I HATE MY COMPUTE! I HATE MY COMPUTER! I HATE MY COMPUTER!
That basically sums up how I've been feeling for about the last week.
For some reason, my computer is refusing to let me upload the sequel for "More Than My Friend." Not that it's not letting me upload the specific chapters, that's all working just fine. The problem is, whenever I click on "New Story," it keeps flashing me the same message that I haven't "read and agreed to the content guidelines." This is of course a lie, as I've been agreeing to the guidelines for TWO WEEKS NOW.
To be honest, I can't explain it. I've agreed to the guidelines, I've wait seven days, I've done it again…and again…and again…bleah. I'm still being told that I haven't accepted the guidelines, and I'm still being told to wait for up to seven days.
Trust me, it's not the site itself that's doing this to me. has got nothing to do with this, believe me when I say it's just my computer that's doing this to me. When I was checking my account on my older brother's computer about a week ago when we were visiting him in college, the site was all set to let me choose a category and get my story uploaded. However, I didn't take the opportunity then, as I thought that "Well, since I'm told I'm all set with the guidelines here, we can't I just do it at home?" Unfortunately, as soon as I got home and clicked "New Story," all I got was "Dude13, you have not read and accepted to our content guidelines…blah blah blah."
So that's it. I don't know why on earth my computer just won't let me submit a new story and instead shows me the same stupid screen over and over.
However, I'm not going to let this piece of junk get the best of me. While waiting to be allowed to upload chapter 1 of the sequel as a separate story, I've written close to 90 of the sequel, and I'm not going to stop now and simply throw myself at the mercy of the family computer. Instead of waiting possibly forever for my computer to get its act together while my story just rots away in a word document file, this is what I'm going to do. Simply put, I'm just going to start loading the chapters for the sequel starting right here, right now, and instead of making "More Than My Friend" one of two separate stories in a series, I'm being forced to combine them into a kind of super-fic.
God knows I'm not happy doing this, and I'd much rather prefer to be able to have two stories then this hybrid I've got on my hands, but I just really want to get it up on the site. I'm just through with waiting and technical difficulties.
So, unless I get this bug on my computer worked out, here we go! Chapter 1 of the hopefully much-awaited sequel of "More Than My Friend." HOORAY!
Disclaimer: I do not own Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
Falling Apart
Ding Dong!
"Hello?"
Ding Dong! Ding Dong!"
"Anyone there?"
Ding Dong! Ding Dong! Ding Dong!
"C'mon, c'mon…" Officer Thomas O'Brian grumbled to himself as he rang the doorbell for the fourth time.
Why wasn't anyone answering? This was the place, wasn't it? He checked the address written on the small note card he carried in one hand. Yes, it matched up with the antique mailbox out near the metal gates. And of course, he had been told to go to the local home for imaginary friends, and the police officer knew for a fact that this was the only such institution for miles around. So why wasn't anyone home? It probably was inhabited by at least a hundred imaginary friends, surely one of them would have the common courtesy to open the door, especially for a policeman such as himself.
He cursed under his breath as he shoved the address back into his pocket. Maybe he needed to ring the doorbell again-
"Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience! Welcome to Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, how may I help you?"
Officer O'Brian looked up at the British-sounding speaker who had suddenly opened the door while he had been stowing the note card away. He nodded politely at his greeter, an oversized rabbit who appeared to be very properly attired in top hat, jacket and glass monocle positioned in his right eye.
"Officer Tom O'Brian, town police. I'm sorry to disturb you like this, uh, Mr…"
"Herriman, Mr. Herriman." The rabbit corrected him. "And believe me, sir, I should be the one who should be apologizing. It seems that while I was attending to some important paperwork in my office, I thought that our resident caretaker was taking care of the door. I don't know what on earth she might be up to at this moment, but I give you my deepest regrets for keeping you waiting like this-"
"Oh no, it's not a problem at all." Officer O'Brian waved it off quickly, eager to get to business. "That's okay. I just have some quick business to attend to, Mr. Herriman. Do you think I could speak with two particular occupants of the house?"
