Beginning Word Count: 26,806
Initially, I had thought to write fan fiction for several different series: Magnificent Seven (it has been a good long while), Doctor Who (I've never written one for that show), Speed Racer, MacGyver. However, I also have a policy to never start a new fan fiction until the one I'm working on is completed (unless I decide it is totally not going anywhere, at which point, I ditch it). Also, once a story has begun to be posted, I have committed to complete. Anyway, this particular story is still going on, so I'm afraid there might not be any other series getting a fan fiction.
Unfortunately, I've also gotten to a point in the story where it is going to be a bit difficult to write out of. It's my own fault, really. I've started with a premise that is going to be a mess.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Race to the High Road
Rating: PG
Part: Four of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed led Trixie into the emergency room at the hospital. She was not going to be a high priority for them; however, it was too late in the day to see a doctor any other way, and Speed was not about to let her injuries go untreated for that long. Besides, he could tell she was still very nervous and would probably need something to help her rest this evening. Speed led her to the nurse's station and they checked in.
Speed rubbed Trixie's back while she filled out the forms, and walked them back to the desk when she finished. He held her hand while they waited. Trixie anxiously looked around the room, as if expecting her attackers to come at her again. He wished he could say something to calm her down, but it seemed that as the day had progressed, she had gotten more and more on edge.
Speed watched Trixie and smiled at her whenever she looked at him, but she was not saying much. He wanted to know more about what had happened, as Trixie was not usually so jumpy. Finally, she looked at him, and said softly. "Tell me about the race, Speed."
"Really?" He was confused.
"Speed, we always talk about the race after it is over. Even when I've watched every turn. So tell me about it."
He nodded. She was seeking normalcy, and he was not going to deny that to her. "All right. And after we're done here, we'll go get an ice cream soda. Or whatever you want." He kissed her on the forehead. Then he started talking about the race, telling it to her from the point of view of the driver.
The view from the stands was one thing, but the view from the seat of the Mach 5 was totally different. He saw only the cars immediately near him, and Speed had a tendency to get tunnel vision while racing. He saw only the cars within striking distance of his car. Speed looked at Trixie. "Nine hundred miles is a long way. But honestly, this is a really interesting race concept. Very dangerous. No more dangerous than the Ice Caves or the Lava Tunnels though, so it was just another road hazard dreamed up by the race makers. Still, I think nine hundred miles of the same road in the same direction would have been extremely boring. Also, the sheer number of cars on the track was dangerous. A hundred cars on a one mile track? In the starting position, we filled up almost the entire track! It was crazy, Trix."
He smiled. "But you should have seen Sparky. He was brilliant. Even as a pit crew of one against full crews, he still was faster. I mean it, Trixie, Sparky was amazing." Speed then frowned. "I should have seen it. I should have seen it while driving the first lap. The pit crews were all out, but I thought they were runners for the officials. I should have seen it at the first stop. I just wasn't paying attention. If I had --"
Trixie put her finger on his lips. "It's okay, Speed. This is not your fault. Please don't blame yourself."
"How can I not? I mean, we both knew the rules of this race, and those rules would have said that the pit crew was limited to one person. They did not say that at all, and I didn't fight for you to stay with Sparky. I didn't even make sure I knew where you were, Trix."
Trixie looked down. "I could have protested too, while you were racing. I didn't have to passively accept that guy's decision. I could have pursued while you were on the track. We both made mistakes. I was stupid," she whispered.
Speed turned to her sharply and looked at her. He reached under her chin and forced her to look at him. "You were not stupid. You are not stupid. We're both blaming ourselves for this. And we should not be. Trix, you were the person attacked. You're not at fault. Okay? The only people to blame are the jerks who did this, and the ones who hired them. Okay?"
Trixie nodded. Just then, a nurse came out and called her name. Trixie and Speed stood up.
"Patients only, sir."
Trixie backed into Speed. He shook his head. "I am staying with her. My girl here was kidnapped earlier today, and we were lucky enough to get her back. But I'm not letting her out of my sight right now."
The nurse glared at him. But when she saw how Trixie was responding to her antagonism, she softened. "Dear, would you like him to stay with you?"
Trixie nodded.
"Okay," she said to Trixie. Then she looked at Speed, "But you're not to get in the way."
"Absolutely not! I just want her to be taken care of."
A few minutes later, Trixie had been asked to change into a paper dressing gown so the doctor could look at her injuries. Speed had stepped out of the room while she changed, then came back in when she let him. He offered her his jacket while they waited. When the doctor came in, he frowned then read the chart.
"Okay, Miss Nakamura?"
"I'm Doctor Jones. Please, tell me what happened and why you're here?"
Trixie relayed part of the story to him, as he examined her wrists. He stopped her for a moment and called a nurse into the room. "Please, clean her wrists up while I talk to our patient," he instructed.
He smiled at Trixie. "I would do it, but I have found that I am not quite as gentle as Nurse Simonton here is. Those rope burns look painful enough without me making it worse."
Trixie nodded and continued. He examined the bruises on her back and sides, and pressed her sides. Then he frowned. "I am ordering an x-ray to make sure you don't have any broken or cracked ribs. It sounds like there was plenty of opportunity for that to happen." The doctor looked at Speed. "You won't be able to be in the x-ray room, but you can wait outside the door. I'd like to ask you a few questions as well, so why don't I do that while Miss Nakamura's ribs are posing for their close ups." He smiled.
Trixie giggled and Speed laughed and relaxed. "All right."
Speed walked with Trixie and Doctor Jones to the x-ray room. He waited as Trixie entered the room. "It will probably take about twenty minutes to get all the x-rays. Have a seat, Mr. Racer," Doctor Jones said, taking a seat outside the xray room. Speed sat.
"What did you need to ask me?"
"It is more about her demeanor. I can tell by Miss Nakamura's physical state that she's had quite a bit of a trauma, but I don't know whether she's normally this subdued. I need to have your help to evaluate her emotional state as well."
Speed nodded. "Trixie is one of the strongest people I know, and," he paused. "I think she's struggling to keep herself from breaking down. She's both quiet and bristling with energy. I'm more worried about how she's handling this emotionally than any of the bruises or scrapes or broken bones, to be honest. Please don't think that I think she's weak or being overly withdrawn or anything. I know this was a horrible ordeal for her. I'm just worried," he concluded.
The doctor patted his knee. "That's what I needed. I'm going to prescribe a light sedative. I have a feeling she'll be having some nightmares and difficulty sleeping. She needs rest. If she does not start to come back to her normal self in a couple of days, promise me you'll help her find a therapist. This was an ordeal and she should not fear to seek help in coping with any of the emotions that come up out of it." The doctor looked at him. "You might not be able to be that person. She may need to say things that she's not ready to admit even to herself."
"Like this was partly my fault?"
The doctor shook his head. "No, that she partially blames you for it, and that's not the same think at all. And that it is okay to feel that way and she does not need to feel guilty."
It was hard for Speed to hear that Trixie might blame him.
"Mr. Racer, regardless of whether she blames you, that does not make this your fault. It is just natural that she might without meaning to do so." He smiled at Speed. "And you might blame yourself, and you should not. But you cannot be faulted for those thoughts either."
The door opened and the x-ray technician left the room, followed shyly by Trixie.
"Why don't you two go back to the examination room and wait for me while these are developed? Miss Nakamura, you may get dressed if you'd like," the doctor added.
Speed took Trixie's hand and led her to the examination room. He went in with her, then handed her her clothing before leaving the room to stand guard while Trixie changed. She let him know when she was ready.
"How are you doing?" Speed asked.
Trixie shrugged. "I'm hungry and tired."
Speed smiled.
"I'm so sorry, Speed," Trixie said, softly. "I did not tell you how proud I am that you won the race. This was a huge race, and you should be out celebrating, and instead you have to baby sit me because I--"
"Stop," Speed said. "You know I'd be celebrating with you. I like to spend time with my girl. Hospital or four star restaurant, it's the company that is important."
A few minutes later, the doctor came back. "I've got good news and bad news. First, the bad news. You have bruised your ribs. I'll ask Nurse Simonton to wrap your ribcage in a few moments."
"What's the good news, Doc?" Speed asked.
He smiled. "The ribs are neither broken nor cracked. So that means that the time to heal will be a lot shorter." The doctor took out the chart. "Okay, I'm going to give you a prescription for the pain. You have a lot of bruises. You can take two pills every four hours, or as needed if you don't need that much. And I'm giving you a prescription for a salve. I want this to be placed on those wrists every twelve hours. Nurse Simonton is going to bandage those up for you too, so Speed you'll need to watch her to see how to do it. Trixie won't be able to do this herself. Finally, I'm prescribing a light sedative. This is to be taken once a day at bedtime."
"Is that really necessary?" Trixie asked.
"Yes. Getting rest is very important, and the sedative will help you rest which will help you heal. You'll be having a bit of pain which will interfere with you resting."
Trixie nodded. "What about travel?"
"Travel?"
"We're scheduled to fly home tomorrow. Can I?"
Speed looked at the doctor.
Doctor Jones looked at the chart. "Yes, but I want you to take a sedative once you get on the plane."
Trixie paled. It was one thing to sleep at home or in the safety of her hotel, but out exposed on the plane?
"I will be right beside you," Speed confirmed.
She nodded. "Okay."
As soon as the nurse had wrapped Trixie's ribs and wrists, Speed and Trixie headed out. They stopped at the pharmacy to pick up the presciption.
Today's Word Count: 2,165
Total Word Count: 28,971
Friday, November 15, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
November 14 - Speed Racer Fanfic - The Race to the High Road, Part 3
Beginning Word Count: 25,033
I am trying on a different title to see how I like it. We'll see if it fits.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Race to the High Road
Rating: PG
Part: Three of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed quickly pulled the gag out of Trixie's mouth while Sparky hunted for a knife to cut the ropes binding Trixie. "Trixie? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" He held her tight for a moment.
Trixie nodded and tried to keep calm. Her eyes were watering, but she blinked away the tears. Speed was here.
"Sparky, how's that knife coming?"
"Can't find one. I'll go get one from the front desk, or the Mach 5."
"Call Inspector Detector," Speed said.
"I'm on it," Sparky said. He ran out into the hallway.
Speed turned to Trixie. "I'll see if I can't work on some of these knots, okay? Let me know if I'm hurting you."
"Okay," Trixie said with a very shaky voice.
While Speed was working on the knots, he asked her, "Did you see who did this?"
Trixie nodded her head. "But I don't know who they were. I've never seen them before."
"Do you want to tell me what happened, or would you rather wait for the Inspector?" Speed pulled on one of the ends and frowned. "I'll tell you this much, they know how to tie a knot. Trixie, I can't get this untied."
Trixie's breath hitched and she nodded. Speed immediately moved to hug her. "I'm sorry, Trix. I hate this."
He looked into her face and saw how strong she was trying to be and how close she was to breaking.
"Where is Sparky with that knife," Speed muttered. A moment later, the door opened, and Sparky came in.
