Crimson Words and Clock Hands
by Jasmine Lunsford
Table of Contents
2) Five Writers Observations
3) Story Slam
4) Five Poems
5) Two Flash Fictions
6) Screenplay
7) Extra Piece: Fan fiction
8) Revision of
9) Course Reflection
Five Journal Entries
The moon has always called to me
Telling me to join the others in death
in an endless war I forgot
that wreaked havoc on the land
and I, the only survivor
Entry 2: April 5, 2016
Oh goddess of death, sing me a symphony
With life and death stuck in turn
Sadness overflowing, flooding the world
Blood spilled everywhere, soaking the earth
Death lurking around each and every door
In the last of dawn
Kelpies lurk and drown those who are curious
Mares haunt the dreams of all who dare to sleep
Queens who rule their Queendoms with an iron fist
Love left lost and long forgotten
Entry 3: April 19, 2016
Voices. They are the one sound that will never go away. People talk about their lives, friends, family, their day and their feelings. The sound of voices will never go away. At school, or home. AT the park or some other public place. People will continue to talk until they die and even then there will still be voices, until the world comes to an end.
Entry 4: April 28, 2016
I would like the power to alter the minds of people. With that I could stop people from causing wars or trouble. I could make it so that crime becomes so low that it is not so much of a problem.
Entry 5: May 23, 2016
Animation films are less limited. You do not have to have restrictions. Characters are not real so you can have them fall out of a plane with no parachute and land on the ground perfectly safe. You can even give them funny facial expressions that no on in real life could pull of. You can even have animals of every sort living in peace with each other and not trying to kill on another.
Five Writers Observations
Somehow chicken pen is leaning over. Almost looks like is is about to fall over.
2) Tuesday, April 5, 2016, home 5:56 pm
Corn plants are growing at a rapid speed. Grew about 3 cm between yesterday and today
3) Wednesday, April 6, 2016, home, 7:13 pm
Six other corn plants are above the ground now. Were not there the day before. Each is about 2cm tall. Brings total to seven .
4) Thursday April 7, 2016, home, around 6pm
Had rained last night. Ground is wet and sky has clouds that re multiple shades of grey here and there. Flowers on porch have drowned.
5) Friday April 8, 2016 home 7:03 am
There are now 15 plants growing. 13 plants are corn plants. The last two look different. I have no idea what they are but I do know that they look like some sort of bean plant. I did not plant any beans in the blue tray, only the black ones so I am not completely sure on what they are.
Story Slam: First Time I Went To A Book Store
My story is about the first time that I went to a bookstore. This was when I was about the age of 14. I never went to a bookstore before because I would never have a ride or I was just not allowed to go.
That day I was not expecting to do anything that I would enjoy at all. This is because I was only going to be used as a human calculator/bag carrier/map by my older sister and cousin as usually whenever we go shopping. We were going to Concord Mills with some other people that we knew and some family members. I was only going to enjoy the four hour drive since I could get the chance to read and get some sleep.
When we finally to the mall I was a bit annoyed because we were forced to listen to a lecture by one of the church members that came along to the trip. “Don’t go running off without anyone knowing where you are going,” she said. “Do not give money to strangers either. Even of they say they are homeless, they could be lying or could just use the money to buy bad things.(“Unneeded censorship”, I thought. All of us here are over the age of 12 so we already know what “bad things” mean and I am pretty sure that they would kick a hobo out of a mall for harassment reasons.) Also, do not walk around the mall with a hood on. It will make you look suspicious.(We know what racial profiling is. Again, unneeded censorship.)
After the lecture we could finally go inside of the mall. Once we stepped side I noticed that it was way too loud and that there was too many people. I hate crowded areas so I was already regretting on attending the trip. A few more steps inside I noticed a Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan) box set of manga and a Happy ( A cat from Fairy Tail) hat. This had peaked my interest because those are two of the many awesome animes that I have ever seen. Once I got past those I noticed that there were a ton, and I mean a ton, of books all over the store. I automatically knew it was a book store. When we got to the front I saw that it was named Books-A-Million. I grabbed my sister by the shoulder and told her that I absolutely have to go there or I will die. And, or course, she answers in a way that all shopping loving teenage older sisters would answer to their younger nerd sibling; “No. We are going to go where we (her and my cousin) want to go first. You wait last because that is the only place that you would go to anyway. You would spend hours in there.” And like any other nerd teenager who has to follow a shopaholic older teenage sister in a mall till they can go to a bookstore, I responded with one simple word.”Crap.”
For hours I was forced to follow my sister and cousin on their stupid shopping trip. For hours I would follow them entering one shop after another, buying absolutely nothing. It drove me insane. Why are you going to go to 6 stores, walk round each and look at stuff for 20 minutes, and not buy anything. I was dying. After what felt like a millennium, they finally started to buy things, using me as their human calculator because they were too lazy or could not count up an estimated tax. One what was about our 5th time walking around the entire mall, they said that they wanted something to eat. This is when my sister noticed that there was a froyo shop. This surprised me because the froyo shop was right beside the bookstore and somehow she did not notice that on the way in. Once they entered the shop they started to make their froyo cup and I left to the bookstore since there was nothing stopping me. Both of the stores were connected to each other anyway and my sister and cousin would know where I would be.
