Generation Why Bother

Andy told all of us to save the date: some time in summer 2013.

That’s when the network Cartoonigans had told him that his high-octane cartoon-adaptation of his cult-followed webcomic Johnny Cool and the Dudes was set to premiere.

Things were basically at an all-time high for Put’emup, Put’emup after the danger was proven to be just something that fizzled out because of our awesomeness. Alongside the fact that they were even more coveted in terms of touring due to the completely kickass performance they did to ring in 2012, their not-quite-hiatus had ended earlier than expected. Alongside Andy coming clean to the world about his (kind of) second life, all of the hubbub surrounding them was bubbling over to become something even bigger than the hype they were already getting just from being a great band. There was really no doubt that they’d be using their powers to enhance their live shows from then on.

Apparently, Anthony hadn’t even minded the fact that Andy was pitching Johnny Cool as an animated series so quickly after they’d just gotten through the most stressful event of their careers. Tegan and I had figured that one out when we visited them right after Andy pitched it and told us how it went over Facenook – we went over to congratulate him, especially since Cartoonigans had received it so well.

And of course with perfect timing coming into play, the band had also announced that they were going to tour alongside label mates The Max and Olli Lolli; apparently Not Listening liked to throw together random bands and see what would happen. Also apparently, fans of the label loved the combinations. Maybe that’s why they were so successful.

Writing had started back up again for the band as well, but this time it was a little different. For starters, it wasn’t just Andy and Anthony writing anymore – Mick and Chance wanted to reach out and try their own hands at songwriting. According to the Facenook messages they’d send us from time to time, it made things a little more time-consuming, while the end result was just so much better. It was more collaborative, they’d said. The album is supposed to drop sometime in autumn 2013, but there’s still a lot that has to be sorted out.

And it was weird, seeing things come together more and more for the rest of us, too. I’d finished up my AP Art portfolio with a bang and somehow kicked my own butt into shape, and in the end I got a 4 out of 5 as my final grade, which was definitely passing. Tegan had an awesome portfolio of her own, but her class didn’t have super strict rules so she was able to experiment more. I think that’s probably why hers turned out so well, and it kind of suited her to begin with.

Speaking of Tegan, she did get to see her “alien babe girlfriend” about once a week, give or take a little bit of fluctuation due to Daltia being in a totally different galaxy. She didn’t care, neither did Ms. Tracey, and after a while I grew to kind of forgive Shira for almost killing my dad as an accident. When I say “almost,” though, I mean, like, maybe she’s two percent forgiven. My dad may have been happily dating Ms. Tracey, though that didn’t mean he didn’t get seriously injured by Shira.

Plus, Tegan didn’t need anybody to know she was actually an alien, given the fact that she pretty much fell from the sky when she visited. Her mother was already half-against the idea of her daughter being wooed by someone from outer space. Shira already had means of further communication – she even discovered a laptop with a webcam in her father’s hidden stash of human technology. Small universe.

Riley and Chuck had bought their plane tickets to Chicago when they found out about Andy’s big break in the animation world, and the day of the premiere (which is also a day off from touring for the band), we’ve set plans up to watch it together, no matter where in life we are. Those two were still kicking it in Florida, Riley finding his niche as a roadie-in-training for a local venue and Chuck still finding his passion while studying at a state college. They’re happy and we all still keep in touch – you know, just in case the world needs saving again.

The four of us had questions upon questions thrown at us the second we walked back through the doors of our respective schools after winter break was over. Since the performance had made so many headlines, people who hadn’t even listened to Put’emup, Put’emup recognized us as their assistants and asked us how the heck we pulled off a stunt like that. The guys told us to keep it under wraps to “keep the magic alive,” which we understood, of course. I just told people that it was a miraculous working of special effects that they decided to keep around after it had been so well-received. Nobody had to know that me and Tegan still kept in touch with them – having celebrities on speed dial was just our little secret.

I know that if we needed to pull ourselves together again that we could all manage to do it one more time as a big hurrah. I mean, even Andy himself admitted that he’d probably be able to handle it better – he said he’d learned a lot throughout the ordeal about his own strengths and weaknesses as well as what to do and what not to do in situations like that. Juggling passions was a difficult task for anybody, but he wasn’t alone in it. The whole band had things they liked doing besides music, but as a whole, music was what brought them together. That’s why they were so amazing, even if they had to postpone some more touring due to production of Johnny Cool and the Dudes.

And as for me? Well, I’ve honestly never been better. I had to learn how to control a power that I hadn’t even voluntarily gotten, I’ve had to take the advice I gave to my dad and move on when seeing him with somebody other than Mom was a little weird at first, and just overall, I’ve grown up a little bit. Not too much. Just, enough to function. I still sit in my dorm in my underwear when my roommate’s not there and watch cartoons and eat ice cream. It’s like what Andy told me and what I’ve been telling myself for years – whatever helps you make it through the day, as long as you’re not hurting anybody, especially not yourself.

I’ve been drawing a lot lately. Probably because the program I’m in at college has demanded that I draw a ton, but I think it goes deeper than that. Change isn’t always a bad thing. It’s scary and it’ll probably screw with you for a while, and overall sometimes it’s for the better. I made a couple of new friends throughout that happening that have helped me realize that it’s not always misery that loves company. It’s confusion, it’s stress, it’s loneliness, and most of all, it’s happiness. Even if you’re miles away from your friends (though, thankfully I had Tegan in my immediate contact), there’s something that’s always gonna tie you back to them.

I think I’ve probably been drawing much more because I’m trying to get that out in the open and materialize it on paper. I love to create characters and make them go through the things that I’ve had to endure, no matter how stupid that probably sounds. I’ve looked up to Johnny Cool all my life even though he wasn’t real, and now it’s time to create my own heroes in hopes that someday, somebody else can look up to them the same way I used to look up to the ones that others created.

I’m trying to keep the balance between having my head in the clouds and my feet on the ground, but sometimes it’s nice to indulge. Just because something’s not real doesn’t mean it’s fake, right? Channeling the storms in your head into something that might not make sense to anyone else is still a valid way of being, no matter what it is.

So I’m trying to keep my head up like I always did before I started getting flashes of pessimism during my time in 2011. I’ve been thinking more realistically, which isn’t always the happiest way of being, but I’ve tried not to idealize my life anymore. The truth is, things change. They may not always be for the better, but you will become a better person when you get out of it. I think I turned out alright, anyway.

I think I’ll keep growing older, but I’ll keep the growing-up to a minimum. I mean, look at Put’emup, Put’emup. Those guys are just big kids who found their places in the world, and I look up to all of them to this day. Growing up doesn’t mean you lose the childlike spark that keeps you creative – it just means you learn to control it.

Kind of like lightning, right?