"You've nearly warmed this cold, cold heart of mine."

Fairy tales are for suckers.

I had the fairytale once — the happy family, the perfect boyfriend the beyond-cool best friend, a place with the "in" crowd at high school. It was a façade, crushed as efficiently as an ashtray crushed Lilly Kane's skull and as brutally as waking up after a party with no memory and your underwear on the floor. It took a while, but I unmasked Lilly's real killer and I found a truth about the night of Shelley Pomroy's party that I could live with.

But life sucks beyond the telling of it. You'd think I'd know by now, and that it shouldn't have hit me in the gut when expensive lawyers ensured that Lilly's killer walked free, but it did — almost as much as finding out that there was more than one boy who took advantage of my involuntarily drugged state the night I lost my virginity.

There's some good. I've got my dad and, despite the odd hiccup, he's "good people." He used to be sheriff in this town, but Kane influence put an end to that career. He became a private investigator, and I helped him sometimes. What he's taught me has enabled me to make a decent living of my own. Now that the guy that replaced him is dead, Dad's back in office. I don't know what will become of our business, or of our status in this crummy town. I just know that I want out of this place, out of Neptune with its corruption and its memories, but my mom's parting gift was to steal the money that would have made that possible. For now, I'm stuck here, but at least Hearst College isn't high school.

I'm a lot more careful now about whom I call friend. Wallace befriended me when no one else would, although I tease him that it's because he didn't know any better. Cutting him down from a flagpole was maybe the best thing I ever did, and he's my rock. There's Mac too. She's cool and there whenever I need her mad computer skillz. She knows what a screwed-up world this is. Weevil is a friend, I think, although I'm not sure he'd say so after I accused him of robbery. I'm not so quick to forget that he was the leader of a biker gang with questionable morals.

Then there's Logan. He was Lilly's boyfriend. Before everything went pear-shaped, we were friends. After Lilly died, he hated me for standing by Dad's suspicion of the Kanes with the passion of a thousand fiery suns. The feeling was mutual, as he led the 09ers — the rich kids — who made my life Hell. We both thawed after his mother jumped off the Coronado Bridge, and then it got crazy. I love Logan and I know he loves me, but some of the stuff he does I just can't...

Does that make me a bitch? Maybe it does. I'm harder and less forgiving than I used to be. Don't expect me to apologize for it.

"When he said he was flunking out of school and he didn't care, he was just gonna get an off-campus apartment next year and keep doing what he does, it was like looking into a crystal ball, and I didn't like what I saw."

"What did you see?"

"Me falling completely in love with him, losing all reason, ending up hosting candle parties and selling family heirlooms on eBay."

Things are looking up for the Q to Veronica's Bond. Out with the psychotic, rapist, mass-murdering, suicide-committing boyfriends who leave you stranded in a hotel room with no clothes, in with the adorable animal activist and cute fellow geek who think you're just peachy and hopefully have never forced a school bus off a cliff even if they're into early morning hikes and selling test answers online. Sure, you were switched at birth with spoiled brat Madison Sinclair, your roommate can be a little bit over-the-top sometimes, and you've got a friend who always needs a favor for whatever investigation she happens to have going on at the time, but...did we mention the two cute guys? Who are totally into you? And now that you're libi-don't has turned into a libido, spending days on end cooped up in your Love Shack with your new man, you've clearly made excellent progress. Screw your therapist who's given up on you. She's obviously the one in need of serious help.

"Who's your Daddy?"

"I hate it when you say that."

"You know what, this is important. You remember this. I used to be cool!"

Keith has sacrificed a lot, not only for his family, but for the truth. He accused Jake Kane of murdering his own daughter, even though Jake was a billionaire. After being kicked out of the sheriff's office (and being replaced by Lamb), he didn't move away from Neptune (though his wife wanted him to). He stayed and became a private detective. And even when Lianne left him, he didn't break down and compromise his morals.

There is only one thing he would compromise his morals for: Veronica, his daughter. After all, he walked through fire (literally) to save her.

But there is tension underneath their relationship. After the Lilly Kane murder was solved, Keith was vindicated somewhat, but there is still unease in the Mars household. First, there was her tumultuous relationship with Logan, at the end of which Keith had to forcibly throw Logan out of the house. And then there was Veronica's secret trips to Duncan's suite — something Veronica didn't think her father would notice. He notices more than she gives him credit for.

