Scene between Elisha and Mark

Okay, wow... it's been over a month and a half since I posted here and I thoroughly blame real life stuff for getting in the way of writing. As a side note, remember some of the characters I mentioned earlier in this post? A brief scene between some of them came to mind earlier today and I just thought I'd share it with you...

Elisha glanced around the room briefly before turning back to Mark. All around them, bounty hunters went on their way, to and from their respective assignments. The sixteen-year-old could easily pick Lin out from the crowd, as well as his sister and Allison, who were both over flirting with some of the boys their age. His lips drew into a frown and he made a note to himself to speak to Naomi about the danger of a man's thoughts later.

"Hey," Mark's voice, as usual, was quiet. "You were thinking 'bout something, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Elisha nodded after a moment. Figuring out how he was going to explain everything to Naomi would have to wait until later. "But honestly, it's Lin I'm more concerned about. She's been acting all... wierd... lately, ever since Jordan left." It had been about two months since one of the most respected bounty hunters had just disappeared, leaving his sword in the hands of Elisha. When the youth had asked his senior where he was going, Jordan simply replied that it was a quest for something he called Veritas and that someday, he'd understand as well. No one had really understood, least of all Elisha and even as he tried to explain it to Lin, the words had refused to come. Jordan had abandoned them.

Mark shrugged and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I wouldn't expect her to believe that Veritas even exists, you know what I mean?" His own dark eyes drifted over to where Lin was standing, obviously engaged in some sort of argument with Allison.

Elisha paused for a minute, then nodded. "Lin..." he sighed. "Lin's one of those people... she never believes anything that she can't see for herself. She's a good friend and more than a worthy adversary, but she doesn't stop to consider all the possibilities." There was a short pause as he turned to watch Allison flounce away in a huff and Lin smirk, turn the other direction and go about whatever business she had. Elisha didn't wonder for too long what had happened; he was pretty sure he'd hear all about it later, whether he wanted to or not. "Mark." The other youth looked over at Elisha. "Can I ask you a question?" When Mark nodded his approval, Elisha continued. "Do you believe in the existence of a spiritual realm?"

"Yes," the voice that replied was slow to speak. "I believe that I do." Mark removed his right hand from his pocket, revealing the time keeper that Elisha had loaned him earlier that month. "I guess you might call it blind faith 'cause I've never seen anything, but I've heard about it." There was a slight pause. "Remember that old story Ran told us once? The one about Echelon and how everyone banished him to the castle outside of town because they thought he was crazy?" Elisha nodded. "What Ran said makes me think that Echelon might not've been as crazy as they say. If he had actually seen Melekhiel, that would've explained a lot... and it would be a bit more reasonable, I think, to explain why Jordan left."

Elisha frowned slightly. "But you can't even feel it, can you?" At this point, I must pause and give a brief history lesson. In the beginning, there was a spiritual realm and there was a point when everyone could not only feel it, but experience it as one would savour the richness of a barbeque with friends and family on a warm summer afternoon. Over time, people began trying to explain everything and this ability to feel the supernatural was lost to all but a few who are known as the Shiniel, or in their language, the spirit-people.

Mark opened up the timekeeper. "Eh, it's the same thing as this," he answered. "I know that it works and it makes the work I do better and provides a logical explanation as to why I don't run late anymore." He closed the gadget back up and placed it in his pocket once again. "Now, Ran knows that I've always been late and now I'm not. What's the explanation he'll come up with?"

Elisha nodded. "I see," he replied. "Even though he doesn't know that you have my timekeeper, it's most likely he'll assume you've acquired one and learned how to use it properly. I suppose, in a sense, he has faith that you have a timekeeper."

"Maybe I am accepting this on faith, but you can't always know everything, eh?" Mark's gaze trailed off into the distance and for a long couple of minutes, he was staring out the window near the ceiling. "Even Jordan doesn't know everything and I'm pretty sure that's why he went to look for answers." Mark paused and shifted to a more comfortable position, now leaning up against the stone wall of the building. "I guess I can ask you the same thing."

"Sure," the other youth spoke. A quick glance flittered around the room and he turned his back towards the commotion. He lowered his voice to several notches quieter than what it normally was. "You already know that I am a Shiniel." There was a short pause and when Mark nodded, Elisha continued. "For me to deny the existence of a spiritual realm would be worse than Lin not believing in the existence of the physical." He sighed, turned back around so that he was only halfway facing Mark now. Out of the outermost reaches of his peripheral vision, he spotted Lin, who appeared to be arguing now with Ran. "I pity her. She really just doesn't get it, does she?" He forced a weak smile over at the taller youth, who shook his head. Elisha's hand reached down to touch the handle of his sword. "Perhaps it's for the better, then." Without waiting for a reply from Mark, he turned the rest of the way and began walking towards the door.

AN: Elisha and Mark live in a society and they're both bounty hunters. Lin is Elisha's partner and Naomi is Elisha's sister. Ran and Allison are also both part of the coalition of bounty hunters. Ran is a bit older than they are and Allison is a bit younger. She and Naomi are close friends. A bit more can be explained by reading my post about Echelon's Ring, which I linked for you up above.

Quest for Echelon's Ring

So, I got an idea for a story and it's about a pair of bounty hunters (Elisha and Lin) who go on this quest to find a ring that belonged to one of the great historical figures of their land, a man named Echelon. I'll eventually end up posting the story here, so I'm not going to give you any spoilers, but a little glimpse into who's who and a teaser...

Elisha (No. 958): A nineteen-year-old bounty hunter who was raised on the streets who narrates this piece. He's an expert at things like picking locks, gathering information from strangers and is a pretty bright young adult. He is one of the Shieniel, who are people who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical world. His choice weapon is a sword, though he rarely uses it. He also carries around exploding canisters and poisoned darts for ranged attacks.
Lin (No. 843): Elisha's eighteen-year-old partner, a fellow bounty hunter. Her expertise lies primarily in the physical aspects of the job and she's in really good physical shape. Before she became a bounty hunter, she was just an average citizen of the town and Elisha hints at the fact that she originally took an apprenticeship to help take care of Nemo, her younger brother. Her weapon of choice is a blast pistol and for close range, she usually fights unarmed.
Jordan: Identification number unknown. He was the bounty hunter who originally trained Elisha, but since then, he has left to go on a search for Veritas, or Ultimate Truth. It is revealed that the sword that Elisha now wields used to belong to Jordan and was probably given as a gift at their parting.
Mark: ID number unknown. A fellow bounty hunter and close acquaintance of Elisha. It is revealed that Elisha loaned him his "time-keeper" (basically a watch).

