Going Pro
Chapter 23: Duty Calls
"Fight, fight, fight!" The students of the Celtic Guardian Cabin chanted.
"You can do it, Ray!" Jesse cheered.
"We believe in you!" Evan called out.
"Just one more!" Sean encouraged.
Ray let out a frustrated growl and abruptly stood up. "I can't concentrate with all of you supporting me!"
They silenced as Ray hunched over his practice quiz and filled in the last bubbles of this answer sheet.
"Okay, done," he declared with a dramatic drop of his pencil. "Quick, someone grade it!"
Sean picked up Ray's sheet and compared it to the key as he marked it up with a red pen. Ray visibly sweated as he watched the pen fly across the sheet of paper, either marking points or errors. The other boys watched over Sean's shoulder with unreadable expressions.
When Sean was done, he counted it up and scribbled something at the top of the paper. He clicked his pen closed and looked at Ray. "Are you ready for this?"
"Yes, just tell me how I did," Ray nodded seriously.
Sean let out a small breath and Ray tensed. Then Sean smiled, "Ninety-three, you're ready."
Ray nearly choked and the boys all cheered with Ray joining them as soon as he got ahold of himself.
"We are going to kick this term's finals in the butt!" Ray announced proudly.
"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.
The time since the trip to Perennial Garden Academy had been spent preparing for the end of year finals. With studies, testing, practical exams, projects, essays, and the third year's graduation events upon them, there was little down time to do much of anything else.
Once the upcoming finals were over for the year, Jesse was scheduled for another round of public appearances and tournaments. Pegasus did not want to keep him out of the public eye too long, so there was even a mention of possibly getting a bodyguard assigned to him. If luck was on his side, the traveling would provide the opportunity to find a more suitable home for the fairy duel spirit.
The end of the school year was undoubtedly bittersweet.
When finals were over and the final grades for the year were posted, there was a grand party across the campus to celebrate the new graduates. It lasted well into the night. Together, they shared one last hurrah before saying their goodbyes.
The Celtic Guardian Cabin watched Daniel pack up his belongings, receive his diploma, and leave the campus for good. There were many other familiar faces doing the same. As third years, it was their turn to graduate and take the first steps towards an independent adulthood.
After that, it was the first and second year's duty to clean the entire campus once the graduates left. Rooms were completely cleared out; everything was dusted, scrubbed, vacuumed, and repaired. Prospective incoming first years, along with their families, were going to visit the campus during the school break, so everything had to be in top shape. Anyone planning on returning for the next term was allowed to leave whatever belongings they chose in their cabin rooms. Rooms not left empty due to vacancy were to be kept locked if the occupants were going to leave campus during the break, which was most of the students.
Jesse was not one of them. He planned to stay until he left for his duel tour. There wasn't really much of a home to go back to anymore either.
That thought didn't sadden him as much as he thought it would. He has always had itchy feet and wanted to travel. The place he grew up was not where he was meant to stay. His family was with him wherever he went now.
His mother had checked in with him occasionally, but it was just simple pleasantries. It was clear she thought about him sometimes, but he got the feeling it was better to give her space. The facts he did look a lot like his late father and had his grandfather's spirit were not forgotten by him.
Maybe it would be best to let her wounds heal some more without him around as a reminder of the things she lost. Sure, Jesse was gone too, but not in the same way. In the growing up kind of way a mother expects and is a little easier to cope with. She hadn't asked him to come back. He did not offer. They both knew he was busy and both did not want to add strain.
For three days, Jesse had the entire cabin to himself. Everyone else had gone back to their homes. Most of the academy's staff was on vacation. Even the cafeteria was barely running.
For those three days, he simply relaxed by himself. Mostly lounged about his bed or played computer games. He knew he had to relax while he could with the next tour coming up. The Crystal Beasts convinced him to take a break from his duel spirit research too, since it was just dead ends and history reviews.
It was really quiet. It had been a while since he had been is this much quiet.
North Academy was not necessarily a loud place, but it now lacked that soft buzz of constant activity he had grown accustom to without realizing it. Only a handful of students were still around and did not get into much. A few were doing supplementary studies to ensure they could keep up the following year. There were a couple studying to stay ahead. These students had also volunteered to act as tour guides for the prospective students that would be visiting.
Jesse enjoyed his alone time while he could, since it happened so infrequently, but he was already getting antsy. After living here for months, it was strange to go all day without hearing someone sneeze or cough in the hallway between the rooms.
