Lee's Island, Part 9

Part 1 is here.

Part 9, in which water isn't that necessary and random coughing fits don't have to be plot-relevant.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, TenTen! Did you get him?" TenTen sat down.

"Pretty much."

"We've started up the fire and everything," Sakura said, "We were waiting for you to come back before we started eating."

"Okay. What do we need the fire for?"

"Lee caught a big rabbit when he went back into the forest."

"Okay, cool. A nice, big meal tonight!" TenTen said, sitting down with the others.

"Yup." Sakura opened her canteen. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"There's barely any water left in my canteen. Has anyone found a stream?"

"Not me."

"Nope."

"No." Sakura pondered for a moment. "Okay," she said, "Let's explore to see if there's a stream anywhere. There should be one, so let's find it."

"But what about the rabbit?"

"Let's just take it with us. I'm sure no one will mess with the campsite."

"Okay." Lee picked up the rabbit and followed the other ninja into the forest.

Sakura sighed. The Leaf Village ninja had been walking for barely less than an hour. "Have we found any yet?" she complained.

"Nope." Sakura groaned.

"Hey, guys? You can go back to camp. I will continue searching for the stream. You might as well relax if you are all feeling tired," Lee said.

"Oh, no, Lee. You must be exhausted, too!" Lee shrugged.

"Not really. You guys go ahead; I will keep going."

"Okay. Thanks, Lee!" The others returned to camp. Lee walked further into the forest.

"So, should we go ahead and eat some of our food?"

"Yeah. We'll save some for Lee. And we can keep his share of the rabbit warm over the fire." In agreement, the three ninja began their meal. It didn't take long for them to finish their share.

"That was pretty good, compared to having fish everyday!" TenTen said with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Yeah, definitely!" Sakura said, swallowing her last mouthful of rabbit. "I'll get some more wood for the fire." Sakura went into the cabin, picked up some logs, and headed back to the weakly burning campfire.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto, Sakura, and TenTen turned to see Lee walking out from the forest.

"Hey, Lee! Did you find any water?"

"Yes, I did! There's a huge stream in the middle of the forest! Does anyone want me to get more water for them?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Naruto said, sticking out his canteen.

"Naruto, you jerk! He's been out in the forest for an hour at least, and you want him to go back just for a little water?!"

"Sorry sorry sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Sakura chuckled softly.

"You don't have to get anything tonight, Lee. Here, we saved you some food."

"Thanks." Lee sat down and started eating.

"I'm tired," Sakura said with a yawn.

"Go ahead in," TenTen said. "We'll be fine." Sakura walked into the cabin. Naruto soon followed.

"Hey, Lee," TenTen said, seeing him finish his rabbit, "you can go ahead and sleep. I'll take first watch."

"Okay, TenTen." Lee walked into the cabin while TenTen put up the cooking utensils.

Soon enough, the night passed. Lee awoke to smell something on the fire. He walked outside.

"Hey, Sakura. What are you making?"

"Squirrel. And we had some ivy left over, so I powdered it and spread it over our breakfast." Suddenly, Sakura started coughing.

"Sakura, are you all right?"

"I'm fi-" She coughed again. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye-" She started coughing violently.

"Sakura!"

"What's going on?" Naruto said, walking out of the cabin.

"Something's wrong with Sakura!"

"What?" Naruto said. Sakura started coughing again, and she winced from the pain.

"Sakura, you should probably go back into the cabin and get some more rest. I am sure that TenTen can finish the cooking."

"Okay," she coughed again, "I'll go." She walked into the wooden house as TenTen walked out.

"What happened?"

"Sakura's coughing a lot. Bushy Brow told her to go back into the cabin."

"So what'd she cook?"

"She said it is squirrel with some of the ivy on it. She also said that she was not finished, and that you would be able to finish it." TenTen looked a the squirrel.

"Yeah, I can finish this up." She kneeled down and slowly spun the little animal on the skewer stick.

"It's almost done. We'll just have to wait a little bit longer." They heard Sakura cough again.

