Notice



"...they are not Carynn and Fletcher!!! AH, mass confusion!!"
--Kathy Z

1)So you know that song, "it's my party and I'll cry if I want to"?
2)Yeah, that one. When I sing it, it goes like this: "it's my story and I'll cheat if I want to..."
3)No, I'm just kidding. I just thought of that now, so I haven't gotten a chance to try it yet.
4)It sounds like the rhythm would work, though. Whose song is that?
5)Anyway, Adri and I have talked about this whole twin thing over and over again.
6)And basically she feels that I am too capricious to be allowed control over the kid universe.
7)I'm kidding again. Well, not totally. Not in the way that this is all Adri's fault.
8)Most things are, you know. The fact that the kid universe exists at all is her fault.
9)The fact that the kid universe and the "First" universe are now separate was a Mutual Decision (read: all her fault).
10)Okay, maybe it was my idea. But there is much rational thinking behind it, and it goes like this:
11)The astrokids were a joke. They started as a joke. I'm all for humor in action, but this was mad.
12)Originally there were four of them, you know? They were all Cassie and Saryn's.
13)Fraternal quadruplets. Jakka, Bakka, Nestor, and... someone else. I'm not making this up.
14)I don't remember exactly how they evolved into Carynn, Fletcher, Autolycus, and Zeri.
15)Talia came later. And then Coral. And Skyler.
16)Anyway, they have this convoluted and completely implausible history.
16)It basically involves Cassie being pregnant in high school and Ashley being insane.
17)Well, Ashley's already insane, but moreso. Like graduating, being married, and getting pregnant all in the same year.
18)Not that some people don't do it, but she can't even fix a car, you know what I'm saying?
19)So most of the astrokids make an appearance in "Something In Red," which Adri created and I helped write.
20)And at one point we were going to try to bring them into the "First" universe.
21)We were, without question, completely delusional at the time we thought that was a good idea.
22)There were problems, including but not limited to the timeline and age differentials.
23)There were also creative differences over... um, parentage. Disabilities. Sexual orientation. (We're very thorough.)
24)Normally, we solve problems like this by Making Up Stuff, a tried and true method for establishing neutral ground.
25)In this case, however, Adri would be at a distinct disadvantage, seeing as how she doesn't typically write for "First."
26)My opportunities for Making Up Stuff would thus be astronomically greater than hers--do you like my pun? I like my pun.
27)So I called her from work last summer and said--
28)Well, actually, I said "Can I speak to Adrienne Sekitou" first, except I used her real name.
29)Apparently her company thinks I'm the New York office whenever I call, so they put me right through.
30.1)I was going to say something about accents, but then I realized it wasn't a good idea.
31)So I called her and talked a hundred miles a minute, as usual, ending with, "So maybe the twins in 'First' should be different?"
32)She's really good with the fast talking thing. I remember she had two questions, and then she was like, "Okay."
33)I don't remember what the questions were, but I'm betting Power Pack was involved. It usually is when she talks about the kids.
34)My point is that Carynn and Fletcher, charming little angels that I'm sure they are, ended up not being in "First."
35)I think Jenni and Terra will be cute, though.
36)And their initials amuse me. That was an accident.

Note: I just heard it! I heard the circuit breaker trip! I am sitting here, in an armchair, doing nothing more conspicuous than typing on my laptop, and I heard the front-light breaker trip in the basement! That's the second time today and I want to know, what's going on in this mad world! (Did you miss my commentary earlier today on the inexplicable tripping of the front-light circuit breaker? You're lucky. I don't know why it keeps overloading.)

Run Away