Metamorphosis

[IceKing]

Funny Moments W/O Description
“I – I mean your mother and I,” your dad begins, after being elbowed by your mother. “Wish you many more happy birthday and we wish you all the happiness in the world, and we hope your life will be a very satisfying one, and you’ll become the person you want to be. And even when you’re a teenager, I hope you never forget that we care about you very much.”

That idea of finally being taller than Stella brings a wishful grin to your face; you’ve always been shorter than Stella. Stella’s countenance, however, is just the opposite: hers is inviting storm clouds. Scowling at her father from atop his shoulders, she wriggles, and slides off his back. With a determined face, she marches up to you, staring you straight in the eyes. You have the urge to back up, just in case she decides to give you her usual “birthday bop” on the head.

“You’re supposed to catch it!” Stella’s shouts as you sink to the floor, rubbing your face where the… --You look -- … book hit you. You let the presents you were holding fall onto the tan carpet. Your eyes are watering from the stinging pain, though you’re determined not to cry. Getting hit by a book – your birthday present no less – was not what you had in mind. Stella, meanwhile, continues to go rifle your presents as though nothing had happened.

. You don’t understand how she managed to dodge it with her back turned, and you refuse to admit that maybe it was because you can’t aim right. You scowl. You can tell she’s mocking you even if she doesn’t say anything verbally.

Uncle Todd’s laughing. It makes you rather angry. “Protecting her? From what?”

“Bed bugs,” you say firmly, making sure not to break eye contact.

“You know,” he says, “I’ve always wanted a daughter.”

That only makes your Mother cough harder, and she’s turning a very bright red. Is she all right?

“You do?!” Stella’s grin multiplies a hundred-fold. “Then I wish you twin sisters, or even triplets, or quadruplets or quintu – ta –“

“Quintuplets,” Uncle Todd says through a laugh.

Funny Moments W/ Description

Hardly able to restrain your excitement, you jump off the bed, s
startling Ian so much he accidentally dashes straight into your bed’s headboard. He’s used to running into things by now, though, so you know he’s okay.

Aww, no more girly screams =(?

“Capri?”

For some reason, I will keep thinking of those delicious portable drinks when I hear Capri.

The present Stella was holding is thrown into your awaiting arms, almost hitting your face. Stella seems to have disregarded all that you’ve said and merely announces: “Clothes!”

Ugg, I'm not too fond of Stella at this moment. And why don't adults realize that clothes are a child's worst fear o.o Now I feel like a bit of a traitor becuase I like getting clothes for Christmas XD But I will NEVER subject my children to clothes for Christmas!

There’s a pause. Then Diane speaks up. “Aunt Claire probably wouldn’t have a heart if he brought Ian to the table, Dad. She’d probably have a heart attack or something …”

Good old Diane! (Thats Scouts sister, right?)

Uncle Todd is shaking his head, while Diane, no doubt drawn by the commotion, also comes into the room. “Hitting on my daughter already, are you?”

You blink. “Stella hits me all the time.”

“Dad…” Diane’s tone is rather annoyed, and you have the distinct feeling she gets something you don’t. But by instinct, you know not to ask. It’s probably some ‘teenager’ thing, as your Dad puts it. “They’re cousins.”

“It happened all over the place in Medieval times, you know.”

Uggg, that reminds me of my pervert drunken second-cousin-once-removed-in-law who keeps telling me to marry my second cousin twice removed and my second cousin.... WOw thats confuzzling

He turns to face Diane for only a brief moment. ““I’m not interrogating the kid, Diane. I’m merely extracting useful information for later use.” He sinks to knees. You’re now eye-to-eye. So… how about it? Where has he been sleeping lately? The couch, I suspect...”

You bristle. “Dad’s not in trouble!” you say hotly, knowing very well what the ‘c’ word means. Todd’s already trying to rectify his words, but you don’t let him get a word in. “Mom didn’t make him do that or anything! She just made him sleep outside the door beca –“

“AHA! I knew it!”

That got the first super chuckle out of me XD To be honest, I do the same thing to my second cousins twice removed to try and get information out of them. You know what? SCREW THE AMERICAN NAME! Im going to call them second nephews like I always do it! And theres nothing Bush can do to stop me *entire CIA falls onto house*

Stella cocks her head, looking confused. She then glances over to her father. “But Daddy says babies are easy to ma –“

....OH...MY...DARWIN XDDDDDD Wow...just....wow *wipes tears from eyes*

See, he’s stupid,” Stella says with a ‘humph.’ “Dunno why Daddy has to help stupid people.”

That line can apply to so many things its not funny.

“It’s PINK!” you hiss. “PINK is a girl’s color.”

“Tough guys wear pink, you know that, don’t you?” Diane says, grinning.

“Well…” you say, never having heard that particular expression before. You fumble, trying to find some apt retort, but end up failing miserably, repeating yourself once more. “It’s pink.”

....But its pink.... I made my Tie Die Shirt Yellow Black and Sky Blue!

H

A

P

Y

B

R

T

H

A

Y

Hapy Brthay?

(Happy Birthday)

Awww, that was so sweet! Though how did he know remote English o-0



Good writing

You walk out of your door, only to stop again as Ian still insists on following you. “I said stay!” Your voice takes on a hard, firm tone. You feel like hitting yourself for using such a tone, but you have to get the message acrossed. “You have to stay! Mom’s scared of you, so she won’t let you come.” Ian’s head lowers, a small, melancholy squeak coming out of his tiny body. You lower your voice, and you try and put on a smile for him. “I said I’m sorry, but I’ll be up tonight and tell you all about it, okay? The TV’s on, so you can watch Poké Rangers all you want.”

Ian still looks said, like a baby Growlithe who’s just been abandoned and left out in the rain. You tell him you’re sorry again, before closing the door to your room. The sound seems to echo. You can’t take the chance for him coming down, or your Mom will have a fit, so you had to close the door.

That scene was especially sad, why oh why must my Mom be such a little dirty...nvm

Everything imaginable has been adorned with some kind of birthday décor, not a single wall has been left untouched. Streamers of assorted colors run down from every corner of the room, and on the counter you can see the chocolate cake. You want to eat that right now, but you know that you have to wait until after dinner.

I liked that description, I could picture it well and it was a good example of a few details painting an amazing picture. I remember in my fourth (and ONLY) birthday party

“Where is the little hero – I want to shake his hand…er…pat his head… or whatever you do with those things, and congratulate him from getting away from your wife without a scratch. I thought he’d be with your son – heard they’re rather attached…”

Hehe, your good at enticing pity in this chapter. I'm feeling more and more sad that Ian can't come. Why do I predict disaster o.o

Uncle Todd’s frowning. You don’t think you gave him the answer he wanted.

“Okay... I’ll try to make things simple. Has your Dad been sleeping well lately?”

I really don't have a good feeling about this o_0

Immediately, Todd disappears out of the room, looking like a Persian who has just found a nest of baby Rattata.

0_0....

That simile really creeped me out

“What’s ‘manly pride?’” you ask, as Stella crawls across the gift-strewn carpet, finished with her investigations.

She shrugs. “I dunno.” Her head peeks around the corner. You don’t want to look. “But it must be important, ‘cause I think they’re fighting over it right now.”