A few additional notes:
Veritas: Otherwise known as the Ultimate Truth. Only Shieniel can properly seek it and really only a few Shieniel are interested, as most believe it is a highly theoretical and not very practical area of interest.
Shieniel: People who have had some sort of encounter with the non-physical realm. They're often treated as outcasts to society, especially since people forget that there was a time when everyone was a Shieniel. Elisha and Jordan are both Shieniel.
Luaniel: People who have never encountered anything outside the physical realm. They make up about 95% of the current population. Lin and her family are Luaniel.
Echelon: Elisha explains this myth within the context of his narration, but Echelon was a town elder during the time where people were beginning to become Luaniel.
Melekhiel: a mysterious being. You'll find more out about him in Elisha's narration.

And... now for a teaser! This is just the first two paragraphs.

I don’t know what brought me here or even why I decided to stay. This whole place is a bit of a creepy castle, like the kind you read about in stories about medieval times with knights and princesses and dragons. To be honest, I never cared for much of that. No, I was always caught up in the practical aspects of life, like where I would find my next meal. Living on the streets is hard, even if you do happen to land a good paying job as a bounty hunter.

I didn’t always start out as a bounty hunter and I guess that’s not even what I really am. Not truly, anyhow. Jordan was the one who gave me this sword and taught me just about everything I know. He helped me get my first job, but since then, I’ve moved on. He helped me find my place in a society where everyone treats us badly because we are different. Actually, what am I spending time telling you this for? He doesn’t even come into the story that I’m about to tell you. In fact, I haven’t seen or spoken to Jordan in about three years. Last I heard, he went off on some quest for Ultimate Truth or, as he called it, Veritas. My story actually starts much later than that.

So there you have it. I think this story will actually get done pretty soon because I actually have a clear idea of where it's going.

Fantasy

I recently came across a note that a friend of mine wrote on facebook in the form of a poem, talking about why she writes fantasy. This got me thinking about why I enjoy reading and writing fantasy literature. Since I am not nearly as creative as she is, my reasons will just take the form of a list.

• Guys treat girls with respect. It's something that is surprisingly uncommon these days... the idea of chivalry and honour. But in most, if not all, fantasy stories, the leading guy is a firm believer in and follower of the code of chivalry. Girls are also tend to be less manipulative than they do in today's society.
• A true sense of family and belonging. Even if it's not by birth, characters in fantasy stories generally act like family better than ones in realistic stories do. Take LotR, for example. What holds the fellowship together to the best of its ability is the power of friendship and teamwork. The goal wouldn't have been able to be accomplished by one character alone and each character has a place that they belong.
• Responsibility of powers. Whether this involves magic (as many fantasy stories do) or the ability to kick some serious behind with a sword, fantasy stories explore the balance of having power and being responsible about it. Those who abuse their power get what's coming to them in the end and those who either refuse to be tempted by the power (think Aragorn's reaction to the Ring in LotR here... or Faramir's reaction in the books!) or accept it with responsibility to use it for good (ie, Gandalf or Elrond or Galadriel with their Elven rings) are rewarded.
• Second chances, redemption and self-sacrifice. I don't know if this is true, but fantasy characters seem to mess up more than realistic characters would... or their mistakes hold much graver consequences. Through this, fantasy authors are able to explore themes like second chances (Pippin got at least one in LotR), redemption (Edmund's story in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and self-sacrifice for the sake of helping others (when Boromir died at the end of FotR or beginning of Two Towers, depending on whether you're following the movies or the books, respectively). You don't see that as clearly in realistic fiction.
• Beauty of other cultures. Fantasy authors are able to address controversial issues like racism in a much less offensive way than realistic fiction authors would be able to. The deep-seated prejudice between the Elves and the Dwarves in Tolkien's stories could easily be applied to modern prejudices and show readers how foolish it is to judge people solely on an aspect of themselves over which they have no control.
• In a highly materialistic, secular humanistic culture where there is little belief in what cannot be explained by science (or pseudoscience, as the case often is), to jump into a world where elves and dwarves, fauns and satyrs, talking beasts and trees that move exist is rather refreshing. To be able to enjoy a story like that allows for just a little bit of hope that some of it might be true... and thus opens a person up to the possibility of a supernatural.
  
• The end. I have yet to come across a fantasy book where the bad guys win in the end. The bad guys always have to get what they deserve (usually in the form of death or some other humiliating punishment) and the good guys win, but rarely without some large sacrifice on their part (once again, this often involves character death). In the words of a young character of mine whose universe is at war, "we have to win in the end 'cause we're the good guys. And the good guys always win in the end, right?" He's able to sum things up much better than I can. This idea is very Judeo-Christian, as God will have the final victory.
  

And I think that just about wraps things up. These are the main reasons why I enjoy reading and writing fantasy as much as I do. Thanks for reading.

Shiny New Character!

Introducing brand-new, shiny character! I got an idea for a story when I was sitting in CORE lecture and this character won't leave, so I figured I should write a little bit down about him.

Tarachand doesn't exactly live in our world. Instead, he lives in Almedrim (Seleweno, Sininen, to be mroe exact) and he's a member of a monastic community. He's about seventeen years of age and has been living there for about a dozen years.

Their culture is very different from ours. They count the years by solstices and the way the twin moons align in the sky. The monastery is dedicated to a monotheistic religion, worshipping Anilfirin (Elven name). The Tamesians are the ethnic people from which the Winged Raiders com.


Character Name: Tarachand Paras (“Tarachand” is Sanskrit for “star”, “Paras” is Sanskrit for “touchstone”.) I do really enjoy using Sanskrit names.

Birth Date: Morning after Winter Solstice. Lunn and Carn were aligned (during Solstice, they are only aligned every third Solstice). He is currently about seventeen.