Like when the dead body of David "Curly" Moran washed up on shore with "Veronica Mars" written on his hand and Veronica said nothing to her father about it. When Keith found out and called her immediately to check where she was. She deftly lied, but he demanded proof, no longer trusting her words. And when Veronica helped her boyfriend sneak out of the country with his baby, Keith finally confronted her about how he could never trust her again. Hopefully, he has since rethought his position, since she did help save his life from Liam Fitzpatrick. However, he may feel that some of that trust is misplaced, as he recently learned about her STD and the various activities she did last year that she never told him about (the only reason he knew about it was because of a certain French attorney during Aaron's trial). But he's still very protective of her. How protective? Enough to grab that attorney's tie and threaten him. Or that could have been because of his hate for air quotes.

Woody Goodman was able to persuade Keith to run for sheriff, but he lost just as Woody became county supervisor (or "mayor"). Woody's plan for incorporation would mean Keith would become chief of police, but Keith decided that Neptune is better unincorporated. Though he does help Woody out sometimes, Woody crossed the line when he called Keith to pick up an unconscious callgirl he had spent the night with — and then Woody promptly told the police that it was Keith who had slept with her. Though Keith straightened the press out and the incorporation plan was voted out, he was still suspicious of Woody. And rightly so, as it turned out Woody wasn't a good man, but a pedophile. Keith, with a little help from , managed to track him down and capture him.

Keith has had several relationships, but they've ended badly. With Guidance Counselor Rebecca James, Veronica was still not ready yet, so he broke it off. With Alicia Fennel, Wallace's mom, he was truly happy — but it all came crashing down when he found out her real identity and she broke up with him. It's not known now if their relationship can be mended.

Now that the bus crash is solved, the only questions that still plague Keith are the secrets that Veronica keeps. But bespite those secrets, she is still the most important person in his life and vice-versa, as her hug attested when she thought he was dead. Now, the only question is: what's in that briefcase that would make him ditch his daughter at the airport?

"You never played Little League?"

"Oh. Well, Mom was afraid that a ball would hit me in the face, Dad was afraid it would interfere with mock U.N., and I was afraid I couldn't hit a curveball."

For Duncan, the pampered son of software billionaire Jake Kane, "Summer Lovin'" was more than just his off-key serenade on the bleachers of Neptune High. It proved to be prophetic.

Before the school year ended, Duncan learned that he didn't kill his sister, Lilly, and that he wasn't related to Veronica, which meant their one-time love tryst wouldn't be featured on an episode of Jerry Springer, Live! From West Virginia. He broke up with sweet and pretty Meg, who could never take Veronica's place, and freed up his heart for the One True Love of his life. Never mind that Veronica had just broken up with Logan. As those summer days were driftin' away, a secret message inside a fortune cookie was all it took for LoveFest Part II to officially begin. He and Logan eventually have a rough-and-tumble brawl over — surprise, not Veronica — but Duncan's absence during Logan's tumultuous summer. However, they mend fences while playing video games, as boys often do.

Duncan's living an Oliver Twist kind of life since Big Momma and Big Daddy Kane moved to Napa to find peace and quiet during their ongoing trial for obstruction of justice. Determined to finish his senior year at Neptune High, Duncan's spending his lonely days in the Presidential Suite of the Neptune Grand. Veronica eventually visits him there, and they...you know...for the first time. Um, again. Only this time, they think they know what they are doing. And she was good, you know what he means. Later, Logan becomes Duncan's suitemate, giving new meaning to the term Awkward!. Duncan and Veronica are given another chance at life and love since neither was in the fatal school bus crash that killed seven people and left Meg in a coma. But those summer dreams are ripped at the seams once Veronica slowly discovers that Duncan isn't the adorable, honest boyfriend she thought he was. Not only has he been visiting Meg's hospital room daily, but he also happens to be the father of Meg's unborn child. She has a girl, cute as can be. The baby manages to survive after Meg's unfortunate death, but Duncan believes he has to kidnap her to gain custody. Just before he and Veronica execute the final stages of their brilliant plan that takes him and his daughter to Mexico, they make their true love vows and painfully remind each other they can never make contact again. And that's where they end. With an unspoken promise that they'll still be friends.

Wonder what he's doing now? In light of the Aaron Echolls acquittal, Duncan can't stomach the idea of his sister's killer roaming free. Once again he takes the law into his own hands, even from the beaches of Australia, and arranges for Clarence Wiedman, Jr. to sing his own musical solo: “Summer Lovin', had me a blast — [into Aaron's head]."

And that's where it ends. For now. Is there another chapter in the Duncan Kane saga? Tell me more, tell me more.

