Your Personal Canon - Magic School Bus Shipping Forum

http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/13572643/

So where's everybody's Walkerville? Since it's never explicitly mentioned in canon (correct me if I'm wrong with the books), I put mine in California.

Why?

There are hills, mountains, deserts, and wetlands in California. I chose San Luis Obispo. Here are some pictures that remind me of Walkerville:

http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/5435598/

http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/5370916/

http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/5151881/

http://flickr.com/photos/awfulsara/453218/

So whereabouts have you set Walkerville and why? Just curious :)

ETA: 200th post - WOO

#201 Oct 18th 2007, 3:17pm . Edited Oct 18th 2007, 3:24pm

I chose Texas for the same reasons: it has hills, mountains, deserts, swamps, wetlands, farmlands, and not to mention Murph, Molly Cule and D.A.'s mom's accents.

I think of Walkerville being a suburb town that when they were kids, was still considered "way out there", but by the time they're in high school, the city limits catch up to it. I either make it a suburb town within the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex or within the Houston Metro Area. Though, I have set it in Virginia, South Carolina, and as a suburb of Austin.

In a college-era fic I'm currently working on, their fictional college of Walker State is near Canyon Lake, TX:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/49515723@N00/175853812/

It's situated in the Texas Hill Country (http://www.flickr.com/photos/88697202@N00/632500200/) between San Antonio and Austin, and places such as Big Bend (http://www.flickr.com/photos/revjim/310597651/) and Lake Buchanan (http://flickr.com/photos/misternaxal/297615026/) will be featured.

#202 Oct 18th 2007, 3:35pm

EverAfter153

I like California better than Texas...I think it's more generic as a setting, doesn't take a lot of explanation. Then again, I live in CA, so maybe I'm biased :P

I imagined Walkerville generally in Northwest Washington. I don't know why...it seemed appropriate, because they obviously have seasons in Walkerville, and I wanted a place with seasons. I wanted someplace where the trees turned colors in the fall. Of course, they don't have any deserts really close by, but the Magic School Bus can get places pretty quickly, as proven in Blows Its Top, where they reach the middle of the Pacific Ocean in a few hours.

Here are a few pictures of Northwest WA...

http://www.agpix.com/catalog/AGPix_kirkendallsprin/large/AGPix_kirkendallsprin_0335_Lg.jpg

http://www.mo.gov/mo/mophotos/parks/PA_WashingtonStatePark_Rankin_101206.jpg (this one reminds me of the honey episode)

http://seattlesurbanvillages.typepad.com/seattles_urban_villages/images/2007/03/30/seattle20skyline20photos205119052_4.jpg

#203 Oct 18th 2007, 5:03pm

I like California better than Texas, but I like Washington better than California. Those pictures are gorgeous EverAfter. :) And according to my research (sorry, couldn't resist:p) Washington has everything MSB has. Mountains, seasons, swamp, ocean, etc.. I also agree that the desert doesn't really have to be close, because the bus flew. Washington also has all the animals shown in the show.

I moved it to the east coast US for a time, but really i prefer washington and it makes more sense to me. Walkerville is also only 100 years old (see the erosion ep), and the east coast US was apparently mostly settled around then. Washington state was being settled around the mid 1880's. Plus California's such a popular setting anyway.. Washington's something new. (though they did have Frasier)

And one more random bit of PC:

Keesha and Carlos are now the youngest in my PC, because they are the two newest characters in the books. (yes, phoebe's the new kid, but she came before.) I think they were added after the show came out, but i'm not sure. Same year anyway.

#204 Oct 18th 2007, 5:27pm

I think it's more generic as a setting, doesn't take a lot of explanation.

But for someone who has never been to California, I don't find it generic and still need explanation. :D

I think of Walkerville being slightly more in the south than northern, mostly because of the number of Southern accents on the show and the fact it was warm on Valentine's Day (which is why I can't see it farther north than NorCal or the Mason-Dixon Line...but I'd make an exception for Philadelphia :D). I've wanted to move Walkerville back to Virginia or even North Carolina (mostly because I think VA and NC look more like the Walkerville on the show...even though Walkerville also looks like it could be in the Texas Hill Country), but the last few stories I've written (or am writing) required a large city near by.

