouth and signed his death warrant. I only knew it was him because Lysander had the guy by the collar, the usually laid back musician looking about as murderous as Castiel. Seeing that the boys had it handled, I nudged Lexsie towards the Student Council Room, knowing that she would be able to escape the scrutiny there. This reminded me too much of my own problem when Amber decided to doctor my art and show her work to everyone else.

 Nathaniel glanced up when we entered the room, his gold eyes serious. He didn't say anything as I forcibly sat Lexsie down in one of the chairs, since she was too stunned to do so herself. I walked over to my boyfriend, “Is there anything you're doing?” I whispered, with a cautious look to Lexsie. She just sat there, her green eyes hazed over as every nightmare over her name probably came to life. I felt sorry for my best friend, nothing could compare to having your worst nightmares realized. Nathaniel looked at Lexsie as well before saying quietly, “I already had my sister suspended. Someone went to get a ladder to take that stupid banner down and Savannah, Penni, Iris and Lysander are collected the fliers as we speak.” I nodded and sat down beside him with a sigh, “Man... I don't want to deal with this.” I grumbled to myself. Nathaniel reached out and took my hand, “You need to be there for Lexsie. She was there for you when Amber bullied you.” He said. I nodded slowly, he was right of course. He always was when it came to things like this.

 My brother burst in at that moment and Nathaniel dropped my hand quickly. I schooled my face so not to show the hurt as I turned to my brother. Castiel was glaring at Nathaniel, for whether he saw us holding hands or for another reason (which was plausible), “I'm taking Lexsie home.” He growled, it wasn't a question. Nathaniel narrowed his own golden eyes, “You don't have guardianship over her. She cannot leave without parental consent.” I sighed, of course the two boys in my life would find something to argue over in the midst of a crisis. Lexsie didn't even seem to acknowledge that she was being talked about, she sat in her chair as still as a statue. As I watched her, my friend drew in a shuddering breath, like those when you were crying, and burst into tears.

 Nathaniel and Castiel halted in their argument to stare at Lexsie, both looking extremely uncomfortable to be in the presence of a girl's tears. I glared at them both for being idiots before I sat down beside Lexsie and pulling her into my arms. Lexsie didn't notice, she just continued to sob. Fat tears rolled down her face, leaving black trails from her mascara as huge gasping wails shook her body. Her hands were curled up in front over her, as if trying to hold her heart in. I shushed her, petting away her shoot green highlighted black hair away from her wet cheeks. Lexsie continuously shook, like a small dog in the cold. her face turning blotchy red. Crying was never beautiful, no matter how many movies made them. It was an ugly business, to be seen only by those closest to you. But even I had never seen Lexsie cry, she was an impenetrable wall, holding all tears inside to be saved for a later time.

 I shot a nasty glare over my shoulder at Castiel and Nathaniel, who still stood there dumbly, staring at poor Lexsie. Guys should never see a girl cry, it was an unwritten rule. Especially when one of the guys happened to be a crush. Nathaniel was the first to recover, probably used to seeing Amber cry over nothing, he practically had to shove a still stunned Castiel out of the room, shutting the door behind him. The faint click of the door shutting sent Lexsie into a full out bawling fest, it was as if she had been waiting for the boys to leave so she could let her reservoir of tears loose. I just held my friend tightly, knowing that no words or friendly gestures could stop such a flood.

 ...

 $Cha-Ching$: So... you think she's getting on?

 MonKeybiz: Probably not.

 CrAzYArtist: Castiel took her out for ice cream, because ice cream makes everything better.

 MonKeybiz: I worry about your philosophy sometimes, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: It's not mine! It's a West family belief!

 $Cha-Ching$: All of you West's are strange.

 GreenThumb: Remind me never to meet your parents...

 SBPrez: I wish I could say the same.

 CrAzYArtist: If you want to truly date me, Nathaniel Powers, then you have to meet my dad. It's the law.

 SBPrez: It is not the law.

 CrAzYArtist: It is in the West family. My father has to approve of every single guy I ever date.

 MonKeybiz: So how did Ty pass the Great Test of the Century?

 CrAzYArtist: Don't get snarky with me... and that little prick could charm a homeless man into giving up his last pair shoes.

 SBPrez: So why did you two break up?

 MonKeybiz: Oh you know, cheated on Kori then tried to make it as if she was the reason he cheated. The usual stuff.

 GreenThumb: Ouch.

 MonKeybiz: Yeah, Lexsie knocked a few of his teeth out when she heard about it.

 SBPrez: Should I be worried?

CrAzYArtist: Just don't screw up and you'll be fine. But Lexsie would be the least of your worries if you ever did anything to hurt me. I know Castiel is looking for a chance to lay into you.

 SBPrez: WHO'S SIDE ARE YOU ON?!?!?!?!

CrAzYArtist: My side. CX

 MonKeybiz: Okay lovebirds, we have a serious crisis on our hands. What are we going to do about Lexsie?

 CrAzYArtist: I'm sure if something evil happened to you the best thing to cheer you up would be to go get ice cream with Lysander. Trust me, it's being handled.

 MonKeybiz: ...I hate you...

 $Cha-Ching$: Is it bad that I'm laughing so hard?

 GreenThumb: No... So Penni, any news from Ken?

 $Cha-Ching$: o///////o HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT?!?

MonKeybiz: Kori have you been spilling secrets again?

 CrAzYArtist: I take offense to that.

 SBPrez: I thought we cleared this up last night.

 MonKeybiz: Nath stop standing up for your girlfriend! Let her answer the question.

 CrAzYArtist: I did Savannah. I said I take offense to that, meaning NO!

 SBPrez: Nath?

 $Cha-Ching$: You're name takes to long to spell out, so we shorten it on chat.

 SBPrez: Savannah's name is only a letter shorter than mine...

 CrAzYArtist: But her name shortened sounds weird. Savan doesn't have a ring to it.

 MonKeybiz: Plus it sounds like a guys name...

 SBPrez: So... Savannah is the only person who doesn't have a nickname?

 CrAzYArtist: And Castiel and Jade and Ken.

 $Cha-Ching$: Actually Ken's real name is Kentin, so yes he had a nickname.

 SBPrez: I wasn't counting Castiel.

 CrAzYArtist: You might as well start, buster. He's my brother which means your going to be seeing him a lot.

 MonKeybiz: Careful what you say, Nath, Kori loves her brother.

 SBPrez: Don't call me Nath, please.

 MonKeybiz: Why not?

 SBPrez: Reasons I don't wish to share yet.

 CrAzYArtist: You're just as closed off as Castiel sometimes.

 GreenThumb: Oooooooooo, burn!

 SBPrez: Shut up Jade...

 MonKeybiz: Well I'm not going to stop calling you Nath until you tell me. So there!

 *RabidsingeR has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: LEXSIE! How are you feeling?!

 RabidsingeR: better... you're right, Kori. That ice cream philosophy works wonders.

 CrAzYArtist: HA! Take that suckers!

 MonKeybiz: We never said you were wrong.

 $Cha-Ching$: Just strange.

 GreenThumb: And that we never wanted to meet your parents.

 SBPrez: *eye roll* All of you are nuts. Why do I get on is beyond me.

 *RockStar has signed in*

 SBPrez: Bye, Korianna! See you at school!

 *SBPrez has signed out*

 RockStar: At least I don't have to deal with that goody-goody tonight.

 CrAzYArtist: You do realize how stupid you sound when you call him a 'goody-goody' right?

 RockStar: Shut it, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: NEVER!!! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

 RockStar: I'm not related to you.

 CrAzYArtist: So... you don't want to be with your non-related family when Nathaniel meets Dad?

 RockStar: I'm related to you again.

 CrAzYArtist: Too bad! You're not going! XD

 MonKeybiz: Hey, let someone else have a chance to speak, CRH!

 $Cha-Ching$: CRH?

 GreenThumb: What does that mean?

 RabidsingeR: Oh, you two aren't new to the chat room atmosphere. CRH means Chat Room Hogs. It's for people who take all the spotlight

 CrAzYArtist: I think they got that without the explanation, Lexsie...

