So, these guys promised reddit that if they were to reach 3000 likes on Facebook, they would dress up like giraffes and make toilet noises. Here they are doing precisely that: http://youtu.be/bckUbOiUF7w
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Jack and Jill Revisited
Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
“Give it back, that’s mine!”
“No it isn’t, it’s mine!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!”
Mother sighed. The twins were at it again. She wasn’t sure what made them do it, but Jack and Jill were constantly at each other’s throats. Perhaps it was that had to spend so much time together, being the same age and all. Or perhaps it was in their genetics to be contrary all the time. Maybe it was that they were as close to being identical as they could be as
fraternal twins. Whatever the reason, it certainly made their house lively and especially loud.
Jack and Jill came sprinting into the dining room adjacent to the kitchen where Mother was, racing to get there first, because, of course, whoever got there first was obviously right. Obviously. The same went for whoever was loudest, which was why they both began shouting even though Mother was only a few feet away from them.
“MOTHER! Jack stole my lucky pencil! It was my best one and he took it all for himself! Make him give it back!!” Jill was half yelling, half whining. She had her hands folded and held out in a please-oh-god-reign-fire-from-the-sky-and-smite-my-annoying-twin-brother fashion. She molded her face into and expression of sheer innocence combined with her perfected puppy dog eyes. For being only 11 she was quite a little conniver, but only about petty, unimportant things. Like a mechanical pencil.
“She’s lying!” Jack yelled, glaring at Jill. Turning back to his mother, he added, “She must have lost her pencil, cuz this one’s mine! I’ve had it in my room since forever and she’s trying to get me trouble!” He put on his version of the angelic face, though he missed heavenly creatures and landed more among the small, helpless children. Either way, he was just as manipulative as his twin sister.
Mother watched as they bickered back and forth. She wondered how long she should let them go at it. Perhaps it made her a bad mother, but hey, this was better than daytime TV and cooking supper got boring after a while.
“That’s not true, he’s the liar!”
“Nuh-uh, she is!”
“He is!”
“She is!”
“MOOOOOOM!” They screamed this last bit in unison.
“Alright, that’s enough!” Okay, every now and again it would give her a headache. “You know what, I don’t care about the pencil. I’ll buy you another one, alright Jill?” That seemed to appease her. “Now, I need you to go fetch me a bucket of water. I need it to finish the soup for supper.”
“WHAT?!” Mother was not aware that Jill’s voice could reach those decibels at that pitch. “I did it last time! It’s Jack’s turn!”
“No, I did it last time. It’s your turn!”
“Is not!”
“Is too!”
“IS NOT!”
“FINE!” Mother raised her voice so that the twins could hear her over their screeches of indignance.
“Is too,” Jill whispered under hear breath.
“You can both go do it! And don’t think I didn’t hear that Jill.” Jill jumped, and then they both opened their mouths as if to protest, but she stopped them, “No buts. I’m not going to argue this one. Now hop to it.”
Jack and Jill looked at each other annoyedly, and then Jill started to giggle. She then proceeded to hop like a bunny rabbit down the hallway. Jack shook his head, apparently in disgust, but Mother heard him start hopping as well when he was out of her sight. She shook her head. What precocious children she had!
Jack and Jill raced each other to put on their coats and shoes; they knew what was coming. The last one finished with their outer garments had to carry the bucket up the hill. As it turned out, Jill was just a second slower than Jack, so she begrudgingly picked up the wooden bucket and followed Jack out the backdoor into the yard.
“Whoever designed and built this farm must have been mentally challenged,” Jack said. “They built the well on the top of the only hill on the entire farm! Sheesh. I’m only eleven and I could have come up with a better plan than that.”
“Well, dummy, that’s where the water was. Duh!” Jill looked at her brother as though he were the epitome of stupidity.
“Well, then maybe God was dumb when he made this farm. Why else would he force us to walk up the hill each time we need water?”
“Awwww, I’m tellllllinnngggg. You insulted God!”
“No, I was just kidding, don’t tell,” Jack pleaded. Goodness knows what Mother would do if she found out he had insulted God, not to mention what God would do. He gulped. He hadn’t thought of that; it had just come out!
“What’s in it for me?” Jill asked shrewdly.
“I’ll let you have to pencil, no questions asked. Just please don’t tell.”
“Alright, done.” Jack handed her the pencil, which he had placed in his shirt pocket. Jill pocketed the pen in her skirt and said, “Pleasure doing business with you Jack.” He looked relieved. Secretly, she agreed with him, but she would never tell him that.
They finally got to the large hill near the back of their property. Luckily the farm was rather wide instead of being long, so they weren’t terribly far from the house. Still, it had been a decent walk. After they scrambled up the hill, they were both kind of tired, so they laid down in the shade of the well and pointed out cloud shapes.
“Ooh, look. There’s a banana,” Jack said, pointing vaguely upwards.
“I don’t see any banana, but I do see an elephant.”
“No, see, it’s right there. There’s the curvy part, and there’s the stem.”
“I still don’t see the banana, only an elephant.”
“It’s a banana!”
“Elephant!”
“Banana!”
And so on and so forth. After a while, they noticed the sun starting to go down and realized they had better hurry to get the water. Jill refused to stand up, saying she was still too tired from carrying the bucket all the way up the hill, so Jack was forced to be the one to draw the water. He set the bucket Jill had carried next to the well and he started cranking the winch next to him. Ugh, the bucket attached to the crank was incredibly heavy. You wouldn’t think that water weighed that much, but it definitely did. Jack would attest to that.
He finally got the bucket all the way up.
“Jill, I need your help now.” She didn’t move. “Jilllll!”
“Alright, fine.” She slowly made her way to standing and ambled her way over, making him hold the bucket still for as long as she could. He glared at her and she smiled back. She knew it was heavy. She grabbed the bucket and pulled it over to the edge.
“Ugh, why does water have to be so heavy? Why can’t it float?” She managed to get it far enough over and set it on the wall that surrounded the well. Both she and Jack bent over, wheezing for breath. Of course, they were both overreacting, but still, it was fairly hard work. When they decided they had had enough acting, Jack grabbed the empty bucket and Jill tipped the full one from the well so that it emptied into the other. After all, the bucket in the well was larger than the bucket they needed; they hardly ever needed that much water.
