FACE DOWN Ch3- A Tutor

"Two weeks in and I already need a tutor!" Kristen exclaimed.

Petey looked over at the paper Kristen was fretting over. Her second math test. 64% with a note from the professor: "Possibly get a tutor before you fall behind".

"I got a C on the first one though!" Kristen protested, pulling out her last math test.

Petey looked at it. "No you didn't," he said, "69% is a D+."

"Ugh!" Kristen whined, tossing both papers aside and plowing her head onto the face of the desk with a loud thump.

"Shh!" Petey said, "This is the library after all!"

Kristen just groaned in response.

"A tutor's not so bad," Petey said, "You can make a new friend!"

Kristen turned her head, her cheek still resting on the table. "Who makes friends with their tutors?" she asked, "Aren't they paid?"

"Yeah. But you still could," Petey said, grinning, "It could be loads of fun!"

Kristen scoffed and sat up straight again, resting her chin in her hand, resigned. "You're right," she said, sighing, "I'll give it a try."

"Good for you!" Petey said, "I'm pretty sure you sign up or apply at Student Services in the Castle Building."

Kristen nodded. "I guess I'll do that later then."

"Great!" Petey exclaimed, turning back to book, "Now what do you think Thoreau means by "It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see."?"

They spent a good hour going over their homework together, sharing ideas, comparing answers, etc. before they finally packed up and left the library, burned out.

"Have you tried seeing your sister yet?" Petey wondered.

"No," Kristen replied.

"Why not?" Petey asked innocently, "I thought you said you wanted to see her last week."

Kristen sighed. "I did. It's just... well, Annalise's a bit... I don't know. You wouldn't understand."

"Why don't we go see her right now?" Petey suggested.

"What?" Kristen asked.

"Yeah! Why not? We've both got time on our hands. Let's go see your sister!" Petey exclaimed.

"Oh, uh... I don't think that's such a good idea," Kristen said, "She doesn't really like people..."

"Come on. It'll be great! When was the last time you saw her?" Petey asked.

"A year and a half ago, but..."

"And don't you want to see her again?"

"Well, yes..."

"Every minute you spend saying "I'll do it tomorrow" is just another moment wasted. Another moment added on to that year and a half."

"I know, but..."

"So don't you think now is as good a time as ever to put an end to it?"

Kristen sighed. Then she took a deep breath. "You're right," she said, "I should just do it."

"Yes!" Petey said, grinning, "So come on! Let's go!"

Annalise lived a few blocks away in an older apartment complex, The North Ridge Apartments. The two friends walked there, side by side until they approached the rusty white gates. Fortunately they were not in a car and were able to simply walk around them through the brush at the side.

"Do you know what room she's in?" Petey wondered.

"53," Kristen said.

They found the room at the far end of the complex. The windows were shut and the blinds were down. There was even dust on the windowsill, visible from where they stood. There was no sign that anybody even lived there. Who knew if Annalise was even home.

"Go ahead, knock," Petey encouraged.

Kristen raised her fist and took a deep breath. This was it. After all this time, she was finally going to see her sister. What would it be like? Would Annalise be happy to see her? Would she invite her in? Should Kristen give her a hug? Would she want that? It had been so long, maybe it would be awkward.

"Aren't you going to knock?" Petey's voice broke through her thoughts.

Kristen realized she was still standing in front of the door with her fist raised. She pounded on it and stepped back, waiting anxiously. Nothing happened.

She rocked back and forth on her heels, hands clasped behind her back, waiting as patiently as possible, but still nothing happened. Maybe she didn't hear the knock?

Kristen tried again, this time a little louder. “Annalise?” she called, “It’s me, Kristen!”

She stood back once more. Still, nothing happened. Kristen felt her spirits dropping.

"Maybe she's not home," Petey suggested.

Kristen sighed. "Yeah... maybe," she said, dejected, "Let's go."

They turned to leave, but suddenly a clicking noise forced them to look back. The door handle was jiggling. Kristen rushed back to the door, watching it hopefully.

It opened ever so slightly. The silver chain was still locked over the gap. Suddenly, an eye appeared. "Hello?" a timid voice spoke from behind the door.

"Annalise? Is that you?" Kristen asked, peering into the crack in the door.

"Kristen?"

Kristen could not see anything except for one large blue eye, but she recognized it as Annalise's indefinitely. She smiled at the eye. "Oh, Anna! It's been so long!" she exclaimed.

"Kristen, what are you doing here?" Annalise asked.

"I came to see you," Kristen replied, "I've missed you."

Annalise looked down for a moment. "I've missed you too," she said quietly.

"So why don't you come out?" Kristen asked, "Look, I brought a friend."

Kristen gestured to Petey behind her. He gave a wave. "Hi, I'm Petey!"

Annalise looked away. "I can't," she said.

"Why not?" Kristen asked, reaching out to her, "If you just--"

"I just can't!" Annalise snapped, "Now please, just go away!"

Kristen lowered her hands, crest-fallen. The door closed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kristen took large bite of her donut as she marched down the sidewalk. Custard spurted out the sides, but she didn't care. Her encounter with Annalise was still replaying in her mind and quite frankly it was really bothering her. It was the first contact they had made in over a year and she had told her to go away. Why? What had happened to make her so reclusive and afraid? Had Kristen done something?

Kristen reached the Castle Building and half-consciously made her way inside through the wild throng of students, still munching on her donut. What if she had done something? Something so horribly awful that Annalise never wanted to see her again? ...But she did say that she missed her. So why didn't she just come out? Or at least talk to her?

