It's going to be an easy week this time =) Not that last week was necessarily hard, of course.
I miss you guys, and we haven't had a catch-up week in awhile, so how is everybody doing? What's new, what's not, how are you feeling, etc...
<3
Friday, February 28, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Platonish
So, Maggie and I are (ostensibly) working on a letter game together, and it's been on the brain recently, so "write something" turned into this little scene between my character (Caela) and her best friend (Jimmy), with a guest appearance from Maggie's character (Caela's brother Rhyder).
Please forgive Rhyder's borderline derogatory comments. He's a good guy, but he can be kind of a dick.
"Platonish"
There were three questions that Jimmy Rubel absolutely hated. One: “Do you have a thing for Caela Worthen?” Two: “Really? Are you sure?” and Three: “So, what, are you gay?”
As could easily be intuited, these questions usually followed each other in direct succession. Their answers, delivered in an almost aggressively bored monotone, were: No, I don’t; Yes, I’m sure; and No, I’m not gay.
But as May of Jimmy’s junior year grew closer and closer, something new cropped up.
“It’s official,” he said one day after school, climbing into Caela’s second story bedroom through the window, habitually touching the mezuzah he’d hung on the windowsill ages ago. “I have a new least favorite question.”
Caela didn’t look up from her Trigonometry homework. “Mm hmm?” she asked.
“‘Have you asked Caela Worthen to the prom yet?’”
Instantly, Caela’s whole demeanor changed. She straightened immediately, all but throwing aside her work. “Oh my God, you too?” she asked. Jimmy grimaced and flopped onto her bed.
“Three people today.”
“Three?” Caela repeated. “I should be so lucky; I got it from eight.”
Jimmy raised himself onto his elbows. “It’s not a competition, Cae,” he said in the voice of the long-suffering. She smirked.
“Yeah, but if it was, I’d win.”
“The point, Caela Evelyn Worthen–” She gasped theatrically, her eyes narrowing in displeasure. Jimmy ignored her, and continued speaking, “–is that something has to be done. Our staunch and steadfast denial is no longer working.”
“Our staunch and steadfast denial has never worked,” she had the nerve to point out, “James Malachi Rubel.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them, he fixed her with a level stare. “Really?” he said. “Must you?”
“Hey, you started the Middle Name Skirmish,” she retorted. “I don’t know why you do that; you’re always going to lose.”
“How do we keep people from believing that we are, have ever, or will ever be anything other than entirely platonic?” he asked, ignoring her very valid point.
“If I had an answer to that question, don’t you think I’d have implemented it already?”
“I would never presume to speak to the complicated thought processes of the adolescent female br–ouch! What is this? What are – you attacking me with math, now, is that what this is?”
For Caela had balled up a page covered in Trigonometry scribbles and, using her best tennis serve, thrown it at Jimmy’s head. “Yes,” she said immediately, in response to his sputtering. “Maybe if I hit you with it hard enough, some of it will penetrate your skull.”
“You are evading the issue at hand,” Jimmy said in a prim and dignified voice.
“Look, Jimmy, I’m as irritated by it as you are, but what can we do? People are going to think what they’re going to think.”
“Yeah, but why are they going to think it?” Jimmy asked, his voice bordering on a whine. “We deny it at every turn, we’re never cutesy or – or – romantic, there’s no sexual tension, so why are people so determined to believe–”
“Because we’re one of those things, you know?” Caela said with a shrug. Jimmy quirked an eyebrow.
“No . . .” he said slowly. “I don’t know. One of what things?”
Caela sighed and scratched her head, screwing up her face in concentration. “You know,” she insisted. “Those things. Those – when you –” She sighed, frustrated, then raised her voice, yelling, “Rhyder!” When nothing happened for a few seconds, she yelled louder and more impatiently, “Rhyder!”
A moment later, a tall, gangly young man about a year older than Jimmy strode lazily through the door and leaned against the wall. “You shrieked, sis?” he asked around a mouthful of sandwich.
“What’s that thing called, that . . . literary device that’s like a stereotype but not exactly? The pattern thing?”
Rhyder frowned for half a second, then asked, “You mean a trope?” Caela snapped her fingers.
“Yes! Thank you! Trope.” She turned to Jimmy. “We’re a trope.”
“A trope,” Jimmy repeated.
“Yeah. Best friends to lovers. That trope. That’s us.”
“Whoa,” Rhyder interjected, straightening. “Uh, you two have something you want to tell me? I thought Jimmy was gay.”
“Still not gay,” Jimmy said, speaking over the end of Rhyder’s sentence. Rhyder’s comments on Jimmy’s sexuality were a long-standing joke between them. Rhyder smirked, and Caela glared.
“If you have nothing to contribute to the conversation, Rhyder, then–”
“What conversation?” Rhyder asked, taking another massive bite of his sandwich. “You called me in here because you couldn’t remember a basic English vocabulary word, it’s not like I have any idea what’s going on. No comments from the peanut gallery, please,” he said immediately, pointing at Jimmy, and it was Jimmy’s turn to smirk. The Worthens knew him so well.
“We were discussing ways to convince the populace of Torrey Pines High School that your sister and I have no romantic interest in one another. Suggestions?”
Rhyder chewed and considered. “You want to convince them or just get them off your backs?”
Jimmy and Caela answered at the same time. “Convince them,” was Jimmy’s response. “Either’s fine with me,” was Caela’s.
“Well,” Rhyder said after a pause. “You could pretend to date for like, two weeks, and then break up.”
Neither Jimmy nor Caela cared for that plan.
“I don’t think anyone would buy it,” Caela said. “Plus, I’d have to be all cutesy with Jimmy for two weeks. No offense,” she said to him. He shook his head.
“None taken. Plus, I’m like, this close, to convincing Andi Grenowitz to go out with me.”
“Andy?” Rhyder interjected. “As in Andrew? Gay.”
Jimmy threw the wadded-up Trig notes at him, but as he was not ranked in tennis, he missed.
“As in Andrea. I can’t be taking out another girl when I’m this close.”
Caela rolled her eyes. “You’ve been this close to getting Andi to go out with you since ninth grade, shinook.”
Jimmy sighed and shook his head. “Pathetic,” he said. “How long have you been friends with me? Schnook is how we pronounce that word in the language of my people, maven. That’s like, Yiddish 101.”
Caela stuck her tongue out at him.
“You could tell everyone that you can’t date Caela because she’s a dirty, dirty Gentile and your poor Jewish mother would have a heart attack and haunt you from the grave,” was Rhyder’s next suggestion.
“We don’t use the term Gentile anymore. We refer to you heathens as goyim. And Andi Grenowitz, the shiksa goddess who haunts me on this ephemeral plane, is also a Gentile.”
“Plus they’d turn us into star-thwarted lovers held apart by forbidden romance, like Romeo and Julia.”