"I hope she will be okay," Lee said softly. The three ninja waited.

"Okay, guys, I think it's ready," TenTen said, pulling the squirrel off of the skewer. She put it on a plate and got out the utensils.

"I'll get an equal share for all of us. Lee, take Sakura's to her." She sliced off a fourth of the squirrel, put it on a plate, and handed it to Lee, who nodded and walked into the cabin.

"Naruto, here's yours," she said, handing him another plate, "this one's Lee's, and this part's mine." They started eating. When the meal was over, Lee gathered all of the canteens and sped into the forest.

"I just have to find that stream," he said, darting through the forest. He slowed, spotting the sparkling water. He knelt down, filled the canteens, strapped them on tight, and ran back to camp.

TenTen cut another notch into the wall by her loft.

"It's been five days now," she said softly as to not arouse Sakura. TenTen fell back on her makeshift bed.

"I wonder how long we'll be here? Who will rescue us? Will we be stranded here forever?" She sighed.

"Oh, well." She closed her eyes and heard Lee arrive outside.

"You got the canteens filled? Good; I'm thirsty." TenTen got her canteen from Lee and took a big drink.

"Is it just me, or is it cold today?" she said, wiping some water from her lips.

"Colder than it has been," Lee replied. TenTen shivered.

"Of all the times to be wearing a no-sleeved shirt..." A gust of icy wind fluttered the trees' leaves.

"I guess summer must be coming to an end."

"Well, I'm going to go inside for a while," TenTen said. She walked into the cabin.

"Is there anything to do around here?" Naruto asked.

"Not much. You could always spar with me." Naruto backed away.

"No thanks!" Lee laughed.

"Wow. We've been here for a while," TenTen said to herself, cutting the thirtieth notch next to her bed.

"Oh, good, you're already awake. It's your shift," Sakura whispered.

"Okay." She climbed down from her loft and headed outside. She took in a deep breath of the frigid night air and sighed. When was this grass ninja going to leave them alone? They'd have to keep doing shifts until they knew he was gone for good. The freezing cold around her made her shiver. She sighed again. At least Sakura's coughing had gone away. Luckily, it wasn't very serious and had faded away. TenTen walked around, trying not to crunch the leaves underfoot. There just isn't much to do here, especially if you're trying to not wake anyone up, she thought. The island was either boring or dangerous. When there's nothing to do, Lee would train the entire day, Sakura would find food for the next meal, Naruto would sit there and complain, and she just waded in the water and thought. Soon the sun rose through the clouds in a burst of vivid colors.

"Guess it's time to make breakfast." TenTen walked over to the pile of snow where extra food was kept. She grabbed a bird and walked over to the firepit to start a fire. She heard a yawn from the cabin and, soon after, Lee walked out.

"Good morning, TenTen. Do you need any help?"

"No, I've got it," she said, using the stick in her hands to spark the fire. She put the bird, which had already been prepared to cook by Sakura, on a skewer and placed it over the fire.

"All right." Lee walked into the forest for some early-morning training. TenTen sighed. It couldn't be healthy to train that much! She wondered if she should stop him when Sakura came out of the cabin.

"Morning, Sakura. Why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep last night at all. You know how loud Lee snores?" TenTen laughed.

"Yeah. I guess we just have to live with it!"

"Yeah. So, any special plans for today?"

"Not that I know of. I might try to get Lee doing something else."

"Why?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to train every second you get. It just can't be healthy! Got any ideas on what we could occupy him with?"

"Well, he did do a good job on the utensils. Maybe he could start carving wood? Or collecting firewood?"

"Those are good ideas. Speaking of firewood, could you fetch me some? This flame's going out."

"Sure." Sakura went inside the cabin. TenTen heard a clatter from inside.

"Sakura? Everything okay?" She walked after Sakura. Logs were spread out all over the floor.

"Yeah, everything's just fine."

"This isn't just fine! Waking me up like that!"

"Sorry, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes. "But, yeah, it's okay. I just dropped some of the wood, and everything came tumbling down."

