Young Writers Society

Hey all! This is my prewriting journal.

Feel free to comment or talk in here with me about ideas. I would love that.

Right now I'm actually post-pre-writing kinda. I want to revise Searching for Security so I'm going to be re-planning and rewriting the whole thing basically, but I have a plot kinda and I've already done probably like a third of what I should do for my stuff, so I'll be sort of ahead of the curve on that.

According to this plot that I just sort of made up on a whim, my plot will go something like this:

(1,2) The pre-existing tension will be that the lands in the area that these people live are collapsing. Our main characters will be attempting to save the civilization's home by creating new environmental factors to recover the area. It will either have been a very very hot winter, or a very very cold summer to screw with the plants and create an atmosphere of not enough food, not enough time, and not enough life. Out of this will spring a council meeting which will spur on our main village into a meeting that will not only set up the world, but help create the tension. They have enough to get by for now, but without something changing, next season will destroy them.

(2,1) With a plan in place, and people leaving, this chapter will be mostly about introducing the two main characters to one another and getting a bit more of the setting and world laid out, it won't be very tense, and will actually be rather relaxing as they travel away from home in familiar territories for the first chapter.

(3,2) Once they're out of familiar territory and they're a little way into the adventure, things are going to start to get a little bit rockier. Though one party will be knowledgeable about the areas, the other will be under-prepared due to the lack of supplies in the village, so it will be rough going for a little bit, bringing the tension back up, slightly. [char 2 assists char 1]

(4,4) The tension will increase at a steep slope as we begin to discover that there are problems with the plan due to unaccounted for factors such as storms, civilizations, and perhaps a rise in tension between the two parties that had been getting along fine. These things will challenge the characters to work together and form a tighter bond. [char 1 assists char 2 cementing the bond of exchange]

(5,6) Tension will continue to rise as they actually start to see and confront the problems that were quickly working up their horizon such as hunters, storms lasting for a very long time, making their way through cities where char 2 is wanted, and exhaustion from the length of the journey begins to set in for real.
-Maybe they don't know if char 3 is around the area they're looking for her at.

(6,7) Though the tension doesn't rise much more, tension still rises a little and does not just maintain. Some problems are resolved, maybe the weather breaks or the hunters/humans are dealt with, but there is still a lurking threat and perhaps their exhaustion isn't completely gone. Probably at this point I will have them rested and well as they are very close to meeting char 3.

(7,5) They meet char 3 and secure the contact that was their initial goal, creating most of the tension to lesson considerably. A lot of the unknowns are gone, but there are still some which could include hunters, which would be a much higher chance, exhaustion form travel, low supplies, and the setting of a season into a season harder to travel within coming on the horizon.

(8,6) Securing the assistance they require is more difficult than they originally expected thus creating a consequence of needing to waste time from their goal of getting back on convincing char 3 to come with them. Eventually char 2 resolves this problem as was char 2s purpose in the mission, but it takes time that char 1 probably does not feel they have, thus creating tension between our friends.

(9,6) Though one problem has been solved, of actually getting the cooperation, another rises of getting home in a timely fashion to save the village. This new element of a race against time maintains the tension for char 1 and 2 but not char 3 who isn't as invested, which creates tension between the characters.

(10,5.5) Char 1 and 2 prove their worth by protecting char 3 thus earning her trust and friendship while theirs is freely given due to their need.

(11,5) Major problems are resolved surrounding the escape of dangers such as foe or friend humans and other controllable elements. Supplies are found and collected

(12,3) Home is on the horizon but the problem still has to be resolved and the meeting between the home front and char 3 still has to occur which causes her to feel nervous and tense, thus slowing them down a bit, not something they can have.

(13,1) The meeting goes smoothly and the future is looking in the right direction to improve the town. Char 3 starts to settle in.
...

Ok, so I went on Seventh Sanctum and I used their generator for Evil-Sounding names and I'm going to use that to generate names for the humans in my story. The first list is here:



and I really like Rongril, Kanthak, and Roro so I'm going to use them as the names for Jackson's siblings. I don't know what I'll rename Jackson yet but I'm really happy with this list so I'll probably search through more of them.

