Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the following individuals/entities for the completion of this (epic) novel:

• the vast amount of movies G! watched and stole from for plot points and (lame, but occasionally funny) pop culture references
• the friends who we totally copied part of their personalities for to create different characters (both with and without their knowledge)
• events in the authors lives which have influenced the directions this story took
• the many friends and beta readers who we sent the novel to, bugging them for feedback
• almighty and spontaneous inspiration
• the series of events that brought us together as co-authors, and lead us to discuss the very first premise of this novel one spring afternoon while walking home from school
• and finally, all of the readers of this blog that have followed us for part or all of our 4 year journey through writing this (epic) novel

K here, sitting in the library finishing up this one last post with G.

It's been an eventful few years, and wow did this story spin out of control. Going from a single idea to a 91(?!) chapter novel was definitely not in the plan, nor did we ever imagine this would be the direction this novel took. The characters we created developed and grew as the years went on, probably somewhat reflective of us growing up as people and developing as writers. I think eventually, we should go back and try to smooth out some writing points and quirks (thanks grade 9 me for being a weird writer), but I think this is a good time for us to finish North by North for the time being.

So what happens now?

Well, G and I had discussed the possibility of starting something new together, though that's still sort of up in the air. Besides, I think we're going to need a little break before we start any new epics. Because trust us, when the two of us put our creative heads together, nothing short of total epicness can result from our collective effort. So it won't be the last you hear from us, but it might be for a little while.

Thank you again so much for being with us and for taking the time to read. 

Until the next epic adventure,

K and G

New Year, New Intermission Chapter

   “You know what?” Theo asked. “We haven’t been seen a lot lately.”

   She, as well as Charlie, Wolfgang, Heathcliff, and Dennis were sitting inside of a stereotypical actor’s movie trailer. They had been unexpectedly transported after the latest events in their story. After they had adjusted to their new surroundings, Theo had explained the whole “we’re controlled by authors” and “this is a parallel universe” thing to Dennis who had never been in the situation before (as well as to the others, who had mostly forgotten). Now they were comfortably lounging around the trailer. Theo was perched on the wooden coffee table, her right leg crossed over the other. Dennis and Heathcliff were sitting on the couch beside her, Dennis completely lax against the cushions while Heathcliff hovered closer to the edge of his seat. Wolfgang leaned against the window across from them, his arms crossed. Charlie was sitting on the floor cross-legged, all despite the protests of the others and them offering him a chair. 

   “What do you mean, haven’t been seen a lot?” asked Charlie. 

   “Well, I feel like there’s been…longer pauses in our appearances. In the story I mean.”

   “How is that even possible?” asked Dennis. “Time’s been passing at the same rate as always.”

   “For us maybe,” said Theo, “but I can imagine that there have been longer pauses for the authors. Haven’t you felt that weird lag?” 

   “Huh, I just thought that was a weird headache,” said Wolfgang. 

   “You’re probably right, Theo,” said Charlie. “I mean, there’s only been 10 chapters this past year, while in the past there’s been 20, even 70 done in a year.”

   There was a silence as the rest all looked at him in bewilderment. “How did you know that?” asked Theo.

   Charlie just shrugged. “It kind of just popped into my head.”

   “The authors must be planting information in our heads,” said Dennis. “If that’s even possible.”

   Heathcliff looked alarmed. “Does that mean they know everything that I think? That they control everything I say?”

   “We already went through this before, Heathcliff,” said Theo. 

   “We did?”

   “Yes, the first time this happened, we did.”

   There was another lull in the conversation as they shifted, trying to process the new information.

   “Since this is the most peace we’ve had in awhile, how about a game of rock paper scissors?” offered Charlie, holding out his hand. 

   Theo and Wolfgang cracked a smile. “It’s been a while since I’ve heard that,” said Wolfgang.

   “Definitely way too long,” replied Theo.

   “Anybody?” asked Charlie. 

   Dennis held out his hand, and he and Charlie played a few rounds. They tied a couple, and started alternating between wins and losses. Theo and Wolfgang watched bemusedly as the speed of the game picked up.