"Ask not for what Logan can do for you but what you can do for Logan."
"That's gonna get old real soon."

From the first, Logan Echolls had villain written all over him. Lucky, lucky scribe. Ahem. Yet to describe Neptune High's "obligatory psychotic jackass" as such does a disservice to a complex and fascinating character. Who's hot. Exceedingly hot.

The son of an abusive and self-serving movie star philanderer who slept with, and murdered, his girlfriend; a mother anesthetized by alcohol and drugs who stepped off a bridge to final oblivion; a selfish and disinterested adopted sister; Logan's family was not the stuff of dreams. It is little wonder that he was arrogant, mean, and vindictive. He led the hate campaign against Veronica Mars, blaming her for his not being with the doomed Lilly the day she died and for standing by her father against Lilly's family. Logan's response to pain is to lash out, and Veronica was an easy target.

Yet, they used to be friends, a long time ago.

After Veronica helped him try to prove his mother's suicide was faked, hate turned into respect turned into more. It led him on a rescue mission at the Camelot motel and to a kiss that stopped time. For a while, Logan and Veronica were happy, surviving revelations of salt licks, accusations of murder, and the estrangement of Veronica's first love and Logan's best friend, Duncan Kane, but the fledging relationship couldn't survive Logan's duel with the PCH club, one of whose number Logan was charged with killing.

Emancipated as his father awaited trial, Logan took comfort in the ample bosom of the stepmother of one friend and re-established his bond with another friend, Duncan, who gave him shelter after the PCHers burned down his home. He fought to stay out of jail by making an unlikely alliance with the suspicious PCH leader and embarking on a relationship with the young daughter of his chief accuser. It came at a cost. Logan wasn't used to someone believing in him as completely as Hannah did, and even though he was using her, it hurt to lose her. For all his flaws, Logan clings to love like a drowning man.

Logan obliterated the Aaron/Lilly sex tapes and stopped them from becoming tabloid fodder. Was this an act of evil or of cathartic salvation? Either way, Logan compromised the case against Aaron, who walked free of all charges and straight into an assassin's bullets. Logan is finally free of the man he hated, but who was his father. That's gotta hurt.

As for Veronica, he believes that their relationship is epic. Spanning-years-and-continents-lives-ruined-bloodshed epic. It doesn't stop him from screwing up on a regular basis, but it does send him running when she calls.

Occasional jackass. Occasional hero.

And sex on legs.

"Is there anybody you don't think is corrupt deep down?"
"Yes. You."

The first encounter of Veronica Mars and Wallace Fennel is legendary: the young detective met her future partner-in-crime when he was duct-taped naked to the Neptune High School flagpole with the word "snich" painted on his chest. In contrast to the other Neptune students who were either gawking or snapping pictures, Veronica took action and released her new classmate from this humiliating position. Wallace repaid her kindness by joining the bitter outsider at her lunch table — and thus, a beautiful friendship was born.

Although his start at his new school was less than promising, Wallace soon gained the favor of his classmates by becoming a gifted asset to the basketball team. Though now on the inside of this vibrant little society, he still stayed true to his friendship to Veronica, which could not even be destroyed by the initial disapproval of his mother, Alicia. The Kane Software clerk needed some time to believe that the Marses' bad reputation was undeservedly awarded, but Keith Mars's charm — and his skill in removing skeevy tenants — finally convinced her. Soon their new-found friendship became more, and Veronica and Wallace both needed a while to get used to the new situation.

In his senior year, Wallace is not only a respected basketball star, he has also met the wild and sexy Jackie Cook, who soon becomes his lunch buddy with privileges. She reciprocates his growing feelings for her, but is hostile towards Veronica, who returns the sentiment. Wallace is not very happy about that, but has so far managed to keep both his girlfriend and his best buddy.

He may no longer be an office aide at Neptune High and Veronica's lackey — may even have developed a few mad detective skills of his own — but Wallace still makes himself indispensable to Veronica Mars, and she still comes through for him. It's a relationship that is tested to destruction when Wallace finds out that his mother lied about the identity of his biological father, and Veronica fails to be helpful in this crucial situation. Jackie also gets on his bad side when she plays a humiliating practical joke on Veronica. Disappointed by friend, lover, and mother, Wallace decides to put his trust in his new-found dad, and leaves Neptune in his company.

He needed some time to come clean with himself and the situation, but he reenters Veronica's life just after it has been turned totally upside down yet again. Holmes has been reunited with his Watson, and the BFFs are back together at last.