Once they had filled the bucket from the house, Jack dropped the other back down into the well. Jill had set the full bucket on the ground, acting as if she were completely drained of energy. Faker.
“So, since I did all the work with the water, you should carry the bucket back to the house,” Jack said, trying his best to be fair.
“No, I don’t think so. I’m too tired to carry it. You should do it,” Jill said lazily.
“That’s not fair!” Jack was getting indignant. He knew Jill was lazy, but still. She still had to do SOMEthing.
“Get over yourself.” Jill was feeling much too lazy to do much of anything. She was thinking about staying up here awhile longer, just to keep from having to walk down the hill.
“Fine. I’m just gonna take this back to the house and tell Mom you didn’t do any work at all. She’s definitely going to side with me this time,” Jack said, as he bent down and grabbed one edge of the bucket.
“No, don’t! I’ll do it!” Jill leapt to her feet and made a grab for the bucket.
Jack dodged the grab. “Nope, you’re too tired. I’m going to do it.”
“No, I’ll do it!” Jill made another grab, and this time she hooked her hands to the side of the bucket. They proceeded to play tug of war with the bucket while shouting back and forth, “I’ll do it!” “No I’ll do it!”
Finally, Jill didn’t feel like playing this anymore. She was so mad at Jack, she never wanted to see him ever again. “Fine,” she shouted, “Have your stupid bucket, you butt-kisser!” And with that, she gave the bucket a shove as she let go. What happened next was the kind of thing that happens only in the dreams of a small child growing up with older siblings.
Jack, who had also been pulling on the bucket, was unable to correct for the sudden change. The bucket, full of water, flipped up onto his head, where it emptied its contents. Jack also started falling backwards from the force of the shove and the lack of balance. He took a step or two to try and fix himself when he tripped over a rock. That was the point of no return. He fell backwards onto his head and ending up rolling every helter-skelter down the steep hill.
Jill was slightly worried about him. After all, that had looked like an awfully nasty fall. However, her laughter overpowered her worry. She couldn’t breathe, her eyes watered, she was bent over double, laughing hysterically. That was, without a doubt, the most hilarious thing she had ever seen. How she wished she had had a video camera!
Out of control with laughter, Jill started falling forward. Still in hysterics, she couldn’t do anything. She fell on her side and started rolling around. One roll took her too close to the edge and momentum took over. If Jack had been un-dazed enough to think, he should have taken the bucket off of his head. He would have found the picture of Jill rolling down the hill, hair everywhere, skirt flying every which way, and still laughing absolutely unbearable. He would have been in the same condition as Jill, except he was already at the bottom of the hill.
Jill’s landing at the bottom was a lot softer than Jack’s had been. Perhaps because she had landed on Jack. Jack was still wearing the bucket but was no longer woozy, and Jill had calmed down slightly, partly because her sides hurt. But just one look at each other, Jack with a bucket on his head, soaked through to the skin, and Jill with her hair tangled and leafy, red-faced and teary-eyed, was enough to send them both into hysterics.
As they sat there, laughing until tears streamed from their eyes, all prior arguments forgotten, Mother looked out the window to see where they had gotten off to. She shook her head at the scene and smiled to herself. Kids.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Best Explanation of the End Harry Potter 7.2 I've ever seen.
The resurrection stone doesn't prevent you from dying, or let you come back from the dead, it just lets you talk to dead people. Harry went into it completely expecting to die, but Dumbledore knew (or suspected) that he would survive, but it was essential that he sacrifice himself.
Why harry survived:
The way a horcrux works is that you split apart your soul (by killing someone, which always damages your soul), and you hide the broken off piece in an object. That way if you ever die, your body will be gone but part of your soul will be safe and you can keep living without a body. Voldemort accidentally made Harry a horcrux on the night he killed Harry's parents.
Ok, so remember how Harry survived as a baby? His mom sacrificed herself for him, and that sacrifice made Voldemort unable to touch him. The curse rebounded instead of killing Harry. That protection remained in his blood, which is why Quirrell turned to dust when he tried to touch harry in the first book/movie. This pissed Voldemort off, so in the fourth one, when he was making his new creepy body, he used Harry's blood. Which, remember, still contains Harry's mom's protection.
That is what the prophecy meant. "Neither can live while the other survives". They are tied to each other because a part of Voldemort's soul is in Harry, and Harry's mother's protection is in Voldemort's blood. As long as Voldemort was alive, Harry could not die, and as long as Harry was alive, Voldemort could not die. But when Harry walked into the forrest and sacrificed himself, he was hit with a killing curse. His soul was safe, because of the blood, but Voldemort killed the part of his soul that was in Harry, making him finally able to be killed.
Why harry survived:
The way a horcrux works is that you split apart your soul (by killing someone, which always damages your soul), and you hide the broken off piece in an object. That way if you ever die, your body will be gone but part of your soul will be safe and you can keep living without a body. Voldemort accidentally made Harry a horcrux on the night he killed Harry's parents.
Ok, so remember how Harry survived as a baby? His mom sacrificed herself for him, and that sacrifice made Voldemort unable to touch him. The curse rebounded instead of killing Harry. That protection remained in his blood, which is why Quirrell turned to dust when he tried to touch harry in the first book/movie. This pissed Voldemort off, so in the fourth one, when he was making his new creepy body, he used Harry's blood. Which, remember, still contains Harry's mom's protection.
That is what the prophecy meant. "Neither can live while the other survives". They are tied to each other because a part of Voldemort's soul is in Harry, and Harry's mother's protection is in Voldemort's blood. As long as Voldemort was alive, Harry could not die, and as long as Harry was alive, Voldemort could not die. But when Harry walked into the forrest and sacrificed himself, he was hit with a killing curse. His soul was safe, because of the blood, but Voldemort killed the part of his soul that was in Harry, making him finally able to be killed.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Justin Bieber's Eulogy (My final for Oral Comm class)
Special Occasion Speech
Dellanie Couture
COMM 1000
I. Intro
A. Attention Getter/WIIFM/Thesis/Preview of Main Points: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are here to help the Bieber family mourn the death and celebrate the life of their son, Justin. He is survived by his parents, Jeremy Bieber and Patricia Mallette, and his half brother and sister, Jaxon and Jazmyn. The young pop star was killed in a tragic car accident; it feels as though it were much too soon for him to go.