   “Well, that’s just unfair!” exclaimed Heathcliff. Everyone froze and looked up at him. Seeing that he had accidentally blurted out his thoughts, he coughed. “I mean, isn’t it unfair that we’re getting less attention than before? This is our lives that they’re dabbling with, our fates, our destinies!”

   “They have lives too,” pointed out Theo.

   “They could very well be just ignoring us,” said Dennis, retracting his hand held in ‘scissors’ from the game and sitting back into his seat. 

   “Or worse, they could be focusing on other writing projects! Abandoning us!” Heathcliff bemoaned. 

   “There were those other characters we met before,” Theo said. “And they did mention that they came from the other stories the authors created…”

   Heathcliff threw his arms into the air. “See!” 

   There was a collective silence in the trailer.

   Charlie, with his hand still in ‘paper’ said, “Well, wouldn’t most people make a formal complaint or something? If you can’t use actions, use words, right?”

   “Like what?” asked Wolfgang.

   “A letter would be suitable in this situation, I think,” said Charlie.

   “But can’t they just read our thoughts?” asked Heathcliff.

   Charlie just tilted his head. “It’s nice to have a formality like a letter, even if they can read our thoughts.”

   Theo looked around the room. “Well, that would be great, but only if we had the supplies to actually write a letter.”

   There was a knock on the door, and everyone straightened up, alarmed. Charlie finally dropped his hand.

   “Who’s there?” called out Wolfgang. There was no reply. 

   “If it’s something dangerous, I’ll protect Theo!” exclaimed Heathcliff, immediately standing up as if he was going to rush over to her.

   She stood up. “No need, Heathcliff. If my suspicions are correct, I know exactly what that was.” She walked over to the door and the others scrambled up to their feet. With the others hovering close behind her, she slowly opened the door. 

   On the metal steps was a pile of white paper and a blue ballpoint pen. Theo picked it up, wondering why the authors really had to make a show of giving stuff to them.

   As she stood back up, she noticed that outside of the trailer beyond the steps was pure nothingness. It was a complete white blank, for lack of a better description. If the void was inversely coloured, this is what it would’ve looked like.

   “They didn’t even bother with an outside setting,” Theo shook her head. She shut the door behind her, facing the apprehensive faces of the others. 

   “So?” asked Dennis. “What is it?”

   Theo held out the paper and pen. “Stuff to write a letter with.”

   The guys all sighed in relief. They made their way back to their seats. Theo pulled up a chair next to the coffee table and set the pen and paper down. She sat down, picked up the pen, and started writing. Dennis stood up and peered over her shoulder.

   “To K and G,” he recited as she wrote, “this is a formal complaint issued by the characters of your novel. Our general feeling is that we are being neglected, which is duly your responsibility as the creators of our universe. We also have individual complaints.”

   Dennis looked at Theo. “Isn’t this…overly formal?” he asked.

   Theo looked up at him. “If we’re writing a formal complaint, we should be formal. And if you could stop breathing down my neck, that would be great.”

   Dennis complied. “Speaking of individual complaints, could I state mine first?” 

   “Sure.”

   Dennis cleared his throat. “I, Dennis North, have been feeling sorely underdeveloped and neglected. You have placed me into the protective and reliable older brother role, having to take care of this troublesome bunch. I would like it very much if, in return for me performing this role, you could reveal a tragic backstory and add in a love interest, maybe a girl with brown hair and blue eyes and a much nicer personality than Theo’s-“

   “And I’m stopping you there,” said Theo, raising an eyebrow at Dennis. He sat back down on the couch. 

   She turned to Heathcliff. “Heathcliff, anything?”

   He opened his mouth, and Theo cut him off before he could even say anything. “Keep it short, ok?” she warned. 

   “Of course my darling,” he said. “As Heathcliff Carolus von Curtis the third, I feel as though everyone, all of your esteemed audience, would thoroughly enjoy more of my grand presence in their lives. For my humble sake and theirs, I wish wholeheartedly that you plan out a happy end for all of us, where I get to marry my darling Theo-“

   Theo threw the pen at Heathcliff as she and Wolfgang both yelled “How many times do I have to tell you? I/Theo won’t marry you!”

   Dennis laughed as he picked up the pen from the couch and handed it back to Theo. She cleared her throat and tried regaining composure before accepting the pen. Heathcliff sulked on the couch, hugging the closest pillow tightly.

