♥ In The Name Of The Moon! ♥ Schoolkid RESULTS! PG 57!

[Tebiki]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Jackie Riggs

Nicknames: Jack

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Meadowview ~ 8D

Fav. Food: Ham Burgers, Fruit and McDonalds Milkshake

Hated Food: Fish, potato's and most vegetables.

Virtues:

No Pushover - Jack is not a girl who will let someone walk all over her, she stands up for herself. No matter how big the bully she will fight back, harder they fall right? Growing up with 5 older brothers sure teaches a girl how to defend herself, learn to throw fists or live with buggers in your ears and farts in your face.

Keeps her word - If she promises you something, have no doubt she will do it, or die trying. This applies to bets whilst gambling, she promised her oldest brother she would shave her head if he beat her in a arm wrestle... BEST THING SHE EVER DID SHE LOVES LIFE WITH OUT THE HASSLE OF HAIR! 8D

Fighting Spirit - When she has set herself a goal she is suddenly fuelled with the energy from 1000 suns. Seriously, she gets hyperactive, she gets louder and she gives it 100%. If you are kicked down get back up and spit in the face of defeat!

Fun - She is a laugh to be around, she usually hangs around boys so she seems to have a mans sense of humour. She loves to play fight and tell jokes. Even maybe get up to some trouble. She likes practical jokes and parties!

Flaws:

[Weakness] Easily tricked - People might call her... dim... Its not too hard to get her to do what you want, most of the time she wont even know she is being used. She is not the smartest spanner in the box, however if she finds out she has been tricked she will go mad!

Zero Empathy - What does that word mean? really, putting herself into someone's else's shoes is not something she can do. She is not a shoulder to cry on because you will get no sympathy just get told how pathetic you are being... which can seriously piss someone off, then she will get angry because she wont know what she's done wrong.

Blinded By Rage - Jack is a angry person at the best of times, but sometimes when she is ticked over that level she is like a crazy person, any object in her way will be kicked, every person in the way will get abuse. Sometimes she can just wake up in this mood and its total danger zone. She wont stop until she has hurt herself or gets pinned down. There is no reasoning with her.

A total slob - She is gross, seriously, she wears dirty clothes, believes wearing underwear inside out gives them more use, she stinks of smoke, she burps and even picks her nose and wipes it on her pants. She does not see anything wrong with it. Personal hygiene level = zero.

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: A scary yellow as in cat eye horror movie yellow.

Hair: None, she is bald. Haha. No seriously she shaved it...

Face: Round, Feminine, Gothic, make up, red lips, dark around the eyes. Cheek piercings [x] and maybe one in the middle of her lip, a small black star painted just under her eye? She would be a pretty girl if she wanted to be.

THE STORY ENTRY

There was meant to be something awesome happening tonight... something about a comet and everyone was making a big hooha about it. So her and some friends decided to meet in the park with a couple of bottles of vodka and get pissed. Typical night out. What else is there to do Saturday nights? Her hands in her pockets on her baggy hoodie she walked through the tree's in the park. Eyes set on the sky to see if she could spot what all this fuss was about. Personally if this thing was not going to come down and crash into her school, she did not care, that retard of a science teacher was at the point of killing her for that essay that was due in a month ago. Did she not promise to do that tonight? oh well ******** him! stupid old man. He should go get laid might loosen him up. Now what excuse... she was in the park getting pissed? that would do! At least she SHOULD get points for telling the truth. Meh whatever.

All of a sudden she heard something nearby. Curious she wondered over hiding behind a tree so she was not seen by whoever. It sounded like some REALLY kinky sex (maybe the science teacher took her advise) or maybe more realistically someone getting mugged, which she had always had a morbid curiosity to watch. Or get some pointers because she really was low on cash since her tard of a brother stole her purse. She froze... some kind of monster was attacking someone! What the hell? was this a joke? was some movie getting filmed? WHAT THE ********! She froze, for once the 'tough chick' was just frozen. She was expecting the hidden camra's to come out and say. Ha fooled you! She was actually hoping for it. This was not real no way... how much weed has she smoked today?... that must have been some good s**t.

On closer looking, the kid getting beat up by this THING was the part who spat in her coffee last week, bang out of order, she only ran over his cat by accident.... ignorant c**t, a broken let is not the end of the world. Even though she would love to see his a** get handed to him by some alien/monster/whatever the hell it was, she decided this had nothing to do with her. I mean tough luck, his problem not hers right? She knew the creature was already hurt, however why should she risk her a** for his? No... this was nothing to do with her. She quietly moved away, when she was back on the path she started to run. THIS WAS INSANE! for some reason though.... it was so epic! THAT MONSTER WAS SO COOL LOOKING! man... what a weird dream... maybe she should start going to see that psychiatrist she is meant to see... or find a better dealer. Then again she should do that anyway... to say her current one was her brother and he charged too much. Wait is that why he stole her purse? God! why was she thinking about this now? Shock... it does odd things to people. WHERE WERE THEY WITH HER DAMN VODKA!

She heard something... she had been followed, darting around she saw that thing coming for her! she was sure she had been quiet! OH GOD! HOLY CRAP! She screamed, no point being quiet I mean. What the hell would being quiet do! NOT LIKE SHE WAS NOT ALREADY DEAD SMACK WHERE IT WAS HEADING. She turned and did all that should could think. Leg the ******** out of there! However after only a few seconds she kind of realized... it was faster than her. She looked around for something anything, she was dead she was so ******** dead! In a few seconds if she did not pull herself together. Oh man! Then she had a bright idea. She spun around. This thing was just like a bully! and she knew what she did to bullies. "COME ON YOU UGLY f**! BEING IT!" Tough words for someone who was crapping themselves.

The creature pounced on the side of her, tackling her to the ground its claw like thing sticking into her arm. She screamed once more, it was the most painful thing ever. Before she could even thing it hit her again. It was now or never dude! She had to, funny thing how much she moved and what you could do when your life was in danger. She gritted her teeth and with her other hand punched the beast in its wound, it was time to make this son of a b***h scream! Her hand went into the cut she she thought it was time to tug away at this things insides. After a LONG struggle the beast was down and injured. Bleeding, seeing this as her chance to run, she did so. HOME HERE SHE CAME! NO MORE WEED! EVER!

[Meeki]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Malkav RedHawk

Nicknames: Mal, Hawk

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Hillworth

Fav. Food: BBQ Wings

Hated Food: Broccoli, Hot Dogs

Virtues:
Confidence + Brawn = Mmmn -- Mal is very strong, more so than the average boy his age. He works out an hour every evening after school and two and a half hours on weekends. Some of this is to maintain a sexy physique and some is so he can kick a** when needed. This has helped him become a very confident person. He believes that there's nothing he can't do. He is bold and sure in just about any situations he may find himself in. In short, there's absolutely no meekness to this boy.

Charming Devil -- When he wants to or when needed, he can really turn on the charm. Sure, a lot of it might be an act but if pulled off well, they'd never know it. He can appear charming, playful, friendly or even compassionate. He can adapt well to a situation so that his real intentions or thoughts are not apparent.

Kindness (to animals) -- Humans may suffer in his presence but the animals do not. When around animals, Mal shows a gentle, caring and loving side. He believes this to be in part due to his Native American roots, at least, that's his reason to justify it. He would never voluntarily hurt an animal.

Independent -- Malkav became emancipated from his parents when he was 14 years old. He bought his first car with money he saved up from two years of working various odd jobs recently, he began renting an apartment atop a garage owned by the owner of a nearby nightclub. He works part time as a bouncer for that club he never drinks on duty, even when it's offered (illegally). This has made him mature in many day to day situations, such as being able to manage his finances and not spend frivolously. He is also determined to graduate no matter how long it takes.

Flaws:
Pigheaded b*****d -- Malkav is extremely cocky. He thinks he's god's gift to women and should be able to do whatever he wants with them. He also has trouble following orders given by females or respecting them in positions of power. He is constantly struggling not to slip up around Beryl especially. Women shouldn't be doing men's work anyway, right? They belong in either two places -- His bed or his kitchen.

Bully -- He will use anything he can to start a physical confrontation when the mood strikes him. Sometimes it will be unintentional, such as a sarcastic remark going awry but when the potential for a fight presents itself, he'll take it. At other times, he'll flat out seek a confrontation such as making fun of them, destroying their property or trying to sabotage their relationships.

Addicted to Love -- Or at least, sex. He never tires from it, always wants it. Needs it. Must have it. It's about the only time he shows any respect towards a female as well. When it comes to sex, a female will suddenly become a princess in his eyes and he lives only to serve her and please her. He wants her to enjoy it as much as he does. Afterwards, eh, he goes back to being a cold b*****d most of the time.

Gambling -- (Weakness) His main weakness is his addiction to gambling. He cannot resist a bet of any kind. You could be in a battle with him and pretty much defeated but if you make a bet for him to let you go and you win that bet, he'll let you go. No matter WHAT the bet, he will not be able to resist accepting it. Sex and Gambling are the only things he'll honor.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Dark Green, Almost Black (Native American Mix)

Hair: Braids, Native American, Black, Red Hawk Feathers.

Face: Normal, guy face? Native American mix. He has a black goatee on his chin.

THE STORY ENTRY

Ignoring the curfew was nothing new to Mal but the predicament he found himself in tonight certainly was. Several long moments have passed as he assessed the situation. A part of him felt guilty for taking his time but it went as quickly as it had come. This was not his fight. In fact, he found the situation rather ironic. His rival, the one guy in the world he wanted to see in this very position was in fact, GETTING his a** kicked by some.. ******** monster thing. If he hadn't been concerned with drawing attention to himself, he would have laughed at the irony.

Wasn't it just two weeks back that this very a*****e made a remark that he could take on anyone and anything -- at Mal's own expense? He had come in second to this schmuck in the wrestling tournament. He should have been the winner but he had to work late the night before and he had been too damn tired the next morning. He slipped, missed a grab and was pinned. It had happened so fast. He had lost to this sonuvabitch. Hell, for two weeks afterwards, it had been rubbed in about how he had lost. He couldn't take a piss without some sarcastic jab about how he had to "submit". If anything, Mal was jealous that this monster was kicking the jerk's a** instead of doing it himself.

Anyone else would probably help. Surely this was the part where he step in? Put on his dashing white cape and save the day? A slow, cruel smiled played upon his face as he continued watching the debacle before him. Mal owed no alignments. He lived purely for himself, for the fight. Little else mattered.

It wasn't until the body lay completely motionless that the monster turned and took notice of him. "Damn, you are one ugly ********," Mal commented before popping his knuckles and stepping forth. "I suppose it's my turn, now?"

He was confidant of his victory. Mal spent his evenings as a bouncer. Fighting was his life both in and out of school. He was not new to pain. In some ways, he welcomed it, relished it. It made him feel alive. The only excitement he found anymore besides sex. It also helped that this monster was already hurt. Surely his body was feeling the pain of both the wounds and of physical exhaustion as well. He'd probably still get his a** kicked to a point but he was sure he would come out as victor. He would prove to both this ugly a** creature and the a*****e laying unconscious (or dead) on the ground just who was really number one around these parts.

All thoughts of the meteorite and curfew faded from his head as the creature came forward and hit him quarely in the face, almost knocking him back off his feet. He could taste the blood flowing from his newly busted lip.

He smiled. Tonight was a good night. With fists balled, he charged forth. ~

[Lonely Angelic]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Esarosa, meaning white wolf

Nicknames: Nearly everyone just calls her Rose, as she hates her name.

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Cranberries

Hated Food: Pork. Rose is not a vegetarian, there is just something about pork that she can’t stand.

Virtues:

Secure in herself -- Rose doesn’t have any problems with self-esteem. She is quite happy with the way she is, and isn’t afraid to flaunt it, thank you. From her clothing choices to the way she walks there is nothing about Rose to suggest she is anything other than comfortable in her own skin.

Courageous -- Very few things can keep Rose from doing something she wants to do. Not fear, or danger or difficulty. If someone she does care about is in trouble, or if she feels the need to help someone, she won’t hesitate to step in.

Loyal -- While it does take quite a bit of time to reach past Rose’s lack of emotion, and her inability to really concern herself with consequences, once it has been accomplished Rose is a loyal companion. She will stand by a friend through struggles and offer the best advice she can, even if it isn’t always nice or sympathetic.

Perseverence -- Even in the face of all opposition, if Rose deems something worth doing, or finds something she wants to do, it will get done.

Flaws:

Hard-hearted -- Though not cruel, or callous, Rose is a hard person to understand or get along with. She constantly shuts off emotions and works off of her mind instead of her heart. Hard to understand or control, Rose does things however she wants, whenever she wants. This is her biggest weakness.

Reckless -- Caution is constantly thrown to the wind with Rose. She doesn’t take consideration of the consequences of her actions and instead tends to impulsively do as she pleases, no matter the outcome.

Blunt -- Thinking before speaking is not a trait Rose has well in hand. She speaks her mind at every opportunity, about anything she forms an opinion or thought about.

Problem with Authority -- While idle talk doesn’t phase Rose, being told to do, or not to do, something does. She will go out of her way to avoid orders, or directions, of any kind and has no real problem with outright ignoring someone telling her what to do. No amount of logic, or reasoning will reach her when she tunes someone out, or if she decides to fight back. She is easily stereotyped, and perhaps rightly so, as perverse and rebellious for these reasons.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Light brown eyes, the color of caramel. Almond shaped, set a good distance from each other.

Hair: White, long and wavy. A single black barette holding back bangs.

Face: Round, tan skin, and clear of blemishes or freckles, normally sized ears, mouth slightly smaller than average.

THE STORY ENTRY

Is a meteorite sighting that unusual? Rose couldn’t help but ask herself as she watched word after word of it appear on her laptop screen in her room through the instant messaging chat room she frequently visited yet rarely spoke in. Of all the things going on in Destiny City lately, how could a meteorite sighting really capture people’s attention that much? Still, no one seemed to be willing to do anything about it but talk, so she made up her mind to go check it out herself.

Signing off of the chat and closing her laptop without bothering to turn it off, Rose stood and grabbed a jacket off of the peg hanging over her door and threw it over her shoulders. Her parent’s were asleep, but they had been discussing the big event as well after seeing the news go on about it. Rolling her eyes, she picked up the only flashlight in their house and walked out the door, turning the flashlight on as she reached the end of the driveway.

The park wasn’t a place Rose bothered going to often, but it was the center of the discussions going on all around her, so that was the direction she walked. Despite the fact that she didn’t go to the park now, she knew it well from childhood and knew there was a play few people would visit. A hill in the center of the park was the perfect place to get a view of everything, and the easiest way to find the meteors.

As she got closer, she heard a shout and couldn’t help but be irritated that someone had beaten her to this discovery. Still, she kept walking, quitting on something when she was halfway through wasn’t her style. At the base of the hill, Rose realized there was more than one person there, and in a matter of seconds she registered the complete situation.

The first person Rose saw was easily a giant. The form was humanoid, but its skin, seemed to have a soft sheen. In fact, it appeared to be covered in fur. And its clothing, though it could hardly be considered clothing and looked more like a poorly made costume from some kid’s cartoon, completely hid any way to discern a gender.