"The man at the desk had a pocket knife which he loaned me. I've called Inspector Detector, and he's on his way over," Sparky handed Speed the knife, knowing that there was no way that Speed was going to allow him to cut Trixie free.
"Thank you," Speed said as he took the knife and immediately kneeled on the floor behind Trixie to start cutting carefully at the ropes.
When he finally got the ropes cut, Speed looked at her delicate wrists. He could tell how much Trixie had struggled to free herself, just by looking at the rope burns. They looked painful. "We need to get you to a doctor."
"Okay," Trixie whispered.
Speed finished untying her legs and pulled her to him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, princess. I'm so sorry," he whispered over and over.
Trixie nodded. "At least," she started then began again, "At least they brought me here and I knew you'd be back and find me."
Speed looked at her. "I will always find you."
She nodded, then looked down. Waiting for the Inspector was hard. She wanted to tell Speed what happened, what they'd said. But she did not know if she could go through that more than once. The truth was, she was very frightened, and what they had told her had her even more afraid.
Speed walked Trixie over to the sofa and sat down with her. Sparky looked on in concern. Trixie was rather quiet, and it just seemed wrong. She was not effusing over how glad she was to see them. She was just quietly sitting there, as if she was trying to keep herself together. Speed didn't seem to know what to say.
Trixie had not even asked about the race.
Sparky looked at Speed, then to Trixie. "So, did Speed tell you he won?"
Trixie shook her head. She didn't say 'congratulations' or 'that's wonderful' or 'I'm proud of you, Speed.' She just shook her head that he had not told her.
Sparky looked over to Speed, who met his eyes and nodded. That was certainly not a good sign.
In short order, Inspector Detector arrived. Sparky let him in. The Inspector and Sparky pulled chairs over and sat them across from the couch.
"Trixie, are you able to tell me what happened?" Inspector Detector said.
Speed held her hand as Trixie took a deep breath. She looked at the Inspector and started her story.
"I was watching Speed on the track. He was in the lead after the first reverse, and it was terrifying and thrilling to watch at the same time. But there was a big crash, about ten cars or so, and that's when it happened. One minute I was enjoying the race, and the next moment, I was screaming for help as two men grabbed me. But they were so busy watching the crash that they didn't even notice that I was begging for them to help me.
"They took me to one of the garages, one that didn't have a pit crew. I guess it wasn't being used for this race. But, you know those chains that are used to lift the engine?"
The men nodded.
"They wrapped me in the chains and lifted me up high above the floor. I was terrified I was going to fall. And they said that this was just one of the many things they could do. They could leave me in Speed's pit, or make it so no one would ever find me. I screamed for help, and no one came. They just laughed. Then they dropped the lever and I fell, almost to the floor. They laughed more at me as they took me out of the chains and tied me up. They drove me all around, showed me places they could leave me. Caves they could throw me in and collapse, abandoned wells they could drop me in. Abandoned buildings where no one would ever look. And if they didn't decide to kill me, they would keep me away, and use me to make Speed race the way they wanted him to."
Speed placed his arm over her shoulders and pulled her to him as he stared at Inspector Detector.
"Why did they do this Trixie?" The Inspector asked.
Trixie refused to look at either of them as she said, "Because they want Speed to stop racing. But I can't let that happen."
"What?" Speed asked. "What do you mean you can't let that happen?"
"Speed, I've been sitting here for a while waiting for that race to be over. I've had a long time to think about it. I can't let you stop racing because of me. I won't let you give up your dreams for me. And I will not be used as a pawn in some way to hold you hostage while your dreams slowly die, all becuase you've got to protect me. So no, I cannot let that happen. The way I see it, there are only two ways out of this: you give up racing or we break up," she paused with her breath hitching with tears she refused to shed. "We break up in a way that makes them believe you'd never care about me again." She turned away from him, trying very hard to be brave.
"Trixie, that's not going to work," Speed insisted.
"I will not let you give up your dream, Speed. I won't. You will resent me in the end, and we'll end up breaking up, only this time it will hurt so much more because you'll hate me. If we do it now, it will hurt but not the same."
Inspector Detector shook his head. "Trixie, if you and Speed break up, they'll just try to find another person they can use. Maybe it will be Mrs. Racer or Pops or Spritle."
Trixie looked at Inspector Detector in absolute horror, and her carefully constructed front of bravery after the ordeal crumbled. Speed held her tightly as she cried, and he glared at Inspector Detector. Speed was not used to seeing Trixie in this condition. She was always so brave, so strong. But her ordeal today had completely stripped that away from her and left her vulnerable in ways he did not know how to handle.
"I assume you have a third option, Inspector," Speed said through grated teeth.
Inspector Detector nodded. "I do." He looked at Trixie. "We need to discuss it, but I think that the young lady is in desperate need of a doctor."
Speed looked down at his girl, sobbing on his shoulder, and took note of the robe burns on her wrists, and the oval shaped bruises he could see on her arms that continued to where he could not see. Trixie was a mess and in deparate need of a doctor. He frowned. How could he have been so callous to have not taken care of her immediately, not demanded that she see a doctor before any of this was discussed.
"No, I don't want to," Trixie whispered.
"You need to, princess," Speed said softly. "But I don't care what they say, I'm not leaving you unless you ask." He glared at the inspector. "You can make sure that happens, right?"
"Absolutely," Inspector Detector said.
Trixie nodded. "I don't want you to leave me, Speed. Please."
Speed scooped Trixie up in his arms and carried her. Sparky followed with Inspector Detector. Speed took Trixie to the Mach 5, while Sparky rode with the Inspector.
While they rode, Trixie looked at Speed. "Did Sparky say you won?"
He offered her a half smile, "Yeah, Trix, he did. And the last hundred laps I was certain you were in danger, so Sparky was trying to find you while I raced."
"You knew? You knew I was in trouble, before I didn't show?" she asked him in awe.
Speed smiled. "You're my girl. I just wish I had known earlier. Maybe we could have found you before..."
Trixie shook her head. "I didn't want you to miss out on the race. It was important."
Speed pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. He looked at her intently. "It was a race. There will always be another one. You are more important to me than any race, and there'll never be another you."
Trixie looked away, and Speed hooked his finger under her chin and turned her face back to his. "Believe it, Trix. You are far more important to me, despite what you might think."
Trixie nodded.
Today's Word Count: 1,773
Total Word Count: 26,806
I am trying on a different title to see how I like it. We'll see if it fits.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Race to the High Road
Rating: PG
Part: Three of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed quickly pulled the gag out of Trixie's mouth while Sparky hunted for a knife to cut the ropes binding Trixie. "Trixie? Are you all right? Did they hurt you?" He held her tight for a moment.
Trixie nodded and tried to keep calm. Her eyes were watering, but she blinked away the tears. Speed was here.
"Sparky, how's that knife coming?"
"Can't find one. I'll go get one from the front desk, or the Mach 5."
"Call Inspector Detector," Speed said.
"I'm on it," Sparky said. He ran out into the hallway.
Speed turned to Trixie. "I'll see if I can't work on some of these knots, okay? Let me know if I'm hurting you."
"Okay," Trixie said with a very shaky voice.
While Speed was working on the knots, he asked her, "Did you see who did this?"
Trixie nodded her head. "But I don't know who they were. I've never seen them before."
"Do you want to tell me what happened, or would you rather wait for the Inspector?" Speed pulled on one of the ends and frowned. "I'll tell you this much, they know how to tie a knot. Trixie, I can't get this untied."
Trixie's breath hitched and she nodded. Speed immediately moved to hug her. "I'm sorry, Trix. I hate this."
He looked into her face and saw how strong she was trying to be and how close she was to breaking.
"Where is Sparky with that knife," Speed muttered. A moment later, the door opened, and Sparky came in.
"The man at the desk had a pocket knife which he loaned me. I've called Inspector Detector, and he's on his way over," Sparky handed Speed the knife, knowing that there was no way that Speed was going to allow him to cut Trixie free.
"Thank you," Speed said as he took the knife and immediately kneeled on the floor behind Trixie to start cutting carefully at the ropes.
When he finally got the ropes cut, Speed looked at her delicate wrists. He could tell how much Trixie had struggled to free herself, just by looking at the rope burns. They looked painful. "We need to get you to a doctor."
"Okay," Trixie whispered.
Speed finished untying her legs and pulled her to him in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, princess. I'm so sorry," he whispered over and over.
Trixie nodded. "At least," she started then began again, "At least they brought me here and I knew you'd be back and find me."
Speed looked at her. "I will always find you."
She nodded, then looked down. Waiting for the Inspector was hard. She wanted to tell Speed what happened, what they'd said. But she did not know if she could go through that more than once. The truth was, she was very frightened, and what they had told her had her even more afraid.
Speed walked Trixie over to the sofa and sat down with her. Sparky looked on in concern. Trixie was rather quiet, and it just seemed wrong. She was not effusing over how glad she was to see them. She was just quietly sitting there, as if she was trying to keep herself together. Speed didn't seem to know what to say.
Trixie had not even asked about the race.
Sparky looked at Speed, then to Trixie. "So, did Speed tell you he won?"
Trixie shook her head. She didn't say 'congratulations' or 'that's wonderful' or 'I'm proud of you, Speed.' She just shook her head that he had not told her.
Sparky looked over to Speed, who met his eyes and nodded. That was certainly not a good sign.
In short order, Inspector Detector arrived. Sparky let him in. The Inspector and Sparky pulled chairs over and sat them across from the couch.
"Trixie, are you able to tell me what happened?" Inspector Detector said.
Speed held her hand as Trixie took a deep breath. She looked at the Inspector and started her story.
"I was watching Speed on the track. He was in the lead after the first reverse, and it was terrifying and thrilling to watch at the same time. But there was a big crash, about ten cars or so, and that's when it happened. One minute I was enjoying the race, and the next moment, I was screaming for help as two men grabbed me. But they were so busy watching the crash that they didn't even notice that I was begging for them to help me.
"They took me to one of the garages, one that didn't have a pit crew. I guess it wasn't being used for this race. But, you know those chains that are used to lift the engine?"
The men nodded.
"They wrapped me in the chains and lifted me up high above the floor. I was terrified I was going to fall. And they said that this was just one of the many things they could do. They could leave me in Speed's pit, or make it so no one would ever find me. I screamed for help, and no one came. They just laughed. Then they dropped the lever and I fell, almost to the floor. They laughed more at me as they took me out of the chains and tied me up. They drove me all around, showed me places they could leave me. Caves they could throw me in and collapse, abandoned wells they could drop me in. Abandoned buildings where no one would ever look. And if they didn't decide to kill me, they would keep me away, and use me to make Speed race the way they wanted him to."
Speed placed his arm over her shoulders and pulled her to him as he stared at Inspector Detector.
"Why did they do this Trixie?" The Inspector asked.
Trixie refused to look at either of them as she said, "Because they want Speed to stop racing. But I can't let that happen."
"What?" Speed asked. "What do you mean you can't let that happen?"