 RockStar: KORI! Stop being a prick.

 CrAzYArtist: A. Who are you and what have you don't with my brother? B. Who are you and WHAT ON EARTH HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER!? C. I'm not going to be pussyfooting around her. That is the last thing she needs.

 MonKeybiz: Awwwww, Castiel is so cute when he's all protective.

 CrAzYArtist: Castiel stop cursing, you're burning my ears.

 RockStar: I'LL STOP WHEN YOU STOP BLOWING THAT **** DOG WHISTLE!!!!

 CrAzYArtist: It's the only way to make you behave. Besides, it keeps Demon happy.

 MonKeybiz: It is effective.

 RockStar: Kori, go to bed before I call Mom and tell her you're still up.

 GreenThumb: You still have a bed time? Even when both of you live without adults supervision?

 CrAzYArtist: There's a flaw in your plan, Castiel. When on earth has Mom EVER enforced our bedtime? And I know you won't call Dad, because you'll both just start arguing.

 RockStar: STOP BLOWING THAT GOD**** WHISTLE!

 CrAzYArtist: Then stop being stupid. I have homework anyway, good night everyone! (except Castiel)

 GreenThumb: You don't think she's mad right?

 MonKeybiz: Kori? Naw, the twins just like arguing for fun. It's actually kinda funny.

 RockStar: Shut up Lucky...

 MonKeybiz: YOU PROMISED NEVER TO USE THAT NICKNAME AGAIN!!!

 *CrAzYArtist has signed off*

 I shook my head and shut down my computer. As I pulled out my math textbook to work on the problems due Friday, my phone buzzed. I glanced at it then smiled when I saw what Nathaniel sent me. *Sweet dreams, Korianna* I unlocked my phone and texted back: *Don't let the bedbugs bite ;)* Though I had only been dating him for a few weeks, my relationship with Nathaniel was already better than that of Ty. I hoped it continued that way.

 Monday we were back at school, a mass of yawning zombies just wishing for those ten more minutes in our heavenly bed. Everyone except Nathaniel of course. He was bright eyed and energetic when I came stumbling in the Student Council Room, groggy like always. My golden haired boyfriend raised an eyebrow as I plopped down in the closest chair, “When do you go to bed, Korianna?” He asked as he returned to his task of filing away a file. I raised my head a little from the table to glare at him, “Less talking, more sleeping.” I spat. Nathaniel, bless his soul, didn't respond. I laid my head down on the table again, letting a small happy sigh escape my lips. There was fifteen minutes to the morning bell, maybe I could get at least ten minutes of dozing if I just laid there, thinking of how tired I was...

 The door burst open, “Nathaniel! You wouldn't believe- Oh.” I twisted around to glare at Melody. Lexsie, Penni, and Iris all stood behind her. Lexsie was the only one who wasn't surprised, she just giggled behind her hand. Lexsie knew I wasn't a morning person, and she found great amusement when other people discovered how grouchy I could really be. I saw Nathaniel roll his eyes in my peripheral vision, “Korianna, try going to bed earlier if you can't get enough sleep.” He said. I shot him a glare as I laid my head back down, grumbling, “Tell Castiel that, then maybe he would stop playing the stupid guitar at midnight.” Luckily Nathaniel didn't hear me. No need to give him another reason to hate my twin.

 vvv

 “And so... if you carry the two, you will get that the function of the graph equals...” Mr. Gordon said monotonously. Half of the class was already nodding off, their eyes drooping closed, while the other half of the class were keeping themselves entertained with whatever. Only the geeks who found mathematics fascinating were actually paying any attention to Mr. Gordon. Even Nathaniel, sitting a row over and a seat ahead of me, was only half listening. He held his pen in one hand, but his eyes were on the book he was reading, hidden carefully behind the student sitting in front of him. I dug my fingers into my white hair and yanked subtly, trying to wake myself up, as I continued to doodle all over my math notes.

 Charlotte, Amber's friend, leaned over to whisper to me, “Hey, did you get question five on the Physics homework?” I glanced at her, Charlotte was actually okay when she wasn't with the two other members of the Terrible Trio. Although, Penni was convinced Li was the nicer of the three. Still, neither couldn't be as bad as Amber. Charlotte had been a little nicer to me since the cruel prank Amber pulled with the artwork. I pulled out my homework and quickly passed it to Charlotte when Mr. Gordon wasn't looking. I knew helping Charlotte would be helping Amber in a way, but I didn't care. “Here, I don't know if it's correct or not, though. I haven't had a chance to ask Nathaniel.” I whispered to Charlotte. She smiled her thanks and snatched the paper quickly just as Mr. Gordon was turning around.

 “Korianna West. What is the answer to the problem?” The teacher asked. I felt something shrivel up and die, “Uhhh...” Was the only sound that came out of my mouth. Of all my subjects, I was worse at math more than anything. Instinctively I glanced at Nathaniel. My boyfriend was half looking over his shoulder, the corner of his mouth that I could see was tilting up in a pitying smile. One of the geeks was waving his hand wildly in the air, his eyes wide with determination to answer the question. Mr. Gordon ignored him, no one but the person he called on could ever answer the question, his beady little eyes glaring at me, “We're waiting, Miss West.” “X equals x squared over four x to the fifth.” Everyone turned to see who dared disobey Mr. Gordon's orders. Not only was Mr. Gordon the most boring teacher in the history of school, he was also the evilest.

 Mr. Gordon glared at Castiel who was hunched over in the back of the room, lolling across the desk. It was obvious he had just woken up. Lexsie, sitting to the right of him, had her eyes glued to her notebook. She didn't like being called out by teachers, having a fear of speaking in front of a crowd greater than ten. “Castiel West, have you been sleeping in this class?” Mr. Gordon asked my brother. Castiel, being Castiel, smirked, “Yeah... could you tone down on the talking? It's disturbing my sleep.” In one movement everyone turned to look at Mr. Gordon, who was looking very red. I could almost see the steam rolling off him. Nathaniel didn't look very pleased either, I knew he had a big thing about respect. Right then, I didn't care. I wasn't in the spotlight anymore, my twin had taken the hit and that's what twins are for.

 vvv

 “So where were all of you this weekend? You didn't even get on ChatRoomz!” I asked over lunch. Savannah shifted in her seat, her face downcast. The picture of guilt. Penni quickly shoved another slice of roast beef into her mouth, preventing her from answering. Lexsie was the only one who looked me in the eye, “We all went to Melody's birthday party.” She said flatly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. And it would have been, had Melody not have a crush on my boyfriend, “Wait, what?” I asked, not sure I heard her right. Savannah pipped up, “We didn't go because we wanted to! We thought we would find out why Melody liked Nathaniel or whatever.” She looked frantic, her purple hair actually frizzing out of her braids as she spoke. Lexsie shot her a look, “Savannah's right. We only went to tell Melody that her little crush was useless.”

 I blinked and sat back, “Let me guess, the reason why I didn't even know of the party was because Melody didn't want me to know... right?” I asked. My three friends exchanged looks. I rolled my eyes, “You could have told me you were going. It makes you look stupid that you didn't.” Penni ducked her head, “I know... we weren't thinking. Forgive us?” I stared at each friend for a long time, until all three were uncomfortable. Then I grinned, “I will... if you have anything interesting to tell me.” “Lysander has a tattoo on his back! Rosalya told me!” Savannah blurted out. Lexsie smacked her upside the head, “Dummy, we're not supposed to tell.” I shook my head, “Not interested anyway.” “Capucine said some very rude things about you.” Penni added. I rolled my eyes, “I don't care what that wannabe thinks of me.” I said then turned to Lexsie sitting directly across from me. This was their last chance to redeem themselves. I would forgive them anyway, I just wanted to tease them a little. Lexsie smirked, “I know why Amber has a crush on Castiel. And it has something to do with Nathaniel.”