[Transition: However, death is a truth we cannot avoid, and we must go on, as he would have wanted us to. ]
II. Body
A. He was born to his mother, Patricia, when she was only 18, and his parents divorced soon after. Patricia raised her son as a single mom with the help of her parents.
B. When he was young, Justin did say much about wanting to do anything musical. Instead, he was interested in hockey, soccer, and even chess. He got his musical start at a talent show in 2007, when he was merely 12.
i. He sang “Sick” by Ne-Yo, and his mother uploaded the recording to YouTube. His mother then continued uploading videos of Justin singing, and his channel became more and more popular.
ii. In 2008, a marketing executive for So So Def, Scooter Braun, found one of Justin's videos by accident. After much deliberating and praying, Patricia decided to let Justin, then 13, go for it, and that, as they say, was history.
C. However, it's not always easy being a teen idol.
i. Justin had to find time in his schedule for his music, school, and time with his family. He had to deal with crowds of crazed fans and mobs of preteen girls who adored him.
a.) It's hard to be a normal teenager when everyone knows who you are and is obsessed even to the point of a haircut making the news. (pause for giggles)
ii. He's also had to deal with considerable criticism from those who are less than impressed with his singing.
a.) There are many people who are very vocal about not liking Justin, mostly internet posters, specifically from YouTube and 4chan. He's been criticized for looking and sounding a lot younger than he is, as well as the amount of media attention and fan adoration he receives. He also gets made fun of because of the types of songs he likes to sing, namely love songs.
iii. Of course, Justin dealt with the fame, gossip, and criticism with class, like the good- natured person he is...was.
a.) For instance, there was the time he went to the beach with his girlfriend, Selena Gomez. Mistaken for a topless young girl, Justin made the news as the person who flashed everyone on the beach that day. (pause again) He merely laughed along with everyone else instead of getting angry.
b.) He never got angry at his internet critics. “They're just jealous,” he said, on more than one occasion.
[Transition: Yes, Justin was an example of how to be humble and famous at the same time, a lesson in grace itself.]
III. Conclusion
A. Summary of the Main Points: Justin taught us many things, and could have taught us many more. This event is bittersweet; he's in a better place now, but we miss him all the same. His death was unexpected and tragic, but we shouldn't dwell on it, or the sadness will consume us.
B. Clincher: Instead, we should focus on his life and how he lived. He will live on in our memories. Remember, as Thomas Campbell said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” We will now dismiss you row by row to view the body. Please wait until the ushers call you forward. Thank you.
Dellanie Couture
COMM 1000
I. Intro
A. Attention Getter/WIIFM/Thesis/Preview of Main Points: Welcome, everyone, and thank you for joining us today. We are here to help the Bieber family mourn the death and celebrate the life of their son, Justin. He is survived by his parents, Jeremy Bieber and Patricia Mallette, and his half brother and sister, Jaxon and Jazmyn. The young pop star was killed in a tragic car accident; it feels as though it were much too soon for him to go.
[Transition: However, death is a truth we cannot avoid, and we must go on, as he would have wanted us to. ]
II. Body
A. He was born to his mother, Patricia, when she was only 18, and his parents divorced soon after. Patricia raised her son as a single mom with the help of her parents.
B. When he was young, Justin did say much about wanting to do anything musical. Instead, he was interested in hockey, soccer, and even chess. He got his musical start at a talent show in 2007, when he was merely 12.
i. He sang “Sick” by Ne-Yo, and his mother uploaded the recording to YouTube. His mother then continued uploading videos of Justin singing, and his channel became more and more popular.
ii. In 2008, a marketing executive for So So Def, Scooter Braun, found one of Justin's videos by accident. After much deliberating and praying, Patricia decided to let Justin, then 13, go for it, and that, as they say, was history.
C. However, it's not always easy being a teen idol.
i. Justin had to find time in his schedule for his music, school, and time with his family. He had to deal with crowds of crazed fans and mobs of preteen girls who adored him.
a.) It's hard to be a normal teenager when everyone knows who you are and is obsessed even to the point of a haircut making the news. (pause for giggles)
ii. He's also had to deal with considerable criticism from those who are less than impressed with his singing.
a.) There are many people who are very vocal about not liking Justin, mostly internet posters, specifically from YouTube and 4chan. He's been criticized for looking and sounding a lot younger than he is, as well as the amount of media attention and fan adoration he receives. He also gets made fun of because of the types of songs he likes to sing, namely love songs.
iii. Of course, Justin dealt with the fame, gossip, and criticism with class, like the good- natured person he is...was.
a.) For instance, there was the time he went to the beach with his girlfriend, Selena Gomez. Mistaken for a topless young girl, Justin made the news as the person who flashed everyone on the beach that day. (pause again) He merely laughed along with everyone else instead of getting angry.
b.) He never got angry at his internet critics. “They're just jealous,” he said, on more than one occasion.
[Transition: Yes, Justin was an example of how to be humble and famous at the same time, a lesson in grace itself.]
III. Conclusion
A. Summary of the Main Points: Justin taught us many things, and could have taught us many more. This event is bittersweet; he's in a better place now, but we miss him all the same. His death was unexpected and tragic, but we shouldn't dwell on it, or the sadness will consume us.
B. Clincher: Instead, we should focus on his life and how he lived. He will live on in our memories. Remember, as Thomas Campbell said, “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.” We will now dismiss you row by row to view the body. Please wait until the ushers call you forward. Thank you.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Questions, Part 2: 1st Intallment
Elina hummed as she danced about the kitchen preparing dinner, her waist-long brunette hair swinging about her waist. Her father, Pharon, would be home soon and she wanted to make sure that she had a full meal waiting when he arrived. After all, he had been working so hard lately, trying to get the fields all plowed. Her mouth puckered into a frown as she thought. It was getting much more difficult for him, considering his age. She pleaded with him to hire a farmhand, but he wouldn't hear of it. She sighed and went back to her cooking; the least she could do for him was make sure he ate well. Her brown eyes watched the bread as it baked in the brick oven as she stirred the soup. This meal was going to be a good one. She licked off a drop of soup that had landed on her tanned skin and laughed. She should really pay more attention when dealing with hot things!