He found it left him alone with his thoughts more than anything else.
When Jesse had returned from Perennial Garden, he emailed Vanessa and tried to get to know the new fairy spirit in his procession. It was a bashful little thing, but seemed to warm up best to Ruby Carbuncle. The card was printed in Russian, a language Jesse did not know, he only learned a little of it when he had to recently, which made understanding the card difficult until he was able to create a translation that made sense to him with the help of a Russian dictionary and his personal computer. He thought about asking someone on campus to translate it for him many times, but it was going to be difficult for him to tell them the truth about why he had the card and he was not about to lie about it. It was really only a little extra work to do it himself.
They had only emailed each other sporadically and he had not replied to the last one in over two weeks. Her answers had become short and he no additional questions to ask at the moment.
"How many people do you think are like Vanessa?" Jesse asked his small dorm room full of duel monster spirits.
"Hard to say," Emerald Tortoise said.
Jesse had mulled over it for quite some time now. It was actually something that hadn't quite left his mind, just got put on the back burner while he was focused on other, more immediate, things. There was him, a regular guy with many spirts in his deck, chosen by those spirits to be their sole wielder, and to whom he could communicate with and even touch somewhat. It seemed like a fairly unique case.
Then there were spirit trappers, people who made capturing the spirts some sort of sport to be done for money and to watch duelists suffer. Though Jesse had not met many, he decided there seemed to be too many of them. They were just as bad if no worse than rare hunters. Maybe it was a sickness. Maybe it was just greed.
There were probably more people like Tom. Seemingly random people with a normal deck and just one spirit, even if they might not be completely aware of their presence. Perhaps some more than others.
From what he had heard, Chazz Princeton was more like him. They both had multiple spirts and would communicate with them. One difference was that Chazz only recently acquired such abilities. At least according to the rumors and gossip he had received from around North Academy. Jesse decided that there was no set age for something like this to happen naturally or there could be a catalyst to occur suddenly.
And then there was Vanessa, a seemingly random person that had little to do with the dueling world at all, but still became to be in ownership of a duel spirit card along with the ability to see it. This made Jesse wonder if there were a lot of people like her, but who just lived with it, ignored it, or if they sought answers and were fed lies instead, possibly leading to spirit trappers. Jesse didn't like those thoughts.
Every case seemed different, but Jesse wondered if there was a stronger correlation. If something was happening to allow for these duel spirits and human to exist together in such a way. It was a mystery to him.
"I'm missing something," Jesse said, mostly to himself.
"What is it? Your dictionary?" Cobalt Eagle offered.
Jesse chuckled and shook his head. "Just something in the bigger picture, like maybe I'm searching for a more general answer, or maybe I need to see the picture from another angle…" He leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "Yeah, just something like that."
Ruby Carbuncle's head titled to the side in confusion and made a little noise. It was just a chirp, perhaps in question. Jesse smiled.
"Yeah, I don't get it either," he said. "Guess all I can do is just go with the flow. I will know where I should go someday, so for now I'll keep learning what I can."
"Try not to dwell on what you don't know, Jesse," Topaz Tiger said.
"We believe in you and if anyone can solve these mysteries, it's you, but there is no rush," Amethyst Cat said.
The other Crystal Beasts nodded in agreement.
It warmed his heart to know they had such faith in him. No matter what happened, even if he didn't get answers, they would still be by his side. "Thanks everyone."
At least when he was the only person in the whole cabin, no one could think he was talking to himself. He didn't want to creep anyone out.
Being the only person in the cabin also made it easy to hear when someone else entered the cabin. He could hear the rustle of the door from his room, so he got up to see who it was. Couldn't be a tour, those hadn't started yet.
"Mr. Anderson," Chancellor Foster greeted from the common room.
"Good afternoon, Chancellor Foster," Jesse greeted politely as he joined him.
"Have you been enjoying the break?"
"Yes sir," he said. "What brings you?"
Chancellor Foster chuckled at first. "Just some academic counseling," he said. Jesse titled his head. "You see, there's an exchange program that has been proposed that I think you may be very interested in."
"What?" Jesse was confused.
"If all goes well next year, you will be first elected from North Academy to attend Duel Academy for a term. Only your class, third years by then, will be eligible to apply."
Jesse was momentarily speechless. "What?"