"Speed, I've been sitting here for a while waiting for that race to be over. I've had a long time to think about it. I can't let you stop racing because of me. I won't let you give up your dreams for me. And I will not be used as a pawn in some way to hold you hostage while your dreams slowly die, all becuase you've got to protect me. So no, I cannot let that happen. The way I see it, there are only two ways out of this: you give up racing or we break up," she paused with her breath hitching with tears she refused to shed. "We break up in a way that makes them believe you'd never care about me again." She turned away from him, trying very hard to be brave.
"Trixie, that's not going to work," Speed insisted.
"I will not let you give up your dream, Speed. I won't. You will resent me in the end, and we'll end up breaking up, only this time it will hurt so much more because you'll hate me. If we do it now, it will hurt but not the same."
Inspector Detector shook his head. "Trixie, if you and Speed break up, they'll just try to find another person they can use. Maybe it will be Mrs. Racer or Pops or Spritle."
Trixie looked at Inspector Detector in absolute horror, and her carefully constructed front of bravery after the ordeal crumbled. Speed held her tightly as she cried, and he glared at Inspector Detector. Speed was not used to seeing Trixie in this condition. She was always so brave, so strong. But her ordeal today had completely stripped that away from her and left her vulnerable in ways he did not know how to handle.
"I assume you have a third option, Inspector," Speed said through grated teeth.
Inspector Detector nodded. "I do." He looked at Trixie. "We need to discuss it, but I think that the young lady is in desperate need of a doctor."
Speed looked down at his girl, sobbing on his shoulder, and took note of the robe burns on her wrists, and the oval shaped bruises he could see on her arms that continued to where he could not see. Trixie was a mess and in deparate need of a doctor. He frowned. How could he have been so callous to have not taken care of her immediately, not demanded that she see a doctor before any of this was discussed.
"No, I don't want to," Trixie whispered.
"You need to, princess," Speed said softly. "But I don't care what they say, I'm not leaving you unless you ask." He glared at the inspector. "You can make sure that happens, right?"
"Absolutely," Inspector Detector said.
Trixie nodded. "I don't want you to leave me, Speed. Please."
Speed scooped Trixie up in his arms and carried her. Sparky followed with Inspector Detector. Speed took Trixie to the Mach 5, while Sparky rode with the Inspector.
While they rode, Trixie looked at Speed. "Did Sparky say you won?"
He offered her a half smile, "Yeah, Trix, he did. And the last hundred laps I was certain you were in danger, so Sparky was trying to find you while I raced."
"You knew? You knew I was in trouble, before I didn't show?" she asked him in awe.
Speed smiled. "You're my girl. I just wish I had known earlier. Maybe we could have found you before..."
Trixie shook her head. "I didn't want you to miss out on the race. It was important."
Speed pulled into the hospital parking lot and parked the car. He looked at her intently. "It was a race. There will always be another one. You are more important to me than any race, and there'll never be another you."
Trixie looked away, and Speed hooked his finger under her chin and turned her face back to his. "Believe it, Trix. You are far more important to me, despite what you might think."
Trixie nodded.
Today's Word Count: 1,773
Total Word Count: 26,806
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
November 13 - Speed Racer Fan Fic, part 2
Beginning Word Count: 23,112
Firstly, I do not like the title of this story, so consider it a working title. Hopefully, a better one will show up.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Conquences of Decisions
Rating: PG
Part: Two of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Sparky rushed out to meet Speed and the Mach 5 as Speed pulled into the pit after the four hundredth lap. "Make it count, Sparky!" Speed said as he quickly ran in and grabbed a drink and took care of his quick break while Sparky changed the tires and filled up the tank. Sparky was among the fastest in the business, and with only one pit crew allowed per driver, that would be imperative in this race. Speed was currently in the lead; however, he was also the first to pull in.
As soon as Speed had finished with his personal pit stop, he stepped in to help Sparky finish. He took over checking the oil and other engine fluids. Sparky nodded at him as soon as he finished with the tires and Speed climbed into the cockpit while Sparky finished tightening up the engine. Sparky gave him the thumbs up, and Speed sped out of the pit just as the next driver came in to start one. He was good for another 400 laps. But there would be one more pit stop before the end. While he had been stopped, Speed checked the standings. So far, twenty three cars had been knocked out of the race.
But that left seventy seven cars vying for the purse.
Speed was not going to give them the chance to take it from him. In another two hundred miles, there would be another turn, and that would, in turn, lead to several laps with on coming racers, and more crashes. Speed did not want to have to try to over take anyone during the cross racing laps. And he didn't want to be close enough that any other drivers thought they could try and over take him during that point either.
While he raced, Speed looked to the stands, as he always did. He liked to see if he could spot Trixie watching. Most of the time, he was not able to find her unless he knew ahead of time where to look. So it did not bother him too much that he could not find her in the crowd. He was driving very fast, and Trixie would not be impressed if he got into a wreck because he was trying to find her.
The race had been going on for three hours now and Speed was about to make the second reversal. He was not keeping an eye on the other drivers' positions on the track. He just drove. After he started the reverse loop, Speed was glad to see that he was the only driver currently driving against the oncoming racers. He dodged drivers, and noted that a few of them were actually driving towards him, rather than trying to avoid being hit. Speed hit the A button to release the auto jacks, easily clearing the oncoming car. He frowned, but did not let that distract him.
It was completely illegal for a driver to take out a fellow racer, but Speed had learned over the years that many drivers were not opposed to breaking the rules, and sometimes the law. After the second driver tried to drive straight at him, Speed got a really bad feeling. Speed called Sparky.
"Sparky, we have some rough racers out here."
"You okay, Speed?"
"Yeah. I got this. But I need you to find out where Trixie is sitting and make sure she's okay."
"Will do, Speed. Don't know where that ticket was for, but hopefully one of the racing officials will."
"You have about an hour before I'll be in for a pit stop."
"Roger that, Speed. I'll be here by that time, no matter what."
"Thanks," Speed said. He couldn't help buy have a bad feeling about this. He hoped Sparky could report that Trixie was fine and Speed was just being paranoid. Speed had found, however, that frequently whenever there were unscrupulous drivers, there were unscrupulous hench men about.
And the easiest way to weaken Speed would be to harm someone he cared about.
"Head in the race, Speed. Keep your head in the race," he thought furiously at himself. The number of cars driving in the opposite direction was getting fewer. He had seen a few wrecks behind him through this turn. Sparky would take care of Trixie, and Speed would do his job.
About thirty minutes later, Sparky came back over the speaker. "No luck. I couldn't find the racing official who kicked Trixie out of the box."
Sparky was holding something back.
"What else, Sparky?" Speed growled out.
"I don't know, Speed. Just that no one had any idea about it. But tell ya what, you'll see Trix right after the race is over. So just concentrate on the race. I'm sure Trix is fine."
"All right, Sparky. You're right. See you in twenty laps."
"Roger that!"
Speed pulled in for his eight hundred lap pit stop, and Sparky immediately started working on the tires. Speed glanced around at the other pit crews and saw that each pit had at least two mechanics. That just spoke volumes about Sparky's skills. But it also told Speed that there was trouble. As Sparky was finishing up, Speed got in the cockpit.
"Ready set, Speed!" Sparky said.
Speed nodded. "Find Inspector Detector. That official was not a part of the race. Those other pit crews have more than one mechanic Sparky. Trixie's in trouble."
Sparky's eyes grew wide as Speed took off to finish the last hundred laps. Sparky ran towards the officials' box. He burst in, this time full of purpose.
"My friend is in trouble because someone impersonating one of you told us she could not stay in the pit. So I expect some help in finding her. Got that?" he demanded.
One of the officials came up to him. "I'm Ruckous Jerman. Sorry about your friend, but how is that our fault? If you listened to someone without verifying his creditials, that's hardly something we're responsible for."
"I didn't say you were responsible. I said I expect help. You have an impersonator here, so why are you not bothered. I want to speak to Inspector Detector."
"He's in the announcer's box," Mr. Jerman said.
Sparky said nothing more to the ineffectual man, but turned immediately to go to the announcer's box. He opened the door and had a great view of the race and could see Speed easily leading the pack. Inspector Detector was watching the race.
"Inspector?"
Inspector Detector turned around. "Sparky. How can I help you?"
Sparky told him what he knew. That someone had impersonated a racing official and told them that they could only have one pit crew member, that Trixie had been given a ticket for a seat in the stands, and that he had no idea who did it or where she was supposed to be sitting.
"So she could be all right." Inspector Detector said.
"Yeah, she could be. But I don't believe it."
"This box has a great view of the stands. What was Trixie wearing?"
"Pink shirt, red pants, yellow bow," Sparky said.
The Inspector turned to the announcer. "How many laps before Speed finishes the race?"
"He's down to twenty. Next racer is half a lap behind him."
The Inspector nodded. "Sparky. Get down to the pit, just in case he needs you. I'll scan the stands for Trixie. And maybe this will all blow over and she'll meet you in winner's circle."
"You don't believe that, do you though."
"No, Sparky. I don't." The Inspector took a pair of binoculors and scanned the crowd. "I don't see her."
Sparky and the Inspector left the announcer's box and headed down to wait at the finish line. By rights, Trixie would already be there by now.
Speed smiled as he passed the white flag, signalling the last lap of this race. He pushed the pedal and gave the Mach 5 more speed. This last lap should be over very shortly. He turned the final lap and smiled as the checkered flag was waved, and Speed headed to the Winner's Circle.
He got out of the car, looking for Trixie. She was no where to be seen, but Inspector Detector and Sparky approached.
"Inspector?" Speed said.
"Congratulations on your win, Speed," Inspector Detector said.
"Thank you, sir." Speed looked around, and frowned deeply.
"As you have realized, Speed, Trixie does seem to be missing. Unfortunately, we do not know when."
"We have an idea. She was here at the start of the race," Sparky said.
"Yes, but that still gives whoever has her up to a five hour head start. And we don't know where she disappeared from, so finding those clues is going to be very difficult. My men have shut down the exits. We'll be talking to the other spectators, to see if anyone has seen her. Hopefully, we'll get some leads. Until then, we don't have anything to go on. The local police don't even think it is reasonable to report her missing yet."
"Inspector!"
"Hold up, Speed. I am not going to wait until the trail goes cold. We are going to find Trixie."
Speed nodded. He had truly been worried about her for almost half of the race, but to discover there was a reason to be worried was almost unbearable.
"Speed, they want you up at the Winner's Podium now," Sparky said.
Speed nodded, and absently went up. Usually, this was something that he enjoyed, waving to the crowd and collecting his trophy. But usually, Trixie was right there, smiling up at him. And he didn't realize how much that was his favorite part of it until she was not standing there. He liked making her proud of him.
Instead, she was in danger and he had no way of knowing where she was, who had her, and if she had been hurt.
As soon as the ceremony was over, Speed joined the Inspector, who was talking on his radio. He was nodding.
Inspector Detector hung up. "We found out where she was sitting, and about when she disappeared. My men are on the way over there to see if there are any clues to her disappearance."
Speed nodded. "I'm going to change, then Sparky and I will be at the hotel. We'll wait for you there."
Inspector Detector nodded. "Thanks, Speed. I promise you. I will find Trixie."