It stood with a menacing hover over, and Rose could not believe what she was seeing, Sussel. Sussel, the preppiest, most brown nosing girl in school, an over-achiever and the biggest bi*** Rose had ever met, always considering herself better than everyone, including those she did call friends. Sussel appeared to have been fighting, but was now having a hard time just being able to stand up with that huge form looming over her. She was obviously losing this battle.

How unusual for her, not to be able to make everyone do whatever she wants, Rose mused, smirking slightly at the irony. Still, not even Sussel herself deserved this. It looked like the creature was preparing to either knock her unconscious, but it also was wounded, blood flowing from a wound in its side. Rose knew she was the only other person in the park, so if a choice was to be made, it would be hers. She had to do something, and that something sounded like fun.

Letting out a loud whistle, the creature in the strange half-dress, half-gauze like wrapping outfit turned at the sound, the arm coming down for a blow stopping in mid-swing. Well, I have its attention, no turning back now.

It ran at her, and Rose stood her ground until it got close to her. At the last moment, she jumped to the side, rather ungracefully but managing to get out of the way, and swung a kick at its back. It fell forward, but stood again quickly, turning to stare at her.

“Stay out of this,” it hissed, its voice gravelly and low.

“Was that an order?” Rose asked, her own voice taking on an undertone of defiance.

“Yes, it was,” the thing growled, glaring at her with its sunken dark eyes, “this does not concern you.”

“Not many things actually concern me,” Rose shot back, watching it carefully. It began to move, seeming to circle her, but at the last moment it moved in to attack again, giving Rose barely enough time to move. She shot an insult at it and it turned, trying again.

This happened a few times, until the thing began to slip up and lose its momentum. It seemed to have forgotten that it had been here originally for something besides this girl that was talking it into a rage, until it slipped, looking straight at the hill it had been on originally. It howled in rage and Rose found herself too curious not to look as well. Sussel was gone, she had apparently run for her life in the middle of the fight.

The creature was distracted for a shorter time than Rose, and turned, slashing at her with its giant paw like hand. She felt the impact without ever seeing the attack and fell, skidding a few feet away, moaning quietly in pain. It stalked towards her, and she now found herself in the position she had originally found Sussel in. Rose, however, had an advantage.

As it loomed over her, she grabbed the flashlight lying at her side and threw it with good enough accuracy for it to fly straight against the thing’s wound. It howled in pain, holding its side, and Rose used the opportunity to scramble backwards and stand, now completely devoid of a weapon but not giving up this fight easily anyway.

It seemed to accept defeat, not knowing if she had some other hidden object to use against it but it glared at her, locking its eyes with hers. “Don’t interfere again unless you want to die, girl.”

“I only plan to die when I feel like it,” she argued, seeing that it didn’t seem to want to attack again. It growled at her angrily, but turned and ran, muttering about how it had failed.

Rose watched it go until it was out of sight, then let out the breath she had not realized she had been holding and looked at the hill again. To think Sussel had run irritated Rose, but did not surprise her. Brushing her hair out of her face she walked back over to her flashlight and picked it up, realizing it had shattered on impact and was now useless.

A curse escaped her lips at the irritation of losing the light for her walk back, but she made do with the street lights having decided to give up on the meteorite sighting after the fight.

“Coward,” she muttered to herself, though the word was directed at the absent Sussel, as she walked in the door of her house and threw out the flashlight, not caring what her parents would say or think about it.

Still, the look on Sussel’s face at school the next day as they passed each other in the hall on the way to their first class would make all of this worth it.

[soutou]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: James Cutter

Nicknames: Jim, Jimmy, Jimboy, Jimbo (Yeah, you try that last one. Try it.)

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Meadowview High School

Fav. Food: Pecan pie, what momma’s boy doesn’t like pecan pie, huh?

Hated Food: Baked beans, oatmeal, cooked carrots. He has teeth, okay, he doesn’t need mushy food.

Virtues:

ADVEEEEEENTUUUUURE! - Jim is always up for a good adventure. Always. Whether it be going to a section of town he hasn’t visited before or exploring some new, unmarked territory, Jim is totally game. After he destroyed his house and his mother kicked him outside so she could clean, Jim would spend what time he wasn’t sentenced to the porch roaming around the neighborhood, traveling the nearby riverbanks, whatever he could find and hasn’t found before. He still feels those impulses and tries anything twice. Anything. Yeah, you can probably get him to lick the frozen flag pole. What’s life with out a little adventure, right?

Passionate - Jim is a very fiery individual, and when something lights his fuse, it really lights his fuse. While sometimes he’s sent off into an explosion, other times he’s driven to a flurry of activity. Once inspired, Jim won’t stop until the job is done. While there are things he’s naturally passionate about (explosions, for example), he’s not actually that hard to inspire. Jim is very reactive and he’s not hard to convince, as long as he’s been pointed in the right direction, he’ll keep going, come what may, until the task has been accomplished. Passion often borders on the verge of obsession and he won’t be satisfied until the parameters have been met.

All (wo)men created equal - Raised by a woman with a very strong sense of duty (and a stronger sense of equality), Jim is, in general, a very accepting person. His mother raised him to be a gentleman, after all, but just because he’s a polite young man (when she’s around) doesn’t mean he should look down on women. Jim has learned not to judge on a matter of gender, in fact, he seems to have this residual respect for women, especially bossy, motherly women. (James will always be his momma’s boy!) He might even be a little, tiny bit afraid of those sort of women (but at least he’ll do what they say!).

Reliable - Jim always does what he says. He doesn’t make promises often for that very reason, but when he does, he gets the job done, and he does it well. It might be a little late, or the method might be unexpected, but Jim always gets his tasks done, even if he doesn’t particularly want to. It doesn’t even have to be a promise; James is good about his homework, his chores, even watching after his little sister when his mother was at work. When it’s expected of him, he’s quite responsible, even if it’s not the easiest or the quickest way out. His mother taught him he was only as good as he word, and that’s one of those little pieces of advice that really stuck with him.

Flaws:

Explosive - The negative side to Jim’s passion, when he starts feeling something a little too passionately, he will totally erupt. It’s not limited to anger, he’s just incredibly loud about whatever he’s feeling and lets everyone know exactly how he feels, whether they care or not. The explosion is usually a vocal one, occasionally physical, but be warned, his bite is just as bad as his bark. He’s easy to manipulate once he reaches this mental state, just pour some more fuel on his fire. The explosiveness can bleed into his passion for something; it’s almost like an overdose.

Your mom! - What did you say about his mother!? James is a momma’s boy, through and through, and any mention of his mother, accidental or not, will result in a fierce defense of the woman. He’s impossibly stubborn on the topic and once it’s been brought up, he won’t let it go. Jim will hold it against the offender as long as he can, much longer than he should, even if they apologize. He would sooner watch his bridges burn. That’s his mom, man, you do not say bad things about his mother. It’s just not cool, okay.

Wanderlust - The downside of Jimmy’s sense of adventure is a stinging sense of wanderlust. Once some where’s been adventured, there’s nothing left to do, and he grows bored quickly. It’s hard to keep him in the same place for any amount of time. While he does know his way home, it’s hard to keep him there, and hard to say when he’ll be back. He seems to have the same problem with relationships of all sorts; once the newness has worn off, the intensity wears out and Jim starts yearning to roam again. He feels things very passionately, or nothing at all, it seems.

Obsessive - While Jim’s obsessive personality occasional leads to frantic displays to get all his work done immaculately, it usually leads him down a much darker path. When wronged, it will stick in his memory far longer than it should, the severity of the injustice not relevant at all. He is unable to rest until he feels an appropriate revenge has been extracted, no matter who his adversary is. Jim is just as quick to turn on his allies as he is his enemies, his wandering nature allowing his relationships to degrade a little quicker that usual. He often fails to realize he is being obsessive and is very open to manipulation, especially if it appears to be the means to get him to the desired end. (Weakness.)


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Dark blue, a little more on the narrow side

Hair: His hair is black and looks like he probably rolled out of bed and didn’t touch it with a brush. (He did, for the record. He likes it like that.)

Face: He’s got a strong jaw line and his skin is tan, insofar as it is from just being outside very often. His nose is crooked and he’s very bright and expressive.

THE STORY ENTRY

Even if his Ma had said no, James Roy Cutter would have gone out to see if he could spot the meteorite anyways. (Well, that wasn’t entirely true. If Ma actually said no, Jim would have paced back and forth in his room as he worried his lip and tried to decide if defying his mother was actually worth it before finally coming to the conclusion he was, in fact, a big boy, and he would do what he wants. What she didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.)

As the story actually goes, Jim didn’t tell his mother why he was going out at all, mumbling something about needing milk for breakfast (which they did, he checked!) before grabbing the flashlight kept in the cupboard and trotting out the door, giving the woman no room to protest. Picking up a carton of skim on the way home would be a breeze, and none would be the wiser. At the very worst, his mother might assume he’d gone out to visit some special lady friend. It was a sound plan.

The park wasn’t that far from his house; there was a good hill for stargazing somewhere near the center. Clicking on the flashlight, Jim followed one of the paths, about to ascend the small incline when he realized there was someone standing at the top. He blinked, brow furrowing as he came to a halt. If he was caught out here, and his mother found out? Well, the world could say goodbye to Jimmy Cutter as it knew him. No one, no one, lied to Mrs. Cutter. Lying was dirty, and little lies turned into big lies. Big lies turned into cheating, and what did cheating turn into? Broken families with single mothers and teenage children, that’s what. No, no son of Janice Cutter would be a liar.

Licking his lips, the teenager was about to turn around and bolt to the marker when a cry ripped through the park. A cold shiver shot up Jim’s spine and he shuddered, feet taking a step back as he raised his flashlight. The…the massive figure looked furry, but that couldn’t be right. Narrowing his eyes, Jim tipped his head and tried to work out what the standing figure could be. Something in the back of his mind urged him to run, but really, that didn’t sit right with him. Gentlemen don’t leave damsels in distress, especially not when they’re screaming bloody murder.

Taking a few tentative steps forward, the damsel revealed herself to be none other than Jackson Finch…from chemistry class. Jim wrinkled his nose, feet rooting themselves to the grassy knoll as recollections of last year’s science fair and his volcano (that mysteriously blew up all over the place, which was incredibly awesome, but not supposed to happen at all and sort of gave him the worst bloody nose ever) came rushing to the foremost of his thoughts. While nothing was conclusively proven, Jim knew it was no happy coincidence that Jackson Finch had won for the fifth year a row, his only rival having blown himself up.

The few moments of deliberation cost him; Jackson screamed again (rather girlishly, Jim would like to go on record) and Jim felt dizzy.

“Jim!”

…what?

“JIM! DON’T JUST STAND THERE, HELP ME!”

The teenager blinked owlishly, completely unaware his rival had spotted him, despite the other student having the higher ground. Jim watched Jackson roll across the damp grass for a moment, scrambling away from the large furry beast, there was no better way to describe it, really, and his classmate screamed at him again. Jim felt a little dizzier; he held Jackson’s life in his hands and the power was heady, to say the least.

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT YOU ATTRACTED A BEAR,” Jim howled, whipping his flashlight at the large animal. Immediately, he regretted the decision, his small plastic toy smacking the creature right upside the head. It turned and snarled, massive fangs bared.

That was definitely not a bear, Jim decided, backpedaling. Whatever it was, it definitely needed more investigation, but from somewhere further away, perhaps. And by someone else who wasn’t him. Jackson yelled again, the monster descending upon him, but Jim had already whirled around, sprinting for the path. He could feel its sour breath on his neck as he tripped, sprawling across the pavement. Feet back underneath him before he could even think about the blood trickling from his knees, he continued to follow the path, Jackson’s screams catalyzing a cascade of nausea, but it was Jackson or Jim, and Jackson was a cheater, and, and…and…

Jim didn’t realize the park had fallen silent until he had reached the tree-lined sidewalk. With the last of his energy, he surged forward, hand finding bark as he doubled over and wretched, the yells still bouncing around his skull. He was dizzy and, oh, god, he was going to be sick again.

Staring blankly at the sidewalk, Jim staggered to his feet and spit, mouth bitter as he tried to wrap his mind around the past fifteen minutes.

At the very least…he’d finally win that damn award.

[soutou]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Leon Rodgers

Nicknames: He gets called Leo every now and then, but Leon is short enough, isn’t it?

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Hillworth

Fav. Food: Candy cigarettes, hard to find, maybe, but they drive his dad up a wall.

Hated Food: Leftovers. If he didn’t want the first time, why would he want it reheated?

Virtues:

A Man of Many Faces - When Leon was younger, he often had a role in the school plays. He enjoyed the act of taking on someone’s life, personality and playing around. Not to mention girls love a good actor, and that never hurts. That aside, however, Leon is excellent on the spot, rarely faltering in the spotlight, even if he’s forced to improvise. He’s great at appearing calm, even if he isn’t feel quite so calm, and as far as he knows, appearances are everything. Give him a role, and he’ll fill it (to the best of his knowledge). He acts like he knows what he’s doing and that’s usually enough to get him by.

Improvision - Another trait he can attribute to the stage, Leon’s very good at pulling nonsense out of thin air and selling it. Forget your lines, make up something plausible. Forget to study for an exam? Use big words and make it sound like you know what you’re talking about anyways! His improvising is stronger in words and performance, he’s clearly more invested in the liberal arts than the sciences, but every now and then he comes up with something creative in the lab (which never ends well, for what it’s worth).

You’re Just Jealous - Insults, with the exception of his outfit, roll of Leon’s back like water off a duck. He knows they’re just jealous because he’s infinitely cooler than they could ever hope to be, so answering their taunts is a total waste of his time. He doesn’t need to bring himself to their level, and besides, he is confident he could kick some serious a** if he really wanted to. He’s good at walking away from a fight; as far as he’s concerned, he has nothing to prove.

An Idiot, But My Idiot - If anyone can stand Leon’s abrasive pride and obnoxious need to burst out into ridiculous theme songs, he’s actually a pretty loyal friend. Guys have to stick together, after all. Leon might not treat his friends with all the respect they deserve, but he is the first to make sure no one else tangles with his friends. He’ll get into a fight on their behalf, if he really has to, though he prefers a few witty remarks to an actually tussle. He doesn’t expect anything in return for his efforts and is happy to do it. He might be a jerk to his friends, but he’s the only one who gets that privilege, savvy?

Flaws:

The Devil Wears Prada - Leon is used to enjoying lead roles and stunning performances, and he is used to being treated like the star that he is. (It hasn’t occurred to him that he stars in high school performances, not Broadway.) He’s cool, he’s witty, he’s fashionable, and those who aren’t don’t even exist on his radar. He isn’t intentionally rude (usually); it’s hard to be rude to people he doesn’t even notice exist. He’s always looking his best, Lord help the soul who implies otherwise or, even worse, actually ruins his outfit. (Do you know how expensive it was? Probably more than your parents make in a month, gawd.) He also has this knack for thinking people are talking about him, for better or for worse. It’s a strange ability, but Leon seems to be able to make any conversation about him. (Weakness.)