She suddenly became aware that she had reached Student Services. She didn't even look at the person sitting behind the counter, still mostly focused on Annalise. "I'd like to sign up for a tutor," she muttered as she took another large bite of her donut.

"Kristen?"

At the sound of her name, she suddenly looked up. Much to her surprise, David sat behind the desk, name-tag and all, smiling at her.

"Da-fff-id," Kristen said with a mouth full of donut.

He watched her, still smiling as pleasant as ever as she struggled to swallow her mouthful. She finally managed to empty her mouth and looked up at him, smiling as well. "Hi!" she said.

He chuckled slightly and pointed to her cheek. "Uh, you got a little..."

"What?" Kristen reached up to the spot he was pointing at and felt custard smeared across her cheek and lip. "Oh!" She turned away while she tried to wipe it away. Seriously, could she look like a bigger idiot in front of him of all people?

She turned back once more. "Hi!"

"Hi," he said, "A little hungry, I see."

"Oh that. I passed a donut shop on my way here and they had some donuts and I was feeling kind of down and I always eat when I'm upset so I bought one to eat on my way over, but then I didn't expect to see you. Not that I mind eating donuts in front of you, it's just..."

"You were upset?" David asked.

"Oh, yeah. It was nothing really," Kristen replied, "I just tried to visit my sister, but she... didn't want to see me."

"I'm sorry," David said.

Kristen nodded with a sigh.

"You could try again some other time," he suggested, "Maybe she was just having a bad day."

"Yeah, I guess," Kristen said, looking down at her feet. But then she thought about it for a moment. Maybe if Kristen showed Annalise that she truly did care about her and honestly did want to see her, she might eventually open the door! "Yeah... you're right. I should just keep trying. She should let me in eventually, right?"

"Absolutely!" David agreed.

Kristen smiled at him. He was just as handsome as she remembered. And he popped into her mind through the day more than she liked to admit. And now in his green vest with the school's crest embroidered onto it, it just brought out his stunning eyes even more.

"So uh, about your tutor?" David said after a moment.

Kristen realized she had been staring and quickly looked away. "Oh yeah, right," she said quickly, flushing a deep red, "Um, it's for math."

"Ah. The ones who are in highest demand," David said, "Let me see what we've got."

He turned around and opened a drawer, sorting through files and papers. Kristen watched his back as he sorted through them. "So, you're not a tutor?" she asked.

He laughed. "No. I just work the desk," he replied, "I can barely pass my own classes, much less show people how to pass theirs."

Kristen laughed herself. "I know what you mean."

He finally turned back around. "Here you are," he said, "How does someone who got a scholarship for math sound to you?"

"Ha! Sounds like a perfect candidate," Kristen answered.

David handed her a sheet of paper. "Fill this out," he said.

Kristen quickly filled out the paper. It was just her contact information like what her name was, her address, email, and telephone number. She handed it back to David.

He looked over it. "Everything seems to be in order," he said, nodding.

"Yeah," Kristen said suddenly dejected, realizing it was time for her to leave.

"Now fill one out for the tutor," David said, pulling out another paper.

Kristen's head popped up in surprise. David was giving her a half smile as he pushed the paper towards her. He winked and stuck her first paper into his pocket.

Kristen felt her stomach flip. She smiled back and took the paper. She quickly scribbled down her information once more, but was hardly aware of what she was doing. Her head was in too much of a buzz. She handed it back to David, doing her best to keep her smile to a minimum.

"You can expect a phone call within the week," David said, "...Or maybe two."

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FACE DOWN Ch2- English Class

Second day, which meant more classes to find. Kristen looked at her schedule. Next up on the list: "English- Friedman- 12:45".

After David's advice from the previous day, she had a much easier time locating all her classes so far. Kristen walked through the small green door into her English class.

More like a lecture hall! Kristen was taken aback by how enormous the room was. All her classes so far had been in regular-sized classrooms with tables and/or desks with chairs and everything. But this was more like an auditorium! Stairs led up to more seats in the back. The further back you wanted to go, the higher up you went. Like a movie theater.

At the front, an enormous white board covered the entire wall. Students were slowly trickling in and finding seats up and down the stairs, simultaneously mingling with one another.

As Kristen took in the sights around her, she suddenly heard a voice behind her. "Kristen! You're in this class too!?"

Kristen turned and found Petey standing behind her, grinning. "Petey!" she replied, smiling at the sight of him, "Yeah, Friedman, English."

"Oh! As if this day could not get any better!" Petey declared doing a little happy dance, "Come on! Let's go find a seat!"

He grabbed her arm and began pulling her towards the stairs. Kristen gave a small giggle at his enthusiasm. "Alright, I'm coming!" she said happily.

They found a seat in the middle with a good view of the front. As they sat down, Petey leaned over to her, "So I never asked, what semester is this for you?"

"My first," Kristen replied, "I'm a freshman."

"Really? Awesome!" Petey exclaimed, "I'm a sophomore myself."

Kristen glanced around the room again. "So is this supposed to be like a combination of all years English or something?" she wondered.

"Ha! No, but I'm pretty sure there's only one or two freshman English classes offered per year, so if you aren't lucky enough to get a spot your first year, you have to keep trying for years to come," Petey replied. He reached into his bag and pulled out a slip of paper, his schedule, and showed it to her. "See? I have two English classes this year."