Speed pulled up with Sparky to the hotel where they had been staying, and parked the car.
"Speed, you okay?" Sparky asked. Speed had not said anything on the drive over.
Speed looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "of course I'm not okay. I'm worried. I'm afraid for her, Sparky."
"Me too, Speed."
They walked up to the elevators and to their hotel room. Speed opened the door and saw Trixie, bound and gagged, sitting in a chair at their table. He dropped the keys and ran over to her. "Sparky, find a knife!"
Today's word count: 1,921
Total Word Count: 25,033
Firstly, I do not like the title of this story, so consider it a working title. Hopefully, a better one will show up.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Conquences of Decisions
Rating: PG
Part: Two of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Sparky rushed out to meet Speed and the Mach 5 as Speed pulled into the pit after the four hundredth lap. "Make it count, Sparky!" Speed said as he quickly ran in and grabbed a drink and took care of his quick break while Sparky changed the tires and filled up the tank. Sparky was among the fastest in the business, and with only one pit crew allowed per driver, that would be imperative in this race. Speed was currently in the lead; however, he was also the first to pull in.
As soon as Speed had finished with his personal pit stop, he stepped in to help Sparky finish. He took over checking the oil and other engine fluids. Sparky nodded at him as soon as he finished with the tires and Speed climbed into the cockpit while Sparky finished tightening up the engine. Sparky gave him the thumbs up, and Speed sped out of the pit just as the next driver came in to start one. He was good for another 400 laps. But there would be one more pit stop before the end. While he had been stopped, Speed checked the standings. So far, twenty three cars had been knocked out of the race.
But that left seventy seven cars vying for the purse.
Speed was not going to give them the chance to take it from him. In another two hundred miles, there would be another turn, and that would, in turn, lead to several laps with on coming racers, and more crashes. Speed did not want to have to try to over take anyone during the cross racing laps. And he didn't want to be close enough that any other drivers thought they could try and over take him during that point either.
While he raced, Speed looked to the stands, as he always did. He liked to see if he could spot Trixie watching. Most of the time, he was not able to find her unless he knew ahead of time where to look. So it did not bother him too much that he could not find her in the crowd. He was driving very fast, and Trixie would not be impressed if he got into a wreck because he was trying to find her.
The race had been going on for three hours now and Speed was about to make the second reversal. He was not keeping an eye on the other drivers' positions on the track. He just drove. After he started the reverse loop, Speed was glad to see that he was the only driver currently driving against the oncoming racers. He dodged drivers, and noted that a few of them were actually driving towards him, rather than trying to avoid being hit. Speed hit the A button to release the auto jacks, easily clearing the oncoming car. He frowned, but did not let that distract him.
It was completely illegal for a driver to take out a fellow racer, but Speed had learned over the years that many drivers were not opposed to breaking the rules, and sometimes the law. After the second driver tried to drive straight at him, Speed got a really bad feeling. Speed called Sparky.
"Sparky, we have some rough racers out here."
"You okay, Speed?"
"Yeah. I got this. But I need you to find out where Trixie is sitting and make sure she's okay."
"Will do, Speed. Don't know where that ticket was for, but hopefully one of the racing officials will."
"You have about an hour before I'll be in for a pit stop."
"Roger that, Speed. I'll be here by that time, no matter what."
"Thanks," Speed said. He couldn't help buy have a bad feeling about this. He hoped Sparky could report that Trixie was fine and Speed was just being paranoid. Speed had found, however, that frequently whenever there were unscrupulous drivers, there were unscrupulous hench men about.
And the easiest way to weaken Speed would be to harm someone he cared about.
"Head in the race, Speed. Keep your head in the race," he thought furiously at himself. The number of cars driving in the opposite direction was getting fewer. He had seen a few wrecks behind him through this turn. Sparky would take care of Trixie, and Speed would do his job.
About thirty minutes later, Sparky came back over the speaker. "No luck. I couldn't find the racing official who kicked Trixie out of the box."
Sparky was holding something back.
"What else, Sparky?" Speed growled out.
"I don't know, Speed. Just that no one had any idea about it. But tell ya what, you'll see Trix right after the race is over. So just concentrate on the race. I'm sure Trix is fine."
"All right, Sparky. You're right. See you in twenty laps."
"Roger that!"
Speed pulled in for his eight hundred lap pit stop, and Sparky immediately started working on the tires. Speed glanced around at the other pit crews and saw that each pit had at least two mechanics. That just spoke volumes about Sparky's skills. But it also told Speed that there was trouble. As Sparky was finishing up, Speed got in the cockpit.
"Ready set, Speed!" Sparky said.
Speed nodded. "Find Inspector Detector. That official was not a part of the race. Those other pit crews have more than one mechanic Sparky. Trixie's in trouble."
Sparky's eyes grew wide as Speed took off to finish the last hundred laps. Sparky ran towards the officials' box. He burst in, this time full of purpose.
"My friend is in trouble because someone impersonating one of you told us she could not stay in the pit. So I expect some help in finding her. Got that?" he demanded.
One of the officials came up to him. "I'm Ruckous Jerman. Sorry about your friend, but how is that our fault? If you listened to someone without verifying his creditials, that's hardly something we're responsible for."
"I didn't say you were responsible. I said I expect help. You have an impersonator here, so why are you not bothered. I want to speak to Inspector Detector."
"He's in the announcer's box," Mr. Jerman said.
Sparky said nothing more to the ineffectual man, but turned immediately to go to the announcer's box. He opened the door and had a great view of the race and could see Speed easily leading the pack. Inspector Detector was watching the race.
"Inspector?"
Inspector Detector turned around. "Sparky. How can I help you?"
Sparky told him what he knew. That someone had impersonated a racing official and told them that they could only have one pit crew member, that Trixie had been given a ticket for a seat in the stands, and that he had no idea who did it or where she was supposed to be sitting.
"So she could be all right." Inspector Detector said.
"Yeah, she could be. But I don't believe it."
"This box has a great view of the stands. What was Trixie wearing?"
"Pink shirt, red pants, yellow bow," Sparky said.
The Inspector turned to the announcer. "How many laps before Speed finishes the race?"
"He's down to twenty. Next racer is half a lap behind him."
The Inspector nodded. "Sparky. Get down to the pit, just in case he needs you. I'll scan the stands for Trixie. And maybe this will all blow over and she'll meet you in winner's circle."
"You don't believe that, do you though."
"No, Sparky. I don't." The Inspector took a pair of binoculors and scanned the crowd. "I don't see her."
Sparky and the Inspector left the announcer's box and headed down to wait at the finish line. By rights, Trixie would already be there by now.
Speed smiled as he passed the white flag, signalling the last lap of this race. He pushed the pedal and gave the Mach 5 more speed. This last lap should be over very shortly. He turned the final lap and smiled as the checkered flag was waved, and Speed headed to the Winner's Circle.
He got out of the car, looking for Trixie. She was no where to be seen, but Inspector Detector and Sparky approached.
"Inspector?" Speed said.
"Congratulations on your win, Speed," Inspector Detector said.
"Thank you, sir." Speed looked around, and frowned deeply.
"As you have realized, Speed, Trixie does seem to be missing. Unfortunately, we do not know when."
"We have an idea. She was here at the start of the race," Sparky said.
"Yes, but that still gives whoever has her up to a five hour head start. And we don't know where she disappeared from, so finding those clues is going to be very difficult. My men have shut down the exits. We'll be talking to the other spectators, to see if anyone has seen her. Hopefully, we'll get some leads. Until then, we don't have anything to go on. The local police don't even think it is reasonable to report her missing yet."
"Inspector!"
"Hold up, Speed. I am not going to wait until the trail goes cold. We are going to find Trixie."
Speed nodded. He had truly been worried about her for almost half of the race, but to discover there was a reason to be worried was almost unbearable.
"Speed, they want you up at the Winner's Podium now," Sparky said.
Speed nodded, and absently went up. Usually, this was something that he enjoyed, waving to the crowd and collecting his trophy. But usually, Trixie was right there, smiling up at him. And he didn't realize how much that was his favorite part of it until she was not standing there. He liked making her proud of him.
Instead, she was in danger and he had no way of knowing where she was, who had her, and if she had been hurt.
As soon as the ceremony was over, Speed joined the Inspector, who was talking on his radio. He was nodding.
Inspector Detector hung up. "We found out where she was sitting, and about when she disappeared. My men are on the way over there to see if there are any clues to her disappearance."
Speed nodded. "I'm going to change, then Sparky and I will be at the hotel. We'll wait for you there."
Inspector Detector nodded. "Thanks, Speed. I promise you. I will find Trixie."
Speed pulled up with Sparky to the hotel where they had been staying, and parked the car.
"Speed, you okay?" Sparky asked. Speed had not said anything on the drive over.
Speed looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "of course I'm not okay. I'm worried. I'm afraid for her, Sparky."
"Me too, Speed."
They walked up to the elevators and to their hotel room. Speed opened the door and saw Trixie, bound and gagged, sitting in a chair at their table. He dropped the keys and ran over to her. "Sparky, find a knife!"
Today's word count: 1,921
Total Word Count: 25,033
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
November 12 - Short Thoughts
Beginning Word Count: 22,730
The Faces in the Wind
In the beginning, there was nothing. A void filled the great expanse. There were no stars or moons. A spark appeared. Just a small one, barely there. But it grew, and flickered, in the infinite dark.
And the darkness was made less.
The spark danced through the expanse, and sparks grew and spread. Lights flickered and grew. More lights came, and darkness was filled.
As the lights flickered, the wind was born. It became stronger and danced throughout the lightening void. The lights flickered stronger, and sang. Music filled the void, giving it form.
And the Wind rejoiced and flew faster through the forming void. And the song grew.
As the song grew, the form took shape.
And the skies were formed.
Clouds rode the waves of the wind, and the Wind rejoiced and blew faster.
And the music became more, and the form took shape.
And the lands were formed, with the waters. And the Tree.
And the Wind stopped in awe.
The Tree stood alone on a hill, branches flowing with leaves and flowers, giving off fragrance.
And the Wind was entranced. He blew around her, mingling with her branches and tickling the leaves, causing the air to fill with the laughter of the Tree.
And birds took shape and flew on the Wind, filling the air with their song.
The Song took shape and painted the hills with color, and thus started the cycle of life: with music and joy and laughter.
So, that was a short piece. It was sort of inspired by my drive in to work this morning. The wind was blowing and the leaves were swirling all around the car as I drove down the road. I have a really beautiful commute, to be honest. Even though I live in a sizeable city, the roads that I drive to work are lined with ancient trees. And at this time of year, they are all changing their colors and the trees are giving the appearance of fire. It's beautiful.
But when it is windy, it seems even more alive than usual.
I could almost see faces in the swirling leaves as I drove past them, dancing spirits beckoning the morning.
Today's word count is going to be low. I do apologize.