She heard a knock at the door. Was her father here already? That couldn't be a good sign. Readying herself for bad news, she went to the door and opened it.
"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. Instead of her father, as she expected, it was a boy. Elina stepped back, closing the door a little. Her father had always warned her against opening the door while she was home alone. Now she knew what he was talking about. This boy was not from around here. His deep blue eyes, set into an oval face, watched her every movement, staring. His hair was cut very close to his head, though she could tell it was nearly black. He had very fair skin in the places that weren't burnt bright red from the sun. And that happened to be a very large area of skin as he had no shirt on, weird, and- was that a sword on his back? Around his neck was a turquoise necklace with a metal pendant that had some weird symbol etched on it.
He said something, pulling her from her study of him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She flashed him a smile, hoping that he wasn't one of those men her father was always telling her about. He said something again, but it was completely unintelligible, reaffirming her belief that he definitely wasn't from around here. Why in the world was a random traveler here? They were pretty far from anything. In fact, the nearest town was 10 miles away, at the edge of their land. And the main road went the other way through town, completely bypassing her father's farm. Whatever the reason, she couldn't understand a single word he said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you say." She shook her head, showing him that she didn't know what he was saying.
"Oh, I apologize. I forgot that you wouldn't understand me." Elina paused in the middle of shaking her head. What? She looked at him puzzled.
"You speak our language too?" He nodded.
"Shouldn't I? You don't understand mine." He had a point.
"Alright, that makes sense. It's just that most travelers only know one language: ours or their own. You're the first I've ever seen that knew two."
He didn't say anything, just continued that blank stare. She wrinkled her brow. He certainly was an odd one. Now he seemed to be waiting for something. What could he be waiting for? Oh. Right.
"Can I help you?"
"I need a place to stay for the night." Elina hesitated. He hadn't given her any reason to distrust him, and surely, judging by the looks of his arms and chest, he could have gotten past her into the house whether or not she agreed. Still, her father's warning words were playing in her mind. "Please. I've come a long way and my body is exhausted." He really did look tired. She made up her mind, though it might get her in trouble with her father.
"Alright, come on in." She led him into the house, mentally beating herself up for not having cleaned it up earlier. "Okay, so, this is the living room, over there's the dining room, and around that corner is the kitchen." He merely watched as she pointed, looking to each room as she gestured. "I'm sure you must be really tired, so I'll show you where you can wash up and then you can sleep until dinner." He looked at her and she felt her face flushing. She then cursed silently at herself for being so silly. She purposefully marched up the stairs and down the hall to the washroom. She showed him the pitcher and the cloths for washing and then took him to their spare room.
"Now that you know where everything is, you can just stay here until I call you when dinner's ready, okay?" He nodded and unbuckled the sword belt, tossing it on the bed, along with a pack she hadn't seen earlier. Elina then realized she should probably leave so he could wash and so she could finish dinner. As she was walking through the door, she turned and asked, "What's your name?"
"...Christopher."
"Okay. It was nice to meet you, Christopher.
With that, she hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen, reflecting on her strange visitor. She could almost hear her father yelling at her now...
She heard a knock at the door. Was her father here already? That couldn't be a good sign. Readying herself for bad news, she went to the door and opened it.
"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. Instead of her father, as she expected, it was a boy. Elina stepped back, closing the door a little. Her father had always warned her against opening the door while she was home alone. Now she knew what he was talking about. This boy was not from around here. His deep blue eyes, set into an oval face, watched her every movement, staring. His hair was cut very close to his head, though she could tell it was nearly black. He had very fair skin in the places that weren't burnt bright red from the sun. And that happened to be a very large area of skin as he had no shirt on, weird, and- was that a sword on his back? Around his neck was a turquoise necklace with a metal pendant that had some weird symbol etched on it.
He said something, pulling her from her study of him. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She flashed him a smile, hoping that he wasn't one of those men her father was always telling her about. He said something again, but it was completely unintelligible, reaffirming her belief that he definitely wasn't from around here. Why in the world was a random traveler here? They were pretty far from anything. In fact, the nearest town was 10 miles away, at the edge of their land. And the main road went the other way through town, completely bypassing her father's farm. Whatever the reason, she couldn't understand a single word he said.
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand what you say." She shook her head, showing him that she didn't know what he was saying.
"Oh, I apologize. I forgot that you wouldn't understand me." Elina paused in the middle of shaking her head. What? She looked at him puzzled.
"You speak our language too?" He nodded.
"Shouldn't I? You don't understand mine." He had a point.
"Alright, that makes sense. It's just that most travelers only know one language: ours or their own. You're the first I've ever seen that knew two."
He didn't say anything, just continued that blank stare. She wrinkled her brow. He certainly was an odd one. Now he seemed to be waiting for something. What could he be waiting for? Oh. Right.
"Can I help you?"
"I need a place to stay for the night." Elina hesitated. He hadn't given her any reason to distrust him, and surely, judging by the looks of his arms and chest, he could have gotten past her into the house whether or not she agreed. Still, her father's warning words were playing in her mind. "Please. I've come a long way and my body is exhausted." He really did look tired. She made up her mind, though it might get her in trouble with her father.
"Alright, come on in." She led him into the house, mentally beating herself up for not having cleaned it up earlier. "Okay, so, this is the living room, over there's the dining room, and around that corner is the kitchen." He merely watched as she pointed, looking to each room as she gestured. "I'm sure you must be really tired, so I'll show you where you can wash up and then you can sleep until dinner." He looked at her and she felt her face flushing. She then cursed silently at herself for being so silly. She purposefully marched up the stairs and down the hall to the washroom. She showed him the pitcher and the cloths for washing and then took him to their spare room.
"Now that you know where everything is, you can just stay here until I call you when dinner's ready, okay?" He nodded and unbuckled the sword belt, tossing it on the bed, along with a pack she hadn't seen earlier. Elina then realized she should probably leave so he could wash and so she could finish dinner. As she was walking through the door, she turned and asked, "What's your name?"