Once I entered the store I was filled with complete happiness. I have never seen so many books at on place, besides a library. It had the wonderful smell of new and untouched books. To me, it was one of the most amazing places in the world. The only way I can call it is the Valhalla of Nerds. I am a huge fan of manga( japanese comic books that are usually meant for only mature readers most of the time.) There was so much manga. All the public and school libraries combined did not have as much manga as that store. There was even a full box collection of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.
I stayed in the shop for a while, choosing which book I should get. In the end, I decided to go with book 1 and 2 of the Durarara Saika Arc and a 1-3 Combined Zero no Tsukaima manga. When I was finished, my sister and cousin was annoyed by how “slow” I was. Later that evening we went to Golden Corral for dinner and traveled for 4 hours so we could get home.
Five Poems
Slowly I move right on by
I am one sly of a guy
You mat hate what I must do
I am the physical embodiment that compels you to live
I was made by man so you must know
I watch so many people come and go.
This life of mine will last forever with the help of one small friend.
But if I am destroyed, I am sure that I can be fixed again
Slowly I move so the end of your presence for the day .
I am what makes you come and go
Mt insides slowly move here and there. Gears spinning in sync.
Arms presenting your fate as you watch me move
I slowly move right on by.
2)
Days flow by
Shadows lurk in this land
A lost wish long away
A strong soul lost astray
a sun rose up by only a king
a dragon of light shows the way
a warrior with his sword of truth
a witch of chaos
3)
Winter
a rush of cold air
flows silently through
its slap burns ones cheek
in an instant
Winter
to be overpowered
by such a present
ones body becomes numb
without haste
Winter
working with death
coming by surprise
putting a pause
on life
Winter
to make the feeling
of wanting endless sleep
and bringing back old memories
as lovely dreams
Winter
quietly moves away
and lets an old friend
swing on by
and take over
Winter
so cold and strong
that it puts itself
to rest and thus awakens
spring
Spring
waking up from its slumber
to take over
what was once called
winter
Spring
slowly flowing in
with a wave of colors
to wash over the land
in an instant
4) Dream Hour
I lie in a field of stars how good it felt to leave them all behind and disappear forever soon it won’t be long last true worshiper the colors still sleep this, their dream hour. 5) Grey Sitting on this boat and looking up above feels as though I lie in a field of stars. Their light shines perfectly, making a clear reflection in the water. I was at peace here. Away from the wrath, the madness The lust the desire. The pride, the greed. The envy, the anger. How good it felt to leave them all behind and make the pain disappear forever. To enter the fogged woods, the mist, consuming everything in sight. the unknown, the mystery, the fear. What delight. Soon, for it won’t be long, the sun will rise up above the peak. But the forest remains dark. Mesmerized by the moon. Reaching up above like one last pure adorer whose god stood right before them. The water lilies, the tree leaves, the ripples in the water. All display a darker shade whose true colors still lie in slumber They remind me that I cannot embalm myself . Because it, oblivion, will always seek me. On this journey I seek to edify myself. To become more good at heart. To cast aside these negative emotions, my nemesis who fights for control of my spirit. I wish to seek a genesis and make myself anew. To defeat these feelings and obliterate them Making every moment their dream hour never to awake again. Yet I still hold on to them, for I am but a contradiction. I cast them away so long before with Etro as my witness. And was consumed with nothing but a wave of sadness washing over me. Yes, you might be shocked but everyone must have dealt with a pain so controlling so strong so overwhelming and that cryptic sense of nostalgia that they surely would have felt.
Two Flash Fictions
The Red Fire Truck
Mabel was thought to have been a normal four-year old little girl. She was well behaved and would always share with others. One day, when Mabel was playing with her favorite toy, a beautifully red fire truck, her little brother saw it and wanted it immediately. Being two-years old, he cried for what was not his until their mother said for Mabel to share it with him. Mabel said, in a calm and serious tone, no to her mother. Shocked, her mother asked her to share again. Mabel replied the same. Her mother went and got their father. Her father then took the truck and said she could not have it until she learned to share. Later Mabel went to the closet that held her truck and stole it away.With the stove she covered its surface with blankets. The family still inside, flames danced around. She stood outside, smiling.
Flash Fiction 2:
Pikkulapsi
It was suppose to be a simple Saturday morning. A Saturday morning where I woke up, grabbed some cereal, and watch Saturday morning cartoons since that seemed to be the only reason for Saturday mornings. Still feeling tired from Thursday night where I was awake for the full 24 hours plus Friday, I slowly got up from my bed and started my descent down the stairs to the kitchen. Once I was in the kitchen, I grabbed a bowl and a spoon. As a turned around to go into the fridge to get the milk, I noticed a small, yellow post-it note with chicken scratch for writing. They must have been in a hurry again, I thought. My parents are always busy. They never have time to check up on their one, and only son like most parents would do.