The seventh sanctum site is a little weird. To get to the generators you have to look at the top and go through there.

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/index-name.php

lol, some neat names:
Orogro
Fazglin
Kalol
Vaurith
Nand
FABANG
Megi - new jackson perhaps


There are so many better ways to name Natsumi too, that I'm thinking abotu going with a Native American naming system for my "imps" but I might end up going with something more standard or create a standardization among all of them to avoid having them stand out due to their name.

That's from here: http://fantasynamegenerators.com/native ... CNPElfgWSo
Ankti right now is the name I'm thinking about for Natsumi.

I <3 seventh sanctum. XD

I only have one thing to say about your book so far: so organized, so planned.

I am jealous. Everything looks like you have it all in order, and have it all ready to write when October comes around.

Gonna love it when you write it. <3

Thanks @TimmyJake I really don't feel that organized since I'm mostly just making stuff up. XD

Challenge 4

Options for Point A:

- When Megi [jackson] and Jane are on the road trying to get to Ankti [natsumi] and they can talk about it as they get out of town
Pros: I would be starting with action, moving forward towards getting on the street and moving on.
Cons: I wouldn't see the village. I wouldn't meet the villagers. Megi and Jane might end up not getting along so well at the start so they might not really talk that much to explain everything.

- When they pick up Megi for the journey
Pros: This would be a nice way to transition into Megi's point of view. Megi would give them someone to petition about their situation and he could brainstorm with them about how to solve it.
Cons: I have no idea when this is yet. Jackson might be hard to convince to go, or he might be too easy and they don't need to make a complete enough case

Options for Point B:

- When they get back to the village
Pros: No need summarizing or meeting or trying to figure out the ifs ands, and buts.
Cons: No idea if she actually was successful or helped in the end.

- When she agrees to help and starts helping
Pros: Ankti might do this pretty quickly after meeting the villagers because of the type of society they are up there, so this could wrap it up quickly.
Cons: It might feel abrupt that I ended it here instead of following it through with an epilogue of the village afterwards and her settled in and stuff.

Uh, here's my mind map for Challenge 5

and here's challenge 6 while I'm on it

[The Book]
Human Laws and Guidelines


Magical Creature Laws and Guidelines


Imp Laws and Guidelines

1: What is the quickest way to get from your starting point, to your ending point regardless of what you want to have happen, your characters, or your plot?

Megi and Fintan?[Jane] take some horses down with a merchant to Khet and take a ship from [North Port] to [Jenningsville] and find any imp around. Capture the imp, transport them as property back up to the village, and then explain the situation once they're there, and give them the freedom to do what they want.

2: What is normal life like for your character?

Char 1: Fintan's normal life includes teaching people in the mornings or after noons and in his spare time brushing up on his holy books or reading for pleasure. He also does research and talks to just about everyone he can find. Sometimes he wanders out into the desert and tries to find new people to ask questions of and talk to for his research about the area. Most of the time, he's writing a historical book about the area.

Char 2: Megi's normal life includes chasing down food, and relaxing. Most of the time he can go on hunts for days searching for a large kill he can take out through his human form, but when he's traveling, he prefers a light quick meal of human food since it's more consistent. His typical year involves a yearly trip starting in early spring to head south past the desert and into the cultural bed of people in the wood basket of the island. He loves to see the new things humans are doing and get some collectables.

Char 3: Ankti's average day includes watching over the forest and doing her best to scare off the humans that are attempting to invade it. This isn't the typical day for a spirit though. Usually they are charged with keeping the peace and manipulating the streams and waters to best expand the magic through the land. Sometimes this means they're imbedding new creatures with magical abilities, other times this means they're sacrificing their control of weather to their neighbor so they can all get some good rain.

3: When is normal life disrupted and how?