"...Christopher."
"Okay. It was nice to meet you, Christopher.
With that, she hopped down the stairs and into the kitchen, reflecting on her strange visitor. She could almost hear her father yelling at her now...
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Questions: 10th Installment
Lily jerked awake. What a nightmare. She had dreamt that the Initiation Ceremony had happened and Nannoc had...she gulped. Of course that couldn't have happened. Nannoc loved her; he had even said that he would die before he would be the one to kill her. She waved the remaining shreds of the terrifying dream away.
Slowly moving her stiff body into a sitting position, Lily mused over the fact that she had slept at all. She had spent a good portion of the night worrying over whether or not she had given Nannoc the right answer. And had she? The dream again came to her mind, in particularly the face of indifference on Nannoc's face when he had completed the act. She shook her head violently. That wasn't going to happen. He had been very clear on that point and she was merely being silly. But had she given him the right answer? He had seemed so sure she would say yes, and it would have definitely saved her life. But what kind of life was it if she had to stay down here? She wanted to be able to go above ground, to see her family again. And still, when she had seen how his face had fallen when she had said no, she began to doubt herself.
Damn it! Now she couldn't let it go. Had she done the right thing? Lily tucked her knees to her chin, trying to think. She really did like him, maybe even love him, but she didn't want to be stuck down in this absolute hell of a place. She wanted to see the sun. Suddenly something hit her: if she had said yes to being with Nannoc, she wouldn't be killed. Instead she would be with him, a valid part of the People. Then no one would care if they left together; they wouldn't see it as betrayal! Was this what he had been trying to tell her when he had come in so excited the other day? It must be! He was right, it would solve all their problems! And she had been so focused on the marriage part that she couldn't see past it to the bigger plan. How could she be so stupid?! She should have said yes! And she was going to. She was going to tell Nannoc that she had changed her mind; she wanted to be his wife so that they could escape together.
She turned around to where he had fallen last night after they whipped him, excited to tell him the good news. He wasn't there. Lily crawled over to the spot; she was sure he had been right here! She pulled up her hand only to find it slick and red. Horrified she saw that the stone all around this spot was stained dark with blood. Surely Nannoc wasn't dead! They couldn't have just let him die! Could they? His back had been bleeding pretty badly, but he couldn't be dead. He just couldn't! She had to tell him that she had changed her mind, had to tell him that she loved him and wanted to run away with him. The longer she stared at the ground, the surer she became that Nannoc was gone. Tears flooded her eyes and began to roll down her face. She laid her head on her hands and started sobbing.
A loud noise from the tunnel to the nursery startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped her face; she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they made her cry. It obviously wasn't Nannoc or there would have been no noise. Sure enough, one of the bodyguards she had seen yesterday came into the room, a look of disgust on his voice, swearing loudly at the rest of the captured Outsiders. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her watching him and stalked quickly across the cavern. He drew a large knife from the sheath and held it over his head. Lily ducked instinctively. He laughed and sliced through the rope that held her to the stake in the ground. Grabbing the end of the rope, he yanked. Lily fell forward, trying to keep her neck from breaking. He laughed again and pulled her to her feet using the back of the collar. Before she had even caught her breath, he yanked the rope, pulling her forward.
"Move. It's time to go." With that, he started off quickly down the hall. Lily had no choice but to follow him and try to keep up. When she her legs faltered from disuse, she had to jump immediately up; he wasn't stopping for anything and would drag her if she stopped. In this way they proceeded to the main hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Day began with the People in a frenzy. Today was the Initiation; today Nannoc would become a true member of the People. None were more excited than Elliott. After this, after that stupid girl was gone, Nannoc wouldn't be asking any more stupid questions. Nannoc would see that he, Ellliot, was right all along and would finally be happy. They could go back to how it had been, doing their jobs together as they had before when they were both Children. Of course, they would never be equal. Elliott was obviously chosen before Nannoc for a reason, therefore he was obviously that much more important. Although, Nannoc was much better at skill for hunting than Elliott was. No matter. He was chosen first, nothing to be done about that. He was apparently more important than Nannoc in the Elder's eyes at least.
Elliott was among the first People to arrive in the main hall. Since this wasn't as formal as the Announcement, the People chose their own seats instead of sitting according to age. He wanted to make sure he had the best spot to watch Nannoc's face as he sacrificed that nasty little witch. He spat at the thought of her; she had undoubtedly poisoned Nannoc's mind with her narrow Outsider views, leading Nannoc to question the authority of the People and the Elder himself. Elliott had been shocked and outraged that Nannoc, perfect citizen in all other accounts, would have the audacity to have even thought those accusations he made. Elliott was sure: he never would have questioned his role if it wasn't for that girl!
Speak of the devil, here she came, stumbling as one of the Elder's bodyguards pulled her across the room. Elliott laughed as she fell over multiple times. She deserved it. Finally they arrived at the wooden altar where she would be sacrificed. The bodyguard undid the collar around her neck. Now she tried to run, to escape, but her legs were so unused to walking after their months in the nursery that she couldn't even go two strides before she fell, scraping her face on the stone floor. Everyone in the room laughed hysterically; how comical! To think she even had a chance of getting away, even her legs worked. Soon she was tied down to the altar, completely unable to move anything but her head.
Now the People poured into the room. Someone lit the fire in the middle of the room, smaller than the one they had used yesterday, just beneath the raised area where the altar was. Soon it would be time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was terrified. Somehow, though she had resigned herself to death a while ago, now that it was truly going to happen, she didn't want to die. She struggled against her bonds, to the amusement of the guards standing near her, but they didn't budge. She knew they wouldn't. After all, they had been doing this for centuries. She stopped moving, once again beginning to cry. Nannoc was surely dead and here she was, helpless to do anything, soon to be dead as well. At least they would meet again in the afterlife.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The hysteria in the crowd was growing. Rumors were flying across the room. Someone had seen Nannoc already and he had deep wounds across his back, as if he had been whipped. Someone else had heard that there was a commotion down in the nursery the previous night. Another had heard that he had asked the Elder if he could have her for a wife, turning down several of their own girls. Someone had said that Nannoc had died and someone else was going to be the Cutter today. One person said he had asked a Healer to verify the stories, and she wouldn't say anything. Whispers of That must mean it's true and Of course it can't be. He couldn't be that stupid were heard everywhere. Then shouts were heard and the Cutter was brought out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elliott breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't believe any of the rumors, but the longer it took, the more he doubted. Nannoc's appearance assured him that everything was okay. Except...He wasn't wearing his robe. Instead, he was bare chested. He heard the questioning murmurs in the crowd as they noticed the same thing he did. This wasn't natural. Why wasn't Nannoc adhering to tradition? Then he turned to take the ceremonial sword from the Elder and the congregation gasped collectively.