Another beautiful example of the immaturity and innocence of children =( I'm going to be very sad when Ian and I grow up. Very.

“Not telling.” She begins to protest. “I can’t tell you or the wish won’t come true.”

Stella seems to accept this, nodding sagely.

It’s your wish after all.

It’ll be a secret. Your secret.

I wish for a thousand wishes =D

“I – I mean your mother and I,” your dad begins, after being elbowed by your mother. “Wish you many more happy birthday and we wish you all the happiness in the world, and we hope your life will be a very satisfying one, and you’ll become the person you want to be. And even when you’re a teenager, I hope you never forget that we care about you very much.”

Why do I feel that's foreshadowing? And at this point, I get a strong feeling my mom and dad are going to get divorced

The glasses shudder. “We. Do. Not. Discuss. Family. Planning. At. The. Dinner. Table.”

Oh God, that was good punctuation. You really make your charachters really developed and I can really picture Mom getting enraged over talking about children. And Im assuming Quintuplets is not exactly the most pleasant thign for a woman to give birth to. Better than giving birth to Kelly Clarkson and those big old fat thighs! HAH! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

Forgive me for disturbing this…. Family event. The telepathic communication seems to resonate through the air. Lavie sounds anything but sorry – it has a mean voice. Blank and mechanical almost. But it is of great importance. We need you now… there is… some trouble.

*laughter from Kelly Clarkson burn dies* Woah, whats going on

I will give you the details as we Teleport to Cinnabar Island. What needs to be said cannot be discussed here… amongst your mate and family. It is urgent, and we need you now. You’re the only one who can solve this.

Could this possibly do with the eruption? I was always intrigued by the eruption of Cinnabar Island

“Well..Umm…” Stella begins, biting her lip. You perk up a bit more, watching her stumble. She looks rather embarrassed, and rather sad, too. “Well… y’see, when Daddy says tomorrow, he usually means the day after the day after the day after tomorrow. Or even the day after that… Daddy’s funny like that. Mom says she doesn’t get it, but I do.”

Hah! Nice, typical child of overworked parents. I never saw much of my Mom when I was a kid either cus she had night duty and slept during the day =( Oooh, remind me to tell you a funny anecdote about when I was nearly taken by Social Services XD Well, not funny for my mom...

The imagery alone makes you laugh. All you can imagine him doing is screaming. You blink, and suddenly wonder what exactly Ian is up to. You’ve kinda forgotten about him, and he looked so sad when you left your room when the party started, and, even though you don’t want to think about it, you know that today just might be your last day with him. Your smile fades into a frown.

Now I feel bad YET AGAIN. Thanks a lot Saff and your brilliant writing skillz! And of course, the screaming line made me chuckle as usual

You grit your teeth, to try and keep yourself from crying angry, frustrated tears as you pull yourself to your feet. You know you left him alone for a while, and you felt bad about that, you really do, but that was no reason for him to get angry and String Shot your room just because of that. You don’t even care if he was jealous, he didn’t have to make your room a mess. There’s no way you can clean this up by yourself – you don’t even know if you can untangle yourself from the floor. Mom’s going to kill you when she sees this. She’s definitely not going to let you keep the Caterpie who destroyed your room, no way, no how.

Slowly, the tears begin to disappear, and your eyes glint with cold, unwavering fury.

Awww =((((( Now his fate is sealed! Amazing description of String Shot btw

But it was a shame you didn’t get to see your Mother’s face when she noticed the banner hanging across your ceiling. You didn’t get to see her face light up with a sudden understanding, and you never got to see her smile as she softly closed the door to let you and Ian sleep the rest of the afternoon away.

No, you were too busy dreaming of cake, pink shirts, baseballs, and birthday candles. Still, you did smile a little knowing smile.

Wow, what an incredibly sweet way to finish off the chapter =) And now Mom has to make Ian stay!


Grammar Mistakes

“Ian’s upstairs,” your dad tells him. “Claire wouldn’t let [spoil]Shawn[/spoil] bring him to the party.”

Not really a mistake, but why is Shawn spoiled?



Whoo, I reviewed this! Nice chapter as always, I am beginning to get a bit envious of you to be honest. I read this for inspiration of "Tales of a Little Snicker Doodle" and now I have no time to write XD But tis ok, I had a fun time reading this chapter anyways. This is one of my favorite fics here, as shown by the above qoutes, it is very hilarious, very well written, and VERY qoutable. It did go longer than it should have, but I really dont mind length too much, especially considering what a hypocrite I would be if I did XD You succesffuly made me feel bad for poor Ian who I want to smother with oodles of kisses. Stella (I GOT HER NAME RIGHT) was a blast as always, and I liked the paralells to Will and Todd and SHawn and Stella. I liked Stella's sister Diane as well. The party was well-written, they didn't play any games though.... Oh I would have LOVED to see Stella and Shawn playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey *wink wink nudge nudge* I did manage to get Shawn to fall off the tree...maybe a good game of pin the tail on the donkey will happen to =P Stella bossing ove rthe presents was hilarious, as was Uncle Todd and Diane's arguement over the purely nasty implied relationship. I deem StellaxShawn "AnyonewhosupportsthiswillbepersonallykickedinthefacebyIceKingshipping"! I wasn't too fond of Uncle Todd getting called to work, it was a bit of a let down really. Though rest of the entire fic is realistic, I dunno but I just felt that scene was a little off... Though the whole overworking dad theme was developed good. I still wonder what the foopy Todd does... Ian's gift to Shawn was incredibly sweet, and I had a great grin when I read of my mom's rather unexpected reaction. Writing was beautiful as always, no grammar mistakes! Except, why is my name is Spoilers 0_o?


And one final thing

WE.DO.NOT.DISCUSS.FAMILY.PLANNING.AT.THE.DINNER.TABLE

 

[Saffire Persian]

Iceking:

Social Services story? Good heck, what did you do? XDXDXD

or some reason, I will keep thinking of those delicious portable drinks when I hear Capri.

Ugg, I'm not too fond of Stella at this moment. And why don't adults realize that clothes are a child's worst fear o.o Now I feel like a bit of a traitor becuase I like getting clothes for Christmas XD But I will NEVER subject my children to clothes for Christmas!

'Twas my worst fear. Even now, I don't like getting clothes for Christmas. o.o;

Good old Diane! (Thats Scouts sister, right?)

XD.. I'm going to start calling her Scout. oo I actually really like that name.

Uggg, that reminds me of my pervert drunken second-cousin-once-removed-in-law who keeps telling me to marry my second cousin twice removed and my second cousin.... WOw thats confuzzling

o.0

That got the first super chuckle out of me XD To be honest, I do the same thing to my second cousins twice removed to try and get information out of them.

Which is very fun to do, I might add. XD

....OH...MY...DARWIN XDDDDDD Wow...just....wow *wipes tears from eyes*

Did it beat the couch line yet? XDXDXD... And I've been saying "Oh my Darwin" a lot. XD... Thanks to you. XD It sounds so awesome.

....But its pink.... I made my Tie Die Shirt Yellow Black and Sky Blue!