Char. 1: Normal Life is disrupted for Fintan when the village is in dire straights for their winter supply of food and money. His job is being interrupted by the churches funding cuts, and the land isn't being as forthcoming with vegetation despite Megi's abilities. Megi has told them that there's nothing he can really do when plants don't get the water they need, and as the bay doesn't yield as much snow across the mountain tops year after year, and they're surrounded by desert, there's little they can do but in the winter, this winter, create a reservoir of snow by carting it over the mountain. In the mean time, they're hoping to do something quicker.

Char. 2: Megi's normal life is interrupted when he realizes the lands of his home are going dry, not just in nutrition and richness, but in water. Although the rich sediment has collected at the base of these mountains, it is being eaten away because of the very reason it's there, not enough rain gets there for them to prosper. He's warned the town's Mayor of the problem since he can't do anything for them, and they've always been good to him, but his advice is to move east or west, and they just don't have the time, in their opinion, to do that. Megi has to move, and although that's not much of a problem, he has collected quite a bit and the process will be slow.

Char. 3: Ankti's life is interrupted when Thoth dies. The humans were not the only cause of his death, but it was one of the main ones, and because of that, she's devastated and unwilling to really hold on. The other spirits in the area aren't much willing to hold onto her and she begins to travel north on a path of remembrance, doing her best to stay out of the human's sight. She settles on the outskirts of her farthest reach before the humans will begin to see her and attracts a lot of attention from the animals, mourning the loss of her mentor.

4: What causes the story to go back to normalcy?

The story will go back to normal again when Megi and Ankti settle in to their new lives after saving Fintan's village.

5: How would a different character solve the problem given to the main character?

Char. 1: The problem given to Fintan is that his village is dying.
If Fintan was solving Megi's problem, he would pack everything in a cart, and move to a coastal village. As a human, he is meant to live in villages. If he were a fox like Megi, he'd move mountains heading farther north and into the baskets of water-rich lands there, carving out his own territory. Fintan would also visit his family and live closer to them.
If Fintan was solving Ankti's problem, he'd probably dig in his heels and mourn the loss, then repair himself mentally through gradually getting more involved with the world again. He would probably also move away from the humans on the edge of the water settlements because they seem to be too strong for him to deal with. He might end up settling farther south because not many imps have come that far through the world yet.

Char. 2: The problem given to Megi is that his home needs to change locations.
If Fintan's problem was given to Megi, he'd pack up and leave. He'd move farther south on the other side of the desert probably against Khet.
If Ankti's problem was given to Megi, he'd do everything in his power to destroy the humans again, knowing he could do it because of the past experience of doing it. He'd try to rally the other spirits around him to help with the cause and do his best to devastate them.

Char. 3: The problem given to Ankti is that she's lost her teacher and mentor.
If Fintan's problem was given to Ankti, she'd explore the mountain more and try to find a water source from within caves of the mountain system, or try to find a way to build a tunnel through the mountain to the bay.
If Megi's problem was given to Ankti, she'd move farther up her territory or move to the other side of the mountain, but she wouldn't leave the area.

6: What are the tools at your character's disposal to discover information?

Char. 1: Books, Humans, Myths, Mail, News, Architecture, Design, History
Char. 2: Humans, energy reverberation from the soil, history, myths, legends, artifacts
Char. 3: Energy reverberating from nature, water's natural energy, being able to feel what water feels, speaking as animals she's in the form of, myths, legends, history

7: What are the tools for your character to end conflict?

Char. 1: Diplomacy/Talking it out, Being human [sadly enough] with Religious Rights
Char. 2: Leaving, fighting
Char. 3: Creating storms [slow], leaving, fighting


8: How would the plot change if your main character wasn't in the story?

Char. 1: If he wasn't in the story then there is a lot of imbalance between the representation of humans and reality, and there's no reason for Jackson to take Natsumi north. I use their old names because he WASN'T in the original, and that's what I'm editing IN/re-writing it FOR

Char. 2: There would be little to no chance of Fintan to get Ankti to actually follow him back to his village and help the place. She's rather racist and highly prejudice against humans. She doesn't want to help them, and she actually wants to eradicate them from the surface of her lands. If Megi wasn't there to soften this anger and hostility towards the humans through intriguing Ankti and persuading her that they're not all bad, but rather interesting, then she'd be completely against the trip and no way ever would help.