"Huh. Isn't that sort of... inconvenient?" Kristen asked.

"Yep," Petey replied brightly, "But the more years you miss, the higher chance you have of getting into the class."

Kristen furrowed her brow. "So it basically is a combo class... just teaching freshman material."

"Mm-hmm," Petey replied, "But don't worry. Most people manage to get in by sophomore year. Only those super lazies who don't even try are here their junior or senior year... or even beyond." He widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows, looking at Kristen dramatically.

Kristen smirked. "Well I'm glad we both made it into the non-lazy category then."

"You're darn right!" Petey said, grinning. He held up his hand for a high-five. "To the non-lazies!"

"Non-lazies!" Kristen agreed, high-fiving him.

Just then the class fell silent. It was like a spell was cast over the entire room. Kristne and Petey looked around, confused. What was going on? Their eyes fell to the front of the room, where a large man stood in front of the white board. Large doesn't even begin to describe it. He was probably close to seven feet tall... if not more. It was hard to tell from this distance. He had a round, pudgy red face and flaming red hair to match, including a bushy mustache. The entire class was staring at him, most likely drinking in his enormous size like Kristen was.

Suddenly he spoke. "Hello!" he said in a cheery voice. He smiled up at the rows of students. "Welcome to English 101! I am Professor Friedman, your instructor. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

There was silence. He continued on. "We have quite a schedule for this year, but don't worry. We are going to have so much fun! Books, essays, and even poems! Who likes Shakespeare?"

Some people raised their hands. Based on his appearance, one would not expect him to be so... jolly. He was like a giant, red-headed Santa Claus.

"Oh, and we must not forget our fairytale section," Friedman continued, "That always seems to be one of people's favorites. It's definitely mine. I love fairytales! Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Charles Perrault, Joseph Jacobs, and so many more!"

Kristen perked up slightly at the mention of fairytales. She grew up reading them. They were her favorite. She had a book thicker than the dictionary just filled with them back home that she always read every night when she was younger. She clasped her hands together and smiled to herself. She might really enjoy this class.

Then she realized that Friedman was looking at someone sitting near the back. She looked back as well and saw someone raising their hand. "You have a question?" Friedman asked.

The boy raising his hand lowered it and crossed his arms. "What do you mean by "fairytale section"?" he asked.

"I mean we will be reading and analyzing fairytales for about three weeks. What makes a fairytale a fairytale? What are some of the famous ones? What is some of the symbolism and meaning behind some of them? At the end of it, you will each write a fifteen page analysis on a fairytale of your choosing," Friedman explained.

The boy scoffed. Friedman furrowed his brow. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"Well, it's just... fairytales," the boy said.

"What about fairytales?" Friedman asked.

"They're fairytales," the boy said distastefully.

"Not all fairytales are about princesses and magic, young man," Friedman said, face hardening, "You'd do well to remember that and respect them."

Kristen looked back at the boy in the back. He glanced at the other boy sitting beside him and muttered something. Friedman raised his voice, "Something else you'd like to say?"

The boy looked at him, his surprised expression slowly turning to defiance. "I was just saying that I think it's ridiculous that we'll have to write fifteen whole pages on a stupid fairytale," he said.

Kristen turned her head back to Friedman. He seemed to really love his fairytales. How was he going to take that comment? She saw his face harden even more than it already had. He rested both of his hands on his desk and stared up at the boy. "What did you call them?" he asked slowly.

Kristen looked back at the boy once more. He almost looked afraid of the stoic expression on the large professor's face, but he remained firm in his statement. He looked him square in the eyes and repeated firmly, "Stupid... fairytales."

There was an audible gasp in the room as everyone slowly turned to look back at Friedman. He just stared at the offender, stone-faced for a long moment. Everyone was silent and tense, wondering what he was going to do.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, he broke his stare and walked around the desk. He marched up the stairs and right to the boy's side. He grabbed him by the back of his jacket and began pulling him down the stairs. "Ow! Hey! What are you-? Ow!" the boy protested, just barely managing to pick up his backpack before it was out of reach.

Friedman dragged him down the stairs and towards the door. "You can have opinions. That's what an English class is all about, but have some respect!" Friedman grumbled as he pulled.

He opened the door and shoved the boy out into the hall. "Goodbye!" he called in his old jolly voice, "Come back when you've learned some common decency!"

He shut the door and returned to the front of the classroom, everyone's eyes following him. He cleared his throat. "Now, the section after fairytales mostly covers poems..." he said. And he went on explaining the course as if the entire encounter with the fairytale-hating boy had never even happened.

Well, this class ought to be interesting.

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FACE DOWN Ch1- Day One

It was Kristen's first official day at college. Somerland University. She was beyond excited. Ever since her older sister had started attending two years earlier, Kristen had wanted nothing more than to follow in her footsteps. She had been cooped up in her house her entire life, homeschooled all through high school. Finally she had a chance to get out and meet real people. She didn't get to live out on her own like her sister, she still had to live at home. But Annalise only got to because she basically ran away and secluded herself after her first year at college. Annalise was... Annalise was a bit a distant.

Still, at least Kristen got to get out and meet new people. Maybe she would even meet The One! Who could tell! Kristen had never been on a date in her life and the thought of standing alone and suddenly meeting eyes with a tall, handsome stranger across the room thrilled her. Then he walks over, tall and fine, introduces himself, and they spend the entire night talking and laughing. Then he asks to see her again. And then after some time of midnight call-ups, romantic dinners, and movie cuddle nights, he eventually proposes on bended knee, declaring his eternal love, and they get married in the mountains under the colorful sunset with that pine tree smell and fresh mountain air!