"Duel Academy is the leader in graduating professional duelists for the pro leagues, it would be a great opportunity for your career after the Academy," Chancellor Foster explained.
Jesse took in a breath. "Are you… serious?" This could to be a joke. A hoax. Did Chancellor Foster tease his students?
Chancellor Foster blinked. "Yes, very serious. You have worked incredibly hard, and I would send you now if I could, but in about six months, when the program in finalized, we can begin your application process if you are interested."
"Of course!" Jesse grinned. "What do I have to do?"
"Just keep it up," Chancellor Foster smiled and placed a hand on Jesse's shoulder to pat it briefly. "There may be another opportunity to visit Duel Academy next year, Chancellor Sheppard has mentioned some kind of tournament or duel festival that may be hosted there by the end of the coming school year, but I do not have any details about that yet."
"I understand, Chancellor Foster," Jesse said with a nod.
"In the meantime, I suppose it's almost time for your duel tour, isn't it?"
"Yes sir, I'm a little surprised Pegasus planned this after everything's that had happened."
"We can't keep you cooped up here, Jesse, you are clearly meant to do more than that," he said with a chuckled.
"I am still learning a lot more here that I could have back home," Jesse said.
"That's good to hear."
"Is there anything else, sir?"
"There is," Foster began. "Be careful out there," he said.
Jesse blinked, slightly startled by the notion. "Yes sir," he settled on saying.
The first stop on Jesse's tour was Las Angeles California. There had been a short layover in Seattle Washington during his flight, and then he slept on the plane the rest of the way there. He was picked up by car and driven to Industrial Illusion Headquarters.
First up on the agenda was a very exciting seminar on the software coding to calculate the effects on life points on the latest card designs. So no, it was not exciting at all.
They didn't even talk about the new cards. Just code and software.
Jesse nearly fell asleep in his seat next to card designer, earning him more than one glare. He smiled nervously and apologized quietly.
According to his schedule, he was due for an interview with Duel Magazine about North Academy and his thoughts on the latest Pro League tournaments. He made sure to watch them, of course, and took some notes so he would have something to say about them, other than being awesome.
After the interview, he joined other duelists and industry representatives at some fancy party Pegasus was hosting.
Jesse was slightly awed by the extravagant display of the event room. He still had a hard time wrapping his head about these industry events, but he was able to mingle and make small talk with others.
"Jesse-boy, I hope you are doing well," Pegasus smiled to him. It had taken a while before he could make it to Jesse, not that Jesse was expecting to get much time with him. He wore a lavish designer suit as always and held a glass of darkly colored wine.
"I sure am," Jesse smiled.
"I bet you are wondering if we made any progress on Rainbow Dragon," Pegasus said knowingly.
Jesse smiled bashfully. "Well, I am curious about it."
"My researchers are still investigating," Pegasus said and sighed. "If only I was able to find it along with the rest of the Crystal Beasts, then I wouldn't have to leave you hanging like this."
"That's quite alright," Jesse assured. "There was no way you could have known when the Crystal Beasts were going to choose somebody."
"Rest assured, we will find it," he said.
"What if I find it?" Jesse replied somewhat cheekily.
Pegasus laughed loudly. "Then do call me," he said with a wide smile. "Now that I think about it, I wouldn't be surprised at all if you found it first."
Jesse chuckled at that. "I can try, but you have a better chance."
"Now Jesse-boy, you should know duel monsters has much to do with luck and otherworldly help," he said.
Jesse smiled. "Which reminds me," he began and retrieved the fairy card from his pocket. "Someone gave me this card, they asked me to find a better home for her," he said.
Pegasus took the card with his free hand and looked it over. "How cute," he smiled. "Now why would anyone give up this little one?"
"The owner said she doesn't duel," Jesse explained. "The card is printed in Russian, so I don't understand it very well, and I don't know any Russian duelists who could help the spirit, so I was wondering if you can help."
"I most certainly can," Pegasus beamed. "Just like a certain other set of card your know very well, I can wait for her to find her chosen and bestow her upon a good duelist."
Jesse grinned. "Thank you very much, Mr. Pegasus!"
"No, thank you, Jesse-boy," Pegasus said. "It is important we make sure cards like these stay out of the wrong hands. She is lucky to have found you before someone else found her."
Jesse's smile dropped somewhat. "Yes, I agree," he nodded.
"Now then, I trust you are prepared for your duel circuit?" Pegasus asked as he slipped the card into his pocket.
