Haha, this is really interesting. And I LOVE that quote: "Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind." Brilliant!

Brilliant! The plot was amazing, Brainy needs more credit after all. MUST UPDATE! _

I'll be honest, I've only been going about the HA! fandom for the past three or so months and have avoided this fic simply because of its title. No. I don't hate Brainy, it's just that every Brainy story tends to depress me.

This story, however, does not depress me. If anything, this story tears at my heart and prods at the tender center. Helga has always been my favorite HA! character, and through her, Brainy has always been the enigma of my interest. I adore you for your delving into their characters, especially Brainy since you had to basically create the person he is behind the asthmatic breathing, masochistic tendencies, and stalking.

Of course, you go beyond just exploring Helga and Brainy; unraveling and inspecting a wide variety of characters from the HA! universe. This chapter is a perfect example, and I know that you will only continue to do more character analysis and development at the story progresses.

I know it's closing in on the five-year mark since this story was last updated, and the likelihood of you finishing is not very high if the last update you have made here on being almost two years ago is anything to go by. Still, I hope you find the inspiration to continue on with this story in the future and give it the ending/closure it deserves (it's something I know you are capable of).

I pray all is well on your end and that your lack of writing is not because you have lost the will to do so. May all your works-past, current, and future-be as heart-wrenching and thought provoking as this one.

Until your next update for "The Brainy Saga," good luck.

I'd like to second the request of knowing whether you're going to finish this fic or not. I can't blame you or criticize you if you're not (there's many fics I've written that I haven't finished), but I'd like to know either way. I would prefer if you did finish it, though (since I'm a huge fan of it) :)

Good chapter. Actually I should have reviewed much sooner the first time I read this back in 2005 I think, but I was disappointed that Brainy wasn't in the chapter so I didn't. Well you passed your past record now I think. You last updated Dec 24, 2005 and now it's August 25, 2008. It's almost been 3 years since the last update. I think it was 2 and a half years before. Anyway I checked your profile so I know you are still out there writing Kim Possible stories.

When you have the chance could you please update this fic or write a message in your profile that says whether you're working on it or not. Thanks.

Hi. *waves*

It's years later. I decide to look up Hey! Arnold fanfiction, for old times' sake. This is the first one I look for.

Thought you should know. :3

I just spent the last several hours reading your story all the way through (and man, are my eyes burning!). It should go without saying that I like what I've read, or else I wouldn't have read so much, but I'd like to be more specific.

First off, with Brainy. Interesting...I don't think I've ever read a story that took his character into such depth,...and although I find it difficult (at times) to visualize him interacting the way he does in your story (and hearing his voice say..well..so much) I really think you pull it off well. You're explainations for everything fit so well into the show...so anyone can tell that you put a lot of thought into it.

Secondly...Lila. I'm ever so pleased with how you wrote for her. Many stories either make her out as someone who is extremely fake, or they turn her into a B*tch. You, however, have not. You let the reader know that Lila is a person with a past, and issues of her own, while still maintaining her..well...her personality. Very good.

Thirdly,...Lila and Brainy. wierd. lol. I expected it after awhile, of course, but without having been reading your story- I never would have EVER made the connection. However, with how you've written for brainy, it does seem to fit. Several times I found myself more anxious to read about them (lila and Brainy) than for Arnold and Helga. _.

...okay I'm gonna stop listing things now and just talk in general. You're story is way cool!

Arnold and Helga? just the perfect amount!

As for Helga's family issues...wow. It's about time something was done, and I'm really behind Olga in this (She really is a pretty good big sister).

This chapter gives me hope that things will be resolved. Miriam shood really lay off the smoothies... and Bob needs to take some anger managment classes (I mean..he Hit Olga! And that's the daughter he actually seems to like!).

lol..I can't belive Helga missed the whole thing...she has no idea!

Well...it's late and I need to sleep (and let my mind process everything).

Lastly,...I would like to say that you have offically made me a Brainy Fan. He's my favorite in all this.

I sincerely hope you update soon...while the story is still fresh in my mind. And consider yourself lucky...(I don't usually review).