And plus, I love the idea of the gang having South Padre Island at their disposal. :D

#205 Oct 18th 2007, 5:33pm . Edited Oct 18th 2007, 5:37pm

EverAfter153

Honestly, though, you could use anything in the show to defend where you personally place Walkerville. Like with "canon ships", it's all personal interpretation of the glimpse of Walkerville we get.

#206 Oct 18th 2007, 6:05pm

Very true. The show does it on purpose kind of, making the location so hazy. I personally can't imagine walkerville in the south (palm trees, the kids don't have any sign of a southern accent...), but that's just interpretation I suppose, and what you know best. The location was always meant to be undecided i'm sure. So I don't really like it too much when such exact locations are told to us (so I just make up names like the Granger Mountains, or something, rather than a real mountain range).

#207 Oct 18th 2007, 6:41pm

I don't have a problem with it being in Texas, especially after reading some persuasive fics and having good discussions about it. Having never been to Texas and choosing California beforehand, I make arguments for California. I move it up and down the central coast, but stick close to San Luis Obispo - it's inland enough that there's a nearby beach but far enough away that there's more variation. There aren't a ton of palm trees throughout the southern U.S., and if there's a logical argument for a place, I'm fine with it - even if it's not in California.

The Valentine's Day episode didn't have any cold in it in February, which made me move Walkerville south. It's not supposed to be anywhere, but I'd rather make a decision and stick to it and risk being wrong than sitting on the fence. That's just me though.

#208 Oct 18th 2007, 8:20pm

It's not supposed to be anywhere, but I'd rather make a decision and stick to it and risk being wrong than sitting on the fence. That's just me though.

I totally agree. I'm not saying it HAS to be in Texas or the south, but I do have my reasons for putting Walkerville south (and in a diverse state). I like the sense of realism of putting it in a real state (especially since fanfiction deals more with the characters, as opposed to canon, which just focused on the science facts and not much else). Another reason I can't see it further north than, say, San Francisco, Dallas, or Virginia is the Spanish moss in Butterfly Bog, which mainly grows in southern, humid climates.

I know everything is up to interpretation (like shipping), and I say, embrace in the ambiguity, but those are just my reasons for putting Walkerville where I specifically do.

#209 Oct 18th 2007, 8:28pm

Yeah, I've toyed with the idea of a few places, but I'm pretty set on Washington now. As for the Valentines day thing, believe it or not, February can be sweater weather even farther north where i live. And you always have those crazy kids anyways who wear shorts and T-shirts even when it's snowing..

I think anywhere on the west or gulf coast US is pretty logical, as long as it's not too far south where there are no seasons, like southern Californa - LA - or something (I could be wrong about the no seasons thing, all i know is i went down there right before christmas and it was like summer weather).

My favorite location for Walkerville is Washington, but I like oregon and northern California too. Anywhere along that strip of land is fine with me.

And I don't think there's anything wrong with sitting on the fence... Changing the location from story to story or - hey! - even never mentioning the location just like the show managed to ;) I kind of try to avoid it, but in my head it's always around the Washington-northCA area.

#210 Oct 18th 2007, 11:02pm

So I don't know if any of you are watching the World Series (if not, you should be), but I just had a stroke of PC amusement:

In my RL banners, I use Ashanti as Keesha (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/LJ%20Headers/class_banner04.png). Ashanti just sang "America the Beautiful" during the seventh inning stretch at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox...my Phoebe's favorite baseball team.

With that being said...GO SOX!:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon190.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon211.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon296.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon295.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon298.png

#211 Oct 24th 2007, 8:46pm

I mentioned this earlier when we first mentioned where our PC Walkerville was. After watching the salmon ep, and seeing as how Janet expected Ralphie to come back with caught salmon, and the fact that the bus flew back from the ocean as a duck and was not too late for the fry, makes me think that the salmon lived in the ocean next to walkerville. And salmon is mostly popular on the northwest coast of america. Though I do believe their is a species of atlantic salmon around the st. lawrence. I checked this ages ago though... so i'm not sure if i'm remembering correctly. Anyways, yeah, i look at the animals as well as the landscapes.

