Where Coolness Meets Eggs

Are you team Zac or team Pips? Because for me, Pips is objectively better at the beginning. He watches out for Crysta, and is looking for her all day whenever she goes missing. Sure he gets a bit jealous when Zac comes around, but he is kinda stealing the girl he likes. And then Zac, yeah he has a redemption arc, and the movie for sure wants you to ship Zac and Crysta. But he's kind of a jerk at the beginning and super oblivious. And just kisses her out of nowhere, though she was admittedly flirting with him.

I have been on a MAJOR Brandon Sanderson kick lately and I've read so many books in a row than I have in a long while. So many meaning four in one year. So far at least.

The first of those four books was Warbreaker, which I already posted a review on.

The second was Elantris. I was sticking to standalone books for now since I didn't want to overcommit.

Elantris is a magical city filled with magical people who can create things out of thin air, build majestic buildings, and heal people. They were about as close as you could get to perfect. Until something went wrong and suddenly every Elantrian is a broken powerless mess.

Ten years later, we follow the story of Serene the princess who travels to another country to marry someone she's only spoken to through letters, only to arrive and find out that the prince she was meant to marry is dead.

This book is full of twists and turns with surprises around every corner. Compared to other Brandon Sanderson books we don't see as much of the magic system at first since it's gone for most of the book, lost when the Elantrians lost their powers. But it's so cool to try and figure out bits of the puzzle as you read and see if you can guess how it ends. Most of the time you can't.

@garlicbreadcat2006 gotta give credit where credit is due. Thanks to my awesome cousin. Some of these characters are theirs and they took all the messages I wrote this in and put it in a google doc. Now buckle up because this is gonna get weird.

Apologies in advance for any spelling mistakes.

It was a dark night. Nothing to be seen for miles in the empty wasteland surrounding the realm. There he was. Crouched on the city wall, surrounded in fog and gloom. Gavin. The Shipper Guy. Every night he could be seen, there on the wall, waiting for his sworn enemy to appear from the darkness to challenge his power.

Felicity was her name. She was so dark that even darkness feared her. But Gavin was not afraid. He had faced her many a time before. And each time she had retreated like the darkness at sunrise. And Gavin was the sun.

Gavin peered into the dark shadows before him. And saw her. The accursed one. She had created false ships and turned them into things. She acted as if she were everyone's friend. But in truth she was the darkest unclean evil ever to walk the earth. 

She tricked her aforesaid "friends" into doing her bidding. She laced her treats and delectables with poison that allowed her to control their minds.

Thankfully her accomplices had not accompanied her this night. That would have meant near doom for everyone in the realm. 

Rosie and Melody. Beautiful names. But their hearts were the purest evil. Both had the power of love. But they used it for evil purposes. Gavin himself had experienced Melody's control over the mind. It had been a horrible mind wrenching experience that he did not want to ever repeat again.

"Come closer if you dare to challenge me again," said Gavin, his cloak billowing around him in the wind. 

"You know that I am the best shipper in this land. You are just too weak to admit it," said Felicity, stepping closer to the wall which Gavin now stood upon. 

"Actually, I do not know that. I know that I am the best shipper. And that you hast failed in every ship you hast made," Gavin said leaping from the wall, drawing his sword as he fell towards the earth.

Felicity held a sword made of the water of the stream that flowed out of the city by the time Gavin landed on the ground. "I hereby challenge your right to the power which you now wield and as with this challenge like unto all that hast past before if I should defeat you in battle you should bestow the powers which I seek upon me," sayeth Felicity.

"And I declare that you speak too much in one single sentence," replied Gavin.

"Well you will not even be able to speak when I am done with you," said Felicity, advancing towards him. 

"You are the one who will be unable to utter a sound," retorted Gavin, raising his sword in preparation for her attack. 

Felicity made a move as if to attack him, drawing him to defend against her. But she dodged his attack.

Gavin just attacked again and again relentlessly. Felicity had great difficulty keeping up with his attacks. Then as their swords clashed, Gavin's sword unexpectedly sliced straight through her's. This left him off balance, and he tumbled to the ground, Felicity pinning him there with her sword at his throat. "This is the end." she said as the readers are left in suspense.