Char. 3: The book wouldn't be as interesting without Ankti because there wouldn't be a society vs society conflict, and there also wouldn't be half the magical elements. The major plot would have to change and Fintan would have to be convincing Megi to do something he cannot do, which might be interesting, but it wouldn't be an adventure, it'd be more of a survival story.


9: Is the plot driven by the character, or outside events in the story?

Char. 1: If we look at just Fintan's plot, he is driving most of it. There are a lot of outside factors that are going to affect his motives, but he is the motivational drive towards completing the book. What is driving Fintan to want to change things IS an external thing though, and something he has no control over.

Char. 2: Megi is just along for the ride and trying to save his home, but he can easily move, it's just a bit more work to do it. He's not really at the driving force. For him the plot is all externally driven.

Char. 3: Ankti's plot of going to rescue a village of people that she technically hates, is internally driven. She's going because she wants to help Megi, she's interested in him and curious enough to stick around regardless of who he hangs out with [Fintan], so she's not being driven out of her home by some external force. Her motivation is partially from the death of Thoth which will be up front and center, but it's not going to be anything she can't handle.


10: Looking at your story from the perspective of someone who believes that all people are good in some way, what rationality would you have for your plot points?

My major plot points are conflicts with hunters, trying to get Ankti to accept them, and getting home. Conflicts with hunters could be boiled down to these people are afraid of the spirits. They don't want to have something around that they don't understand because even if they have the best intentions, these other people might not. They're scared and thus need to be taught not hurt. Also, not all of them are killing the spirits. Some of them are just trying to take them in to study them in a secure environment to try to improve mankind.
Ankti being reluctant to help could be seen as she's scared too. She doesn't understand that these people are trying to save their home, and that it is their home by right too. She's not very understanding of the world around her and if she was, she would see that there is no reason not to help them.
Getting home, well, everything should go smoothly so this isn't much of a controversy on their side.

11: Now, looking at your story from the perspective of someone who believes that all people are in essence greedy and bound to do bad things, what rationality would you have for your plot points?

My major plot points are conflicts with hunters, trying to get Ankti to accept them, and getting home. The major conflict with the hunters is because they're greedy and they want to make bank on Ankti's kind. She has every right to be reluctant and the fact that she even bothers to help them at all is astounding. When they get home, she's probably just going to get stabbed in the back once they use her services and she'll be left to do nothing at all, or kicked out, or sold off for the benefit of the society.

12: What is the main conflict in your story, Man vs. Man, Man vs. Self, Man vs. Machine, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Nature...?

The main conflict in this story is Man vs Man, with also Man vs Self, and Society vs Society, and Man vs Nature.

13: What is the main point you want to say through the story?

I want to say that just because you're prejudice against someone doesn't mean you can't work with them or understand them or help them.

14: If you had to write the story in 1,000 words, what would the plot be?

The major conflict of getting Ankti to agree to help Fintan through Megi's intervention and discussion. It'd probably be something like Fintan is begging Ankti, Megi comes along and clears up the situation by convincing Ankti she can help someone she hates.

15: If you had to convey the story in a five minute speech, what would you focus on?

I would focus on the friendships and how they were built through the adventure I haven't written yet.

16: Do you need all of your plot points to further the plot, or are some of them just for spectacle?