As for what sports the msb chars are fans of in my PC:

Ralphie: baseball and football mostly (and i make him a rugby fan too, just because)

Carlos: mostly soccer, watches football and baseball too

Wanda: everything? lol

Phoebe: I don't know why, but i like her a hockey fan more than anything else, just because :p

And the rest I don't really see watching sports.

#212 Oct 24th 2007, 9:35pm

I love the idea of my Phoebe loving New Orleans and Boston sports:

Her favorite football teams:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon214.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon249.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon285.png (she loves him more than Tom Brady)

Her favorite hockey team:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon251.png

Her favorite baseball team:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon190.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon211.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon296.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon295.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon298.png

And one special for the World Series:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon300.png

I see Ralphie, Carlos, and Wanda all loving to watch sports, Keesha, Tim, and Arnold not so much (I love the idea of the only time Arnold watches sports is with Phoebe), and I see my D.A. supporting Minnesota teams, especially the Vikings, Twins, and Wild, since her mom's family is in Minnesota (which I also see she can't help but support Gophers hockey):

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon250.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon192.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon253.png

As for Wanda, she so lusts for one Mr. Tony "Delicious" Romo, quarterback for God's and America's team, the Dallas Cowboys:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon259.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon248.png

I also see this as her favorite hockey team, as I can also see her lust after Mike Modano:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon252.png

#213 Oct 24th 2007, 9:58pm . Edited Oct 25th 2007, 6:22pm

So, since Halloween is in about a week, I suggest coming up with at least one costume for each main character (Ms. Frizzle can go as a normal person, maybe?) - I know it depends on their age, but just pick one for whatever works. :)

I'm only going to give ideas, not ages or explanations.

Arnold: vampire

Carlos: God's Gift to Women (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c277/thenena/gift.jpg)

Dorothy Ann: devil

Keesha: bride of Frankenstein

Phoebe: black cat

Ralphie: Jason (from the Friday the 13th movies)

Tim: The Fonz

Wanda: Elvis

#214 Oct 27th 2007, 11:39am . Edited Oct 27th 2007, 11:40am

I LOVE TIM AS THE FONZ. AND THE GOD'S GIFT TO WOMEN.

I think this Halloween, if I'm going by my PC of their ages (they'd be 20-21), the guys should go as the cast of "300":

Ralphie: Leonidas (bearded!Ralphie = win)

Carlos: Xerxes

Tim: Theron (only because he'd want to grow the facial hair out)

Arnold: Dilios (he'd so wear the eyepatch)

As for the girls:

D.A.: Texie, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' mascot (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/MSB%20Icons/msbicon301.png)

Wanda: Playboy bunny

Keesha: "sexy" Catwoman

Phoebe: The only one that comes to mind is Padme to Arnold's Anakin, if they were going Star Wars that year. Aside from that, I think it'd be funny if she went as a shacker (First definition: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shacker).

#215 Oct 27th 2007, 11:57am

I don't think we covered this in its entirety on this forum, so here goes.

What do you picture for the gang's first cars? Do you see them all or some getting cars on their 16th birthdays? I do, and as of now, here is my PC for their first cars:

Arnold:

2003 Toyota 4Runner

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/arnold_car01.jpg

- I actually picture Arnold driving one in black or silver, but this picture suffices. In one of my new fics-in-progress, his first car was his mom's three year old Nissan Maxima (since she buys herself a Mercedes sedan), and for graduation, his grandparents bought him a brand new 4Runner, but overall, I generally see this for Arnold's first car.

Carlos:

2000 Chevy Silverado

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/carlos_car01.jpg

- The reason I like Carlos driving a big, 4-door truck like this is mostly for Mikey. I figure his parents want to give him something that makes it easier for them to load Mikey's wheelchair in, and plus, Carlos would feel awesome behind the wheel.

D.A.:

1979 Mercedes-Benz 450SL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/da_car01.jpg

- This one is my favorite, by far. Her dad in my PC has the guilty pleasure and hobby of rebuilding old cars, so for her 16th birthday, she got a restored, red '79 450SL.

Janet:

2003 Ford Explorer

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/janet_car01.jpg

- I can see Janet being upset over getting an SUV when she wanted a little sporty thing, but she'll warm up to it when she sees how pimp it looks in white.