Kristen turned her attention to her schedule. "Economics 101- Pouperston- 10:00" was first on the list. "Pooperstown?" she questioned to herself.

"Actually, it's Pouperston," a voice spoke up behind her.

Kristen started and turned. A short, round boy with jet black hair stood behind her, grinning, holding a small orange backpack in his hands.

"Don't worry, everyone does it. Just don't ever say it to his face," the kid said, slipping the backpack over his shoulders.

"Oh, thanks for the warning," Kristen said.

"Yeah. He'll get soooo mad!" he told her, "One time he actually threw his toupee at this guy when he said it."

"He wears a toupee?" Kristen asked.

The kid nodded. Then he grinned once more, "I'm Peter, by the way, but everyone calls me Petey."

"Oh, okay. I'm Kristen," Kristen replied, sticking out her hand.

"Hi, Kristen! One thing you need to know about me is that I‘m a hugger," Petey said, tilting his head and looking at her with bright eyes.

"Oh, alright," Kristen said, lowering her hand and spreading out her arms, "Have at it!"

Petey happily wrapped his arms around her middle and squeezed. Kristen gave a small smile. He barely came up to her chin. He was like a little, chubby kid who just loved everybody. She could tell.

He let her go. "It was great to meet you, Kristen!"

"You too. Um, I'll see you around, I guess," Kristen said, she wasn't really sure if she would or not, but it seemed like a good thing to say, "And thanks again for the warning about 'Pooperstown'."

He giggled. "Aw, no no problem," he replied, then he turned to leave, "Bye!"

He practically skipped away. Kristen smiled after him. Well that was a good first encounter, she supposed. He was so happy and nice. She hoped she would meet more like Petey. She turned to enter the building where her first class was located.

It was the most enormous building she thought she had ever seen. How was she supposed to find just one class inside such a massive structure? She should have asked Petey for directions. Nevertheless, she marched inside optimistically. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it would be one of the first doors when she walked in.

So much for hoping for an easy find. Doors upon doors upon doors! And students were everywhere rushing every which way. Not to mention several staircases going in every direction. Kristen looked at her watch. She still had fifteen minutes. There was still time to sort all this out. She had time to find one classroom... Right?

She bravely marched forward into the hullaballoo of rushing students. She tried looking at some of the doors, looking for the room numbers, but it was hard to get a good view of them. She did manage to spot a room 113. No good. She was looking for a 404. She wasn't even close!

Where was she supposed to go? She didn't even know which direction to take. She would probably end up on the other side of campus and not even realize it. Was she even in the right building?

Students were bumping into her left and right, knocking her about, and not even realizing it (or maybe they were and just continued to rush past. Rude!). Kristen was not a particularly large person and was struggling to keep her balance with all the pushing and shoving.

Suddenly, something very large and heavy crashed into her. She toppled backwards, arms flailing and sending her schedule and binder flying out of her hands. She landed squarely on her behind, feet sprawled out in front of her.

"Ow!" she groaned, reaching back for her now very tender tailbone.

Now pushing and shoving was one thing, but full on knocking someone off their feet was another! She was ready to give whoever had done this a piece of her mind. She glared up at them. "Excuse you!" she cried out.

She suddenly became speechless as her eyes met with to most sunning set of green eyes she had ever seen in her entire life. The owner, a tall guy wearing a gray jacket and dark blue backpack, was staring down at her with concern. "I am so sorry!" he said, "Are you hurt?"

As if his eyes weren't enough. His face. His face was gorgeous! His high cheekbones, low-set eyebrows, perfectly sculpted lips, a nose that was perfectly proportioned with the rest of his face... she could go on! But at the moment, she had to reply to him.

"I, uh... no, no," she stammered slightly, a bit flustered, "I'm fine, I'm okay."

He bent down and began to pick up her binder and schedule for her. "Are you sure? That looked like a pretty hard fall."

"Yeah, yeah! I just wasn't looking where I was going because I was trying to find my class and then, you know," she said, "But it's fine. I'm great."

He handed her things to her. "I can help you find your class if you'd like," he said, smiling. Wow, that was one a dashing smile. So many pearly whiles there.

Kristen returned the smile. "Sure," she said coyly.

They began to walk through the crowd of students.

"Is it always this busy?" Kristen wondered.

"Well this is the Castle Building. It's the main center. Usually in the morning, especially at the beginning of the year when everyone's trying to find their classes, it gets pretty crazy," he explained. He paused, "So the way it works here, and in practically every building for that matter, is that the first number of the the room number is the floor number. Like a hotel. So if your room number is...?"

"404," Kristen replied.

"404. Then your class is on the fourth floor."

Kristen nodded. That would make it much easier now. Hopefully she wouldn't have to go through so much trouble trying to find her other classes.

"Oh. By the way, my name's David Leskov," her escort suddenly spoke up.

Kristen nodded, drinking in everything about him. The name just suited him perfectly. But then it dawned on her that he was expecting her to introduce herself as well. He had said his last name. Did that mean she had to also? She guessed so. "Um, I'm Kristen Ford."

He smiled at her. But then, it slowly faded and he peered closely at her. "Wait, Ford?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kristen said, confused, "Why?"

"Are you, by any chance, related to Annalise Ford?" he wondered.