His back was covered in blood seeping from gashes that made it look as though he had been whipped harshly. He heard one of the men who had been spreading rumors say, "I told you so!" So, that much was true. What had he done to deserve that? There was absolutely no way the rest of the rumors could be true. But were they? At least one had been true...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her first reaction was joy at the fact that he was still alive. They must have come to heal him some time in the night. But when he turned and Lily saw the cuts from the whips, she thought That's my fault. I did that when I refused his offer. She could do nothing but watch him as he strapped the sword to his wounded back and turned to the altar. He must be in so much pain! But his face never changed. He had gone back to the blank stare that he had used the first day she had seen him.
Her heat beat faster and faster as he walked slowly up to where she was lying. She took courage in the fact that he had said he wouldn't hurt her, though his face was frightening in it's indifference. The doubts raised by her dream came back. Oh God, he couldn't! He wouldn't! He said so himself! No, he couldn't!! Her eyes widened in fear as he slowly approached the altar, sword in hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nannoc watched Lily's face as he drew nearer to the altar. Was that fear? Didn't she believe in the afterlife? Why was she afraid of death? He knew it wasn't death that scared her, but how she was about to die. At his hands. A bitter smile stretched across his face. Afterlife my ass he thought. Sephirin only cares about what we do now, in this life. This is what we have. As he watched her go stiff with terror, the smile left his face. Now I understand why the People think they're better. They don't lay down their lives as if there's no choice. No, they fight to the bitter end. He turned to the bodyguard who was still standing by the altar. The guard understood that his duty here was done and left, but not before giving Nannoc a smug smile, laughing at his pain.
Pain. If Lily had taught him anything, it was that emotions only brought pain. The way he was before was better. No problems, no heart ache, no gashes in his back, no infuriating questions. Just duty. And that's all there was left now. He stepped up to the altar. He paused a moment before bending down, getting himself close to Lily's ear. He knew that the entirety of the People were leaned forward, aching to catch what he was about to say to her.
"Nannoc..." Her voice was small, almost a sob. "Nannoc, I'm sorry."
He put his hand on the back of her head. She closed her eyes, a relieved look on her face. Then he spoke, "I told you I'd get you out any way I could." She turned to him, not understanding at first, then her eyes growing wide. That's right. You understand now. He lifted the heavy sword above his head and then let it drop through the air. With a thud, it hit the wooden altar. Lily was dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The People cheered, some of the younger ones jumping up and down. Another Child had just become and Adult. Elliott was proud. Now that the girl was dead, Nannoc would be his old self; there was nothing left to worry about. Then, little by little, the crowd fell silent. What was wrong? Elliott glanced back to the altar. Normally the new Adult would be cheering just as much as the crowd was. Nannoc was just standing there, watching the blood drip from the sword still in his hand. Why hadn't he cleaned it? What was wrong with him?
Momentarily Nannoc woke from his reverie, cleaned the sword, and sheathed it, wincing when it hit his back. Then he stood there, staring at the crowd as the two aides went to collect the blood. After a few minutes of silence, Nannoc started to speak.
"Disgusting." His voice was thick with contempt. What was he thinking? "The way you all revel in blood and death. It's sickening. Here you are cheering for the murder of a young girl, so similar to us, who's done nothing to you." He spat at them. Elliott could hear angry mutterings from those around him. Was Nannoc trying to get himself killed? Already he had the wounds on his back; any more of this and he'd have another set on top of those.
The aides finished collecting the blood and handed the jar to Nannoc. The jar was as large as his torso and he held it, studying the jar. The crowd started to get excited again, thinking that he was going to finish the ceremony. Elliott merely watched. He knew Nannoc better than that. This wasn't over yet. As soon as he finished this though, Nannoc began to speak again.
"So, you relish the sight of blood, do you?" The People were getting frenzied again. Of course that's what they want; that's what they came here for. What are you going to do, Nannoc? Elliott thought. As if reading his mind, Nannoc glanced over to where Elliott was standing, raising the jar over his head, and said, "Then relish in this!" Elliott suddenly realized what he was about to do and started towards the place where Nannoc was standing. Before he could get there, Nannoc had already smashed the jar down on the fire, spilling the blood and quenching the fire.
The People screamed and began running into the tunnels, trying to get to the light. Most of them could not see in the dark the way those like Nannoc could. As the stench of burning blood permeated the cave, Elliott heard retching. Yet he kept on his search for Nannoc. Elliott knew Nannoc would be heading towards the exit to the Outside and ran in that direction. He didn't need to see; he knew the tunnels like the back of his hand. Battling the flow of bodies in all different directions, Elliott sprinted to the exit. He knew as he ran that he was too slow, he would never catch Nannoc. Still he ran. This stupid boy whom he used to call "friend" had just screwed everything up. He called the People disgusting. He condemned them for their sacrifices. He had blasphemed against Sephirin and Ophelia. He had to be caught and brought to justice.
At last Elliott reached the exit to the Outside. He burst into the light, shielding his eyes. He paused and waited for his vision to come back. He peered in every direction, searching for any sign of Nannoc or his trail. He didn't find any. He laughed bitterly. Of course he wouldn't find any trail; this was Nannoc, the one with the best skills as a Hunter the People had ever seen. Elliott pledged, looking off into the woods, that he would find Nannoc and would be the one to show that traitorous bastard what happened when you insulted the People and disobeyed Sephirin. With that, he turned and went back into the cave.