Gavin somehow maneuvered out of her grasp and did a back handspring to kick her in the face. "You are never going to be greater than me. I will always find a way to escape from your treacherous clutches." He said, and then jumped over the head of Felicity, landing behind her. 

Felicity spun around caught off guard by the suddenness of what he had just done. "You still haven't defeated me though. And you probably never will." She said as she ran back into the dark night.

Cal stood in the doorway of her favorite restaurant leaning against the door frame. Waiting for Gavin. He said he would come as soon as morning came. Cal just stood there in her jeans, tucked in t-shirt and jean jacket, chewing a piece of gum and blowing an occasional bubble. Then she saw a figure in the shadows. She thought it was Gavin for a split second. The two were roughly the same height. But as soon as he stepped into the light of the street lamp she realized he didn't have blond hair. And then  just as quickly she realized who it was. Tony.

"Well. I didn't think I would run into you here." Said Tony as he stepped closer to Cal. " I hoped that tonight would be uneventful. But I guess I hoped for too much." Said Cal, preparing herself to turn into a dragon.

"Well. Looks like your night just got eventful." Said Tony, turning invisible. "Darn it." Cal said under her breath. "Where is Gavin when I need him." She took her jacket off, threw it up on a lamp post, and turned into a dragon. "How is being a dragon going to help you find me?" Tony said, skepticism in his voice. Even though Cal couldn't see him she could hear the smirk in his voice. It disgusted her. He was nothing like Gavin. Even twins have their differences. "I know something about dragons that you don't. Well actually a lot of things. But one specific thing that matters right now." She said, following the sound of his voice. "And what is that exactly?" Tony asked. Cal replied "why do you think I'm going to tell you?" "Idk. It was worth a shot. " "Well then." Cal said. Then pounced on him. He landed on the ground with Cal the dragon sitting on him. He was obviously quite dazed. Cal turned back to her human form and picked him up by his shirt and tied him to a lamp post. The sun was coming up. Gavin should be there soon. "Where is he." Cal said quietly, returning to her place in the doorway.

Cal spotted another figure running across the rooftops. And again it was not Gavin. This figure was one that was.. Um.. Cat-like. And another figure less cat-like but still one who at least loves cats a lot. She kept seeing Parkersons today. The first one was Mooky. Who.. Is a cat. But right now he was in his human form. The other one was Sam "The Cat King" as he called himself. "Are the girls the only ones who try to act normal around here?" Cal wondered, shaking her head and smiling. They were awesome though. "Hey Cal!!" Sam yelled as he ran past. "Hey Cat King!!" Cal said, laughing. "Hey! I’m the one who's actually a cat!!" Yelled Mooky. "We know!" Cal yelled back.

"I hast arrived in your presence." Gavin said, stepping out of an alleyway, smiling. "Finally." Cal said walking over to him and giving him a quick kiss. They stood there smiling at each other for a moment then Gavin said "I see that my traitorous brother made an appearance this night." " Yes he did.  So I had to take care of him. " Cal said. Tony was still there, tied to the lamp post, out cold. "You want some breakfast?" Cal asked. "That would be quite enjoyable at the moment." Gavin replied. They walked into the restaurant together and sat down at a table. Gavin got a few strange looks. It wasn't everyday that you see a man with a cloak and sword just casually walk into a restaurant. But the sideways glances and suspicious looks had grown less since Cal brought him here quite often now. Cal ordered chocolate milk and pancakes with marshmallows on them. Her usual. Gavin could never decide what to get. He insisted on getting something different every time. Boys and their crazy antics. Cal smiled as she watched thoughts go through Gavin's mind of what he should get this time. Finally he decided on just a smoothie. But it was a banana strawberry smoothie with a mix of whipped and marshmallow cream on top. One of the many smoothie specialities of Zac. Drew brought out their order and put it on the table. "Hi people." He said. He didn't seem like he was having a very good day. He hated his job as a waiter. "Bad day?" Cal asked. "Yah. James won't quit talking." Drew replied. "I bet you I can get him to quit talking." Cal said, getting up and waking over to the kitchen door. "Good luck." Drew said. Cal pushed through the swinging kitchen doors. There was James. Washing dishes. Jabbering away. "James!" Cal yelled. James froze. "Quit talking or you won't be anything but a piece of toast." The rest of the kitchen staff snickered. Cal enjoyed annoying James. She walked out of the kitchen smiling and sat back down in her seat. "He shouldn't bother you too much anymore." She said, enjoying the look on Drew's face.