Place of Birth: Sobotaj, Sininen. This is one of the southeastern most communities and it is under the constant threat of war from the Dark Elves and raids by the Winged Raiders.

Residence: Monastery of Anilfirin in Seleweno, about twenty miles north of Cynelic

Race: Human, possibly tainted by Tamesian blood somewhere up the line.

Height: Five foot, ten inches.

Weight: ~150 pounds

Clothing Sizes / Styles: He tends to wear loose clothing and mostly long robes, which is what everyone wears at the monastery. When he has his choice, he will remove his outer robes, preferring a simple tunic and pants instead. His clothing is well-worn and patched in many places and with all sorts of colours of cloth.

Hair Color: Almost black. He is from the south eastern region of Sininen and they tend to be darker.

Hair Length: Straight and long enough to pull back into a ponytail. He tends to braid it at night so that it will not tangle.

Eye Color: Dark with golden flecks around the rim, signifying that he has Tamesian blood in him and is an outcast because of that.

Handedness: Right-handed. Everyone in their monastery has been forced to be right-handed, at least to write and eat.

Jewelry: None. No jewelry is allowed at the monastery.

General Appearance: Tarachand is of approximately average height, weight and build for a young human male. His dark hair reaches down well past his shoulders and is fairly fine. He often keeps this tied back. His skin is pale compared to his family, but naturally darker than the others at the monastery and it has a slightly jaundiced tint, due to the small bit of Tamesian heritage he has.
The clothing he wears is worn and tattered around the edges. His hands are perpetually covered in ink stains and often, he will walk around the monastery without shoes on, especially during the summer.

Relationship with Family: Tarachand doesn’t really know his real family because he was dropped off at the monastery when he was a small child to be placed under the care of Ahbahs Nirav (the Abbot). He considers Nirav to be a father to him and their relationship is very close.

Key Family / Relatives: Ahbahs Nirav

Relationship with Friends: Jahangir is one of the other members of the monastery. He is almost heretical for his beliefs and enjoys questioning the practices of the others. He is somewhat rash in his ways and stands up for what he thinks is right. One way that he dissents from the main group is that he believes that there is beauty in everything, not just in the culture of the monastery. Seeing truth and beauty in the pagan beliefs is more than enough to put him at odds with Tarachand, who has grown up believing everything that Nirav has told him to be true.
~Ellywn is a female wanderer who has settled down for a short time just outside of the monastery. Originally from Cynelic, she was taken in by Elven adoptive parents (their own children had long since left home) when she was a child after her parents died of the plague (similar to influenza). When she was sixteen, she left home and has been travelling since then. She is fairly caring, though she recognizes that life can be stripped away from people in an instant, so she tends not to form emotional bonds to people easily.
~Ahbahs Nirav, or simply Nirav, is the Abbot of the monastery. He is about eighty-five years of age as humans reckon time and he has cared for Tarachand since the boy was young. As the head of the monastery, he is in-charge of and responsible for everything that goes on there. He adheres strongly to the old traditions, even if they are considered out-of-date by some of the other members. To him, there is no excuse to deviate from the law and if you do, strict punishments are to follow. However, if one follows the law, Nirav is very kind and benevolent. He prefers to teach by example, rather than speaking. There are weeks where he will only speak while in prayer to Anilfirin.

Key Friends: Jahangir, Nirav, Ellwyn

Educational History: Tarachand was schooled at the monastery since he was a young boy. He learned to read and write and the basics of mathematics. When he was twelve, he began his training as a scribe. Because he is a scribe, he has learned how to read Common and Elven, the two main written languages of Almendrim.

Work History: Scribe training from the time he was twelve until he turned fifteen. He has been a scribe at the monastery since then.

Skills: Cooking, planting, harvesting, mending, transcribing the ancient manuscripts

Bad Habits / Vices: Vanity. Despite not being able to own very much (monastery rules), he really cares about how he looks... most of the time. He is very proud of his hair, but hates his eyes.

Quirks: He tends to bite his lips together when he’s focusing really hard on something or occasionally when he is working.

Best Qualities: Follows the rules, contemplative, emotionally and mentally stable, a good worker

Worst Qualities: People pleaser, vain

Key Childhood Experiences: Not remembering his family and being dropped off at the monastery when he was about five-years-old.

Key Teenage Experiences: Meeting Ellwyn, scribe training.

Sexual Background: Everyone entering the monastery has to take a vow of celibacy, which may only be broken if said person leaves the monastery.

Personal Goals: To be able to belong somewhere and be accepted by people. Because of this, he is a people-pleaser.

Morality / Ethics: Tarachand is legalistic about following the rules of the monastery, as he was raised there. When he meets Ellwyn and begins wondering if the solitary life is right for him, he feels bad for questioning what he’s been taught all his life. Tarachand is religious and worships Anilfirin.

Style of Speech: Not as formal as Nirav, but more formal than an average human of Almendrim would speak and quite a bit more formal than a human of the Shadowlands (ie, our world) would normally talk.

Other Important Details: Other than the fact he’s a brand-new fantasy character? Really nothing.

Update

Well, I'm awake and have nothing better to do, so I might as well blog. I haven't been able to knit, so I've been writing in my free time instead. Most of it is for a story that I'm working on with a friend over instant messenger. It's really starting to get interesting because there are a lot of potential issues that could come up and last night, we were talking about the issue of racism as it applies to a fantasy setting. Not usually the best path to take, but I do have a character who is racist, and perhaps almost for a justified reason. She takes it way too far and it is wrong, but considering the fact that her people have been at war and she hasn't had the most ideal life, she could be doing a lot worse than she is.

But that's really not what I intended to talk about. What I wanted to talk about was the idea of looking back on stuff that I've written over the past year or two and seeing how far I've come. One thing (in writing or in life) is that it's hard to make a judgement on that when you're in the middle of a situation. You really have to step back and make an observation.

I've even been looking back at Snapshots, which isn't necessarily the best embodiment of this. I was re-reading over some of what I have written and in the second chapter, only the very ending is strong. Chapter three, which was written in April of 2008, is mediocre. Really, only chapters one (because it was the first), four and what I've written so far of six are what I would consider really good. Chapter five is decent, especially towards the end. I've started to learn how to weave description in with dialogue, which is a most excellent thing.

