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Storybook Story Challenge



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Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:16 pm
PenguinAttack says...



During the last Storybook workshop, a storybook premise was created. Using this premise and the characters written up, I challenge you to write a story! It can be of any length or type, using any of the characters or only one, and be anywhere you want it to be (within reason, considering the premise).

Why? Because we'd like to see how many different kinds of stories we can create through this one small foundation. You can post in this thread or in the YWS lit section and link here. Anything and everything is possible and allowed (remember to rate everything you write if it's over pg!).

The Premise:


It is the year 2486 and Earth is not how you remember it. You are all that is left of a failed mission to cultivate the planet Mars and now you’re returning home. You’ve been gone for twenty years. The youngest of you were babes in arms before you left and the oldest are feeling their age. They’re looking forward to a quiet retirement back on solid ground.

But as I said, nothing is as you left it. Eight years ago you lost all communication with Earth but the spaceship only had enough fuel to make one return journey. The project was still in its youth and looking promising so you stayed and lived an isolated existence. But it got harder. The red planet’s soil was difficult to dig through and plants were too slow and not nourishing enough. Your supplies ran low. Then a year ago a foreign illness attacked your crew and you were forced to save those who weren’t infected and retreat.

You made it back to planet Earth feeling disappointed and worried over the possibility that you might have brought the disease with you. But when you arrive, there are no people. You land in America and find everywhere abandoned. You try the radio and all you get is static. You turn on the television but nothing.

What has happened since you left and are you truly the only humans left? Let’s find out.


The Characters: (Warning! Some profiles involve some over 18 suggestive material. Read at risk!)
Spoiler! :
What’s your name then?
Well if you must know, my ma named me Zai. Zai Holtzclaw, guess that’s what happens when you’re born in space. I mean it’s alright but I’ve read through those books they brought with us and there are no Zais. It isn’t really a name. What are the Earth kids going to think of me?
Ah, and how old are you Zai?
I’m twenty-one or thereabouts. Our days are different on Mars so it’s hard to keep the old calendar and I don’t much care. Maybe I’m younger, maybe older but as far as I’m telling you, I’m twenty-one. Apparently that’s the legal drinking age. *winks*
And you’re uh- a boy, yes? I mean obviously you are but it’s for the database and...
I guess you have to ask that question with a name like mine. Earth it man, we’re tight. You’re right of course, I’m a boy - did you want to check? I mean, if it’s for the database *smirk*
No, no, that’s fine. Alright, how would you describe yourself?
I’m good looking I think. I mean how can I know if I’m good looking or not? It isn’t like there are a lot of people to judge myself against. I’m not fat though; apparently people on Earth are fat. We don’t have much food so... yeah. I’m not fat. Uh- oh my hair? It’s blonde. My eyes are blue. My skin is pale, guess I’m a Martian, baby.
Okay and who is the real you? What’s it like growing up on Mars?
Well I don’t know, what’s it like growing up on Earth? Hah, got you there haven’t I? Planting is fun I guess, I like that much better than reaping. I like reading the old books and... and I think about Earth a lot, okay? What there will be, how it will look. I like to draw pictures of it in the dirt but it’s never quite right. The dirt there isn’t even red, it’s brown. We brought some with us, with the original plants. It’s so soft and... beautiful. I think of Earth like that as well: soft. The winds can be so harsh here and it’s cold most of the time and it’s hard. There’s always so much work to do and all for nothing, nothing ever grows. It’s hard okay? How would you feel growing up with a hard-ass for your mother, on the wrong planet, yeah? *Sighs* Wait, forget it. Mars is great, blah blah. Such a shame we had to come back but I’m sure it will work better next time; quote me on that, yeah?
What do you think of the other young people then? It must have been nice to grow up with two pretty young girls for your companions?
Elaine and Loesia? Yeah, they’re alright I guess. He loves them really! He just has to realise there isn’t ‘better’ on Earth. Loesia is better at the sand drawings than me, she’s really good and Elaine is okay, she’s like so quiet though. I mean... it’s lonely on Mars. People don’t seem to talk much and when they do, it feels like the air is sucking up your words and taking them away. I don’t know if that’s worse or the silence. The silence is deafening.
One last question, it must be ‘Earth’ - that’s how you used it isn’t it? ‘Earth’ - I like that.
So, it must be cool being the captain’s son?
The captain is my mother, I am the captain’s son. Not that she acts like it. I have to do chores just like everyone else and she’s a stiff board my ma. (I know, where on Earth did I hear such language? We’re not on Earth now, ma.*grins* Yeah, I guess it’s Earth though. I mean, it’s like I’m that baby, the one everyone has been waiting to meet. It’s weird. It feels like I’ve been waiting my whole life to meet them too.


Name: Dr. Gerald Frobisher
Age: 79
Appearance: Gerald looks about 100 years older than he actually is, with skin as wrinkly, gnarled and brown as an old oak tree, a hunchback, and hardly any teeth to speak of. His most treasured possession is his shining bald head, or his “Egg.” Expect a thrashing if you make fun of Gerald’s Egg.

Gerald is very short, standing at about 4’8”, and his stick-thin frame and baggy clothes only highlight his tininess. Because of this, hardly anyone notices Gerald at first, until he comes up behind them and yells.
Personality: The old doctor is something of a prankster- he finds it hard to take anything seriously and is constantly telling people that they’ve got terminal diseases, or dropping buckets of water on them, or sneaking up on them and screaming in their ear. He’s quite a mischievous old guy, and surprisingly lively for his age. The last thing Gerald wants to do is lie in bed and rest, he’d much rather be up stalking the hallways for the victim of his next prank.