"Okay, I'll help you put it up once the fire's going strong." TenTen picked up a couple of logs.

"I can see why you dropped them! They're pretty heavy." She walked out the door and fed the fire.

Just a while afterwards, the bird was cooked and prepared.

"All right guys, food's ready!" she called. Naruto came rushing in, soon followed by Sakura. They started to eat their shares.

"Isn't Lee coming?"

"I guess he didn't hear me. I'll go get him." TenTen set her food down and headed to the forest.

"Oh, and Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure Naruto doesn't eat my share!"

"Lee? Breakfast is ready!"

"Oh, okay. Let's go." TenTen saw Lee push aside some brush to meet her. They walked to camp for breakfast.

Making a Character Kernel in Three Easy Steps

This certainly isn't a complete guide to putting a character together, but it might be an interesting method if you don't know where to start.

Step One: Typification

In one or two words, what is your character's role? Interpret that however you like. Archetypes, occupations, whatever you neeed a character to do or whatever you happen to come up with.

Examples:

• The mentor
• The rogue
• The murder investigator

Step Two: Contradiction

What is the opposite of the role you just put? What is a quality someone is such a role couldn't or shouldn't have? Assign that quality to your character.  (The same one it doesn't fit.)

Examples:

• The inept mentor
• The loyal rogue
• The softhearted murder investigator

Step Three: Reconciliation

We kind of made everything a mess in the last step, so let's put things together a little more. Is what you put really a contradiction? I'll tell you right now: no. It isn't. Now you tell me, why isn't it? How can those two seemingly opposite things coexist in the same person? Is one of the two aspects not quite what you may have thought it was? Does one side override the other most of the time? What conditions bring the other side to the forefront?

Examples:

• The inept mentor is the most leader-like individual thrown into the situation. Everyone in the situation has to figure out certain skills; our mentor is no exception, but he takes it upon himself to teach the others regardless.
• The loyal rogue is only a rogue as far as skill set is concerned; she's sneaky, prefers to work on her own, and knows all of the best pickpocketing techniques, but she still has friends, and she'll put her neck on the line for them.
• The softhearted murder investigator is usually one or the other. Her default is softhearted, but she steels herself for her detective work. Of course, she's not living altogether separate lives—the more grotesque murders still shake her up and haunt her sleep, and she can shut off her sensitive in her daily life when those situations become bleak.

Now you should have a good starting place. I've heard the main difference between round and flat characters is a sort of inner conflict—and most characters made with this method will have that from the get-go.

What do you think? A worthwhile tool for your writing arsenal?

New Fan Fiction Idea #28

I'd like to toy with this, but I know it will fall short of the state of inspiration I had for Phoenix Wright: Ace Tribute.

Working Title: Tributes and Tribulations

Fandom: Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney)/Hunger Games crossover

Genre Tags: Suspense/(I never know what to tag Hunger Games stories)

Length: Multichapter

Protagonist: Viola Cadaverini (15 years old, District 9).

Other Main Character: Furio Tigre (18 years old, District 9).

Antagonists: The other tributes, taken mostly from Trials and Tribulations and aged appropriately. Includes Ron DeLite, Desiree DeLite, Luke Atmey, a Hawthorne or two, Terry Fawles, Glen Elg and Lisa Basil (most certainly District 3), Shelly de Killer, and Adrian Andrews.

Setting: An early Games, in the vicinity of the 15th. The arena is mostly beach- and island-like.

Plot: There are certain... problems in District 9 we need to take care of, as you know well. What would you believe to be the best place to strike?
If I'm not mistaken, two vital pieces seem to be eligible for the Games...
Do you mean... rigging the reapings, sir?
Something of the sort. And there are a few in other districts whom we may want to take care of as well...
Viola is reaped in spite of her family name, and a certain grandfather assigns Furio to get her back alive.

Point of View: First person (Viola).

Dream Journal #19

More like a nightmare, but not so much terrifying as saddening.