I think I should work some on chapter six over spring break. But for now, I should probably go to bed and try to get at least couple more hours of sleep before morning really comes.

Speculation?

So, I've been thinking a lot about Sharpe's character as of late, so that has been quite interesting. One thing that I've figured out about him (indirectly) is that he and Stephanie Rei knew each other primarily through Jennie Alton, as Stephanie and Jennie were friends while they were in school. So Sharpe was the one who delivered Emiko's Christmas present to her (in this piece). Emiko is fourteen and in ninth grade (her birthday isn't until April), so she would've recognized Sharpe's voice as being familiar.

Also, there should be some reason why he was at the church on Christmas Eve... of all times and places. One would think that Sharpe would rather go on Easter Sunday or just some random day, but not Christmas Eve, mostly because of his history. In fact, in the narration of this piece, it is stated that he does not want to go on Christmas Eve. So why does he?

For this, I can think of only two reasons. One is that someone would have had to force him to go. Since he is an adult and responsible for his own actions, that doesn't seem likely. Plus, he hadn't been to church since high school (when he was living with the Altons) and even then, he didn't go very often.

The other reason that comes to mind is that something in him was drawing him to the service. I don't know what was said or what in that particular service went on other than what Michael is thinking to himself. I would love to know what exactly drew Sharpe to go to church and what drew him to go there on Christmas Eve. Because something did. It honestly doesn't surprise me that he chose to go to the church where Jonathan is a pastor. Since he's had quite a few run-ins with people who are hypocrites, it's kind of really important for him to be somewhere that there aren't as many (if any at all!). And I think he knows that the church that Jonathan works at and that the Altons go to is probably safer than elsewhere.

But there's something that draws my curiousity towards Sharpe. There's so much about him that I don't know yet, even if he is one of my most well-developed characters. I'd love to know if he has read any CS Lewis (one of the most amazing people who has ever lived, by the way!) because I think if Sharpe read anything religious, he would be more likely to read Lewis than anything else. Especially given what I know about CS Lewis from reading a biography on him.

Those are just my thoughts right now. Good night.

Snapshots Musings?

So, I was thinking a little more about where I'm taking Snapshots. At the end of chapter five, Dr. Priya Shasthri shows up at Sharpe's apartment. Chapter six will be spent with her, Michael and Sharpe conversing in some sort of manner that is yet to be determined. One thing I've found out about Sharpe is that he doesn't always react the way I think he will, so that should be interesting to write. But it ends with Dr. Shasthri leaving.

Earlier I was wondering how Michael would get back home (or if he would). The logical way would be for Professor Shasthri to give him a ride back to his house, thus leaving Sharpe alone at night. But when she's driving back, I'm not sure if she should talk to Michael at all. Like if he asks her any questions, I don't know if she would answer him. I guess that would depend on what happens earlier in chapter six, which is still yet to be written.

I'm thinking Michael would mostly play the part of an observer and I'm pretty sure I want to skew the narration more to his POV for most of the conversation. I don't imagine him taking explicit part in what's going on, but he should be more of an observer and commentator. I'm not doing first-person POV for this, but rather shifting the narration ever so slightly to include more of Michael's thoughts and his biases. I've shifted POV slightly throughout all the chapters. Like in chapter 1, most of it was Sharpe (though some of Michael). Chapter two was Michael's POV. Chapter three shifted quite a bit. Chapter four was Sharpe and the fifth chapter was mostly Michael's POV, though the omnicient narrator claims the ability to change it whenever she desires!

Not really, but still. I do need to write some, because I miss it so much. It makes me sad. And... I really want to delve deeper into that piece I wrote with Sharpe. There's something that happened to him that he's not saying and I want to know what that is and if he ever tells anyone. I would also love to go into and explore a philosophy class from Sharpe's POV, which will be a huge challenge... not only because I've never done anything of that sort before, but also because out of all my characters, Sharpe is the most complicated and we don't exactly see eye-to-eye, though I think I can understand where he's coming from.

Just Alright - A Brief Writing Piece

I just got an idea for a scene between Sharpe and Dr. Shasthri, so I think I am going to try to write at least some. I don't know how good it will be, but here goes...

MPAA Rating: G
Word Count: 1682
Characters: Priya Shasthri, Sharpe, others by mention
Summary: Takes place right after this... Sharpe has an interesting conversation with one of his professors.
Warnings: Controversial content by the name of religion. Either deal with it or don't read it.

The teenager glanced up, still keeping his hands folded tightly, his fingers almost white from lack of circulation. He had not meant to stay this late, but he had no family... at least none that would be worried about him or wonder why he wasn't at home. Sure, it was the day before Thanksgiving and almost everyone else on campus had gone home for the long weekend, but despite the Altons' kindness and hospitality, their small house on Chestnut Avenue still didn't feel like home to him. It never had.

"Victor?" Dr. Shasthri leaned over next to the teenager. Despite the fact that the boy's student identification read an entirely different name, Priya Shasthri knew quite well that when someone requested to be called something, it was a wise idea to comply. She knew Sharpe went by his middle name... and had since at least the beginning of his freshman year. The professor seriously doubted whether anyone other than a few of the faculty members and the teenager's family even knew his first name. "Listen, I don't want to disturb you, but don't you have anywhere to go?" Even she had something to do tomorrow; she had signed up on the volunteer list to help feed homeless people when their pastor had passed it around the church congregation.

Sharpe's dark eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "I have a paper for Frasier's toxicology class that I am going to finish writing tomorrow." He had already done nearly all the research for that project; now all that was left was writing the eight-paged paper, something he had chosen to put off all semester.

Priya frowned and shifted her weight to a more comfortable position, letting her shoulder bag drop to the ground. Inside, she was carrying the weight equivalent of at least three text books. Something told her that prying was a bad idea around Sharpe; the university sophomore had been more than secretive over the past year that she had gotten to know him. But like anyone else, she was curious. "Do you not have anywhere to go? Doesn't your family live nearby or anything?" She could have kicked herself in the shins for that comment; as soon as she had spoken, Sharpe's face paled to the color of parchment.