Okay, she had not expected that. "Yeah, actually," Kristen replied, "She's my sister."

"Oh, okay," he said nodding, "I thought the name sounded familiar."

Kristen raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I didn't think anyone knew my sister," she said, "She's such a recluse."

David smiled. "Yeah, actually lots of people know her. She used to come around here a lot, but then suddenly for some reason she just disappeared."

"So did you like... talk to her?"

"Not really," he replied, "I just remembered her because of her head of rainbow. I had never seen anything like it."

"Oh I know! All those colors, it’s like it changes every time she moves her head, right? She actually has blonde hair. But I don't know where she gets it. Everyone in my family has dark hair," Kristen said.

"Yours isn't very dark," he remarked.

Kristen eyed one of the ponytails hanging at the side of her head. "Well red is definitely no platinum blonde."

David smiled again. "You know, I've always liked a redhead."

Kristen felt herself blush slightly. "Well your hair's kind of red, isn't it?"

David shrugged. "I guess," he replied, "But yours is a better red by far."

"But it's not totally red," she said, blushing again, "I mean, it's like a brownish red. And then there’s this blonde streak?"

David suddenly looked around to her other side. "I didn't even notice that," he remarked, "Wow. How did that happen?"

"I was born with it. Something wrong in the follicles," Kristen replied, "Although I dreamt that one night when I was little, a troll crept into my room and blessed me with a special gift that was only visible through my blonde streak. And then he kissed me..."

Ugh. She did not just say that she dreams about trolls, especially kissing trolls to a stunningly gorgeous guy. But he just chuckled. "Here's your class," he said.

Kristen finally looked away from him and to the door he was pointing at. 404, yep that was it. How did they get there so fast?

"I guess this is where I leave you," David said.

"Yeah," Kristen sighed.

"But I'll see you later," David said.

He would? Would they actually see each other again? "Yeah?" Kristen asked hopefully.

"Yeah," David replied, smiling, "Have fun in class."

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New Story

So I've written a story. It's about 35,000 words long, 18 chapters. It's just a little somethun somethun I've put together over the past couple months. I actually resonated it into a fanfiction originally, but I just liked the plot so much that I rewrote it with my own original characters, setting, etc. I wouldn't say it is the most well-written thing I've ever put down on paper (though it is better than a lot of my past things), but remember my motto about the plot?

Anyways, I'm putting up chapters from it on my blog here. One a day. Just... because.

So my official plot is: "He was perfect. In every way, he was the ideal prince charming. Too bad he was the physical form of that saying "if something seems too good to be true, it probably is". And it was almost too late before Kristen realized it."

Doesn't reveal much, I know. I got the idea while listening to the song 'Face Down' by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Then throwing in a few ideas I've had brewing in my brain, but never knowing what to do with them until now, I came up with a half-decent plot. It's not anything earth-shattering, but I was pretty pleased with the outcome.

Just as a warning, I've rated it PG-13 for sexual references and abusive behavior.

Here's the song I based it on:

See first chapter

Fanfiction is Fun

Now I know lots of people consider those who write/read fanfiction as nerdy freaks (which yeah, that's kind of true), but let me explain. Like most things in the world, fanfiction is stereotyped. You usually only hear about it in movies from the completely obsessed weirdo "Ooh! I'm going to go write a fanfiction about Spock and Captain Kirk's lovechild" and you're just like "...what?". And although there is a LOAD of stuff like that (there probably is at least one story about Spock and Captain Kirk's lovechild out there somewhere), there's also some really interesting and creative stuff too.

Fanfiction is what people do when they think "Hmm, I wonder what happened in between those two scenes in that movie" or "What would happen if these characters never met? How differently would the story play out?" or "What would these character's kids be like?" or "How would this character react in this situation?" or "What was this character thinking in this scene?" or "What if this took place in modern times?" or "How did this character get to be the way they are? What's their story?" or something! And they take those questions/musings into their own hands and write it down.

Some terminology:
Fluff: cuteness
One-shot: one chapter
Crossover: mixes one or more fandoms into one story
AU: alternate universe
Smut: porn/dirty stuff
Filler: not very important plot-wise
Drabble: not plot-heavy
OOC- out of character
OC- own character
Slash- pairing of siblings (I know right? :/)
POV- point of view

Sometimes it's just little drabbles like if we really liked a certain couple in a movie, we want to see more of that couple being all cute and couple-y, you know? So there's not really any plot, it's just them being cutesy. That's called fluff, when it's just cuteness.

Sometimes if something takes place in a different time period, someone will want to put them into modern times and see how the characters cope in modern times. This is called a modern AU.

There's all sorts of AU's. Just putting the characters and/or plot in different time periods, settings, etc. But the most popular one is the modern AU. College AU's are especially popular as a sub-category in the modern setting.

Fanfiction isn't just stories, although that's what it predominately is. Sometimes you'll find poems, song lyrics, and essays. (Although those aren't really as popular, people mostly come for the stories).

Yes, I read fanfiction. It all started back when Tangled came out. (You know Tangled got me into a lot of things. It also got me into Tumblr.) I don't read it like a maniac. Mostly I read it if something is recommended and it sounds interesting. Also, there's a search you can do. I might be bored and decide that I want to find a specific type of fic. Like a modern AU of Pride and Prejudice for example. I just punch in the information and it pulls up all the fics in that category. I don't read the really weird or graphic stuff. The website has a rating system like movies, so I can properly avoid any smut (that's pornographic, dirty, rated R-type stuff). And there's always a short summary, so I can see if something is going to be really weird or not. I haven't branched out very far. I've mostly stuck to a few choice Disney films, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and even Pride and Prejudice, but I mostly stick to Disney. Those authors for those are the best.