Rhyder grimaced, as if in pain. “Star crossed, Caela,” he corrected. “And it’s Juliet. Juliet. How do you misremember one of the most famous characters ever put on stage?”
“Because it bugs the hell out of you,” Caela said with relish and a sweet smile. “Any other suggestions, O Fount of All Knowledge?”
“Jimmy could come out of the–”
“Still not gay,” Jimmy said loudly.
“Then I got nothing else for you, until James over here stops denying his true self. You’d better do it soon, Rubel. After all, the only reason I’m okay with you and my baby sister spending so much time alone together is because, as a homosexual, you pose no threat to her virtue.”
“I will take a ballpoint pen to your kidney and feel no remorse,” Caela said.
“What are you gonna do, draw on me?” Rhyder asked with a smirk.
“I could kick your ass any day of the week.”
“You and what little girls’ T-ball team?”
“You are aware you just admitted that a group of fifteen eight-year-old girls could take you out, right?”
Rhyder paused. “Shall we change the subject, Jimmy?” he asked after a second’s silence.
Jimmy, who had been caught up in something Rhyder had said a while back, rather than following the track of the siblings’ banter, took a moment to recognize that he had been addressed. “I’m sorry?” he asked belatedly.
“Say something mildly intriguing, Rubel.”
“Do you think there’s a possibility that everyone is seeing something we’ve just missed?”
Both Worthen siblings froze at the question. Caela was still trying to formulate a response when Rhyder settled back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and said, “Well, this is about to get interes—”
“Rubel, don’t you dare,” Caela interrupted, sounding panicked. “Don’t you dare. We have been best friends, platonic best friends for our entire lives. You cannot come in here raging about people not accepting that, and then admit romantic feelings for me ten minutes later.” And then, all of a sudden, her tone changed to indignation. “And you certainly can’t do it in front of my brother, are you nuts?”
Jimmy quickly held his hands up in defense. “I’m not,” he stressed. “Cae, I’m not. My feelings are as platonic as they’ve ever been. The thought of being romantically involved with you in any capacity is, like, the grossest thing I can conceptualize, and I am a guy who grew mold colonies off the office phone and the urinals in the boys’ bathroom. Romantic feelings for you are as anathema to me as a life of celibacy is to Rhyder.”
“I gotta say, Rubel, you sure know how to woo a woman. I should be taking notes,” Rhyder interjected from his stance against the wall.
“Not interested in wooing this woman, Rhyder,” Jimmy responded, not taking his eyes from Caela.
“Well, no, because you’re–”
“It’s just,” Jimmy continued, speaking over Rhyder’s predictable interjection “. . . this many people . . . can they really all be wrong when they’re all so convinced?”
“Yes,” Caela said immediately. “Yes, they can. You saw how popular Glee was.”
“The point is, how do we know, for sure?”
“Because,” Caela stressed. “We know. For sure.”
“I think I need to kiss you.”
Caela froze, completely unable to respond. “This just keeps getting better and better,” Jimmy heard Rhyder say in the background. “Who needs daytime television?”
“I – you – what?” Caela finally managed to say. “You want to kiss me?”
"Ew! No,” Jimmy said emphatically, recoiling a little. “We just went over this, Caela. Grosser than mold colonies? No, I don’t want to kiss you, who said anything about wanting? I said I think I need to. Vastly different.” Caela did not seem convinced. Jimmy sighed. “Okay, do you know how I realized I have the hots for Andi Grenowitz?”
“You looked at her?”
“Whoa, Caela might be the one who’s gay? A plot twist I did not see coming.”
“Shut up, Rhyder,” Jimmy and Caela said in unison.
“I realized how much I like Andi,” Jimmy continued, “because I kissed her.”
“On stage kisses do not count.”
“On the contrary! On stage kisses totally count! Do you know how many things are going through your head during an on stage kiss? Sightlines, blocking, timing, how gross the other person’s makeup tastes, if you get through that and there’s still a spark? That means something, Cae.”
Caela crossed her arms, still not convinced. “So you think, despite the fact that you’ve never had any romantic feelings toward me, that if you kiss me, there might all of a sudden be a spark that lets you know otherwise? And you came up with this grand idea because you’re allowing the student population of Torrey Pines to peer pressure you into a crush? Because that’s where we’re headed, Jimmy. We’re going to get peer pressured into dating. Is that really how you want this to end?”
“Nobody’s peer pressuring me into anything. And, as previously stated, I have no interest in dating you.”
“Yet you want to kiss me.”
Before Jimmy could correct her yet again, Rhyder stepped forward and interrupted.
“If I may,” he said, “I think Jimmy has a valid theory going here. Can’t know you like a girl til you kiss her, I always say.”
Caela made a sound of disgust at her brother. “Rhyder, you are a blemish on the face of human decency.”
“Aw, Cae, don’t flatter me! You’re making me blush!”
“Do you have a point, or are you just enjoying the sound of your own voice again?”
“Any reason both can’t be true? Okay, okay,” he said in response to Caela’s glare. “My point is, I think the kiss is a good idea. It has the potential to bring to the surface feelings heretofore uncovered.”
Caela’s eyes narrowed. Jimmy’s did too, as a matter of fact. Rhyder rarely agreed with him without an ulterior motive.
“Might I remind you both that there are certain biochemical responses that happen as a result of external stimuli? Physical contact between two people comfortable with one another produces endorphins and feelings of attachment.”
“But not a spark, Caela,” Jimmy insisted. Caela rolled her eyes.
“Your ‘spark’ is nothing more than a surging mass of hormones and chemicals.” It was Jimmy’s turn to roll his eyes.
“You have nothing of the poet in you, you realize that, right?”
“But I’d bet she could use some, eh, Jimster?” Rhyder interjected, his meaning made blatantly clear by an excess of eyebrow waggling and rib elbowing.
“Okay, get out,” Caela said, pointing imperially toward the door. Rhyder feigned innocence, looking wounded.
“What?” he asked.
“Out! Get out!” Caela repeated, physically ushering him across the threshold. “I have used up my daily quota of patience for your licentiousness. Begone!”
“Don’t I even get to stay and watch?” he asked, incredulous. Caela responded by slamming the door in his face. “Take notes, Jimmy, and report back to me!” he yelled through the wood.
“You really want details of your sister’s kissing abilities?” Jimmy called back. There was a pause.
“Yeah, okay, scratch that. I don’t want notes.”
“Didn’t think so.”
“Need I remind you that I haven’t agreed to this?” Caela asked then.
“C’mon, Cae,” Jimmy said, his voice quieter and gentler. “It’s ten seconds of your life. And it’s me. You trust me, don’t you?”
Caela softened. “Of course I trust you, Jimmy. This is really that important?”
“I think it is,” was his simple reply. “I’m, like, 99.8% positive that I know the answer, but I want to dispel that lingering little bit, because I don’t want to get peer pressured into dating you, or developing feelings for you. I want to be 100% firm in my resolve.”