I am rendered speechless by this fic...When I first stumbled upon it, I was uncertain. I never knew it would be this...this gem. And you last updated two years ago? Augh!

lol

I'm putting this story on story alert, and I hope to see an update sometime. )

Long time reader,first time reviewer. I must say that I am a hugh fan of this story. You have a talent for writing. I hope that you keep writing this story till the end. I want to know what happens in the end.:) Please update as soon as you can. Later!:):)

I don't think I've ever reviewed this story until now and I apologize for that. I've been reading it for years now, but I have a tendency to lurk in the shadows which is why this'll be my first time reviewing (but since this fic is about a person who also likes to lurk in the shadows, can you really blame me? :) Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that this is one of my favorite fanfics of my favorite TV show of all time. Even though Hey Arnold isn't being shown on Nick anymore (sobs), there's still people out there who care about this story and I'm one of them. How you connected the Wheezin' Ed story with Brainy was just plain brilliant. In fact, there's lots of things about this story that are just plain brilliant. You're great at characterization and dialogue (anyone who doesn't specify who's speaking and yet the reader knows who it is anyway is talented in that area), and I like how you put it lots of random references to pieces of literature/songs/etc. Sorry to hear about your mother in the hospital. My dad was there recently too, so I know how hard that is. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your story for these past few years and that I look forward to your next update. P.S. I'm just wondering, are we ever gonna find out what the other groups are up to?

[...unWARP!]

Good evening.

Well, that was long and painful...

If I had originally overlooked this story, it was kinda because the title sort of turned me off a bit. I thought that this would be a solo adventure for Brainy, with an occasional cameo from the gang.

Boy, was I wrong.

You have created a masterpiece of literature that few authors in this site have been able to achieve. You have re-created Brainy into a believable protagonist, you have gone in-depth with the characters' emotions down to the marrow, and no one is spared.

No, I didn't cry, but my eyes sort of misted up a bit ;)

I don't think there are any reviewers here who haven't wanted to see Helga finally vent herself fully to Arnold, or to finally tell her parents off. You, sir, have done it perfectly.

Your grasp of the series is also incredible. All the references to the series (including episodes which never aired down here) have been placed seamlessly into this wonderful story.

And it's only taken you...what, 4 years to write? ;)

Hearing about your problems, I kinda feel guilty by adding to your burden with the little favor I asked a little bit back.

But whatever happens, don't give up on this story. And from one author to another, I'm quite sure that this story hasn't given up on you ("Death of a Comedian", anyone? ;) )

With Lila "coaching" Olga, I sorta expected a slapfest there for a moment :D

If Bob has a heart attack, he has it coming. I wouldn't be surprised.

I don't know if the HA awards have been handed yet, but for Best Author, I'd proclaim a tie: Nftnat, and Lord Malachite. You two are a lot alike, almost thinking the same way.

I've spoken to him for a while now. As I read this fic, I was amazed at the parallels and similar ideas you two have chosen for the characters.

I do hope things look up for you in RL soon, so this story can proceed, and eventually, all loose ends be finally tied up, and all the characters can have some closure in their lives.

You know where to find me ;)

¡Zacatepóngolas!

Until next time, remember:

I

AM

THE

J.A.M. (a.k.a. Numbuh i: "Just because I'm imaginary doesn't mean I don't exist")

Good evening.

[WARP!]

(formerly known as purplepincushion! Hi!)

HE UPDATED! DANCE OF JOY!

Honestly, you are really one of the most incredible authors I've seen. I love how you can take all these little "mentioned in passing" bits from the show, string them together with real life, and come out with something so incredibly DEEP that I'm chewing my fingers off in concern for the characters at the same time that I want to EAT YOUR FACE OFF in seething jealousy of your talent! Trust me, I'm in no danger of developing a big head, lol.

I've never really felt like Miriam made sense; I couldn't understand how the lady passed out behind the sofa could have this exciting life they've alluded to in the past and turn out like this, but... yeah. You made her make sense.

I have about six tapes worth of HA! recorded, and lately I've been watching them, and the eps that air on the Nicktoons channel, and it's amazing how much stuff there was in the show that you (Well, *I* at least) never picked up on when I was younger that is so OBVIOUS ten years later. Like the fact that Simmons is gay and that was his boyfriend we met on Thanksgiving, or that there were prostitutes hanging around in the background of On the Lam. I just never noticed before how much adult stuff was going on in a show about kids. My fault for being immature and inobservant at the time, I guess.