*You* would have definitely preferred that, too. ;3

Awww, that was so sweet! Though how did he know remote English o-0

Well, remember the banner scene last chapter where *you* pointed the banner out to him, and pointed to each letter. XD... It was done by memory, pretty much, instead of Ian actually knowing the English language. o.o; Of course, maybe he's just super intelligent behind the girly screams, and you just don't know it.

Hehe, your good at enticing pity in this chapter. I'm feeling more and more sad that Ian can't come. Why do I predict disaster o.o

Cuz it always happens following a bunch of very happy chapters? You have to equal out all the good you know.

I really don't have a good feeling about this o_0

Nor should you. When Todd's around, things just... happen.

That simile really creeped me out

XD It was meant to.

Another beautiful example of the immaturity and innocence of children ( I'm going to be very sad when Ian and I grow up. Very.

So will I. XD I'm actually loathing it..which is why I'm procrastinating.. I'll miss them as kids so much it won't be funny. XD I might have to write a collection of one-shots when they were kids, with events that never got to be featured here, as this needs to have some.. semblance of some sort of plot. XDXD Kinda... maybe. Dang, lets take them to Never Never Land.

Why do I feel that's foreshadowing? And at this point, I get a strong feeling my mom and dad are going to get divorced

*chokes on Capri Sun*... XD.. You're close.. You're *Very* close to something. So close it's not funny.. It's not what you're thinking.. but you're close. 0_o I actually was alluding to something in this chapter, and only one person (on another forum) has caught it. XD Still, you're close.

Oh God, that was good punctuation. You really make your charachters really developed and I can really picture Mom getting enraged over talking about children. And Im assuming Quintuplets is not exactly the most pleasant thign for a woman to give birth to. Better than giving birth to Kelly Clarkson and those big old fat thighs! HAH! BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURN!

I should say not. XDXDXD

*laughter from Kelly Clarkson burn dies* Woah, whats going on

>.>

Could this possibly do with the eruption? I was always intrigued by the eruption of Cinnabar Island

At this point and time, Cinnabar is its happy self. Hasn't erupted yet. ;3.. It's over something different that's on Cinnabar, on a very controversial issue that even applies to today... though slightly different. It's not going to be investigated into a ton, but it'll help shed light on what exactly Todd does.

Now I feel bad YET AGAIN. Thanks a lot Saff and your brilliant writing skillz! And of course, the screaming line made me chuckle as usual

See, one scream. XDXD...

Wow, what an incredibly sweet way to finish off the chapter =) And now Mom has to make Ian stay!

Yup. ^_^

Not really a mistake, but why is Shawn spoiled?

Because *your* Name is just that special!..No, really it was because some people said giving him a name would spoil the experience, but some sentences would sound unrealistic and awkward if I used a pronoun or something. o.o Thus, spoiler tags.

read this for inspiration of "Tales of a Little Snicker Doodle" and now I have no time to write XD

It had better appear sometime. XD I'm looking forward to it.

[quoe] Stella (I GOT HER NAME RIGHT) was a blast as always, and I liked the paralells to Will and Todd and SHawn and Stella. [/quote]

You noticed? *gives cookie*

Oh I would have LOVED to see Stella and Shawn playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey *wink wink nudge nudge* I did manage to get Shawn to fall off the tree...maybe a good game of pin the tail on the donkey will happen to =P

Curse thee, IceKing!! XD... I can't say no to that idea. XD... It'll be a little interlude while I'm writing my one-shot.. Just for you. XD.. Pin the Tail on the Tauros, coming next week. xD

It'll also keep them kids for a little longer.

I deem StellaxShawn "Anyonewhosupportsthiswillbepersonallykickedinthef acebyIceKingshipping"!

AKA S.O.S shipping.

I wasn't too fond of Uncle Todd getting called to work, it was a bit of a let down really. Though rest of the entire fic is realistic, I dunno but I just felt that scene was a little off...

Well.. o.o It was a let down, and it was supposed to be. He left for a reason, and his leaving had a point to the story, even though you don't know why yet.. So it wasn't just random. :3 And not just because I wanted to allude to his job. Todd is very much overworked.

I still wonder what the foopy Todd does...

You'll find out.. To some extent anyway. ;3

Until that dang Pin the Tail on the Tauros chapter. It'll be short, it'll be sweet.. and XD... I dunno. Fun?

 

[Bigbrother87]

It lives!!!!! (I realise I'm reviving an almost month old fic, but it's too good to die)

So I stopped reading for a bit when I got City of Heroes/Villains, but it's only gotten better.

You've got me laughing, cringing, even almost crying at one part. (the part where Ian must stay in yuor room. That was just too sad.)

I can't really quote the best parts from the last two chapters, but i must mention the tree part, pure genious, and the brthday banner, which was a wonderful moment.

Since you haven't posted anything on here in a while, I'm hoping this didn't die. But in case it did, I'm saving the chapters in note pad so I can reread it when I need a good laugh, or relive my childhood.

Oh yeah, just in case, can you add me to yuor list of people to PM when the next one comes, thanks.

 

[Saffire Persian]

Bigbrother: I didn't abandon this fic - no not at all. XD It's not dying. I intend to finish this thing even if it kills me, as it's starting to mean a lot more to me now. Bleh - but for the past little awhile I've been obsessed with KH I and II (which I've beaten) and working on a One-shot for the one-shot contest. XD No idea if it'll really get written right now.

But meh, it's going to get written, and now, I think, this is going to be the project I'm going to focus all summer vacation on, as I now really, really want to finish this story. So it's part of the reason I'm going to be inactive for the next little while - I'd like to get a lot of this story written, and it'll get my mind off of some things that have been going on.

Plus, it's something I really feel inspired to do, right now, so I'm going to do it until I get un-inspired or something.

Thanks a ton for your review though. I didn't mind the lateness, and I can't tell you how much I appreciated it yesterday. It helped make my day a bit brighter. ^^ Thanks.

 

[Praxiteles]

This chapter seems to be the best one yet, I'd say. Reminds me of how pure children's minds are - and how much mature ones aren't...

Anyways, let me take a different style of reviewing today...

Hardly able to restrain your excitement, you jump off the bed, startling Ian so much he accidentally dashes straight into your bed’s headboard. He’s used to running into things by now, though, so you know he’s okay.

Heh heh.. I love these little spots of comedy.

Your pace quickens into a run, you’re almost out of your bedroom --

“Capri?”

You stop. Ian’s following you, looking as happy and excited as you do. When you stop, he runs in circles around your feet. He even starts to squeal when the doorbell rings. You’re unable to look him in the eyes, diverting your attention to a picture on the wall. A leaden feeling is creeping into your stomach while the feelings of euphoria is ebbing away. You can’t help but feel immensely guilty. You know it’s not your fault, you’re doing what your mom and dad told you to do, but… it feels wrong, and it hurts, almost – like you’ve fallen out of that oak tree again.

“You can’t come… sorry.”

“… Pri?...”

He’s standing just at your feet now, looking up at you with those big, black eyes. He’s confused, and he takes a few steps backward.

“I said you can’t come to the party... I’m sorry, but you heard what Dad said.”