"Yes sir," Jessed said. "I am always ready to duel, but the interviews and magazine photoshoots still make me nervous," he admitted.
Pegasus laughed. "You will get used to them, though I do believe those were kept to a minimum this time around, I specifically requested that you get more time in the arena."
"I think it's about the same as the last time," Jesse admitted. "More of everything though, but I can handle it."
"How long are you scheduled to stay here?"
"Three days," Jesse said. "Today was the seminar, an interview, this party, and then the photoshoot is after this. Tomorrow is the preliminary tournament, and then before I leave for New York the day after, I'm supposed to be a part of a group interview on the Duel Network."
"Busy boy," Pegasus chuckled. "But now would be a good time to meet the temporary manager I assigned to you for the tour to help you throughout this long tour season, she should be here by now…" Pegasus scanned the crowd. "Ah, yes, come with me," he said and moved through the room.
"Hello, Mr. Anderson!" He was greeted by a short, thin, woman with dark skin and a platinum blonde pixie cut. She was actually shorter than Jesse first realized, because she was wearing tall heeled shoes. The rest of her clothes were business attire. "It's so nice to finally meet you and I hope we can work well together!" Her accent was definitely native to southern California.
Jesse smiled. "Nice to meet you, uh…"
"Oh! I am Opal Baker, at your service!" She grinned and held out her hand for him to shake.
"Thank you," Jesse said and shook her hand.
"Miss. Baker has plenty of experience on tour so you are in good hands," Pegasus said.
"That's right," she beamed. "I know all the best hotels and transportation services, as well as some great place to eat and shop, so if you have any questions, I will do my best to help."
She had a warm aura, Jesse noted. It was energetic and alive. She may be small, but got the sense she was feisty. Possibly athletic. "Thank you," Jesse said.
"I leave you in her capable hands, Jesse-boy, I will be seeing you again soon in London next week," Pegasus began his departure.
Opal lifted a tablet to her front and began to tap at it with a stylus. "Okay, so I have your schedule all lined up, sorry you won't be getting much free time for the next few weeks," she said. "But like I said, food and shops are some things we can make time for, I mean, you have to see the sights too, right?" she grinned humorously.
"Makes sense," Jesse shrugged with a smile. "When should I leave for the photoshoot?" he asked.
"The car will be here in half an hour," Opal said. "I'll let you know when it's time, but for now, all you have to do is be you and mingle."
Jesse did just that. He just didn't expect to have Opal for a shadow while he did it. A perk he found was when she had got him some food when he was trapped nodding along to another duelist's rant about their new wardrobe.
The photoshoot didn't take long, so Opal escorted Jesse to his hotel room. With the jetlag and early appointment for the tournament, he needed his rest.
After a long introduction, he finally got out on the dueling arena to shine. It was clear these duelists were a level above the last set Jesse had faced in a sponsored tournament. They were all fantastic.
Jesse dueled six times. Then he watched several other duels. In the end, Jesse finished in third place, but got lots of bonus points for showmanship, whatever that meant. He should probably learn that.
It was a large event overall and lasted all day. Jesse was thankful for the seemingly endless supply of food and refreshments backstage.
If anyone asked, he did not inhale three doughnuts and he did not come back for one more and two turkey sandwiches. Also, he didn't come back a third time and eat three cookies. He did eat a fruit cup and a drink a can of lemon lime soda. In case anyone asked.
He wasn't sure when he was going to be fed again, so he was going to eat while he could.
"Opal, can you tell me more about the showmanship points?" Jesse asked on the way back to the hotel.
"Besides appearance, it includes sportsmanship, being able to put on a good show with body language, how you engage the audience, and well, to put it bluntly, the trash talk," she explained.
"Oh, that," Jesse nodded. He should have guessed. Putting on a good show is a skill required of the pro leagues at all levels.
"You're pretty good at it, being expressive and naturally attractive helps you a lot," she said.
Jesse nodded. He has gone up against some very flamboyant people in the past. Some of the more reserved pro duelists were cool and attractive with the more cunning trash talk. Jesse preferred to make sure he had fun, even though would like to be considered cool too.
He kept those thoughts in mind during his group interview. While still being himself, he tried to bring out his cool and collected side more, all while keeping a pleasant smile on his face.
Charming.