With milk in hand, I walk over to the cabinet and set the milk down on the shelf. Once I opened the cabinet doors I began looking for my favorite; Multi grain Cheerios. I know, lame choice, but don’t judge. Me and this cereal have the same life. Outcasts from society and all other flavors. When I finally reach for the box I noticed a small glowing green light vanish. I moved another box out and see it hid from me once again. What the crap, I thought. I continued to move boxes until there was but one left. I slowly move my hand to it then quickly yanked it away. What was left surprised me. I was sure, without a doubt, that it was a faerie. It was a small thing. Chibi. No bigger that the size of a pencil. It’s skin was a light green color. As i looked into its eyes all it said was “Please, help me.”
Short Story
The Kelpie
As the last few bubbles began to slowly drift past him and onto the surface of the water, a wide grin spread across the man’s face. He knew that since the thrashing had stopped he had, once again, completed what he came here to do. He slowly emerged from the water, placing one of his hands on the top of his head as he gently pushed his long, flowing, black hair back in place. He looked down at the water as a body began to emerge to the top of the lake. “How peaceful” he thought with a smile.
The body, now lifeless, was that of a young girl no more than the age of twelve. Her emerald green eyes still had some faint traces of spirit left in them. Her soft, orange curls began to spread out around her head as the ripples of the water pushed them out gently. Her face was pale, expressionless, for it was barren of any life. Her left arm was stretched out in an acute angle to her side while her right arm lay rested upon the center of her chest. In her cold, dead fingers was a small trinket of some sort. It was a necklace that had a small grey brooch attached to the front. The brooch consisted of five circles, four making a diamond and one in the middle, each swirling into itself so many times that it seemed endless.
The man lightly kissed the top of the girl’s forehead as he closed her eyes then took the brooch from her hand and placed it around his neck. He turned and began to walk to the center of the lake until he heard a loud gasp and choking sounds. When he turned around he had to fight a small grin that threatened to cross his lips, a bad habit. The girl’s body, that was not deceased anymore but now appeared to be in a comatose state, had coughed up the water that was trapped in her lungs, thus saving her life. The man walked over to the girl and lifted up his wrist which had a small, black bracelet with two horses, one black and one white, engraved on it. He grabbed the girl’s right hand then put the bracelet on it, then lay her hand over her heart. Slowly, he gently pushed the girl’s body aside so it would float to the edge of the lake.
“This girl really is protected by spirits”, the man thought. “Was she not, then my many attempts would not have failed like so.” This was indeed true. The girl was protected by some sort of spirits that lurked in the very woods the man lived in. A thousand times the man would try to kill the child in so many different ways, but would always fail. She was smart and knew not to follow him into the water or to ride upon his back. Her wariness angered him. He was good at what he did which is why no one tries to set foot in the forest. If they did, which was surprisingly a lot of times , most who come being travelers such as merchants, he would make sure that they never leave the forest.
<===================>
One dawn the man heard the sound of someone singing beyond the fog. This obviously perked up his mood and curiosity since no one had step foot in the forest in about a month. He went to inquire the situation. As he walked closer to the sound he began to see a small figure in the morning haze. When he was even closer he saw that it was that of a young girl. He jumped a little in his place, startled to see such a young and notable girl walking alone in his forest. Her hair was a rich color of deep orange. Heavy curls ran down to the small of her back. She had bright, emerald eyes that could have been scouted many yards away from where she now stands. How could he not resist being curious?
He kindly walked up to the child. As she saw him draw near she slowly brought her singing down until it was that of just harmless humming. Once he stood right in front of her he asked of her a question. “Hello, my dear child. Can you grant me the grace and joy of knowing your name?” The humming ceased. “Ingrid,” she replied with a smile so wide that the gap between her two front teeth was clearly visible, then resumed her humming. “Well such a nice and lovely name really suits a fine young lady of your stature, Miss Ingrid”, he replied as he got down on one knee, kissing her hand so gently that it was barely palpable. “It gives me such a feeling of immeasurable bliss to have someone keep me company in this lonesome forest.” Actually, he was quite furious about the girls presence. “Have these imbeciles forgotten what I am. Are they forgetting that they are to warn children such as this to avoid this forest at all cost? ” For years this patch of wisdom would sink into the very roots of the people. Parents warning their children not to enter the forest alone for any reason. That the black horse would find and devour them. Same for any young woman who sees a beautiful young man that invites her to the heart of the forest. Everyone feared the inevitable danger that they knew would come if they so dared to even breath the air around the forest. Well, everyone except the travelers. They believed it was complete nonsense.
“Well I am very happy to be able to keep you company”, Ingrid smiled. “They said I would be perfect for this.” The man felt baffled by her response. “Who said this, Milady?” he asked. “Why the spirits of course.” She replied. “The spirits know everything. They are so wise and trustworthy. All of the townsfolk listen to their words of wisdom. They are the very ones who bestowed onto me the honor of this task.” “Task?,” he asked. “Yes, the great task. The job that no one but me could fulfill they said. The task of keeping the beast of the forest at bay. They said all I had to do was sing and the beast would sure to follow. I take it that you are the beast then?” ,the girl asked, her head tilting to the side a bit. “Well, what a smart young lass you are,” smiled the man, who is now revealed as the beast. “Say? Do you fear me child. You surely must have heard the stories about me. How I lure children and young women such as yourself to the heart of the forest. How those I take are not heard of ever again.” “Yes, I am well aware,” responded the girl. “I am also aware that in this world, there are things we cannot control. No matter how much we try. I believe that is the very reason why you do what it is that you do. Because of this understanding of mine, I was chosen to bare this task.” “Is that so?” the man asked.