You walk out of your door, only to stop again as Ian still insists on following you. “I said stay!” Your voice takes on a hard, firm tone. You feel like hitting yourself for using such a tone, but you have to get the message acrossed. “You have to stay! Mom’s scared of you, so she won’t let you come.” Ian’s head lowers, a small, melancholy squeak coming out of his tiny body. You lower your voice, and you try and put on a smile for him. “I said I’m sorry, but I’ll be up tonight and tell you all about it, okay? The TV’s on, so you can watch Poké Rangers all you want.”

Ian still looks said, like a baby Growlithe who’s just been abandoned and left out in the rain. You tell him you’re sorry again, before closing the door to your room. The sound seems to echo. You can’t take the chance for him coming down, or your Mom will have a fit, so you had to close the door.

You can hear familiar voices coming from the kitchen as you slowly go down the stairway.

But even as you go, you can’t help but wonder if Ian is still staring forlornly at the door.

+++++

It really does break my heart to see that... I like it, in a strange sort of manner. That isn't sadistic.

You nod, while Stella shifts slightly, looking down at you from her perch. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

It's sorta weird, yet cute, in a sort of manner. Commentable (notice the t).

You happen to turn around just in time to spot an object flying through the air, directly at your face.

You don’t, however, have time to block it.

“You’re supposed to catch it!” Stella’s shouts as you sink to the floor, rubbing your face where the… --You look -- … book hit you. You let the presents you were holding fall onto the tan carpet. Your eyes are watering from the stinging pain, though you’re determined not to cry. Getting hit by a book – your birthday present no less – was not what you had in mind. Stella, meanwhile, continues to go rifle your presents as though nothing had happened.

Awesome. Especially Stella's thing. You know, she really is starting to grow on me.

I have to go. Bye!

*zap*

*something breaks*

EDIT: I'm back with a summarised version of the rest of the review! Let me highlight simply the cutest part (man, this sounds gay):

You pause your impending tirade. Just for a moment. You look up to where a big cocoon of String Shot is located. It’s strung right up across the ceiling, above your bed. They look like… letters. Droopy ones.

H

A

P

Y

B

R

T

H

A

Y

Hapy Brthay?

(Happy Birthday)

The realization hits you like a plume of Ho-oh’s Sacred Fire.

He was just trying to do something for your birthday, too.

He was just trying to make you feel special, since he couldn’t be down there with you.

The String Shot? They’re streamers. He didn’t have any to use, so he made his own.

Even though he can’t spell, he tried to anyway – but you don’t really care that he spelled it wrong. When it comes down to it, it’s the same meaning, no matter how you choose to spell it.

Every ounce of anger is gone, replaced by a strange, warm feeling deep inside your chest. It’s like happiness, but not quite. You don’t know what to call it, but you decide it doesn’t need a name.

Slowly, you manage to get yourself untangled from the String Shot, and start to carefully weave your way through the streamers to where your bed is; Ian’s still sleeping, tiny, growling sounds emerging out of his throat. His feet are wiggling.

“Sorry,” you whisper. “I smashed your cake, too. Sorry.”

Perhaps he heard you somewhere deep within his dream, maybe he didn’t. But you think he did, even as you scramble atop you’re bed, not bothering to disturb Ian just to snuggle under your covers. You have the distinct feeling that everything’s going to be okay. Your eyes close, and your breathing slows.

You’ll worry about everything tomorrow.

And with that, you drift deep into the realm of quiet sleep.

++++++

Both you and Ian had stayed up so late, that when the next morning came, you both slept. So tired were the both of you, that you and he never heard the sounds of your mother’s footsteps as she crept up the stairs. You never heard her open the door to your room, barely stifling a screech of surprise as when her foot made contact with a glob of String Shot. You didn’t see her surprised face turn red with anger as she looked about the room in horror.

(And that was probably a good thing.)

But it was a shame you didn’t get to see your Mother’s face when she noticed the banner hanging across your ceiling. You didn’t get to see her face light up with a sudden understanding, and you never got to see her smile as she softly closed the door to let you and Ian sleep the rest of the afternoon away.

No, you were too busy dreaming of cake, pink shirts, baseballs, and birthday candles. Still, you did smile a little knowing smile.

…Sometimes wishes do come true…

AWWW...

 

[SnoringFrog]

Eight becomes nine, and nine becomes ten, and ten becomes eleven

At this point, I was thinking, "Woah, woah, woah, you can't just skip two years like that! You could at least of told us what happened with Ian first!"

before the party even starts to look close to being over with.

And at this point, my mind simply states, "Oh."

And you liked Lavie? Glad to hear it, somebody has to like him. Poor guy, I think he's an insomniac.

Lol, nice. I know it's not technically part of the fic, but it was still worth noting.

I love how you've written this story. I do believe it's the only second-person story I've ever read, and it's very well done. As I believe I've said before, the characters are wondrously portrayed, and quite accurate and amusing to read about. Keep up the good work, Saff!

 

[Air Dragon]

Heralds many more kudos to you (for writing) and me (for getting off my lazy, holidaying bum to read and review! I've only read the last chapter so far, but i have copied the whole thing to my pc so i'll read it through soon.

Ian's so sweet, setting the party decor up in the room for the hero. Everybody's got their distinct personalities and that's cool with me! This gets six star rating from me!

Let's review!

Fun times:

Stella cocks her head, looking confused. She then glances over to her father. “But Daddy says babies are easy to ma –“

Immediately, Stella’s comment is cut off as Diane’s hand closes over Stella’s mouth, muffling whatever Stella said into an inaudible rumble.. “Whoa, slow down, Sis. You’re going wayyyy too far down the in the deep, dark tunnels of adulthood.”

XDXDXDXDXDXDXD *pant,pant* XDXDXDXDXD!

“Stella, you don’t bite your sister.”

“SHE started it –“

“AND I’LL FINISH IT, TOO!”

“Both of you, quite acting like –“

“Eight-year-olds?” Diana mutters under her breath while Stella sticks out her tongue.

“You taste bad ‘N-e-way.”

Again...XDXDXDXDXD^18,456,586,890... sense a little ice age in there...

“Trouble? Bah – Matt’s gone a dug a big pit for himself, hasn’t he?”

*snort* Matt sounds pretty stupid with that description...XD!

“Lets just say he’s the kind of person who, after kidnapping a baby Kangaskhan, would expect to have a nice, civil conversation with its mother.”

Correction: Matt sounds really stupid with that description...XDXD!!

“I’m not a girl!” you exclaim hotly, noticing another object amongst the shirt. It’s a necklace – granted, this one doesn’t look too girly, being a dark green, with a little bit of blue and all. A butterfly symbol is on it.

“I know you’re not a girl, silly,” Stella says, grinning fit to burst. “You like it?”

“It’s PINK!” you hiss. “PINK is a girl’s color.”

“Tough guys wear pink, you know that, don’t you?” Diane says, grinning.

“Well…” you say, never having heard that particular expression before. You fumble, trying to find some apt retort, but end up failing miserably, repeating yourself once more. “It’s pink.”

[SPOIL]Shawn[/SPOIL]'s a real winner when it comes to debate...XDXDXDXDXDXDXDXD!


Grammer (*cough* know i spelt it wrong...my little joke)

get the message acrossed

should be across

Ian still looks said

should be Ian still looks sad

they have such loud voices it’s not hard to notice

shouldn't that be: they have such loud voices it’s hard not to notice?