Keesha:

2003 Honda Accord EX coupe

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/keesha_car.jpg

- Usually I just picture Keesha with some kind of Honda, but when I saw this Accord coupe in blue, something about it made me think "KEESHA CAR".

Phoebe:

1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/phoebe_car01.jpg

- Phoebe's the youngest in my PC with her July '87 birthday, so she'd be the last to get a car. I imagine it that she isn't expecting to get a vehicle for a long while, but her grandparents surprise her with the old Jeep. She'll hate that it's an SUV, but since it was gift from her grandparents and a car, she's not going to dare complain about it.

Ralphie:

2001 Nissan Xterra

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/ralphie_car01.jpg

- Green Xterra is so "Ralphie" in my mind.

Tim:

1999 Volkswagen Jetta

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/tim_car01.jpg

- I like the idea of Tim driving a VW, and I like the idea of Tim turning his Jetta into a Rice Rocket even more. This is how it'll look BEFORE he starts to customize it.

Wanda:

2003 Land Rover Range Rover

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/greenhera/randoms/wanda_car01.jpg

- Originally, I loved the idea of Wanda driving a BMW 3-series or a 2-door Audi, but after reading Angel of Insanity's fic, Standby, I LOVED the idea of short Wanda driving a giant Range Rover.

#216 Nov 01st 2007, 1:31pm . Edited Nov 01st 2007, 1:34pm

PC part time jobs?

DA: some job at the observatory

Phoebe: mostly volunteer stuff instead of paid work. The animal shelter comes to mind.

Keesha: Starbucks

Wanda: some clothes store - she likes the discounts

Tim: movie theater

Carlos: movie theater (i like the idea of these two working there together, dunno why)

Ralphie: some fast food joint

Arnold: some fast food joint

I don't see them working all the time, sometimes quitting then taking the job back, some only working for a few weeks in the summer, etc...

#217 Nov 03rd 2007, 10:38pm . Edited Nov 03rd 2007, 10:41pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6EIN3EeE78&feature=related

Okay, for one of my latest fics, I made DA's last name Mauer. Well I was making some manips and came across this:

http://www.domeplus.com/minnesotatwins/Youth/mauer_navyplayer_youth.htm

Apparently my DA is definitely a Twins fan. :)

And the more I read about the Red Sox's history, the more I like Sox-fan!Phoebe, who dreams that hot men will serenade her with this song...

That gives me a slew of ideas... I effing love baseball, not to mention bagpipes, plus this song is just ASKING to have "Phoebe" inserted into its lyrics... :)

#218 Nov 21st 2007, 5:42pm

Phoebe would so have that and "Sweet Caroline" played at her wedding.

#219 Nov 21st 2007, 6:11pm

Random PC:

In my canon, the Friz and Seedplot end up together and happily married. But they don't have any children. Picturing the Friz having kids of her own is difficult to see... Her students are her children. And her and Seedplot will dedicate the rest of their lives teaching them and taking them on awesome fieldtrips.

#220 Nov 23rd 2007, 11:56pm

RogueDragon and Nebulan

lol, same here. well, I guess she had other love interests, didn't she? I just remember Seedplot more and remember liking him, hehe. Tho I've also considered making an original character. Normally I don't like OCs, but this character would be a possible love interest for Frizz, but his main qualities are that he's a history teach with his own magic bus that he usually just uses for time travel :) I came up with this while drawing the MSB kids as Greeks.

#221 Nov 25th 2007, 5:29pm

That's an interesting idea... although too many magic buses could really confuse a relationship! ;)

#222 Nov 25th 2007, 7:49pm

So I just came up with some new PC for my Phoebe. Since my Phoebe was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on July 13, 1987, I never really thought about why her parents would move themselves to Walkerville. Then it hit me...just what had hit Florida and Louisiana in August 1992 when my Phoebe was the ripe ol' age of five:

HURRICANE ANDREW, THE "KATRINA" OF THE 90'S:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Hurricaneandrewlouisiana.JPG

#223 Dec 17th 2007, 10:27pm

EverAfter153

Haha, that would be a good reason to move, lol:P

#224 Dec 18th 2007, 6:03am

Some random PC since the forum has been rather quiet lately.