   “What about you, Wolfgang?” asked Theo.

   “Just for them to stop lagging so I can stop getting this weird headache every time we jump back into the story,” he said. He then grinned wickedly. “Well, there are some things I’d like to change about the story…”

   “I probably don’t want to hear this, and you probably don't want to see what my reaction would be.” Theo waved the pen at him.

   “Charlie, do you have anything to say?” asked Dennis. 

   Charlie sat back and stared up into space, pondering. “I’m satisfied with my role so far, I don’t have any complaints to make. You can put that in.”

   “You can’t just say that!” exclaimed Dennis. “There’s got to be something you’re unsatisfied with.” 

   Charlie pondered some more, and shook his head. 

   “Suit yourself,” said Wolfgang. 

   “Well, I’ll write my own complaints then,” Theo said. She quickly jotted down her thoughts, making sure the others couldn’t see it.

   As soon as she finished writing, the letter, along with the pen, vanished out of existence. 

   “What the…” said Dennis.

   “Guess that means the authors have taken the letter,” said Theo. She sat back on the edge of the coffee table. The others settled back into their seats, relaxing again. 

   “What now?” asked Wolfgang. 

   “I guess we just wait,” Charlie said.

   And wait they did.

Here's to hoping you had a good 2014, and to hoping you have a great 2015. Happy New Year!
- K (and G)

Second Anniversary!

Wow, two years can go by quickly!
It only seems like a short while ago that G and I were walking home, talking about a novel idea containing an heiress and mistaken identity. And now here we are, with an awesome 2-act novel that's still going.
I'd like to thank all of you readers who visit this blog and take the time to go through this developing story. It means a lot to me.
Also, a huge thank you to G. Compatibility in writing is a rare thing indeed, and I'm so glad I found it in you. I'm looking forward to see how this (and future projects) unfold.

Thank you all so much!

-K

We're Still Alive!

Yikes, it's already April and there still isn't a chapter! (Four months is a long time for a blog to be silent...)
My apologies, I have an idea of what I want to write, but time to write is a scarce thing to have these days. However, things are getting a little more flexible, and I think I should write before the cram period of exams and summatives begin. So keep your eye on the blog for the next couple of weeks, and you should see something new come up~~

Thanks for sticking around!

-K

Happy New Year!

We wish you the best for 2014!

-K (and G)

Merry Christmas!

Well, I have no holiday chapter to offer today, with a black out earlier this week and a busy schedule.
But we wish you a merry Christmas, and hope the rest of the holidays go well!

-K (with G in spirit)

Notice from K

Hello!

Hope you've been having a great summer, and have been checking up on this blog for new chapters! Speaking of summer and new chapters, I'm heading out to Vancouver until the 13th, so I probably won't have any time to post a new chapter (which leaves you, the reader, on a little bit of a cliffhanger). However, as soon as I get back, I'll be as busy as I can writing Chapter 72!
In the time that I'm not around, check out Zone 1, G's other blog, and this interesting (and hilarious) podcast I've been addicted to for awhile.

See you in 12 days!

-K

Notice

For some reason, the blog has reposted Chapter 32....please be patient as we try to fix this problem!

-K

*Edit: G seems to have accidentally republished it when he edited it...he apologizes for any inconvenience it may cause*

Now with summer starting...

We can now actually write more often! Yay!
I've updated the latest Theo chapter with some more content, as I felt it was a little too short (as well, what I had written was too short in itself to be a stand-alone). Hopefully, we'll have more time to write these next few months, though no promises on my side (as I'm volunteering and vacationing for a few weeks).
Happy reading!

1st anniversary here at North by North

One year ago, we introduced ourselves, our concept, and our characters. Today, we have solid and intriguing characters and 67 chapters (and counting)!
It's been one year already since this blog has started, and a lot has changed. Hopefully, the quality of the story has only gotten better.
To whoever reads the novel, you have our thanks.
And G, thanks for being a wonderful coauthor! Without you and your ideas, there'd be no North by North.

-K

Happy New Year everyone!
We hope that you'll have much happiness through this new year, and that you'll continue to read this novel as we progress through 2013!

Cheers,

K and G

And We Bring You A Christmas Interruption...