Mewforsaken

there should be a space between the Mew and forsaken.

all in all, a highly compelling read! please carry on, and pm me when any new chappies come up! Later!

 

[Gazmof]

“Dad…” Diane’s tone is rather annoyed, and you have the distinct feeling she gets something you don’t. But by instinct, you know not to ask. It’s probably some ‘teenager’ thing, as your Dad puts it. “They’re cousins.”

“It happened all over the place in Medieval times, you know.”

Best line of the chapter. I laughed quite a bit. And at the family planning section

Really great chapter, Saffire, and you've convincingly tackled the Caterpie vs Claire issue (or so it seems). Again I simply adore the descriptions of typical, family life you give and there isn't a single character I dislike. Looking forward to the water park.

It also seems this story is about to take a more serious twist, with the appearance of the Kirlia and the incident at Cinnabar.

Requesting more appearances from Diane - believe it or not, I've never seen a character quite like her in the Pokemon universe, and I'm kind of intrigued as to how it's going to pan out.

Sorry this review took a while, heh. I'm behind on reading these things.

Keep up the good work, as always.

 

[Saffire Persian]

I swear a new chapter'll be out soon. Just finished my 47 page (I kid you not) Comedy One-shot for the contest, so blame it for the absence of any Metamorphosis chapters. XDXD Soon though, soon.


Pyroken:

This chapter seems to be the best one yet, I'd say. Reminds me of how pure children's minds are - and how much mature ones aren't...

XDXDXDXDXD... Yup. Weird, isn't it? Once these kids grow up and can't play naive little angels any more, I'll be sad. XD

SnoringFrog

At this point, I was thinking, "Woah, woah, woah, you can't just skip two years like that! You could at least of told us what happened with Ian first!"

I'm not that mean. Though we will be age skipping. ^^'

I love how you've written this story. I do believe it's the only second-person story I've ever read, and it's very well done. As I believe I've said before, the characters are wondrously portrayed, and quite accurate and amusing to read about. Keep up the good work, Saff!

I LOVE -- LOVE second person. XD It is a fun as heck point of view I discovered I really, really like. o.0 I've written four things in second now. Plus, I like the fact I'm proving that second person can be used, since it's neglected and highly underrated. Thanks for your review!


Airdragon

I need to review your story, too. I've been meanning to, but I've been working on (til last Friday) on my huge as heck comedy "one-shot". Hopefully I'll review soon, anyway...

Again...XDXDXDXDXD^18,456,586,890... sense a little ice age in there...

That was one of my favorite scenes.

“Trouble? Bah – Matt’s gone a dug a big pit for himself, hasn’t he?”


*snort* Matt sounds pretty stupid with that description...XD!

You have no idea. XD

Quote:
get the message acrossed

should be across

Quote:
Ian still looks said

should be Ian still looks sad

Quote:
they have such loud voices it’s not hard to notice

shouldn't that be: they have such loud voices it’s hard not to notice?

*will fix*.

:
Mewforsaken

:/ I'm not sure if that's true. As godforsaken is only one word -- so I assume my version of it is the same.

Again, thanks for your review.

Gazmof

I owe you reviews, too. XD

Best line of the chapter. I laughed quite a bit. And at the family planning section

To think I was going to cut the whole Medieval scene out. XD

It also seems this story is about to take a more serious twist, with the appearance of the Kirlia and the incident at Cinnabar.

'Tis something to keep in mind. But also keep in mind that these characters are kids, so the likelihood that you'll find out much of anything about it -- especially since it's over issues that Todd is not likely to discuss, might not give you all the information about it you want.

Requesting more appearances from Diane - believe it or not, I've never seen a character quite like her in the Pokemon universe, and I'm kind of intrigued as to how it's going to pan out.

o.0... Really? Ah, she'll be appearing plenty. Not a major character, but she'll be around.

Thanks for your review.

 

[Icysaur]

This is the cutest story ever =33
At the string-shot scene I was like, "Nooo! Caterpie is too sweet!!" xD But I like how you ended it. This story is going on my favorite places for sure =)
And, you're right, second person is quite interesting. It fits perfectly in this story.

 

[Saffire Persian]

Icysaur: Thanks. And yes, the Caterpie is much too nice to do anything purposefully destructive... yet anyway . He'd have to be very mad for that to happen. Hopefully a new chapter'll be up in a couple weeks. Thanks for your review, it's much appreciated.

 

[Senator Kiwi]

I loved it.

I only read the first part (when I have time I'll continue to read it). But I still loved it. I've never read a second-person fic that didn't come off as forced and uncreative to the point where they're just like the Choose Your Own Adventure series. It was finally nice to find one that actually convinced me that I was there as a little kid hiding from my annoying little sister Stella. And the Caterpie rocks. I've never really liked Caterpie, because it's an OU bug in journey fics (like Pikachu. sounds like a familiar plotline, don't it? =P), but I love this one.

Also, (well, I've already said this, but still) you characterized the little kid perfectly. And Stella, too. Loved the

“Whhherreee areeee you?! Come out! Come out! Wherever you are! Twenty-one! Ninety-nine! ONE HUNDRED!”

bit. An excellent read, and when I get the chance, I'll read and review the rest.

 

[Saffire Persian]

Senator Kiwi: Is Caterpie that OU a Pokémon? I've never thought so but ah well. Ah - and Stella's not a sister, but a cousin. XD.. Sorry if that wasn't obvious. Thanks for your review!

And yes, to the rest of you, I swear a new chapter's coming. XD

 

[shadowlight]

I've never thought that Caterpie is an OU pokemon. I enjoyed the most recent chapter and am happy that a new chapter is coming. I can't wait for it.

 

[Saffire Persian]

Shadowlight; I don't think he's OU either, even if Ash did have one. ^^ Ah well, thanks for stopping by. And yeah.. still coming.

 

[Senator Kiwi]

OU in the sense that the other bugs get left out.

Like Yanma. I've decided I'm having a Yanma in Argent. xP

 

[Manulya]

So this is what uve been up to Belle? ~applauds~ Didnt expect any less

Its been a long time since i came to this forum...

 

[Saffire Persian]

Senator Kiwi: Ah, I see. ^^'.. I dunno about that, if there's any bug that takes the fame away, it's Scyther.

Manyula: ^^ NIce to see you too. It has been a long time. Thanks for reviewing.

 

[Saffire Persian]

A/N: Well.. about time, huh? This chapter is split into two parts as has been the tradition thus far. I have most of the second part done, but I was suddenly struck with an idea of perhaps introducing two characters that I've been toying with introducing.

These chapter (and part two) are the last time you'll see "yourself" as an eight-year-old. Yes, I'm sad, too, as there's so many ideas I want to write - - just little fun adventures, with the whole gang. But I'm afraid things'll get rather boring, and you'll want me to move on. o.o And I guess I have to have some semblance of connecting plot. I still would like to continue to write them as children - as I love them how they are, but I don't know what I'm going to do about that. I've been toying with the idea of just putting "extras" in this story of little "one-shot" episodes when they were kids ( like them at Halloween) ...or just making a separate analogy of little one-shots, but I dunno if that'll work out.

Anyway, here's part I of II.