 I perked up and leaned forward, now that was interesting. Lexsie giggled, “First of all, explain how Castiel and Amber could know each other when they were younger.” I sighed, “My family is actually from here, but we moved when Castiel and I were about four.” Savannah conceded the point, “That would explain why Castiel chose to live here when your dad kicked him out...” She muttered to herself. I ignored her and pointed at Lexsie, “Speak, firecracker.” My black haired friend glared at me, but said, “Now I don't know the full details, but apparently Nathaniel and Castiel are like polar opposites of what they are now. Nathaniel was supposedly the bad boy and Castiel the perfect angel.” I rolled my eyes again, “Well duh, you grew up with us, remember? Castiel was really nice when we were younger. It wasn't until junior high that he went all crazy.” Lexsie waved her hand and continued, “Well the story goes along the lines of Nathaniel broke Amber's doll or whatever and Castiel fixed it. She's had a crush ever since.”

 Penni snorted, “If she wasn't such a bitch, I'd say it was cute...” She grumbled. I didn't bother to snap at her for her swearing. What she said was true. Lexsie huffed and crossed her arms, “Besides, it's cruel to support Amber being with Castiel when one of your own friends has a crush on him.” “Who has a crush on me?” Castiel asked from behind me. I nearly jumped three feet in the air and turned to see Castiel staring down at us girls, eyebrows raised curiously, with Lysander watching behind him looking extremely amused. Lexsie miraculously didn't seem fazed by it, “None of your business, West.” Castiel smirked at her as he sat down beside me, across from Penni, “Someone has a crush on me, I think it is my business.” I tuned the conversation out as the two started debating if it was Castiel's right to know who was crushing on him or not. Lysander sat down in front of Savannah, “Nice dress.” He commented. Savannah, going all shy once more, eeped and blushed. My eyes darted between the two as a sly grin pushed up the corners of my mouth, this was getting interesting.

 …

 *$Cha-Ching$ has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Savannah and Lys sitting in a tree!

 RabidsingeR: K I S S I N G!

 CrAzYArtist: First comes love!

 RabidsingeR: Then comes MARRIAGE!

 MonKeybiz: SHUT THE HELL UP YOU TWO!

 CrAzYArtist: THEN COMES BABIES IN A BABY CARRIAGE!!!!!

 RabidsingeR: One with white hair and one with black,

 CrAzYArtist: And two adopted aunts who've got your back!

 MonKeybiz: ...jerks...

 $Cha-Ching$: Uh... what did I miss?

 RockStar: Oh, Kori and Lexsie are just teasing Savannah about Lysander. Ever since we all logged on.

 SBPrez: It's starting to get annoying.

 RockStar: For once, I agree with you Powers.

 GreenThumb: The universe must be ending...

 RockStar: Jade, I will end you.

 CrAzYArtist: Hey! Stop terrorizing my friends, Castiel!

 MonKeybiz: Oh he can't, but you can?!

 RabidsingeR: What you didn't like our song? I'm hurt

 MonKeybiz: Not yet you're not... when I get through with the both of you you'll know what hurt really means!

 RabidsingeR: RUN! Lucky is making threats!!

 MonKeybiz: LEXSSSSSSSSSSSSIE!!!!!!! Stop using that name!

 CrAzYArtist: What name, Lucky?

 RockStar: Alright you two, as amusing as it is to see Savannah angry, dial it down.

 RabidsingeR: Phooey, I hate it when you get all responsible, Castiel...

 MonKeybiz: He needs to be if he ever marries you...

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH!

 RockStar: What?

 GreenThumb: I shouldn't be laughing so hard...

 $Cha-Ching$: You're not the only one... XDDDDDDDD

 CrAzYArtist: Lexsie and Castiel sitting in a tree!

 MonKeybiz: K I S S I N G!

 CrAzYArtist: First comes love!

 MonKeybiz: Then comes MARRIAGE!

 CrAzYArtist: THEN COMES A BABY IN A BABY CARRIAGE!

 MonKeybiz: And one of the hip!

 CrAzYArtist: And one pulling Castiel's hair!

 MonKeybiz: And one running naked through the streets!

 SBPrez: Now I'm worried...

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH KNIGHT! KORIANNA WEST!

 I was just about to type out my answer when I heard Castiel roaring my name as his footsteps thundered up the stairs. I winced, maybe it wasn't just a good idea to tease someone when they were under the same roof.

 CrAzYArtist: NATHANIEL! I need a get away! Castiel's coming to kill me! Meet you at the park!

 SBPrez: *sigh* the things I do for you... fine

 *CrAzYArtist has signed out*

 *SBPrez has signed out*

 After snapping my laptop closed I grabbed a pair of sandals and climbed out of the window and onto the fire escape just as my brother began beating against my locked door, “Korianna Rillei West! You are dead, do you understand me?! Say your last prayers, pest, because I'm going to kill you and send you back home in a box!” I laughed as I started for the fire escape ladder, “You're just repeating yourself Castiel. Can't you make up a better threat. By the way, I'll be home whenever!” I didn't hear his response as I quickly descended the ladder, barely escaping with my life.

 “I wish you would put something on that covered you more.” Castiel muttered for the hundredth time. I rolled my eyes, “Look buster. You're not my father so you can keep your comments to yourself.” I snapped, not bothering to look up from the book I was reading. Castiel glared at me, “No, but I am your older brother and the one responsible for you since Mom and Dad live in another town.” I pushed my sunglasses farther up my nose and ignored him. He was only older by two minutes, so it really shouldn't count, but I knew if I told Castiel that he'd start getting logical on me and I didn't want that. It was summer vacation and after much begging I finally managed to drag Castiel down to the beach. I was starting to regret my decision since all he did was throw a tantrum over my bikini bathing suit.

 The false red head opened his mouth, no doubt to start another round of bikini lectures and the danger of lustful teenage boys, when I ripped my sunglasses off to glare at him, “Look, before you say another word, just think of your reaction if Lexsie would come marching up here in a even skimpier black bikini.” I snapped, shoving an accusing finger at my brother's bare chest. Castiel glared at me, but shut his mouth. So he knew that that would be a pointless argument to get into. I smirked, “Good, cuz here she comes.” I said slyly and pointed over my twin's shoulder to the black haired girl sauntering up to us. I don't know who's reaction was more amusing when Castiel turned around: Lexsie's bright blush or Castiel's mouth dropping open. I cackled, “Need to step into the cold ocean for a moment, Castiel?” I asked sweetly and got two equally dirty looks from both Castiel and Lexsie. I just smiled as I returned to my book. And here I thought I wasn't going to get a chance to play matchmaker.

 “I thought you went home with Savannah.” Castiel commented to Lexsie as she sat down at the edge of my beach towel, her back facing me. Lexsie shrugged, “I was, but I figured it would be more fun here then at home with my parents nagging at me to get a summer job.” I sighed exaggeratedly, “Poor Savannah... she doesn't get to be around her crush all summer.” “KORI!” Lexsie screeched and turned to me, her face red. I grinned up at my best friend, “What? I was just commenting that she won't be able to hang out with Lysander, is all.” I said innocently. Lexsie glared at me, she knew what and who I really meant. Castiel, being the blockhead that he was, looked confused, “Savannah likes Lys?” He asked. I rolled my eyes at him, “Well duh, why do you think Lexsie and I made up that song to sing to her on ChatRoomz?” I asked. Castiel shrugged, “Because you two are idiots. I'm going to walk Demon.” My brother said as he stood, the dog's leash already in his hand. Demon pranced around his master's legs, panting happily. Castiel started walking away before something made him stop, he turned back to Lexsie and I, “Oh and... I'm not going to help you crash another date for him, got it?” Castiel growled. I smiled happily and waved my hand, “Don't worry, I want them together. They're perfect for each other. Go, walk your slobber monster, and try not to get dragged in the dust.” I said. Castiel gave me a sour look before walking off, Demon already pulling hard on his leash, wanting to run.