Cal looked around the room looking at all the different people. She knew quite a few of them, as she came here almost every day. But there was one she didn't quite recognize. He, or she, had its back turned to her, and was wearing a black hoodie with the hood pulled up. He was sitting by himself. And it looked like he had several cinnamon rolls on a plate in front of him. And then it hit her. And for some reason she started laughing. "What is it that is such a hilarious thing?" Gavin asked. "Guess who that is." Cal said pointing at the person. " I do not comprehend who it is. " Gavin said. Then Cal watched as it hit him too. And he too started laughing. "It's Romeo. But what is he even doing here?" Sam and Mooky walked into the building and immediately  headed straight for their table. "You guys talking about Romeo?" Sam asked. "We heard Cal laughing and figured it was cuz Romeo was here." Mooky explained. " but why is he here? " Cal asked again. "I think he had a break in the work stream and so he came to see Jamie. And maybe some other people. But mostly Jamie." Sam said, Cal nodding. Just then Drew came back out from the kitchen. "Finally convinced Luna Girl to let me off work for the night." Drew said, exhausted from working all night. "I bet 'finally' is an overstatement." Mooky said under his breath. Cal sighed. Still working on some hard feelings between the two. "Ro! Come over here!" Cal yelled. Romeo turned towards her slightly and she could see him inwardly groaning. He motioned for her to be quiet. " I'm under cover. " he mouthed. "Srsly just come over here." Cal said. Reluctantly he walked over to them.   Bringing his cinnamon rolls with him.

"What do you want?" Romeo asked. "Nothing." Cal said, smiling. "Just to say hi and see how you're doing." Said Drew. "Well I'm fine." Romeo said, obviously not really wanting to talk to people.

"Work on any interesting cases lately?" Cal asked, trying to get Romeo to talk. "I'm actually working on one right now." Romeo said, kinda grumpy.

"Anything you can tell me??" Cal asked. She knew he would probably say no. "actually it has to do with Felicity and Tony." Romeo said, surprising Cal that he actually answered. "Well you have quite a few people who know quite a bit about them." Cal replied.

"I know." Romeo said. "That's why I'm here." "Well then. What do you need to know?" Cal asked. "Well, I'm trying to figure out why exactly they became evil. Tell me what you know." Romeo said, looking around at his friends. "Tony wasn't always evil. He was just really quiet. But then he got creepy. He had always been somewhat creepy. But now he was super creepy. I think that's what started it." Sam said. "And Felicity?" Romeo asked. Then someone else walked up to them. She had long brown hair about to her knees, and she had a bow and arrows slung on her back. It was Raina. "No one knows why she became evil." She said. "Not even me." Raina shy around most people, unless they were her friends- or her enemies. She tracked down evil doers and brought them back to the Society. It was an ongoing job, because often people would escape from the Society prison, forcing Raina to track them down and capture them again. "Nothing?" Romeo asked. "There aren't any leads or anything?" "Nothing." Raina replied. "Why does this have to be so difficult?!?" Romeo complained.

"Why don't we talk about this more later at the Society meeting tonight." Cal said. "Okay. See you guys there!" Drew said, waving and walking out the door. "You should actually come to the meeting Romeo. You haven't been to one all year." Cal said, turning back to Romeo. "Okay okay. I'll come. But I'm gonna go see Jamie first." Romeo said, turning to leave. "Bye Romeo!!" Sam and Mooky said in unison, as Romeo walked out into the night. Raina walked over, kissed Mooky and left.

Later that night at the meeting: It was noisy. No. It was very very loud. Everyone was there. Herself (Cal), Gavin, Mooky, Sam, Drew, Luna Girl, Raina, Haylee, Zac, Skylar, Jessica, Fansir, Meeky, Romeo, Jamie, Gabe, Free, Selia, Arlana, all the kids: Leo, Jake, Sylvia, Sophie, CJ, Aron, Kiki, Jackson, and Cleo. And then Zane, and..... Where was James.