Caela hesitated just a moment longer, then sighed. “What the hell,” she said with a smile. “It’s not like it’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever asked me to do.”
Jimmy grinned, remembering a Halloween party, a seashell bra, and a goat. “Sad, but true. Okay. A couple ground rules.”
Caela raised an eyebrow. “Ground rules?” she repeated. “Really?”
“Don’t worry; I’ll be following them, too. First, we speak of this to no one.”
“We should have sworn Rhyder to secrecy, but yes. Agreed.”
“We can blackmail him later; it’s fine. Second, if you feel anything non-platonic, anything at all, you have to say so. So we can assess the likelihood of it being purely a biochemical response to external stimuli.” Caela stuck her tongue out at him. “And third–”
“Third?” Caela interrupted, crossing her arms. “You said a couple. A couple is two.”
“Couple can refer to any number between two and –”
“Which one of us is in an Advanced Placement math course? A couple is two.” Jimmy sighed.
“Fine, then, I don’t have a couple ground rules, I have three. Satisfied?”
Caela nodded primly. “You may continue,” she allowed.
“Third, you have to treat this, like, legit, okay? No pecks on the lip, a for real kiss. Don’t half-ass me, Worthen.”
“I draw the line at tongue,” Caela warned. Jimmy looked appalled.
“I’m testing for a spark, Cae, not trying to run the bases.”
“Good, because I’m pretty sure I’d have to slap you, and then castrate you.”
“And having had a knife applied to my package once already this lifetime, I have no desire to repeat the experience.”
After a beat, Caela let out a breathy laugh of disbelief, shaking her head. “God, this is the weirdest pre-kiss conversation I’ve ever had,” she told Jimmy.
“It’s certainly the weirdest one I’ve ever eavesdropped on,” came Rhyder’s voice from the other side of the door. Without taking her eyes from Jimmy, Caela aimed a well placed kick just below the doorknob, prompting an exclamation of pain and a long string of Yiddish cursing. “Shtup-ing son of a nafke, migulgl zol er vern in a henglayhter–”
Caela peered inquisitively at Jimmy. “Did he just tell me to turn myself into a chandelier? Am I translating that correctly?” But Jimmy only shook his head in despair.
“Pidgen Yiddish insults. This is what the language of my people has come to.” He raised his eyes heavenward. “Merciful God, forgive me, I did not mean to so misuse my You-given gifts here on earth. Also,” he redirected his attention to Caela. "You remember henglayhter, but not how to pronounce schnook? How the hell does your mind work?"
"Should we get to it?" she asked, direct as always.
"Yeah," Jimmy said, suddenly nervous. "I guess we should."
“Okay, I’ll . . . follow your lead, then, I guess? God, this is weird.”
“Lie back and think of England?” Jimmy suggested with a smirk.
“I’m sorry, I thought you wanted me to participate,” Caela quipped, and Jimmy laughed.
“Ten seconds,” he said, as a way to dispel the awkwardness. The corner of her mouth rose.
“Ten seconds,” she repeated. He took a deep breath, and reached for her, but she pulled away. “Make sure the curtains are closed,” she ordered. “If anybody sees this–”
“Good point,” he said, striding to the window and pulling the drapes shut. “Okay,” he said on an exhale, turning back around to face his best friend. There was nothing left but to do it. It had, after all, been his idea.
He cupped her cheek in one palm, the way he might have with any girl he was interested in, and tilted her face to his. Then, softly, gently, he kissed her.
She responded almost immediately, and – his best friend was a surprisingly good kisser. Not surprising in that he’d thought she would be a bad kisser, or a tentative kisser, but just in that he hadn’t thought about her in direct relation to that particular skill set. But Caela Worthen knew what she was doing.
Her hands settled on his waist, which made sense. His were on her face and in her hair, and that was enough arms in the upper torso region unless they planned on entwining, which wasn’t really on the agenda. He focused on the feeling of her hands on him, her hair under his fingers, her lips against his, and he counted slowly backward. 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .
When he got to 1, he pulled away slowly, and opened his eyes. She was watching him with an almost appraising look. “Well?” she asked after a moment, and he exhaled.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head, letting his hands fall to his side as hers did the same. “I mean, you kiss very well, don’t get me wrong.” She smiled.
“Thank you,” she acknowledged. “As do you. I’d say . . . 8.6.” Jimmy took a step back.
“Excuse me?” he demanded, crossing his arms. “8.6? I am at least a 9 on the kissing scale, thank you very much!”
Caela shook her head, trying to hide her smile. “You’re a little tight-lipped,” she critiqued.
“Well, you move your mouth too much!” he retorted in indignation.
“I’ve had no complaints thus far,” Caela informed him, “and I’ve been doing this a bit longer than you have.”
“8.6,” Jimmy muttered, his eyes narrowed. Caela laughed.
“But no spark?” she asked, and Jimmy shook his head with a smile.
“Nope,”he said, popping the P. “I enjoyed it, it was pleasurable, but no released endorphins over here. You?”
“Same,” she said with a nod of her head. “So, I guess that’s that.”
“I guess it is,” Jimmy concurred. “See you tomorrow at the coffee stand?” He headed for the window, opened the curtains, touched the mezuzah, and began clamoring out as Caela offered an affirmative.
“Your turn to buy or mine?”
“Mine, I owe you one,” he said from the tree limb. “Oh, and before I forget.” Caela looked at him expectantly. “Want to go to prom with me?”
"You don't want to go with Andi?"
"God, of course I want to go with Andi, haven't you been paying attention? But it is not in the stars. Greg Wilkins already asked her, the rat bastard. So? What do you say?"
“I say, a chance to get people off our backs, spend an awesome night dancing and partying pressure-free with my best friend, and annoy the crap out of the student populace by attending prom together while simultaneously denying a romantic attachment? I’d love to!”
Jimmy grinned. “I thought you might. See you tomorrow.”
And he dropped to the ground, landing lightly with years of practice.
“Afternoon, Jimmy,” Caela’s father called through the open screen of his office window. Jimmy gave a brief wave.
“Afternoon, Mr. Worthen,” he replied, then shoved his hands in his pockets and headed home, whistling.
Please forgive Rhyder's borderline derogatory comments. He's a good guy, but he can be kind of a dick.
"Platonish"
There were three questions that Jimmy Rubel absolutely hated. One: “Do you have a thing for Caela Worthen?” Two: “Really? Are you sure?” and Three: “So, what, are you gay?”
As could easily be intuited, these questions usually followed each other in direct succession. Their answers, delivered in an almost aggressively bored monotone, were: No, I don’t; Yes, I’m sure; and No, I’m not gay.
But as May of Jimmy’s junior year grew closer and closer, something new cropped up.
“It’s official,” he said one day after school, climbing into Caela’s second story bedroom through the window, habitually touching the mezuzah he’d hung on the windowsill ages ago. “I have a new least favorite question.”
Caela didn’t look up from her Trigonometry homework. “Mm hmm?” she asked.