Mr. Herriman gasped as he was completely taken aback by this request. "Sir, please! I know as a keeper of the law you are only attending to your duties, but believe me, I don't think any residents of our establishment would be so brash as to get mixed up-"
"Hold on, hold on, I have their names with me here." The policemen cut him off, reaching into his pocket again for the scrap of paper. "Um, lemme see here...uh...aha! Does a Miss Foster live here? First name Frances, answers by the name of Frankie?" he inquired.
"Why…I…well yes, but-" Mr. Herriman tried to object.
"And also one Mr., uh…I'm not sure how you pronounce this…um…do you also have a Mr. "Kazoo" in residence? First name Blooragard?"
At this Mr. Herriman promptly withdrew his objections and narrowed his eyebrows with a frown. "Oh." He replied grimly. "Those two. Now I see. If you will pardon me for a moment." The rabbit turned around and made his way inside a nearby office with a very dignified hop. O'Brian nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the rabbit's booming out over the house intercom.
"MISS FRANCES! YOU ARE NEEDED HERE IN THE FOYER AT ONCE! COME DOWN THIS INSTANT, YOUNG LADY, AND NOT A SECOND LATER! BELIEVE ME, IF YOU ARE NOT DOWN HERE WITHIN THE NEXT THREE MINUTES, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE DIRE! NOW COME HERE OR ELSE YOU CAN EXPECT A SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAYCHECK NEXT FRIDAY!"
Before the police officer had time to recover from his shock, Mr. Herriman briskly hopped back out of his office, nodding politely as he passed by.
"Just a few more seconds, if you please."
"Um…no problem." The man responded dazedly. He watched as the rabbit entered the next room, an entrance that was quickly followed by a series of outraged protestations.
"Ow! Hey, what's wrong with you? C'mon, I'm still eating breakfast!" a high-pitched voice yelled angrily.
"Not anymore, not until you've explained to me what's been going on, you rascally miscreant! To the foyer, at once!"
"Hey, you can't-OW! Knock it off-OW! Okay, I'm going! OW! OW! OW!"
Mr. Herriman re-entered the front hall, dragging a small, blue gumdrop-shaped imaginary friend along with him by the ear, or at least where the little thing's ears would be had he possessed them.
"Ouch! C'mon Mr. H, I wasn't doing anything! I promise! Ow! Okay, okay!" he whined piteously.
"Miss. Frances, where are you?" Mr. Herriman called out irritably. "I swear, if you're not here in-"
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Sheesh, hold your horses!" came a grumpy, feminine voice from the stairway. Officer O'Brian looked up to spot a tall, lanky young red-haired woman racing down the main staircase, mumbling darkly under her breath. By the looks of the green bathrobe that she was still tying around her waist and the wet strands of hair that flopped about wildly as she hurried down, it was apparent that she had just been in the shower.
"It can never be when it's remotely convenient, can it? It's always gotta be while I'm in the shower, getting dressed, in the middle of…wait, what the?" she asked bewilderedly as she noticed the police officer standing in the doorway. "Mr. Herriman, what on earth is going on here?"
"I should be asking you the same question!" the large rabbit growled angrily. Frances "Frankie" Foster cocked an eyebrow, utterly confused by his response.
"Um, okaaaaay…"
"Don't play dumb with me, young lady!" Mr. Herriman barked angrily. "What is it? What did you do?"
"What do you mean, what did I do? HEY!" Frankie cried indignantly as she noticed Bloo, fidgeting about painfully in Mr. Heriman's tenacious hold. "Oh no, oh no! No, no, no! Look, I have no idea what Bloo did, but there's absolutely no way I'm going to let him drag me down with-"
"Master Bloo? Don't you mean your partner-in-crime?" Mr. Herriman interrupted. Frankie gritted her teeth angrily. With a growl, she clenched her fist and shook it furiously in the rabbit's face.