Just then a huge portal opened up above the table and out fell James, followed by a girl none of them recognized. And she had a hoverboard. "Who be thou?" Asked Gavin. " I'm your sister. I'm from the future. I know that doesn't mean that I will exist one day. But it's very likely. You know. I might as well just stay here cuz if I do then I'll exist for real. So yah. That's what I'm doing. " the girl said. Everyone looked at James for an explanation. "Don't ask me! She just appeared, grabbed me, and we ended up here!" James said, practically yelling, as always.

Cal stood up putting her hand on her knife just in case this girl was lying. "What is your name?" She asked the girl. "My name is Emma. And I'm here to help you guys. Cal. Take your hand off your knife. I'm not gonna hurt you." The girl-Emma- said. "How do you know my name?" Cal asked, still suspicious. "Cuz you're my bros girlfriend. Duh." Emma said. Cal still couldn't tell if she was telling the truth. "Gabe? Is what she says true?" "Yes. It's true. At least, she thinks it's true. You never know." Gabe said. "Thanks." Cal said, "Okay Emma. Sit down. But you can not tell anyone anything you hear in this meeting, except for the people here. Are we clear?" "Okay okay. Yes." Emma said, sitting down next to James, who kinda inched away from her, obviously nervous. After all she had just appeared out of nowhere on a hoverboard.

"Okay let's get down to actual business." Cal said, sitting back down. "Ro. Shoot." " Soo... I'm working on a case right now. And I'm probably gonna need some people's help -sadly- so yah. " Romeo said, still not enjoying having to talk to people. "Aaand......" Cal said, trying to get him to tell them about the case. "And," Romeo said, grudgingly, "I'm trying to figure out the reason that the two became evil and started this whole mess." "I wanna help! I wanna help!! Please!!!! " James yelled. "Okay okay. James. Calm yourself." Jamie said. "We will figure out who is going on this... Mission I guess... And I will contact each of them individually. Meeting adjourned." Cal said. Everyone got up to leave.

James pov. Part. 😁 James walked down the hallway, down to the kitchen to do some final clean up before Luna Girl closed up the restaurant.  He started moving dishes and pots to their respective places. Then he heard a noise behind him. He spun around, freaked out slightly. This place was creepy at night. There was that girl - Emma - standing in the doorway, smiling at him. "Uh... Hi." James said, getting just a little more freaked. "Hey James." She said, still smiling. She walked up to him, James backing away until his back was to a wall. She came up to him, putting her hand on the wall next to him and smiling at him still. Okay he had to admit. She was gorgeous. But he knew nothing about her and she was kinda creeping him out. Then something happened. She kissed him. His eyes widened, he was blushing super hard. He had no clue why this was happening. She finally pulled away, smiled at him, and walked away. James stood there for a good five minutes, stunned. Then Luna Girl walked in. "James you ready to close up- uh.. James?" James just stood there not answering. "James. Bro. Come on." Luna Girl said, snapping him out of his daze. "Oh. Uh.. Yah. I'm ready. " he said, following LG out of the building.

Cal had decided on who to take on the mission and they had all been contacted. Romeo was going of course. He was the one who started this mission in the first place. Herself and Gavin were both going, Drew, James, Sam, Mooky, and Emma. She wanted to keep an eye on Emma just to make sure that she didn't get into any trouble, or was actually working for the enemy. She was also taking Gabe and Raina since they knew the most about Felicity, and how to talk to her and things. And mind reading would come in handy.

_____Drew pov. 😁_____ Drew went upstairs to where Luna Girl's office was. She was his girlfriend. But she was also his boss. He never really knew which one to expect. Hopefully he would get the girlfriend side today. Drew walked into her office and said "hey," and smiled. Luna Girl looked up from some papers she had been examining. "Yes Drew?" She said. "Just wanted to let you know that I got called onto the mission." Drew said, hoping for the best. "Really now? I'm guessing you'll be missing work again?" Looked like she was all business today. Drew sighed. "Yes. I will be missing work." "And you realize you will not be getting paid for the hours that you are not here?" They had been over this every time he'd gone on a mission. "Yes. I remember." Drew said. "We go over this every time." Luna Girl smiled. "Just making sure your memory works." Drew laughed. " I don't know how I could forget. You've only said it to me a kajillon times. " "It hasn't been that many." Luna Girl said. "Well remembering that you said it also makes it easier to remember." Luna Girl laughed. She got up, came over to him and kissed him. She pulled away. "Good Luck on the mission. Please try not to let anything happen to you" "I'll try. I've got Cal and the Parkersons there too. They'll I make sure nothing happens." "I sure hope so." They stood there for a moment smiling at each other. Drew kissed her one more time and said "I love you."  "I love you too." Luna Girl replied hugging him and watching as he walked out the door. Then Drew poked his head back in the room. "By the way James will probably be up here soon." He said. "Okay." Luna Girl said laughing.