The teenager bit the end of his tongue, almost hard enough to draw blood. Yes, his family did live near... well, as much as he could call them family. "Not particularly," he lied. The Altons had chosen to go down to San Diego for the break; they had left that morning and were now in southern California, visiting people Sharpe had only met once and honestly could care less about.

Dr. Shasthri sat down on the linoleum floor, thankful she had chosen to wear jeans to work that day instead of a skirt. There was so much she understood, yet so much she had no idea about at all. For a long moment, she studied the quiet student who had proved himself to be an enigma. She had been told that she was good at reading people and she decided to put this theory to practice. As she looked into his dark eyes, he glanced away, resortng to counting the speckled dots on the floor. Her glance followed down to his hands. Scars. Somehow, this didn't surprise her much. There was a short pause. "Well, you're more than welcome to come and join us. We're helping serve homeless people at the church."

Sharpe stood up with such quickness that surprised Professor Shasthri. She had never seen anyone who was not an athlete move so quickly. She watched as Sharpe recoiled into the shadows that were provided by the stairwell. "No!" This was spoken with more force than he had ever used around an authority figure before, other than perhaps Alton. Josiah Alton had heard him yell before, but few other adults had. The back of his fist hit the wall just hard enough to cause redness. There would probably be a bruise there tomorrow.

"I..." The professor was nearly speechless. She knew not everyone at the school was religious - in fact, she was one of three professors in the greater sciences department who held Judeo-Christian beliefs - but she had never imagined anyone getting so upset at the mention of a church. "I'm sorry." Those were the first words that came out of her mouth. "I didn't mean any offense." Priya thought for a moment. She had taken a lot of flack from her co-workers whenever the subject of religion came up. As if being both a woman and an ethnic minority in the sciences wasn't enough. The professor had learned not to take offense at anything that was said.

"I don't take any offense, but I can't." There was a certain aspect to Sharpe's voice that Priya had never heard before. Normally, the sophomore was quiet and his reactions were measured and composed carefully. He hadn't been inside a church building since before he graduated high school... not even on Christmas Eve or Easter Sunday. Especially not Christmas Eve. He could not go back. Not now or ever again. He had promised himself never to set foot in a church building as long as he lived and the young man intended on following through. A promise was a promise, even if it was only to yourself, right?

Dr. Shasthri glanced over at him, but decided not to press... for information or otherwise. If Sharpe was going to tell her what was going on, it would have to be his own choice, not her pressuring him to do anything. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

Sharpe nodded. "Fine. Just perfect." Sarcasm was dripping from his voice and Professor Shasthri caught that and frowned, her thin lips drawing together. Sharpe moved forward slightly and clasped his hands behind his back.

Before she could stop herself, Professor Shasthri decided to take a chance and ask a question that she would probably regret later. "You don't like anything that has to do with religion, do you?" Her question was innocent enough and her voice, non-accusing. It was the same tone she frequently used in the classroom or talking individually with her students.

"Religion is stupid." As the three-word response came, Priya couldn't have been more surprised. She was used to him being far more eloquent or at least less blunt. However, she had to agree with him... to a certain extent. Religion for the sake of religion - as she had pointed out so often to Lewis from the philosophy department, with whom she enjoyed long talks over coffee - was pointless.

Although common sense told her not to, she decided to press. Part of her inner core told her that she was closer to getting the young student to talk than anyone else had been, but Shasthri knew she would have to tread carefully. Amongst the general population, topics including religion were deemed as controversial at best. Even though she and Frank had talked extensively on the subject, both were respectful adults, capable of civil conversation, despite not always agreeing on any particular subject. "Perhaps it is..." These words were more of a muse to herself and a ploy to get Sharpe to explain his comment. "But surely anyone who dislikes religion must have a reason." As a scientist, she held to the philosophy of having some reason for every decision she made, no matter whether her reasons were logically oriented or not.

Sharpe was quiet for a long moment and his long fingers ran along one of his scars on his right hand and up his arm a few inches. "I don't hate religion. I hate Him." The last word he spoke was emphasized and the teenager nodded towards the ceiling. Sharpe's voice had lost its previously present sarcasm.

Dr. Shasthri glanced up at Sharpe. For the past several minutes, he had been standing and she, sitting. She nodded towards him and he sat down, leveling her with his dark gaze. Priya was quiet for a long moment. "If you don't mind me asking," there was a short pause as she studied him and she leaned forward, supporting herself with her hand, "please do explain." Not only had she assumed he was non-religious, but she was aware that at least one of the other faculty members was under the impression that Sharpe was an atheist. It didn't bother her one bit, but something in her said that there was more to him than what met the eye. Such was the way with everyone.

"Explain what?"

She knew she should have been expecting a question in return. She had seen this strategy before, mostly in students who preferred not to talk about a certain subject. They would ask questions in response to questions or try to change the subject; some were better at it than others were. "Your esteemed philosophy professor seems to think that you are an atheist." She was speaking of none other than Dr. Lewis.

Sharpe's eyes narrowed so much that he looked like he was squinting at something. "That is illogical." His lips drew together into a thin frown and he sunk to the floor, leaning his back up against the brick wall. "It's impossible to be angry at someone if you don't believe that person even exists." In the back of his mind, he was pretty sure there was a God somewhere, but he was sincerely doubtful that God was anywhere near caring. His life had taught him that this was most likely the case.

Dr. Shasthri nodded. She was about to say something, but she stopped herself as she caught a glimpse of something shiny in Sharpe's eye. Maybe it was the way the light from the lamp post outside was hitting his face, but she doubted it. "Are you alright?" She almost reached out to put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but decided against it.

Sharpe shrugged. "I will be." He was always alright. Never great, rarely horrible. Just alright. He always would be.

NB: Yes, Frank Lewis is named partially after one of my favourite all-time authors... and after one of the characters he wrote. But these characters belong to me, despite whatever namesakes they might have. And the Altons live on Chestnut Avenue, too (same street that the Lius live on... and the Adamses and the Johnsons).
Another interesting thing to note is that Kiran makes a similar comment about one of her teachers... that their "esteemed science professor will have her corpse as the next anatomy specimen" if she left school without permission.

10 Random Facts Game!

So on Facebook, I was tagged in a note to post random facts about myself. Just because I can, I decided to switch it around and do it for one of my characters. This time, it's a guessing game! There are ten clues per character. All five are known characters and four out of the five are quite well known.