1, yes, for backstory and to get them out of town.
2, not really, but it will be good for finishing off the backstory and starting character interactions.
3, Probably not if I have chapter 2, but it's one or the other, either ch. 2, or ch, 3.
4, Yes, although this could probably be woven into Ch. 3 if I absolutely needed to shorten this.
5, Yes, this is the first chapter where we see the major conflict of Man vs Man in my head
6, This doesn't further the plot much, but it allows the reader a break from all the stresses.
7, Yes, I absolutely 100% need this
8, Yes, I need this to stretch out two chapters. The first chapter is just meeting her, the second is convincing her. It has to be drawn out.
9, Yes, I need the rising climax of needing to get home In Time in part to show that Ankti is less with it than the others, and to encourage Ankti to trust them.
10, This is where Ankti finally begins to trust them, and it is necessary to have some point where Megi and Fintan save her or help her in some significant way.
11, this could probably get wrapped up in ch. 10
12, Yes, this is needed to show the new bonds
13, This is the summary at the end, so yes.

17: Can your story start farther in without interrupting the plot or losing key details about any specific events?

Yeah. I could probably start it all the way at a key conflict between Megi and Fintan where they start to work on their differences and be useful to each other.

18: How would you summarize each of your chapters in 50 words or less?

I've already sort of done this.

19: Where does your character, and your reader, get a break?

During the travel times between point one and point two where they are either hiding from hunters or relaxing at night.

20: What is the time period of the story?

This story will take place over the course of two months in my head.

21: What would the story look like if you wrote it from the point of view of your least-favorite character?

My least favorite characters are the hunters, so it would be a wild goose chase over the country side to capture a mysterious spirit that's escaped notice and is being aided by terrorists trying to flee to the north, which is a mysterious place.

22: If your last challenge came first, how would the rest of the story go?

The last challenge is meeting the folks, so to say. If meeting people was a challenge in the first place, then Megi and Fintan would be hard put to get along and things would go relatively cautiously. They'd make really slow time and it would be a very quiet story until they got to know each other.

23: What would happen if your conflicts all happened at the same time?

If Megi and Fintan, and Ankti all ended up in the area when Fintan and his people were talking about how to solve the problems, and a bunch of hunters trying to capture them while Fintan and Megi were trying to introduce Ankti to the folks, then all hell would break loose and someone would probably pull out a gun and shoot the hunters, then Ankti and Megi would flee to the mountains, and the dogs would get scared off because of Ankti and then Fintan would end up kicked out of the church but the place would be safe and everything would be cool maybe, aside from the dead hunters and citizens.

24: What sort of devices will you write into the story to get your characters out of situations where there is no solution, and how can they be used earlier to avoid getting into those situations?

With enough energy Ankti can scream in such a high frequency, it hurts dogs to hear it, so they naturally leave. They will come back if urged, but it's a strong deterrent for hunting dogs. Megi also has the ability to "rejuvenate" soil, and because Ankti's energy is directly correlated with the soil, she is rejuvenated from that as well. Megi cannot rejuvenate the soil of the town because there isn't enough water or matter to release in order to rejuvenate it.

25: How do you justify the change, or lack of change, of your character at the end of the novel?

Char. 1: Fintan isn't going to change very much because he's getting what he wants and although he'll be a little different, a little less trusting, a little more defensive, he's not going to be much up in arms about what's been going on. Everything in this journey is pretty standard for him, so his change will be minor.

Char. 2: Megi's not going to change very much because not only is he very familiar with traveling across and around the island, he's highly familiar with the cultural differences between spirits and humans, especially since he's a byproduct of magic himself.

Char. 3: Natsumi is going to drastically change her prejudices against humans during the second half of the story because she'll start to get first hand experience around people "of other sorts" and begin to see that not all humans are hunters, and not all animals are stupid. She'll be learning quite a lot and without changing, she would die quickly in the journey, or because she didn't make it.

The governments aren't really something I've set up yet... so this will be interesting. Right now I'll start out with three major sections which have similar national identities, but perhaps not similar states.