He ended up being called charming for most of the tour. It started with that first interview. Then as articles were published and interviews were streamed and televised, other reporters and journalists came across the description when they would research him prior to their own interviews with him.
He became known as charming. Attractive, disarming smile, big green eyes, tall and slender, kind, sweet, and most of all, they all drew attention to the Crystal Beasts who were constantly referred to as being beautiful.
Princely.
In only three weeks since his duel tour had begun, he went from being known as simply charming, to princely. It happened in London. From there, those phrases followed him everywhere.
That was not what he was going for at all. He wanted to be cool. Being called princely and charming did not make him seem like a good duelist in his eyes. He worried he would be looked down upon within the pro duelist community for becoming known mostly for his looks.
Frequently, he was still called a great duelist and strategist. His deck was quickly becoming legendary due to their unique abilities and exclusiveness. However, whenever he saw how else he was described, he frowned, even if it was only briefly mentioned in the articles and interviews. Despite the recognition and the fans, he felt it was a joke. Like he was being made into something he was not in order to gain that popularity as fast as possible.
Jesse groaned when he practically had to dive into the waiting car outside his hotel in Stockholm to avoid the fangirls. He didn't think this would happen now that he was so close to home. Somehow, that made it worse.
He huffed as the car door was locked by Opal. "Why…?"
Opal chuckled. "You sure seem to be getting popular."
Jesse deadpanned. "I'm a duelist, not a bachelor."
Opal seemed to ignore that. "Once you start doing fan meetups, it'll get better," she said. "You are still new and shiny, so you are going to attract a lot of attention for a while."
"You're not helping." Yes, he was grumpy.
Opal gave him a sympathetic smile. "You'll be okay, Jesse, just breathe in and out," she instructed, taking a deep breath herself.
Jesse did as he was told as the car pulled away.
She reviewed the day's schedule while he looked at his phone. He was half listening, he already knew the schedule. If there were any changes, he would learn them.
She coughed to get his attention, but he appeared to ignore her.
"Excuse me," Opal said as she reached over and snatched the phone away.
"Hey!" Jesse complained.
"What's so important?" Opal questioned as she looked at the phone, where a chat window was displayed and a half typed reply sat waiting.
"I just thought that since I'm so close to home, I might pay a visit to someone," Jesse said.
Opal practically beamed as she read the name on the phone's chat window. "Oh! And who is this Julia, hmmm?" She hummed at him suggestively. Jesse deadpanned again and snatched his phone back.
This again. This was why he didn't tell Opal yet. "My best friend from school is going to be studying abroad for a year in Canada, this might be our last chance to see each other for a long time," Jesse explained somewhat solemnly.
Opal blinked. "Not the story I was expecting, but I am sure I can make time for that," she smiled warmly.
Jesse brightened. "Really?"
Opal tapped away at her trusty tablet. "It will take some careful planning, but sure, I'm up for it," she said and then grinned when he smiled widely.
Opal really was a good match for him as far as being his right hand and tour manager. Over all the flights and car rides, they took some time to get to know each other. He wasn't sure if he'd say they were friends, it was a little odd to consider himself friends with a woman ten years older than him.
If he had to pick a word, he might say she was turning into a big sister. She was super helpful and teased him a little sometimes. He hoped she could continue to be his manager after this tour.
"At least your fans will still be happy," Opal started with a smirk.
"Why?"
"That you don't have a girlfriend," she teased.
"Opal!" Jesse threw up his hands in defense. "Do not add to the mess I'm already in, I'm supposed to become a pro duelist, not a teen idol."
Opal laughed. "You're too cute." She shook her head and continued to chuckle for a second. "You'll see, this surge of popularity now will help you in the future. The more your name and face get out there, the more likely it will stick around enough later when you have more sponsors in the next couple years when you graduate the academy."
Jesse slumped back in his seat. "Why like this though?"
"It's not so bad," she tried to assure him. "You have a deck full the rare jewels and have a nice face and personality, it was bound to happen sooner or later," she said.
"Still not helping."
She laughed and merely shrugged. There wasn't really anything else she could say that would help him change his mind about the situation regarding his public image.
Soon they pulled up to the duel arena he was scheduled for and they got out of the car. Opal spoke to the driver for a minute and then led Jesse inside.
As soon as they got inside, they encountered a growing group of duelists and staff shouting at one another.
"Then who?" One man in a purple suit demanded.
"How could there be nothing on the security cameras!" A security guard whispered harshly to a tech worker.
