Blog Updates

Considering that I am starting a series on this blog, I wanted to let all of you know that the Blog will continuously be getting new updates.  I don't have a schedule for the updates, but I will try to add not only to the story but the other pages on the blog.  If you love the series, or any of the other posts/pages let your voice be heard!  Seriously, I love comments, and love sharing my love of books, movies, and writing, so if you ever feel like speaking out I will listen.

For now, I plan to continue onto Part two of the 24th Hunger Games, and keep up mostly with the Making of the 24th page.  If you have any questions on the mini series or anything else, let me know!

The 24th Hunger Games: Part One: Kaede

The 24th Hunger Games: Part One: Kaede

The heat was almost unbearable as it weighed on him.  Above, the sun was relentless, but the closeness of people around him was what made it worse.  A light sheen of sweat already adorned his forehead as he waited, patient only on the exterior, his insides churning with nervous energy.  The Reaping had that effect, not just on him, but everyone.  Something about subjecting yourself to a lottery of death made every person-regardless of age- nervous.  This event though, was the only time he found himself surrounded by the people of his district, typically they avoided him as if his hand was contagious.

“Welcome,” a loud solitary voice echoed through the silent crowd.  It was the same man that came every year; a man that was part cheer and happiness, but also part bitterness and hostility.  He didn’t know the man’s name, or frankly cared for it.  To know meant possibly dying.

“Happy Hunger Games,” he paused, a smile spreading across his face, which was disgustingly covered in a shiny, pale dust.  “And may the odds be ever in your favor.”  The smile seemed to mock them, as if he knew already the fate of the tributes he would be in charge of.  Underneath the dust he wore, there was dark skin, but it was the eyes that caught his attention, even as the bowls were wheeled onto the stage; orange like a rumbling fire. 

“I believe we should start with our female tribute,” he drawled out, actually letting some cheer into his gravelly voice.  He strode over to the bowl on the right and stuck his hand in it, not even trying to make a show out of the action, a piece of paper already grasped.  There was a moment of silence as he read it before he spoke the name; “Ashley Brown.”

There was only silence in return as the crowd nearby parted, and a girl stepped out.  She deserved credit for how little fear showed on her face, her dark eyes almost defiant.  Most of the children from the years before had wept or even had run from the impending fate that stage brought.  Ashley though, embraced it, standing resolutely beside the Capitol man.  “Good, good,” he gave her a second of applause -only from himself- as he walked over to the other bowl, snatching another piece deftly.

“And to join her, our male tribute,” another pause as he studied the name.  “Kaede Johnson.”  He felt himself freeze, felt the stares as they all looked at him, but not the way they had for her.  At first there was confusion, but then they all looked at him –not with sympathy- as if he were already dead.  At his side, his hand tensed, like it knew it was the subject of their stares.  “Kaede Johnson.  Where are you?”  For once, the Capitol man had a new expression on his face; a mixture of bewilderment and frustration.  A hand shoved at Kaede’s back, forcing him into a stumble, right in the direction of the stage.  

“Lovely,” was all he heard the man say as he was led to the microphone where Ashley was still standing.  The word itself only seemed to burrow in his mind, marking how little was expected of him.  He had gotten used to it, yes, he learned to deal with the uselessness others had seen in him.  Their stares now though only served to anger him, a fire nearly like the man’s eyes alighting in him.  “We have our tributes from District Seven!”  His voice carried out over the heads of the people, Kaede flinching at his side as he was encouraged to shake Ashley’s hand. 

Their hands met, but Kaede found himself looking into her eyes, which had in one final gaze assessed him and dismissed.  She wouldn’t align herself with him and was making it clear from the start.  The childish side of him figured he didn’t need her, but the realistic side was beginning to tick down the short list of ways he could ever survive the games.  The list had already been short, but now it was minuscule.  They were led off the stage and into the building behind it, separated into rooms so that they could see their families.  Kaede though without family or friends to part with, was left standing in the foyer with the man, waiting on Ashley to finish seeing her’s.  The loneliness that he supposed he should have felt in this moment was absent for once, his other thoughts keeping those at bay.  He had already lost those that could see past his hand; there was nothing left but life.  “How long will I last?”  The Capitol man stopped his conversation with one of the guards and finally looked at Kaede, surprised by the question.

“What do you mean?”

“How long before I die?”  The surprise was replaced with shock as he came closer.

“That depends on you,” was all he replied with.  The answer though was the most honest one he could have gotten.  “He’s the one you should ask.  My name though, if you make it, is Devri Vermillion.”  He smiled, a real one.  “I hope you make it.”  Kaede merely nodded and looked to the individual he had motioned to.  The man stood in the corner, more bored than anything with the situation, showing little investment in the new tributes.  There was nothing as striking about him as there had been with Devri, his hair dark, and eyes almost identically marked with shadow.  His face housed a five o' clock shadow that he assumed would be permanent, given the man's attitude.