Time After Time, And You’re Still The Same - Every man has his character flaws. Leon’s have been pointed out before, and they will be pointed out again. Relatively speaking, he takes it well (you can insult his personality, but do not insult the brand name clothing). He’ll listen and nod, and the next time you see him, Leon might actually pretend to have made some changes. He hasn’t. He’s an actor, remember, and if he thinks he can get away with pulling the wool over someone’s eyes, he’ll do it without a second thought. He’s Leon, after all, he shouldn’t have to change for anyone.

He’s a Cool Cat - If it’s cool, Leon does it. Usually, it’s harmless. Following fads is expensive, but nothing detrimental. When someone decided it was cool to backtalk the teach in the third grade, Leon started back talking. When someone decided it was cool to torment parents, Leon tormented his father, and when someone decided driving was cool, Leon made a very poor (and very short-lived) attempt to hijack a car. (No one said you had to be good at it, okay!?) To make a long story short, he goes with the crowd. Independent thought is totally uncool, man. Peer pressure is where it’s at!

High School Musical - Leon breaks out into song at really inappropriate moments. They’re cheesy. It’s totally not cool (he‘ll insist otherwise). Girls still seem to like it, though, so he’s gonna keep on singing.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Greyish-blue; his eyes are a little narrow, like he’s smug

Hair: His hair is a honey brown with blond highlights. It’s short and it’s flipped up in the front, like all the cool kids.

Face: His skin his fair and his face is oval-shaped. There’s nothing discernable about his features, though his ears are pierced, because it is cool, okay.

THE STORY ENTRY

Getting out of the dorms was difficult, but it had been worth it, Leon decided, brushing a hand through his hair as he panted slightly.

There had been a meteorite sighted, and while he could care less about falling space junk, some of the other boys had this notion they were going to sneak out for a peek. Not to be outdone, Leon had made a pact with some of his roommates, procured a flashlight, and snuck out. They were going to beat those other guys to the hill and find it first, because that’s what cool kids did. They won stuff.

Of course, it helped when your friends actually showed up.

Pocketing his flashlight, Leon muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “How did I end up with those lamers?” and set out for the park, not about to be outdone. Perhaps he was outnumbered, but that just meant he could travel faster, or something. It didn’t mean he had to like it. Shoving his hands into his pockets, the blond started to wonder who decided jackets weren’t cool, and if they were addled in the head. Of course they were. But Leon was cool, and he wasn’t about to argue with the status quo.

Getting to the park took longer than he had planned on. He probably should have let someone else calculate the time it took to walk, but there was no use crying over spilt milk. Snorting at the metaphor, he pulled the school flashlight out of his pocket and clicked it on as he entered the park, following a bushy trail to the center. Or, what he assumed to be the center. All paths led to the center, didn’t they? (Or maybe they led to Rome. Still. All the same.) Finding this plan increasingly worse as he trudged on, Leon almost didn’t notice the massive figure atop the hill.

“What the-” he blurted, jaw clicking shut a moment too late. Whatever it was (they were?) he had their attention now, wanted or not!

“Leon Rodgers?”

Leon wasn’t even given a chance to curse his misfortune; while one was not human, at all, the other figure on the hill was, and it was Chad, of all people! Chad Farrington, he who always tried to toe in on his roles before he was ‘transferred’ to Hillworth. Chad Farrington, who probably snatched his role away the moment his locker had been emptied.

“What’s it to you?” he snapped.

The creature roared, quickly losing interest in its current prey. Leon jumped (though later he would swear it was his ninja reflexes, and not because he was scared, or something stupid like that), attention snapping back to where it should have been all along. “What the hell is that thing?” he called, taking a slow step back towards the bushes, lest any sudden movements encourage the mammoth furball to charge. “Chad? I asked you a question, lamer, you could at least answer me!”

Chad did not answer. The monster continued to stalk towards the blond, one stride eating up three of Leon’s as it steadily back him into the shrubbery.

“Seriously?” Leon stumbled, falling backwards into the bushes gracelessly when his heel caught on a large rock. “Way to suck.”

The animal seemed unconcerned with Leon’s petty complaints, and even less concerned with the fact that Leon Effing Rodgers was not supposed to die in some freak accident involving a rock and an escaped science experiment. All it needed was some biohazardous drool, the blond decided, and the horrifying image would be complete. That, and an awesome theme song. He could work on that later, though, because right now…

Leon scrambled for footing, the animal (did it even qualify as an animal?) all but on top of him. The was claws, sharp claws raking down his leg, the youth realized dizzily, barely pushing himself backwards in time to avoid snapping jaws. Chad had the right idea, running when he could (though to be fair, Leon never had any intention of dealing with this for him and would pay him back as soon as he saw that jackass again). The beast swung again and the blond jumped, reaching for a stick wildly when he palmed a rock. A rock?

A rock!

In a sudden flurry of movement, Leon wrapped his arms around the sizeable stone and surged to his feet, hurling it at the monster’s head before he toppled back over, heat blazing through his leg. He was going to die. He was definitely going to die. Covering his face with his arms, he prepared for the worse, and-

And…nothing happened.

Leon pried opened his eyes. The monster was on its side a few feet away. It was still breathing, but…

Not about to question his sudden change in fortune, the teenager hauled himself to his feet with the help of a bush and stumbled down the hill, trying to ignore the shooting pain. Limping was lame. However, getting eaten by a monster was even lamer, so he’d take the lesser of the two evils. That aside, he was going to have one hell of a story to tell his friends when he got home. Leon Rodgers was so damn cool, he slew a monster. Sort of. But what they didn’t know, they couldn’t prove otherwise!

Grinning wildly as he found the street, Leon tipped his head back and broke into ‘We Are the Champions,’ hollering at the top of his lungs all the way home.

[TheMadHatter]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Nerissa Kamber

Nicknames: Neri

Gender: Female

Age: 18

School: Sovereign Heights .

Fav. Food: Peppers and anything hot/spicey

Hated Food: Pickles

Virtues:

• Measure twice, cut once - Neri is very meticulous in whatever she does and hates to forget things. She puts her heart into everything she does so she has to do things carefully or risks wrecking herself emotionally. If she does forget things she will kick herself for days about it.
  
  
• Anything you can do ... - Neri knows what she can do and that is anything she puts her mind to. He father instilled this in her from the time she was a toddler and she's never forgotten. No matter what's put before her she knows that if she goes for it head first she'll come out on top. She never lets her mid waver on this point.
  
  
• If i unscrew that what happens? - Mostly toward things mechanical but her curiosity can rear it's head for other things too. She enjoys learning new things and tries to find new things to learn and do when she can. She enjoys physics as a subject because in a way it's mechanics, just the mechanics of a whole universe instead of just a clock.

Flaws:

• i -can- do this. - Neri can -not- take no for an answer and she can't ever admit that she can't do something. She will keep pushing and pushing no matter what to get at the result she wants. She will ignore danger and threats to herself it it means she can go after what she wants. I mean it. She -can not- give up on something to the point of obsession. To the point that she will not let go of something even if she's locked up in a padded room. She would still scream and beg that she be let back at it.
  
  
• What the hell is wrong with you? - Because Neri refuses to admit that she can't do something she hates it when others refuse to live up to their potential. If she sees something in you that you don't see she -will- push at it to the point of ruining friendships. She wont associate herself with others that she feels don't try their hardest to get where they want to go. She also hates people who have everything handed to them. These sorts get nothing more than a cold shoulder from her. If she -must- talk to them the venom is just barely covered up.
  
  Also if you do something stupid that you should know that you can't do she will let you do it and laugh at you when you fail. She believes that you learn from mistakes and if you're really stupid enough to make one you should suffer for it.
  
  
• I don't need you - Neri is -very- attached to her father and really doesn't feel any sort of attachment to anyone else, even her mother. She puts up with others and will humor her friends and family but she could survive if they left her. She almost lost him once in a racing accident and doesn't know what she would do if she ever did actually loose him. She is so fixated on this that she does not really notice danger to others or care if they are going to get themselves hurt. It's their own stupid fault.
  
  She can't really keep relationships because of this. She's had a few failed romances because she just can't really give people the attention they want and no one wants to stay with someone who brushes them aside.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Round and gray with blue flecks.

Hair: long and slightly waved. Colored like freshly polished copper (red with a gold tint) She styles it various ways depending on what she is doing but her favorite is up in a bun with a ponytail spilling out the back and she generally shoves some sort of decorative comb into it

Face: heart shaped with rounded cheeks. Her mouth is on the small side and almost always coated in light pink moisturizer .

THE STORY ENTRY
She tapped her favorite mag-light against her shoulder lightly as she headed up toward one of the higher hills in the area. Everyone at school and most of the people at the garage were talking about some meteorite sighting and she wanted to get a look for herself. The idea that there might actually be pieces of space laying around in the city was just awesome. Even more so if she could find one of them! It would be a neat memento depending on what the scientists decided about it. If they got a hold of some of the pieces there could be all sorts of fun articles in the newspaper. What if they found life or water or something like that?

"God that would be so cool. I'm still waiting for life on other planets. We know it has to be out there i mean the statistics say so..." She talked to herself as she headed toward her stargazing spot.

Grinning like an idiot she almost didn't notice the strange sight in front of her until he crested the top of the hill. ".... what the..." Slapping a hand over her mouth she scrambled back a few steps and stared. "oh my god..." She whispered into her hand as her eyes widened even further.

There was a ... a ... she wasn't even sure what it was. It was a monstrosity for sure. She had never see anything like it except for possibly descriptions in books. It looked like some monster right out of a fantasy story. Over sized and furry and so completely not anything that was in any zoology book anywhere. It didn't even look like something out of a cryptozoology book.

She shook her head and closed her eyes tightly hoping that she was just imagining things and it would go away. Something like that couldn't -really- be there and she had almost convinced herself it would be gone when she heard a very human yell.

Eyes snapping open she realized that one of her school mates had just been tossed out of a massive hand and was trying to get to their feet. ... what is she doing there? Her mind raced for a moment as she tried to figure out what the school's stupid 'popular' pretty girl was doing trying to stand up to an inhuman monster. What the ******** is wrong with that girl? She must have a death wish she snorted to herself as she thought about that. No one in their right mind would take on something like that without a rocket launcher or super powers. She was pretty sure that her classmate lacked both of those things.

Hearing the thing roar she looked up at it again. It seemed to be bleeding from a few wounds and more worse for the wear than it should have been facing a little girl. It didn't look like it would be a pushover though. Not by a long shot. Not without a good supply of weapons and probably the national guard.

She took another step back as she stared at the scene before her. Thoughts zipped though her head as she tried to process everything. The monster, the girl from school, knowing she -should- help, and knowing how likely it would be to get killed trying. She's going to get herself killed ... and i honestly don't care It shocked her slightly that she really -didn't- care but not as much as she thought a realization like that would. She had made the stupid mistake of trying to fight that thing. She'd not run away like any sensible person would have. Why should she -help- when the ******** had gotten herself into it.

She shouldn't. That was obvious. She couldn't take down a giant, well, ogre with just a flashlight and herself and she didn't have a single reason to save someone who she thought was a waste of flesh and air. Not a one. She had no desire to end up as a front page obituary because of someone she hated. She was pretty sure ninety percent of the population would think she was a horrible person but they just didn't understand. You shouldn't get yourself into things like that. It was just stupid and if you died well it got your stupid out of the gene pool and made the whole world slightly smarter.

Taking another few steps back she turned and scrambled down the hill. Miss Popular could get what she deserved for all the nasty things she'd done to god knows how many people and she felt almost happy about it. Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard the thing behind her and picked up her pace. The police ... yea. She could go tell them and maybe they could scrape what woudl be left of Miss Popular off the hilltop after they got rid of that monster. That was more intelligent than getting herself smeared up there too with the dump b***h.

Running as fast as she could she, hoping that the thing wouldn't follow her, she headed though the park and toward the nearest police outpost. She knew there was one just outside the park somewhere. Panting she hit the door of the well lit small office to stop herself before pulling it open. The poor man inside was subjected to her babbling about what she'd seen as she tried to act like she'd run away out of fear alone.

It was out of her hands now. Either the ******** was dead or she wasn't and the police would deal with it. She collapsed into a small chair and pulled her knees up against her chest. She set her forehead against her knees and only half listened as the officer called somewhere and repeated the story she'd told him. She didn't know if she should laugh or cry ...

[Chibi Sheepcat]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! CONCEPT CONTEST!

SECTION ONE

Name: Jacob Miller

Nicknames: Jake (preferred over his full name)

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Meadowview High School

Fav. Food: They say the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and they couldn't be more right with Jake. Being thoroughly food motivated, it's hard to judge if he even has a favourite food, but his friends would tell you he has a secret love-hate relationship with pudding.

Hated Food: Despite eating like a starved dog, Jake has one food which is his One True Enemy: Anchovies. If they are on his pizza so help him.

Virtues:
Opportunist -- Jake has an eye for opportunities, and is a good judge of situations. When to take risks, when not to gamble, he's got a knack for knowing when to play his cards. He is quick to take advantage of situations that will gain him something, though this mainly involves getting more food at lunch without having to buy it himself. Are you going to finish that?

Pack mentality -- Jake gathers his friends around him into what he considers a "pack", to which is devoted to and spends the majority of his time with. This kind of mentality results in several virtues as well as several flaws. Jake adopts a kind of "big brother" attitude towards all of his "pack", and will lend a hand no mater what he's doing. While some people prefer to go at it alone, Jake is a team player, a firm believer that the more people working together the faster the goal can be accomplished. Definitely not a natural leader, he takes orders well, and is content to follow his "alpha" wherever she's going.

Smooth talker -- A great lover of word play and word games, Jake is equally happy to charm his way into situations and charm his way back out. He is especially fond of play on words and innuendos, using them whenever the opportunity arises. It's hard to know if he means what he says or if he's simply playing, running verbal circles until he tires of his little game. Jake is also a fan of nicknames, and is quick to assign them to any and everyone he meets. Sunshine, Lovely, Pet, Sugar, he'll use them all, and will repeat if the occasion calls for it. The only person who doesn't get a nickname is his "alpha", though whether that's because he respects her or fears her is yet to be seen.

Stand my ground -- Let no one say that Jacob Miller is a chicken. While he's not reckless – he certainly doesn't try to get himself into sticky situations – if he's in a bad spot he'll stand his ground. He's the bravest when he's with his "pack", but his desire to protect (see: Big Brother) can drive him onward even when defeat seems imminent. Essentially, if he's there to stand and fight, he'll stand and fight. And if he can buy some time for his friends to escape, even better.

Flaws:
Like a dog with a bone -- Jake is one of those people who once they have found something will refuse to let go until they've got what the want. Be it a weakness, emotional problems, or some kind of secret, he will just pick and pick and pick until the person he's hounding finally makes it very clear that his badgering is unwanted or physically harms him. Often times the latter is necessary to ensure that he doesn't come back. While he seems to think that he's doing it for the person's own good, other people may not be so inclined to agree. Physically, this manifests in Jake's frequent, almost obsessive need to pick at scabs, resulting in numerous white scars littered on his skin.