At that very moment the man was surrounded by a dark and heavy black mist. Fog devoured his body from the feet up. Once it dissipated, the man was gone and all that was left was a black horse. Its hair was a beautiful shade of grey, like that of a cloudy day that is a mere minutes away from a downpour. “Child, would you like to ride on my back?” asked the horse, blowing a sweet, sugary smell of steam from its nostrils into the girl’s face. “I know it is you. I will not fall for your trickery like so many others have.” said the girl with a bit of sass in her voice. The horse gave out a small laugh. Once again a cloud of black mist appeared. It surrounded the horse, disappeared, then revealed the man. “When I shapeshift most are too mesmerised by what I become that their minds refuse to put the pieces together even though it is so obvious,” laughed the man, covering his mouth with the front of his hand. “You, my lady, have such a strong mind to have not been pulled in.” The girl smiled. “Well, I cannot drag you to your death, you must come willingly, so I bid you farewell. There are many others I can lure.” the man said as he began to walk away.
“ You won’t cause harm to anyone else. You will be overtaken by the desire to kill me to the point that it becomes the main thought in your mind. And even when you try to, you will not be able to kill me. The spirits of this forest are on my side,” the girl said in a voice that was barely audible. “Is that so?” he asked. “Yes,” she replied. The man walked back up to the girl and stopped right in front of her. He looked down at her small figure. His gaze first met that of her hair, her eyes, her small nose, her curved chin, then froze on the necklace that sat on her chest.
“What a lovely brooch,” said the man. “I have seen many types of jewelry on the young women that come here but none such as this.” The girl looked up at him with a proud smile upon her face and said, “The spirits gave it to me, for is has a great meaning.” “Then would you care to explain?” asked the man. Ingrid nodded and removed the trinket from her neck, holding it up so the man could get a better view. “The color grey symbolizes wisdom,” she sharted. “ Each of these five spirals stand for different things that all lead to each other. The first, starting from the top, stands for life. Life causes people to love or care about something or someone very deeply which stands for the second spiral. The third stands for hate and jealousy, which comes from loving or caring about someone or something too much. This then leads to the fourth spiral, which means death. When someone hates or despises someone, whether that is from being jealous or not, forming the fifth spiral, can cause them to want to kill that person. When that person dies, a new life is being brought in the world and the cycle repeats itself. Becoming a never ending spiral of this world.”
“Such a beautiful meaning, but not of my personal taste,” said the man. “Thank you,” Ingrid smiled as she gave a slight bow to the man. “You can have it if you want.” “No thanks,” replied the man. “I need not such a thing.” Ingrid nodded in response then placed the brooch back where it belonged. She looked back up to the man and asked him a question. “Say, I don’t recall you giving me your name. What is it?” The man silently chuckled to himself. “I have many names,” he started with a small grin on his face,”but really no name at all. Some do call me Silas though. ” “Hmmm...” Ingrid thought. “Then how about I give you one?” “Sure,” the man said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe you can come up with something better than the others.” The girl thought for a few seconds. “You said that my necklace was beautiful, right?” she asked. “Yes, it is. Thought I find the meaning not of my suit,” he added. “Well, in your other form, you have grey hair. Since my brooch is grey and beautiful, like you, I hereby dub thee as Sir Godfrey,” Ingrid said with a smile. The man then kneeled down on one knee and bowed his head. Ingrid, using her arm to serve as a sword, tapped each of the man’s shoulders. “Why thank you, my queen,” joked Godfrey. He then rose from his spot. “I have not forgotten about what you said earlier, my dear child,” he wispered, a slight smile still shown on his face. “I am always up for a challenge. Killing is my specialty, so I thought it would be best if I warned you.” “Try as you may, you will only lose,” smiled Ingrid. With that, they both turned and walked their separate ways through the forest.
From that day onwards, no matter where the man went in the forest, he would always see the young girl watching him. Once he spotted her, he would try to end her life in a different way. Poison by strange concoctions, pushing her off a cliff, even having a large tree crush her. No matter how much he tried, once her turned away the girl would be right there, laying asleep next to the spot where she was to have died. It made no sense to him. He knew it was impossible to kill her, but still he tried. Then one day, he finally lured the girl into the heart of the forest and drowned her. He had longed to do so for so long. And now that he did, he truly acknowledged the fact that he could not kill her.
He turned his back to the girl and and began to walk deeper into the lake. “Well, it appears that you were right young miss.” His soft and silky hair floated across the surface of the water as he dragged it with him until his whole body was submerged in the water. Once the last ripples of the water disappeared there was nothing left at the lake except for the unconscious girl and the faint sound of a horse neighing.