My reading habits go through phases so sometimes it take me a while to finish a book. But because of school and my own leisurely reading combined I have finished two books in the past month or so.

These might contain a few spoilers so.. read with caution.

Nothing is getting done because I don't feel like doing it. Maybe my phone is just distracting me but idk.

You will join Althalus and Emmy as they journey through countries, assemble their team of sorts, fight battles and wars, and maybe even have a wedding here and there.

This is a slow paced yet entertaining story, filled with cheesy and witty characters and dialogue. Each character has their own unique purpose and there are many times that you might laugh a little at the back and forth quips between the characters.

While the plot does move fairly slow since it is a pretty long read, there is always something happening. It is a little bit predictable at times, and it never really seems like the “good guys'' could possibly lose, since they always seem to outsmart their opponents. But there are bits of suspense, and as with any good book there are several surprises that you won’t be expecting. The ending of this book is satisfying, and there are no loose ends that you wish would have been tied up, so there’s no need to worry.

An article I wrote a year ago, but that I think is still relevant.

It’s been a month since the new year started and we all made our new year's resolutions. Some may have been to read more books, focus on school, exercise or get more sleep. But how many people made that resolution, but a month, week, a few days later, gave up? So how can you keep your new year’s resolution?

Step one might be to narrow down our resolution. Turn it into something that you can achieve. Say you want to start exercising. You might take that and say “I want to exercise 20 minutes a day.” That sounds way more achievable. Start small right? Once you have been achieving your goal fairly often, you might bump up the amount of time you exercise. But you don’t want to overwhelm yourself all at once.

One way you might also overwhelm yourself is by making too many goals at once. You might make a list of every single thing you want to do differently, and then try to do all of those things at once. You are very likely to fail. Focus on one small thing at a time. Eventually you will be able to add another small thing, and slowly you will achieve all your goals.

Step two is to keep yourself accountable. Have you ever tried to make a new habit and then just stopped trying because you thought to yourself, “I can just do it tomorrow” or “I don’t really feel like doing this now.” A good way to keep yourself accountable is to have a friend or family member who either knows about your goal and can encourage you, or is working with you to achieve the same goal for themself. This helps you to stay on track, and keep working on your habit. And, the more the merrier!

Step three! Break your goal into steps. And not steps like, “1) Exercise every day 2) Keep doing it 3) Be super strong.” How in the world is that supposed to help you? Going with this exercise example, we want to exercise 20 minutes a day. What are you going to do in that 20 minutes? Create a routine for what you’re going to do every time you exercise. This will help you to save time because you won’t worry about deciding what you’re going to do everyday, and since you’re doing the same or similar things everyday, it feels more habitual. There are several apps out there that help you to create a routine and stick to it.

Those are some basic steps that really help you stick to your resolutions. Just remember that you are bound to have failures along the way. You might miss a day or two, but if you are committed and you actually want to achieve your goals, you can pick it back up the next day and keep trying.

I sat on the porch swing waiting for the sunrise, a cup of hot chocolate in my hand.

It probably wouldn’t happen for a few hours, but I couldn’t sleep, what with what had happened last night.

I heard the door swing open, then close again. And he sat next to me.

I figured he was trying to get a last bit of time outside before the sun came up.

“I found garlic in your pantry,” he said.

“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. I forgot that was there.”

“It’s okay. Just please get rid of it.”

“I will.”

He didn’t really look like what you would think of as a vampire. He just looked like a normal- if slightly pale- teenage guy. Well, unless you saw him smile.

“How am I supposed to satisfy you when all you do is think up artificial stories that don’t really exist!” he said, throwing his hands in the air.

He took a deep breath, probably trying to calm himself. “I guess all I’m saying is that I wish I were part of those stories.”

“I’m sorry…”

“No. Don’t be. There was nothing you could do.”