1. With Phoebe and the whole "at my old school thing" I had at first kind of thought of her as moving from quite aways away. Well then I saw her old school and it turns out it was just another school in Walkerville. I don't see her as living anywhere but Walkerville, even when she was younger. Maybe since she only mentioned that one other school.

2. Wanda becomes deaf in her old age. I probably see this because of how loud Wanda likes to be.

3. I love Nebulan's idea of Ralphie and Keesha together earlier on in their lives, splitting apart (which so often happens) and then randomly meeting one day in their adult years, then hitting it off. I could see an amazing relationship come out of that reunion.

4. Dorothy Ann loves the play Hamlet.

5. As most of you already know, my favorite PC location for Walkerville is somewhere on the Washington coast. According to my research (which could always be wrong), sea otters (as shown in "get's eaten") only exist on the west coast of the US, which makes the three states Washington, Oregon, and California. Since the bus drove there, and the ocean looks very much like a west coast one even without the otters, I'm guessing any one of these three states is quite probable. Also, the salmon episode hints to this as well. It's just another reason I tend to see Walkerville there, even if the hint is kind of small.

I like the idea of Washington, Oregon, and California the best. Though I've never been to Oregon or Northern California so it might be harder to write..

#225 Jan 18th, 8:16pm

Going back to the "Where is Walkerville?", a new plot bunny I've been working on puts Walkerville as a suburb of Providence, Rhode Island, but the more I think about it, the more I think they purposely made Walkerville "Anytown, USA" and threw everything from around the country in the town, making it SO EASY for it to be anywhere from Seattle to San Diego and Brownsville to Bangor:

Reasons Walkerville Can't Be in the Pacific Northwest:

- The bus is seen taking off from the New England coast in "Sees Stars"

- There are no oil wells in Oregon and Washington (see "Flexes Its Muscles")

- There are no swamps with Spanish moss (see "Butterfly and Bog Beast")

Reasons Walkerville Can't Be in New England:

- There are no sea otters and salmon in the Atlantic

- There are no deserts and swamps

- There are no oil wells

Reasons Walkerville Can't Be on the Gulf Coast:

- The bus is seen taking off from the New England coast in "Sees Stars"

- There are no hilly beaches

- There are no salmon or sea otters

I seriously have too much time on my hands, lol.

I'll probably keep Walkerville a suburb of Dallas, mostly because I'm on such a Dallas kick, but New England!Walkerville has been too much fun (See "Quahog.org Guide to Rhode Island Language Stuff"). IE - I'm having so much fun with Wanda calling Phoebe a "Masshole" and having Phoebe addicted to coffee milk.

#226 Jan 18th, 10:59pm

There's really a bunch of evidence for/against any of the coasts of the U.S., depending on what you want to see, I agree!

#227 Jan 18th, 11:00pm

Hmmm.. According to your list UltimateSora.. California seems to be the most logical place (because there are a few mosses that look similar to spanish moss - i know we have some type up here that hangs off trees like that). Quirky called it!

Though I still don't really like how so many TV shows are set in california.. A little variety is good.

Though I usually see Walkerville in Washington, I prefer not mentioning the state unless absolutely necessary in fics. One, it can make it harder to visualize for people who have never been to it, and two, it takes away from the own authors intrepretation of Walkerville's location.

#228 Jan 19th, 1:58pm

So I found another little detail that the writers decided to use to mess with us over the whereabouts of Walkerville, USA. In "Butterfly and Bog Beast", alligators lived naturally in Walkerville's Butterfly Bog. In "Cold Feet" and "Under Construction", having gators around was no big shock...shock in that the gator wasn't native to the area.

Courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History website:

Alligator mississippiensis

COMMON NAMES:

American alligator, Mississippi alligator, Pike-headed alligator, "gator"

DISTRIBUTION:

Southeastern United States: Alabama, Arkansas, North & South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas

Well, I've put Walkerville in two of the ten states listed. Walkerville, Florida, anyone? ;)

(Walkerville, Florida would be HILARIOUS.)