Today's Word Count: 382
Total Word Count: 23,112
Monday, November 11, 2013
November 11 - Random
Beginning Word Count: 20,996
So today was an interesting day, to say the least. I expected to sleep in, given that it was a holiday and all; however, Sam had other plans. I woke up because he was on the book case beside my bed, making some weird nose. There he was, clearly struggling to breathe and having to do so through his mouth. Yippee. Another visit to the vet. Wa Hoo. It was six thirty in the morning, and I have no idea if my vet is open or if we're going to get to go on an adventure with my eldest cat to find the emergency vet recommended by our veterinary clinic...or if our vet is open.
Anyway, as soon as he realized I was looking at him, he jumped onto the floor. And threw up. Oh joy. This is among my favorite ways to be awakened, as I am sure every person with a pet cat can attest. Cat puke before sunrise. YAY! Who doesn't love that!
Still, he was sick and he was nice enough to tell me before it (in my mind) got really serious. I decided to see if he was eating still, because having just gone though this with Thames, I was not wanting to let another cat try to starve himself. So out came the canned food, and Sam meowed just as loudly as the rest for his share -- which he ate. Good.
This translated to: if the vet is not open today, I will wait until tomorrow to take him in. It's a cold, not an emergency.
There is another unfortuante side effect to the wet food being put down so frequently (thanks in part to Thames being sick last week.) They think that they get wet food when I get up! Silly cats.
My vet opens at seven in the morning, if they are open. So I called. And they were. They were also booked, so I had to do a drop off for the wee mite. I don't really like doing that; however, if it is a choice of him seeing someone without us present or him not seeing someone at all, I'm going with him seeing the vet by himself.
Poor John woke up to hear me on the phone calling the vet and arranging to drop off Sam. So he had to get up and get ready. Then came the fun part. See, Sam is the hardest of the four cats to crate. He does everything in his power to prevent this from occuring, and he's a pretty powerful cat.
First, he'll do what he can to sink those claws into you. This is not so he can scratch you. He is trying to get some leverage to leap as far away as he can to get a head start. That you get to bleed is a secondary issue. So, there are particular ways to hold him to minimize the impact of the claws. You will be pleased to hear that I did not get scratched.
Secondly, he's a nervous piddler. The vet assistant called him a 'submissive urinator' but I call it nervous piddling. When he gets scared, nervous, startled, he piddles. This is why I did not get dressed before I crated him. It is not my first Sam Crating, and I have had to, on one occasion, change my clothes afterwards. There is no sense in getting ready for the day before crating Sam. This is also why he gets crated in the bathroom. And yes, he piddled. Not on me, but the floor, so it had to be cleaned.
Lastly, he howls. It's amazing the power of the meow that his nine pound cat can produce. And keep on producing. He was seriously louder than some of the dogs I've heard.
So anyway, Sam got crated. I got dressed. And we went off to the veterinary clinic where I told them what was going on with Sam.
Then John and I had an adventure!
Firstly, we were now hungry, so we figured that we would go get breakfast. To that end, we decided on a place called The Crestline Bagel Company . John and I split an Eggel, which I'd never heard of, and I bet most of you haven't either. Take your bagle dough and stuff it with egg, cheese and sausage. So, it's a stuffed bagel, and it was really really good. John had a latte and I had a masala chai tea. We also got bagels to go. It was really good, and we would definitely return.
After leaving the Crestline Bagel Company, we decided to see what was where and drove around until we got to a cute little shopping area I had found earlier. We went to the Western Grocery store and picked up a couple of items which we'll take to Thanksgiving. I also bought the item I had decided on a few weeks ago as part of my mother's Christmas present, and introduced John to this adorable store. they have everything (and I mean that. Kitchen gadgets, office supplies, party supplies, classic toys, new fangled toys, sewing notions, ribbons, bows, glasses, seasonal, candy....It's a really cool store.)
Then we decided to visit an area of Homewood we've been wanting to see for a bit. We looked at two awesome stores (Get Organized, and Toy Factory), then headed to Office Depot because our adventure was not yet done.
After Office Depot, we went to Big Lots, where we got our Christmas Tree. I'm very excited to see how it will look, since we're decorating strangely. We have four cats. Cats tend to view Christmas ornaments as cat toys. So that is what we will use.
When we left Big Lots, we called our vet to talk about Sam. Sam had an upper respiratory infection, so they put him on antibiotics and gave him some fluids. But he is not really in bad shape. I'm just keeping an eye on him to make sure he's eating and drinking. So long as he's not striking on either of those, he's good. And I get to have fun giving him a pill for five days. Oh joy.
By this time, it was rather tending towards hungry, so we decided to visit a restaurant near our house that we just have not tried. Moe's Original BBQ . I had a fried shrimp sandwich, and it was extremely good. John thoroughly enjoyed his chicken sandwich.
Then we got Sam.
It was a long and fun day for us, although I'm sure Sam would totally disagree.
When we got home, I figured it was past time to start on my annual holiday tradition: the Christmas CD. I make one of these every year. Last year was the 10th anniversary, and it was a double edition.
The hardship on this year's was the iTunes account. About a year and a half ago, I bought a new computer, but I kept the old one around for one reason: the iTunes account. I had not updated my new computer with iTunes. And trust me, if you've never done this, it is annoying. Even worse: iTunes has updated the software and it is NO where near as user friendly. In short: they broke it.
I donated my old computer earlier this year (after stripping it down to programming) to a friend who needed it more than I did, and part of what really took me so long to make that decision was iTunes.
However, it seemed pointless to keep a computer which was taking up space for just that reason, especially when someone truly needed one. So, I gave it to her. but the downside was that I had to reinstall iTunes.
And import my Christmas music.
Okay, let me explain about my Christmas music. I collect Christmas CDs. I suspect that I could give WalMart and Target both a run for their money in the variety. Today, I uploaded twenty nine Christmas CDs. I have a few CDs in my car which are not currently uploaded into my computer yet. So yeah, I have a lot of Christmas CDs. They are a mixture of contemporary and classic, ranging from new age to to jazz.
Unfortunately, the number of people who receive this CD has gotten completely out of hand. I gave out fifty last year (one hundred if you count the fact that last year was a double edition.) I am going to try to reel it back in. I know that there are a couple of people who will be disappointed, but it has gotten very expensive and time consuming to produce this CD. John has to do his artwork for the cover, and then it has a double burn. First the music, then the image. I do enjoy handing them out, and I work very hard to give the CD a good mix of music and tell a story with what is selected. So, for those of you I have cut this year. I am sorry. I really want to try to get this down to twenty-five CDs.
I am proud of the 2013 edition though. It has a really lovely feel. And I'm going to do something unusual and actually publish the playlist of the 2013 Christmas CD prior to distribution. Most of the versions of these have not appeared on the CD in the past (although there are a couple of returning favorites)
1. River - Sarah McLachlan
2. Let It Snow - Michael Buble
3. First Snow - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
4. Christmas Wish - Straight No Chaser
5. Christmas Can't Be Very Far Away - Amy Grant
6. Home On Christmas Day - Kristin Chenoweth
7. Merry Christmas, Baby - Rod Steward, Cee Log Green, & Trombone Shorty
8. Christmas Pipes - Celtic Woman
9. In The Bleak Midwinter - Julie Andrews
10. Gounod's Ave Maria - Barbra Streisand
11. Silent Night - Jewel
12. O Holy Night - Celtic Woman
13. Winter Wonderland - Liz Phair
14. Sleigh Ride - Clay Aiken
15. Jingle Bells - Diana Krall
16. Christmas on My Radio - Olivia Newton-John
17. The 12 Days of Christmas - Straight No Chaser
So, now that I've made the song choice, I've got to start burning the music, and John has to come up with the cover art for Meowy Christmas 2013.
Today's Word Count: 1,734
Total Word Count: 22,730
Sunday, November 10, 2013
November 10 - The Cats Report
Beginning Word Count: 18,558
Today's post is a report from each of our four cats: Logan, Thames, Gus, and Sam. Just to introduce you to them by appearance: Logan is a markle grey tabby with white socks and a white ruff. Thames is a marshmallow white cat. Gus is an orange marmelade tabby. And Sam is solid black with one white star patch on his chest. He's going grey. I'll let them tell you a little about themselves.
Hi! I'm Logan! I'm the baby, and I'm four months old. I've had a lot of excitement since my pawrents adopted me from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. Firstly, my name used to be Squirt. It's a cute name, but it did not suit me. I'm not a squirt! I'm a giant big boy kitty, and I'm fierce! Rawr!
First of all, I'm the newest addition to the family. I came home with my Meowmy and Fathpurr on October 5. That was a Caturday. I like Caturdays! Caturdays are when I get to spend time with my pawrents. They like to play with me. Meowmy picks me up a LOT. I like to be picked up and fussed over. I also like to pounce things, like feet and tails. Anything that moves is really fun to pounce. I also like to bat things.
When Meowmy and Fathpurr came to adopt me, they brought my awesome big brother Gus. He's so cool! He patrols and keeps everyone safe. He's also a little too serious, which is sad, because he's a really cool cat and I think he could be cool and fun and pounce a lot more things and he'd still be cool!! Purr!! But anyway, when I first met him, he was under the couch in the adoption center, just chilling out and being the cool cat that he is. Meowmy was a bit worried about him, and when I realized that I had to have his approval to go home with them, I started to play with him! I mean, the pawrents already knew I was cute and I could probably convince them to take me home. It was the cat under the couch that had to be convinced.
So I played with him and pounced his tail, and smacked a mouse toy to him. He sniffed it. Meowmy asked him if they could bring me home, and he said YES! So I got to come home.
I do not like cars! And Meowmy and Fathpurr put me in a car! Fathpurr rode in the back seat with me and Gus so that neither one of us would feel left out. It took for EVER to get to the house.
Oh my purrs! You should see this place.
I didn't know I was going to have three brothers. I just knew about Gus.
But I got to meet Thames and Sam. Sam was so neat. He just let me walk up to him, and then he licked me on the forehead and told me I was welcome here. And there were toys, so many toys, and I could play with all of them. I mean, before I could see toys in other places, but I couldn't get to them. But Meomy and Fathpurr had a box of toys for all of us. And they gave me a toy just for me. It's a little lion, because I'm a little lion. Rawr!
And oh purr purr. They have a tree for us to climb and sit on. And windows where I can lay and look over the whole world. I have brothers and all the toys I can play with and a tree I can climb and windows. And a feather wand.
Meowmy and Fathpurr will not play with the wand with me any meowr and I want to play! I guess I can see why they wouldn't. But it's still very frustrating.
The day after I came home, they played feather with me and I was showing how high I can jump and how smart I am. I'm very smart! And Fathpurr was really impressed. And then I couldn't move and started to shake really really hard. Meowmy held me and made me feel safe. And then it was over. Meowmy and Fathpurr told me I was okay, and I cried for a few minutes. Then I had to tell them how much I appreciated them and how much I liked it here. That was when I truly knew I was their baby kitty.
Since then, I've made good friends with Thames and play with him all the time. He's really awesome. And he's training me to be a guardian who can keep our pawrents safe. I've taken a lot of patrols and I've even guarded the house all night!
