Attention fellow Gleeks*** and Daseyers!

I'd like to tell you about a very exciting new project in the works called New Directions. Jo (Invalid Minds) and I were talking about Casey from Life with Derek and Rachel from Glee, and we found that they had quite a few similarities. As our conversation continued, we realized it would be a lot of fun to explore what Casey would be like if she went to McKinley instead of Thompson.

Out of that seemingly innocent conversation, our new fic was born. We soon realized that many other Life with Derek characters are very similar to Glee ones. We decided to put all of the Life with Derek characters into the Glee world, and let them run wild (with the guidance of Ryan Murphy's genius plots and dialogue, of course). We set up a separate fanfiction account in order to post the story; the link to it will be in our profiles. Please go subscribe to the new account! We'll be posting the Pilot…er, that is, Chapter 1, soon. I hope you'll check it out!

In case you're not convinced yet, take Jo's word for it: I'm sure you'll enjoy this universe we've created where the best of both shows are put in a blender and then given to Sue Sylvester as a smoothie.

Don't miss out on the fun - go subscribe to our new account, Sharpie-Pens.

~Brandi

***You don't need to be a Glee fan to read our new fic! Give it a try even if you've never seen the show – the fic features your favorite Thompson High students in some very interesting situations.

P.S. You probably know my work pretty well by now. And even if you don't, rest assured – this fic will be decidedly Dasey slanted. All of Jo's and my favorite parings are there, including a new crack!ship we think you'll like a lot.

P.P.S. So ffnet doesn't delete this for not being an actual story, here's a little teaser for you!

~L~

As soon as he got a hold of him, Paul announced to Principal Lassiter, "I'd like to start a glee club."

"You want to captain the Titanic, too?" Lassiter snarked.

Paul ignored his attempt at humor. "I think I can make it great again, like it was back in the nineties." In searching for an argument, his mind had flashed to Derek. Kids like him needed extracurriculars to keep them from terrorizing the Shleppers of the world. And kids like Sheldon needed a way to make themselves feel special. Glee club would be the perfect antidote to the high school blues. He doubted either Venturi or Shlepper would join, but at least the option would be available to them. That's how he rationalized all this in his head, anyway. As far as Lassiter needed to know, it had nothing to do with recapturing his own glee in life.

"There is no joy in these kids. They feel invisible," he continued, undeterred by Lassiter's disapproving frown. "That's why every one of them has a MySpace page." Come on, Lassiter, he silently begged.

Lassiter did some quick calculations on his adding machine. "Sixty bucks a month. That's what I'd need to keep this program up." His expression was unreadable.

Paul gulped. "And…you would expect me to pay it?"

Lassiter rubbed his forehead. "Well, I'm certainly not going to pay for it. Look, our cheerleading team was on ESPN last year. When glee club gets that kind of 'street cred'," he grimaced at the colloquialism, "the school board will be throwing money at you. Until then, sixty bucks a month, and you can use the props and costumes we have in storage."

Paul nodded. "Fair enough. Thank you, sir." He fled from the office, already formulating plans in his head. He hadn't expected this to be easy, and it would take a nasty little chunk out of his paycheck, but overall it was smooth sailing so far. He had even thought of a name: New Directions. Now he just needed members.

~L~

...Of course, Paul runs into a little bit of trouble finding willing participants. So he goes to see the drama teacher...

~L~

Paul went to see Kathy directly after his meeting with Ryan. He needed someone with a positive outlook on life, and Ms. Zeldin was usually optimistic.

"You just need to get them out of their boxes," she told him. "Kids are going to do what they think is cool even if that's not who they are."

"So how do I get kids on my side?"

"They follow the leader. If you can get a couple of the popular kids to sign up, the rest will fall right in."

"Derek?"

Kathy shrugged. "Doubtful. Maybe Ralph would, though. If you could get him away from Derek long enough." She rolled her eyes.

Derek had taken a drama course last semester for extra credit and spent each class period either pretend sword-fighting with the props or flirting with the girls. Sometimes both at the same time.

"Ralph, huh?" It was highly unlikely, but at this point, Paul would try anything.

~L~

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