 Once my brother was out of earshot, Lexsie turned on me, “I can't believe you did that!” She hissed. I smiled as I turned over on my stomach, and opening my book, “Oh boo-hoo, he didn't notice I was talking about you. Castiel is a hard head, remember? And very dense when it comes to girls that like him. Remember Amanda? Or Christie?” Lexsie humphed and crossed her arms in a pout, “Yessss...” She ground out, no doubt trying to forget those awful snotty girls who thought they were in love with Castiel. Their mistake was they were cruel to Lexsie and me, whom Castiel was very protective over, and thus ruining their chances of every landing a date with the 'hottest guy in school'. I grinned and continued listing off names, “Or Georgia? Or Jessica? Or Sarah? Or Renee? Or-” “I get it!” Lexsie snapped and I broke off with a giggle. My friend was so fun to tease. I opened my mouth to tease her some more, when Lexsie sighed, her shoulders slumping, “I get it... I don't have a chance with him. I'm just another girl who likes Castiel...” She said dejectedly. I blinked at her, did she really think herself like that?

 I smacked her up side the head. Hard. Lexsie startled and turned to stare at me, her green eyes wide while I glared at her, “None of that self-pity, missy. A lot of girls like Castiel, sure, but do you know what he thinks of those girls?” I asked. Lexsie shook her head slowly. I smiled evilly, “He thinks they're all shallow insects that care more about the fact that their in a relationship than who they're in a relationship with.” Lexsie was starting to look down again, so I hurried and added, “And do you know what he thinks of you?” Immediately Lexsie perked up, her attention zeroing on me. I silently prayed that Castiel forgave me for telling Lexsie something that was supposed to be kept between the two of us, “He thinks you're, and I quote, 'an original who knows who and what she is.'” I poked Lexsie in the cheek, “Now, are you going to tell me that you don't have a chance with my brother again? Cuz I have plenty other proof that says you're the best pick.” I said teasingly.

 Lexsie giggled like a normal girl, “Does he really say that?” She asked, a blush riding up her cheeks. I rolled my eyes, wondering what monster I had created, “Yes, but if you dare mention I spilled, Castiel will murder me and then you'll be without your best friend. Plus Nathaniel will murder Castiel and then you'll be without your future hubby.” Lexsie's happy little blush when darker with anger, “KORIANNA WEST!!” She snapped and I burst out laughing, glad she was back to normal. Fortunately, before Lexsie could get a hold of my neck, someone behind us asked, “Uh... why would I kill Castiel?” Lexsie and I both turned to see Nathaniel standing behind us, his golden head tilted curiously. I brightened, “Hey I thought your family was still in the Caribbean!” When Nathaniel told me that his family was vacationing on some island in the Caribbean, something they did every year, I thought he meant he would be gone all summer.

 “Obviously not.” A voice I really didn't want to hear said behind Nathaniel. Lexsie groaned, “Great. Just when I thought I could get away from you.” My friend said, glaring at Amber who was standing there haughtily. I kicked Lexsie's foot, “Be nice.” I said through clenched teeth, I really didn't want to reprimand her, but Amber was Nathaniel's sister so I might as well try to be nice. Not that Amber was making the job easy for me, “Yeah, Lexington, be a good puppy and obey your girlfriend.” The blonde haired girl sneered. Nathaniel took a deep breath, his golden eyes looking heavenwards as if to ask for help. Meanwhile I was too busy trying to keep Lexsie from tearing Amber's throat out. Amber, apparently not realizing her death was emanate, laughed, “Geez, Korianna, I didn't know you had such a hard time keeping your girlfriends. Maybe you should let her go, she obviously doesn't want to be near you anymore. Can't really blame her.” I was awfully tempted to do what Amber was suggesting and let Lexsie murder the girl.

 Luckily for Amber, her brother finally turned to her, “Amber, stop it.” He said lowly. Amber frowned at Nathaniel, “I'm only playing around. I don't see why none of you can get jokes.” She said in a fake hurt voice. Nathaniel gave her a look, “You're jokes are hurtful. Stop it.” Amber's blue-green eyes filled up with crocodile tears, “Why are you being so m-mean to me?!” Amber wailed, bringing almost everyone's attention to us. My boyfriend looked like he was at the end of his rope. He turned to us, “Sorry, I'll be back.” He apologized before dragging his sister off. Lexsie and I glanced at each other, the black haired firecracker looked like she was about so say something when Castiel came back... with a new friend.

 “Kori, do you have a first aid kit?” Castiel asked as he practically shoved the girl down on his towel. Lexsie and I blinked at the newcomer than at each other. Castiel glowered down at us, Demon's leash clutched tightly in his fist, “Do you?” He growled. I rolled my eyes at my older twin and yanked my beach bag closer to me, digging through the massive thing to find the small first aid kit I had brought. Lexsie looked surprised, “Wait, you mean you actually brought that a kit?!” Even the new girl looked shocked. I snorted and jerked my thumb at the happy slobbering Demon, “With that monster out in public, of course. Trust me, this isn't the first time he's caused a riot.” Castiel looked offended for his dog, who just barked. The mysterious girl flinched away from Demon, her sea green eyes fearful of the animal. I smiled at her as I produced the little white box from the bottom of my beach bag, “Don't worry about him, Demon's all bark and no bite... with the occasional accidents.” The girl didn't answer me as she put her wrist out, showing the sand scrape from wear she hit the ground.

 Lexsie winced in sympathy, “I know how that feels. First time I ever held his leash, Demon yanked my feet out from under me and made me scrape my knee. But the Slobber Monster is just a big softie.” The black haired girl told the ginger. Castiel glared down at Lexsie, “He's a guard dog, he's not supposed to be a 'softie.'” My brother snapped. Lexsie rolled her eyes at him, “Well then you might want to talk to him, because Demon is the wimpiest dog I know.” I rolled my eyes at the two arguing, “Oi, lovebirds. Take the argument, and the Slobber Monster, elsewhere.” I snapped and earned two glares. I grinned, “Why don't you go get ice cream to cool off?” I asked innocently then tossed a few bills at Lexsie, who snatched at them hurriedly before they got blown away by the breeze, “Go on then. I'm busy.” I said, shooing the two away before they could argue with me. Shooting me sour glares the two hotheads left, Demon prancing between them, his stubby little tail waving madly.

 With them gone, I smiled at the shy girl, “Hi! Don't mind those two, they're just blockheads. My name is Korianna West. That guy is my twin, Castiel, in case you didn't know. And the black haired girl was Lexsie Liard. What's your name?” I chatted away. The ginger silently watched me as I applied disinfectant spray, not even flinching at the sting, and putting on a large cotton bandage. When I was finished she retracted her hand, cradling it against her chest, “Eva... Eva Biaglow.” She whispered so lowly I almost didn't hear her. I smiled, well at least she was talking. I settled down on my towel, turning so I faced the ocean. “Yeah. Hey are you new here? Or do you just go to another school. I go to Sweet Amoris.” Eva shook her head, “No... I just moved.” I glanced at the quiet girl. She was more shy than Savanna and Violette combined! “Oh, do you know where you'll be going to school yet?” Eva nodded, “Sweet Amoris.” She said quickly. I sighed, this conversation was feeling more like an interview. I hoped Castiel and Lexsie got back soon with that ice cream, and I hoped they were considerate enough to get me some!

 I heard rustling and glanced up to see Eva standing, “I have to go. Thank you.” She murmured and left without another word. I watched her go, her head down as she scurried across the beach as fast as she could without running. I raised an eyebrow before turning back to face the ocean, well that was odd.

 vvv

 It turned out that Lexsie and Castiel not only forgot about my ice cream, but they seemed to forget that I existed altogether. Both disappeared on me like they were never around in the first place. I scoffed and laid down on my towel, leave it to those two that the time they decided to go all doe eyed and finally admit to their feelings (at least I hoped) was when they had someone else with their party. Oh well, at least they weren't making out in front of me and making me feel like the very awkward third wheel. I reached into my beach bag of wonders and pulled out a novel. Just as I was turning to my dogeared place someone cleared their throat behind me. I laid my head back so I was looking at the person upside down. “Yes?” I asked politely.