“This way,” Devri led him out of the back of the house, and toward a waiting train.  Ashley, and the other man followed them into one of the luxurious cars, both sitting down.  Devri picked up a small bowl of candies, and sat with them, hunting down the orange colored ones with a steady concentration. 

“Who are you?”  Ashley was straight to the point with the unknown man, her eyes set in a glare.

The man looked at her then turned his head to look out the window of the moving train, his bored expression still in place.  “Berkeley,” he stated blandly, which didn’t quite explain his presence.

Devri chuckled across from them, though not looking up from his bowl.  “He is your mentor, girl.”  Ashley sat up, rigid at the term, ‘girl’.

“Then what do you suggest I do to win?” 

He turned his attention back to her with annoyance.  “There is no winning.  Not unless you are from One or Two, where they delight in this.”  Berkeley glanced at Devri, as if awaiting reprimand, but Devri still showed no sign of speaking.  “You survive, girl.”  When she glared at him again he snapped, “And you are a girl.  A Damn annoying one at that.”  He slouched in his seat, and rubbed his forehead, Ashley standing abruptly and walking out of the car.

“And what about me?”  Kaede tried to keep the hopefulness out of his voice; tried not to look like every other child he had seen go off to die.

“You?”  Berkeley gave him a strange look, but shook his head, his eyes falling on Kaede’s left hand.  “I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

Kaede leaned closer, and attempted to hide his hand out of sight.  “Please, I know I’m not much, but-.”  He bit his lip, and reigned in his emotions.  He wanted to live, if that was all he had left, even if others would find that the weakest of motivations.  “I want to at least put up a fight.”

Berkeley frowned.  “A fight?  When you can barely hold anything with that?” 

“Yes,” Kaede replied.

“Fine,” he acceded, but not without a grumble.  “The only thing that will possibly keep you alive is running.”  He saw Kaede’s own frown, and continued with a sigh.  “When you find yourself looking at the Cornucopia and the countdown begins, look at the weapons and other tributes.  It makes them think you’ll go for the goods, but when the countdown’s run out, you run to wherever is farthest away.”

“Run?  That’s all?”

“It’s more than I gave her, and it’ll keep you alive.”  He had a point, considering he hadn’t told Ashley much.  “What’s more, do you know the average for the tributes killed the first day?”

“I know there are quite a few.”

“More than a few.  Try six to ten.  That’s nearly half of how many tributes there actually are.”

Kaede nodded, and repeated the information in his head, trying to make it stick.  “And the Careers?”

“Avoid at all costs.  They’ll rip you apart.”

“Noted.”

Berkeley sat forward.  “May I see it?”  Kaede caught where he was staring and made to back up, but at Berkeley’s firm look he held out his hand.  Berkeley’s own cold ones took in his left, feeling its normal and irregular parts.  “I’d like to say you’ll be fine, but with this hand it makes things difficult.”

Kaede didn’t want to be told to give up.  “And?”

“And that means you will have to conserve your hand and energy.”  Berkeley let go of his hand.  “Avoid anything drawn out, got it?”

“Got it.”  Berkeley nodded, and got up, leaving the same way Ashley had.

A ‘clink’ on the glass table beside him was all that alerted him to the fact that Devri was still in the car.  “I’ve never heard him say that much," he mused.  "He must like you.”  Kaede gazed at the glass of candies, none of which were orange now.  “Like I said before, I hope you make it.”  Devri stretched out his legs, landing them on the table, not even trying to look refined.  “You should rest.”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

He didn’t sleep during the ride, instead watching as the landscape passed by in the windows of his compartment.  It was dark, but somehow he could make out the shapes of the trees and hills as they sped past.  The trees though, eventually gave way to a land of lights, lights on buildings, and reflected on the water nearby.  He didn’t need to be told that this was the Capitol, they had made it to be grand even from this distance.

From now on, he would have to be more than just competitive.  He would have to be smart and cunning to at least make it past the first day.  That was really all he could hope for.  Kaede glanced down at his gnarled hand, understanding a little why those from his District had looked at him the way they had.  They didn’t know how hard he had practiced holding an axe; how hard he had trained his hand to not be completely useless.  He had hoped that it would’ve led to a decent job cutting trees, but now it would do even more; be even more.  He would be more.

Upcoming Hunger Games Fanfiction

Welcome to the 24th Hunger Games!

-And may the odds be ever in your favor.

The Capitol is preparing for its first quarter quell and many suspect that the twenty-fourth games will be a test; a test to see how cruel and terrifying the next can be.  Kaede, chosen as tribute for district seven is not expected to win, his disability hindering any chance he hopes of survival.  With only himself to rely on, and an entire array of other children-all set on their own survival-who will win the 24th Hunger Games, and find the odds actually in their favor?