Slowly moving her stiff body into a sitting position, Lily mused over the fact that she had slept at all. She had spent a good portion of the night worrying over whether or not she had given Nannoc the right answer. And had she? The dream again came to her mind, in particularly the face of indifference on Nannoc's face when he had completed the act. She shook her head violently. That wasn't going to happen. He had been very clear on that point and she was merely being silly. But had she given him the right answer? He had seemed so sure she would say yes, and it would have definitely saved her life. But what kind of life was it if she had to stay down here? She wanted to be able to go above ground, to see her family again. And still, when she had seen how his face had fallen when she had said no, she began to doubt herself.
Damn it! Now she couldn't let it go. Had she done the right thing? Lily tucked her knees to her chin, trying to think. She really did like him, maybe even love him, but she didn't want to be stuck down in this absolute hell of a place. She wanted to see the sun. Suddenly something hit her: if she had said yes to being with Nannoc, she wouldn't be killed. Instead she would be with him, a valid part of the People. Then no one would care if they left together; they wouldn't see it as betrayal! Was this what he had been trying to tell her when he had come in so excited the other day? It must be! He was right, it would solve all their problems! And she had been so focused on the marriage part that she couldn't see past it to the bigger plan. How could she be so stupid?! She should have said yes! And she was going to. She was going to tell Nannoc that she had changed her mind; she wanted to be his wife so that they could escape together.
She turned around to where he had fallen last night after they whipped him, excited to tell him the good news. He wasn't there. Lily crawled over to the spot; she was sure he had been right here! She pulled up her hand only to find it slick and red. Horrified she saw that the stone all around this spot was stained dark with blood. Surely Nannoc wasn't dead! They couldn't have just let him die! Could they? His back had been bleeding pretty badly, but he couldn't be dead. He just couldn't! She had to tell him that she had changed her mind, had to tell him that she loved him and wanted to run away with him. The longer she stared at the ground, the surer she became that Nannoc was gone. Tears flooded her eyes and began to roll down her face. She laid her head on her hands and started sobbing.
A loud noise from the tunnel to the nursery startled her out of her thoughts. She quickly wiped her face; she would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they made her cry. It obviously wasn't Nannoc or there would have been no noise. Sure enough, one of the bodyguards she had seen yesterday came into the room, a look of disgust on his voice, swearing loudly at the rest of the captured Outsiders. He narrowed his eyes when he saw her watching him and stalked quickly across the cavern. He drew a large knife from the sheath and held it over his head. Lily ducked instinctively. He laughed and sliced through the rope that held her to the stake in the ground. Grabbing the end of the rope, he yanked. Lily fell forward, trying to keep her neck from breaking. He laughed again and pulled her to her feet using the back of the collar. Before she had even caught her breath, he yanked the rope, pulling her forward.
"Move. It's time to go." With that, he started off quickly down the hall. Lily had no choice but to follow him and try to keep up. When she her legs faltered from disuse, she had to jump immediately up; he wasn't stopping for anything and would drag her if she stopped. In this way they proceeded to the main hall.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Day began with the People in a frenzy. Today was the Initiation; today Nannoc would become a true member of the People. None were more excited than Elliott. After this, after that stupid girl was gone, Nannoc wouldn't be asking any more stupid questions. Nannoc would see that he, Ellliot, was right all along and would finally be happy. They could go back to how it had been, doing their jobs together as they had before when they were both Children. Of course, they would never be equal. Elliott was obviously chosen before Nannoc for a reason, therefore he was obviously that much more important. Although, Nannoc was much better at skill for hunting than Elliott was. No matter. He was chosen first, nothing to be done about that. He was apparently more important than Nannoc in the Elder's eyes at least.
Elliott was among the first People to arrive in the main hall. Since this wasn't as formal as the Announcement, the People chose their own seats instead of sitting according to age. He wanted to make sure he had the best spot to watch Nannoc's face as he sacrificed that nasty little witch. He spat at the thought of her; she had undoubtedly poisoned Nannoc's mind with her narrow Outsider views, leading Nannoc to question the authority of the People and the Elder himself. Elliott had been shocked and outraged that Nannoc, perfect citizen in all other accounts, would have the audacity to have even thought those accusations he made. Elliott was sure: he never would have questioned his role if it wasn't for that girl!
Speak of the devil, here she came, stumbling as one of the Elder's bodyguards pulled her across the room. Elliott laughed as she fell over multiple times. She deserved it. Finally they arrived at the wooden altar where she would be sacrificed. The bodyguard undid the collar around her neck. Now she tried to run, to escape, but her legs were so unused to walking after their months in the nursery that she couldn't even go two strides before she fell, scraping her face on the stone floor. Everyone in the room laughed hysterically; how comical! To think she even had a chance of getting away, even her legs worked. Soon she was tied down to the altar, completely unable to move anything but her head.
Now the People poured into the room. Someone lit the fire in the middle of the room, smaller than the one they had used yesterday, just beneath the raised area where the altar was. Soon it would be time.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Lily was terrified. Somehow, though she had resigned herself to death a while ago, now that it was truly going to happen, she didn't want to die. She struggled against her bonds, to the amusement of the guards standing near her, but they didn't budge. She knew they wouldn't. After all, they had been doing this for centuries. She stopped moving, once again beginning to cry. Nannoc was surely dead and here she was, helpless to do anything, soon to be dead as well. At least they would meet again in the afterlife.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The hysteria in the crowd was growing. Rumors were flying across the room. Someone had seen Nannoc already and he had deep wounds across his back, as if he had been whipped. Someone else had heard that there was a commotion down in the nursery the previous night. Another had heard that he had asked the Elder if he could have her for a wife, turning down several of their own girls. Someone had said that Nannoc had died and someone else was going to be the Cutter today. One person said he had asked a Healer to verify the stories, and she wouldn't say anything. Whispers of That must mean it's true and Of course it can't be. He couldn't be that stupid were heard everywhere. Then shouts were heard and the Cutter was brought out.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Elliott breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't believe any of the rumors, but the longer it took, the more he doubted. Nannoc's appearance assured him that everything was okay. Except...He wasn't wearing his robe. Instead, he was bare chested. He heard the questioning murmurs in the crowd as they noticed the same thing he did. This wasn't natural. Why wasn't Nannoc adhering to tradition? Then he turned to take the ceremonial sword from the Elder and the congregation gasped collectively.