Anyway, thank you so much for this story. You've taken several characters that could've been one-line jokes and turned them into actual people.

Tell your mom I said hi and I hope she's doing well.

Oh wow, what a blast.

I just got the email that you uploaded another chapter.

Thanks for the wonderful Christmas present. And please don't leave us hanging for another year!

Just thinking of the Brainy Saga sends chills up and down my spine.

“Are you through, or would you like to hit me some more?” is pure genius. I'd love to see that kind of raw energy in a "real life" show.

Can't wait to find out what happens.

Cheers,

Taladon

Nftnat, I hope that your mother, and the rest of your family is doing better now. Having a parent in the hospital is a terrifying experience, it drives home our own fragility and mortality in a really brutal way. I have to wonder, is your mother's hospital visit the reason you decided to put this chapter in the perspective that you did? Anyway, I do hope that she is doing better now.

Once again, I notice you're making good use of metaphor. Miriam empties out her "life" from her hope chest, and is trying to rebuild the foundation of her sense of self from the pieces of her past- the broken, unrealised dreams.

You've really put together a great timeline for Miriam's youth, adolesence, and the shattering moment of being thrust into true adulthood by a harsh world. It seems to me that Miriam's drive to be something, to do something significant, almost from day one is like a desperate race that she was trying to win. She was trying so hard to prove herself on her own terms, but the world doesn't let us play by our own rules. Not for long, at least. And Miriam's own floundering independence just ends up changing the rules of her world.

You paint Bob very convincingly as soneone just as inwardly uncertain as Miriam. I have to think that in this story at least, that uncertainty and need to prove himself (even if he has to cheat to do it) is as big a reason why she was attracted to Bob as the way he apparently tried to model himself after her father.

The connection to the Munich games seems especially poignant right now, with the movie coming out about the disastrous games. I do particularly like the connection you've made with naming Olga Pataki after Olga Korbut. Any time you connect a fictional world to the real one, especially an event in the real one that had profound, disastrous, heartbreaking consequences like the deaths of those eleven athletes; you face the challenge of doing it in a way that doesn't seem to trivialize the real world. Because if you're not careful, not handling the real world with the utmost respect, it can look terribly detrimental to the fragile place where the readers live.

I do think that you've handled it very well. The only way that an event which was so horrible can be expressed properly is through real, palpable reactions from the characters. The events have to feel real *to them*, if we're to feel they could have been truly impacted by something which impacted us, or our parents. I've re-written this paragraph three times so far, and I just can't manage to express how perfectly you melded the emotion into the moments that led up to Jim McKay's apologetic announcement "They're all gone". Miriam's involvement with the Olympic swim team as a means to inject deeper personal involvement really pulls you into the moment.

I want to see Olga in terms of this chapter, as symbolic of the fragile, delicately balanced homelife of inward denial and orchestrated public displays of forced prowess that the Pataki family has been trying to portray since her birth. I only hope that they can shed that shell, together, and pull from the inner strength that we all know Helga has. Miriam is the shaky glue that holds the family together, whether she notices it or not. Hopefully she has collected a firm enough foundation to see things through.

Now, saying all that (you know how long-winded I am), I once again want to send you my best wishes for you and your family. I hope that your holiday was, if not terrific, than at least not terrible. And I hope you have good things in store for you in the year to come. Much, much hope that your mother is out of the hospital, and doing better.

Let me be one of the first, if not THE first to review this chapter! This has been a FANTASTIC Christmas present! How long until we see Arnold and Helga together in the same chapter?

To all those HA! fans new to this story, THIS IS A MUST READ! Nice job working in that piece of history. Did you know beforehand you wanted to use the Olympics, or was it something you found that fit in the timeline?

As Always,

Amy Napierkowski WAYAMY27NARF

PS. It's been said that Animaniacs is coming to DVD in the middle of '06 with a second installment coming around Christmas. Also, Weird Al's new CD is coming out early '06.

Thanks again for another chapter!