Theo woke up inside of a room that looked rather like her room, except that outside, it was snowing. She had to rub her eyes and clean her glasses to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. The last thing she remembered was that she was in a helicopter…in the middle of summer. She flopped down on her bed, and sighed. “Hey author, or authors…you dragged me out of the story again, didn’t you?” she asked out loud to whoever was in control. No otherworldly voice spoke, but a knock did sound at her door.

She got up and opened the door, where she saw a familiar face. “Hi there…Theo, was it?” asked a boy with shockingly grey eyes. It was those eyes that helped Theo identify the mystery person.

“And you’re Dennis,” affirmed Theo. “You look slightly different.”

“Really?” he cocked his head to the side in thought. “I guess I do. My author never really defined my appearance the first few times he or she wrote the story. Now they started anew, so I guess I have a slightly different look.” He combed his black hair with his fingers absentmindedly and fixed the large magnifying glasses on his face. “It appears we’ve been whisked off to an alternate universe again. I wonder what for this time.”

“Do you know the date?” asked Theo. “I was in the middle of summer, and I don’t think it snows in the middle of 20-plus degrees weather.”

Dennis shook his head. “No idea.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to go find out for ourselves,” she replied, after a brief search around the room for a calendar. She and Dennis walked down the stairs where they found themselves in a large living room that didn’t belong to either of them.

“Hey, it’s you again!” said a voice, and they turned around to see a familiar girl with glasses and a boy accompanying her. “Do you remember me?”

Now Almost Back to the Feature Presentation

Hello, hello, long time no see! About a month if I counted correctly?
Our intermission has stretched out for a long time, rather too long, so G and I are busy planning out the second part of our adventure. We'll get it to you at some unknown time in the near future. I hope you're all ready to be whisked away!

-Kiki

Intermission pt 5- Chapter 31 and you get the idea now

Dennis could feel the tension rise a notch, and so he interrupted. "That would also explain why that guy, Gerad, said that he was with dead characters from books. And how he referred to himself to a character, and says he, 'Doesn't play a part in your story anymore.' I just thought he was kind of crazy."
"Don't call my friend crazy!" exclaims Kaya.
"And also how that bench appeared out of nowhere," adds Kenny, glancing over at Dennis with an incredulous expression. "The authors must be just trying to make fools out of us in our confusion."
"Try as they might, they can never make a fool out of me!" proclaims Raymond.
"It's too late, you're already a fool," says Kenny dryly. At that particular moment, a brick suddenly drops from seemingly nowhere and lands on Raymond's head. He falls unconscious for the second time in only a few minutes. "Case in point," notes Kenny.
"He's not dead, is he?" asks Kaya, slightly worried. She didn't like Raymond at all, but she didn't want more blood on her hands from not doing anything.
"Nah," says Kenny, bending down to check. "His head's much too hard for that."
"Besides, anything that happened in a break wouldn't reflect on the actual story," says Theo. "As you said, this is just a fun exercise. Anything that happens here isn't carried over."
Heathcliff's eyes flutter open and he sits up. "Uh, what just happened here? What are you talking about?"
With much stopping and starting, and Heathcliff interrupting with questions, the group got the idea across to him.
"This is preposterous!" exclaims Heathcliff quite indignantly. "We cannot have our own free will and mind?"
"It might appear so," says Kaya. "But there's nothing we can do, really."
"Yes there is!' replies Heathcliff, who promptly stands up and starts pacing back and forth. "We must stage a rebellion!" he exclaims, all riled up, and his blue eyes shining with a sort of madness.
"A rebellion?" Theo sits back. "How would we go through with that?" she inquires.
"We just have to do something the authors would not think of," says Heathcliff. "Baffle them, do something totally out of character! Then when they are exasperated and plead with us to stop, we'll come up with some sort of contract that will stop them from taking over our lives!"
"No, that's not possible," says Dennis.
"Why ever not?" needles Heathcliff. "Give me a good reason why."
Dennis thinks for a moment. "Well...hmm...uh..."
Kaya takes pity on him and jumps to his rescue. "I think what Dennis is trying to say is that we are essentially the offspring of the authors. The authors actually created us, and everything about us. We can't do anything out of character, because then that'll just become incorporated into our characteristics. Anything we do was thought about by the authors beforehand and then written down, making us do it. As we're talking right now, they know what we're saying and what we're thinking. It's impossible to stage a rebellion, because that's what they planned for us to do!"
Heathcliff was utterly dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to speak. "I--" he started, but he suddenly and without warning, vanished.
Dennis and the others looked at each other with identical unbelieving expressions. "Hey, where's Raymond?" asks Kaya, pointing at the empty spot where an unconscious Raymond once lay.
"It appears we're getting called back to our stories," says Theo. "And just as I was enjoying myself, too."
"I wonder, will we remember this?" asks Kaya. "I'm surprised at myself, but I have to say I enjoyed meeting you guys and this brief time we spent together."
"Maybe," says Kenny. "I guess it depends on whether the authors decide to or not."
"Let's try really hard then to convince the authors," says Kaya. "I would like to try to remember this."
Theo blinks out of existence, returning to her tumultuous story. Kenny soon follows suit. Once again, it was only Dennis and Kaya in the park.
"Here, let's try to see if this works," says Kaya, pulling an earring out of her ear. She slips it into Dennis's pocket. "See if it goes with you when you arrive back to your place, would you?"
"Sure," he says. "I wonder if I'll see you again?"
"Maybe, maybe not," she says. She feels something tugging at her spirit, and she knows it time to leave. "Good luck with your family, Dennis. Hope to see you again!"
She disappears, and Dennis only a breath later, does too. The park starts disappearing into darkness, until only words are left on a blank white background.