Character One

1. I work part-time at a school.
2. My grandmother came from Poland when she was a girl and she loves to cook the most delicious foods for me when I go visit!
3. Although I don't remember Dad, he was the one who named me.
4. No one except my family knows this, but I have a younger sister. I've only seen her a few times and haven't seen her at all in the past ten years, but I know she's still alive. I really want to meet her again someday.
5. Most of the students I teach are taller than I am. It isn't that hard if you aren't even five feet!
6. I used to be afraid of toasters, of all things!
7. I almost always wear skirts and blouses and rarely wear jeans.
8. I'm actually not from the USA. I was born and raised in Canada.
9. I speak fluent French and English and sometimes I'll switch back and forth! Like now! *starts speaking in rapid French*
10. I absolutely love mathmatics.

Character Two

1. Although I'm most well-known for playing basketball and football, I'm also on the school swim team.
2. We - Kyle and I - lead prayers before and after games at school with other Christian athletes.
3. I'm probably the only African American person in these stories. Well, me and my family. But I'm the only prominent one.
4. My favorite class is history and my favorite historical period is the Industrial Revolution.
5. I live in an apartment with my sister, our mom and Aunt Dolores.
6. My favorite thing to do on the weekends is hang out with my friends and do whatever they're doing, as long as they try to get into trouble!
7. My middle name is the same name as one of the prophets in the Bible.
8. My birthday is May 22nd, which is unfortunately, about a week before finals. At least it isn't during finals week!
9. I really actually don't like ice cream all that much.
10. I like most of the books we're forced to read for school.

Character Three

1. I'm fluent in both English and Spanish... and I know a few random words in French and Italian.
2. I have a pet named after a book character.
3. My least favorite board game is Monopoly.
4. I spend a lot of time with my cousins. Whether that's good or bad is anyone's best guess!
5. Though I'm not really a vegetarian, I usually don't eat a lot of meat stuff. I just don't like the way it tastes and I never have.
6. Both my older sister and I are adopted.
7. I'm probably one of the craziest people you'll ever meet! Or at least Callisto seems to think that.
8. I go to a boarding school in the UK that requires a school uniform.
9. I love drawing in the margins of my notes during class.
10. My family celebrates Las Posadas in the days just before Christmas, but we don't celebrate Thanksgiving.

Character Four

1. I'm learning Japanese. Unfortunately.
2. I have a single tatoo on my left shoulder and five piercings, all in my ears.
3. I used to take dance classes.
4. I tend to hang out with the cheerleaders at school half the time and the "bad kids" the other half.
5. I hate my homeroom teacher, but who doesn't?
6. My best friend taught me how to play chess.
7. I kind of have a crush on my best friend.
8. I have a half-sister I've never met, but we've talked before.
9. I moved four times before I was in junior high.
10. I love thunderstorms, especially when the electricity goes out.

Character Five

1. I was partially named after a book character, of all people.
2. I enjoy drinking coffee when I can, though I rarely do.
3. I was offered a job twice by the same person.
4. One of my most used endgame strategies is queen sacrifice.
5. I am left-handed.
6. I can read music written in the alto clef.
7. I am fluent in two different languages, one of which is uncommon.
8. I share my birthday with a famous chemist/physicist.
9. I was homeschooled for about a semester in junior high.
10. The first prom I went to was one that I chaperoned.

I'll post the answers sometime later this week, most likely. Best of luck! I'll also finish tagging with characters (where applicable) once I post the answers. I don't want to give it away.

If you're interested in the answers, they can be found here.

Maplewood Relationships?

I'm really needing to figure out how the characters in first generation at Maplewood get along with one another before I continue with whatever else I am writing. Like the fact of how Shaun Ackerman and Stephanie Rei both fit into the picture.

Shaun Ackerman is a graduate in the class of 1987, a year a head of Takahashi, et al. Given Maplewood's small size, they would have known each other when they were students. Same thing goes for Sharpe and Ackerman. It's known that Sharpe and Ackerman don't get along very well when they're adults, but this could be attributed to a conflict of ideologies and personalities. Shaun's very outgoing and scatterbrained. Sharpe is introverted and deliberate. (Think Q and Captain Picard here and you'll get the general idea!) Ackerman is also very strongly Catholic and he is outspoken about being so. While Sharpe doesn't necessarily have anything against the idea of Christianity (or Catholicism), the fact that Shaun is a bit pious grates on his nerves. Same thing with Kiran, actually.

I'm not sure what came to pass between Ackerman and Takahashi. If I can figure that out, I'll be able to figure out whether or not Takahashi had motive for ordering a certain person to kill Ackerman at the beginning of Once Upon an AU. If not, then I'll have to resort to using Peter Screwtape, which would be a little bit annoying. Okay, that would be more than annoying because he's a power player in most everything else and that role gets old quickly.

Second character I need to fit in is Stephanie Rei, Emiko and Hana's mother. She did go to Maplewood and she is friends with Sharpe. That much I do know. She's either a year ahead or a year behind the main group of students, making her the same age as Shaun Ackerman (and Emily Royal, who is Evan Saunders' aunt) or putting her in the graduating class of 1989. She needs to be close enough in age to know the main characters fairly well if everything is going to work out with Takahashi and Sharpe and all that. If she's the same grade as Ackerman, that might come into the storyline somehow.

In Once Upon an AU, I have a character who is a hired assassin. I'm not going to tell you guys who it is yet and only that it's not Sharpe. Sharpe couldn't do that. Anyhow, said person basically has their hands tied and can't do anything but follow orders at the moment. It'll be interesting to write, to say the least.

Christmas Story Commentary and Other Stuff

I spent another day knitting instead of writing, which is unfortunate for my sadly failing writing skills, but it's all good. I've decided on a few things in response to the Christmas Eve story. Sharpe does have a good idea of what was in the package for Emiko. If he did, why does he deliver it? To answer this, I need to do a little background information on Sharpe and a little bit more on how he and Takahashi know each other.