I had another shaky, and now my pawrents won't play with the feather with me. But they are just trying to keep me safe, like I'm going to help the others keep them safe.
Because I'm a good kitten and some day I'm going to be a really good cat!
I am Thames. I'm a lot more quiet than Logan, who, quite frankly, talks a lot. I am more of an observer. I came to my pawrents about a month before they got married, and they like to say they "had an unexpected kitten." I was a teensy tiny little thing, if you can believe it. I mean, if you look at me now, I'm a very big cat. Meowmy likes to call me a marshmallow butt. Personally, I feel that if she is going to insult me like that, then she should at least give me a marshmallow! Anyway.
When I met Meowmy and Fathpurr, they were at the church, and I was so small. And, if I might add, very cute. And I am still very cute. I dont' meow a lot, but I have a purr that can be heard from any room in the house.
I sat on Fathpurr's shoulder during the church service, and all the kids around him made a huge fuss over me, because I am cute. And he gave me Buffalo Chicken. It was SO yummy. They took me to the vet, and Meowmy actually guessed my name.
I was a little shocked, because people don't normally figure out our names. They give us a name, but to actually have someone figure out our name is really impressive.
Meowmy called me Thames, and I stopped and looked at her.
Then Fathpurr called me Thames, and I walked over to him.
Meowmy said Thames again and I went to her.
And that's how I got my name, which I personally think is an awesome name.
I am four years old, and up until recently, my pawrents and Gus did not really trust me with any responsibility. I cuddled, but Gus and Sam were in charge of guarding the house. And Gus, quite honestly, didn't care much for me. I was really depressed about it. And honestly, I ate a lot.
I'm not so depressed any more.
We moved to a new city a few moons ago, and it was really scary. There was a really long car ride and I rode with Meowmy. Gus and Sam rode with Fathpurr, but I got Meowmy. She put Fathpurr on the speaker and I could hear him and Gus and Sam, even though I could not smell them.
Then we stayed at a really wierd place. I didn't like it.
We came to this new place. It was small and smelled weird, but had a lot of things I knew. But Sam just was not okay. He was nervous and really scared. I tried to comfort him, and so did Gus. But he had too much stress adjusting.
Meowmy and Fathpurr and Gus and Sam and I had a meeting, and our pawrents told Sam that he could retire. He was not leaving us or anything, but his job was just to be petted and enjoy things. He advises us and tells us things that his experience can help with. Gus got promoted to Colonel, and I was promoted to Lieutenant.
Gus actually started to train me. He trusted me. And do you know what?! I like being in charge of things. I enjoy keeping our pawrents safe.
You're probably saying "you're a cat. How are you keeping your pawrents safe?"
I don't defend them against physical dangers. They can do that themselves. Gus and Sam, and now Logan, and I -- we defend our pawrents from things they cannot see. We defend their dreams, and keep bad spirits from coming into our home.
And we're very good at it.
I'm very proud of my baby brother, and I'm very proud that when I took over his training, my pawrents recognized my efforts and made me a Captain.
Gus is in charge, and he is very good. I'm learning a lot from him, and one day he will retire too. And I'll take over.
I've got to make sure I am ready when he does. Our pawrents take care of us, and we take care of them.
Colonel Gus reporting. My story is a little different. I met Meowmy several years before Fathpurr came into our lives. So I have to tell you how I met each of them seperately.
Meowmy had a cat whom she loved dearly. His name was Clio, and he died before I came to her. But I met Clio before I met her. So when I met her, I had to make sure she knew that I was hers. It was not easy. And for two reasons. First, she didn't think she actually was ready for another cat after losing Clio and secondly, she was looking at black cats!
I am not a black cat.
So when she opened a cage to meet the black and fluffy cat which shared my cage, I jumped into her arms and purred my head off. She kept trying to put me back, but I was having none of that.
It took her a few minutes to realize that I had chosen her. But once she realized she had been chosen, she accepted it immediately. Of course, the reason I was chosen by Clio is that he knew I needed her almost as much as she needed me, because I was a very sick kitten. I had double pneumonia and I was sick for a while.
But Meowmy just loved me through it. She was used to caring for Clio, who was diabetic and had to have shots twice a day.
I've always been a very serious cat, and knew that I had been sent by Clio to keep Meowmy safe. That's what he did, and he needed a new guardian for her. I was charged with this at a young age, and that makes me serious.
But I love to be cuddled and fussed over.
Then Fathpurr came, and it took me a little while to warm up to him. I never disliked him, but he was not Meowmy. Once I realized he was going to stick around, I figured I'd get to know him.
Fathpurr gives EXCELLENT belly rubs.
I was really not too excited to have Thames show up, because I was only just getting to know Fathpurr and he brought in another cat to our household. Thames was not necessary.
I mean. I'm cute. I'm handsome. I cuddle. What need did we have for a kitten?
But they brought in Thames.
We really did not get along. I mean, this kitten was completely untutored! He was ill mannered and pounced at any hour, getting in the way of my guarding the house. While he did scare away a few invaders, it was not the way you scare them to keep them away. He startled them.
And he was not interested in learning how to guard. I could not impress upon him the need.
Once we moved, though, Thames took his responsibilities much more seriously and started to understand what he needed to be doing. I have trained him, and he is really doing wonderfully.
Meowmy and Fathpurr also decided to bring in another cat. Let me be clear, I was not enthusiastic about this; however, if they had to bring one in, Logan is an acceptable addition. They were determined to do this, so I accepted Logan.
And Thames has been working hard at training the little one, with my supervision of course. I believe that he will eventually be a fully capable guardian in his own right. I am very proud of him.
I am Sam. I'm the oldest and I am the advisor for the other cats. Meowmy has had me since I was six weeks old, and I chose her. She was interested in this fluffy grey tabby thing, whom I knew to be a snob. But when I saw her walk into that room, I knew she was my Meowmy. I just had to get her to realize it. I must have climbed her leg, gotten a cuddle from her, and been put down six times before she decided she wanted a kitten who wanted her rather than a "cute" kitten.
Meowmy likes to say she had never met a kitten who wasn't cute until she met me, but now I'm a very handsome cat.
And I know that when she looks at my kitten pictures now, she thinks I am very cute. But she did not think I was cute when she met me. That kind of hurts my feelings. But I know she loves me dearly.
She had a very hard time coming up with a name for me, but she kept coming up with these foofy names. I'm really not a foofy cat. Finally, she said a name I liked. Sam. (I mean, who wants to be saddled with Purrseus. Really?)
Clio was a really great buddy for me. He accepted me immediately, and was my best friend. He took me under his wing and trained me, and never made me feel like I was unwelcome.
I don't like other people and I'm very shy.
Then Meowmy met Fathpurr, and I had to learn to accept another person in my life. I have grown to really love Fathpurr too. He's awesome!
Everything was fine until they moved. I do not like change. At all. But I got to retire, so I don't have to worry about guarding our pawrents. I do advise Gus on things, when he asks. But for the most part, I just get cuddled.
Today's Word Count: 2,438
Total Word Count: 20,996
Today's post is a report from each of our four cats: Logan, Thames, Gus, and Sam. Just to introduce you to them by appearance: Logan is a markle grey tabby with white socks and a white ruff. Thames is a marshmallow white cat. Gus is an orange marmelade tabby. And Sam is solid black with one white star patch on his chest. He's going grey. I'll let them tell you a little about themselves.
Hi! I'm Logan! I'm the baby, and I'm four months old. I've had a lot of excitement since my pawrents adopted me from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. Firstly, my name used to be Squirt. It's a cute name, but it did not suit me. I'm not a squirt! I'm a giant big boy kitty, and I'm fierce! Rawr!
First of all, I'm the newest addition to the family. I came home with my Meowmy and Fathpurr on October 5. That was a Caturday. I like Caturdays! Caturdays are when I get to spend time with my pawrents. They like to play with me. Meowmy picks me up a LOT. I like to be picked up and fussed over. I also like to pounce things, like feet and tails. Anything that moves is really fun to pounce. I also like to bat things.
When Meowmy and Fathpurr came to adopt me, they brought my awesome big brother Gus. He's so cool! He patrols and keeps everyone safe. He's also a little too serious, which is sad, because he's a really cool cat and I think he could be cool and fun and pounce a lot more things and he'd still be cool!! Purr!! But anyway, when I first met him, he was under the couch in the adoption center, just chilling out and being the cool cat that he is. Meowmy was a bit worried about him, and when I realized that I had to have his approval to go home with them, I started to play with him! I mean, the pawrents already knew I was cute and I could probably convince them to take me home. It was the cat under the couch that had to be convinced.
So I played with him and pounced his tail, and smacked a mouse toy to him. He sniffed it. Meowmy asked him if they could bring me home, and he said YES! So I got to come home.
I do not like cars! And Meowmy and Fathpurr put me in a car! Fathpurr rode in the back seat with me and Gus so that neither one of us would feel left out. It took for EVER to get to the house.
Oh my purrs! You should see this place.
I didn't know I was going to have three brothers. I just knew about Gus.
But I got to meet Thames and Sam. Sam was so neat. He just let me walk up to him, and then he licked me on the forehead and told me I was welcome here. And there were toys, so many toys, and I could play with all of them. I mean, before I could see toys in other places, but I couldn't get to them. But Meomy and Fathpurr had a box of toys for all of us. And they gave me a toy just for me. It's a little lion, because I'm a little lion. Rawr!
And oh purr purr. They have a tree for us to climb and sit on. And windows where I can lay and look over the whole world. I have brothers and all the toys I can play with and a tree I can climb and windows. And a feather wand.
Meowmy and Fathpurr will not play with the wand with me any meowr and I want to play! I guess I can see why they wouldn't. But it's still very frustrating.
The day after I came home, they played feather with me and I was showing how high I can jump and how smart I am. I'm very smart! And Fathpurr was really impressed. And then I couldn't move and started to shake really really hard. Meowmy held me and made me feel safe. And then it was over. Meowmy and Fathpurr told me I was okay, and I cried for a few minutes. Then I had to tell them how much I appreciated them and how much I liked it here. That was when I truly knew I was their baby kitty.
Since then, I've made good friends with Thames and play with him all the time. He's really awesome. And he's training me to be a guardian who can keep our pawrents safe. I've taken a lot of patrols and I've even guarded the house all night!
I had another shaky, and now my pawrents won't play with the feather with me. But they are just trying to keep me safe, like I'm going to help the others keep them safe.
Because I'm a good kitten and some day I'm going to be a really good cat!
I am Thames. I'm a lot more quiet than Logan, who, quite frankly, talks a lot. I am more of an observer. I came to my pawrents about a month before they got married, and they like to say they "had an unexpected kitten." I was a teensy tiny little thing, if you can believe it. I mean, if you look at me now, I'm a very big cat. Meowmy likes to call me a marshmallow butt. Personally, I feel that if she is going to insult me like that, then she should at least give me a marshmallow! Anyway.
When I met Meowmy and Fathpurr, they were at the church, and I was so small. And, if I might add, very cute. And I am still very cute. I dont' meow a lot, but I have a purr that can be heard from any room in the house.