Intermission pt 4- Chapter 31 and who even cares anymore?

They all snap out of it. "It was nothing," says Kaya.
"Nothing you'd understand, considering your IQ," adds Theo. The others nodded their heads in agreement. Kaya finds a bench (which has suddenly appeared behind them, much to their confusion), and sits down, tired from standing and talking to mostly idiotic people for three chapters. If you've ever done it before, you'll understand how she feels.
"It's nice having a break," says Dennis. "After being transported over long distances with a blindfold, surviving a shoot-out, and discovering I have an entire family I never knew about, I think just taking it easy is a relief."
"Don't get me started on what I went through in the course of three days," sighs Theo, shaking her head.
"I wonder how long this break will be. I mean, have we all suddenly gotten a break from our life at the same time?" asks Kaya, her curiosity piqued. "What were you guys doing right before this?"
"I was on my way to plan my grandfather's rescue," says Theo.
"Like I said before, I was discussing the legitimacy of a family tree with Raymond and Kenny in a cabin in the woods," says Dennis.
"And then you suddenly all show up here?" The others nod. "That's an interesting coincidence," remarks Kaya.
"I wonder..." says Theo. She sits down as well, and leans back against the back of the bench. "If Charlie was here, I'd think he'd say something about how maybe there's something otherworldly controlling us. Something silly like that. But what would that mean?"
"Here's an idea," says Dennis, and the others turn to him. "What if our entire world was, well, made up? It would explain how Kaya comes from a different time, how we all show up here suddenly and inexplicably, and how random ghosts show up. Only someone who's behind the scene could make a crazy world like this, and a writer is the craziest creator I can think of."
"It could also be some sort of movie producer," inputs Kenny.
"Ghosts?" asks Raymond, ignoring Kenny.
"Like we said, nothing. Ignore that part," says Kenny, shutting him up for a few moments. Raymond opens his mouth to speak again.
"You mean, we'd be nothing more than words on a page? And our entire life is at the whim of some sort of madman? I'm above that, I'm sure. No one would be able to create such a fine specimen as myself just by writing."
"Stop it, before I kick you again," says Kaya, giving him a threatening look.
Raymond complies. "I don't need to add onto the bruises I received from Karla dropping a bazooka on me and your violent foot," mumbles Raymond.
"If it makes any sense, I think it's the most logical reason," says Theo, crossing her legs and pondering. "I certainly don't think it was some sort of scientific phenomena that brought us together at the exact same time. If I'm correct, we all live not just in different time periods, but also different geographic areas. And I certainly don't believe in a man in the sky."
"So let's say we all belong to our own stories," says Dennis, slightly pleased that the others are going with his idea. "Why would our authors decide to bring us together?"
Kaya rummages around in her bag and brings out her tablet. "In my experience as a writer," she says while searching through it, "I like to have fun with my characters from different projects. If I'm stuck at a point and I don't know where to go, or I need to get to know my characters better, I just place them in an interesting situation and work with that. Like this," she holds up her tablet, and showing a preview of a short piece of writing with some interesting conversation between very different characters.
"I have to say, this isn't a very interesting situation to begin with," says Theo. "What could possibly happen in a park like this?"
"I met my ally, and later my admirer in a park, who without I wouldn't have been able to save the world," says Kaya, bristling slightly. "Plenty can happen in a park."