"I was only gone for a second!" A duelist Jesse recognized complained.
Jesse and Opal watched in confusion for several long seconds as panic began to grow amongst the group.
Opal stood straight, squared her shoulders, and marched up to the group. "What is the problem?" she demanded. "We have a show to run in thirty minutes, what's the hold up!"
"All the decks in the photo room were stolen!"
"What?" Jesse and Opal exclaimed.
"How did that happen?" Opal questioned.
It was a known procedure to photograph the duelist's deck right before a show to use in the scoreboard. Usually something artsy, with the cards fanned out in a half circle, sometimes just a couple top cards were used to represent the duelist. There were always guards, cameras, and contracts used as safety measures.
"The power went out for a minute, and when the lights came back on, they were gone."
"Ruby," Jesse whispered. The little spirit appeared on his shoulder at his call. "Go check it out."
The crowd continued to shout and complain.
"This is a nightmare! We can't do anything without the duelist's decks."
"I am suing everyone in charge of this event if my deck doesn't turn up!"
"What are we going to do?"
"I bet the photographer is lying and is planning on selling them in the underground circuit!"
"How dare you! I would never do such a thing."
"The sponsors are going to be angry if the event is cancelled."
"Not to mention the fans that already paid to see us."
Jesse leaned against the wall and observed. Something was bound to go wrong eventually. It was Murphy's Law. However, this seemed to be a special case of more than just something going wrong. He had enough experience to tell him to listen to his gut when it came to these things.
Not a minute later, Ruby Carbuncle returned and chirped several times, jumping and running in circles to get him to follow.
Jesse eyed the crowd and Opal for a second. It didn't appear they were in any shape to do anything. Opal had her hands full trying to contain the rising anger and panic by reminding people of their jobs and to get back to work so the proper staff could look into the situation. They were on a clock after all.
"Alright," Jesse said. "Show me," he said and followed after the spirit.
Opal noticed him running down a hallway in the opposite direction. "Jesse? What are you doing?" she called after him.
"I have to…" he trailed off. He wasn't sure how to explain and he was already too far away to come up with a concise enough excuse. She could follow if she wanted.
Jesse ran through a maze of hallways and eventually down a long passage of stairs. It was well lit and he clearly saw the signs beside each of the doors as he passed them indicating which floor he was on. Finally he reached the underground parking garage.
Ruby phased through the door no problem. Jesse nearly crashed into it before he managed to open it going full speed.
The garage was large and kind of dark. He had to blink to adjust his eyes to the change in lighting. There weren't many cars yet. The event officially started in a couple hours, so only the staff and duelists had arrived so far.
There was one vehicle starting up and beginning to pull out of a parking space near the elevator. The truck had an empty gun rack was pulling out leisurely.
Without a second thought, Jesse ran towards it. "Wait!" he shouted as loud as he could.
The brake lights flashed red as the trucked stopped.
In the dark, Jesse recalled seeing this truck once before. Where was it? When?
The door opened and a man got out as Jesse's eye's narrowed.
The man chuckled and smirked. "I've been looking for you," he said. "What luck that you'd come running to me."
Jesse's eyes widened. "It's you."
He outright grinned. It was both mocking and sickening. "Good to see you again," he said. "I've been looking everywhere for you."
Jesse had been itching to see this man too. He had quite the bone to pick and a certain Jerry Beans Man to rescue. "Trapper!"
- - - - - - - - Line - - - - - - - -
Author's Note:
Year one was finally wrapped up.
Now duty calls and Jesse's got a job to do.
Too bad he has to work during his school vacation time. But he gets to duel, travel, duel, eat free food, and duel. So it's a win.
Fun fact: Whenever I watch stuff about Kpop stars, I hear about how they just eat when they can/when they are fed, and sometimes events don't provide food, leading to very hungry guys.
More fun facts: Seeing how long this story is and how long I've been working on it, I reached that inevitable "oh no it's terrible I must delete it ALL and start over" phase. Looking back on my old notes and certain storylines I could have taken but chose not to, (Jesse living in a youth group home before North Academy, for example), I have had a lot of second thoughts about this story the last few months or year. Like I said, it's inevitable, and every artist/writer goes through it on nearly every project at some point. I absolutely hate to leave things unfinished and will continue push on for as long as I can. I hope to see this story finished though.
Thanks for all the reviews recently! Like wow.