Screen Play
(meant to be an animation so there are no screen play-like camera directions/commands
Scene 1:
It was a normal day like any other in the land of Wyndham. Prince Alvis was, once again, hiding in the library of the castle, avoiding sword practice with his older brother, Ashleigh. Alvis was up at the very top of the library. He sat in the middle of the long (can’t remember) bars that ran across the entire room.(very large.) As he was laying down reading, he felt a tug on his leg, the next thing he realized was that he was being held over the path by his left leg. He he felt his stomach sink. He realized it was his older brother, Ashleigh, holding him by the leg.
“Why are you skipping out on sword practice?” asked his older brother.
“I have no need for such trivial things,” he replied.
“You have to know how to hold a sword it you are to ever be a ruler,” said his brother.
“Then I will not learn! You know that I have no desire to rule this place. I want absolutely nothing to do with it!”
“Too bad,” responded his brother as he slung Alvis over his shoulder. Ashleigh went over to the edge of the platform, setting his eyes on the long drapes that covered the archive walls. Alvis was starting to get suspicious.
“Ash, you know the elevator is in the other direction, right?”
“I know,” responded his brother.
“Then what are you doing?” asked Alvis.
“Taking a shortcut,” Ash responded. With that, Ashleigh took a few steps back from where he stood. “Please don’t,” cried Alvis. Ash was no longer listening to his brothers pleas. He tool on a running stance and charges straight off the platform. He lept into the air then managed to grab onto the curtains with both hands, leaving Alvis to wrap himself around his brother's waist to prevent himself from falling.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” yelled Alvis as the flew through the air. As they drew near to the floor, Alvis noticed that they were not slowing down. He took a moment to look to the side and noticed that the window was wide open.
“Oh, please, no,” he whispered to himself. Only a matter of seconds later did Alvis felt his brother swing towards the window. For a whole second, the word seemed to stop of Alvis. He was still holding onto his brother as they both flew out of the window, still screaming. Ashleigh landed with a soft thud on the ground. Still recovering from shock, Alvus loosened his grip on his brother’s waist, causing him to slowly fall (slide). Once his hands touched the ground he let go of his brother and flipped over onto the ground.
“What the bloody hell was that!” yelled Alvis, histeria still clearly showing through his voice.
“Time to go,” responded his brother.
“You still believe after all tha-,” Alvis stopped speaking and began to cover his mouth. The sickness on the trip hit him at full force. He started to make hurling noises.( trying to hurl but it’s just not there yet.)
“Hahhahahaha!” laughed Ashleigh. After about a minute or two when the noises still went on, Ashleigh started to get worried.
“Hey, Al. You all right?” he asked, stretching out a hand to his little brother. Once he touched Alvis’ shoulder, Ashleigh felt something stick in him. It was a needle. He immediately felt himself getting sleepy.
“Darn, he tricked me again,” he thought just before he fell asleep. Alvis began to stand up.
“Finally, some peace,” he said as he walked away, smiling softly to himself.
Scene 2: Chaos
It was later that afternoon. Alvis was in another hiding spot of his near the forest next to the castle. He had just grabbed the bag of food that Horace, the man in charge of the kitchen staff, had left him in the corner of the kitchen as always. He opened the bag and took out the contents. There was a small loaf of bread, a few slices of cheese, a knife, some butter, and a small container of fruit. Alvis took the knife, cut the loaf of bread in half, then proceeded to place cheese on one side, then butter on the other. He first ate the buttered side, then the cheese side. He took a bottle of water out of the bag and drank half of it before he consumed the small tray of fruit. With that, he placed all of the unused contents of his lunch back in the bag before reading his current book. After about an hour or two, Alvis woke up to the sound of his older brother calling his name.
“Alvisss!” yelled Ashleigh. “Come out, right now!” Alvis ignored the sound and just closed his eyes again. He still felt tired from the sudden nap. His brother spotted him through the bushes and stood over him.
“Go away,” Alvis said, he need not to open his eyes, for he knew that it was his brother before him.
“You tricked me,” his brother growled.
“Actually, I did not,” Alvis started. I was really recovering from a panic attack from you little stunt. I just knew how to control my actions and waited from my chance. With that response, his brother sat down next to him.
“Al, you need to do better than what you are doing now.”
“Why? I don’t want to rule and you do. It is so obvious that you should be in charge. I am not fit to be any ruler. I don’t even want to deal with the problems that it comes with, so just leave me alone.”
“You know I can’t be king,” said Ashleigh.
“And why not?”
“Because Joan is not going to rule.”
“What does Joan have to do about this. She did not want to rule because she had more fun training the men at the border. They even treat her like a goddess there. Just because she does not want to rule does not mean you can’t,” Alvis stated.
Ashleigh just sighed. “You’ll understand some other time. Or maybe when you start to remember,”
“Remember what?” questioned Alvis.
“Something that is so obvious but everyone else just pretends like it does not exist just to mess with you,” smiles Ashleigh.
“And what is that?”
“Can’t tell you. Made a promise that I would keep it a secret until the right time.”
“You never make any sense,” Alvis said closing his eyes once again. Ashleigh then took it upon himself to search the bag that Alvis had lying before him.
“What’s in here?” he asked, rambling through the bag.
“Nothing, I ate everything,” mumbled Alvis as he turned over to his side.
Ashleigh continued to search the bag until his hand caught something. “Oh...Not everything, “ he smiled.