I sat on Fathpurr's shoulder during the church service, and all the kids around him made a huge fuss over me, because I am cute. And he gave me Buffalo Chicken. It was SO yummy. They took me to the vet, and Meowmy actually guessed my name.
I was a little shocked, because people don't normally figure out our names. They give us a name, but to actually have someone figure out our name is really impressive.
Meowmy called me Thames, and I stopped and looked at her.
Then Fathpurr called me Thames, and I walked over to him.
Meowmy said Thames again and I went to her.
And that's how I got my name, which I personally think is an awesome name.
I am four years old, and up until recently, my pawrents and Gus did not really trust me with any responsibility. I cuddled, but Gus and Sam were in charge of guarding the house. And Gus, quite honestly, didn't care much for me. I was really depressed about it. And honestly, I ate a lot.
I'm not so depressed any more.
We moved to a new city a few moons ago, and it was really scary. There was a really long car ride and I rode with Meowmy. Gus and Sam rode with Fathpurr, but I got Meowmy. She put Fathpurr on the speaker and I could hear him and Gus and Sam, even though I could not smell them.
Then we stayed at a really wierd place. I didn't like it.
We came to this new place. It was small and smelled weird, but had a lot of things I knew. But Sam just was not okay. He was nervous and really scared. I tried to comfort him, and so did Gus. But he had too much stress adjusting.
Meowmy and Fathpurr and Gus and Sam and I had a meeting, and our pawrents told Sam that he could retire. He was not leaving us or anything, but his job was just to be petted and enjoy things. He advises us and tells us things that his experience can help with. Gus got promoted to Colonel, and I was promoted to Lieutenant.
Gus actually started to train me. He trusted me. And do you know what?! I like being in charge of things. I enjoy keeping our pawrents safe.
You're probably saying "you're a cat. How are you keeping your pawrents safe?"
I don't defend them against physical dangers. They can do that themselves. Gus and Sam, and now Logan, and I -- we defend our pawrents from things they cannot see. We defend their dreams, and keep bad spirits from coming into our home.
And we're very good at it.
I'm very proud of my baby brother, and I'm very proud that when I took over his training, my pawrents recognized my efforts and made me a Captain.
Gus is in charge, and he is very good. I'm learning a lot from him, and one day he will retire too. And I'll take over.
I've got to make sure I am ready when he does. Our pawrents take care of us, and we take care of them.
Colonel Gus reporting. My story is a little different. I met Meowmy several years before Fathpurr came into our lives. So I have to tell you how I met each of them seperately.
Meowmy had a cat whom she loved dearly. His name was Clio, and he died before I came to her. But I met Clio before I met her. So when I met her, I had to make sure she knew that I was hers. It was not easy. And for two reasons. First, she didn't think she actually was ready for another cat after losing Clio and secondly, she was looking at black cats!
I am not a black cat.
So when she opened a cage to meet the black and fluffy cat which shared my cage, I jumped into her arms and purred my head off. She kept trying to put me back, but I was having none of that.
It took her a few minutes to realize that I had chosen her. But once she realized she had been chosen, she accepted it immediately. Of course, the reason I was chosen by Clio is that he knew I needed her almost as much as she needed me, because I was a very sick kitten. I had double pneumonia and I was sick for a while.
But Meowmy just loved me through it. She was used to caring for Clio, who was diabetic and had to have shots twice a day.
I've always been a very serious cat, and knew that I had been sent by Clio to keep Meowmy safe. That's what he did, and he needed a new guardian for her. I was charged with this at a young age, and that makes me serious.
But I love to be cuddled and fussed over.
Then Fathpurr came, and it took me a little while to warm up to him. I never disliked him, but he was not Meowmy. Once I realized he was going to stick around, I figured I'd get to know him.
Fathpurr gives EXCELLENT belly rubs.
I was really not too excited to have Thames show up, because I was only just getting to know Fathpurr and he brought in another cat to our household. Thames was not necessary.
I mean. I'm cute. I'm handsome. I cuddle. What need did we have for a kitten?
But they brought in Thames.
We really did not get along. I mean, this kitten was completely untutored! He was ill mannered and pounced at any hour, getting in the way of my guarding the house. While he did scare away a few invaders, it was not the way you scare them to keep them away. He startled them.
And he was not interested in learning how to guard. I could not impress upon him the need.
Once we moved, though, Thames took his responsibilities much more seriously and started to understand what he needed to be doing. I have trained him, and he is really doing wonderfully.
Meowmy and Fathpurr also decided to bring in another cat. Let me be clear, I was not enthusiastic about this; however, if they had to bring one in, Logan is an acceptable addition. They were determined to do this, so I accepted Logan.
And Thames has been working hard at training the little one, with my supervision of course. I believe that he will eventually be a fully capable guardian in his own right. I am very proud of him.
I am Sam. I'm the oldest and I am the advisor for the other cats. Meowmy has had me since I was six weeks old, and I chose her. She was interested in this fluffy grey tabby thing, whom I knew to be a snob. But when I saw her walk into that room, I knew she was my Meowmy. I just had to get her to realize it. I must have climbed her leg, gotten a cuddle from her, and been put down six times before she decided she wanted a kitten who wanted her rather than a "cute" kitten.
Meowmy likes to say she had never met a kitten who wasn't cute until she met me, but now I'm a very handsome cat.
And I know that when she looks at my kitten pictures now, she thinks I am very cute. But she did not think I was cute when she met me. That kind of hurts my feelings. But I know she loves me dearly.
She had a very hard time coming up with a name for me, but she kept coming up with these foofy names. I'm really not a foofy cat. Finally, she said a name I liked. Sam. (I mean, who wants to be saddled with Purrseus. Really?)
Clio was a really great buddy for me. He accepted me immediately, and was my best friend. He took me under his wing and trained me, and never made me feel like I was unwelcome.
I don't like other people and I'm very shy.
Then Meowmy met Fathpurr, and I had to learn to accept another person in my life. I have grown to really love Fathpurr too. He's awesome!
Everything was fine until they moved. I do not like change. At all. But I got to retire, so I don't have to worry about guarding our pawrents. I do advise Gus on things, when he asks. But for the most part, I just get cuddled.
Today's Word Count: 2,438
Total Word Count: 20,996
Saturday, November 9, 2013
November 9 - Fanfiction and part of a Fanfic
Beginning Word Count: 16,726
Today, I'm posting a Speed Racer fan fiction. Many of you reading this may not know what fan fiction is, so a brief explantion is in order. Fan fiction is a continuation of the story, written not by the individuals or corporations which hold the copyright, but by people who love it. Sometimes, it is an exploration of minor characters or relationships that are not developed. Sometimes, it is back story for scenes wer have been given. Sometimesit is full blown amazing tales. It can come in a lot of varieties and it can cover an amazing array of genres -- books, movies, television series, games, musicians, etc. Personally, I tend to write / read fan fiction solely on television. I do not write them on books because (and this is my opinion), the author had full budget to be able to explore any relationships, stories, tangents that he or she desired. Movies are a little different. I don't tend to write / read those because they tend to have a solid beginning and end point. I don't see much point in fan fiction based on real people, and I'm not particularly interested in games.
I'm not saying I do not think these things should be written. Simply that I do not particularly have much use for them personally. I imagine there are a lot of people who have not much use for fan fiction in general, or see no point to television fan fiction. To each their own.
That being said, fan fiction walks a fairly fine line. Technically, fans are taking the creation of another person and expanding on it, sharing it. And they do not own any rights. Many fans have received cease and desist orders on their work, and many of these fans have...to some extent...brought it on themselves. Copyright holders have a certain responsibility to protect their work -- that being said, most won't go out of their way to seek out those who might be 'infringing' on it. Unless those fans do something stupid.
What is stupid?
Writing a story you are so proud of that you mail it off directly to the author. Attempting to profit off of such a story.
In general, they are frequently aware of fan fiction, but so long as they have plausible deniability, they can tolerate it. Take that veneer away from them, and they must pursue it.
So, without further ado, I give you the following standard formatting and disclaimer you will find on the top of most pieces of fanfiction.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Conquences of Decisions
Rating: PG
Part: One of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed Racer was sitting at the table, talking to Trixie, when the doorbell rang. He looked at her and she shrugged. "Are you expecting someone?" Trixie asked.
"No. Can't think of anyone," Speed said.
"Best go answer it," Trixie said with a giggle.
"Let Spritle get it."
Trixie raised an eyebrow, and Speed nodded. "All right." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen to the living room. Trixie followed him. Speed opened the door.
A man wearing a suit and dark glasses stood outside the door.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Racer," he said ominously.
Trixie frowned at him. "Who are you?" She didn't beat around the bush. This man had interrupted one of their few moments alone.
"I am Jason Teemers, and I have a delivery for Mr. Racer."
"I'll see to it my father gets it," Speed said.
"No, Mr. Racer, this delivery is for you. It is an invitation to the Americas 900."
The Americas 900 was a track race, rather than a cross country. The track was a mile long, so there would be 900 laps. The catch for this race was that the first three hundred laps were raced clockwise, the next three hundred were raced counter clockwise, and the last three hundred laps were raced clockwise. Of course, there was an inherant danger in that the faster racers would begin the counter clockwise laps while the slower racers were still racing clockwise. This danger would happen again at the six hundred lap point. There were several laps where racers would be going in opposite directions. And this was an invitation only race, open to only one hundred racers at a time. It was a race with a bad history. No more than half of the racers ever crossed the finish line, and there was usually more than one serious injury.
Pops would never want Speed to race in that race. But it was still one that was very prestigious. There was also a very large purse attached to this event. And while Pops would not admit it, it was very expensive to maintain a racing company. Speed knew they could use the winnings for this race.
Speed smiled. "Thank you. I'll let you know if I decide to race." He took the invitation as Trixie stared at him.
After Mr. Teemers left, Trixie turned to him. "You're not seriously considering that race, are you?"
Speed looked down. "You have to admit, if I win, it's a prestigious win."
"Speed! It's dangerous."
"Come on now, Trix. Racing is dangerous. Every race I enter has an element of danger." He looked at her. "Have you ever seen a single race I've entered where it was not dangerous?"
Trixie frowned. "You have a point. Are you going to tell Pops?"
"Yeah. I am. But I'm not going to keep it from him."
Trixie nodded. "Good."
"Of course, I don't think he is going to like it at all," Speed muttered.
"I should think!" Trixie said.
"Oh come on, Trix. You know I'm a good driver."
"Speed. You're an amazing driver. It's not you I'm worried about, it's the other drivers."
Speed smiled and pulled her to a hug. "I know. But I'm better." He laughed and Trixie soon joined. "So, you're going to support me when I tell Pops?"
"Of course, I'm going to support you! I always do."
"You do," Speed confirmed. "You absolutely do."
"That's because I'm your girl."
Speed hugged her and smiled. "And I'm glad you're my girl."
They spend the rest of the afternoon going over plans on how to break the news to Pops Racer, and convince him to let them go.
"Absolutely not!" Pops roared.
"Pops, I want to do this race."