Tribute List:

District One:

-Chrome (Male)

-Lux (Female)

District Two:

-Mason (Male)

-Titania (Female)

District Three:

-Beta (Male)

-Tera (Female)

District Four:

-Connor (Male)

-Alice (Female)

District Five:

-Graham (Male)

-Marie (Female)

District Six:

-Bentley (Male)

-Carrera (Female)

District Seven:

-Kaede (Male)- MAIN CHARACTER

-Ashley (Female)

District Eight:

-Denim (Male)

-Silk (Female)

District Nine:

-Barric (Male)

-Zea (Female)

District Ten:

-Brin (Male)

-Dylan (Female)

District Eleven:

-Quince (Male)

-Kiwi (Female)

District Twelve:

-Dale (Male)

-Iris (Female)

Rating for all chapters: T for (blood, child violence, possible gore, and possible mild language)
Not suggested for younger audiences.

*Disclaimer: Character Names and Writing is mine, Concept of Districts, and Hunger Games are not, the world of the Hunger Games trilogy is Suzanne Collin's.  

Writing Contest

I've been off this blog for some time, but that's mainly due to my schedule.  It doesn't really allot to a writing time, or time to think about more than a few small scenes here and there.  The thing is, recently, my Community Coordinator, sent out an email about a writing contest that actually wants some short stories.  I have to explain why I chose to write that particular short story, but writers like talking about their craft, so I should be fine.  In an exciting twist, I am going to write the follow up series to Rebirth, or otherwise the second section to the Rebirth series, because I can't think of a name that could fit it as nicely as Rebirth has continued to explain my first series.  That said, I'm really excited.  The only people who have read my stories have been my friends and family, and maybe a few teachers, but how do I know they aren't just being nice?  That is the eternal question for me, so I am entering this contest.  This morning I have already written four pages, which isn't that much, but for the contest the max is ten, so I have to make sure I get to the point.

Wish me luck, and hey, maybe I'll get some good feedback,  maybe even enough to push me during November to finally complete a Nanowrimo event.  I need to finish a book sometime in my life.  Wishing myself, and everyone else the best in life.  May we all reach some of our dreams.

Listening to:
-Gundam soundtracks (It's anime, so beware, it's in Japanese): Ash like snow, Daybreak's Bell
-Last One Standing by Simple Plan
-Front lines by Pillar
-Anywhere But Here by Safetysuit
-Evangelion soundtracks (Also Anime): Carnage, The final decision we must all take, Betrayal, the Ultimate Soldier, God's Gift

Ignite Talk

Linked below is the last project I did for my College English course, and hopefully it was a great conclusion to one of the best English courses I have taken so far, in terms of creative thinking.  I hope this idea of limitless creativity doesn't go away in the rest of my college experience, but here's the video of my presentation.  Enjoy, and ignore the constant whacking of my leg with my hand.  I had no clue I did that until now, I don't even remember doing it during my presentation.

Publication- The Force of Fiction

Force of Fiction Magazine

One of the things I worked on recently was a magazine where all the call to papers that were sent to my group were all put together.  I was surprised at how good it looked, and how it came out.  We only had to put all the Call to Papers in it, but I decided that was too boring for me, so I slid in two fun articles into the front portion.  The link is above the picture, and the fun articles are called "The Console Wars", and "Star Wars Returns".  Both got really good feedback, and were really fun to write.  I guess they came from my growing obsession with the xbox one, which came out on Nov. 22nd.  I wanted to watch the countdown, but I'm not much of a midnight release kind of person.  I wouldn't be able to stay up that late, unless I had been lying around a couch all day long, and since it was a school day (thursday) that wasn't happening.  I think my family is judging me, because when I said I wanted one, I was immediately questioned if I would rather have the Playstation 4.  That's how bad the representation of the new xbox was.  How could they mess up the presentation of the only thing they have been working on for years?!  

Anyway, with thanksgiving just a few days away, the semester is coming to a close, and with that said, I'm trying to show everything that I have done this semester.  The only problem is that there was so much done, that I don't even remember doing.  This could be a long process.  Down below I'm linking the publications where I sent my own call to papers.  Read them, and support the groups while you're at it.  I'm only linking two, because one of the papers was sent to my own publication linked all the way at the top of the page.

Warfare and technology (mine is under the super weapon category)

Warfare and Technology Publication

Progressing Technology

Progressing Technology Publication

Nanowrimo Week Two

They don't lie when they say that week two is the worst.  I took the weekend to go ahead and plot out my characters, and even made a timeline, but I still feel like there are moments where I doubt how much of this I can take.  I type whenever I can, and for me right now that is an amazing feat.  The thing is that I want to see this book through to the end.  Come Friday I am supposed to have around 25,000 words.  To some of you it would be a little bit of a random number to take so much pride, but considering that the goal is 50,000 words, I am ecstatic.  Last year I only made it to around 11,000 words, so with my current word count being at 20,000 this year has already surpassed my expectations from last year.  To those of you who have encouraged me with writing this novel, thank you.  Maybe I can actually finish this book for once?