Pack mentality -- Jake gathers his friends around him into what he considers a "pack", to which is devoted to and spends the majority of his time with. This kind of mentality results in several virtues as well as several flaws. Though he is not the type to be a rebel without a cause, he does hold the rules set out by his "pack" above those set out by institutions (such as school) and society. He follows this code above all else, even at the expense of suffering punishment for his actions. Being in a "pack" causes him to draw lines in his head, creating a "you're either with us or against us" mentality. There are good guys and bad guys, and once you go bad you can never really come back. This kind of thinking also encourages him to believe that because he's on the good side that he's somehow better or has the right to talk down to others simply because they're not on the "right" side. Because of his black and white distinctions between friend and enemy, betrayal from within hurts Jake the most. He would be positively devastated if one of his "pack" turned out to be someone "on the dark side."

Don't tie me down -- Though he is loyal to his group and all the members in it, he rarely lets relationships go past the brother/sister stage. Girlfriends and boyfriends represent a certain level of commitment that Jake is not ready for, and being "with" someone like that often makes him feel as though he's being boxed in. He will (and has) stand up potential significant others if he feels that they're going to demand something of him, whether it be more of his time or even just for him to buy them dinner. A free-spirited teenager, he shies away from the very thought of being confined to monotony. He is prone to violence and extreme agitation if he feels like he's been caged or trapped, frequently pacing back and forth to try and keep his temper in check.

Petty -- Jake takes serious offense to being embarrassed or humiliated in public (especially by his own "pack" ) and holds rather extreme grudges even for the most minor things. His usual response is to ignore or shun the perpetrator until they apologize, but if that doesn't work then he seeks to further exclude them from the pack. The more he's left to steam over something the worse it gets, until it reaches the point that he'll refuse to work with that person as a team until they apologize for what they've done to him. There are times when this challenges his loyalty, making him wait too long to respond or not respond at all in a crisis because he's still nursing a wounded pride. In a life or death situation, Jake wouldn't leave anybody behind; but he's also not about to put any more effort in than is absolutely necessary. (Weakness)

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Average shaped amber eyes

Hair: Dirty blonde; undersides cut short with the middle left to grow long, creating a kind of Mohawk which grows out as a fluffy, solid line that begins at the point of his forehead and ends in some little 'tails' at the base of his neck; Mohawk is black tipped

Face: Slender, average features, piercings (number and placement up to artist); crooked, perhaps a little cocky smile, tanned skin


THE STORY

"Relaaaax! Don't do it! When you wanna go to it~! Relax! Don't do it! When you wanna coooome~!"

IPod buds stuffed in his ears and grooving to music easily old enough to be his mother, Jacob Miller swung his flashlight (1000 candles!) by the wristband as he made his way down the deserted street to the park. Rumour had it that there had been a meteor sighting, or at least, that was one everyone and their little sister was saying at school. He thought meteorites and UFOs only touched down in Hicksville, but apparently that wasn't the case. Either way, with all this talk the teen couldn't help but be curious. If there really was something there then he wanted to know. He was the scout of the pack, if you will, testing the new territory before he let the rest of them know what was out there. It would do them no good

Still humming the chorus, the teen was about to flip on his flashlight when a large shadow caught his eye. A frown forming on his face, Jake reached into his pocket to flick off his IPod and then pulled the buds from his ears. That was odd. He hadn't heard anyone else say they were coming out here tonight. In fact, he'd been half-hoping he would have been one of the first out here. Now determined to see who had beat him to the punch so to speak, the teen clambered up the hill towards the alleged site of the meteorite. What he saw blew his mind.

Strange furry man aside – what was this, the abominable snow man? – Jenny Dawson, Jenny-Freaking- Dawson was here first. That b***h!

The teen's lip curled instantly into a snarl as he flung himself behind the nearest tree. Now Jacob Miller was known for having a hit list. He could make and break a friendship several times a day if you weren't in his pack (which made you somewhat immune to his pettiness). But if there was one person in the world that Jake could say he hated more than anyone it was Jenny Dawson. When they were in first grade she'd stolen his red crayon and refused to give it back. After that, things just went progressively downhill. In fifth grade she'd cut off a chunk of his hair "by accident" and he'd a bald spot for months. Things had come to a head in eight grade when she had ruined his English project that he'd spent weeks working on and he'd instigated their first real brawl in the middle of the cafeteria. And when they found out they were going to the same high school well… Jake tried his best to socially snub her as many times as he could in a day. The fact that she was here first made his blood boil. But, on the other hand, the fact that she was getting the crap kicked out of her was almost better than Christmas.

Jake's sneer widened as he pushed off the tree, intent on heading back home. He should just leave her. He should turn around, walk back home, let her get just desserts and–

Jenny screamed.

The sound made the hair on the back of Jake's neck stand on end. Nobody screamed like that unless they were in deep, deep s**t. "Aw hell," the teen hissed under his breath. He wanted to leave her. In fact, she more than deserved to get the crap beaten out her. But she was screaming like she was going to die, and hell, what if that Abominable Snowman actually killed her? He'd never, ever be able to forgive himself. Cursing, the teen took a quick mental inventory. A flashlight and an IPod were hardly weapons of choice, but they were the best he had. Jacob took a deep breath and then took off running towards the confrontation. Without thinking twice he threw his flashlight at the thing's head.

"HEY UGLY!"

The beast thusly distracted, Jake darted in and grabbed Jenny by the arm, hauling her to her feet. She seemed battered, but none the worse for wear. "Let's hope you can still run," he muttered under his breath as he proceeded to drag her back towards the forest. Jenny seemed less than impressed.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" The girl tried to wrench her arm away from Jacob but the teen held firm. There was no way he was letting her get away now that he had her.

"More running, less talking love!"

There were several, breath-stealing seconds where it looked like the monster was going to snatch them as they ran past, but the pair managed to dodge out of its grasp. Footsteps thudded against the ground as they ran, deking through the forest in a mad dash for the city. Jacob tried to remember what part of town they were running towards but it was hard to focus when there was a huge furry beast uncomfortably close behind you.

It was only when the tree cover thinned that the teen caught sight of the park's guest washrooms. Without a second thought he reached into his pocket and pulled out his IPod, turning it on before whipping it over his head and into the trees. With any luck the beast would follow the sound and give them enough time to make it to the washrooms. Lungs burning, Jake made the final sprint into the girl's bathroom, dragging Jenny in behind him and slamming the door. They sat side by side on the floor, almost not daring to breathe as they listened. There was a snuffle, then the sound of crunching metal, before the creature shuffled off into the darkness. Both teens let out equal sighs of relief.

"I didn't need your help, you know," Jenny said sharply after they'd both caught their breath.

Jake scoffed. "Please. Where would you be without your knight in shining armour, sweetheart? You know, damsels usually give their saviours a kiss."

In retrospect, he probably should have expected the right hook. He could only scowl at her back as Jenny stomped out of the bathroom and disappeared from sight. Jacob gave her a five minute head start before he got up and headed after her. Man, what a night. Not only did he no longer have his IPod and his flashlight, he now had to explain to his mother why he had a black eye.

But, he supposed, going home with a black eye was definitely better than not going home at all. Living was probably the better alternative. With that thought in mind, Jacob stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed back home.

[o-Nessy-o]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Farai Johannson

Nicknames: Far. NOT Fairy!

Gender: Male

Age: 19 years old

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Good old fish and chips, can’t go wrong with it. Generally anything fried and bad for you. He works the calories off in practice anyway.

Hated Food: Vegetables? Soy? Tofu? Yuck. It needs FLAVOR!

Virtues:

Every Leaf Has Another Side! – Farai is a Terrible Optimist. He’s very hard to bring down, and if you’re feeling sorry for yourself, Farai can help you out! He’s able to see the good things about you (if you have good things, that is!) and tell you exactly what they are. I mean, didn’t you just let him look at your paper last week in math? You’re such a good friend, dude! As such, he’s generally nonplused by minor setbacks. I mean, it’ll work out eventually right?

You’ll Get it…If You Work For It – All you get from little effort is little result! This is a personal motto that Farai holds dear to his heart, and both of his parents also subscribe to this motto. When he sets a goal, he strives for it, and doesn’t ever give up on it. Just because you’ve fallen down the well with no rope, and the sun is setting, doesn’t mean that you won’t find a way out of the damn well if you try at it!

Aye-aye, Captain! – Companionably, Farai will be the first to tell you he is terrible leader material! But if you need someone to help you with your plan, you can most certainly count on Farai! He pays attention to details, works incredibly hard, and doesn’t care if things go south. There’s always a way to salvage them, right? Don’t mistake his willingness to follow as meekness, however. Just because a boy doesn’t like to be at the top of the food chain, doesn’t make him a guppy!

Flaws:

Geez, Chill Out! – On the few occasions when things go so very wrong that even his natural optimism and conviviality wear out, Farai is an absolute monster. He will say the worst things about your parentage, your dubious value as a human being, and God help you if things get physical. He doesn’t fight fair at all! Sometimes the ugliest things lurk below the calmest waters, and this teen is an absolute beast when truly upset.

Leave Me Alone! – If he thinks you deserve his attention, or you know something he wants to know, Farai will not let you be! It’d be really mean to call him a stalker, but somehow he always seems to turn up where you are! There’s only about six messages on your phone from him, and oh, maybe thirty text messages. Until he gets what he wants, Farai will never, ever leave you alone. It drives him almost crazy to not know your dirt, or have your love, and he just can’t settle until he has it! He generally doesn’t see what is wrong with behaving this way, but sometimes realizes it gets a bit extreme. However, it’s just how it is. FLAW!!

Girl Crazy – Because there are so many girls to love, it’s hard to tie this boy down. He doesn’t hop from bed to bed; in fact, most would be shocked to find he’s an utter virgin! That’s simply because he can’t stick with one single girl long enough to woo her that far into a relationship. Mambo Number Five is the best way to describe Farai’s approach to a relationship – a different girl on his arm every day. If you’re extra special, you might get a week. Maybe. Lately, it’s been getting harder and harder to find a girl to go out with him though. It seems even the most desperate girls want something a little more lasting than one make out session!

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Hair: Jungle green hair like this kid on the right here.

Eyes: Cyan. Bright ******** cyan.

Face: Generally broad features, generally called an ‘open’ or ‘honest’ face. Farai’s pretty genuine. Caucasian, but very rather tan.

Body: Muscular, but not overly so. His legs are his best asset, due to the demands of his sport, but there is some decent tone to his arms as well. Something notable is that Farai is tall standing just over six feet tall. This gives him a more solid figure than most kids his age.

THE STORY ENTRY

Tonight was the night, man. Farai had been stalking that jerk Reed for almost two whole days now, trying to figure out why the goalie was being such a smug b*****d. But finally, finally it had all come out. Especially when Farai had quickly palmed the kid's cell phone out of his damn backpack in class. Most people that knew the verdant-haired guy was determined and generally unprincipled when he wanted to know about something - especially if it was about someone he didn't like. There had to be something really good, some dirt that Farai could just shock him and wave knowledge of it into his face. That'd take the b*****d down a notch, and he definitely deserved it.

Farai Johannson liked to think he was a companionable guy. Likeable, fun, a real party all-around and certainly there’d been very few people to ever utter the j-word around him. You know, jerk. But straight-up, Reed Masters was always right there to cramp a man’s style. Calling him a jerk, comparing his junk to various small objects, being an absolute douchebag in the worst way. Certainly the older teen couldn’t understand what the hell his junk had to do with anything, but obviously it was important to announce the (incredibly incorrect) measurements every time they started to pithily jerk with each other.

It had culminated after the last game of their senior year. It had been an incredibly important game, and if they’d won, would’ve shot straight up to playoff status. So of course, when butterfingers ******** missed the goddamn ball, Farai had been naturally upset. The last game of your career, the only time you’d been anywhere near any real chance at winning something important, and the dude just totally couldn’t block an easy shot! So the meaningless little snipes had bubbled over, and Farai might have possibly have punched him square in the gut. With his foot. While wearing his cleats. Obvious to say he was suspended for a week and almost had charges brought against him. But hey, almost was the operative word, right? And the greenette still felt great when he thought of the look on the a*****e’s face when his foot had landed.

It had been truly beautiful. He didn’t regret it at all, except for when he found out that the a*****e had also gotten into Sovereign Heights as well. Farai was at least operating on a sports scholarship, playing one of the mid-game forwards, relief for the starting forwards on the school’s soccer team. Not bad at all, for a sophomore. Reed was at least smart enough to steer clear of the team after his embarrassment at Meadowview, however that didn’t stop the two from running into each other in the more remedial classes. Classes required for just about every student that was trying to launch their way into a good college. So while he was trying to charm and schmooze his way through a new ocean of delicious females, Reed was there being his b*****d self. Didn’t hurt too much though, he was just such a douche. It was hard to believe him!

Thankfully.

And there it was, right there in his net history. 'Meteor Lands in Destiny Park - Aliens or Elaborate Hoax?' What the hell? All but disgusted, Farai was about to slip the phone off and away when the word 'senshi' caught his eye. After all, most of them were pretty hot chicks in tiny skirts, flipping around town and giving panty shots. To him, any girl that was going to hop about town giving delicious shots of leg and under the skirt was a girl right up his alley. He didn't think there was absolutely any credibility to the claim that they were terrorists. Hot chicks could not be terrorists, ok? They just couldn't! Interest piqued, he'd idly decided that he might actually try to get into the park to see this phenomenon himself, and maybe if he was lucky he'd meet one of those tasty girls in person! It seemed like an all-around good idea to the Heights student!

That night, he was trying to follow the raven-haired jerkball through the city. Farai had to give him credit, he was incredibly adept at getting through the city and not getting caught. Cops were here and there, doing their patrols, making sure the curfew was enforced. Ducking down an alley here, diving down into the bushes almost silently. Apparently all those laps they'd run in high school had done them all good, and Reed was easily running through the park into the more deserted center. After all, there were only so many cops and they figured that if they stopped anyone going into the park, there wouldn't be a need to patrol further in. But there was a moment, when he wasn't paying any attention at all, and Reed slipped away vaulting quickly over the bushes into a stand of trees. Looking up, Farai was ready to chase after him when he heard another set of footsteps, and a flashlight bent along the path. Cursing silently to himself, the man flattened himself behind a small bush and prayed that the man wouldn't be paying attention, it took just long enough that he was sweating over the idea of losing his leader. It didn't exactly occur to him to just head for the center of the park until he was almost turned back around and narrowly missed being caught by patrols two more times.

But then, there he was, in all his douchebag glory. With...someone else? Man, there hadn't been any texts in his phone, but hey some guys were just verbal people. From all the drooling and slack-jawed idiocy that spewed forth more often than not, Farai didn't doubt that he had kept all his planning to dozens of phone calls. Inwardly, he resolved to steal his phone again in their next class together to figure out who exactly this person was...unless he could find out now. There was no real reason to hide his stalkerish habits now, they were in the park and what was he going to do, call the cops down? Yeah, totally. As Farai slunk closer and closer, eyes ever-wary for a wayward policeman, something changed up by his nemesis. Reed was backing away, face pale in the moonlight, and it sounded almost as if he was begging? "Wh-what are you? What are you doing?! Get away from me! Auuuggh!"