Yes, I have actually written some of my own fanfiction. Hey, it expands my creative aura and helps me practice my skill as a writer. Besides, it's kind of fun. I've written a total of ten stories so far (actually, I kind of abandoned one of them, but it wasn't that popular anyway).

A couple of my favorite fanfictions are:

ALL THAT REALLY MATTERED- A Tangled fanfic
It's really, really long, but oh my is it worth the read. Rapunzel is in an arranged marriage that she can't get out of with this complete jerk-wad. "Jerk-wad" doesn't even begin to describe it. Like holy cow, you just want him to BURN!!! (Reading the reviews from other people about how they would eliminate the fiancee just make it even better).

CHASING DAYDREAMS- A Tangled fanfic
Also kind of long. It's Tangled told from Flynn/Eugene's point of view. Oh my gosh, this author captures his character like so spot on, it is hilarious! And it adds in some missing scenes and a little extra backstory and stuff. (There's also a companion piece from Rapunzel's point of view, but I don't like it as much. It get referenced to in this story though sometimes)

CONTRACTIONS AND SPLIT INFINITIVES- A Tangled fanfic
This is probably one of my favorite fanfics of all time. A one-shot that shows Rapunzel struggling with her duties as a princess. It is the funniest, wittiest, cutest thing I have ever read. This author is one of my favorites!

LOCKED IN WITH SHERLOCK- A Sherlock fanfic
A funny little drabble where Sherlock and John get locked in their flat on a rainy night and Sherlock is bored... which is never a good thing.

PLAYING FLYNN RIDER- A Tangled fanfic
The same author as 'Contractions and Split Infinitives'. This one is just as hilariously brilliant as that one, as newly-wed Eugene tries to figure out how to be alone with Rapunzel.

SONGS OF ICE AND SNOW- A Frozen fanfic
It's not even finished yet, but holy cow has it sucked me in! It's pretty long so far (and like I said, it's not even finished, but it seems like it's pretty close. I think it's nearing the climax). It has one of the most brilliantly written OCs I have ever seen in a fanfic (and normally, I am not a huge fan of OCs, but this one is so adorable). Actually he's the reason I started reading it in the first place. Someone made fanart of him on Tumblr and I thought it was so good, I had to look up the story connected to it. Basically it's just continuing the Frozen story: developing Anna and Kristoff's relationship, what happened to Hans, there was actually another Southern Isles brother who was supposed to accompany Hans to the coronation but got lost and arrives late, Elsa adjusting to normal life once more, etc. But it gets pretty intense as all these things start tying together.

THE CARRIAGE RIDE- A Tangled fanfic
Also the same author as 'Contractions and Split Infinitives' and 'Playing Flynn Rider'. Super adorably funny one-shot where Eugene is trying to figure out why Rapunzel is mad at him.

THE STUDY- A Pride and Prejudice fanfic
Now if you are a fan of Mr. Bennet, you'll love this. I haven't read a whole lot of P&P fanfics, there's just some fanfic categories that are just... no. But this one's little twist there at the end had me in stitches.


Alright, I suppose you're wondering about the ones that I have written, right? Well, I'd say that most of them are average on the popular scale with readers. It also kind of depends on the category. I know that if you write a story for Frozen right now, you'll get a boat-load of readers, even if your story's not very good. Now, getting readers and then getting favorited, followers, and reviews are entirely different things. That's how I rate popularity. If you've got a lot of followers, a lot of favorites, and a lot of reviews on a story, I say your story is very popular (and if a lot of people are following you as an author then good on that too).

So, a couple of my stories:

A STRANGE PHENOMENON- A Tangled fanfic
This is the first fanfic I ever wrote, just a couple chapters long. Please ignore all the stupid author's notes, because I cannot even stand myself. Authors who ask for reviews just turn me off. I have since learned my lesson. The story itself, I think is actually kind of cute (if I do say so myself). It's about Eugene's beard.

THE PARANORMAL- A Tangled fanfic
One of my most popular ones. An AU where Rapunzel didn't cry on Eugene at the end, but he comes back as a sort of ghost. It's not quite as weird as it sounds (only a little bit). It actually got recommended on the official Tangled Fics Tumblr.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF SHIRLEY HOLMES AND JEN WATSON- A Sherlock fanfic
A gender-bend of Sherlock. It's just a one-shot exploring what would life be like if Sherlock and John were girls.

THEY SEEK HIM THERE- A Scarlet Pimpernel fanfic
This one took forever to finish. I had a load of writer's block while writing it. It's a modern college AU.

WORTH MINING- A Frozen fanfic
My most popular one. And all it is, is Frozen from Kristoff's point of view.

FACE DOWN- A Frozen fanfic
My most recent one. It's actually not even completely done, I still have like two more chapters to go. It's a modern AU about an abusive relationship based on a song of the same name by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It's very PG-13ish in the later chapters just as a warning.
EDIT: Now, it's finished. Whoo!

(Yes, I actually made all those icons on the stories.)

Think what you will. Fanfiction is a fun way to pass the time.