Special thanks to katiekitten who beta'd this chapter. : D

+Changing Skies+

Childhood lasts only for a short time,
Little but one rung on the ladder we must climb.
Still, the memories of those days will never fade, no matter how high
you ascend deep into cloud and sky.​

This always happens – always has, year after year. With summer’s end approaching, summer’s greatest, and most deadly malady has decided to rear its stupid head: boredom.

And you’ve caught it. You’ve caught it bad. It’s been raging like the plague for a couple of days now, and you’ve been stuck lounging in your room or sunbathing outside – which has yielded no cure of the boredom bug whatsoever. Even Stella hasn’t been over, which is a rarity in itself, as she loves nothing more than to barge through your front door and the most inopportune times.

You’d welcome such an interruption now.

Your mother’s away at the grocery store, and your father’s off doing some interview for the Viridian Times paper, leaving you to your own devices. This alone would usually plunge most children your age into an abyss of near-eternal glee, but not you. No, not you. Not even being alone in the house – excluding Ian – brings any excitement to the tedium that is, sadly, your life.

Perhaps summer’s playing games with you – making you pay for the overuse of excitement you’ve had over at the water park. There, you learned many important life lessons that you vowed to take to your watery grave.

First: Despite the fact Caterpie weigh less than a stick, doesn’t mean they can, under any circumstances, float like one. They do scream and sink like a Baby Ruth bar though.

(The Squirtle lifeguard had to rescue Ian from the bottom of the Swimming Pool floor, before having to forcefully pump out the rather large amount of water Ian had swallowed, as he had gone down screaming. He kinda reminded you of a live water-fountain then).

Second: Jumping from diving board like a Wailord (belly first) is not a way to prove your unsissyness. It proves it.

Third: Water slides are not a safe method to prove to anybody (especially a half-drowned Caterpie) that water parks are fun.

Suddenly, like a heaven-sent cacophony of angels, the doorbell rings.

Hallelujah!

You fling yourself off your bed, startling Ian who was napping on the sunny windowsill. In your excitement, you don’t even to look back as you bolt out your bedroom door, jumping down the stairway, skipping every other stair with practiced ease, until you come into the kitchen where you eagerly arrive at the front door, twisting the doorknob.

(You’re actually supposed to look out of the eye-hole first, because you’re not supposed to open the door to strangers, but you decide meeting a stranger would be far more exciting than peeping through the hole and not opening the door.)

You open the door, and everything is thrown into chaos.

You scream as a thick, brown bag is thrown over your head. You didn’t even have time to see who it was.

“LET ME GO!” you yell, as you find yourself swept off your feet, tumbling further into the large sack. The opening closes, and you’re left in almost complete darkness. You feel yourself being hefted upwards. It’s just like that one movie, 101 Poochyena, when the puppies get stolen and put into a big bag and taken away, because an evil woman wanted to make a fur coat out of them.

You try vainly to extinguish out the fear that’s beginning to flare within you.

They’re not going to make a coat out of you, are they?

“SQUUUUEUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-----”

The piercing, forlorn screech interrupts your thoughts, managing to pull you away from the mental images of evil, ugly old hags who look more like a monster than human and fur coats.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who’s screaming.

“Be quiet, you sissy!” a rather familiar voice hisses, coming from just besides your bag. “We’re kidnapping.”

Still, Ian doesn’t bother stopping, screaming his little heart out.

Whoever’s holding your bag begins to move.

“Good Mew,” you hear the voice say over the din – another familiar one, “He screams louder than Claire. Never thought I’d see the day – I guess we’ll have to take you, too, eh, you little banshee.”

Another voice. “Dad, hold still. I’ll get him.”

There are sounds of feet dashing across the tile floor. Ian isn’t screaming as loud as he was anymore – it sounds more like a mix between hiccups and squeals now. You can imagine him weaving a complicated pattern in attempts to get away from his would-be captors.

“You’re catching him all wrong, stupid! You gotta pounce on him or make him run into a window.”

“Well, why don’t you try to catch him, then?” the feminine voice retorts darkly.

“Okay!” A pause. You recognize the voices now, all too well. If it wasn’t for the absurd amount of screaming distorting your concentration, you would’ve labeled the names to the voices right away. “Hey, Ian – Look! There’s Shawn!”

The scuttling and screaming stop abruptly. Your eardrums are thankful. “Catrpri?”

“Ha!” A loud thud. Silence.

“You didn’t squish him did you?”

Squished?

Your heart stops for a moment. He can’t be squished… Can he?

“You’re not supposed to squish him!” you yell, frustration building up inside your tiny body as you struggle within the bag’s confines, which refuse to give the least bit of leeway.

“I didn’t squish him! He’s just fine – he’s just playing dead.” Stella sounds quite offended. You relax, and your movements cease. He does play dead rather well. “Besides, kidnapped people aren’t supposed to talk!”

No, they don’t talk, you think wryly, shooting a glare in Stella’s general direction, they scream.

“Well just put him in the bag. That’ll shut the both of them up – seriously, whose brilliant idea was this anyway?”

“Daddy’s.”

“You’re so immature, Dad.”

The mouth of the sack opens and a small figure is pushed through the hole, landing on top your chest. “Ian!” you cry happily, as the little bug raises his head to look at you. He still looks stunned from Stella’s pounce; you don’t blame him, you know exactly what her pouncing feels like. But upon seeing you, he seems to brighten up considerably, chirping in glee.

“Now that that’s taken care of,” you hear Uncle Todd say, “I suppose I’m obligated to leave some kind of note –”

“Ransom note!”

Todd laughs. “Ransom note? Well… I suppose we could do that…”

…Why do you suddenly feel apprehensive?

*****​

“Here we are,” Uncle Todd says, about fifteen minutes from your rather impromptu departure. You barely constrain a yelp as the bag moves about swiftly, and you tumble out of the now open mouth and to the ground – a very grassy ground atop a small hill. You nearly roll over Ian in the process, but he darts out of the way just in time.

You shake your head, ridding yourself from dizziness as you gaze at an open, cloud-populated sky. You can see Stella (with a triumphant, catty expression) off to the side, with Uncle Todd and Diane – who seems to be harboring her permanently bored look. All are wearing brightly colored t-shirts. Diane and Stella’s are very much tie-dyed, while Uncle Todd’s is a bright blue, covered in exotic red flowers. You also notice he’s gotten something of a tan since you last saw him.

“Remind me why we’re doing this again, Dad?”

“We’re doing this because I made a promise to take him out for his birthday. So I am. Didn’t I, kid?”

You barely notice a green blur darting behind your back. You nod. “Yeah.”

“Then why do I have to come along?”

“Because your father just wants to make what remains of your teenage life as miserable as he can possibly make it – and if one of those ways is to force you to hang out with family, so be it.”

Diane scowls and rolls her blue eyes.

Taking a chance, you survey your surroundings: You’re at Viridian Park – you’ve been here many times before. It’s the largest park in the area, home to everything a child such as yourself could possibly ask for. A wide expanse of trees to climb…

(Well, for other kids, not for you. The next day you ever climb a tree is the day a full grown Ursaring is chasing after you – and even then, you think you’ll take on the Ursaring.)

…Swings, jungle gym, other brightly colored playground equipment, and lots and lots of green grass to run around on. It’s perfect.

“—not to mention,” Todd begins, catching your attention, “I need your participation in this game of mine.”