But wait. This is Neptune. Turns out it wasn't Pirate pride or his love for a certain tiny blonde that drove him out of Chicago. Wallace had been a passenger in a classmate's SUV when it struck a homeless man and didn't stop. He thought leaving town meant he could forget about the incident forever, but the newspaper reporter who shows up at school ensures him he has enough evidence to write a new thriller: I Know What You Did Last Fall.

Wallace and Veronica join forces to stop him from being framed for the crime, and the undeniable joy they bring to each other's lives makes even the most meticulous viewer say “Fight? What fight?" It's no surprise that Jackie, who was part of the sting operation, wants to join their wave of friendship. But Wallace makes it clear to Jackie that he‘s only interested in friendship and would rather date sweet, knee-spraining, “likes to sneeze in Sex Ed class" Jane. Too bad he didn't make it clear to his heart. Or his hormones. He tries to kiss Jackie, breaks up with Jane, and makes us wonder for a moment if his sweetness and purity of spirit are real. He stalks Jackie in that nice-guy way of his, and the two rekindle their romance. But it's cut short when Jackie accepts her invitation to study at the Sorbonne in France returns to Brooklyn to resume her waitressing job and take care of her two-year-old son.

On a positive note, Wallace won an athletic scholarship to Hearst College, so his Jordan-esque basketball skills should get even fiercer next year. It's not clear whether or not Veronica will join him there, but if they wind up being dorm roommates, we know who'd claim the top bunk.

Life isn't easy for the former Sharks champion. Charming but weak-willed, he succumbs to a gambling addiction and becomes indebted to shady people, who force him to throw an important game. His team never really makes it again after that, and though his scam has erased some of his debts, it also has rendered him vulnerable to blackmail from often rather surprising sources. One of them is one-night stand Leslie Dumass, a Neptune High journalism teacher, who wants to regain Terrence's love — or at least make lots of money on him by writing a tell-all.

Fortunately for him, she is one of the victims in the tragic bus crash that rattles Neptune — or rather, unfortunately, since their tumultous relationship doesn't stay secret for long and Terrence soon becomes the prime suspect for the dastardly deed. His generally suspicious behavior doesn't help matters, especially after incriminating evidence is found in the hangar he uses to store his cars. Keith Mars, a long-time fan, does what he can to help his idol, but he can't prevent that a warrant is issued for Terrence's arrest. In a desperate attempt to at least destroy Leslie's scandalous manuscript Terrence gets shot and has to be hospitalized, which at least gives him ample time to spend with his formerly estranged daughter. Even though Jackie is the result of a one-night stand with a Brooklyn waitress, Terrence tries hard to be the father she needs.

Unfortunately, his biggest secret was leaked to the press, taking away any chance for him to stay a hero in anyone but Jackie's eyes. After Leonard Lobo comes forward to a friendly judge with testimony that Terrence couldn't have made any calls at the time of the crash, Terrence is finally released from the hospital. However, the consequence of Lobo's "help" means that Terrence will basically be his indentured servant for the next decade. This puts him in such a bad mood that he pushes Jackie away, encouraging her to leave early for the Sorbonne. Jackie's real plans involved returning to Brooklyn to be with her two-year-old son, so perhaps Terrence can become both the grandfather and father he's never had a chance to be.

"I can keep a secret."

How you fall doesn't matter. It's how you land.
The LiveJournal of Cassidy Casablancas

Security Level: Public, duh
Current Mood: positively floating
Current Music: See My Friends - Gravenhurst
Entry tags: last thoughts, logan freaking echolls, guns, tasers, bye, bye, coach


Time's up



Well, that's all there is to it, I guess. If you want to know, read it yourself. Want me to explain? Not happening. Just make up your own damn theory.



Geez, I never would have thought it takes this long to fall.



Is that a Ford?



Oh, f...

Cliff may have failed criminal law, but even he knows that Logan Echolls won't impress anyone with a poor-little-rich-boy routine. He prefers defending his usual stripper and biker gang clientele to representing smug and stupid rich boys like Logan. Trading slightly unethical favors with Veronica Mars and helping out the helpless tawdry like Loretta Cancun, Cliff serves the dark underbelly of Neptune. He supported Keith Mars in his failed bid to be Neptune's sheriff, even though Keith becoming sheriff might have been bad for business. Underneath that cynical exterior must lie a heart of gold.