My Prince Charming(s)

Once a long time ago I made a post (like two years ago I think), dedicated to the lovely princes of Disney. It's been too long! They need their share of love and appreciation.  I have a surplus of posts about the princesses because PRINCESSES!!! :D But now, I want to take a step back and talk about the other end of the rope: our lovely men that complete those princesses's lives, because who doesn't love those Disney dudes? *grins*

I'll just list them in order, shall I? Oldest to newest? Appreciate them one at a time? OK, good.

THE PRINCE from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves voiced by Harry Stockwell
-"One heart, tenderly beating, ever intriguing, constant and true." 

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He doesn't have a name (you'll sometimes hear that his name is Ferdinand, but never has that been confirmed by Disney), nor does he have a gigantic role in the movie, but he's our number one dude. The one that started it all. Plus, without him, we wouldn't have the infamous "Someday My Prince Will Come". And I must point out that he is the only prince to serenade his lady while she is up on a balcony. Oh yes! Classic romantic!


PRINCE CHARMING from Cinderella voiced by Mike Douglas
-"I'm all a glow, and now I know, the key to all heaven is mine." 

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He has an even smaller role than the last. I mean, he's not even present for the climax! He's just like the reward for the heroine after all her trials and tribulations. But still, for what little you do see of him he's actually got a bit more character than the last. I mean, if you watch him during the beginning of the ball, you'll notice Mr. Sass coming out. He's just like "I'm only up here meeting this endless line of girls because my dad's making me *yawn*". His face when the ugly stepsisters come up to him "oh good grief, as if this night could not get any worse!" XD


PHILIP from Sleeping Beauty voiced by Bill Shirley
-"Now father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century!"

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Despite the fact that the movie is called Sleeping Beauty and should therefore be about Aurora, the heroine, I think that Philip actually plays a larger role. Although, that can hardly be helped since Aurora is sleeping almost the entire time. But finally a prince with a name and some personality! He is so overlooked. Like I just watched this movie the other day, and I watched that climax and DANG! Philip is such a boss! He needs to be appreciated more. He's the only prince to slay a dragon. If that's not a cause for appreciation, I don't know what is.


ERIC from The Little Mermaid voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes
-"Believe me, when I find her I'll know. Without a doubt. It'll just BAM hit me, like lightning." 

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I have a confession... Eric was my first animated crush. I mean LOOK at him! What a cutie! I'm a sucker for dark hair and blue eyes. And he's a total sweetheart. And he has a dog. And he plays a musical instrument (a whistle to be exact). You must love him otherwise you are dead to me! Also, a little fun fact, he is the only prince to not sing in his movie (although he does sing in the broadway musical). He still kind of sticks to the traditional Disney prince of "I saw this girl once and now I'm determined to marry her (I don't even know her name, but that doesn't matter)!", but he's also the transition into the modern prince of getting to know the girl over at least a couple days (even though he didn't know it was the same girl).


THE BEAST/PRINCE from Beauty and the Beast voiced by Robbie Benson
-"But she is being so *difficult*!" 

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The first prince to be a main character with a backstory and everything. Aren't we so proud? However, despite this fact, he doesn't have a freakin' name! Lots of people claim it's Adam, but I'm pretty sure that's not been officially confirmed by Disney. He's rather interesting for a male lead since he portrays a lot of villain-like qualities, at least at first. But of course he has a soft, warm, gentle center. You know, the whole point of the movie "beauty is found within"? If you really look at it, he's actually just like a giant, hairy child. Always throwing tantrums when he doesn't get his way (violent tantrums), and he is rather naive and has a sort of child-like curiosity and sweetness. Also, he has the best eyes out of any of them. Just putting that out there. And side-note: are you aware that Robbie Benson did the voice for both the Beast and the Prince? I know, right? What a drastic difference!


ALADDIN from Aladdin voiced by Scott Weinger
-"Trouble? No way. You're only in trouble if you get caught." 

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Our "diamond in the rough". The first male lead who is not a prince from the start. He's a "street rat"/thief, but only because he has to. Everyone looks down on him because of his position in society and doesn't see him for what he truly is: kind, selfless, charming, clever, generous, and so on. Of course he's the ultimate romantic because who could ever forget "A Whole New World"? Even non-Disney fans think of that scene when thinking of romantic scenes/songs.


SHANG from Mulan voiced by BD Wong
-"Let's get down to business to defeat the Huns!"

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Like his female counterpart, he is never at any point a royal. But we'll still include him in the lineup because we love him, and Mulan is an official Disney princess, therefore making him an official Disney prince. This guy sings only the most awesome Disney song ever written! Also, hello Mr. Six-Pack! ("I'll get that arrow, pretty boy. And I'll do it with my shirt on." Lolz, just had to throw that quote in there. One of my favorites). He has a lot of honor, like he breaks the law so Mulan can live to repay his debt to her. And then the way he stumbles all over himself once he realizes Mulan is a girl when he tries complimenting her, and later when he follows her home and tries returning her helmet. Underneath that rough-tough exterior, he's just a regular guy who can't talk to girls XD


NAVEEN from The Princess and the Frog voiced by Bruno Campos
-"You must kiss me. You will enjoy, I guarantee. All women enjoy the kiss of Prince Naveen. Come, we pucker."

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At last we have an actual prince again. The first with an accent. Also, finally another prince with musical talent (a ukelele. Heck yes!). At first glance, he's Mr. suave, smooth-talker ladies-man party-boy, but underneath it all he's just a hopeless, lost little kid who "[doesn't] know how to do anything". He cares deeply about others and is actually very sensitive once you unearth it. He tries so hard once he steps out of his comfort zone to try and set up a romantic date for Tiana... and fails miserably, but still, it's adorable!