"Hey look, I'm not sure if you were just listening to me, but if that stick up your you-know-what is effecting your hearing as well-"
"Well there's no surprise! Criminal slang being used by the criminal-in-question! It's all starting to come together now…"
"Hey, Mr. H, if I can speak for myself a little bit here, I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding-" Bloo attempted to smooth-talk his way out.
"No! Don't even think about it!" Frankie snapped, jabbing a finger accusingly at the small friend. "Don't you dare try and pin this all on me! If you-"
"Aha! First the crime, and then betrayal! Such black-heartedness, I should've expected nothing less from-"
"Will you knock it off, you long-eared rodent?" Frankie almost screamed. "I don't know what-
"You don't know what? You don't know what? Hey, I just wanted to eat my Fruit-Loops, if you guys are gonna set me up like this-" Bloo complained angrily.
"I told you, knock it off! You're not worming your way out of-"
"Well if you think I'm dimwitted enough to let your partner take the fall entirely for you-"
"For the last time, I-"
"EVERYONE PLEASE!" someone suddenly screamed at the top of their lungs. Instantly the three bickering house residents went silent as they turned to the immensely exasperated police officer. "Will all three of you please be quiet? I can assure you Mr. Herriman, no crime has been committed here!"
"Oh…" Mr. Herriman replied sheepishly. Deeply embarrassed, he began to blush noticeably through his silver-gray fur as he quickly released his grip on Bloo.
"Er, I do believe I owe you two an apology…"
"I don't think 'sorry' is gonna do it, Peter Cotton-Butt-" Frankie began to snap.
"Look, look, can we just get down to business here?" Officer O'Brian cried. "This is still urgent! I was sent here because Miss Foster and Mr. Kazoo were both requested for by one Mac-"
As if he had said the magic words, within a moment the caretaker and imaginary blob's jaws plummeted in near unison as their eyes bugged in mortified shock.
"Mac? What about Mac?" Frankie asked nervously, instantly forgetting all her previous rage. At the sound of his creator's name, Bloo gasped in shock and almost immediately turned into a much paler shade of the color from which he derived his namesake.
"What happened? What happened to my buddy? Tell me! Tell me! TELL ME!" he cried frantically as he slipped right into a state of near-hysteria, and instinctively he latched onto the officer's jacket and started tugging ferociously. The officer sighed painfully as Frankie managed to release the little creature's hold and pull him back.
"Well, it appears the child in question asked for both of you after we took him down to the station this morning. It's okay, he's okay!" he reassured the two quickly, after noticing that Frankie looked as if she was about to faint upon hearing this.
"Don't worry, he's fine. But…"
"But what? BUT WHAT?" Bloo cried, on the verge of hysterics. Frankie meanwhile wrung her hands so fiercely it looked as if she was going to get her fingers tangled in a knot.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God…" she repeated to herself over and over. That last "but" definitely did not mean anything good. The policeman paused, took a deep breath, and then looked back to the girl and imaginary friend.
"Shortly after the child went to bed last night, his mother went out to pick up his older brother from a friend's house. On the way home however, it appears that they had a nasty run in with a drunken driver, and…" he paused for a moment to recompose himself. This was never easy.
"There were no survivors from the accident." He finished bluntly.
Everyone present in the Foster's foyer went dead silent.
PS. If you guys see an abundance of errors involving run-on words and the like, don't tell me. QuickEdit has been doing this think to me since I first uploaded chapter 1 of More Than My Friend. I'm gonna try and go over every chapter before I upload it. but I'm definitely going to be missing some mistakes here and there.
Thanks everyone for bearing with me here!
If my computer does ever get its act together, I will try and put this up as a separate story.
However...chances of that happening don't look so good.
Thanks anyway!