Reflex had Farai jerking on the string of his flashlight, flicking it on and aiming the beam directly at the pair, nearly dropping it when his eyes saw and refused to acknowledge the other 'person' advancing menacingly on Reed. Violet body hair, almost like fur, rippled down the sleek frame of the apparently male figure, but the clothing was so strange it was hard to tell the gender of what it was concealing. All the bright blue eyes could do was widen in horror and shock as the figure advanced on the other student, who was kicking violently at the being with all his strength, then punching. It seemed almost ineffectual and the furred body barely even flinched. Having been on the receiving end of a few of those punches and kicks, Farai knew they weren't anything light but hands were now closing around Reed's neck, and time was running out. Panicking, he did the only think he could think of and hurled the light at the beast, crying out.

"OY! HEY! OVER HERE!" Hands stayed around the other man's neck, but great red eyes glared and a toothy mouth snarled at Farai in warning? in promise? before pressure was reapplied to the goalie. In the dark, the boy frantically tried to find something else to throw, and looked up to make sure he wasn't out of time, when the thrown flashlight shone upon something incredible. A large gash was torn in the side of the clothing, and what looked like liquid was seeping out. The color was indeterminable, but was it blood? Pus? Motor oil? Either way, Farai barely decided to think before starting to run full-out towards the thing. When he was within striking distance, he threw his body forward and kicked out as hard as he could with the points of his feet slamming both toes, and then heels into the menace's side. Screaming in pain, he dropped Reed and turned on Farai, swiping with incredibly sharp nails that cut the man's leg. But he refused to let up, and punching at the thing, kicked again as if in nothing more than a schoolyard brawl.

There was heavy coughing, some wheezing, and then two sets of feet were in there kicking as hard as they could. For two soccer stars, that was nothing light, and with a final angry scream the thing threw itself back into the shadows. Not wasting time, and not saying a word, the two simply supported each other and ran as fast as they could through the bushes and away from the scene. When they were on the edge of the park, hiding in a convenient copse of bushes covered by trees and ample shadows they panted and laid in the cold grass, trying to catch their breaths and their thoughts. "Wha..what the hell was that? Were you going there to see that thing? Geez man, I knew you were desperate for the girls but..." It was weak, as far as epithets went, but he had just fought a strange monster in the center of a park. With bruises already forming on the side of the goalie's neck, he simply didn't respond for a long time, the silence growing thick and heavy between them. In a voice that was gruff but sincere, only two words came. "Thanks man."

And that was enough. They weren't friends, they wouldn't be friends, but in a week when neither had slept due to nightmares of horrible purple monsters strangling the life out of them with blood-red eyes..someone else would know, and understand. And for Farai, he quietly made a late resolution to perhaps not be so curious. After all, a cat only had nine lives and after tonight, one was most definitely gone.

[Successful Edit]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Chauncy J. Durant

Nicknames: He hates his name Chauncy, going by Chance.

Gender: Male

Age: 20

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Meat is murder; tasty tasty murder.

Hated Food: Mayonnaise.

Virtues:

Independent – Perhaps because of the pressure put on him to live up to his brother's examples, he's always tried to find his own way in life and he's actually become mostly self reliant. He doesn't like to be tied down or obligated to others, and if he has to work in a team let Chance make it quite clear he's joining that team on his terms. He accepts as little money as possible from his parents and got a job as young as he could. If he has a problem he will not seek help but try to deal with it himself.

Good Intentions – Even though he'll sometimes say something mean and he avoids expressing 'fluffy' feelings doesn't mean that Chance is a nasty guy. He always has good intentions and is kind at heart. He doesn't like seeing others in pain or upset and will always try to fix things, though depending on what's up this can be either in a blunt way (fetching you the first aid kit and helping you clean and bandage the scraped knee) or a roundabout way (girl's who are crying will get awkwardly handed a tissue and then he'd go fetch them a drink or call their friend for them or something. Cheer them up but stay the hell away from the emotional display.)

Reliable – Chance is a man of his word. He's usually pretty honest and open with people, so long as we're not talking hugs and sharing unmanly feelings. If he says he will do something, he will.

Go To Guy – You need something? Chance will get it. Partly because of trying to be as independent as possible he was twelve has given him years of practise, partly because he knows people through his brothers and family, partly because he is quite willing to go to lengths to get things. He'll fling money at it, he'll search for it until he finds it, hey if it comes to it he'll steal it, whatever works. Okay so maybe stealing isn't such a great virtue but hey, he was a bored rich kid and everyone has to have a hobby...

Flaws:

Independent – The flip-side to being independent He sometimes won't co-operate, taking a 'it's my way or the highway' stance when he's decided he knows better. He can overestimate just how much he can handle taking on too much on his own and he most certainly won't seek help until it's almost or already too late.

Emotional Constipation – Chance was brought up by parents who strongly encouraged him not to show some of his emotions, the 'girly ones' because they thought it wasn't right for a boy. As a result, so does Chance, and he's not good about sharing his more fuzzy fluffy feelings. If fact he tries to repress them to the point he doesn't like to admit he has them even to himself, because softer emotions like open love, affection and shyness in a guy are a flaw. He can't communicate these well at all and if he should ever try is likely to swear, run away and go smoke instead.

Blunt – He'll often say what he's thinking without taking into account the situation, where he is and who he's with or because he's lost his temper. He can come off as a complete jerk because of this. Coupled with a healthy dose of sarcasm, not softening his verbal blows has got Chance into trouble almost daily. Most of the time he doesn't realise he's said something harsh or offensive until someone's pissed off or in tears already.

Conflicted – Chance is insecure. He doesn't want to admit to himself half of what he feels but at the same time does feel passionately. His macho self image cultivated from a young age is rigid and doesn't allow for weakness – but it's part and parcel of being human to sometimes be vulnerable. He grew up rich but by choice has tried to make his own way and sometimes it's a struggle not to just call his parents for help. He doesn't ever mean to hurt anyone but he often manages to put his foot in his mouth and hurt his friends carelessly. This insecurity can make him get defensive rather than apologetic and he's prone to try to avoid emotional situations and go have a smoke instead.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Dark green.

Hair: Some sort of medium long spiky cut. I don't know if it's ok to use existing guys as references but I suck at describing hair. Something like Eridanus or like Aries and Merope would be awesome. Golden blonde, darker at roots, like it's been bleached in the sun maybe?

Face: Very tanned. Has a noticeable scar through his right eyebrow where he used to have a piercing that got torn out in an accident when Chance was younger.

THE STORY ENTRY

He didn't want his landlord to see him going out, because it had been rent-day today and as usual Chance's money from his job wouldn't be in his bank account until the morning. Every month he and his landlord had the same discussion. He was a reliable guy, he always paid first thing the morning after rent-day, and his work wouldn't pay him sooner because they paid their many employees all at once by automated computer. Other tenants were allowed a little leeway, Chance knew it for a fact, so why hassle him? He figured it was an age thing. He'd been nineteen when he'd come to live in this apartment complex and his landlord always struck him as one of those older people who crossed to the road when they saw teenagers on the same side of the street.

Ageist a*****e.

Wouldn't been too long until he had money from the target bonuses at work saved up, then he could think about moving. Chance snuck carefully down one of the stairwells, wary for the lurking landlord. He had his pride and this was ridiculous...of course he could always ask for money from his parents or go move into the Sovereign Height's dorms but he liked the freedom renting his own place gave him.

Freedom to go check out a meteorite late at night just because he fancied it, no questions asked.
With one last glance ahead and around as he left the corridor, he realised the landlord wasn't down here and left the entrance atrium quickly. Chance pulled his small torch out his pocket as he went so he could fish out his lighter, then replaced it and got out his cigs from the other pocket. He made it last all the way to the hill a couple of blocks away, in one of the city's little 'green belts'. Chance figured there'd still be light pollution unless he hopped a night bus out the city altogether but would be best to get away from the houses and on higher ground.

One last drag, drop cig, stamp it out, get torch out, torch on.

Didn't take long for him to find the spot he was headed for, but as he drew closer, chance started to slow down. There was...panting and he thought he could hear someone whimpering. Oh please don't say that people were up here having sex. That'd be just ******** perfect. The nearest other greenbelt was four blocks away and Chance wasn't sure his curiosity would carry him that far. Maybe he'd end up just grabbing a tea at Apollo's Coffee instead, they'd be open this late. Still, he wanted to check first. Last time he'd heard whimpering randomly it'd been a dog stuck in a ditch. Cost him far too much to take that mutt to the no-kill shelter too.

While asking any higher powers to save him from witnessing naked people bumping uglies in what could hardly even be called 'woods', Chance pushed a branch out his way and shone his torch so he could see the source of the questionable noises.

There was a man in a werewolf suit and, w-was that Kerry Markson underneath? Holy -

“What the ******** ******** is this?” He said loudly, because his first thought had been not only did he have bad enough luck to stumble across sex, it was kinky s**t involving the most annoying bubbly bluenette in his class, the girl who gave him the biggest headaches at school. Really. Kerry did his head in, she was always gossiping and laughing and he really hadn't needed to see her here, when she was... she was crying her eyes out?

Oh. Chance realised a bit too late that no, this wasn't what it looked like at first hurried glance at all. Because at his exclamation, the thing had stood up and it had proved to be massive. Oozing blood from one side, panting, but definitely pissed off. And Kerry wasn't crying because the silly bint broke a nail, she was crying because it had pinned her down and had bitten her. There was blood there too.

He didn't really have much choice in the matter as Kerry, who was the clingiest idiot in the world launched her self at him with all the strength she had and some sort of blubbering wail just as the monster did. She was lucky she wasn't the one to get a torch punched into her face instead. And now there was just more blood because punching it with the hand that held his torch had not been his best idea and now his hand was hurt.

Looking back though he did decide that he'd have helped her even if she hadn't flung herself at him before the shock wore off.

“Run you stupid cow, let go of my jacket and RUN.” He was tempted to push the girl to the ground to get her off him. He hated her. He did. But he didn't want to see her dead despite his raging hate-on for her so he sort of yanked her along as he took his own advice. While the wolf-man regrouped he was heading back through the trees.

It was all a bit of a blur. They got out the trees, he kept yanking along Kerry who thought it a good idea to try to sink to her knees the second they got to the concrete of the road, though to cut her some slack she was hurt and Chance swallowed his guilt as he pulled her up. He didn't care if it hurt because she'd be dead if they didn't run and that was worse. He made her keep moving all the way to Apollo's Coffee.

Which indeed, was open.

Next came the grabbing of napkins from the holders on the first table in, pressing them to Kerry's shoulder wound and yelling at the dumbfounded guy behind the counter to call the police and an ambulance. Chance refrained from telling him to get the grilles down in front of the shop, hoping the wolf-man would be put off by the late night crowd of customers clustering around him and Kerry – someone pulled him away and made him sit down, maybe thinking he'd hurt her? Oh s**t they didn't think he'd attacked her. Or were they thinking he needed help too? He wasn't sure but Chance's hand was soon wrapped in useless paper napkins too.

It was all a bit of a blur. Chance got in the back of the ambulance, same one Kerry was in, though she was in a stretcher. He though she probably could have sat up and muttered so. He was pretty sure he cursed the entire way to Destiny Memorial in fact. Luckily he'd run out of curse words long enough to talk to the police and confirm it was some sort of monster, a Negaverse/Senshi incident and Kerry, thank goodness, apparently just called him a hero when they spoke to her.

In the morning if his landlord said one bloody word... it was all a bit of a blurr...the full moon was supposed to bring out the lunatics, NOT meteorites...

Ah, the sweet oblivion of hospital painkillers.

[Asahi Kumoru]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Andrea Gyfford

Nicknames: None, really; when his brother Lucas calls him "Twinkletoes", he usually gets punched in the face

Gender: Male

Age: 15

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Spicy wings with bleu cheese dressing (though these are a guilty pleasure for a dancer), and other such bold flavors. He also eats a lot of pasta.

Hated Food: Cheese pizza, bland foods, grapes

Virtues:
Let's be friends - In spite of being bullied in school, Andrea is not a shy boy at all. He wants to be accepted and liked, but takes a proactive approach in his social life; he would rather reach out and take another risk than hide in his shell and remain alone, waiting for people to come to him. He does his best to believe in the inherent good in people, and is willing to give everyone at least a chance not to be an a** to him.

Such a good listener - For a high school guy, Andrea is pretty sensitive, and is more than willing to be a shoulder to cry on for his friends. If he sees a stranger crying, too, he would likely stop and ask what was going on, and if the person wanted to talk about it. Even if things are going well, the dancer encourages people to tell him all about whatever it is they are excited about or angry about or just planning for the weekend. He has found a few friends this way, and also titles of a few good movies, the name of a restaurant to avoid, and a recipe for some awesome sugar cookies.

Cool in the spotlight - Andrea is quite used to being in front of people, since he has danced nearly his whole life, and he is also not afraid to speak up in class when appropriate or give a presentation. Such social pressures do not ruffle him, or if they do, he does not show it. He is not an attention whore, going far out of his way to be the absolute center of attention, but, while decidedly humble, as usual wanting to talk about others before himself, also does not constantly downplay his achievements.

It's in my planner - With his ballet lessons and his school work, Andrea has learned to manage his time well. While it means he may be difficult to pin down for time to hang out outside of classes, it also means that, if you make an appointment to do something with him, he will be there, and he will probably be five minutes early. His temporal organization skills also carry over to his material possessions. While Andrea is not surgically clean, his room is generally tidy, and only the greatest germophobes would have any qualms about pushing the limits on the Five-Second Rule with food dropped on his bedroom floor.

---

Flaws:
Your chance to shine! - Though he has his insecurities and secrets, Andrea is still a pretty outgoing person ... and will encourage his friends to be the same way. While Andrea has no problems with being the only one to raise his hand and answer a question in class, or volunteer at a school assembly, he forgets sometimes that others might not be quite as comfortable stepping into the spotlight. Even with people he knows well, he likes to see his friends stand out and shine when they can, without always realizing that doing so may be pushing their comfort limits. He is not one to physically drag anyone out, but Andrea may lay on a bit of peer pressure without realizing he is doing so.

The real me? - Andrea may remain largely a mystery, even to his friends. Not because paints a completely false picture of himself, or because he is non-social and not talkative - on the contrary, he makes friends fairly easily with people who do not harass him. He just tends to avoid things like his hobbies or his family in conversations, so someone could know him for months without finding out that he has siblings, for example, or that his uncle owns a vineyard. Because, you know, his summer vacation was boring, you don't want to hear about it. How did yours go?

In the closet - Though he takes personal pride in the person he is becoming for the most part, Andrea fears being judged by others. With the recent realization that he might be gay, he has gotten a bit more anxious with respect to talking about himself in general; while he has long been in the habit of diverting attention away from himself in conversation, when the subject turns to dating (which it often does among his peers), Andrea tends to get extremely uncomfortable. He is touchier than usual, but not overall confrontational - more often than not, if he cannot change the subject, he will just leave. He has not yet learned that there is an important difference between wanting to be liked and wanting people to like him.