“‘Have you asked Caela Worthen to the prom yet?’”
Instantly, Caela’s whole demeanor changed. She straightened immediately, all but throwing aside her work. “Oh my God, you too?” she asked. Jimmy grimaced and flopped onto her bed.
“Three people today.”
“Three?” Caela repeated. “I should be so lucky; I got it from eight.”
Jimmy raised himself onto his elbows. “It’s not a competition, Cae,” he said in the voice of the long-suffering. She smirked.
“Yeah, but if it was, I’d win.”
“The point, Caela Evelyn Worthen–” She gasped theatrically, her eyes narrowing in displeasure. Jimmy ignored her, and continued speaking, “–is that something has to be done. Our staunch and steadfast denial is no longer working.”
“Our staunch and steadfast denial has never worked,” she had the nerve to point out, “James Malachi Rubel.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. When he opened them, he fixed her with a level stare. “Really?” he said. “Must you?”
“Hey, you started the Middle Name Skirmish,” she retorted. “I don’t know why you do that; you’re always going to lose.”
“How do we keep people from believing that we are, have ever, or will ever be anything other than entirely platonic?” he asked, ignoring her very valid point.
“If I had an answer to that question, don’t you think I’d have implemented it already?”
“I would never presume to speak to the complicated thought processes of the adolescent female br–ouch! What is this? What are – you attacking me with math, now, is that what this is?”
For Caela had balled up a page covered in Trigonometry scribbles and, using her best tennis serve, thrown it at Jimmy’s head. “Yes,” she said immediately, in response to his sputtering. “Maybe if I hit you with it hard enough, some of it will penetrate your skull.”
“You are evading the issue at hand,” Jimmy said in a prim and dignified voice.
“Look, Jimmy, I’m as irritated by it as you are, but what can we do? People are going to think what they’re going to think.”
“Yeah, but why are they going to think it?” Jimmy asked, his voice bordering on a whine. “We deny it at every turn, we’re never cutesy or – or – romantic, there’s no sexual tension, so why are people so determined to believe–”
“Because we’re one of those things, you know?” Caela said with a shrug. Jimmy quirked an eyebrow.
“No . . .” he said slowly. “I don’t know. One of what things?”
Caela sighed and scratched her head, screwing up her face in concentration. “You know,” she insisted. “Those things. Those – when you –” She sighed, frustrated, then raised her voice, yelling, “Rhyder!” When nothing happened for a few seconds, she yelled louder and more impatiently, “Rhyder!”
A moment later, a tall, gangly young man about a year older than Jimmy strode lazily through the door and leaned against the wall. “You shrieked, sis?” he asked around a mouthful of sandwich.
“What’s that thing called, that . . . literary device that’s like a stereotype but not exactly? The pattern thing?”
Rhyder frowned for half a second, then asked, “You mean a trope?” Caela snapped her fingers.
“Yes! Thank you! Trope.” She turned to Jimmy. “We’re a trope.”
“A trope,” Jimmy repeated.
“Yeah. Best friends to lovers. That trope. That’s us.”
“Whoa,” Rhyder interjected, straightening. “Uh, you two have something you want to tell me? I thought Jimmy was gay.”
“Still not gay,” Jimmy said, speaking over the end of Rhyder’s sentence. Rhyder’s comments on Jimmy’s sexuality were a long-standing joke between them. Rhyder smirked, and Caela glared.
“If you have nothing to contribute to the conversation, Rhyder, then–”
“What conversation?” Rhyder asked, taking another massive bite of his sandwich. “You called me in here because you couldn’t remember a basic English vocabulary word, it’s not like I have any idea what’s going on. No comments from the peanut gallery, please,” he said immediately, pointing at Jimmy, and it was Jimmy’s turn to smirk. The Worthens knew him so well.
“We were discussing ways to convince the populace of Torrey Pines High School that your sister and I have no romantic interest in one another. Suggestions?”
Rhyder chewed and considered. “You want to convince them or just get them off your backs?”
Jimmy and Caela answered at the same time. “Convince them,” was Jimmy’s response. “Either’s fine with me,” was Caela’s.
“Well,” Rhyder said after a pause. “You could pretend to date for like, two weeks, and then break up.”
Neither Jimmy nor Caela cared for that plan.
“I don’t think anyone would buy it,” Caela said. “Plus, I’d have to be all cutesy with Jimmy for two weeks. No offense,” she said to him. He shook his head.
“None taken. Plus, I’m like, this close, to convincing Andi Grenowitz to go out with me.”
“Andy?” Rhyder interjected. “As in Andrew? Gay.”
Jimmy threw the wadded-up Trig notes at him, but as he was not ranked in tennis, he missed.
“As in Andrea. I can’t be taking out another girl when I’m this close.”
Caela rolled her eyes. “You’ve been this close to getting Andi to go out with you since ninth grade, shinook.”
Jimmy sighed and shook his head. “Pathetic,” he said. “How long have you been friends with me? Schnook is how we pronounce that word in the language of my people, maven. That’s like, Yiddish 101.”
Caela stuck her tongue out at him.
“You could tell everyone that you can’t date Caela because she’s a dirty, dirty Gentile and your poor Jewish mother would have a heart attack and haunt you from the grave,” was Rhyder’s next suggestion.
“We don’t use the term Gentile anymore. We refer to you heathens as goyim. And Andi Grenowitz, the shiksa goddess who haunts me on this ephemeral plane, is also a Gentile.”
“Plus they’d turn us into star-thwarted lovers held apart by forbidden romance, like Romeo and Julia.”
Rhyder grimaced, as if in pain. “Star crossed, Caela,” he corrected. “And it’s Juliet. Juliet. How do you misremember one of the most famous characters ever put on stage?”
“Because it bugs the hell out of you,” Caela said with relish and a sweet smile. “Any other suggestions, O Fount of All Knowledge?”
“Jimmy could come out of the–”
“Still not gay,” Jimmy said loudly.
“Then I got nothing else for you, until James over here stops denying his true self. You’d better do it soon, Rubel. After all, the only reason I’m okay with you and my baby sister spending so much time alone together is because, as a homosexual, you pose no threat to her virtue.”
“I will take a ballpoint pen to your kidney and feel no remorse,” Caela said.
“What are you gonna do, draw on me?” Rhyder asked with a smirk.
“I could kick your ass any day of the week.”
“You and what little girls’ T-ball team?”
“You are aware you just admitted that a group of fifteen eight-year-old girls could take you out, right?”
Rhyder paused. “Shall we change the subject, Jimmy?” he asked after a second’s silence.
Jimmy, who had been caught up in something Rhyder had said a while back, rather than following the track of the siblings’ banter, took a moment to recognize that he had been addressed. “I’m sorry?” he asked belatedly.
“Say something mildly intriguing, Rubel.”
“Do you think there’s a possibility that everyone is seeing something we’ve just missed?”