“What do you mean?” Alvis asked, getting up. He then saw his older brother holding out a bar of chocolate. Horace's chocolate’s were the best thing in the world. He charged the nobles tons just for for bar. That way he could sneak and sell it for much less for the poor. The ingredients took a while to meed the castle so Horace would only make so much every month. It was a week early so Alvis was amazed. “Chocolate!” he yelled with a smile on his face.
“Oh no. I am not confiscating this chocolate, sir. You are charged with the crime of drugging your brother and sneaking off from practice, so no chocolate for you,” Ashleigh said as he opened the plastic wrap and took a bit.
“No! That’s mine. At least let me have some of it. I can almost never get any so early,” cried out Alvis. “Too bad. You should have thought about that before you inject me with some poison.” Ash said.
“It was not poison!” yelled Alvis. “It was a sleeping concoction.”
“Then why could I not move for 10 minutes after I work up? You planned that too, didn’t you?”
“I did not. That was just a side effect of some sort,” Alvis said in his defence.
“Okay, but still. What you did was wrong so as the older brother I will discipline you by eating the entire thing before you.” Just as Ashleigh was about to take another bite he looked down to his brother’s face. Alvis was giving him the puppy eyes. Ash was weak against his brother’s puppy eyes. They always made him feel like a criminal of some sort. He turned his face around. Al followed him and started to plea.
“Please?” Al asked.
“No,” answered Ash.
“Pretty Please?” He asked again.
“Nooo,” Ash said, starting to get annoyed.
“Pretty please with dark chocolate on top of vanilla cream pie?”
Ash’s stomach growed at that sentence. “Okay, now you're just making me hungry.” Al just continued to stare, his hands clasped together as if he were praying. They started at each other for a few moments. Ash could not take it anymore. “Okay, fine!” he yelled, pushing the chocolate into his brother’s hands.
“Yahoo!” smiled Alvis.
“Agh, I hate it when you do that!” yelled Ash.
“Well you should not give in so much,” responded Al. Ash snatched the chocolate bar what.
“What was that?” he asked. Al moved his head down.
“Nothing, great superior sir,” Al said.
“Though so,” Ash said as he gave the bar back to Al. Al shoved the rest of the chocolate into his mouth, smiling in bliss.
“Mmmm, Caramel milk chocolate,” he said with a nod. Boom! The loud sound shocked both Al and Ash.
AL: What was that?
Ash: Not sure. I should go see what it was.
Al: I’m coming with-” Before Al could finish, Ash was already running towards the palace courtyard. The two arrived at the courtyard and saw a huge battle breaking out.
Al: What is going on here? Just as Al said that his older sister, Joan, was swinger her halberd at an enemy that was approaching her in one swift and quick movement.
Ash/AL: Joan! She did not even turn around so them.
Joan: I am kind of busy right now” she said as she kicked one man on the ground and got him in the back.
Scene 3: Two years in the future: Al lost his memories. (change to scene 1)
AL, now 17, is now in the country of Arcadia. He works at the archives of the royal family under the teachings of Eerika, a well respected librarian who is like a mother to Al, but still very harsh. The building itself was located at a separate part of the castle where citizens could enter. Some parts were closed to the public. OP: Al is running back into the library, carrying a bag of books. They contain the new arrivals that Eerika.
Eerika: Hey! I said before, no running in the library! What if you knock a shelf over?
Al: Sorry aunt Eerika!” He laid his bag in front of her desk. I have the new books that Mr. Gustav connected. I also went and got the books that Kaarina had. They were due today and I didn’t want her to pay a fine since that mean Miss Hana wanted to take away her break time and force her to clean the whole kitchen again. Geez, what a terrible woman! Kaarina works so hard for so little and that woman thinks she can just treat her like crap because she’s rich. Something needs to be done about her!
Eerika: Al, stop. You know how people can be. Hana was my best friend. She was nice until she married that husband of hers.
Al: But just because he stays busy at work does not mean she has the right to-” “Hello,” chimed a voice. It came from that of a little boy- Xiao-ping, age 11
AL: Ping!” Al rushed over and hugged the little boy.
Al: I thought that you weren't suppose to be back for another week!” Ping’s father is a merchant who travels with some others near the beginning of the seasons changing every three months to sell some must needed items.
Xiao-Ping: My father's goods sold out really fast this time so we got to come back early. One the way back my dad decided that we should visit a hot spring since mother always wanted to visit one but never got the chance. That delayed us for about two days.
Al: You must have had fun
Xiao-Ping: Mmm.(with a nod.)
AL: So did you get what I wanted?
Xiao-Ping: Yep! Right here. Ping opened the backpack that he carried on this back, set it on the desk, and pulled out another bag. He then opened that back and listed some of the contents. ( find some)
Al: Yes! Everything is in order. (Ash grabbed the bag and handed the appropriate change to Ping. )
Eerika: You better be careful not to anger Goliath. She is taking her own time to teach you so you must know that she already expects much out of you, Al.
Al: I already know! -he yelled , running up the staircase and out of the building.