His back was covered in blood seeping from gashes that made it look as though he had been whipped harshly. He heard one of the men who had been spreading rumors say, "I told you so!" So, that much was true. What had he done to deserve that? There was absolutely no way the rest of the rumors could be true. But were they? At least one had been true...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Her first reaction was joy at the fact that he was still alive. They must have come to heal him some time in the night. But when he turned and Lily saw the cuts from the whips, she thought That's my fault. I did that when I refused his offer. She could do nothing but watch him as he strapped the sword to his wounded back and turned to the altar. He must be in so much pain! But his face never changed. He had gone back to the blank stare that he had used the first day she had seen him.
Her heat beat faster and faster as he walked slowly up to where she was lying. She took courage in the fact that he had said he wouldn't hurt her, though his face was frightening in it's indifference. The doubts raised by her dream came back. Oh God, he couldn't! He wouldn't! He said so himself! No, he couldn't!! Her eyes widened in fear as he slowly approached the altar, sword in hand.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Nannoc watched Lily's face as he drew nearer to the altar. Was that fear? Didn't she believe in the afterlife? Why was she afraid of death? He knew it wasn't death that scared her, but how she was about to die. At his hands. A bitter smile stretched across his face. Afterlife my ass he thought. Sephirin only cares about what we do now, in this life. This is what we have. As he watched her go stiff with terror, the smile left his face. Now I understand why the People think they're better. They don't lay down their lives as if there's no choice. No, they fight to the bitter end. He turned to the bodyguard who was still standing by the altar. The guard understood that his duty here was done and left, but not before giving Nannoc a smug smile, laughing at his pain.
Pain. If Lily had taught him anything, it was that emotions only brought pain. The way he was before was better. No problems, no heart ache, no gashes in his back, no infuriating questions. Just duty. And that's all there was left now. He stepped up to the altar. He paused a moment before bending down, getting himself close to Lily's ear. He knew that the entirety of the People were leaned forward, aching to catch what he was about to say to her.
"Nannoc..." Her voice was small, almost a sob. "Nannoc, I'm sorry."
He put his hand on the back of her head. She closed her eyes, a relieved look on her face. Then he spoke, "I told you I'd get you out any way I could." She turned to him, not understanding at first, then her eyes growing wide. That's right. You understand now. He lifted the heavy sword above his head and then let it drop through the air. With a thud, it hit the wooden altar. Lily was dead.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The People cheered, some of the younger ones jumping up and down. Another Child had just become and Adult. Elliott was proud. Now that the girl was dead, Nannoc would be his old self; there was nothing left to worry about. Then, little by little, the crowd fell silent. What was wrong? Elliott glanced back to the altar. Normally the new Adult would be cheering just as much as the crowd was. Nannoc was just standing there, watching the blood drip from the sword still in his hand. Why hadn't he cleaned it? What was wrong with him?
Momentarily Nannoc woke from his reverie, cleaned the sword, and sheathed it, wincing when it hit his back. Then he stood there, staring at the crowd as the two aides went to collect the blood. After a few minutes of silence, Nannoc started to speak.
"Disgusting." His voice was thick with contempt. What was he thinking? "The way you all revel in blood and death. It's sickening. Here you are cheering for the murder of a young girl, so similar to us, who's done nothing to you." He spat at them. Elliott could hear angry mutterings from those around him. Was Nannoc trying to get himself killed? Already he had the wounds on his back; any more of this and he'd have another set on top of those.
The aides finished collecting the blood and handed the jar to Nannoc. The jar was as large as his torso and he held it, studying the jar. The crowd started to get excited again, thinking that he was going to finish the ceremony. Elliott merely watched. He knew Nannoc better than that. This wasn't over yet. As soon as he finished this though, Nannoc began to speak again.
"So, you relish the sight of blood, do you?" The People were getting frenzied again. Of course that's what they want; that's what they came here for. What are you going to do, Nannoc? Elliott thought. As if reading his mind, Nannoc glanced over to where Elliott was standing, raising the jar over his head, and said, "Then relish in this!" Elliott suddenly realized what he was about to do and started towards the place where Nannoc was standing. Before he could get there, Nannoc had already smashed the jar down on the fire, spilling the blood and quenching the fire.
The People screamed and began running into the tunnels, trying to get to the light. Most of them could not see in the dark the way those like Nannoc could. As the stench of burning blood permeated the cave, Elliott heard retching. Yet he kept on his search for Nannoc. Elliott knew Nannoc would be heading towards the exit to the Outside and ran in that direction. He didn't need to see; he knew the tunnels like the back of his hand. Battling the flow of bodies in all different directions, Elliott sprinted to the exit. He knew as he ran that he was too slow, he would never catch Nannoc. Still he ran. This stupid boy whom he used to call "friend" had just screwed everything up. He called the People disgusting. He condemned them for their sacrifices. He had blasphemed against Sephirin and Ophelia. He had to be caught and brought to justice.
At last Elliott reached the exit to the Outside. He burst into the light, shielding his eyes. He paused and waited for his vision to come back. He peered in every direction, searching for any sign of Nannoc or his trail. He didn't find any. He laughed bitterly. Of course he wouldn't find any trail; this was Nannoc, the one with the best skills as a Hunter the People had ever seen. Elliott pledged, looking off into the woods, that he would find Nannoc and would be the one to show that traitorous bastard what happened when you insulted the People and disobeyed Sephirin. With that, he turned and went back into the cave.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
So..
It's been awhile since I last posted. Been just a little busy. A couple tests just came and went (did a lot better on those than I thought I was going to), last weekend was the first home game of the season, this weekend I went to Newton, then home to watch the Urbandale Marching Invitational, got sick halfway through and went home before seeing any of the bands I particularly wanted to watch. This week is homecoming, and another quiz is just around the corner. So...Sorry to everyone tearing their hair out waiting for the last bit of Questions. Hopefully it will come out soon. Probably next week at the earliest.
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