Both Worthen siblings froze at the question. Caela was still trying to formulate a response when Rhyder settled back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and said, “Well, this is about to get interes—”
“Rubel, don’t you dare,” Caela interrupted, sounding panicked. “Don’t you dare. We have been best friends, platonic best friends for our entire lives. You cannot come in here raging about people not accepting that, and then admit romantic feelings for me ten minutes later.” And then, all of a sudden, her tone changed to indignation. “And you certainly can’t do it in front of my brother, are you nuts?”
Jimmy quickly held his hands up in defense. “I’m not,” he stressed. “Cae, I’m not. My feelings are as platonic as they’ve ever been. The thought of being romantically involved with you in any capacity is, like, the grossest thing I can conceptualize, and I am a guy who grew mold colonies off the office phone and the urinals in the boys’ bathroom. Romantic feelings for you are as anathema to me as a life of celibacy is to Rhyder.”
“I gotta say, Rubel, you sure know how to woo a woman. I should be taking notes,” Rhyder interjected from his stance against the wall.
“Not interested in wooing this woman, Rhyder,” Jimmy responded, not taking his eyes from Caela.
“Well, no, because you’re–”
“It’s just,” Jimmy continued, speaking over Rhyder’s predictable interjection “. . . this many people . . . can they really all be wrong when they’re all so convinced?”
“Yes,” Caela said immediately. “Yes, they can. You saw how popular Glee was.”
“The point is, how do we know, for sure?”
“Because,” Caela stressed. “We know. For sure.”
“I think I need to kiss you.”
Caela froze, completely unable to respond. “This just keeps getting better and better,” Jimmy heard Rhyder say in the background. “Who needs daytime television?”
“I – you – what?” Caela finally managed to say. “You want to kiss me?”
"Ew! No,” Jimmy said emphatically, recoiling a little. “We just went over this, Caela. Grosser than mold colonies? No, I don’t want to kiss you, who said anything about wanting? I said I think I need to. Vastly different.” Caela did not seem convinced. Jimmy sighed. “Okay, do you know how I realized I have the hots for Andi Grenowitz?”
“You looked at her?”
“Whoa, Caela might be the one who’s gay? A plot twist I did not see coming.”
“Shut up, Rhyder,” Jimmy and Caela said in unison.
“I realized how much I like Andi,” Jimmy continued, “because I kissed her.”
“On stage kisses do not count.”
“On the contrary! On stage kisses totally count! Do you know how many things are going through your head during an on stage kiss? Sightlines, blocking, timing, how gross the other person’s makeup tastes, if you get through that and there’s still a spark? That means something, Cae.”
Caela crossed her arms, still not convinced. “So you think, despite the fact that you’ve never had any romantic feelings toward me, that if you kiss me, there might all of a sudden be a spark that lets you know otherwise? And you came up with this grand idea because you’re allowing the student population of Torrey Pines to peer pressure you into a crush? Because that’s where we’re headed, Jimmy. We’re going to get peer pressured into dating. Is that really how you want this to end?”
“Nobody’s peer pressuring me into anything. And, as previously stated, I have no interest in dating you.”
“Yet you want to kiss me.”
Before Jimmy could correct her yet again, Rhyder stepped forward and interrupted.
“If I may,” he said, “I think Jimmy has a valid theory going here. Can’t know you like a girl til you kiss her, I always say.”
Caela made a sound of disgust at her brother. “Rhyder, you are a blemish on the face of human decency.”
“Aw, Cae, don’t flatter me! You’re making me blush!”
“Do you have a point, or are you just enjoying the sound of your own voice again?”
“Any reason both can’t be true? Okay, okay,” he said in response to Caela’s glare. “My point is, I think the kiss is a good idea. It has the potential to bring to the surface feelings heretofore uncovered.”
Caela’s eyes narrowed. Jimmy’s did too, as a matter of fact. Rhyder rarely agreed with him without an ulterior motive.
“Might I remind you both that there are certain biochemical responses that happen as a result of external stimuli? Physical contact between two people comfortable with one another produces endorphins and feelings of attachment.”
“But not a spark, Caela,” Jimmy insisted. Caela rolled her eyes.
“Your ‘spark’ is nothing more than a surging mass of hormones and chemicals.” It was Jimmy’s turn to roll his eyes.
“You have nothing of the poet in you, you realize that, right?”
“But I’d bet she could use some, eh, Jimster?” Rhyder interjected, his meaning made blatantly clear by an excess of eyebrow waggling and rib elbowing.
“Okay, get out,” Caela said, pointing imperially toward the door. Rhyder feigned innocence, looking wounded.
“What?” he asked.
“Out! Get out!” Caela repeated, physically ushering him across the threshold. “I have used up my daily quota of patience for your licentiousness. Begone!”
“Don’t I even get to stay and watch?” he asked, incredulous. Caela responded by slamming the door in his face. “Take notes, Jimmy, and report back to me!” he yelled through the wood.
“You really want details of your sister’s kissing abilities?” Jimmy called back. There was a pause.
“Yeah, okay, scratch that. I don’t want notes.”
“Didn’t think so.”
“Need I remind you that I haven’t agreed to this?” Caela asked then.
“C’mon, Cae,” Jimmy said, his voice quieter and gentler. “It’s ten seconds of your life. And it’s me. You trust me, don’t you?”
Caela softened. “Of course I trust you, Jimmy. This is really that important?”
“I think it is,” was his simple reply. “I’m, like, 99.8% positive that I know the answer, but I want to dispel that lingering little bit, because I don’t want to get peer pressured into dating you, or developing feelings for you. I want to be 100% firm in my resolve.”
Caela hesitated just a moment longer, then sighed. “What the hell,” she said with a smile. “It’s not like it’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever asked me to do.”
Jimmy grinned, remembering a Halloween party, a seashell bra, and a goat. “Sad, but true. Okay. A couple ground rules.”
Caela raised an eyebrow. “Ground rules?” she repeated. “Really?”
“Don’t worry; I’ll be following them, too. First, we speak of this to no one.”
“We should have sworn Rhyder to secrecy, but yes. Agreed.”
“We can blackmail him later; it’s fine. Second, if you feel anything non-platonic, anything at all, you have to say so. So we can assess the likelihood of it being purely a biochemical response to external stimuli.” Caela stuck her tongue out at him. “And third–”
“Third?” Caela interrupted, crossing her arms. “You said a couple. A couple is two.”
“Couple can refer to any number between two and –”
“Which one of us is in an Advanced Placement math course? A couple is two.” Jimmy sighed.
“Fine, then, I don’t have a couple ground rules, I have three. Satisfied?”
Caela nodded primly. “You may continue,” she allowed.
“Third, you have to treat this, like, legit, okay? No pecks on the lip, a for real kiss. Don’t half-ass me, Worthen.”
“I draw the line at tongue,” Caela warned. Jimmy looked appalled.
“I’m testing for a spark, Cae, not trying to run the bases.”