 The guy smirked, his chest, and a very fine one I had to notice, puffed out, “Hey, I'm Dake and you're hot.” My polite expression fell flat as I stared at him, was he really that obtuse? Did he think a name and one stupid compliment would get him anywhere? I turned my gaze back to my book, resting my right arm under my head to serve as a pillow, “That's nice. Now go away.” I said flatly. Scratch just forgetting about me, I was going to murder Lexsie and Castiel for forgetting about me and not saving me from obvious flirts like this guy! The guy wasn't so easily deterred, “Aw, come on, babe. I know you're not that cruel. You stole my heart, being as lovely as you are.” Dake said as he came and sat down beside me. Flat Look numero dos was sent his way, “So, you're saying that beauty is the only thing that matters to you? Can you be more shallow?” I snapped. The guy didn't take it as an insult, “When it comes to you, I'll be anything!” The flirt declared. My eyes gleamed, “Oh really, can you be nothing but a bad memory?” I asked sarcastically. Dake chuckled, “Come on, sweets, I know you're playing hard to get. You want me, I can tell.” He said confidently. I wanted to hit him, “You're right... I want you gone.” I growled and turned my eyes back to my book, determined to ignore him. Mildly I hoped I didn't set the pages on fire with my glare.

 Suddenly the book was gone from my hands, I shot straight up, “Hey! Give that back you jerk!” I yelled and reached out to take the book Dake was dangling from his fingers. “First, a kiss.” He said and leaned in his cheek ready for a peck he obviously thought he was getting. I would love to disappoint him. As my fingers curled into a fist and my arm went back, ready to knock a few teeth out of this idiot, someone grabbed my elbow, “I do believe she asked you to leave her alone.” Nathaniel growled harshly. Dake blinked up at the golden haired guy then down at me, as I tried to scorch him with my glare. He was soooooo lucky Nathaniel came along when he did, otherwise Dake the Flirt would be a few teeth shy of a full smile. The guy scoffed and stood, “Fine fine, I can see I'm not wanted... see ya, baby.” Dake said airily, trying to brush off the fact that he had just been rejected. I rolled my eyes as he walked away, muttering, “Apparently you can't...”

 Nathaniel sat down beside me, giving me a strange look. I smiled brightly at him, “Thanks for saving me!” I said then leaned in to give him a little kiss on the cheek. Nathaniel raised an amused eyebrow, “Where's Lexsie?” He asked. I shrugged, “Eh, her and Castiel went to find ice cream a while ago. They better have a good 'we had a frank discussion of emotions and we're now dating' story if they want me to forgive them...” I grumbled. Nathaniel laughed and sat back, his hands propping himself up. I leaned against his sun warmed side, smiling, “What happened to Amber?” I asked curiously. Nathaniel shrugged, “She had an allergic reaction to some nuts and had to go home.” I blinked, “Oh.” I really didn't know what to say. Yeah I was glad she was out of the way so I could spend some time with my boyfriend, but- “Is she okay?” I asked. Nathaniel nodded, his eyes closing as he turned his face to the sun, “Yeah. She's not that allergic. Not the way I am to pollen, or my mom to cats.” I giggled, “What's your dad allergic to?” I asked teasingly.

 Nathaniel cracked one eye to glare at me, “Ha ha, very funny.” My boyfriend said sarcastically before grabbing me by the waist and letting us both flop back, my torso securely pressed against his chest. I blushed madly, “Nathaniel...” I said and tried to ease up from his chiseled chest. Mildly I wondered why on earth a student body president would have such a nice body. The boy beneath me gave an amused snort and tightened his arms around my waist before tilting his head up to nuzzle my neck. My breath hitched when I felt his smiling lips press into the soft skin under my jawbone. I tried to push away again, but Nathaniel stopped me by latching on to my earlobe with his teeth. A tiny gasp escaped my mouth when he tugged, my heart fluttering like some flighty bird in a cage. Before I had time to respond, Nathaniel flipped us over so I was on bottom and he was laying halfway on top of me. Slowly Nathaniel traveled up and down my neck, taking his sweet time to explore ever inch of skin with his mouth. He buried his nose in the defined hollow of my throat, kissing the skin just below it periodically.

 With a barely suppressed groan Nathaniel finally leaned up to capture my mouth with his. His tongue probed against my bottom lip, asking for entrance. My lips seemed to part on their own accord and Nathaniel's tongue dipped in, giving me a whole new sense of the word 'kiss'. My mind drew a blank on everything; where we were, what day it was, the fact that Castiel could walk up on us at any time, even my own name slipped away briefly. I seemed to forget that Ty used to kiss me like that all the time, that every time the jerk kissed me he would forcibly shove his tongue down my throat. Nathaniel's kiss was more, so much more, in ways I couldn't begin to explain. I moaned into his mouth, my hands running over his bare chest to his golden hair, my fingers tangling in those locks. Nathaniel seemed to enjoy my reaction and stroked the roof of my mouth with his tongue as a reward. I groaned again. Nathaniel retracted his wet muscle from my mouth and sank his teeth gently into my lower lip, drawing back slowly so that his teeth scraped against the tender flesh. “Nathaniel...” I groaned, my breaths coming in at shallow pants.

 Hearing his name must have shook some sense into him, for Nathaniel leaned back, looking about as breathless as I was feeling. “Korianna, I'm... going swimming.” My boyfriend managed to get out before scrabbling off of me. Though still a little giddy from that make out session, I couldn't help but grin, “Why, Nathaniel? Need a nice long cold bath?” I teased. Nathaniel shot me a nasty glare before grabbing my wrists, pulling me to a stand, “No... come on your coming with me.” He said determinedly. I laughed and shot forward out of his grip, “Last one in pays for dinner!” I yelled. I could hear Nathaniel's shout of cheating behind me, but ignored it, laughing the whole way.

 Of course, Nathaniel beat me. He had managed to snag my waist just feet from the water and spun around so that he was the one closer to the waves than I before letting me go. I was still trying to find my footing when Nathaniel dove head first into the brine, earning first place and getting a cold soak all in one. I laughed at him when I finally gained balance and pounced on his back, causing both of us to go underwater. When Nathaniel finally surfaced, one eye closed as the other narrowed dangerously at me, I just continued to laugh, my white hair plastered to my body. “Korianna... you're going to regret that.” He growled playfully and started towards me. I 'eep'ed and dove under the water in an attempt to get away from my boyfriend. He just grabbed me by the ankle and dragged me back, catching me up against his chest. I squealed and struggled, but not too much. It seemed that Nathaniel's form of punishment was a quick nip at the neck, that wasn't something too bad. I giggled and tried to get away playfully, until I noticed that my bikini top was strangely loose. Tilting my head in confusion I began to reach backwards to see if the knot was loose or something when I felt something along my side that definitely wasn't my hair.

 It was my bikini strap.

 I went red and pressed myself further against Nathaniel's chest as my arms crept up to keep my top in place. Of all the things that could happen to me, having my top come off in front of my boyfriend, in a public place no less, was one that I didn't want to happen. Somehow I would have to think of a way to get it tied again without Nathaniel knowing. If only Lexsie were here, she could do it for me and none would be the wiser. “Hey what's this?” Nathaniel suddenly asked and I felt a small tug on my top. I mentally groaned, now karma was just trolling me. “Uh... Korianna, I think your...” Nathaniel trailed off when I nodded, “I know. C-can you... tie it back?” I asked awkwardly. Without a word Nathaniel took a step back, the water sloshing around us, lapping coldly at my hips, as Nathaniel took the two untied straps between his fingers. There was a few sharp tugs and I felt the relief when my bikini top once again laid snug against my skin.

 All in all, I'd say it wasn't that bad a day at the beach.

 *MonKeybiz has signed in*

 CrAzYArtist: Heeeeeeey~! How's your summer coming?

 MonKeybiz: Fine... except for the fact that all my friends are a state away, and so is my crush.

 CrAzYArtist: Awwwwww, poor Savannah! You need a hug!

 RabidsingeR: lol, Kori have you been eating sugar again?

 CrAzYArtist: I'M STILL NOT TALKING TO YOU!!

 RabidsingeR: …

 RockStar: By stating that you're not talking to her is talking to her, Kori.

 CrAzYArtist: Did I ask you?

 MonKeybiz: Okay, what did I miss?