Despite all this, he’s a very kindly old soul, and can’t stand to see any misjustice done. He’s unfalteringly loyal, and can’t resist onions. He eats them raw, much to the disgust of everyone else. Gerald has personally gnawed his way through a 50-person supply of onions, and now only a few are left, which he is guarding with his life. He can’t wait to get back to Earth, where he’ll be able to eat all the onions he wants.
His biggest prank is that he’s deaf. He can actually hear perfectly, but he’s been pretending to be hearing-impaired for ten years now, and he doesn’t want to give it up.
History: Gerald grew up in London, where he excelled at Science and Mathematics, and soon found himself at Cambridge, where he graduated with honours, and immediately entered into a medical career.
Unfortunately, even then, Gerald was the weirdo of the medical world, and he had a hard time being taken seriously. Frustrated when he never achieved the fame he wanted, Gerald volunteered to be the ship’s doctor, and left his life behind. As he grew older, he became more and more bored, until he hit upon the idea of pranks. He hasn’t stopped since.
Likes and Dislikes:Remember to make sure it fits in with the storybook, for example, a character from the Victorian era cannot spend their free time gambling online.


Name: Elaine Ruderson
Age: 21
Appearance: Choppy shoulder length light brown hair, light blue eyes, and almost perfect, white skin. 5’9, and skinny from malnutrition. Elaine prefers brightly coloured matches of leggings and halter tops as her optimal outfit. If it’s cold, a white cardigan is also added.
Personality: Annoyingly optimistic and always trying to make everyone laugh. Though, 9/10 times, her jokes aren’t very funny. She loves animals even though the only ones she has ever seen in real life are the withering livestock animals on the failed Mars farms. Elaine also makes a good friend as she is always concerned about others.
History: Elaine arrived with her now dead mother on Mars when she was too young to remember Earth. All her memories consist of Mars, the most prominent being her mother’s tragic death.
Strengths and Weaknesses: Elaine is usually good at problem solving and verbal debates, though she can still barely utter a sentence around Zai. Though, if you ask her to go pick some veggies, she’ll throw quite the immature fit even though she hates being hungry. She also sucks at following orders and always prefers to do things her own way, even if it’s harder.
Likes and Dislikes: Elaine loves animals, writing in her secret diary about her crush on Zai, and entertaining herself by playing solitaire with a pack of Earth Playing Cards. She hates being hungry, intense physical labour, and has a dislike towards those who don’t laugh at her jokes (except Zai).


Name: Captain Zera Holtzclaw
Age: 47
Appearance: Strong, sturdy build with a military gait to match. She carries herself very practically, giving the impression that every movement, every breath is premeditated. Zera rarely smiles, and her face constantly shows how hard the mission actually failed. She has very short graying-blonde hair and blue eyes that only accent the gray in her hair.
Personality: Before the launch of the Inhabit Mars! movement, Zera was a very ambitious, starry-eyed idealist who had the brightest dreams of a peaceful tomorrow with the stars; however, as time passed, as did failures on Mars, her persona began to darken, harden into what she is now. Most folks in the missions team say that naming her child Zai was the last frivolous thing Zera ever did. And they are right.
History: Zera entered the United States Air Force straight out of high school at age 18. She rose through the ranks without much effort--though some say she did so on her back--and, after a while, became serious about her work after seeing action in battle. Deciding that the future among the planets would be brighter than one with the people on Earth, she took intensive training as a space cadet, and eventually was branded with a mission for cultivation work on Mars. When 80% of the population had gone out, Zera demanded an evacuation. Later on, during the journey home, Zera found herself with a mysterious fever, leaving her thoughts to run to maddening conclusions. She has yet to admit anything to her crew members.


Name: Loesia DuCimache
Age: 23
Appearance: Well acclimated to the habits of Mars, Loesia is most often garbed in long robes which keep the dust from roughing against her skin. Pale, like her mother, she keeps a long handled umbrella they made from canvas and scrap metal, to keep the harshest sun off her auburn hair. Her mother called her a child of Mars, and she took on the name, on her 18th birthday getting a tattoo across her right shoulder blade stating Martian.
Personality: An upbeat go-getter with a smallish crush on Captain Holtzclaw. Mostly looks on the bright side of life and enjoys having fun wherever she is and whatever she is doing. A bit mouthy with a stubborn streak, if you push her she will shut down and give you absolutely nothing, even if what you want is what she was already going to do.
History: Born in Australia, in the domed inner city of Sydney, her father left before she was one, and her mother took on the opportunity of space flight immediately.
Strengths and Weaknesses: Delicate like a flower, Loesia bruises easily and has a habit of clumsiness and is unfortunately run off at the mouth. Her lack of grace is made up for by her gung-ho attitude toward life. She is enthusiastic about all aspects of experiences from building her own umbrella to shipping off to Earth.
Likes and Dislikes: Loesia loves to build and break things. Mostly break, at this point. She also has a love for drawing and sand art. She absolutely hates too much sun, as she burns like anything. And dislikes canned food of all kinds “It tastes like nothing”.
Weapons: One sexy umbrella


Eventually this WILL be a storybook. If you want to join then, it's rad! But you won't be able to use any of these characters so feel free to create some of your own along the way.

Have fun!
I like you as an enemy, but I love you as a friend.
  





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Sun Sep 23, 2012 4:00 am
Riska says...



I'd be interested in playing (if you hadn't already started).
  








If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.
— Peter Handke