“Good, because I’m pretty sure I’d have to slap you, and then castrate you.”
“And having had a knife applied to my package once already this lifetime, I have no desire to repeat the experience.”
After a beat, Caela let out a breathy laugh of disbelief, shaking her head. “God, this is the weirdest pre-kiss conversation I’ve ever had,” she told Jimmy.
“It’s certainly the weirdest one I’ve ever eavesdropped on,” came Rhyder’s voice from the other side of the door. Without taking her eyes from Jimmy, Caela aimed a well placed kick just below the doorknob, prompting an exclamation of pain and a long string of Yiddish cursing. “Shtup-ing son of a nafke, migulgl zol er vern in a henglayhter–”
Caela peered inquisitively at Jimmy. “Did he just tell me to turn myself into a chandelier? Am I translating that correctly?” But Jimmy only shook his head in despair.
“Pidgen Yiddish insults. This is what the language of my people has come to.” He raised his eyes heavenward. “Merciful God, forgive me, I did not mean to so misuse my You-given gifts here on earth. Also,” he redirected his attention to Caela. "You remember henglayhter, but not how to pronounce schnook? How the hell does your mind work?"
"Should we get to it?" she asked, direct as always.
"Yeah," Jimmy said, suddenly nervous. "I guess we should."
“Okay, I’ll . . . follow your lead, then, I guess? God, this is weird.”
“Lie back and think of England?” Jimmy suggested with a smirk.
“I’m sorry, I thought you wanted me to participate,” Caela quipped, and Jimmy laughed.
“Ten seconds,” he said, as a way to dispel the awkwardness. The corner of her mouth rose.
“Ten seconds,” she repeated. He took a deep breath, and reached for her, but she pulled away. “Make sure the curtains are closed,” she ordered. “If anybody sees this–”
“Good point,” he said, striding to the window and pulling the drapes shut. “Okay,” he said on an exhale, turning back around to face his best friend. There was nothing left but to do it. It had, after all, been his idea.
He cupped her cheek in one palm, the way he might have with any girl he was interested in, and tilted her face to his. Then, softly, gently, he kissed her.
She responded almost immediately, and – his best friend was a surprisingly good kisser. Not surprising in that he’d thought she would be a bad kisser, or a tentative kisser, but just in that he hadn’t thought about her in direct relation to that particular skill set. But Caela Worthen knew what she was doing.
Her hands settled on his waist, which made sense. His were on her face and in her hair, and that was enough arms in the upper torso region unless they planned on entwining, which wasn’t really on the agenda. He focused on the feeling of her hands on him, her hair under his fingers, her lips against his, and he counted slowly backward. 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .
When he got to 1, he pulled away slowly, and opened his eyes. She was watching him with an almost appraising look. “Well?” she asked after a moment, and he exhaled.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head, letting his hands fall to his side as hers did the same. “I mean, you kiss very well, don’t get me wrong.” She smiled.
“Thank you,” she acknowledged. “As do you. I’d say . . . 8.6.” Jimmy took a step back.
“Excuse me?” he demanded, crossing his arms. “8.6? I am at least a 9 on the kissing scale, thank you very much!”
Caela shook her head, trying to hide her smile. “You’re a little tight-lipped,” she critiqued.
“Well, you move your mouth too much!” he retorted in indignation.
“I’ve had no complaints thus far,” Caela informed him, “and I’ve been doing this a bit longer than you have.”
“8.6,” Jimmy muttered, his eyes narrowed. Caela laughed.
“But no spark?” she asked, and Jimmy shook his head with a smile.
“Nope,”he said, popping the P. “I enjoyed it, it was pleasurable, but no released endorphins over here. You?”
“Same,” she said with a nod of her head. “So, I guess that’s that.”
“I guess it is,” Jimmy concurred. “See you tomorrow at the coffee stand?” He headed for the window, opened the curtains, touched the mezuzah, and began clamoring out as Caela offered an affirmative.
“Your turn to buy or mine?”
“Mine, I owe you one,” he said from the tree limb. “Oh, and before I forget.” Caela looked at him expectantly. “Want to go to prom with me?”
"You don't want to go with Andi?"
"God, of course I want to go with Andi, haven't you been paying attention? But it is not in the stars. Greg Wilkins already asked her, the rat bastard. So? What do you say?"
“I say, a chance to get people off our backs, spend an awesome night dancing and partying pressure-free with my best friend, and annoy the crap out of the student populace by attending prom together while simultaneously denying a romantic attachment? I’d love to!”
Jimmy grinned. “I thought you might. See you tomorrow.”
And he dropped to the ground, landing lightly with years of practice.
“Afternoon, Jimmy,” Caela’s father called through the open screen of his office window. Jimmy gave a brief wave.
“Afternoon, Mr. Worthen,” he replied, then shoved his hands in his pockets and headed home, whistling.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Storytime
Alright, ladies. This week, I want you to tell us a story. Any story you like, fictional or non-fictional, with any subject, of any length, all of that is up to you. Be creative, have fun!
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Better Late than Never, Yes?
I want The Enchanted Forest Chronicles filmed. All four of them. I want this thing. I have wanted this thing since I was a child. I want dragons and snarky princesses and awesome witches and awkward romance. I want this thing.
Unfortunately, because I have wanted this thing for nigh fifteen years now, some of my choices have become too old (but I will hold out on Robert Picardo for Telemain as long as I possibly can). But being on a casting kick recently, I went and found some new favorites.
Emilia Clarke as Cimorene
Ben Barnes as Mendenbar
Helen Mirren as the voice of Kazul
Saul Rubinek as the voice of Roxim
Erick Avari as the voice of Woraug
Frances O'Connor or Olivia Williams as Morwen
Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Telemain if I must go younger
Jonathan Pryce as Zemenar
Blake Ritson as Antorell
Asa Butterfield as Daystar
Katie Leclerc as Shiara
I would like this thing, and I would like it now, and I would like it to not be butchered. Please and thank you!
Unfortunately, because I have wanted this thing for nigh fifteen years now, some of my choices have become too old (but I will hold out on Robert Picardo for Telemain as long as I possibly can). But being on a casting kick recently, I went and found some new favorites.
Emilia Clarke as Cimorene
Ben Barnes as Mendenbar
Helen Mirren as the voice of Kazul
Saul Rubinek as the voice of Roxim
Erick Avari as the voice of Woraug
Frances O'Connor or Olivia Williams as Morwen
Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Telemain if I must go younger
Jonathan Pryce as Zemenar
Blake Ritson as Antorell
Asa Butterfield as Daystar
Katie Leclerc as Shiara
I would like this thing, and I would like it now, and I would like it to not be butchered. Please and thank you!
Can we just say we're off by a week?
Hey guys, I'm gonna take Heidi's prompt for this week, and I'll provide one next week, 'kay? My parents were in town, and I kinda... forgot. Oops!