ETA:

I was bored and went ahead and looked up the butterfly species they encountered (and named):

Zebra Butterfly

"In North America the butterfly is found in the southern parts of the United States including Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina."

Buckeye Butterfly

"It is found in all parts of the United States except the northwest, and is especially common in the South, the California coast, and throughout Central America."

Swallowtail Caterpillar

"They are found in Arizona, New Mexico, and the eastern half of the United States."

#229 Jan 22nd, 9:08pm . Edited Jan 22nd, 9:48pm

RogueDragon and Nebulan

Is it possible the Bog wasn't near walkerville? but we know that the swamp WAS near walkerville. Also, the style of Carlos's house makes me want to think it's in the East because that style of house is VERY common in the East (older houses) and I don't remember seeing many when I lived back west. But coastal episodes lead me to lean toward the west because the beaches on the atlantic side are pretty smooth compared to the west (particularly northwest) since they seemed pretty jagged to me in "gets eaten" and whatever the muscle ep was called.

But the swamp/bog definitely rules out the deserty states (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and possibly Idaho and Wyoming as well)

most likely is there's a space/time vortex around walkerville and it actually moves between episodes. :P

#230 Jan 23rd, 10:24am . Edited Jan 23rd, 10:27am

The Walkerville beach also resembles those of New England, where they show the bus taking off from in "Sees Stars", like around Connecticut and Rhode Island. Beaches in Rhode Island, to me, looked very "Walkerville"

I think it's just the writers making it easy on themselves and making it a very "Anytown, USA", but if I had to place Walkerville somewhere, I'd put it East (for me, anywhere from Brownsville to Bangor).

#231 Jan 23rd, 10:27am

Hazel Wish

I see Dorothy Ann as salutatorian of her graduating class. I kind of based it off the top two graduates in my class and the class before mine. The valedictorians never really did much outside of academics, never joined clubs, etc...while the salutatorians were able to have a social life, participate in clubs, and still have time to keep up their GPAs.

That's just how I see it, maybe you guys see her as valedictorian?

#232 Jan 29th, 11:56pm

I think it'd be a hilarious twist of irony if she wasn't valedictorian. I agree with her being the salutatorian. Our valedictorian was academic oriented with no social life, whereas I see D.A. not only being academic oriented but she'd be a regular high school Renaissance Girl. She'd do "prep" sports like tennis, crew, lacrosse while being like first chair flute in band and in the choir. She'd be a member of various clubs and in NHS and all that while maintaining a high GPA and having a social life with her friends and various boyfriends.

I also seeing her being a little too much into Burberry, but that's another PC for another day. :D

#233 Jan 30th, 12:05am

Even though we don't really know from canon, I assume she was one of those people who always worked hard to get good grades. DA also seemed way more interested in the fields of chemistry and astronomy than anything else. She strikes me as the type of girl that doesn't like to do everything for the sake of everything. She strikes me as the type of girl who pursues the path she loves and focuses her energy more in one direction. I see her way more into academics (especially sciences) than sports. But that's just my view. I think the field trips would give all of the kids a lot of passion for science - how can something like that not impact you?

#234 Jan 30th, 10:08am

http://www.walkerlake.org/

Walkerville, NV, anyone? [/random]

#235 Mar 10th, 10:31pm

So I didn't really know where to put this... It's sort of PC, sort of fanart. It's an edited version of my "live action" msb cast. Closest matches I could find, though none of them are really spot on..

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l46/Eggyolks99/manip3w.jpg

Changed pictures with asterisks (*):

Keesha: Ashanti

Ralphie: Matthew Lewis

*Wanda: Emy Coligado

*Arnold: Unknown

Phoebe: Maggie Gyllenhaal

Tim: Unknown

*DA: Joanna Garcia

*Carlos: Tyler Posey

#236 Mar 16th, 9:50pm

Hazel Wish

I've been thinking that after all of Ms. Frizzle's classes leave her class, their memories of the Magic School Bus begin to fade as they "grow up." Like, when they're older, they remember that Ms. Frizzle was a cool teacher and got them interested in science, but they don't remember exactly *how* she piqued their interests. It's the reason why the government hasn't siezed the school bus yet. ;P