Oh, you mean now? - Because Andrea's life is generally so structured, he has trouble changing his plans around when the need arises. He is most comfortable in routines - dance or daily or otherwise - and rocking his schedule boat stresses him out. If you are inviting him to a party next Saturday, that would probably be fine, but if you want him to come now to the mall, spur-of-the-moment, it creates in his mind a cascade of time slots that must be altered to fit in all of his activities. As a senshi, Andrea will also have trouble getting into the swing of battles. After all, he cannot expect the Negaverse to give him a few days' notice all the time, and in combat, the point of battles is that the moves are not choreographed. Spontaneous trips to pick up smoothies with friends throw him enough of a loop; Andrea will just have to learn how to fit "fighting evil by moonlight" into his structured life. This is his biggest weakness - he has trouble thinking spontaneously.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Eyes - Dark green, almond-shaped, and a little widely set on his face.

Hair - Not quite chin-length and wavy, with a feathery cut and some bangs in his face. Naturally black, with dyed blonde tips in the front. Fine-textured, and therefore quite susceptible to bedhead.

Face - Diamond-shaped face, with still a bit of a child-like look. Light-olive complexion, with the occasional pimple because they just cannot be avoided at his age.

Build - Fit and compact; growing into his adult body, and starting to put on more muscle.

THE STORY ENTRY
"You know, you have the smallest bladder ever," Andrea informed Pebbles as he walked the dog out into the park. "I hope you will tolerate me watching a few meteors, since you're dragging me out this late to go pee."

Pebbles was actually his neighbors' dog, but he and his family were sitting the dog for a week while the neighbors themselves were out of town. They had done so several times before, and the bichon liked Andrea, but that meant his parents were all too happy to let their oldest son take the dog out if she had to use the bathroom anytime after 10PM.

At least this time, he had an excuse to get out to do some stargazing. The top of the hill up ahead would provide the best vantage point if there were any meteors out. Andrea sighed and put his hands on his hips as Pebbles paused to sniff at something or another ... then just settled for picking up the little white dog and carrying her to the top of the grassy rise.

Ordinarily, Pebbles had no objections to being carried, but as Andrea reached the top and was busy looking upwards for any streaks of light in the night sky, the bichon started barking and kicking, trying to twist out of the boy's arms. Brow furrowing at the ordinarily-chill dog's behavior, he held onto her for a moment as he scanned the skies, telling her to hush. Then he half-dropped, half-set her down on the grass, where Pebbles ran to the end of her leash back down the hill, and kept barking as she tugged.

By that point, Andrea's eyes were no longer on either the dog or the stars, but instead at the enormous human-shaped figure towering over someone more Andrea's size down on the opposite side of the rise. The smaller figure staggered back into the feeble light of one of the dingy lights over the paved path ... and the boy gaped, now completely ignoring the yapping, tugging dog.

The kid was familiar; Andrea knew him, but had not bothered to commit the name to memory because the other kid had hardly offered any similar courtesy. The guy had been on a team that played against Andrea's intermural volleyball team back in middle school, and their interaction thus far in high school had consisted primarily of the other guy shouting derisive things at Andrea in the hallway, and Andrea pointedly ignoring him. A couple people had suggested that Andrea try to learn his name so he could report the douche, but Andrea did not find himself bothered enough to care what the guy's name was.

And now here he was getting attacked by some creature.

"... God must be testing me or something," he murmured, remembering the stories his aunt had told him as a boy about things like this. Moral choices.

Andrea snapped back to reality as the kid shrieked up at him: "Help me, f*****t!" One of his arms was limp, and he held it with his other hand, and, by the tone of his voice, the rude name was more out of fear and pain than actual malice ... but the black-haired boy was not sure he wanted to get too involved anyway. He worked his phone out of his pocket with some difficulty, since Pebbles was now running back and forth, tugging at the leash while she wound it around Andrea's legs. She seemed torn between barking at the creature and running away.

Unfortunately, the noisy dog attracted the monster's attention, and Andrea realized he was going to get involved in this whether he liked it or not.

"What is that thing?" he shouted down to the kid at the bottom of the hill as he kept his eyes on the creature, which was now advancing on him. The beast's eyes caught the low light and glowed like those of a cat as it moved up the hill, a bit too quickly for Andrea's comfort.

"No clue, just do something!" the other kid urged, sounding on the edge of tears. Now outside of the monster's attention for the moment, he moved slowly away, and slumped against the light post.

He called out something else that Andrea tried to ignore as he flipped open his phone and dialed 911. Tense, he backed away and got ready to run, though he was not sure where he could go, and was also a bit worried at the dog leash near his legs. Pebbles hopped back and forth between Andrea and the advancing creature, snarling to try to convey all the terror an eight-pound dog could.

"Hello-" Andrea started urgently as soon as he heard the dispatcher answer his call.

The monster snarled.

Pebbles shrieked and bolted, yanking the leash from where Andrea had it looped around his wrist, and causing him to drop the phone.

"Get a doctor, I'm bleeding, you f**!" came the helpful voice of the guy at the bottom of the hill.

"You're not helping, you know!" the black-haired boy gasped as he crouched momentarily, wondering if he could snatch the phone back without the monster getting him.

The monster charged at Andrea. There was a half second of silence that seemed to stretch for an eternity as Andrea took off running in the opposite direction Pebbles had taken. The first sound to break the silence came from the phone.

"Hello?" came the quiet but audible sound of the dispatcher's voice on the other end of the 911 call.

"POLICE AND AMBULANCE TO THE PARK!" Andrea shouted at the phone, and then started running flat out, hoping someone had heard.

He would try to come back for the phone when the pursuing beast let him. For now, he would just have to hope that the dispatcher had heard, that the sirens he thought he heard were for him. Andrea was entirely unsure what else he could do but run, especially against a larger opponent. He was so unprepared for s**t like this.

If that douchebag kid could walk when all this was over, though, Andrea was definitely going to make him help look for Pebbles.

[Sika-chan]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Kaleb Williams

Nicknames: K

Gender: Male

Age: 18

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Spicy foods. Unfortunately his stomach would disagree, making him spend way more time in the bathroom than he would like to after 'enjoying' it.

Hated Food: Doesn't actually have a hated food, any food will do really, he's not a picky eater, and he'll try anything at least once.

Virtues:
-Sit Ubu sit, good dog -- Kaleb does as he is told and will do everything in his power to do so. He is obedient like a well trained dog. You ask him to jump, he'll ask how high.
However, this obedience is only shown toward people whom he sees as his 'master' or commander, usually people who are higher ranked than him. Whether it be by seniority or in actual ranking, he will obey them and their commands.

-The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate-- Kaleb runs on praise, again much like a dog would. He strives to be praised and is actually content with a "good job" or a head pat when he does something right. He would like nothing more than to know that what he did made his 'master' happy instead of a physical reward.

-No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar -- Kaleb doesn't tell lies, but this isn't because he thinks that lying is wrong, quite the opposite actually. He avoids lying because he's not very good at it. He's tried to lie in the past but would either stumble over his words(making it obvious he was lying) or would forget that he even lied in the first place. So instead of worrying over remembering his lies, he'd rather tell the truth and not have the hassle.

Flaws:
-Perverse/wrongheaded-- Kaleb is more likely and willing to do what is considered to not follow the social norm or right. When he was younger he would volunteer to play the robbers or whatever bad guy position was present in the games he played. He'd rather be the bad guy than the good guy.
A very light example would be to ignore the "stay off the grass" sign and not only stand on the grass, but kick up a few good clumps of sod for good measure.

-You're such a mama's boy!-- Now being a mother's boy isn't really a bad thing, Kaleb respects his mother and will do as she says like a good son. However, his weakness would be the 'mom voice.' You know the voice, the one that still makes you jump when you're an adult. Kaleb can be a rowdy and even misbehaving boy, but if a woman uses the 'mother voice' on him, whether its his mom or not, he will stop dead in his tracks and obey, or at least pause in confusion. This can take him off guard and put him in a weakened position.

-“In order to go on living one must try to escape the death involved in perfectionism.”-- Kaleb is never satisfied until all his work is done efficiently and flawlessly, and spends a lot of time checking, and even double checking, to make sure that it is. Because of this, Kaleb tends to be highly stressed and have the tendency to burn out when working too hard on one thing. His perfectionism is most recognizable when he plays his violin, or even talks about his violin, usually constantly nit picking his own skill until he frustrates (or even depresses) himself.
DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
HE LOOK LIKE A MAN
-Eyes: An eerie yellow, often compared to that of a wolf's in colour. Usually in a half-lidded state, as if in a constant state of boredom or constantly up to something. But this is mainly to help his 'cool guy', 'Greater than thou' image he tries to create for himself.

-Hair: Straight, layered black hair that hangs just below his shoulders. He also has hair extensions that he will put in a bit above the nape of his neck. The extensions consist of black and yellow dreads made from Synthetic hair.
Without Extensions
With Extensions in
Extentions

-Face: Nothing too striking about his face or features. He's not ugly, but he's not outstandingly handsome either. He's actually pretty normal looking, which he hates. But he likes to think that his eyes and 'odd' hair styles make up for that. His eyes tend to be his most expressive feature.

THE STORY ENTRY

I'm riding on a dolphin, doing flips and s**t
The dolphin's splashing, getting everybody all wet
But this ain't Seaworld, this is real as it gets
I'm on a boat, ********, don't you ever forget

I'm on a boat an-

Kaleb pressed the pause button of his iPhone, trying his best to concentrate on slowing his breathing instead of laughing his a** off to The Lonely Island. Keeping his breathing steady was hard enough after what he just saw. Why had he listened to Baxter? Why hadn't he told the b*****d to ******** off and leave him alone?

Oh yea, because of his pride. His damned, foolish pride. And because of this pride, Kaleb was now stuck hiding behind a bush trying not to catch the attention of what seemed to be a space monster attacking Baxter. At least that's what it looked like with the few seconds of light he was able to flash on the scene. So the a*****e had beat him here, and was now fighting to the death with some space monster. It didn't surprise Kaleb really, it was just like Baxter to jump into a battle and try to become a hero out of it. Although, from the looks of it, he would be a dead hero.

So now Kaleb was faced with the dilemma of what he should do. Help, or let the b*****d die? Douche bag or not, Baxter was a human being, but Kaleb still found it difficult to decide if he should actually help him. A small part of him told him it was the right thing to do, and that Baxter would do the same thing if he was in trouble. Then there was the other, stronger part of him. This part that told him that Baxter was a douche bag, and there was no way he would do the same if Kaleb were in trouble. So ******** him, and let the b*****d rot! The jackass got himself into this and he could get himself out of it, dead or alive! Although, the former seemed a bit more likely...

Kaleb gazed at his flashlight as he mulled over his options, rolling the item in his hand and giving it a quick swing. It would certainly work as a weapon, more so than his iPhone would, although he could use his phone to call the police. But then again would they even believe him?
He huffed in frustration, his mind finally set on helping Baxter. Kaleb would earn something from this in the end if he saved the guy. Baxter would be indebted to him, and there was no way in hell Kaleb would let him forget it. Kaleb nodded and pushed himself up from the ground, gripping his flash light in his hand like a club, preparing himself for battle. He didn't get far, however, before a triumphant howl filled the air that could only belong to the space beast.

Kaleb froze in place, his eyes growing wide as he heard a sickening thud from behind him. Apparently the battle was already over, and Baxter was definitely not the winner. And apparently his hiding spot in the bushes hadn't been so good a spot, if the sudden heavy breathing from behind him told him anything. He was next on the list it seemed, but he wasn't going out without a fight. No way would he let Baxter make him look like a punk.

[Kyuseisha no Hikari]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Spencer Queen

Nicknames: Spence, “Queenie”

Gender: Male

Age: Seventeen

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Cherry Cheesecake

Hated Food: Secretly all foods, but it’s a general fact that that he doesn’t like Spicy Foods or all sorts of Peppers

Virtues:

Determined --A useful virtue, Spencer simply won’t give up. He always feels like he’s fighting a losing battle but can’t give in. Afraid of failure, he is of the mind frame that as long as he’s still fighting, he hasn’t lost.

Charismatic --In his spare time—which he seems to have a lot of—he has thoughtfully considered what the ‘perfect person’ aught to be and put a great effort into replicating the ‘perfect person’; a ‘perfect’ person much be charming, so naturally he’s spent a lot of time developing his people skills. He likes to be the center of attention and tries to make everyone like him; if more people like him, he feels better about himself. He’s got enough charm, be in natural or forced, that he is generally capable of getting along with other people. It helps that he’s always complementing them as well, though it’s quite possible that he’s only fishing for complements of his own.

Clever --A fast thinker, Spencer is capable of getting out of sticky situations using his wit and words. While his cleverness keeps him out of trouble, it often leads to the formation of lies, most of which are only white. This skill of his can make him a bit manipulative, especially when he knows the person he is dealing with; most of the time he never harms anyone and is almost always trying to make people feel good about themselves.


Flaws:

Low Self-Esteem -- No matter how hard he tries, Spencer just can’t see the good in himself. All he sees are the flaws; he’s always pushing to be a better person but can’t seem to get anywhere. Because of his low self-esteem, he tries to raise other’s esteem and find some purpose in his life. He has an absolutely perfect older brother in Grad School and parents that never cease to remind him how much better his brother is. He just wants to be accepted, even if it’s not for who he is.

Eating Disorder -- Next to every day after school he heads straight for the bathroom; eating a full-sized lunch makes him sick. He’s afraid of being overweight but doesn’t want people to know of his fear; he eats hearty meals and claims a fast metabolism for his lack of weight, though his bulimia has gotten so bad in recent weeks that he’s becoming increasingly malnourished as he purges at least once nearly every day. Had he not been a bit pudgy in elementary school and been teased about it extensively it is likely he wouldn’t be so insecure. As it is, though, even though he lost the weight when he grew a few inches, he still has a tremendous fear of rejection due to appearances.

Narcissistic -- Spencer always tries to look his best and can sometimes come across as being very self-involved. The nickname ‘Queenie’ didn’t entirely come from ‘Queen, Spencer’ on the class roster; he is notorious for primping and preening excessively. He is of the belief that people will like him more the better he looks. Because of his obsession with his looks, he can come across as superficial and seems to attract a lot of shallow friends; they seem to have rubbed off on him negatively. Sometimes he seems shallow; gossip affects him. He loves to gossip and isn’t too shy to speak ill of others if he is jealous of them…or even if he just sees a bit of himself in them.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: His eyes are deep set, slightly rounded; dissatisfied with his naturally hazel eyes, he sports vibrant green contacts and is rarely seen without them.

Hair: Spencer has shoulder length blonde hair that he often keeps tied up in a high ponytail sans his equally long bangs, which he keeps down so that it frames his ‘fat face’ and makes him look thinner. His hair is well-hydrated, no split ends, and smells of oranges.