FLYNN RIDER/EUGENE FITZHERBERT from Tangled voiced by Zachary Levi
-"Alright listen, I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice... Here comes the Smolder."

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This guy. I could write a book on all my thoughts about him. Did you know that the creative team down at Disney pulled all the women down there together into one room while they were designing him and had pictures of all sorts of celebrities like Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, etc. (celebrities generally though of as attractive by most) and had all the women give their input on hair color, hair style, eye color, body type, nose shape, jawlines, etc? They were very particular. Yeah. And look at what we got! 8D Anyways, another thief. But this time it's not because he has to, but because he wants to. Yup, our first "bad boy". However, it's all a facade. His entire thief personality-- suave, smooth-talking, cocky, yadda-yadda-- all an act, completely made up. Even his name. But can you blame him? Because Eugene Fitzherbert just does not sound like a thief. But anyways, it's all an act to cover up his sad past as an orphan. And underneath that facade, he is like the sweetest guy in the world (seriously, I cannot handle it!). Also, as a side-note, he is the first prince to have facial hair.


KRISTOFF from Frozen voiced by Jonathan Groff
-"Whoa. Now that's ice! I might cry."

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Our newest addition to the prince lineup. Actually, as my brother pointed out in annoyance as we left the theater, we don't actually know if he did become a prince or not. But we can assume, right? I mean, it is Disney after all. (Also, he's not the first where we don't know if they got married, I mean what about Beauty and the Beast? Or Aladdin? And there wasn't even a kiss in Mulan). Anyways, our smelly mountain man. He's got a different build from the past princes, like he's a lot bigger and bulkier. Also, he's the first blonde, so good on that! He's such a grumpy loner in the beginning, but he opens up along the way and you find as the trolls say "you'll never meet a fellow who's as sensitive and sweet". He's not mean or obnoxious (even though he kind of likes to push Anna's buttons when he first meets her about her fast engagement), he's just a bit anti-social and sort of set in his own ways. He's so adorably awkward and has such a dry sense of humor (reminds me much of myself, though I'm not sure if my awkwardness is adorable). He also plays a musical instrument: a lute. Oh yes!

AU's and Genderbending

First post of the year! Whoo!

Anyways, what I'm bringing up is something that a lot of normal people might find strange. As you know, I love Disney with a deep passion. As you also know, I spend a lot of time on the internet. So, I see a lot of fanart, thesis's, fanfictions, graphics, and so on in the Disney category. These can range from any subject you can possibly imagine. The Disnerds (at least the majority of them) are not crackheads like some fandoms *cough*Sherlockians*cough* so I thoroughly enjoy most of what spawns from the fandom's creative and intellectual side. (Of course some people just have no talent whatsoever, but that doesn't stop them from trying and then posting it for all to see. Got to give them credit for having no shame).

So, of course the newer movies get a bit more attention than the older stuff. That's just how life rolls. Princess movies also tend to get more attention than the others (happily ever afters, a handsome hero, you know the whole shebang). So for a while, Tangled was the most popular one. The one I saw the most of (and of course you know that's one of my own personal favorites too).

The reason I'm talking about all of this is because there was one thing in particular during the Tangled phase that really stood out to me. And that was the modern AU's (alternate universes). For some reason, that was my favorite aspect to the Tangled fanart, fanfiction, etc. I can't really tell you why, just for some reason, I really liked how the story and/or the characters translated into the modern setting. The thing about putting Disney movies/characters into modern times is that you have to give them a modern look, modern lingo, and sometimes there's animal characters that you can decide whether or not you want to keep them as animals or not. Also if it's a fanfiction, you don't have to stick right to the story. You can have an entirely different plot with a few references thrown in. And the thing with Tangled's story, you could go in so many directions. I read one where Flynn was a homicide detective, I've read so many college fics. One of my favorites was called A Rogue and An Artist where Rapunzel was secretly attending college and working two jobs behind her mother's back with the help of bad-boy Flynn (this wasn't the best fanfic I've ever read, but it's one of the more interesting modern!fics in the Tangled category). Actually this one was interesting because her mother didn't want her to leave, claiming she needed her because she was sick and ailing, but then it turned out she was faking and moonlighting as a prostitute. It's a rare thing to find a well-written and engaging fanfic that updates regularly, but occasionally you'll find something. I don't scan the site, but sometimes something will be recommended or I'll come across something by chance. As for the art, I never did find any edits, but there were plenty of sketches and drawings.

Now, the next phase we have moved on to is Frozen. Now I'm seeing that everywhere rather than Tangled (not that I don't see Tangled anymore, just not as much as I used to). Like I did with Tangled, I feel drawn to a certain aspect of the fan-creations. However, this time it is genderbending. In case you can't figure it out or didn't know already, genderbending is when you switch the genders around of the characters. I don't know what it is with this any more than I did with the modern AU. Just the way it tickles my imagination and artistic fancy. It's harder to find fanfictions in this category, but you can find cover songs and stuff which can make you sprout rainbows out your ears (like listen to THIS). When it comes to the fanart, you really have to be good with costume design because you have to morph the original costumes into the other gender, but still make them recognizable. With Frozen, I have managed to actually find photoshopped edits that were half decent too.

I don't know. Call me weird. I just get a strange thrill out of these things.