Diane’s face is completely devoid of emotion. Uncle Todd is enthusiastically rummaging through a rather large black backpack, looking quite pleased with himself, while Stella looks on with just as much – if not more – enthusiasm.

Funny, when you look at them, both Stella and Todd look rather identical.

“What game?” Diane darkly responds.

“Well, the best game in the world, of course. You see, as I was going on this Ferry – as Lavie wasn’t around to Teleport me home, the sleep-deprived git – I sat next to this man – jolly fellow he was. Nice guy, we hit it off right from the start. We got to talking, and I told him about my predicament, about how I was unable to attend all of my dear nephew’s birthday party, and how I was going to make it all up to him –“

“Did you tell that guy your whole life story, too, Dad?”

Todd ignores Diane and continues on. “—and so this guy – can’t remember his name, but it started with an ‘F’ - says, ‘Well, if I was you, I’d get your kids and go n’ play a game with ‘em. Nothing makes the family closer than a good game of pin the tail on the Tauros. I bet your young gal would like that, that’s what he said. Called her Scout, too.”

Ah – people seem to call Stella that a lot. You don’t know how they mix up her name, but it happens.

“You don’t have to tell us your whole conversation with him verbatim Dad.”

“I assure you,” Todd said. “I’m not. Anyways, so I said to him ‘That’s a great idea!’ and made this!”

Uncle Todd then brings out of his bag what looks like to be a Tauros’ brown posterior, without the tails, and holds it up proudly.

“Dad…” Diane says slowly. “Did you draw that?”

“Yup, your old dad drew it on his boat ride home. One hundred percent hand-drawn pure-bull buttocks, sketched with pencil, colored in with crayon. You can imagine the look I got from the pretty boat attendant when I asked for a package of crayons –”

“Dad, it looks terrible.”

“Ah, but you can tell what it is, can’t you?”

“I can tell what it is!” Stella exclaims. “I can! I can! It’s a Tauros’ butt!”

Ian can apparently recognize it too. He’s run behind your back already, looking down right prepared to bolt if that drawing takes one more step closer to him.

“Right you are! As long as you can tell what it is, that –” Todd snaps his fingers, taking out some more items from his bag: a pink blindfold and three strips of brown paper you presume are supposed to be tails. “- is all that matters! Now, who can tell me how many tails a Tauros has?”

You raise your hand.

”THREE-“ Stella shouts out. “Three tails!”

“Right again! I have one smart little girl, don’t I?”

Stella nods.

“And if there’s three tails, then how many people can play?”

“Three!” Stella begins to count people on her fingers. “Me, Shawn, and Diane!”

Ian breathes a sigh of relief. Diane’s blue eyes narrow. She shakes her head. “No.” That was perhaps the most empathetic ‘no’ you’ve heard all week.

“What d’ya mean ‘no’,” Stella says, pouting. “Mom says you’re supposed to play with me anyways.”

“Burning Barbie dolls in the microwave is far different than playing pin the tail on the wannabe Tauros, Stel.”

You lay your head on your hands, looking rather bored. Seeing the two argue back and forth isn’t that rare of an occurrence. It usually ends with biting.

“No it’s not! When we play with Barbie, its head melts, when you play pin the tail on the Tauros, you get to stick –”

Todd’s hand quick lands atop of Stella’s head, quickly cutting off any ensuing remark that might have followed. “Never mind that part of the equation. I guess if Diane won’t play --” Todd gives a very theatrical sigh of disappointment, though it disappears as quickly as Ian does when he spots a Pidgeotto outside the bedroom window. “--then I’ll have to!”

With a great deal of ceremony, Todd waltzes over to the nearest tree about fifteen feet away, just down the small hill, nailing the picture to the bark and then applying a rather copious amount of tape around it. Diane’s facial expression hasn’t changed, but you can tell she’s itching to say something. It takes only a few moments before he’s finished, and he walks back up to where you and the rest are, depositing one of the tails into your open hand.

“Right! Everyone stand up - here are the rules of the game. Your objective it to try and get these tails pinned to this unfortunate Tauros’ back end – shouldn’t be too hard. Any questions?”

“Oh! What if we pin the tail on somebody else’s butt instead? Would we win?”

“Nope, afraid not,” Todd replies, his head wagging back and forth solemnly, somehow keeping a straight face. “Doing that would give us another hole where we don’t need another. Now who should go first?”

“You should, Daddy!”

Your uncle nods, beginning to tie the pink bandana around himself, though he doesn’t get far. Diane finally seems to have reached the breaking point, snatching the blindfold away before your Uncle can even finish the knot.

“Fine! I’ll do it. I’ll play or whatever… just… stay at the sidelines and look like you’re doing something constructive or… somethin’.”

“That’s the spirit!”

“As for YOU!” Diane spares a particularly venomous glare in Stella’s direction as she ties the piece of cloth around her head, slowly covering her eyes. It sends chills down your spine – and Ian’s to from the way he’s looking. “Cheat and die.”

*****​

Diane stumbles down the grassy hill, wobbling about with her arms outstretched while you, Stella, Todd, and Ian watch. Stella seems to find the whole event amusing, with Todd shouting words of encouragement to his daughter – who, from the sounds of her protests, doesn’t want to hear any of it.

Ian especially appears entranced by the whole process, peeking around your leg as he follows Diane’s unsteady course with his eyes. The closer she gets, the more nervous and curious he becomes.

Finally, Diane reaches the tree where the poster is, reaching out her hand to touch the bark, before quickly finding her target. In a manner of moments, she sticks the tail on the drawing.

This sends Ian into a fit of mini-hysterics, though his shrill protests fade into confused squeaks as he realizes nothing came of the whole affair. The whole idea seems to amaze him, and he creeps forward a few inches, cocking his head as Diane whisks the bandana off. She surveys her work without the faintest hint of satisfaction. She sighs, coming up the hill, handing the bandana over to her father whose smile is much too wide to be considered normal.

“Happy now, Dad?”

“Infinitely.”

It’s Stella’s turn next, and thus far she shows more exuberance than her sister over the whole thing. She can barely stay still enough to allow her dad to tie the pink piece of fabric over her eyes. Barely five seconds pass before Stella is spun around and sent on her merry way. And unlike her sister, she runs, sprinting along as if the very Houndoom of Hell were nipping at her heels.

…Of course, she’s heading in the totally wrong direction.

Uncle Todd seems to take pity on his daughter – personally, you would have just let her run, just to see how long it would take her to find out.

“Left, Stella, left!” She turns. Todd shakes his head, his voice rumbling with thinly veiled mirth. “Your other left.”

Now she’s heading in the right direction.

“Think she’ll run into a tree again, Dad?”

Todd looks honestly thoughtful. “With the way she’s going?” He pauses. “Probably.”

And, from the resounding crash seconds later as human flesh meets tree (a very strange, yet oddly satisfying sound) it seems like that would be the case. Stella is completely bowled over, the breath knocked out of her as she lands on her back, doing a rather good impression of Ian, or so you add to yourself. You feel oddly vindicated, smiling despite yourself.

Ian squeals with worry, hopping up and down.

But you know Stella better than he does.

And just like you predicted, it takes all but ten seconds for her to get back on her feet.

“FOUND IT!”