Face: Sporting a heart shaped face, he has surprisingly delicate features. Despite the gentle, aesthetically appealing qualities he possesses, he’s not happy with his natural appearance. He covers up his freckles with a concealer, giving him the perfect complexion.

THE STORY ENTRY

It wasn’t too far out of his usual routine; his nightly jog was already running a little late when he heard about the meteorite. At first, he wasn’t interested—a piece of space rock chugging through the sky? Interesting?

…Oh, yeah, just fascinating.

But then he started thinking. Everyone else was so worked up about it; if he wasn’t interested, then he wasn’t going to be in the conversation. And then he’d be ignored until the whole thing was over with. Which was totally ridiculous and it would ruin his good name and his entire reputation.

So, he sucked him his disinterest in the topic and decided he’d go check out the stupid sky rock. Once upon a time, way back when he was still a little thing, he remembered his brother showing him the perfect place. Nice, secluded, the perfect place for that romantic first date. He might not have agreed with his brother on much, but that much was true. When the sun was out it was a place of such calm and beauty that it was a marvel no one else had ever seemed to come there. The trees were ancient, tall and climbing with foliage so vast that come fall, mountains of leaves gathered at their gnarled roots. Flowers sprouted mercilessly, fighting the grass for growing space. Birds chirped and sang, giving it an ethereal sense of being. Depending on which way you were looking you could either see the highlights of the town or be surrounded by sheer nature.

Unfortunately, come night, it was just plain creepy. The trees seemed menacing and the silence created an aura of unease. Spencer had been severely second guessing himself when he kept walking towards the hill; the lack of street lights had his eyes darting through the darkness, trying to spot any sort of movement. His flashlight, old and well used, was clutched tightly in his hand. And then the beam of light, previously located on the far away trees, focused on some hideous, hairy creature that, as his first impression implied, was not a dog dressed in a clown outfit. It was more of a bear than anything, and that costume was anything but funny, hideous included. And, well. If it wasn’t—Steven?

…That dumb brunette who was always getting into his business and spreading dirty rumors about him? The one who had always mocking him and trying to make him look like an idiot? And now he had gotten to Spencer’s secret place before him? Well, what the hell was this? He had half a mind to stomp over to the boy and yell at him until he heard the most ear-splitting screech.

Flinching and turning his flashlight away, it didn’t take much to realize that the God-awful noise wasn’t anything human—and from the sound of it, it was coming from that strange furry dog like creature.

…Creature. Creature? Monster was more like it. He clutched the flashlight tighter in his hands, too afraid to shine the rays back onto the scene of what appeared to be a battle between the monster and Steven. The sounds of grunts and cries pierced the silence; it was only when a particularly gruesome crack echoed throughout the forested area that Spencer, frozen in shock, was yanked back into reality.

That was Steven’s voice, his cry. “Get back! Get—get away from me!”

If Spencer hadn’t known any better, he would have thought those were tears in the other’s speech. The thought frightened him more than it should. Steven was…a jerk. A bully. One of those people that just couldn’t be broken, that you couldn’t get to. And now…he was crying?

There was something just wrong about that. His flashlight shut off with the click of a button and he swallowed. A part of him was genuinely worried for his rival; a part of him knew he’d miss the smart-aleck pain in the neck. But what was life without a little drama?

He didn’t understand what was going on—not at all—but he understood that he had to do something. Shaking, he drew out his cell phone. He couldn’t dial nine-one-one; they’d have a follow up, and he did not want to answer any questions about some psychopathic monster and some sobbing rival. Knowing Steven, he suspected the boy would use whatever evidence he could to say it was Spencer that had pulverized him.

Okay. What to do, then? What to do. If he was seen, Steven might tell the whole school Spencer had hired some street thug to pound his face in and was only there to watch. Or maybe Steven might tell them that he was related to that freak. He swallowed and felt his body go numb. He pulled down his sleeves and drew up his hood, tightening the drawstring as tight as it would. This was destroying his typical technique of self preservation, but karma—if he did this, he was guaranteed to get something great in return, right?

He was walking towards the scene of the brutality. The monster took a swing at Steven; the boy didn’t duck and his the beast’s fist collided with his temple. The boy’s whimper caused Spencer to hasten; no longer did he walk with merely a tempered gait but instead he ran at the two. His nightly jogging helped him with his quick spurt of speed and he reached down, hooking his arms beneath Steven’s even as the boy was in the process of falling. Not quite carrying and not quite dragging the other, Spencer pulled and tugged. “Hurry up!” he hissed in a gruff, manly voice—it barely sounded like himself at all.

Steven was slow to respond but it seemed that even in his groggy state he was able to comprehend the simple command. He wasn’t as fast a runner as Spencer, but he was at least moving. Glancing over his shoulder, he flicked on his flashlight to see if the monster was following them; it seemed that it hadn’t even realized that his opponent was no longer present. And then it turned it’s massive, fur-covered face towards Spencer and the look it gave him chilled him to the bone. He had to force his eyes away and turn off the flashlight, hoping it wouldn’t be able to follow him in the dark.

He pulled Steven along with him, ignoring the boy’s whimpers and cries of pain. He pulled him to the outskirts of the park—admittedly, only a two minute walk, but still it seemed to take an eternity. He was more exhausted from those two minutes of running than he could ever remember being. But then—the finish line in his make-believe race: the phone booth planted between the two street lamps.

Without much grace, he dropped Steven off on the bench and searched the boy’s pockets without seeming like too much of a creep; it wasn’t hard to find the Blackberry—show off—and press in the simple three digit phone number—911.

“Tell the police where you are,” he said coarsely, looking over his shoulder. There was still no sign of the monster he had seen and now that the adrenaline was wearing out, he was led to question if maybe it had been just a very large man in a werewolf costume? Some punk playing pranks?

He heard someone speaking; it was Steven, looking up at him. “…Who are you?” he asked, teeth grit. He was trying to salvage his dignity now that his red-face and tear-streaked cheeks were visible in the orange glow of the city lights.

And, cue out. Spencer took a step back, deciding rather to be safe than sorry. He turned hastily, effectively hiding his face entirely from the male. He took off in a sprint, heading towards his house. Steven never bothered calling after him and that was just fine with him. Hopefully he’d wake up in bed and realize this was all just some creepy dream; he wondered if Steven would have done the same thing for him had he been in the situation.

Huh. Probably not.

[Quicksilver the Archangel]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Penelope Seneca

Nicknames: Penny (used very, very rarely)

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Crystal Academy

Fav. Food: Almonds

Hated Food: Beef, no matter what cut or how prepared.

Virtues:

--Observant: Penelope is highly attuned to the environment and people that surround her, so she notices changes quickly. If someone walks in with a new hair cut, for example, she will be the first to comment on it. Similarly, she will make note of changes in mood in individuals. Penelope may not know the reason for the change--but she sure will notice its effects.

--Discreet: If Penelope hears a piece of gossip, she will not spread it. If someone confides in Penelope, she will never reveal his secret. Whether she is in a conversation with someone else or happens to overhear/oversee something that she feels should be private, Penelope keeps her eyes open and her mouth shut.

--Humble: Although never reaching the point of meekness, Penelope is nevertheless humble about her achievements. She will not brag; in fact, she will probably deny that her contributions were of any value. She is far more likely to praise someone else for their achievements than to ever recognize her own.

Flaws:

--Insecure: All teenage girls have insecurities, and Penelope is no exception. Some of her insecurities are of the normal school girl variety; she worries that she is too fat or that her skin will suffer an outbreak of acne. However, some of her other insecurities run far deeper and affect her interactions with others. Most prominently, Penelope feels insecure in her ability to form and retain relationships, whether platonic or otherwise, and she often finds herself doubting that her contributions to conversations or projects are worthwhile. This makes it difficult for Penelope to participate well in groups, as she hesitates to take a commanding role or see the value of what she can bring to the table. More likely than not, her first instinct will be to find someone she thinks is better equipped to tackle the situation rather than to jump in herself. (This is what I would consider Penelope's weakness.)

--Eager to Please: Stemming from her insecurity, Penelope is eager to jump when anyone tells her how high. Need someone to bake 300 cookies for a bake sale the next day? Penelope will stay up all night to get them done. Missed two weeks of class? Penelope will be more than happy to share her notes with you and even tutor you! As long as the action is not obviously nefarious, Penelope will do whatever is asked of her if it means pleasing someone else.

--Judgemental: Despite her discretion, every person and encounter that Penelope comes into contact with is automatically judged. Even if she does not speak her mind, Penelope will develop a quick, firm opinion that is difficult to overcome, even if her initial beliefs are incorrect. Unless constantly proven wrong or proven wrong in a drastic way, Penelope will stand by her judgments.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Maroon, prominant eyes

Hair: Medium-short, wavy, thick, black

Face: Round face, mole on one cheek, average ears and nose

THE STORY ENTRY

Penelope panted as she trudged up the hill and swore, for what must have been the thousandth time, that she would begin an excercise regiment soon. Her lungs burned slightly as she took in deep gulps of the winter air and exhaled them in puffs of smoke, and as she shivered within her coat she wished that she had thicker gloves. The ones she wore now did little to warm the fingers wrapped around her flashlight, but she comforted herself with the spectacle that she had snuck out of her home to see. A meteor... a real life meteor that she could see from Destiny City! How could she pass up an opportunity like that? It might never happen again... and besides, all of the girls at school were sure to be talking about it the next day, and she did not want to be the only one who hadn't been able to see it. So, she shined her flashlight on the ground in front of her and concentrated on watching the path it illuminated in case she had to dodge a rock or a patch of ice. That's all she would need--to fall flat on her face in the dead of night.

She was about half way up the hill when her leg muscles screamed that they would. not. climb. any. more!, so Penelope stopped her march upwards and decided to catch her breath. Just a little break. Just a little rest. No one else was around to see, and she wouldn't miss the meteor. To distract herself from these thoughts, she looked up for the first time to see how much more she would have to climb. What she saw made her bite her lip to stifle a cry, and instinct took over as she ducked down, turned off her flashlight and prayed that... that thing had not seen her or the dim light she carried. Now the chills running from head to toe had nothing to do with the winter cold, and she tried to tell herself that she couldn't have seen what she thought she saw.

How could she have seen some humanoid demon with furred skin and strange attire? How could she have seen said monster leaking blood from a wound on the side closest to her? How could she have seen something that only existed in the news reports and grainy, possibly faked footage on the internet standing over the prone figure of a girl just about her own age? It was impossible--this wasn't an episode of those old cartoons she liked to watch, not some novel where creatures popped up and attacked people, and she certainly wasn't some heroine with the skills or bravery to take on such a fiend! Yet, here she was, the only person aside from the one who had been attacked, and the only hope that unknown figure had of rescue. What was she going to do? What was she going to do?

Well, what could she do? She didn't have a magic sword to fight off the monster or a platoon of well-trained soldiers with the world's most liberal dress code to call on to do it for her. She couldn't even pull her cellphone out of her pocket for fear the jingling sound of her numerous cell phone charms would attract the furred creature's attention. Penelope licked her chapping lips. There was really only one thing she could do, and that was try and go the way she came to get help. It didn't feel right, leaving that other girl alone, but if she found the cops or maybe, just maybe one of those costumed warriors that sometimes appeared on the news, the ones that fought off these kinds of monsters, then they would at least have weapons and expertise to handle the situation. It was the best shot of helping the victim get out alive. The teenager took a deep breath. She had to remain calm. She had to move slowly. If she didn't, then no one would be around to help that girl lying up at the top of the hill--no one would be around to help Penelope either.

As quietly and carefully as she could she shifted her crouched form, gritting her teeth against the protests of pain from her clenched leg muscles, so that she was facing sideways instead of straight ahead. She dared move no further, instead peeking her head up over the curve of the hill to see whether or not the beast had heard her. As she shifted her position her footing slipped on the grass, and before Penelope could try to stop herself, she landed on her rear. But worse, far, far worse was that the flashlight fell out of her hand and landed next to her with a clatter that sounded more like a crack of thunder to the terrified teen's ears in the silence.

A growl pierced the air, and Penelope felt her heart leap into her throat as she heard heavy footsteps coming in her direction. It had heard her! Oh god, of course it had heard her! She could only imagine how those predatory eyes looked around for the source of the sound, but she forced herself to remain still, to keep her hands from shaking. There was no way that she could run for help now... oh god, oh god, what was she going to do?! In an effort to keep herself from being seen as long as possible she laid straight down on the grass, struggling to collect her wits, desperate to think of anything she could do. Despite all of the stories she had read, all of the shows she had seen, nothing else would come to her mind except the LOL Cats that she had been looking at before she left her house for this trip. She had always loved those cats and their cute captions, and how pathetic was it that now, when she needed to actually think, all she could think of was some internet memes! And then... she had an idea.

A stupid idea. A foolish idea. It would never work, but what else could she do? She had to try! Snatching up her flashlight, Penelope clicked it on and shone the beam straight down the hill. Then, she began to move the light back and forth down at the base. It was a long shot, and she was well aware of it. But the creature had been furred, after all,l and maybe, just maybe it would do what cats and dogs did and chase the moving light that it saw instead of focusing on where the light could be coming from. She held her breath as the footsteps stopped, still some distance away from the sound of them, and when they did not advance further, Penelope screwed up her courage and flung the flashlight down the hill with all her strength. As its beam of light bounced along the hill and the clattering sound once more filled the silence, the girl was convinced that she was going to die. This was it. The creature would have seen her throw it, would not chase after it even if it HAD been absorbed in following its beam of light. And yet a few moments later she had to stifle a scream as the monster jumped right over her and followed the bouncing light down the hill with tremendous speed.

Penelope could not move for what seemed a small eternity. She was too frightened that if she so much as blinked that the creature would reappear, but then, after she spent some time straining her hearing for any sound that indicated that her flashlight trick had not worked, she slowly sat up. Nothing happened. No strike, no pounce... and so, even though her legs shook, she rose and ran as fast as she could up the hill, to where the other girl still lay. It was hard going on her muscles, her lungs, but she was powered by pure adrenline did not stop and did not look behind her until she reached the top, where she spun around to see whether or not the furred demon had followed. No... no sign of it. Either it had taken the flashlight or was still looking for it or had just gone away, not concerned enough with its would be victim to come all the way back for it. At least not for now. That thought sent another shot of energy through her, and she resolved to get herself and the person lying in a crumpled heap on the ground to some position of cover as soon as possible. Not that there was much cover at the top of a hill, during winter... but even if it was just getting on the opposite side of the hill and using the hill itself as cover would be better than lying fully open to attack.

With this in mind, she finally moved over to the unconcious girl, and she could not help but give a gasp of surprise. It was Sally... Sally the Snob, the one that always made fun of her and the other scholarship kids! Sally with her too-cute dimples and peaches and cream complexion and rich family... Sally who called Penelope "Blubber" and taunted her for the simple sandwich lunches that she brought to school every day while Sally had her pick of the finest foods their expensive cafeteria had to offer. Yet, for all these injuries done to her in the past, Penelope could not help but feel sorry for the other girl, lying there with a headwound and her skin deathly pale. No matter what Sally had done, no one deserved to be in the danger she had been in. No one.