Intermission pt 3 - chapter 31 and 1/2 and a bit more

'By the way, who was that rude fellow who left just as me and Charlie here arrived some time ago?' Theo inquires.
'Oh that, my friends, was Jerry, my brother, quite a brilliant person if you get to know him well.' Raymond says. He is still on the ground and seeming comfortable that way.
'That sounds logical, considering you two are both snobs.' Kaya says, 'And since when did we become your 'friends'? I'd think twice about ever being friends with you.'
'Just being friendly,' Raymond answers with a big goofy smile shrug, he turns to Heathcliff, 'You're Heathcliff, that's a very handsome name, I say.'
'I am the honorable Heathcliff Carolus von Curtin the third, (motioning a hand towards Theo) I have braved numerous dangers and rescued this here damsel in distress-' Heathcliff doesn't get to finish, Theo bends down and knocks him out.
'Heathcliff Carolus von Curtin the third,' Raymond repeats, 'Indeed a handsome name.' He turns to Kaya, 'Speaking of names, Kaya Song, yours come pretty close to a kayak, it's amusing to think about, let's suppose your surname is Kruger or Kraft, then it would spell Kaya K.-' Raymond doesn't get to finish his sentence either, because Kaya bends down at that moment and knocked him out also. Raymond and Heathcliff now lie side by side, both knocked out cold.
'Oh, that reminds me!' Charlie suddenly speaks up, 'Where's Wolfgang?'
'Wolfgang? He's still in the hospital.' Theo says. In his unconsciousness, Heathcliff twitches when the name is uttered.
'I think I'll go ask him if he wants to play rock, paper, scissors.' Charlie says, 'I'll see you all later.' He smiles and is gone.
'Your friend there has an obsession with rock, paper, scissors.' Kenny points out.
'He's...very unusual.' Theo says.
'Is he sheltered?' Kaya asks.
'I don't know, he's from the country, and from what he's told me about himself, he's had some very odd experiences during his life so far.' Theo replies.
'Then how did you meet him?' Dennis asks.
'It's a long story.' Theo says, and signs deeply at the complexity of the few days past.
'Great! I love long stories!' A voice yells out.
'Who said that?' Kaya spins around to look behind her, where the voice seems to have originated.
'It's me, Gerad.' Gerad says, no one sees him.
'Gerad???!!! You-you died!' Kaya exclaimed in unparalleled surprise and shock.
'I did, that's why I'm here, since I don't play a part in your story anymore, I hang out at the ghosts club right over there.' Gerad is probably pointing to where the ghosts club is situated at, but nobody sees because he is invisible to living characters.
'The ghosts club?' Kaya asks.
'That's right, sometimes a ghost counsellor comes to talk to the characters who died by betrayal, disease or unnecessarily and feels depressed because they have no part in their stories anymore and their fellow characters betrayed them by killing them or somethings like that. I'm not depressed, but I go because some very well-known characters attend the sessions, that's how I met every person who died in Catch-22, they were all very angry because Yossarian made it through World War Two, but they didn't.' There is a moment of pause and a chuckle is heard, 'It's great being a ghost!' Gerad says.
No one says a word, everyone is staring at the spot where ghost Gerad is supposed to be, then Gerad says, 'Hey! I see Dumbledore! I'm going to go talk with him, until next time, everybody!' There is a gust of wind, and Gerad is gone.
'And how did you know him?' Dennis asks.
'It's a longer story.' Kaya says.
Raymond wakes up, 'Woah, did someone knock me out? Where was I again? I was talking about a kayak, wasn't I?' When nobody notices him at first, he says, 'You all look like you've seen a ghost.'