Or a sultry loverboy! Cliff went and got himself hooked up with a lady doc escort, one who happened to steal his briefcase. And his heart? While extricating himself from the mess took Keith's help and not a little embarrassment, Cliff handled it with his usual aplomb. Even with no pants on, the man's got style. Unfortunately, he's also got missing case files and stolen keys to the Echolls storage locker. D'oh!

"Can you just tell me, it's a, it's another reason like...like a crappy one. Your being a good father isn't really something I can bitch about to my girlfriends over margaritas."

The school headshrinker counselor, Ms. James briefly dated Keith Mars before he broke up with her. She counselled those close to Lilly Kane after her death (including Veronica and Weevil, who had a particularly violent reaction). Over a year later, she received a grant to study the long-term effects of depression in adolescents, so she dragged those affected by Lilly's murder back to her office, which gave Veronica a nice opportunity to bug it.

Though Ms. James did give Felix advice about trucking (and you can see how well that worked out), she hasn't been seen much since. However, Veronica's recent unusual behavior (sleeping in class, tearing down pictures from a poster) prompted Veronica to be sent to her office, where she told Ms. James about her disturbing dreams about the bus crash victims. Rebecca provided a good sounding board for Veronica's theories, but they ultimately went nowhere.

We wonder if she'll get any more grants to study grief in the wake of the bus crash? Perhaps she'll meet some ex-mental patient and his roommate?

"I have worked very hard over the years to avoid working."

A shallow, bitchy cheerleader until she devoted her life to helping the helpless and seducing teenage boys on the side — wait, what? What do you mean, "wrong show"? It all looks right to me, except for — okay. I see. Gotcha.

Ahem.

A shallow, bitchy cheerleader until she was fired from the Laker Girls and consoled herself by seducing teenage boys on the side, Kendall Casablancas is a woman with a lot on her plate. There's the continued effort she must make to avoid being rightly indicted for the real estate fraud she helped her husband Big D commit. walked with her ex-playmate Logan, who let her warm his bed when he was drunk until he hooked back up with Veronica. There was her mysterious arrangment with Duncan and even more mysterious arrangment with Aaron, where she managed to steal one Duncan's hair to provide probably doubt about Aaron killing Lilly. And one thing little old Lacey Shifflet never dreamed of back at Penn State was becoming CEO of a real estate company or becoming a paper tiger figurehead employed by her sixteen-year-old stepson. Dependent on Dick and Beaver's dubious kindness to get by, Kendall seems between a rock and hard place.

Never let it be said, though, that Kendall can't deal with the hard shaft. Her team-up with her stepson for the Phoenix Land Trust resulted in eight million dollars and change for her when Beaver took the plunge. And even though Aaron was killed merely moments after they were...coital, she still lands on her feet and manages to make Keith an offer he can't refuse — with something inside a mysterious breifcase. What is it? The Circumference? The Rabbit's Foot? The Macguffin? Taking a page from the traditional femme fatale, Kendall is more the meets the eye. Her high school yearbook says her name is Priscilla Banks — the real Kendall Shiflett was a classmate that died in a car crash with Priscilla at the wheel. Why did she take the dead girl's identity? Could it be to cover up the prison term she served for fraud — or her association with the Fitzpatricks? How long will her real motive remain secret when Keith found her hidden house? And what is her real motive? What is her real motive? And what is in that dang briefcase?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to receive.

"I'm not lying with you, Veronica, I just wanted you to know."

"Do I care? Really, Troy, you're just water under the bridge. Duplicitous, evil water."

In junior year, the pal of Duncan Kane was a new student at Neptune High and the first 09er who treated Veronica decently since her father had been ostracized. Troy gained her trust — and even briefly managed to capture her heart — until she discovered that he was a drug-dealing, two-timing, car-stealing sleaze and sabotaged his newest scheme in true Mars fashion.

In the one year that has passed since then, he allegedly has changed, due to boarding school, therapy, and dumping his bad influence of a girlfriend — or at least that is the story he urges Veronica to believe when he meets her again during a tour of the local university. Our girl detective is more than skeptical of this complete turnaround, and the fact that only one day later, Troy is accused of drugging and raping party encounter Stacy doesn't necessarily help matters. A little bit of nostalgia might still be left, though, since she reluctantly agrees to help her desperate ex-boyfriend, even though she threatens to help nail him to the wall, should he turn out to be the culprit.

But in this instance it seems that skillful liar Troy really told the truth: Veronica can prove his innocence and the two of them part on peaceful, possibly even friendly terms. Whether their truce can hold remains to be seen — Troy was always good at hiding his real intentions. And does Veronica really need yet another bad boy ex-lover to complicate her life?