Week 15 Lab Story: TvTropes - (Clock Towers)

I decided to try a new type of story in honor of the last week of my undergrad. This week I decided to look through the Tvtropes for my last story assignment. The trope is stumbled upon was Clockwork situations. I didn’t like any of the other options nearly as much. This one is particularly funny. So the trope says that characters in tv and movies have a nasty tendency to find themselves in the tops of clock towers. Just think of the countless movies that end up in a clock tower. There are usually tons of huge gears, somebody about to fall off the clock tower, or somebody shooting at people below from the top of the tower. I can personally think of several movies and shows with these scenarios.

Here are a couple of the most common scenarios:

• -          A character sits on the edge of the clock tower. Oftentimes the character will end up falling.
• -          The character falls and grabs the hands of the clock. Time works against the character as the clock ticks along to the point where they can almost not hold on any longer. At this point, someone or something will save the hero just in the nick of time.
• -          Another scenario happens inside the clock tower: the characters fall or have a battle within the inner workings of the tower. The gears inside are seriously oversized to the point that the characters hop along them. Sometimes the gears will be just about to crush one of the characters when some device catches in the gears and prevents the clock from ticking any further.

I really loved reading about the trope, which was a unique twist for me as far as the story posts go. My creativity lacks when it comes to writing stories, but this was a cool alternative.

A person hanging from a clock - silentlocations blog

Week 11 Story: A Stoms' A'coming

It was late August; just about the time school starts each Fall. Deep in the Gulf of Mexico, there was a storm forming. This was not just a normal storm, it was Category 5 Hurricane. The only reason it was a Category 5 is because there is no such thing as a Category 6, and beyond. Meteorologists were just starting to track its path as it entered the Gulf of Mexico, and they immediately knew this was a storm to be feared. They ordered their news contacts to immediately push an evacuation effort for New Orleans and Houston. 

The news anchors began broadcasting that night, an estimated 5 days before the storm hit. Many families started prepping for an evacuation. Plans were made to stay with family and friends further North. They loaded their most valuable things in the car with them and headed out of the flood zone. 

Others decided they wanted to wait it out. They had been told all too many times that a wretched storm was coming just to have a few rain showers and nothing more. This time they weren't falling prey to the meteorologists' unnecessary worries. They brought their generators out of storage, stocked up on food and gasoline, and loaded up on sand bags to keep rain out of their garage and doors. 

It was only about one day away, and many people chickened out because they heard reports of how large the storm was. Still, tons of people were set to wait out the storm. The first clouds were rolling in, and the winds were already gusting. The floods came, and they were worse than anyone could have imagined. Those who stayed moved to their rooftops, boats, and other floating devices. Some did not have anything to stand on so they were just floating around in the water, trying to find something to stand on. Fish, sharks, and other sea creatures had made it inland, and they were hungry because their normal food was not there… So many of the sharks and large fish started to bite the feet of those who were floating in the water which caused a scene of terror. It was like Jaws except in real life…

And that is why so many people in Houston and New Orleans have no feet. 

Hurricane Katrina - Wikipedia

Author's Note: I took my story from the Tejas stories, specifically from the story about how the woodpecker came to have a rough tail. In writing the story I thought I was onto a great one, but I didn't hone in on a particular character like the original story. The story of the storm, the people who left early, and those who stayed were derived from the original story, and the plot is almost the exact same. I just changed the characters a bit and made it into a modern example.

When the Storm God Rides: Tejas and Other Indian Legends by Florrence Stratton (1936)

Week 5 Story: Envy in Egypt

In ancient Egypt there was a fair bit of jealousy. The odd thing is a lot of it was in the family? Isis was jealous of Ra. Set was jealous of Osiris. These gods would not be content to be gods alone; they thirsted for more power.

Isis was a tricky one; very sharp in the mind. In Ra's old age, she sought to steal some of his power. As the ancient Ra spoke in his old age, some spittle fell from his mouth to the ground. Quickly, Isis gathered some of the spittle and formed it into a powerful serpent. She knew of Ra's plans to travel through a certain path, and placed the serpent along the path. In Ra's old age and poor sight, he traveled happily. The last thing he thought of was his own descendant, Isis, trying to leach some of his power through a snake derived from his own spit. Eventually he stumbled upon the serpent and it struck him with a powerful bite. He sat there writhing in pain and called out to the gods and goddesses. Many came to his aid, including Isis. She offered her assistance, but required that Ra reveal his secret name of power to her. He tried to get out of it, but he eventually relented because the pain was too strong. After she learned his secret name she became much more powerful as she had planned.

Ra eventually died of his old age and Osiris claimed the throne. Under Osiris rule the people were very happy. He made fair laws, and he treated the people well. You could say things in Egypt were running very smoothly until Set decided he wanted to come screw everything up. Osiris usually had Isis by his side as she was his wife - I'm just going to avoid the fact that they were also brother and sister. Isis was very skilled at thwarting the threats from Set. One day she was not around, and there was a big feast in which Set brought a large chest that caught the eye of everyone at the party. Many people were interested in the chest, and Set proclaimed whoever fit into it best could have it. One by one the people tried getting in it, and eventually it was Osiris' turn to try it. He fit perfectly, and as soon as he got in, Set and his minions trapped him inside and quickly carried him to the Nile river. They sat the chest in the river and assumed they would never see Osiris again.