And with a burst of unparallel gusto, Stella pins her tail on the Todd’s drawing.

Right smack dab in the middle.

You scowl.

Stupid liar-cheater.

*****​

It’s your turn now. Your world has turned from a bright, brilliant blue into that of a very black one, with only tiny increments of sunlight infiltrating the weave of the bandana. An all-too-enthusiastic Stella spins you around until you don’t know up from down, and with a “friendly” push, you’re on your way.

You don’t really know where’s your going, walking slowly, deliberately in your chosen direction. Whether you win or lose, you don’t really care, though you would dearly like to overthrow Stella’s current position. As you walk, grass under your feet, and other children’s laughing voices intertwining with other sounds through the still, clear air, you hear a very distinct voice differ itself from the rest. It’s a voice you’d recognize amongst a host of thousands.

”Shawn! Go right!” It’s Stella, her tone more mischievous than usual.

You pause.

You go left.

You continue, listening closely.

“No, Shawn! You gotta go right!”

More to the left.

“Shhhawwwn! L-E-F-T!”

Right.

“You’re going the wrong way! Turn ‘round!”

Ah, she sounds frustrated.

You smile.

You continue to go straight, keep your palms open in front of you. Soon you feel bark underneath your fingertips, with your right index finger lightly touching the corner of paper. You grin, and ready the faux Tauros tail in your hand, readying to stick the pin where you believe the middle is –

“Shawn! Shawn you gotta stop!”

Ah, but you’re not stopping – the Tauros is right here. In your minds eye, you can see it from behind the pink cloth. There’s no stopping you now!

“SHAWN!”

You startle. It was Uncle Todd this time, with a definite edge of panic and worry. But it’s too late now, your pin plunges inward, through paper and into the tree bark.

Everything’s quiet.

You peel off the bandana with increasing dread. You look behind you; everyone’s staring at you, or rather, towards the Tauros target. Slowly, you turn your head around, noticing a blob of a rather sticky white substance, a kind of string… and attached to that string is Ian.

The Caterpie doesn’t utter a single word, rigid and motionless as his evolved form would have been. He’s hanging from his string shot, his eyes like twin black holes, utterly flabbergasted. The large, sharp tack that you used to stick the tail on is right between his eyes, not even three-fourths of an inch away from him.

You don’t know what to say.

You look down at him guiltily, and his cross-eyed gaze slowly turns upward to meet yours.

He squeaks.

You suppose if his mouth wasn’t full of that String Shot, he would’ve screamed.

 

[Sike Saner]

First things first. HIGHLIGHTS!

With summer’s end approaching, summer’s greatest, and most deadly malady has decided to rear its stupid head: boredom.

“Stupid head”…XD Awesome.

First: Despite the fact Caterpie weigh less than a stick, doesn’t mean they can, under any circumstances, float like one. They do scream and sink like a Baby Ruth bar though.

XDDDD

Although, that did also remind me of a nasty trick that people sometimes like to play with chocolate bars…using them to make it seem as though there’s something else of that color in the pool… O~o

(The Squirtle lifeguard had to rescue Ian from the bottom of the Swimming Pool floor, before having to forcefully pump out the rather large amount of water Ian had swallowed, as he had gone down screaming. He kinda reminded you of a live water-fountain then).

Funny little image.

They’re not going to make a coat out of you, are they?

…Oh, crap, are they? o_o;

“SQUUUUEUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-----”

My favorite quote to take out of context. XD

“Be quiet, you sissy!” a rather familiar voice hisses, coming from just besides your bag. “We’re kidnapping.”

*snort* XD

“You didn’t squish him did you?”

One of those things you never want to hear. XD

Yup, your old dad drew it on his boat ride home. One hundred percent hand-drawn pure-bull buttocks, sketched with pencil, colored in with crayon.

That has got to be the most pride I have ever heard used in speaking of bovine butt... o_o

“Ah, but you can tell what it is, can’t you?”

“I can tell what it is!” Stella exclaims. “I can! I can! It’s a Tauros’ butt!”

HOORAY! XD I can’t help it, I just can’t—butts make me laugh, and any enthusiasm even remotely directed towards a butt even moreso. XDDDD

Ian can apparently recognize it too. He’s run behind your back already, looking down right prepared to bolt if that drawing takes one more step closer to him.

YES! Fear the crudely-drawn bull-tuckas! =O

“Burning Barbie dolls in the microwave is far different than playing pin the tail on the wannabe Tauros, Stel.”

Interesting pastime…I always subjected my Barbies to scissors and “genetic mutations” facilitated by means of clay, plastic, and crafting foam, but this…hmm…

…Nah, actually no, cause that would certainly smell horrible. Melting plastic and rubber, ew. ><; Not to mention that that’d certainly be a pain in the bull-tuckas to clean out of the ol’ Michael-wave, and furthermore any lingering plastic-fumes in it might affect the taste of my Spaghetti-O’s. :x

“No it’s not! When we play with Barbie, its head melts, when you play pin the tail on the Tauros, you get to stick –”

*snicker*

“Oh! What if we pin the tail on somebody else’s butt instead? Would we win?”

XD Good question.

“Nope, afraid not,” Todd replies, his head wagging back and forth solemnly, somehow keeping a straight face. “Doing that would give us another hole where we don’t need another.

And even better answer! XDDDD

And, from the resounding crash seconds later as human flesh meets tree (a very strange, yet oddly satisfying sound) it seems like that would be the case.

That it is. XD Ah, but that was a delicious moment. SPLAT! ^_^ Yeah, maybe I do watch a little too much AFV, but whatever. XD

The Caterpie doesn’t utter a single word, rigid and motionless as his evolved form would have been. He’s hanging from his string shot, his eyes like twin black holes, utterly flabbergasted. The large, sharp tack that you used to stick the tail on is right between his eyes, not even three-fourths of an inch away from him.

Oh, snap… XD Yeah, that could have been ugly.

You look down at him guiltily, and his cross-eyed gaze slowly turns upward to meet yours.

He squeaks.

You suppose if his mouth wasn’t full of that String Shot, he would’ve screamed.

Or perhaps uttered the Caterpie equivalent of a four-letter word. XD


Okay, now that I’m done swamping you with your own written words and my own doofy commentary, I’ll proceed by saying that that’s my new favorite chapter of this. That little episode there got more laughs out of me than any before it—the combined result of the priceless, delightfully accurate kid-dialogue that this story has showcased so well in the distance to here, and of, oh yes indeed, the heinie jokes. I found myself momentarily possessed of the urge to actually crappily draw a Tauros-rump with crayons myself, just simply because the mental image of such amused the frelling frell frell out of me. XD

Of course, the doofy drawing (bless “my” poor Uncle Todd XD) was only the beginning of the amusement—I knew from the moment that the game was announced that something memorable was going to go down. And the most priceless moment that followed for me was, hands down, what “I” nearly did there at the end. At first, I thought that perhaps “I” was about to inadvertently give Uncle Todd “another hole where we don’t need another” (Lord, I love that quote XD), but then it turned out that “I” had nearly done something even worse to poor Ian! Yep, again, that was definitely one of those “oh snap!” moments right there. XD

So yeah, majorly entertaining and funny-as-frell chapter, there. Kudos. ^^