 SBPrez: Well... West and Lexsie abandoned Korianna at the beach last week.

 RockStar: Butt out, Powers! It's none of your business!

 SBPrez: You left your sister, whom I am dating, alone. I say it is my business.

 RockStar: Kori is perfectly capable of taking care of herself.

 SBPrez: I don't doubt that, but it's still rude and careless to leave her to fend for herself.

 RabidsingeR: See what you did, Savannah?

 MonKeybiz: I think it's kinda sweet! ^^ Nath is standing up for his girlfriend!

 CrAzYArtist: While Castiel is covering his butt.

 RockStar: HEY!

 RabidsingeR: Kori stop being mean.

 CrAzYArtist: Okay... as soon as you admit what the heck you two were doing when you were abandoning me!

 SBPrez: Oh this should be good...

 MonKeybiz: I am super duper curious now.

 RockStar: We didn't do anything!

 RabidsingeR: Yeah! We went to get ice cream, that was it!

 CrAzYArtist: Nice excuse. Except I could see the ice cream stand from the ocean. You weren't there.

 RockStar: What were you doing in the ocean? You said you didn't want to go swimming.

 CrAzYArtist: Nathaniel wanted to go swimming. And stop trying to change the subject. I'm not letting this go.

 RockStar: NATHANIEL POWERS!

 RabidsingeR: Kori!

 SBPrez: We are dating. It's perfectly acceptable to swim together. -.-

 VictorianPoet: Among other things.

 CrAzYArtist: SHUT UP LYS!!!

 MonKeybiz: Wait! When did he get here?!?!?!

 VictorianPoet: I joined shortly before you logged on. You had just missed the conversation.

 MonKeybiz: Oh... well then, HI LYS! Welcome to ChatRoomz!

 VictorianPoet: Thank you, Savannah.

 RockStar: WAAAAAAIT a damn minute. What do you mean 'among other things' Lysander?

 CrAzYArtist: Say one word, Lysander, and I'll ban you from my chat room.

 RabidsingeR: You can do that?!

 CrAzYArtist: As the administrator and creator of this chat room: yes.

 VictorianPoet: I do believe that is blackmail.

 RockStar: I don't care if you ban him, I want to know what you and Goody-goody were up to!

 SBPrez: Nothing more than what you and Lexsie were up to.

 RockStar: KORIANNA RILLIE WEST! You. Are. Grounded!

 CrAzYArtist: What?! You can't ground me!! And what were you and Lexsie doing anyway, if I was grounded?

 RabidsingeR: Nothing!

 MonKeybiz: lol a little too fast there, Lexsie... you just made it obvious.

 RabidsingeR: Where are Penni and Jade?

 CrAzYArtist: You're subtly is very lacking. (They're both on vacation)

 SBPrez: Just admit you two were making out already!

 RockStar: NATHANIEL!

 MonKeybiz: lolololololol I think that's the first time Castiel has every called Nath by his first name. XDDDD

 RabidsingeR: We weren't doing anything!

 CrAzYArtist: Then where were ya'll and why won't you tell the rest of us since you're SO innocent?

 RockStar: ...You're sarcasm is not appreciated...

 VictorianPoet: They were making out... more so than Nathaniel and Korianna.

 CrAzYArtist: LYSANDER!

 RockStar: Traitor.

 RabidsingeR: Imma going to KILL you!

 MonKeybiz: I'm going to die of laughter!!!!!!

 SBPrez: ...I think you are enjoying this, Lysander.

 VictorianPoet: Very much so.

 RockStar: Kori will you ban him now?

 CrAzYArtist: I'll ask him one question before I do...

 VictorianPoet: Hm?

 CrAzYArtist: ARE YOU A BEACH SPY OR SOMETHING?!?!?!

 VictorianPoet: Yes.

 CrAzYArtist: …

 VictorianPoet: And I commend you on how well you handled that Dake character.

 SBPrez: lol how long were you watching us, Lys?

 CrAzYArtist: Regardless of what he answers, he's dead anyway...

 RockStar: Who's Dake? And what was he doing?

 SBPrez: Flirting nonstop with your sister shortly after you and Lexsie abandoned her.

 RockStar: ARGH! I'm going to kill him than you, Powers, for messing with my little sister!

 CrAzYArtist: I'm TWO minutes younger than you! And you're not going to kill my boyfriend unless I get to kill you for messing around with Lexsie!

 RockStar: I didn't do anything!

 CrAzYArtist: Yeah yeah... keep talking. Denial is strong with you, but I'll break it eventually.

 VictorianPoet: ha ha

 MonKeybiz: *sigh* Why am I not there to enjoy all this drama?

 RabidsingeR: If you were I'm sure we'd be having this discussion about you and Lys.

 VictorianPoet: Hm?

 MonKeybiz: BAN HER KORI!! BAN BAN BAN!!!!!!

 SBPrez: I'm hungry. When are you taking me to dinner, Korianna?

 CrAzYArtist: Shut up you cheater.

 SBPrez: You cheated first~! ^^

 RockStar: No one is taking anyone to dinner!

 VictorianPoet: I thought you were taking Lexsie to dinner tonight...

 CrAzYArtist: YOU SAID YOU WERE GOING TO PRACTICE WITH LYSANDER!!!!!

 RockStar: Damn you, Lys...

 MonKeybiz: lol, Lysander I never pegged you as a troll.

 VictorianPoet: Is that internet lingo? I'm afraid I don't understand.

 MonKeybiz: I'll teach you if you want!

 CrAzYArtist: Great, now that everyone has a date tonight, bye! I gotta go get my wallet...

 MonKeybiz: KORIANNA!

 RabidsingeR: I'm going to murder you the next time I see you!

 SBPrez: Better make sure you have a lot of cash. I have expensive tastes, honey.

 CrAzYArtist: ...I hate you...

 “I thought you said you had expensive tastes.” I said as Nathaniel lead me into a restaurant that wasn't too fancy; it wouldn't suck my whole savings dry. Nathaniel smiled at me as he held the door open, “I do, but I decided to be nice. Besides, most fancy restaurants make you reserve ahead of time.” He said cheerfully. I glared at him, “Nice to know you're so worried about my wallet, Powers.” I growled sarcastically, my boyfriend's smile only grew wider. My eye twitched as a funny thought came to me, “You know... you're last name makes you sound like some type of lame superhero.” I pointed out. Nathaniel's grin turned into a smirk, “Oh? So can you imagine me in a cape and tights?” He asked seductively. I blushed brightly and pressed my fingers into my temples, closing my eyes tightly, “Ahhh! The mental image! It burns!” I squealed. Nathaniel just laughed, not at all offended like most guys would be.

 After the tired looking hostess showed us out seats and took our drink orders, Nathaniel turned to me. “So, what's my price limit?” He asked teasingly. I glared at him, “Nothing over forty bucks, got it?” He gave a mock salute, “Yes, ma'am!” He said before turning to the menu. I studied him, intrigued by his sudden display of cheerfulness. At school, Nathaniel was always so serious and focused, he rarely ever got distracted from school stuff. The guy sitting across from me wasn't like the Nathaniel at school at all. He was cheerful and more relaxed than I had ever seen him; he actually made jokes that were funny. I mean this was the guy who kissed me in public at the beach, at school Nathaniel was too busy with student council stuff and academics to barely even walk me to my next class. I liked the Nathaniel at school, but I was starting to like this Nathaniel a little more.