Anyway, I would LOVE to see The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern turned into a movie, with Tom Hiddleston as the main Marco (technically it needs to be dual cast, or actually triple if you count the young version) [EDIT: I have found my dual cast! Tom Hiddleston and JJ Feild sharing the role of Marco would be perfect, please and thank you, can this happen NOW?!], Liam Neeson as A.H., Jim Broadbent or Colm Meaney (or someone like them who has an American accent, because technically the character is American) as Hector Bowen, and maybe Jennifer Lawrence as Celia (I'm not that up on twenty-something actresses with American accents right now). Oh and Asa Butterfield as Bailey (or maybe young Marco) and Karen Gillan as the Burgess twins and, well, probably a pair of unknowns as Poppet and Widget, cause I don't know any young Scottish actors.
As for why, besides the fact that it has been one of my absolute favorite novels for a long time (did I put it on my survey? I should check), I think it could be absolutely beautifully done, contrasting the stark black-and-white of the circus to the beautiful magical creations of Marco and Celia.
And yes, somebody has bought the rights, but nobody is even working on casting yet. Who knows if they're even working on the screenplay. But it NEEDS TO HAPPEN. I'll do it myself if necessary!
Anyway, I would LOVE to see The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern turned into a movie, with Tom Hiddleston as the main Marco (technically it needs to be dual cast, or actually triple if you count the young version) [EDIT: I have found my dual cast! Tom Hiddleston and JJ Feild sharing the role of Marco would be perfect, please and thank you, can this happen NOW?!], Liam Neeson as A.H., Jim Broadbent or Colm Meaney (or someone like them who has an American accent, because technically the character is American) as Hector Bowen, and maybe Jennifer Lawrence as Celia (I'm not that up on twenty-something actresses with American accents right now). Oh and Asa Butterfield as Bailey (or maybe young Marco) and Karen Gillan as the Burgess twins and, well, probably a pair of unknowns as Poppet and Widget, cause I don't know any young Scottish actors.
As for why, besides the fact that it has been one of my absolute favorite novels for a long time (did I put it on my survey? I should check), I think it could be absolutely beautifully done, contrasting the stark black-and-white of the circus to the beautiful magical creations of Marco and Celia.
And yes, somebody has bought the rights, but nobody is even working on casting yet. Who knows if they're even working on the screenplay. But it NEEDS TO HAPPEN. I'll do it myself if necessary!
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Aw, did I miss it?
It was my week to post a topic? Darn.
I was going to ask what book would you like to see made into a movie and why?
As for surveys ... I want to look back through mine before I post it.
I was going to ask what book would you like to see made into a movie and why?
As for surveys ... I want to look back through mine before I post it.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
I should have thought about how hard this would be when I wrote the stupid thing.
General:
Favorite place to shop: locally, Barnes & Noble, but I enjoy Lush when I have time to drive an hour away.Favorite place to eat/type of food: I like trying new things, but Chipotle is an old favorite. I've also found I love some of the local bakeries and coffee shops here!
Favorite genre of music and artist: Why did I come up with such hard questions?! I generally like soundtracks and some of my favorite composers are Michael Giacchino, Murray Gold, David Arnold & Michael Price, and Alexandre Desplat.
Favorite (real) animal (fictional comes later, don't worry): Kitties! And I want one so BAD right now, but can't do it, in case I have to be somewhere else this summer.
Favorite type of clothing: I am especially fond of warm things right now, because it is COLD. Sweaters, scarves and fuzzy loungewear/socks when I can get away with it.
Colors:
Favorite single color: Blue of any varietyFavorite pair of colors (TOGETHER, not just your first favorite and second favorite): Blue and Silver, or Turquoise and Brown
Color you wear most often (if different than favorite): Blue, but I like anything pastel or on the cool side of the spectrum (today's sweater is GREEN! Woohoo for branching out)
Color scheme of current place of residence (if applicable): Can you guess? Blue (of the cornflower variety) and a sort of sunshine yellow
General Books (there is an entire section on Harry Potter later, so non-HP please!):
Most coveted fictional item: I would LOVE a version of Sabriel's bell bandolier (from Garth Nix's Abhorsen series), but I would also love to read the story Capricorn comes out of in Inkheart.Current favorite novel/series: The only one I've managed to follow and keep up to date with since Grad School started so far is Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, but I am also in love with Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles
Favorite character from said novel: Heroes of Olympus - Piper or Leo, Lunar Chronicles - Scarlet
What is it about the novel you like: I like the inventive re-imaginings, I guess. I'm also on a high fantasy kick, though, so that might help - the sorta quest-genre feel to them.
Favorite "classic": I'm not much into classics, but can't lose with Jane Austen, Lord of the Rings, and Around the World in 80 Days.
All time favorite author/series: Aside from Harry Potter, I'd say author is Terry Pratchett, series is Kristin Cashore's Graceling trilogy.
Preferred format for reading (hardback, paperback, ebook): paperback
Harry Potter:
House affiliation (Chosen or Pottermore): RavenclawWand makeup (Chosen or Pottermore): Blackthorn and Unicorn hair
Your Patronus (Chosen or from a quiz): I have no idea so I took some quizzes and got Frog, Rabbit, Stag, or Swan. Not particularly happy with those, I went and found a Daemon quiz from the Golden Compass series and got Peregrine Falcon, Snowy Owl, Snow Leopard, Siberian Tiger, or Osprey -> I'll take any of those, but I especially like the idea of a Snow Leopard! Oh, and I think I picked a Dragon when Cassie (was it Cassie?) asked before Christmas.
Favorite book (extras included): Prisoner of Azkaban, then Tales of Beedle the Bard
Favorite movie: One, if I'm not allowed to choose the as yet un-filmed HBO tv series :P
Favorite character(s): Peeves, Dumbledore, McGonagall
Favorite villain (if applicable and different from favorite character): I guess Peeves is kind of a villain? Fake Moody was cool too.
Favorite pairing: I always liked Harry & Ginny, and Ron & Hermione. I have trouble with anti-canon though, so I may be forgetting a pairing I liked before the series was finished. And Cassie reminded me that I like Rose/Scorpius too - I read some pretty awesome fanfic about them back in the day when I actually had time to be reading things that weren't scholarly.
Favorite spell: Alohomora
Favorite potion: Amortentia (because it has a cool name, not because I'd want to use it) or Felix Felicis
Favorite fantastical beast: Unicorns and Dragons
Most coveted magical item: A Remembrall would be cool, or a Exploding Snap deck! Oh, and chocolate frogs.
Most coveted power/spell/potion (if different from favorite): Animagus
Non-HP nerdy-ness:
Other fandoms to which you belong: Sherlock, Doctor Who, Avengers, Once Upon a TimeCurrent favorite television series(es) and favorite character: It's a three-way tie - Sherlock (ALL OF THEM), Once Upon a Time (Rumple), or Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Agent Coulson and FitzSimmons)
Ended/cancelled favorite television series(es) and favorite character (if applicable): The West Wing (President Bartlett), Firefly (Kaylee)
Favorite movie and character: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (Molly & Mr. Magorium), Alice (Hatter!)