As AL walked he passes many of the old buildings of his town. The roads were made of cobblestones so neatly and tightly pushed together that you would forget that it was not the town leading to the palace itself. The buildings were all the same shade of light grey. The old fountain stood in the grand square looked as if it as just build yesterday.
Extra Piece-Fanfiction: The Boy in the Turquoise Jacket Chapters 1 and 2
Chapter 1: The Boy in the Turquoise Jacket
“Where is he?’ I said silently to myself; sitting at the booth in the corner of the coffee shop, Anteiku. “I come here everyday just to see him and he’s not here.” Yes. He is the one, and only, reason why I even step out in a public place such as this. He is the only reason why I can stand attending that college full of annoying, flirting playboys. He is nothing like them at all. Yes, Kaneki-san is one of a kind.
I met him on my first week of college. It was a horrible first week. I was never good around people. I get nervous very easy so my mind melts away really fast. Because of this, the guys at my college would try to take advantage of me. Whenever they asked me out I would feel too bad to say no. I really don’t understand what those guys saw in me. I mean, I don’t even look that good, less alone get noticed in a crowd. I had short black hair, could be mistaken for a boy if I tried, and wore circular glasses. Giant Harry fucking Potter looking circular glasses. I am kind of short for someone my age, and I barely even had a chest so what did these guys see in me? Did they think I was some lonely girl who they thought they could take advantage of because I rarely spoke? I don’t know. All I do know is that this caused the other girls at school to hate me. They thought I had some special secret to have the guys after me. I didn’t. They refused to believe me and forced me to go through a series or horrible pranks.
During the middle of my Asian History class I left to take a bathroom break. When I came back, I found my notes written with a bunch of horrible crap on the front. Some of the girls around me began to snicker.I ignored it because I know there would be no point in confronting the girls. This continued until Thursday. When I was walking into the classroom, I saw the group of girls pass a note to the student who sat beside me. He nodded his head and accepted it. I thought that it must be some sort of confession letter so I walked on by and went to my seat.
When I sat down the girls were looking at the boy beside me and were laughing. I turned to him to see what was going on. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. Satisfied by this, the girls turned around and minded their own business. Before I could open and read the paper the boy put his hands on top of mine, slid his face up to my ear and said “Don’t read this. It's just some stupid letter those girls wrote to make you feel bad. If they ask about it, just look down and say nothing. Okay?” The sincerity in his voice and his closeness made my insides melt. I never allowed someone to get this close to me, especially a boy. He then pulled away and looked into my eyes, still holding my hands. He slightly tilted his head as if asking do I understand. I gave him a slight nod in response. He then smiled to this and that was when I really started to notice him.
Instead of the usual black shadows that I saw everyone else in this class as, he turned into color. He had short black hair and hypnotizing light-grey eyes. He pulled his hands away, which felt too soon to me, turned back in his seat and started to take notes on what the professor was saying. I still sat there and stared like an idiot. Just when I was about to ask him his name, the teacher yelled at me and said “Ms. YggdrasilI, would like for you to pay attention to the subject of this class, not your classmate Mr. Kaneki.” This cause the girls in the front to laugh. With my face flushed red, I turned to the front of the room and started taking notes. During the rest of the class I could not stop thinking about the boy with the turquoise jacket, Kaneki-san. Occasionally, during the lecture the teacher was giving us, I would lift my head up and get a glance of this boy. And he, too, would do the same.
Chapter 2 : A New Realization
“The girl in corner is kinda cute isn't she. Is that the one you were talking about? Eh, Kaneki.” The sound of his name freed me from my trance of thought. I jolted my head up just in time to see him staring right at me. He immediately turned a deep shade of red and quickly averted his eyes. I followed by doing the same. “Your reaction says it all. That is her, eh? You both even act the same. It's so cute. She would probably go out with you if she liked you.” I looked back to see just who was talking to Kaneki-san. “Shhhh, Hide,” said Kaneki. I immediately remember who Kaneki-san was talking to. It was some guy in our class, Hide. I never really paid attention to Hide because he was so loud and annoying. So goddamn annoying. I don’t even understand why someone who's so nice, calm, and sincere like Kaneki-san could stand being around him. “She’s one of the girls that I like,” whispered Kaneki.
By hearing that I was both happy and enraged. “One of the girls,” I thought. Yeah, I was happy that he admitted that he like me, but I was angry that there was another. “Just who is this other girl?” I thought. Just as this occurred to my mind, a girl with blue hair walked by their table. “Ohhh...It she the other one?”, Hide asked. “Wha?” Kaneki said with a startled expression on his face. “Wha...no...No she’s not. She looks like she could secretly kill someone if she wanted to,” Kaneki said. “The other one...is over there” he said, pointing his finger in the direction beside me with his face,red as a tomato, buried in his left hand. “Oh great,” I thought, “her.” It was no other than Kamishiro Rize. She is said to be the most beautiful girl around here. She had the interest of everyone around her. Men, women, children...and even Kaneki.