 My boyfriend seemed aware of my gaze, his golden eyes looked up from the menu to meet my own, “Yes?” He questioned, his mouth turning up in an easy smile. I returned it, “Nothing... just noticing stuff about you.” I said in an almost dreamy tone. Nathaniel's eyebrows started reaching for his hairline, “Oh? What kind of stuff?” He asked as he set the menu down, giving me his full attention. “You don't act the same in school as you do out. You're not so... serious.” I said. It surprised me that Nathaniel frowned and shifted in his seat, looking extremely uncomfortable. “Yeah well... my dad is very strict when it comes to school.” He said, sounding like the School Nathaniel I knew. I tilted my head, confused at his sudden change in personality, “Most dad's are, mine is too.” I tried to tell him, but Nathaniel just shook his head. I shrugged and looked down at the menu, determined not to ruin the night over something Nathaniel clearly didn't want to talk about.

 vvv

 “That was nice. We should do this more often.” I said as we walked out of the restaurant. Nathaniel smiled and snatched up my hand, entwining our fingers together, “Sure, and I promise I'll pay next time. Do you like sea food?” He asked. I stuck out my tongue, “No thanks. I don't like fish at all.” From the look on Nathaniel's face, I might as well said that I enjoyed kicking kittens or something. I laughed at his expression, “You should see your face.” I giggled. Nathaniel looked away with a pout, “How can someone not like fish?” He asked. I stuck my tongue out at him, “The same way you don't like sweets. I just don't.”

 Nathaniel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to press a kiss into my temple, “You're cute,” was all he said. Suddenly I felt extremely shy, as I remembered making out with Nathaniel on the beach for some odd reason. Lately he had been acting more like a boyfriend and less like a... friend, even though we had technically started dating back during Halloween. Nathaniel chuckled at my blush, “You're even more cute now.” He commented and tightened his hold around my waist. I was starting to feel as shy as Savannah when she was around Lysander. “A-are you ready for school to start?” I asked, stuttering only a little.

 The golden haired boy laughed, “Not really.” He admitted. I stared at him, honestly I had thought he would be happy that school would be starting. Nathaniel seemed to be that kind of person, the one who looked forward to school for whatever reason. I on the other hand could stay in my room drawing or hanging out with my friends for the rest of eternity and never go to school again. If I could get away with it, I might actually have considered dropping out; but since no one ever succeeded as a high school dropout, I continued to go to school. Nathaniel smiled at my shocked expression, “What? I'm a normal teenager, Korianna, I hate school as much as anyone.” He said amused. It was my turn to turn away with a pout, “You could have fooled me...” I said. I only got an eye roll from my boyfriend.

 “Kori...?” A boy called. I frowned as I turned around, that voice sounded oddly familiar. My jaw dropped when I saw who was walking towards Nathaniel and I, “T-Ty?!” I sputtered when I saw my ex-boyfriend walking towards us with a quick stride. He had changed drastically from the last time I saw him, before I moved to Sweet Amoris. Back when we were still dating, Ty managed to keep that 'All-American boy' look and hiding his less than stellar activities. Now his plain blonde hair, which used to be so wavy, hung limply over his washed out blue eyes. Bags sagged under his eyes, dark against his pasty skin. Looking at Ty, I could hardly believe that the boy who looked like the typical football jock had turned into such a sleaze.

 Completely ignoring Nathaniel, Ty wrapped his still muscled arms around me and squeezed tightly. I gagged at the rancid smell of his shirt pressing into my face. Was this the only shirt he owned?! “Kori! I can't believe it's you! When I heard that you moved into this area I was ecstatic! Babe, you don't know how much I missed you, I even moved here to find you!” Ty pulled back and gave me a grin that I once melted for before ducking his head to kiss me.

 Instead of my lips, his mouth met Nathaniel's fist. Ty stumbled back, letting go of me in the process, and cradled his jaw, “What the f*ck was that for?!” Ty garbled as he glared at Nathaniel. My golden haired knight in shining armor stood in front of me with his arms crossed. What was with boys trying to flirt with me out of the blue all of a sudden? It was like they were all waiting for me to enter a relationship before they decided to crash things! Ty glared at Nathaniel, “Dude, who the hell are you?” Ty snapped, blood dribbling down his chin a little. Nathaniel didn't look amused in the slightest, “Korianna's boyfriend.” He said flatly.

 Despite the situation before me, I couldn't help but do a happy dance on the inside. Nathaniel admitted it so easily, as if it were only natural that he was my boyfriend. When I had been dating Ty, he always laughed it off and changed the subject. If he actually did admit that he was dating me, Ty would always seem reluctant to admit the fact. I glanced between Nathaniel and Ty. I hadn't realized how bad a boyfriend Ty had been compared to Nathaniel. They were practically on the opposite spectrum of boyfriends. Ty laughed harshly, “So that little bitc-” Nathaniel slammed his fist into Ty's face again. I was honestly surprised that he was so violent. I never expected Nathaniel to be violent prone. Sure, he and Castiel almost got into a fight when I first moved to Sweet Amoris, but I had thought it was a one time thing. Guess I was wrong.

 “Refrain from calling Korianna that.” Nathaniel actually growled. I had seen enough. I tugged on Nathaniel's sleeve, “Come on, he's not worth it.” I said softly. Nathaniel glanced at me out of the corner of his eye before nodding and turning his back on the still moaning Ty. I smiled as I looped my arm through his. Other than the incident with Ty, which I hoped never happened again, tonight was a good night. I got to see a part of Nathaniel that no one ever did and I knew that he wasn't ashamed of me like Ty had been. I had gotten a better deal with Nathaniel than I'd ever get with Ty.

 RockStar: WHAT?!?!?!?!

SBPrez: You heard me. I want to know all about Ty.

 RabidsingeR: Why? And how do you know about Ty? We've never mentioned him by name... that I know of.

 SBPrez: ...he tried to kiss Kori...

 RockStar: WHAT?!?!?!

 SBPrez: Is that the only word you know?

 RockStar: Shut up, Powers. What happened with Kori and Ty?

 SBPrez: We left the restaurant, some guy called out to her. She called him 'Ty'. He started babbling about how much he missed her and tired to kiss her. I smashed my fist into his face. When he called her a bitch, I punch him again.

 RabidsingeR: Nath... I love you. Don't ever change.

 RockStar: HEY!

 RabidsingeR: I love him like a brother!

 VictorianPoet: You know... he might be your brother-in-law one day.

 SBPrez: You're matchmaking is not appreciated, Lysander.

 RockStar: *gag* LYSANDER! Stop trolling.

 VictorianPoet: No.

 MonKeybiz: Stop it! Oh dear heaven and earth! For all that is holy, STOP! I'm dying of laughter!!! XDDDDDD

 MonKeybiz: Where is Kori anyway? She hasn't logged in at all.

 RockStar: It's Saturday before school starts.

 MonKeybiz: Ohhhhhhhhh...

 VictorianPoet: What does that have to do with anything?

RabidsingeR: I shall explain for you newbies to the mysterious ways of Korianna West. Come in closer, little children, as I spin a tell of woe and misery.

 SBPrez: Cut the dramatics and speak plainly.

 VictorianPoet: You fail at theatrical speech anyway.

 RabidsingeR: ...jerks... Anyway, we all know Kori hates school. So she has a tradition of sleeping in extra late on her last true day of summer. The record is sleeping for eleven hours straight. She didn't get up until 5 pm.

 RockStar: Yeah, and that was when Dad flipped her mattress over and dumped her out of bed. If he hadn't interrupted she'd probably have slept all day, literally.

 SBPrez: Why are you always more talkative when your girlfriend is speaking?

RockStar: Why do you even care?

 SBPrez: I don't.

 RockStar: THEN WHY DID YOU ASK!?!

 SBPrez: To see you get defensive. It's amusing.

 RockStar: …

 SBPrez: Also, it's nice to know that you admit to dating Lexsie. I'm sure Korianna will be happy.

 RockStar: NATHANIEL POWERS!!!!

 MonKeybiz: lol Lys, I think you're rubbing off on Nath.

 SBPrez: Don't call me Nath.

 MonKeybiz: Tell me why you don’t want to be called that name and I'll stop calling you that.

 GreenThumb: Since Kori isn't here to keep you on track... we WERE talking about Kori and Ty.

 RabidsingeR: ...oops. It's amusing to see Castiel and Nath dish it out, why don't they do that normally?

 VictorianPoet: Because they're both whipped by Korianna.

 MonKeybiz: lol that's true! XD

 RockStar: ...I'm not even going to respond to that.

 SBPrez: I still want to know about Ty.

 RockStar: You'll have to ask Kori. It's her story, not ours.