Humans

Mainland 1
Resources: Population, Knowledge, Ruling governments [MotherLand],
Language: Language A.H, Language B.H, Language C.H
Government: The unification of the island is ruled as an empire with multiple presidents and prime ministers beneath it connecting the minor states.
Religion: Religion A.H, Religion B.H
Imports: Lumber, Rare Materials, Natural Resources, Waist, Citizens
Exports: Military equipment, Laws/Government, Prisoners,

Secondary Land 2
Resources: Population, radioactive materials, Unified Nationalism,
Language: Language B.H
Government: Beneath the rule of the Emperor, they consist of a democracy united between the many tribes of the lands which govern and self rule, for the most part.
Religion: Religion B.H
Imports: Government, Military Equipment, Food Stuffs
Exports: Lumber, Manual Labor efforts, Religious leaders

Magical Island 3
Resources: Lumber, Minerals and compounds [[limestone, salt, Granet]not that they know it], Farms, Magical creatures
Language: Language A.H
Government: Just the Emperor rules this area
Religion: Religion A.H
Imports: Prisoners, Religion, Government, Cattle, Seeds, Technology
Exports: Lumber, Food stuffs, Magical Creatures, Waist

Secondary Land 4
Resources: Cattle, Skills workers, Minerals and compounds, Natural Resources, Religion, Theology
Language: Language C.H, Language A.H, Language B.H
Government: National Empire and minority monarchs
Religion: Religion C.H
Imports: Populations, Manual Labor stuffs,
Exports: Prisoners, Waist, Skills Workers, Food Stuffs, Schemes for innovation, Minerals and Compounds, Natural Resources,

More Maps









The island we're on in the story:

When to include history lessons:

Lesson 1) Where did the desert come from?
Ankti threw a temper tantrum and pooled all of her energy together with many other imps to throw a storm on the island that they, as water-originating creatures, could live through, but humans could not. The populations of animals on the island is still recuperating but most of them fled northwest or southwest to get away from the major ecological change.
- The humans know that a typhoon wiped out the weakened trees from over-cutting the forests, and that some of the lands were made up of mineral deposits like Sandstone and Limestone which dissolved, while other basins of water, the lower right, was made by volcanic activity and just filled up.
The land was submerged mostly to the western coast where a heavy population of human villages culminated when they didn't go up the frozen mountains, and the tides raged havoc for months until they receded and left the lower basin with their trees and plentiful soil that had been in the north.
- Megi and Ankti know that Ankit is the one who caused the storm to be so severe and so sudden.

Lesson 2) Where did the imps come from?
The imps came from magic pooling on the island from a rip in dimensions beneath the island. The rip in dimensions sort of caused the mountains to be so extreme and the whole physiology of the land to be so different than the rest of the world. It's practically from another dimension. This means that the magic seeps through near the north, and as the land became too saturated, it created hosts and protectors which are the imps. They, in turn, when it was too strong still, created magical creatures which could use the magic to settle nature.
- No one really knows this but the imps, so it has to be included after we meet Ankti.
- Conversely we can answer this with where did the other magical creatures come from and Megi would know this at any time.

Lesson 3) Typical Human Standards for Magical Creature Protection
The rest of the humans on the island have severe ownership beliefs about the "animals" on the island and export or study or kill them when they come across them.
-This should be a problem right up front either included when they leave, or before they leave.

Lesson 4) Why did this village become peaceful when the rest of the villages destroy and capture magical creatures?
-This should be covered as a trust point between Megi and Fintan

Lesson 5) Why do the imps hate humans?
-Only Ankti can answer this
-Possibly include it near the end when she's starting to doubt herself through a monologue

Challenge the Something...