Intermission pt 2- Chapter 31 and 1/2 and a bit

"I don't believe so," says Theo. "Since you're supposedly from either an alternate reality or the future, it would make it hard for us to be related."
"But," inputs Dennis, "it's a possibility you guys are related. It would mean that you," he points at Kaya, "are a descendant of her," and he finishes by pointing at Theo.
Kaya and Theo look at each other simultaneously. After a brief moment of just looking at each other, they turn to Dennis and say, "Nah, I don't think so," once again at the same time.
"What do we even have in common? Other than glasses and long dark hair, I don't see much of a resemblance here," says Kaya.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure that our last names are different. Mine is North and... what's yours?" she asks Kaya.
"Song."
"Right. So that could easily be concluded as us being unrelated."
"Actually, you two look pretty similar," says Kenny. "It just might be hard for the two of you to see it." Dennis and Charlie nodded their heads in agreement. "And any changes in last name would happen as soon as Miss North here marries. And we're probably thinking of a few generations between the two of you, so name changes would happen most likely more than once."
"Of course, Kenny, you just had to reveal how much of a nerd you are to these girls. You'll never have any luck with the ladies now," says Raymond, still lying down nursing the bruise inflicted by Kaya.
Kenny glares at Raymond. "As if you're any better. You scare them away with what you think are hilarious jokes, and then you have to go and show how stupid you are. You're also impossibly rude. Now I know why I'm not even close to being similar to you, being adopted and all. Otherwise, I don't even know how we'd be related."
"Isn't someone a bit touchy today, hmm?" remarks Raymond. "What is it, an experiment went wrong? Or was it that you got into an argument with someone? Did Karla reject you?"
"This conversation is going absolutely nowhere, and is absolutely inane," interrupts Kaya before Kenny could reply (quite angrily, as his expression revealed). "I think we can stop now."
"I don't think it's proper for you to be airing dirty laundry to complete strangers that you don't even know the names of," points out Theo. She's always a stickler for courtesy. "Introductions are in order, I suppose, so I'll start. I'm Theo, formally Theodora."
"I'm Charlie," says Charlie for the first time in a while. He had watched the entire conversation not knowing how to react or reply.
"As you have heard, I'm Kenny, and this is my idiot of a brother Raymond. The one you're sitting next to is Dennis, who is also my brother."
"And I'm Kaya," she finishes. "I have to say, by the sound of what Dennis was telling me earlier, you guys have a complex family," she says to Kenny and Raymond. "Although I have to say Kenny seems the most competent out of the three of you."
"Certainly not Raymond. I think he's about my age, and yet he acts like a 9 year old," scoffs Theo. "He kind of reminds me of an annoying suitor I have."
"Theodora darling! How could you be so cruel as to leave me behind?" cries out a voice, and Theo sighs.
"Speak of the devil, here he comes now. I thought locking him up in a room would be enough to grant me some peace." Dennis looks a little alarmed upon hearing Theo say that.
A dashing looking blond boy rushes towards Theo. He looks like a typical Prince Charming, straight out of a fairytale where he just finished rescuing a princess. He tries embracing Theo from behind, but instead, she just gives him a backwards punch to the head. He falls beside Raymond, a little stunned.
"Heathcliff. How many times have I told you to stop doing that? You understood when I told you that I don't like you that way and I don't like pushiness. Hell, you were serious at the time too!" exclaims Theo, placing a firm foot on Heathcliff's chest so that he couldn't get up.
"But love, I can't bear to not see you," protests Heathcliff, and he puts on a pleading puppy dog face. "Let me stay with you!"
"No. Go back to the house," says Theo firmly.
"Oh, just let him stay. What difference does one more idiot make?" drawls Kaya. "They can entertain each other."

Intermission pt 1 - chapter 31 and 1/2

During intermission, while authors are plotting about what to have their characters do next, the characters are free to go about as they please...