 SBPrez: You couldn't tell me that to begin with?

 RockStar: No.

 SBPrez: ...you're a dick.

 RabidsingeR: ...O.O Did...He...?

 MonKeybiz: HE DID!!! NATHANIEL JUST CUSSED!!!!!!!!!!!! THE WORLD IS ENDING! THE WORLD IS ENDING!! Lshdklgjakdlgjlaksjdfl!!!!!

 SBPrez: -_- ...You two are weird.

 VictorianPoet: You can't really blame them. I've known you almost as long as Castiel and this is the first time I've ever heard you cuss.

 GreenThumb: It is strange hearing that coming from you, Nathaniel.

 SBPrez: *sigh*

 RockStar: Ha ha! Everyone thinks your a Goody-goody!

 SBPrez: Shall I go into how you were as a child?

 RockStar: Lexsie already knows, and of course Kori does too. So your plan is flawed.

 SBPrez: Then how about why you became a jerk?

 RockStar: Stop right there, Powers.

 SBPrez: ^^ I wasn't going to say anything.

 RabidsingeR: Okay, this is too muck OOC in here. NATH GO BACK TO BEING A SERIOUS STICK IN THE MUD! CASTIEL START HATING NATH AGAIN, STOP WITH THE POKING FUN AT EACH OTHER!!!!

 GreenThumb: I agree with Lexsie, it is a little weird.

 SBPrez: I'll be a stick in the mud when school starts.

 RockStar: I DO HATE HIM!

 SBPrez: The feeling is mutual, West.

 RockStar: Shut the hell up, Powers.

 GreenThumb: *sigh* Here we go again...

 MonKeybiz: Ring around the rosy, Pocket full of posy! Ashes ashes we all fall down!

 SBPrez: You do realize that song is about the Black Death right?

 MonKeybiz: Really?! Cool!!

 RabidsingeR: *cough cough* NATH IS A NERD!

 VictorianPoet: Knowing trivia doesn't make someone a nerd.

 RockStar: Says the guy full of useless trivia.

 MonKeybiz: Hey! I love trivia! Don't spoil my fun, Castiel!!!

 RockStar: Don't worry I won't!

 MonKeybiz: ...I hate you... Nath and I are going to start at Castiel Hate Club.

 RabidsingeR: Hey! Don't hate on my boyfriend!

 MonKeybiz: You were the president of his fan club back home, it's only right that I be the president of his hate club here!

 RockStar: ...What?

 VictorianPoet: ...

 GreenThumb: XDDDDDDD

 SBPrez: lol

 RabidsingeR: SAVANNAH KNIGHT, I'M GOING TO MURDER YOU!!!!

 MonKeybiz: *sigh* just like old times.

 “Kori, I need your help, get down here!”

 I paused in shading the last bit of my art project and called out. “Why? You said you didn't need any help.”

 “Get the damn dog outta here! He keeps getting in the way!” Castiel snapped back.

 Sighing I set aside my drawing pad and wondered into the kitchen where my brother was, “You know… I don't think Lexsie will really care if you-”

 My brother cut me off, “Take Demon for a walk!”

 I rolled my eyes as I whistled for Demon to follow me. The slobber monster practically knocked my feet from underneath me in his hurry to get to the door. Instead of reaching for the leash, because not even Castiel could hold back that dog sometimes, I grabbed the dog whistle and a baggie of treats.

 First holiday this school year, and I was spending it walking my brother's uncontrollable dog. I hadn't had any downtime since the summer ended, what with my AP classes that Nathaniel convinced me to sign up for and more extracurricular activities like the art club and Theater. And even though it was Thanksgiving holiday, I still had to write a five page essay over Hawthorn’s 'Scarlet Letter', finish my still life for the art club before Christmas break, and finish painting the props for Theater’s spring play.

 Tansy had convinced me to get into Theater, saying that I would be just the girl for it. She didn't tell me that they only needed my artistic skills for painting the backdrops and props. Oh well, at least I was needed somewhere. Lately it seemed like I was just getting under everyone's foot. Some people I could understand, like Nathaniel who took nothing but AP classes as well as being the student body president, were very busy; but ever since Lexsie and Castiel started officially going out she never so much as said 'hi' to me, even though she was in our apartment almost everyday.

 I didn't blame her of course, Castiel had only asked her out three weeks ago so I knew that Lexsie was still getting used to her 'in a relationship' status. Nathaniel had been the only thing in my radar when I first started dating him and even before that. But it still hurt that she only had eyes for my own brother and I was forced to be around her constantly anyway.

 Demon suddenly took off, probably after some stray cat. I wasn't too worried about him, Demon was a city dog; Castiel had told me that the first and last time Demon had ran into the streets he got hit by a car and broke his right foreleg. Since then the giant slobber monster avoided walking even near the curb. It was one thing neither my brother or I had to worry about.

 Jumping up on people and knocking them over was still a problem, unfortunately.

 Demon disappeared around the corner of the bank and not five seconds later a girlish shriek resounded. I groaned and quickened my pace, I just hoped that whoever Demon 'attacked' wasn't some uppity snot who was going to file charges or threaten to call animal control.

 I didn't know who the girl was, but I did recognize the boy who was helping her up.

 Jade grinned when he saw me, “Kori!”

 I blinked at my green haired friend before smiling back, “Hi, Jade. Uh, sorry about Demon. He's kind of… uncontrollable.” As if to prove my point, the slobber monster took off again, this time barking after a skateboarder who had just shot past us. I helped Jade pull the girl to her feet, “I really am sorry, are you alright?”

 The girl stood up, dusting off her floral print skirt and held out her hand, “Oh I'm fine! My name is Ruby, and you're Kori, right?”

 Ruby, huh? I glanced at her bright red hair, her parents name her right at least. I shook her proffered hand, “Korianna, but my friends call me Kori.” I glanced between Jade and Ruby, “Are you… related by any chance?”

 Ruby laughed, “It's the names, isn't it? That's how everyone else always guesses. Our mother wanted to name her children after jewels. Something about how precious the 'family jewels' were.” I smiled again, if there was one thing to be said about this strange girl, it was that she was a lot more outgoing than her brother.

 I glanced at Jade to see him rolling his eyes fondly. They seemed to get along at least. He turned to me, “So how have you been? You haven't gotten onto ChatRoomz in forever and everyone always says you're busy.”

 I smiled sheepishly “Sorry. I signed up for more extracurricular activities this year and they're really taking it out of me.”

“Yeah I know, when I went to Sweet Amoris to help out with the garden again this year you didn't even drop by.”

 “You were there? You didn't tell me that!” What else have people been neglecting to tell me? Lexsie didn't even tell me when she started going out with Castiel, it was my brother who told me about an hour before their first date! And Penni never told me she started taking dance lessons until she asked Castiel for a ride to the dance studio one day.

 Jade shrugged helplessly and rubbed the back of his neck, “I'm not allowed in the school since I'm not a student. Why do you think I always made you run errands for me?”

 I hung my head in defeat. Some vacation this was turning out to be. All my friends were turning up and doing things without telling me, which made me feel incredibly left out. Hopefully it wouldn't be so bad when I went to have dinner at Nathaniel’s house tonight.

 Ruby giggled and patted my shoulder, “Don't worry about it, Korianna! Jade here is just a fuddy duddy,” The red haired girl leaned in as if she was going to tell me a secret, “I think it's because he won't tell anyone who he has a crush on! It's effecting his life, ya know?” She said loud enough that Jade heard her.

 He turned bright red and sputtered while Ruby and I laughed. Smirking I tilted my head to the side and raised a hand to shield my mouth from Jade as I said back, “Oh? Do tell~” I hadn't talked to Violette in a while, but from what Savannah told me she still had a crush on Jade. Could he have a crush on her? It would make my matchmaking job much easier.

 Ruby gave me a one armed hug that was more like a strangle hold, “Oooo I like you! Jadey-boy why didn't you tell me your friends were so fun?”

 “Jadey-boy?” I snorted as Jade's blush turned darker. If I ever got back on ChatRoomz I was going to announce his silly nickname to everyone.