Knew Know Will Know

Day One
Past Tense 500 Words

Standing in the rain, she held the umbrella tight. The wind whipped and tore at it, trying to convex it out like a cup, and the rain pelting it down. The hook was wet, wetter than it should be for being an umbrella, but she didn't care. She stood with her toes pointed and her coat held tight with her free hand, staring at the white-blue glow of the porch light, and waited.
She wasn't in the street, or against the thick oak tree that tore up the sidewalk, in front of their house, but she wasn't in their yard either. A puddle pooled around her feet rolling off her boots, the storm crashing around her, pulling at the leaves making them dance to the ground like marionettes.
Across the street, behind the white picket fence, in the yellow shingled house on a tiny hill, barely a mound, she watched the lights come on, one by one making the drapes glow. She could hear the creaking of the wood as she remembered, and the way the house caught leaves which scratched along the outside, like somehow, getting inside was all that matter.
She could hear the pattering of rain dripping down the side of the little room that boughed as if it would be torn asunder from the rest and tossed across the street, left out in the rain. The underside of the room was a little exposed, since it stood above the porch, and instead of having an awning, they had a room, extended just a few extra feet for the closet, but it compromised five sides to the elements. At night, when it was windy out, or storming, the flag, which extended off the porch, would snap like a whip, and crack against the tender underbelly of the room, a slave driver to the wind which fed it.
So she waited, and watched as the little windows clicked on, one by one, trailing out to the hallway, just a blink of light (she always was afraid of the dark), until at last, the window in the door would light for just a moment, just to get her bearings.
Sterilized, awaiting bugs to crawl upon the surface of this fresh-forming scar, she stood patiently, her feet aching, and her back straining to keep herself secure in the pushing and pulling wind. She nearly lost her umbrella, as her hands tremored with shock, and she waited, would it be tonight? Would it be okay tonight, or would she have to come again, and wait outside in snow, or sleet, or hail, or a tornado for that little blue-white light to flicker.
She watched the dull glow through the thick rain beneath the branches of the old oak tree they used to climb on as kids. She waited, as something paused, and she knew across the street, her mirror sat trembling, holding the switch, and wondering if this was enough. Had she had enough? The light went out. She shook off the rain, and walked home.

Present Tense 500 Words

We stand face to face in the sun, hand clasped in hand, and though we feel each other, together, and sound, we know that somehow, this is the last time we'll speak and see, and touch. I smile for a moment, and you, with your infant wisdom, giggle, and smile back. Racing across the green grass we tease away the yesterdays of sitting on duck-dropping benches, tossing out bread like it is seed, and candy. Somehow, we always settle in the shade.
At the park, we love that bench. The one under the oak tree, or is it an apple tree? It doesn't produce apples, so maybe it's a maple. We love to steal away there because if you're well enough, and fit enough, it is the easiest tree in the park to climb. Some idiots, a few years back, decided to lop off the tree's head, or maybe that was a tornado's ruin, but it made it easier to climb, even still, and gave you somewhere to sit.
I watch you sitting at the top, laying back on the bench and staring up through the three-pronged, knife-edged leaves. If I want to, I can identify what type of tree it is by categorizing the leaf, but why would I need to? You know this tree so well, perhaps, all I have to do is ask.
All I can see is your foot, a leg, a pant leg bellowed out like a skirt, and maybe if I sneak a peek close enough, I can see something a little more. You call down to me and ask why don't I join you, and maybe, in part, it's because I'm afraid I can't, and another part just tells me it's because I love to see you so high, and above it all.
Racing across the field we find the shade too, tucking ourselves against the back wall of a garbage dump, you, a run with sweat, me, a run with walking. I can hear it in your voice, the way you start to speak, and suddenly we're in the shade, the cold shade, and you're not giggling innocence any more, and I'm not hearing boyish dreams. I wonder, as I listen, what sort of dreams you have, and how I haven't seen them before. Perhaps the tree is more than that, perhaps, your aspirations do run higher, and that is how you gain the will to climb. I, solid footed on the ground, stand nowhere near reaching your hand, and dare not try.
Speaking up myself, I feel the dread I know you see. I ask the shadows, and hear the sun reply.
"I've always wanted a Catholic wedding. It's something I really want. It's not that I don't want a good wife, but, I honestly believe in my faith, and one of the things that I value, is the idea they have of marriage. I can't say I'll find her, but, Catholics don't allow non-Catholics to marry through their ceremony. Going off to college…"