10 May—11 May

Larry had been given the death sentence. I was on my 2DS, playing the scenario like a normal Ace Attorney game as a male character (presumably Phoenix). The male character came to visit Larry not long before the sentence was to be carried out. Larry was doing his best to put on a strong face, although he was still crying a little bit. As he was dragged to the room, he commented that he would rather join the army than die or go on being a loser artist. The executioner dragging him was some sort of active army man, but he gave Larry a look akin to "nice try, buddy" and took him.

I myself was crying as the man strapped Larry down. Larry craned his neck up and told the two friends (one of them being the character I was playing) that it was okay if we didn't want to watch. The other man and my character silently put on the thick, metal masks we were given to protect ourselves and stayed. The general, wearing his own mask, held up something like a short curtain rod and began the execution. Although very little could be seen naturally, through the bluish lenses of our masks we were able to see the electricity arcing out from the rod and going over Larry. After a minute of this, he was dead. I, however, clung to the dim hope that the man hadn't actually gone through with it because of the army comment and Larry only appeared to be dead.

Suddenly the situation had changed and the dead character was Sokka. Aang had a plan to get him back and slung his body over his shoulder to get him out of there.

Then I was back in a carpeted room of my apparent house. Annie* had to be put down, so we made her eat a little poison. She was rather normal at first, going around wearing her navy sweater with light blue stripes. My parents, aunt and uncle, and I played with her for a while before she threw up a little, getting dark brown on her whiskers. We didn't think much of it until the vet in the room informed us that schnauzers didn't throw up that way. Realising it was an effect of the poison, we fell silent and watched her solemnly. She kept trying to walk around to all of us, but her limbs were slowly stiffening, and she could only progress in jerks. It was such a heartbreaking sight that I tried to stop her from moving by hugging her, but she kept going.

*Annie is my aunt's miniature schnauzer. She's a sweetheart.

Playing Favourites

I decided to do a different special in celebration of the fiftieth New Story Idea. This time I'll be handing out awards to my favourite character in each story—although my rationale certainly tends to vary.

In order by New Fiction Idea, we have

1. Clyde, who's adorable and quirky (and also Scottish) even after... I won't spoil it for you, but he ought to be tired of everything by the time the story starts.
2. Julian, because he's fantastically sarcastic and still helps people despite his crabbiness.
3. Joel, who's an optimistic cutie and a religious one at that.
4. Jordan, even though he's kind of majorly a jerk and needs to stop hitting on taken women.
5. The twin lady, who only vaguely surfaced as a character but is pretty kick-butt and unselfish.
6. Athena, seeing as she's the only one with a name and sort of has that Jerk with a Heart of Gold thing going on.
7. Edwin, although it's a difficult choice for this one and may just be based on his name.
8. Macbay, because his sense of humour is just off enough for me.
9. Josephine, (another difficult decision) because she's the small fighter type and a worrywart.
10. Chester, who's an utter dork and nerd and has the most fun perspective in the story.
11. Andromache, (again a close one) because she's a proper lady and still kicks butt in every sense.
12. Gavin, mostly since he's not that restrained emotionally.
13. Dobson and Crick, who apparently still count as one character and basically still have no development yet strike my fancy.
14. Ian, because he's a kook.
15. Lorenzo, who's overly dramatic and just a lot of fun.
16. Benny, for his lightly-portrayed paranoia.
17. Kaliause, who has lightened up considerably since her conception and just makes a great sidekick.
18. Peter, because he's the only one who was that interesting upon showing up.
19. Cerise, because she kicks butt and knows how to be sneaky.
20. Malcolm, due to sarcasm (being based off England never hurts).
21. Andraste, who seems like a sweetheart.
22. Lennon, because he's evil.
23. Shelton, because he's a big guy who's socially awkward.
24. M, who's sympathetic, confused, and has cool powers.
25. John, (another hard decision) for his general optimism.
26. Donny, because how can you not like a version of Don Quixote?
27. Cayman, who's sharp, sneaky, kick-butt, and surprisingly positive given her role in the udnerworld.
28. Francisco, because he's the most melodramatic dork pirate around.
29. Rachel, who kicks butt and is generally too enthusiastic in an amusing way.
30. Henry, who stands up for his morals like no other.
31. Edgard, for his pretend British side and general neuroticism.
32. Helen, (difficult choice) because she kicks butt but still needs help and is a brat on occasion.
33. Midas, because he's just cool.
34. Aiko, because she's a cutie.
35. Daniel, who's nerdy and an underdog type.
36. Natalie, because she's easily startled and I just tend to prefer side characters in general.
37. Onyekachi, who's morally myopic but stands his ground.
38. Liliána, for no solid reason.
39. Jaron, who's a dork, rock fan, and band nerd.
40. Chuck, because he's based on another character I love dearly.
41. Lola, who's weird to the point of intrigue.
42. Jenny, because she's just sort of a cool cat who knows how to handle things.
43. Chlodovech, for his childish pugnacity.
44. Alexandra, because she was a wonderful human being and makes a terrifying antagonist.
45. George, who's a dork that wants to save everyone.
46. Lazarus, the protective older brother.
47. Rithia, for her introversion.
48. Jim, because he's the only one who's really jumped out at me.
49. Vega, who just kicks butt, plain and simple.
50. Marius, because he's silly.