Sharpe's thoughts on religion are different than those of most of my other characters. He does know what he believes. He grew up in a Christian home, so he has been to church. However, right now, he is extremely angry at God for a multiple number of reasons (which I don't feel like going into right now) and he hasn't really been to church since he was a teenager. He still holds many of the same ethical principles as are taught in the Judeo-Christian belief system. His anger is directed first and foremost at God and secondly at people who call themselves Christians but don't act as such.

Takahashi, on the other hand, is adamantly against any type of organized religion, whether it be Christianity, Judiasm, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, dancing around a campfire and worshipping the sun... need I go on? He would do anything and everything in his power to prevent Emiko from getting the copy of the Bible that Stephanie sent.

If I may digress for a moment, Sharpe and Takahashi don't get along at all. They met at the beginning of ninth grade as students at Maplewood Academy and Sharpe said something he shouldn't have said to Tetsuya. Things escalated from there. When they're adults, they are coldly civil to one another.

Back to the point here. Sharpe's going to do almost anything he can in order to make Takahashi angry. He is fairly neutral towards the idea of Christianity, so ensuring that Emiko gets the Bible that Stephanie sent would be a perfect way to do just that.

This leads me to believe that Sharpe and Stephanie would have been friends... or they would have known each other somehow. Given that Stephanie used to be married to Tetsuya (they're now divorced), it was probable she was a student at Maplewood. She would have been at least a year younger than the main group... or perhaps the year ahead of them (same year as Shaun Ackerman). I need to think a little more about how they know each other. Likely either she and Sharpe are good friends (and kept their friendship up throughout the years, which would be a bit odd for Sharpe) or he owes her something and there's a story waiting behind that.

So instead of writing, I was trying to knit a sock. But maybe tomorrow I'll write more. I'm not sure. I still need to figure out where the other Christmas story (the one with Michael and Kiran at the church) is going. It'll be interesting...

Dystopian Society Novels and Banned Books?

I'm just going to warn you in advance that this might be a little controversial. So if you don't like that, don't read on. Okay? Consider yourself warned.

As I was at a swim meet today and didn't actually have time to write much of anything as far as my own fiction goes, I'll be talking a little about books again. Some of my favorite novels have been the dystopian books, like Orwell's 1984 or Animal Farm or Lord of the Flies by Golding. Oddly enough, according to the list of banned books and authors, many authors of these novels (and other such excellent novels) either are or have been banned for some reason in some place around the USA. In fact, some of these have been required reading for school classes.

As an author, I don't necessarily invite debate into what I write, but I don't shy away from plot points just because they could be touchy subjects. Most of my characters tend not to swear too much (one of the main themes I've noticed in the "banned books" list) and I don't write past PG-13. My plot lines have elements of dystopian societies in them (or at least Once Upon an Alternate Universe will - think weird combination of influence from The Phantom Tollbooth, Animal Farm or just about any other dystopian society idea and CS Lewis - just because his writing is made of pure awesomeness and he's one of my favorite all time authors - and you'll be spot on). But I digress.

Honestly, if you don't want to read a certain book, no one is forcing you to read them. I don't think they should require such authors to always be read for school... we seemed to read an abundance of the dystopian and other weird books in high school English classes (but Edgar Allen Poe's stuff was freakier than anything like Animal Farm or Farenheit 451!)... and parents should be cautioned before letting their kids read whatever they want (except for Tetsuya Takahashi because he doesn't care what Emiko does). But books shouldn't be banned from public libraries just because of controversial issues; people just need to be aware of what they read.

Any thoughts?

Story Review: The Crush

Since between traveling home (yays!) and live in general I don't have time to write anything new today, I'm going to direct you to a piece I've read recently. It was written by my sister, Manwathiel, and I've really enjoyed reading it. It's very much teen chic reading, so if you really can't stand that genre, I wouldn't necessarily advise you to read it. ^_~

MPAA Rating: G

The Crush
Prologue
Chapter One, Part One
Chapter One, Part Two
Epilogue

Short Critique: To be honest, she's improved quite a lot since I've really read what she's written (as I tend not to read too much fan fiction). I really enjoyed the characterization differences between Emily and Annie... and contrasting each of them with Mai. It was fun - and cute - to read.

Dialogue is a bit stilted and formal (especially for teenagers), but it's pretty obvious she's working on it. Plus it's a little difficult to go from writing Tolkien's Elves to modern day American teenagers without some level of difficulty in adjusting to mannerisms and verbal quirks.

All in all, it was good and I'd like to know what happens next, especially in regards to Damien. I'd love to see his character get developed more... and to see what happens between Emily and Tiffany.

So that's my review. Take it with a bit of sodium chloride as you see fit and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Forum Philsophorum and Other Clubs

This entry is dedicated to a brief history sketch of the RHS Controversial Issues Club, otherwise known as Forum Philosophorum.

Staff Advisor: Sharpe
Secondary Advisor: Shaun Ackerman. Occasionally Josiah Alton will step in and assist in moderating debates.
Years of Operation: Fall 2000-Spring 2002. Students lost interest. At this time, Sharpe was the only staff advisor.
Fall 2005-Winter 2005. Stopped by administration (Peter Screwtape) due to "controversial content", which turned into a huge yelling match.
Some Known Student Members: Michael Liu, Emiko Takahashi, Samantha Adams, Kiran Shasthri, Evan Saunders.
Oddly enough, the list of known members does NOT include Tyler Martin, Marie Wilson, Scott Adams and a number of other prominent characters. Tyler doesn't like debate, Marie really doesn't like Sharpe and Scott just doesn't want to do it.
Purpose: To provide students with the opportunity to discuss and debate controversial issues, including but not limited to the following: religion, ethics, technology, politics, war, social justice and many, many other things.
AKA: The "Debate Club" (Emiko Takahashi)

Other Clubs
This isn't a complete list, but here are some of the other clubs around RHS...
Film Club: Staff Sponsors: Anthony Wilson and Hugh Avery (duh). Looks at various films, both contemporary and historical.
Student Council: Staff Advisors: Josiah Alton and Candace Pruitt. Elected student government.
Media Productions: Staff Sponsors: Becky Rodriguez and Laura Clarkson. They write and edit the school newspaper and put out the forms of media on campus.
Writing Club: Staff Sponsor: Julia Perry. Students gather to improve their writing skills and occasionally talk about books. Sam is the president of the Writing Club during her junior and senior years of high school.
Operation Numbers: Staff Sponsors: Hugh Avery and Aislynn Celeste (and also Jason Hartley). These are a group of students who spend time working with low income students and finding ways to make math and science more interesting and fun.
Chess Club: Staff Sponsor: Sharpe. Group of students focuses on developing chess strategies and competes in local tournaments. Assisted by Alan Harrison (2005-present) and Candace Pruitt.
Technology Club: Staff Sponsors: Amy Kerrington and Jason Hartley. Helps maintain school club webpages and focuses on other forms of technology.
Student Service Club: Staff Sponsors: (various, but it has included Jennie Alton). This is a group of students who do community service. Marie Wilson helped start it during fall of 2003.