10 min Free-write, Past Tense

Natsumi sat across from Thoth, her arm bleeding as she gently tried to peel together her skin, peel, perhaps not the best words. She settled for looking up at the sky, blinking away her tears. The sun wasn't shining today, There was a bunch of clouds and though they weren't gray, or raining, they were really trying to cumulated to her tears and though she appreciated it, it was hard to manage both at the same time. Somehow, she managed to just settle down. Thoth gently touched her arm trying to get her to calm down, and each moment she felt like another second was lost, another moment.
The forest was being ripped apart, it felt like someone was pulling a needle out of her back, one by one, and each needle was as thick as an iron bar, and jammed so far into her ribs it pierced her stomach, and her lungs, and as she settled through the motions of convulsing with them, they began to tear at her skin. Tears, were not enough. She felt the anger building, the humans were on her land, and they were populating.
How was sue supposed to deal with this? How could she deal with this/ Thoth was no help.
Just calm down they'll go away soon, they won't stay forever, they can't stay forever. it's alright little one, it's alright, they're going north, they're going north, they won't stay.
Going north, going north! How is that any better than here? How is going north a good thing?
We're not there, we're down here, we're not up north, we're not up there any more, we're here.
HERE IS WHERE THEY STARTED FROM, here is where they come from.
Natsumi raged and with her rage she felt the end of things, the end of water, the end of land, the end of mountains. With each moment, she grew and yelled in pain, her anger, her rage, her stinging, her ribs, all convulsed with anger for each slice they took from her back.
Struggling to stand, Natsumi's hair grew wild blowing about in the wind that tore upon the lands, and thrashed about the trees. She felt the soil rich with life, with energy, with water, and saturated to the brim, then pulled.
The ocean responded, and with it, came the waves. Rocking, she pulled again, and again, with each hacking chop upon her trees, and as she rocked, and pulled, she felt hands beside her, and a rope around her waist
catching at her stomach like a biting torrent of a monster, like teeth digging upon her flesh, she didn't care. She pulled harder and continued to rock upon her heels. Thoth grabbed her arm
"Natsumi Stop, you have to stop this. You can't do this, you're not strong enough."
"THAT'S A LIE that's a lie Thoth, that's just a lie! I am not strong enough? How am I not strong enough when it is you, and the others, Jackobe and Doreen that are not strong enough to plague this land to cure this land of this plague, how is it I who is not strong when it is you who sits complacently as they dig upon your heels and they scratch upon your back. They are the monster, they are the villain.
"They are the killers of our people and the destroyers of our land, and our body, and our souls. They damn our rivers, and blockade our lives. They drag us from our homes and they rip us to shreds or have you not felt the cries of our brethren before they die have you not felt the misery that is bestowed upon them?
"Can you not hear the whimpers and the sobs as they grow distant from the magic, and disappeared beneath the crashing waves. We are not the enemies here, they are, and they are leaving! These things, they cannot die by fire, and brimstone, they cannot die by trees crashing upon their heads and their homes, but they can drown. Water, our life, our savior, our giver of all, will give us redemption from our spite as well and free us from this plague. We shall see who is stronger when I am through with them and I shall be through when they are dead and gone!
Sick am I of the days and nights of being skinned alive and tormented by those who rip at the roots of my trees, and my fertility and my life blood. Sick am I of the way that they stroll through my branches and kill my animals and my friends. I shall not stand for it. I shall not quit another moment to letting these beings live."
So she took upon herself the mantle of the power, and bore the yolk of her kind, and dragged forth the mighty storm. It broiled within the sea and with each tremendous push and turn she found herself reaching higher and higher than even Thoth could go, and as her creator, he stood back and joined. now her equal, now her warning side, and tempered of the storm. He turned the pot upon the fire lest it burst too son and he beside her wrapped upon a vail that the humans could not see. So they boiled
They broiled and moaned their pleading cries and with each moment, another imp, another life, another cry grew louder with the forces and with each forest grew the island of revolt. Finally, upon their torrent heads, the animals began to flee, and ran straight up for the mountains, far from touching, or fled south to the nether regions where she would not touch. it was unspoken, and it was majestic as they fled.