It took all of her strength, but Penelope managed to drag her unconcious rival about half way down the far side of the hill before collapsing beside her. Her panting had become far worse, but she covered her mouth to muffle the sound and closed her eyes against the pain shooting through her lungs and heart. She wondered if she should have left Sally alone, if moving her would agitate her head wound, but she had had no other option. This was all she could do, and now she prayed, prayed that the creature would not come back, that her parents or Sally's would alert the authorities and that soon someone would come and rescue them, that when she opened her eyes again it would be morning. Then, she told herself as she drifted off into an exhausted sleep, everything would be back to normal, and this "adventure" would seem like nothing more than a bad dream.

[Sirene Naiads]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Elise Gregory

Nicknames: None

Gender: Female

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Rotini Pasta and Pesto Sauce

Hated Food: Onions and Tomatoes

Virtues:
~ Logical:
Gifted with the ability to separate ones emotion from the truth, Elise focuses on facts alone. Come to her in an emotional disturbance and she will find the difference between reliable information and just an upset soul in a fit of passion. For there is no need to let something go out of control when one just needs to look back to history or take a deep breath and count to ten. Somewhere in the written word, or even word of mouth, the same events have taken place. Weigh both sides, pull out what causes chaos and disorder, and what one is left with is the clear, valid reason.
~ Cautious:
Elise is not a person to jump into anything before she has taken a moment to stop and consider all sides of the idea. Sometimes this means missing out on a great time yet it normally saves her from getting into bit of trouble with parents, teachers, or even the law.
~Tactful:
Telling someone that the color lipstick they are wearing makes them look diseased or that what they said was more offensive than humorous can be a dangerous task. Say the wrong thing and the person takes it out on you. That’s why Elise takes a deep breath and forms the best sentence she can to calmly inform an individual to shut their mouth. If she is unable to open her mouth, she is one to give a small hand gesture or physical movement to pass along the same message.

Flaws:
~ Impatient:
Elise wants it done right and she wants it done now. Hearing an excuse for why something or someone is late does not fly well for her. One should have left with enough time to have a flat tire and arrive still ten minutes early. When something does test her patience, one can typically find a rather disgruntled woman on the other end. She will get over it but do not think she will be so sweet come next time.
~Nervous:
While her nerves are in check most of the time, Elise has a large problem when dealing with a group of people. Put her up in front of two or more and the girl completely freaks out. Tears run down her face. Her breathing starts to come in quick, short gasps. Worst of all, she starts to shake uncontrollably. Even when doing something she has perfected or giving a speech on a topic she knows by heart, Elise cannot stop her body from breaking down and curling up into a small ball of tears.
~Overdramatic:
Not being one for the stage or the crowd has not stopped the development of a certain dramatic flare in Elise’s character. For the lightest of touches, the girl will still say “Ow!” even if she barely felt that. Elise will jump at almost any unexpected sound and when someone disappoints her, they better have an umbrella for the tears. No one should say it is her fault though. After all, everyone needs a little drama in their life.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Large eyes that catch people's attention. They are a deep, rich blue that is rare to see. Many say they are the most beautiful trait on her body.

Hair: Long and straight gold hair. It isn’t completely flat, due to her mother’s genetic curly hair, but Elise cannot stand to have curls in it. She keeps it down around her shoulders with bangs cut shorter and pushed to the left side, tucked behind her ear.

Face: A diamond shaped face. High cheek bones, small nose, arched eyebrows, thin lips with red gloss. No freckles. She has rather small ears but is always wearing black and gold flur-de-le earrings in them.

THE STORY ENTRY
The sudden vibration on her right side caused the sole walker in the night to jump. As she reached into her jean pocket to turn off the cell phone, Elise couldn’t help herself from thinking Eleven twenty seven on the dot. And no sign of anyone else. Letting out a long sigh, the teenager flicked on the flashlight she had taken from the kitchen. “Did I expect anyone else to be here? Of course not.” Her voice showed nothing more than annoyance. Already she was out way past the curfew; a choice maybe not the best on her part, but what was done was done. This was a once in a lifetime chance: to see a meteor over Destiny City! Reasoning told her that if she could not see it, she would never forgive herself.

As her light flickered to life, something caught Elise’s attention. There in the distance, just past the row of slowly greening trees, two figures appeared in the darkness. At first her mind took a chance believing that they were there for the same reason as herself, do see that once in a life time meteor. That small reassurance allowed her feet to keep going towards the pair. It was not until she was just past the tree line that Elise could see what her flashlight had illuminated.

“A BEAR!” Elise gasped as her knuckles whitened around the cold metal. How in the world had a bear gotten into the park? And without news of an escape from any zoo? That just didn’t make…

“Who ever is there…HELP!”

Jerking her flashlight in the direction of the smaller form, Elise felt vomit rise up in her throat. That dirty blood hair. Those glasses worn only to give him a look of intelligence. That nose way too small for his face. Not to mention the traditional black pants and a white button down. What the heck is HE doing here? Elise felt her mind screaming as she gazed straight at the form of Garrison White, the most annoying man in the entire school and her rival in almost everything but cup size. He could not have known I was going to be here. Let alone when!

“Hey! Stop shining that light in my eyes and give me a…” The sentence cut off as the bear let out another attack towards her rival. Still Elise just stood there. It was far too much to image. The man who bragged how he could take anything on alone was calling to her of all people for help? Oh it was too much! Elise just had to live in the moment for a little longer, at least until her phone started to vibrate once more.

“Meep!” She screamed out, hand flying towards her pocket to shut off the alarm she had failed to do so. What her eyes missed in the next moment was the sudden change of direction that of the furry creature’s movement. It had stopped the attack on Garrison and was now heading directly at her. Yet as Elise slowly picked her eyes back up, her blood ran cold. Oh no…

To run would have only meant she might make it out alive. To fight and she was dead. To stand there frozen and she was bear bait. Yet before she could do anything, a sudden idea struck her. If Garrison had not been able to see then…

The beam of light flashed forward and up into the bear’s face. As it gave a scream of pain, Elise could not help but focus on how strange this creature looked. Even as it growled wildly and swung its arm in her direction, that face was unmistakably human looking. “Garry! RUN!” Elise screamed out as she glanced over towards the shadowed figure staring directly at her. She could see him about to turn when his feet stopped. “Elise? Is that you?” She could hear the shock and sudden disappointment in his voice. He was going to try and take the creature on again just to try and show her up once more. “Garry, I don’t care about your ego or pride or whatever it is! Get that twig body of yours out of here!”

Counting on the two years she had played summer softball, Elise pulled back on the flashlight and sent it flying into the distance woods. She could hear as it crashed through some of the brush, the light still flickering. Yet it had done what she wanted it to. That human in a fur coat was going after the light, not the piece of meat holding it. Both humans knew to take off for it.

How long they had run was unknown to Elise as she sat on the bench in a park closer to school. Garrison was next to her, folded over in a ball and breathing hard. In the dim street light, Elise could see that he had taken a few good punches to his head, breaking those stupid glasses in the process. At least she had something to be thankful for.

“What…what were you doing out there?’ The gasping in his breath told her that he hurt but was truly trying not to show it. Explaining those wounds was not going to be fun tomorrow morning.

Elise leaned back on the bench and glanced up into the sky. Even with the street light fading, it was impossible to see the stars in the sky. Had she missed her only chance? Letting out a sigh, Elise closed her eyes. “While it’s none of your business, I was out there to get a shot of the meteor. Guess we both missed it.”

Something small jabbed against the arm closest to Garrison. Opening one eye, Elise could see the glow of a digital screen from his camera. Reaching over, she took a look at what he was trying to show her. Her large eyes almost doubled in size.

Shining against her face was the glow of the night sky. But it wasn’t just any image. In the center of it, bright as day, was a large orb surrounded by a tail of burning fire. HOW?!?!? Her hands went tight around the camera as she felt him tug on the arm band. “You were saying?”

Elise could see the smug look on his face as he turned off the power and slipped the device back into his pant pocket. It took all of her control not to attack him worse than that creature had just done. Instead, Elise only stood up, gave an animalist growl and turned away to head home. And I was worried about him beating me on the Calculus exam next week? How am I ever going to live this down?

“Oh! Elise!” Garrison’s voice was full of boastful pride as she stopped just outside the beam of light. Ever muscle in her body tensed at what she feared would come next. He couldn’t do anything physical to her but he sure could break her pride. And she knew already that was what he was going to do…

“You throw like a girl!”

[LokisRose]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Gloria Giovanna Gennaro

Nicknames: GG, Gigi ( smile ), Horseface ( sad ) (“Gee-up, Horseface!”)

Gender: Female

Age: 15

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Coffee is its own food group! Also cinnamon buns.

Hated Food: Pumpkin. Is not for pies. It is a vegetable, and a gross one at that.


Virtues:

Can’t stop now!
Gloria is anti-procrastination girl. Soonest started is soonest finished, and once she’s started, she doesn’t want to stop. She’s always on the go, always has a project to work on, and seems to have endless energy to push through to her goal. Of course, she knows there are some things that can’t be done in one hit – she’s great at breaking tasks down into separate stages, so she can bask in the glow of accomplishment at regular intervals (and still remember to eat.) She is a whirlwind of Getting Stuff Done, and she’s not going to let 3am get in the way of the finish line. If you have a task that just can’t wait, Gloria’s your girl.

Enthusiastic!!!
Everything is exciting! Your obscure hobby! Today’s homework! The colour grey! Whatever you’re into, Gloria is interested! She’s eager to listen, keen to help. And strangely, her enthusiasm is catching – others find themselves getting more excited and involved when they see Gloria throwing herself into something so wholeheartedly.

Tenacious
Sometimes things don’t go according to plan, but that’s not going to stop Gloria completing what she starts. She believes obstacles are for climbing over, and is determined not to get discouraged. She won’t abandon her projects: whatever it takes, however long it takes, she’ll find a way. She’s come too far, she’s not giving up now!

Talented tutor
Gloria makes a great teacher. She can break concepts down into simple steps, and has a knack for explaining clearly. She won’t give up on her student, or get impatient with them. They are her project, and will get all the time and attention they need.


Flaws:

Coffee zombie
In order to maintain her non-stop lifestyle, Gloria depends on caffeine, preferably in delicious latte form. She becomes uncharacteristically irritable if deprived, losing her enthusiastic attitude, and being generally unpleasant to deal with. She’s prone to vicious migraines if she goes without for longer periods, and has been known to occasionally pass out.

Forgetful
[Weakness] Gloria forgets times and dates. She’s so caught up in her own projects that she loses track of time, and words like ‘later’ tend to wash over her. She knows the exam is coming, but the exact date slips her mind. You wrote it down? Sorry, the post-it fell off. You sent her a txt? Her phone must be full. It was your birthday? Gloria’s really sorry. She’ll make it up to you, right now, c’mon... before she forgets.

Little Red Hen
Gloria wants to do things straight away, and while she’s happy to let others help, she doesn’t deal well with procrastination. If she thinks you’re not doing something you’ve agreed to do, she won’t complain, she’ll just take over and Do It Herself. With a lot of martyrdom and sighs about how long it took, but she did it anyway, just to help you, aren’t you grateful? She’ll be taking the credit, though, no offence.

Addictive personality
Sometimes not knowing when to stop is a bad thing. Gloria gets hooked on things very easily, and has a very hard time un-hooking herself. She’s into every new fad that comes along, especially collect-the-set types and collectable card games. Gotta catch ‘em all. She’s perpetually broke, and will resort to IOUs if you let her. She just needs one more booster pack!
Linked to this, Gloria also has a very high risk for more dangerous addictions. She is likely to become addicted to things like alcohol or drugs after a much smaller exposure than other people, and once addicted, quitting will be an epic struggle.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes:
Large, round and golden. Like honey and caramel and too many hours without sleep.

Hair:
Rich dark brown hair, long unruly curls that keep escaping their clips. Mediterranean style, like an 80s perm only more natural. Clips are small and gold, probably flower-shaped.

Face:
Narrow oval face. (It isn’t really ‘long’ or horsey, just narrow, but kids tease anyway.) Small ears with gold hoop earrings. Lightly olive-tan skin.


THE STORY ENTRY

It was later than expected by the time Gloria reached the park, and she was glad she’d remembered the torch. She’d been finishing up her homework, and completely forgotten about the meteors until well after sensible people were home in bed. And she’d stopped to grab a coffee, but that was necessary and didn’t make her late as such. Still, she was here now, and it wasn’t like meteors were going to get impatient and walk off on her. If she’d missed the light show, she’d just grab a bit of the rock. It would be a lovely addition to her team’s science project. Let’s see Candy’s team beat that! Let’s see Candy... oh dear.

Candy the committee queen had obviously had similar ideas to Gloria re: collecting space rocks. And typical Candy, she’d made it there earlier than Gloria. Bet she was regretting it now. That’s what you got for being on time. Alien furries.

Gloria ducked down to take stock of the situation, taking a sip of her coffee as she swung her torch around. It hadn’t seen her yet, she thought, but what could she do about it? She was going to have to do something, of course. It was a horrible giant star monster. The police station was a good ten minutes away. Candy did not have the situation in hand. Candy was a planning person, not a doing person, they clashed over it constantly. What was *she* going to do, discuss it to death?

The torchbeam settled on the dark swathe on the alien’s side.

Blood? If it bleeds, we can kill it. If it bleeds... the Committee b***h had a weapon? Gloria shone the flashlight at the other girl’s hands. They were raised, crossed defensively, uselessly in front of her face, and there were gashes there, too. Both hands were empty. Why wasn’t she running? She just didn’t know when she was outclassed, did she? Hopeless.

Gloria directed her torch to the ground, now, creeping further up the hill as she did. Silver glints in the slick grass. It was a cake knife. Gloria almost groaned. Jen’s birthday, had that been today? She’d been supposed to bring the soda. Too late now. She dropped the torch and moved faster, careful of the coffee she hadn’t thought to put down. The knife was so small, little more than a butter knife, how had the Committee b***h managed to make such a hole in the thing? Important question, ask her later.

Oh god, the monster had spotted her. It’s slow, she thought. I’m faster. But it was also huge.

Gloria tensed and ran forward over the crest of the hill, trying for the knife. If Candy could dent it, so could she. But the alien’s huge hairy foot came down directly over her little silver sliver of hope. Okay, no knife. She could hear the Committee b***h sobbing behind her, the frantic tiny sounds of phone buttons, the creature’s echoing roar.

Her hand tightening unwisely on the cardboard coffee cup. The plastic lid popped off, spinning into the darkness. Terrified, Gloria jerked her hand, her coffee-holding hand, towards the monster. The hot liquid splashed in its face.

The creature’s roar went up a few octaves, and it reared back.

And people told her coffee didn’t fix things.

Gloria grabbed Candy by the shoulder and pulled her back down the hill, stumbling in the dark without the torch. She didn’t stop until she’d put the sirens and flashing lights between herself and the monster. And when she did stop, it was only to swear to herself. She hadn’t found any of the meteorite. If her science project failed because of this, she was holding Candy entirely responsible, broken arm or not.