When Isis returned she was distraught. She couldn't believe what had happened. She eventually tracked down the casket and returned it to Egypt. Set caught wind of this and "set" out in search of the casket and Osiris' body. He found it, and he proceeded to chop Osiris into bits and throw him back into the river.

In the end it turns out that Osiris and Isis had a child - again please just forget that they were brother and sister. Their child, Horus, was trained to defeat Set. He eventually grew up and defeated Set in battle to avenge his father.

**Author's Note**: At first I sought to really change the story up quite a bit, but after writing a few lines I thought I would just write an easier to read summary for those who didn't read this passage this week. The story line is very, very similar to the original. I added a few funny lines and a bit of brevity to some of the topics that went on a bit longer than I had hoped while reading it. I look forward to the comments on this story, and if you have any questions please let me know!

Horus and Set in battle - historiabruno blog

Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie

Week 3 Story: The Life of Jesus

John the Baptist foretold the coming of The Messiah. Everyone thought he was crazy. Never before had this generation heard from a man so desperate to spread the word of the coming Messiah, and never before had a prophet appeared so disheveled. As he had proclaimed to all he came in contact with, The Messiah did come. His name was Jesus Christ; a carpenter from Nazareth.

Jesus was no ordinary man. He performed miracles that would truly blow your mind. For example, he healed the blind, mute, lepers, and the dead. Not only that; he also fed thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and fish... twice. There were so many more things he did. Many of them were never recorded and we will never know about them. Still, the acts that WERE recorded do plenty to show the power He possessed. Do you know anyone that says go ahead and take the boat over to the other side of the sea... I'll just walk over later. 

Despite all of the generous and miraculous things done by Jesus, so many people had envy and hate toward Him. This came to a peak when there was a movement to arrest Him. As He had prophesied, Judas, one of His disciples, betrayed Him for just a few dollars. Jesus was arrested and questioned. People gave false testimonies about Him, and everyone knew they were fake. They couldn't find any faults in Him. The mob asked for His crucifixion based upon His claim of being "King of the Jews". As they wished, He was crucified. But... Three days later His body was not found in the tomb where he was buried. He had risen, and met with His disciples and other people to prove He had truly risen. After a short while He ascended to Heaven to sit on a throne next to God. 

Authors Note: 

I took my version of this story from the Gospel of Mark from the Bible. I did not make many tweaks to the writings of Mark due to respect for the holiness of the text. I merely summarized the writings as if I were going to tell it to a friend. 

The Last Supper - acatholiclife blog

The Gospel of Mark, The Bible, Mark

Week 2 Story: The Guard, The Prisoner, and The Nurse

One day a security guard was walking through the prison on the way to his office. On his way, one of the inmates pleaded with the guard to let him go outside because he really wanted to go outside since the weather was so nice. The security guard questioned whether he should let the inmate out, and he decided not to. He told the inmate that he wasn’t allowed to go outside at that time. The inmate begged and begged, and the security guard finally conceded on the condition that the inmate wouldn’t cause any trouble. The inmate agreed and was obviously excited to go outside.

The security guard opens the door and lets the inmate out. In the blink of an eye, the inmate pulls out a shank and puts it to the guard’s neck. The security guard was scared for his life and cried out for mercy. He was so confused as to why the inmate would pull such a cruel trick since the guard had helped him out. He pleaded his case to the inmate, so the inmate mockingly asked other inmates about what he should do. First he asked an inmate who was imprisoned on drug charges. The first inmate said the security guard earned it because he trusted the inmate which was obviously foolish. The next inmate was in prison for murder. He said he wished he had thought of the idea because he still had a thirst for blood. The final prisoner was a drunk driver who accidentally killed the driver of an oncoming car. He said nothing and was mournful because the situation took him back to the fact he had killed that innocent driver.

Just as the inmate was about to harm the guard, a nurse entered the room as it was time to for the inmates to receive their yearly flu shot. She immediately realized what was happening and acted to defuse the situation.  The inmate threatened her but she acted quickly. In a deceptive way, she informed the inmate that his current form would not kill the guard, just severely injure him. The inmate was displeased because he was an angry man and sought the death of the guard. He implored the nurse to show him exactly how to do the vicious deed. She approached slowly with her hands at her side. She grabbed the inmates arm with her right hand, and she secretively slipped her left hand into her pocket. In a flash she pulled out a syringe and stuck the inmate in the back of his chest. He did not know that the nurse was armed with an instant tranquilizer in case of an emergency situation with the inmates. The prisoner instantly tensed up and the guard slipped away. More security arrived and the prisoner was sentenced to a life sentence beyond his current sentence.

(A prison guard standing next to a door - Express.co.uk)

I took this plot from the short story about The Brahman, The Jackal, and The Tiger. The story line is very similar and can be found in my reading notes. The security guard represents the Brahman, the inmate is the Tiger, and the Nurse is the Jackal. Obviously the story I told is quite a bit different, but it follows a similar plot. My story includes the release of the prisoner which is related to the Brahman releasing the Tiger. The inmate then asks the opinions of the other inmates, which is related to the Brahman asking opinions of the tree, the buffalo, and the road. And the nurse steps in to save the day; much like the jackal did for the Brahman.

Bibliography
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John Batten