NB: Most clubs have two staff sponsors, particularly those that are larger or require more organization or, in the case of Forum Philosophorum, deal with controversial issues.
Sharpe is probably the only staff member who is the main sponsor for two clubs. However, since the Debate Club (using Emiko's words) was not in existence for a few years, this is not very surprising.

And now for a bit of a treat...a snippet from a Forum Philosophorum meeting... (Kiran's POV, third person)
MPAA Rating: G. Sharpe's being his typical self.
Characters: Kiran, Sharpe

A dark haired girl raced through the courtyard. She was wearing loose pants, a shirt and a sari wrapped around her. It was trailing in the wind as she ran; she hoped she wasn't late. It wasn't her fault, really. She had been talking to another student when she realized that two o'clock was quickly approaching.

Her dark skin blushed as she nearly ran into the person who she least wanted to see at that moment: Mr. Sharpe. The arrogant chemistry teacher had already blatantly told her that she wouldn't be allowed to take most of his advanced classes, despite the fact that her transcript proved her quite capable. She had a theory that it was just because he wouldn't stand for anyone with religious convictions in his classroom and she had set out to prove that here.

"Miss Shasthri," a cold voice spoke as she took a moment to straighten herself up. "It is very nice of you to come. What, praytell, brings you here on such a fine afternoon?" The voice was sickly sardonic and Kiran could feel her heart sinking.

"Sorry, Mr. Sharpe, but you didn't say I couldn't join the philosophy club," she replied with a smirk. "So, if you'll give me one of those paper things to fill out..." Sharpe's glare was intense. "...please."

Sharpe lifted an eyebrow as he held his pointy stick out towards her. "Well, it will be interesting to see how well your religion holds up," he sneered. Despite this, he handed her a paper to fill out and she set to work answering the questions.

Random Little Factiods

Here's a list of random little factiods...

• Michael plays violin and is known for enjoying and being much better at the faster pieces than the slower pieces. Andy also plays violin, but plays the faster pieces in a much slower tempo.
• Emiko has a half-sister, Hana Rei, who lives in England and goes to school with Callisto Verity and Donovan Isaacs.
• Sharpe used to play an instrument (though I'm still not sure which one). He doesn't anymore. I'm soliciting feedback if anyone cares to answer.
• A number of my characters share birthdays with people I know or with "famous dead guys" (Dr. Shasthri, Sharpe). None of my characters have the same birthday I do.
• Evan Saunders has the most stereotypically American family: dad, mom, two kids (brother and sister), family pet. Scott and Samantha's family also follows this pattern.
• Hideaki, Emiko, Tyler, Marie, Aislynn Celeste and Sharpe all come from "non-typical" homes. They were either adopted, in foster care, lived with relatives or have single parents.
• The largest families in my stories are the Liu family (two parents and five kids, two of whom are adopted), the Wilson family (five kids and one parent), the Page family (six kids, two parents and one cousin) and the McAllistair family (two parents and eight kids).
• Forum Philosophorum, the debate forum for controversial issues, was originally Sharpe's idea and he ran it. It was abolished in 2005 upon the insistence of Peter Screwtape. (Which reminds me that I'll have to share a brief snippet of a conversation between Sharpe and Kiran that I wrote...). I'm thinking the secondary staff sponsor is Shaun Ackerman, just because of the way he and Sharpe interact. That would be a lot of fun to write.
• Aislynn Celeste was actually originally sort of a shapeshifter. She can change her natural coloring at will.
• Emiko and Hideaki actually met each other in Japanese school and became friends there.
  

Christmas Eve, Part I

I got this idea when I was at the Christmas Nativity candlelight service and I just had to write it... it will be continued, probably throughout finals week, culminating in something large getting closer to Christmas...

Timeline: Christmas Eve, 2008
MPAA Rating: G (though this piece will probably borderline PG-13 by the time it's done if it goes in the direction I think it will...)
Character(s): Sharpe (obviously), Jonathan Liu (mention only)
Word Count: 296
Warnings: I'm not going to shy away from controversial talking about religion in this piece at all... though it will be to the POV of my characters and not necessarily what I think or believe.

The night had been long, but fifteen seconds passed forever in his mind. His minutely accurate time sense, normalized to the atomic clock to the nearest nanosecond and his mind able to predict the result of complex arithmetic calculations several decimal places out. The man gritted his teeth. This wasn't relativity, as he wasn't moving close to the speed of light, so he couldn't blame Mr. Einstein. No, it was much simpler, yet simultaneously more complicated. As he knelt down on the wooden floor, the middle aged man wondered what he had been missing all his life and why it was coming back so quickly to him.

Little lights flickered all around him. The candles were still lit, though most everyone had left for the night. They had families to go home to. One knee dug into the floorboard and his teeth bit into his bottom lip, determined to ignore everything around him against what little better judgement he possessed at the moment. If he truly possessed his better judgement, he would not have come here this Wednesday evening. No, he was clearly desperate. It had been twenty-five years since that night... a quarter of a century.

He could hear footsteps coming from the opposite end of the corridor, but he closed his eyes and clenched his right hand into a fist, supporting himself with his left arm in a halfway balanced position. Even now it was painful to be here; surely Jon knew that. Yet something had drawn him here tonight. The seconds ticked by in his mind and he started to lose track of time. It must have been minutes and the man could have sworn he heard a violin playing in the background. That was the absolute last thing he needed right now.

tbc.

A/N: This piece reminds me of this song by Mark Schultz. Actually, Sharpe in general does...