It is a sunny day, and on such this day we find Dennis Raveley walking in a park, he looks lost. He finds himself walking behind Kaya Song, who had just saved the world once, and is looking towards a sequel heading in the same direction.
'Hello,' says Dennis, catching up to Kaya, he decides to tell someone about his situation, and see what they make of it, 'I just discovered that I'm part of a very arcane family with some very major family issues, and I suspect they want me to help them solve some issue (which by the way I know nothing about). Can you help me with that?'
'What? I have no idea what's going on, and I need to save the world. I have no time to help you!' Kaya exclaimed, realizing at once he is not from her part of the (fictional) world.
'Oh really?' Says a third voice, in the sarcastic tone which Dennis recognize immediately to be the voice of Jerry Wyatt, 'I have to tell you, that ambition does not have a high success rate.'
'I believe the contrary. I've already saved the world once, and I can do it again. So you see, it is more than just an ambition.' Kaya replies, 'Perhaps you've heard of Chimera on the internet?'
'We've not, we've been in a cabin for the past while, discussing the legitimacy of a family tree.' Dennis says.
'Precisely, and if I've not heard of it, despite being informed about many things, I say your saving the world is a very minor act which I am not surprised it did not reach my ears.' Jerry says.
'Are you jealous and acting unimpressed that I've saved the world, and you have not, or are you on their side, which being the reason why you are acting so unimpressed.' Kaya says, ready to kick the arrogance out of Jerry already despite meeting only a moment ago.
All three of them are interrupted by Charlie North, appearing suddenly and unannounced.
'Does anyone want to play rock, paper, scissors?' Charlie inquires.
As soon as Charlie says this, Theo North appears beside him, and says in disbelief of the sudden sharp turn the conversation has taken, '(To Charlie) How stupid can you be? (To Kaya, Dennis and Jerry) I'm sorry, he can be a little...naive.'
Dennis realizes something, he says, 'That's what Karla calls me, I think she's my cousin but I can't be sure, nothing is sure in my story.'
'Damn right nothing's sure,' Jerry says dismissively, 'You (looking at Kaya with cynical antagonism) who is so sure you've accomplished something, beware of your ego.' With that, he makes his leave. Kaya considers kicking him to make him leave faster, but decides to wait until next time, 'He didn't even introduce himself. Shouldn't we introduce ourselves when we join a conversation? This must be happening in my past, I mean, a lot of things are different!'
'Because nobody want to play rock paper scissors?' Charlie asks.
Theo facepalms, she leans over to Kaya and says, 'Do you ever have that feeling everyone around you is oblivious to logic?'
'Yes, more than often, I suppose that hasn't changed in my time.' Kaya says in agreement.
'Well, well, well, we have here someone who says she is in her past, that makes her a visitor from the future! And she's a she! I never knew Marty Mcfly is a girl!' A grinning, jolly Raymond Wyatt makes his presence known when he jumps out of some nearby bushes and joined the conversation in the park, openly.
Without a word, Kaya kicks Raymond in the shins, 'One cynical idiot is enough for one day.'
'Hey! I'm the one who is supposed to make movie references here!' Kenny Wyatt arrives in a fury, 'My brother there stole what I wouldn't have said (because I don't believe in sarcasm).' He points to Raymond, who is on the ground.
'Well this is an interesting conversation isn't it?' Theo says, and then realizes that Kaya had said the same thing, at the same time.
'Are we related in some way?' Kaya asks Theo. 

End Act One - Cue Intermission

North By North has just reached the end of it's first act...avec cliffhanger!

In Act 2 (and likely later acts beyond), there will be more action, thrills, absurdity (expect that from Charlie's perspective), over-the-top-ness, emotional tension (especially between a certain estranged father and son), movie references, rejected proposals, heroism (credited to Theo), martial arts, snippets of characters' pasts, Mr. Clark Gable's awesome six-pack, and rock, paper, scissors. So be prepared!

Act 2 coming soon, to this blog, date unspecified!

In the meantime, there will be a special bonus chapter featuring appearances by characters from a multitude of novels. Also coming soon, and sooner than Act 2.

G!

An Introduction

I suppose an introduction is in order.
My name is Kiki (a pseudonym of course) and I am one of two authors here on North by North.
My co-author G and I have the pleasure of bringing to you a thriller/comedy of an ordinary guy, a heiress, a kidnapping, and a hotel mistake that brings them together.
Feel free to give us critique and ideas, we greatly appreciate them!