But would that happen to our favorite class? Maybe. Or maybe not, since they're the special class and all. =D

#237 Mar 18th, 9:28pm

The way I like to look at it is that the gang is the "special class" that stayed close friends after their year with the Friz and did remember the trips (after all, it didn't look like Harry Arm was still friends with his former-Friz class...or maybe he was but it was just "off-camera" because, really, no one cares 'cause he isn't a main character), but I can see some of them drift off to other interests, especially by the time they're juniors and seniors in high school. And especially when they get into higher sciences, some of them realize that maybe elementary science was their strong point but they suck in advanced physics (I can see this happening to Phoebe). Someone like D.A. I love seeing being the high school Renaissance Girl who does EVERYTHING and being good at EVERYTHING, and where she's still interested in science, I love the idea of her falling for government and politics. It happens; what someone loved as a kid may grow up to love something else. Of course, I don't see that for everyone. Arnold, for one, I could see still loving geology, even if I have him on the Varsity swim team...even as a swimmer, rocks come first (plus, I LOVE the idea of him being only good at water sports when he loves rocks, as water is the rock's natural enemy). ANYWAY, back to the point, I can see the gang remembering their field trips, but by the time they're 16, 17, 18 years old and so on, they think of the trips in a casual manner.

WOW, that was long winded.

#238 Mar 18th, 9:37pm

For those of you who were talking about full names, Arnold's is Arnold Matthew Perlstein; it's the only one of the students' we know. As for why there are so many contradictory signs as to where Walkerville is located, the real world explanation would be to keep that "Anywhere, USA" thing going, but a possible in-universe one could be that the bus changes into a rocket off-screen to blast the class to their destinations, and the swamps, beaches, etc. are actually much farther from Walkerville than we think they are.

By the way, when talking about "personal canons" for shippings, does that include "sib-ships"? That is, sibling-like relationships? Because I have a few thoughts about Ralphie and Phoebe in that sense. I have a few stories right here on fanfiction-dot-net to blame--er, I mean thank, for that.

#239 Jul 30th, 8:49pm

Yeah, "Arnold Matthew" was mentioned a while ago in the "Books" thread. I think my fic, First Impressions of Earth, was the first of my stories to start using it (as far as what I write). My newer stories have "Arnold Matthew" (his son in my in-prog fic, Glitzy Intrigue... is named Matthew, hehe).

Ralphie and Phoebe had always been my "sib-ship", since I started shipping his mom with her dad a long while ago. I don't mind it in a romantic sense, but I see R/P as step-sibs already so I wouldn't write them as a couple (that's just me).

#240 Jul 30th, 8:54pm

I have MelonRinds' "Wedding Blues" to thank for getting me into the Ralphoebe sib-ship. CarlorthyAnn is the only traditional MSB ship I really agree to follow. Here's my list for Ralphie and Phoebe:

- Ralphie has loved Phoebe "like a sister" for quite some time after the Friz's class. Phoebe's liked him back the same way. Well, except like a brother rather than a sister, because calling Ralphie a sister would be weird.

- However, neither saw this coming: sometime after Mr. Terese and Mrs. Tennelli met during the "parent field trip" to learn about bats, the two met again and after socializing for about half an hour eventually fell in love. Their wedding was held the December when their kids were in 4th grade.

- Speaking of the "parent field trip," Phoebe never did let her stepbrother live down his crazy "the Friz is a vampire" theory, much to Ralphie's chagrin.

- When Ralphie and Phoebe were preparing for middle school, Mrs. Tennelli announced a surprise pregnancy. About 9 months later, fraternal twins--a boy and a girl ([shrug] hey, I couldn't make up my mind)--were born.

- It was Ralphie's stepsister who introduced him to an algebra classmate of hers whom he'd been crushing on. Phoebe found it amusing that the middle school basketball star, being as popular as he was, was too shy to introduce himself to the girl he liked. And yes, the girl is some "random" girl who isn't from the TV cast list. What? Who says we gotta pair all of Ms. Frizzle's students together?

- Starting way back in their days in Ms. Frizzle's class, Ralphie had been teaching Phoebe how to speak Italian, which he'd learned himself from his grandpa who'd moved to America from there as a teenager. Phoebe was a slow learner, but she got the hang of it eventually. For this note, I'm going by the Wikipedia article that says that "Ralphie is of Italian descent."