“Of all people, why Rize? Now I haven’t got a chance anymore! She’s like a goddess. Part of her name even means God. How is my fucking tree name suppose to beat that?” I panicked. “No way! Someone as beautiful as her would never go out with you Kaneki. Just give up and go out with the girl with the black, short hair. At least you have a better chance with her,” Hide said. For once, the idiot said something that I completely agreed with. If Rize is out of the picture, I’ll definitely have a chance with Kaneki. Kaneki fired back, his face red hot, “Don’t jinx me! I really want to go out with her. She’s so beautiful and wonderful and she even reads the same book as me. She’s perfect” “I read the same book as you, you just don’t pay attention,” I thought. “But the black haired girl over there reads the same books as you too,” Hide pointed. “Thank you so much, Hide”, I thought.
“That’s wonderful,” Kaneki said, “But she does not seem to be interested in anyone…” When he said this he slowly lowered his head.“That’s not true! I am very interested in you Kaneki-san. Very, very interested. I love you so much. Please notice me, senpai. Notice my undying love for you.” I say to myself, covering my face to hold back the tears that try to come. “Well... on the first week of school she seemed very interested in you. The entire time during class that one day she kept sneaking glances at you. The teacher even got on her for staring at you, remember? Plus, you kept looking at her too,” Hide said matter o factly. “I only did that because I was thinking that she was cute. It’s natural for someone to stare at someone who they believe is cute,” Kaneki pointed out. “Plus, just because she looked at me that one time doesn't mean she is interested in me at all. She has already gone out with a ton of other guys, so what makes me different?”
“It’s obvious that she loves you, man,” Hide started. “I admit whenever a guy asked her out she would always say yes, but she was never happy about it. I believe that she would only go on dates with them was because she didn’t want to hurt their feelings. I even asked her out one time just to see what she would say. She said yes of course, but I could tell that she was not happy about it. When I told her she didn’t have to if she really didn’t want to, she acted as if she was totally relieved. I think she just couldn’t find the right guy for herself. Then she meet you. She started to pay attention to you more than anything. When you’re sick from school, she seems as if she’s worried and sad. When you come to school, she has a more happy air around her, you know? I really think you guys would make a great couple. You two would for sure make each other happy.” “You're not as useless and annoying as I thought you were.” Hide’s speech was just too perfect. I just wanted to cry right here and now just listening to it.
“Maybe you’re right,” began Kaneki, who was now covering his mouth and chin with one hand. “I might have a better chance with her than the other girl. Plus, it would be nice to go on a date with such a cute girl. We could go book shopping and get some coffee. That would be nice,” he said with a blissful smile on his face. “Yeah.That would be nice.” “Well why don’t you ask her out. She’s just over there. Her name is Airi by the way. Become a man and ask her out, okay?” Hide asked. “I’ll try” Kaneki said with a smile. “Well good luck” Hide said as he gathered his thing and got out of his chair. “I have to get to work. You know how it is.” “Okay, bye” Kaneki said as Hide left.
After Hide left, Kaneki just sat his is chair for a while. He was just staring out into space. “What is he thinking about,” I began to wonder. Kaneki senpai is always quiet so I can never really tell what is going on in his mind. Well, I can guess, but then my imagination starts to take over...He must be thinking about what Hide said about us.
Revision of: Short Story the Kelpie
I do like having some of the conversation to be kept though. I wanted to get rid of the part where Ingrid explains the brooch to Godfrey and to just have her name him that with no explanation. I would keep the rest of the dialog because it helps show the friendly relationship between the two without killing their characters and giving away too much of the plot. I liked how the conversation also showed Ingrid's childish nature which was not seen so much by others in the first make.
Course Reflection
The most useful thing I found about this course was the unit where we worked on dialogue. I have always sucked at writing dialogue between characters. I can describe actions ans such, but was never good at actually conversations between characters. That unit was what helped me the most out of the entire class and was mainly the reason why I wanted to take the class.
2) If you could add one more thing to this course, what would it be?
Add a fan fiction unit.
3) What did you learn about yourself as a writer this semester?
This semester I learned that there are really a lot of types of writing that I do not enjoy. I have discovered what types of writing I enjoy and have tested out some others. Since I know more of what I like now, I can focus on that and improving my skills at them.
4) What was your favorite reading this semester? Why?
The most enjoyable reading for this semester was Hygiene. I like it the most because of the darker theme that was displayed and because of the plot. Most of the other stories were like a slice of life type of reading or it just did not even gain my attention because of the characters or writing style.
5) What plans do you have for your writing career?
Since I am always being told that I can never make any real money being a writer, I just decided to do it anyway. I do not really care about money right now. I will have to work and I know that so at least for now I will take some time to write here and there.
6) Where do you find your inspiration of write?
Quite honestly I have no inspiration that makes me want to write. I believe for me to even say that I have one would just be an excuse to do something that I already wanted to do since I was young. Writing is like reading. You can leave the troubles of reality behind you and become focus on a completely different world where you watch events unfold instead of just doing something else in this one or dealing with others. I write to escape reality just like I read to escape reality. Simple as that.
7) What prompt's/ ideas that you have and would still like to write? Project Ideas?
The only main things I would like to do for writing is write more fan fictions of shows or books that were never completed. Shows like Sym-bionic titan and webcomics like Todd Allison and the Petunia Violet. I have a sense of what I believe that the writers were doing so I want to try to get my view out there.