New Fiction Idea #50

Based on a prompt where god/demigod genetics were passed down in a typical Mendelian fashion.

Working Title: Detective Punnett, Demigod

Genre: Mystery/Humour, bit of Supernatural I guess

Protagonist: Detective Aristotelis Punnett, a young man of strong stature with mediocre looks. In general, he prefers to be seated and contemplating various things, but he'll interact with others gruffly when the need arises. His immortality gene derives ultimately from Athena, and he has a certain strength and fighting skill that he never trained for.

Other Main Characters: Jim, Aristotelis's assistant/secretary and finder of jobs. He's a typical mortal and a little new to all of this weird stuff, but he does have good business skills and can wrangle paperwork like nobody else.
Aikaterine, The oldest child of the Punnett family who possesses both her parents' immortality genes. She's kind of a perfect girl and tends to be just modest enough to irritate people. She's beautiful and has a particular fondness for children, but she's extremely picky about suitors. She works at the local orphanage.
Theodora, the daughter one year younger than Aristotelis. She loves music, dance, and poetry and will either isolate herself or go out among the world depending on how she's feeling that day. Her immortality gene derives ultimately from Demeter, and she has keen organisational skills and some control over plants.
Marius, the youngest son of the family. The mortal child, he is the "emo" type and tends to go on and on about life being meaningless.

Antagonist: Unknown. A murder and thief who may be trying to set up a new organised crime ring.

Setting: Film noir-ish, in the 1940s. Large unnamed city that's a little ugly and smoky to look at. The immortality gene is rare due to increased pancreatic cancer rates, but it's still hanging around and blessing its recipients with some powers derived from the particular gene's source.

Plot: Detective Punnett gets a murder case to solve and finds himself on the trail of a rising criminal force. He must solve the crime, break up the ring before it gets rooted, survive visits from his siblings, and probably get a girl or something.

Point of View: Third person, limited to Aristotelis.

Fragments X

Because not everything wants to be complete at first.

• The phrase "like a giddy boy at a giddy store" (spoken by a scholarly man)
• A cowboy story (probably still going to be steampunk or sci-fi)
• An elemental system based on this (originally fan art for Avatar):
  
• Large, glassy sheets of water as portals (unoriginal, but something to work with)
• "a novel focused around a character with braces during the apocalypse and the entire plot of the story revolves around their search for an orthodontist who is still alive and they sort of accidentally save the world in the process" (seen on Tumblr)
• Someone who plays kalimba
• An Oracle or two
• Fantasy centered on many different types of wands producing different types of magic
• The power to take someone's own perceived best trait upon killing the person (seen on Tumblr)
• A "choose your virtual reality world" type of system where the main character has a fondness for dystopias and due to a glitch gets stuck in one as a government official
• A short story following a church lady delivering casseroles to troubled families/people and what effect she has