Current favorite video game (if applicable): The Room/The Room 2 (iPad) - I love the puzzle solvers!
Current favorite comic book series (if applicable): I've been reading my way through Saga lately, and I like it pretty well.
Fictional character you'd most like to cosplay: Emma (OUAT) would be fun, as would an elf from LOTR, anything steampunk, or Rose Tyler. Possibly Amy Pond, but only if I can have an Arthur Darvill to go with ;P
Favorite fictional animal (any mythology you like): I have always loved Dragons
Favorite fairy tale: (Why did I do this to myself?!) I like the unusual ones - Firebird, Tam Lin, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, The Magic Flute. For mainstream, I usually like Beauty and the Beast the best because she is always kind of bookish/nerdy and I kind of relate to that. [SIDENOTE: I totally just had an idea for a modernization of Beauty and the Beast and I don't have time to write it... GAH!]
Favorite genre of book/comic/movie/tv: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Most anticipated release of 2014 (of any kind): Cress, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Into the Woods, Sherlock DVDs.
Other:
Current hobbies (if applicable): knitting, crocheting, cooking, readingCollections (if applicable): foreign coins, books (though of course, we all have a collection of those, right?)
Favorite way to relax: bubble bath, reading a novel and forgetting I should be doing something else...
Favorite hot drink/sweet treat: tea, chocolate anything
Any other obsessions: Not that I can think of now
Any allergies or dislikes: Red Food dye, but other than that I'll try anything once.
Items you can't find near you that you miss: Not much actually.
"Guilty" pleasure: terrible rom-coms
Technology you can't live without: Computer, iPad, iPod.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Well...SOME of this might be news... :)
General:
Favorite place to shop: book stores, craft stores, and office supply stores. God, I'm a nerd.Favorite place to eat/type of food: I'm a big fan of BDubs, and Panera and Qdoba are always safe bets, and I miss the Cookie Jar in an almost tangible way.
Favorite genre of music and artist: Does it make me sound like too much of a hipster if I make up my own genres? Like, I like "Power Piano" -- think The Piano Guys -- and also "A Capella Cover Songs" -- Peter Hollens -- and also "Non-Whiny-Girl-Indie-Music" (a vastly different genre than Whiny Girl Indie Music, which I can't stand) -- Sara Barielles.
Favorite (real) animal (fictional comes later, don't worry): Owls, elephants, and giraffes
Favorite type of clothing: Cardigans. Love cardigans.
Colors:
Favorite single color: Deep, dark blue or purpleFavorite pair of colors (TOGETHER, not just your first favorite and second favorite): navy and bronze (no surprise there) or purple and brown
Color you wear most often (if different than favorite): purple
Color scheme of current place of residence (if applicable): yellow and cream, not necessarily by choice, but I don't mind it.
General Books (there is an entire section on Harry Potter later, so non-HP please!):
Most coveted fictional item: Non Harry Potter? Everything in the Grimm Legacy (from The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman)Current favorite novel/series: Oh, geez. You're killin' me. The Graceling Trilogy by Kristin Cashore. Or The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer.
Favorite character from said novel: Brigan from the former, Cinder from the latter
What is it about the novel you like: The Graceling books are some of the most innovative and imaginative fantasy I've read in years; The Lunar Chronicles are some of the most innovative and imaginative fairy tale adaptation I've read in years.
Favorite "classic": Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
All time favorite author/series: You're killin' me. You're just killin' me. All time fave author, John Green and Markus Zusak. All time favorite series: Harry Potter, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, The Immortals Quartet, The Circle of Magic series, the Elemental Masters, the 500 Kingdoms
Preferred format for reading (hardback, paperback, ebook): Paperback
Harry Potter:
House affiliation (Chosen or Pottermore): RavenclawWand makeup (Chosen or Pottermore): rowan, 10 inches, unicorn hair core, slightly springy
Your Patronus (Chosen or from a quiz): fox
Favorite book (extras included): Prisoner of Azkaban for the series, Beedle the Bard for the extras
Favorite movie: Deathly Hallows Part 1
Favorite character(s): Thank you for the (s). Neville, Remus, Hermione, Luna, McGonagall
Favorite villain (if applicable and different from favorite character): I like my villains grey, so Draco and Narcissa
Favorite pairing: Rose and Scorpius. But if you mean characters we actually meet and interact with, Ron and Hermione or Dean and Luna (don't give me that look; I ship it so hard, guys)
Favorite spell: Lumos
Favorite potion: Draught of Peace
Favorite fantastical beast: phoenix
Most coveted magical item: Time Turner. I would use it sparingly, but good gracious would that be nice
Most coveted power/spell/potion (if different from favorite): General housekeeping spells
Non-HP nerdy-ness:
Other fandoms to which you belong: West Wing, HIMYM, Doctor Who, Sherlock, Lizzie Bennet Diaries (and Pemberly Digital), FireflyCurrent favorite television series(es) and favorite character: HIMYM, the Mother; Sherlock, John Watson
Ended/cancelled favorite television series(es) and favorite character (if applicable): West Wing, CJ or Charlie; Firefly, Simon or Kaylee; Boy Meets World, Mr Feeny; Star Trek: Voyager, Seven of Nine
Favorite movie and character: Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, Eric
Current favorite video game (if applicable): not applicable
Current favorite comic book series (if applicable): not applicable
Fictional character you'd most like to cosplay: Rowena Ravenclaw. Or Kaylee
Favorite fictional animal (any mythology you like): Dragons. Benevolent takes on dragons.
Favorite fairy tale: Just. Killing. Me. East of the Sun, West of the Moon and The Lute Player
Favorite genre of book/comic/movie/tv: fantasy or adaptation
Most anticipated release of 2014 (of any kind): The Fault in Our Stars movie, the Divergent movie, The Book Thief DVD, The Blood of Olympus, Cress
Other:
Current hobbies (if applicable): I read, I write, I craft, I cross stitchCollections (if applicable): owls, giraffes, nerdy jewelry
Favorite way to relax: music and books
Favorite hot drink/sweet treat: hot chocolate with raspberry, blackberry tea, Reese's Pieces
Any other obsessions: Um, not really?
Any allergies or dislikes: I don't like coffee, I'm allergic to bananas, animals make my face explode, and I don't do bracelets
Items you can't find near you that you miss: COOKIE JAR.
"Guilty" pleasure: Subway Surf. I don't want to talk about it.
Technology you can't live without: phone and computer
Friday, February 7, 2014
Surveys ready for you to fill out!
Hey ladies! I don't know if Heidi has an idea for topic this week, BUT your surveys are ready for filling out, so if not, you're welcome to post those (in a blog post - please do not publish the pages just yet) this week :)
<3 you all!
<3 you all!
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