Also, I'm not sure why, but I want to create a villain who wants to steal the MSB and some of the Friz's other gadgets for part of some huge, insane "I will be a god" scheme.

#241 Jul 31st, 6:56am . Edited Jul 31st, 11:06am

Aw, I love your R/P-step-sibs PC :D

I love writing the Ternellis as a family. My in-prog fic (Glitzy Intrigue and a Thing Called Family) has Ralphie and Phoebe as fairly close step-sibs with their little half brother, Rémy. I debated on having the Ternellis in this fic, but since I like Phoebe as an only child with her birth parents, I figured if Mr. T is married to Dr. T, they'd have a child of their own. And I wanted Phoebe to have siblings. Plus, this way, Ralphie and Arnold have fun being somewhat related, lol.

#242 Jul 31st, 1:11pm

Here are a few other pointers:

- Ralphie has a surprizingly big soft spot for his baby halfbrother and halfsister (whom I have yet to name though the boy I'm somewhat considering naming Remy just 'cause that's what you named yours, Sora), practically spoiling them sometimes.

- At one point, Dr. Tennelli saved the life of Joseph Cole's (richest man in Walkerville by far) son from cancer, and Cole was so grateful, he paid her handsomely. Ralphie wanted to buy some fancy stuff with that money, but his mom was smart enough to invest it, instead.

- Ralphie has an older cousin named Stuie (named by me after Ralphie's voice actor) who is around 12 when MSB takes place. Though he can be kind of a jerk sometimes, he and Ralphie have a deep rooted bond, and Ralphie's hat was originally owned by Stuie before he gave it to him for his 7th birthday. Stuie was actually a student in Ms. Frizzle's class before he moved, a fact the kids never knew until he picked up a familiar sizeshifting ray gun while in the Friz's classroom and mused, "Porto-Shrinker, huh? See you got it fixed after I busted it." The Friz cheerfully responded, "Oh, that old thing's been broken plenty of times, Stuie; it's not that hard to repair, actually."

LOL Didn't I suggest something with the Porto-Shrinker in a review to one of your stories? Speaking of your stories, does Remy attend Ms. Frizzle's class?

#243 Jul 31st, 2:35pm

Sorry for double posting, but...

- Arnold was actually one of the most enthusiastic among his peers about going on a field trip. That is, until he actually experienced one of the Friz's field trips.

- Mikey Ramon was born paraplegic. He doesn't like being referred to as "crippled," and not so much even "handicapped," claiming he prefers "petamotorlly challenged." [shrug]

- Speaking of Mikey, the younger brother of Carlos has been a CarlorthyAnn shipper from early on, which Carlos himself found annoying.

- When Phoebe first met Mikey, she felt really sorry for him that he was bound to a wheelchair. By the end of the class's first adventure with him, however, Phoebe apologized for being so awkwerd about it, by then realizing that he copes rather well with his condition.

- Mikey credits Ralphie for being the one who got him into wheelchair basketball in the first place.

- The reason the Friz's class seen in the show is so small is... well, a couple reasons. Walkerville School District graduating Class of '05 had always been relatively small. But then, during the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade, a big auto factory was relocated, causing several classmates to move, including a friend of Wanda's from 2nd grade named Freddy. Plus, there were a few students that got held back in 2nd grade and a few others that got skipped up to 4th. Ms. Frizzle's class (7 when the school year started, 8 with the addition of Phoebe Tersese a few weeks later) is the smallest 3rd grade class in Walkerville Elementary, with other classes (such as the one Janet is in) having around 10 students each. With those averages, it was inevitable that a new student like Phoebe would be placed in Ms. Frizzle's class.

- Ralphie had a crush on Ms. Frizzle for a short period of time! Fortunately, he was over his crush by the time the episode "Gets Charged" takes place.

- The elder Ramon boy's middle name is Santana. XP OK, not really, but that would be kind of funny, in a cool way, right?

If I had an OC, where would be the best place to post information on him (or her) for your opinions/suggestions?

#244 Aug 04th, 4:45pm