"Are you out of your mind? It's dangerous!"
Speed looked at his father and counted to ten. He was only shouting because he was concerned, but Speed was not backing down. "Pops, every race has dangers. I can't think of a single race I've been in that didn't have some kind of a danger. But I'm not going to stop racing."
Pops looked at him. "You're doing this, with or without my blessing."
"Yes sir. But I'd rather take Sparky with me for the pit stops. You too, if you'd come, but I don't want to leave my team behind. I race better with them, and I know there is less chance of the Mach 5 being tampered with."
"Okay. But you're right. Sparky is going. But I'm going to stay home and see to it that Spritle and Chim Chim do not stow away.
Speed grinned.
"I don't want them hiding in the trunk of the Mach 5, Speed. And we both know they would."
Speed laughed. "Yeah, they would. And it will be nice to get some time with Trix too."
"I did not hear that," Pops said with a smile.
Soon enough, it was time to travel to the race. Trixie checked the trunk of the Mach 5 several times to make certain that Spritle had not managed to come. Mom and Pops saw them off to the plane, and they were off. Trixie was excited to be spending time with Speed, even with Sparky there. Sparky was pretty good at giving them time; however, Spritle never would.
They arrived two days before the race. Speed and Trixie visited several areas in the town surrounding it. While they did not notice, Speed Racer was being observed by a rival, someone whose company had never been able to beat him on the track or recruit him. And he had finally figured out a way to handle Speed Racer.
Speed Racer frowned and shouted at an official. "She is part of my pit crew."
"You can only have one mechanic. So who do you want working on the car," the man asked.
"Speed, it's okay. I can sit in the stands and cheer you from there. I don't mind," Trixie said. "I'll see you in the winner's circle, so don't worry."
Speed nodded and gave Trixie a hug. "Yes you will. Thank you for not being upset."
"I'm not. Really, now go and win that race." Trixie smiled. Speed leaned down and gave her a kiss. Trixie blushed.
"Oh geez, you two, save it for after the race!" Sparky said with a laugh.
Trixie giggled, and Speed put on his racing helmet, and then climbed into the Mach 5. "Go win, Speed."
"I will. Just you watch!"
Speed drove out of the bay and the racing official handed Trixie a ticket. "This is for your seat."
Trixie took the ticket and waved to Sparky once, then headed into the stands to watch the race.
It was thrilling. The cars were driving fast and furious, and Trixie shouted out, calling out Speed's name. The race lasted a while, with several cars vying for the lead position. The Mach 5 was very distinctive, and always near the front. Trixie shouted with glee as Speed was the first driver that pulled into the turnaround and started driving headlong onto the oncoming drivers. He was brilliant, dodging driver and car heading fast through the oncoming drivers. As several drivers were up to four laps behind the leaders, it would be a rough several miles as the rest of the drivers caught up. No sooner had the turns started, then the crashes started. Trixie wanted to cover her eyes, but she could not take her eyes off of the race. She needed to make sure she watched out for Speed.
Trixie was so consumed with watching the race, that she did not notice when two new people arrived in the spaces beside her. They were furtively watching her. And then it happened. Trixie screamed out when several cars crashed. There were ten cars burning. Speed was not among them.
But while the crowd screamed at the car crash, the two men who had arrived, grabbed Trixie. She screamed for help, but her cries were overwhelmed by the shouts of the crowd.
To be Continued ......
Today's Word Count: 1,832
Total Word Count: 18,558
Today, I'm posting a Speed Racer fan fiction. Many of you reading this may not know what fan fiction is, so a brief explantion is in order. Fan fiction is a continuation of the story, written not by the individuals or corporations which hold the copyright, but by people who love it. Sometimes, it is an exploration of minor characters or relationships that are not developed. Sometimes, it is back story for scenes wer have been given. Sometimesit is full blown amazing tales. It can come in a lot of varieties and it can cover an amazing array of genres -- books, movies, television series, games, musicians, etc. Personally, I tend to write / read fan fiction solely on television. I do not write them on books because (and this is my opinion), the author had full budget to be able to explore any relationships, stories, tangents that he or she desired. Movies are a little different. I don't tend to write / read those because they tend to have a solid beginning and end point. I don't see much point in fan fiction based on real people, and I'm not particularly interested in games.
I'm not saying I do not think these things should be written. Simply that I do not particularly have much use for them personally. I imagine there are a lot of people who have not much use for fan fiction in general, or see no point to television fan fiction. To each their own.
That being said, fan fiction walks a fairly fine line. Technically, fans are taking the creation of another person and expanding on it, sharing it. And they do not own any rights. Many fans have received cease and desist orders on their work, and many of these fans have...to some extent...brought it on themselves. Copyright holders have a certain responsibility to protect their work -- that being said, most won't go out of their way to seek out those who might be 'infringing' on it. Unless those fans do something stupid.
What is stupid?
Writing a story you are so proud of that you mail it off directly to the author. Attempting to profit off of such a story.
In general, they are frequently aware of fan fiction, but so long as they have plausible deniability, they can tolerate it. Take that veneer away from them, and they must pursue it.
So, without further ado, I give you the following standard formatting and disclaimer you will find on the top of most pieces of fanfiction.
Fandom: Speed Racer
Characters: Speed Racer / Trixie
Title: The Conquences of Decisions
Rating: PG
Part: One of _______ (yeah, no idea)
Disclaimer: Speed Racer is owned by Digital Manga Publishing, Tatsunoko Production, and Trans Lux and was created by Tatsuo Yoshida. The character was adapted for English by Peter Fernandez. I make no claim to ownership and am making no profit from this work.
Speed Racer was sitting at the table, talking to Trixie, when the doorbell rang. He looked at her and she shrugged. "Are you expecting someone?" Trixie asked.
"No. Can't think of anyone," Speed said.
"Best go answer it," Trixie said with a giggle.
"Let Spritle get it."
Trixie raised an eyebrow, and Speed nodded. "All right." He stood up and walked out of the kitchen to the living room. Trixie followed him. Speed opened the door.
A man wearing a suit and dark glasses stood outside the door.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Racer," he said ominously.
Trixie frowned at him. "Who are you?" She didn't beat around the bush. This man had interrupted one of their few moments alone.
"I am Jason Teemers, and I have a delivery for Mr. Racer."
"I'll see to it my father gets it," Speed said.
"No, Mr. Racer, this delivery is for you. It is an invitation to the Americas 900."
The Americas 900 was a track race, rather than a cross country. The track was a mile long, so there would be 900 laps. The catch for this race was that the first three hundred laps were raced clockwise, the next three hundred were raced counter clockwise, and the last three hundred laps were raced clockwise. Of course, there was an inherant danger in that the faster racers would begin the counter clockwise laps while the slower racers were still racing clockwise. This danger would happen again at the six hundred lap point. There were several laps where racers would be going in opposite directions. And this was an invitation only race, open to only one hundred racers at a time. It was a race with a bad history. No more than half of the racers ever crossed the finish line, and there was usually more than one serious injury.
Pops would never want Speed to race in that race. But it was still one that was very prestigious. There was also a very large purse attached to this event. And while Pops would not admit it, it was very expensive to maintain a racing company. Speed knew they could use the winnings for this race.
Speed smiled. "Thank you. I'll let you know if I decide to race." He took the invitation as Trixie stared at him.
After Mr. Teemers left, Trixie turned to him. "You're not seriously considering that race, are you?"
Speed looked down. "You have to admit, if I win, it's a prestigious win."
"Speed! It's dangerous."
"Come on now, Trix. Racing is dangerous. Every race I enter has an element of danger." He looked at her. "Have you ever seen a single race I've entered where it was not dangerous?"
Trixie frowned. "You have a point. Are you going to tell Pops?"
"Yeah. I am. But I'm not going to keep it from him."
Trixie nodded. "Good."
"Of course, I don't think he is going to like it at all," Speed muttered.
"I should think!" Trixie said.
"Oh come on, Trix. You know I'm a good driver."
"Speed. You're an amazing driver. It's not you I'm worried about, it's the other drivers."
Speed smiled and pulled her to a hug. "I know. But I'm better." He laughed and Trixie soon joined. "So, you're going to support me when I tell Pops?"
"Of course, I'm going to support you! I always do."
"You do," Speed confirmed. "You absolutely do."
"That's because I'm your girl."
Speed hugged her and smiled. "And I'm glad you're my girl."
They spend the rest of the afternoon going over plans on how to break the news to Pops Racer, and convince him to let them go.
"Absolutely not!" Pops roared.
"Pops, I want to do this race."
"Are you out of your mind? It's dangerous!"
Speed looked at his father and counted to ten. He was only shouting because he was concerned, but Speed was not backing down. "Pops, every race has dangers. I can't think of a single race I've been in that didn't have some kind of a danger. But I'm not going to stop racing."
Pops looked at him. "You're doing this, with or without my blessing."
"Yes sir. But I'd rather take Sparky with me for the pit stops. You too, if you'd come, but I don't want to leave my team behind. I race better with them, and I know there is less chance of the Mach 5 being tampered with."
"Okay. But you're right. Sparky is going. But I'm going to stay home and see to it that Spritle and Chim Chim do not stow away.
Speed grinned.
"I don't want them hiding in the trunk of the Mach 5, Speed. And we both know they would."
Speed laughed. "Yeah, they would. And it will be nice to get some time with Trix too."
"I did not hear that," Pops said with a smile.
Soon enough, it was time to travel to the race. Trixie checked the trunk of the Mach 5 several times to make certain that Spritle had not managed to come. Mom and Pops saw them off to the plane, and they were off. Trixie was excited to be spending time with Speed, even with Sparky there. Sparky was pretty good at giving them time; however, Spritle never would.
They arrived two days before the race. Speed and Trixie visited several areas in the town surrounding it. While they did not notice, Speed Racer was being observed by a rival, someone whose company had never been able to beat him on the track or recruit him. And he had finally figured out a way to handle Speed Racer.
Speed Racer frowned and shouted at an official. "She is part of my pit crew."
"You can only have one mechanic. So who do you want working on the car," the man asked.
"Speed, it's okay. I can sit in the stands and cheer you from there. I don't mind," Trixie said. "I'll see you in the winner's circle, so don't worry."
Speed nodded and gave Trixie a hug. "Yes you will. Thank you for not being upset."
"I'm not. Really, now go and win that race." Trixie smiled. Speed leaned down and gave her a kiss. Trixie blushed.
"Oh geez, you two, save it for after the race!" Sparky said with a laugh.
Trixie giggled, and Speed put on his racing helmet, and then climbed into the Mach 5. "Go win, Speed."
"I will. Just you watch!"
Speed drove out of the bay and the racing official handed Trixie a ticket. "This is for your seat."
Trixie took the ticket and waved to Sparky once, then headed into the stands to watch the race.
It was thrilling. The cars were driving fast and furious, and Trixie shouted out, calling out Speed's name. The race lasted a while, with several cars vying for the lead position. The Mach 5 was very distinctive, and always near the front. Trixie shouted with glee as Speed was the first driver that pulled into the turnaround and started driving headlong onto the oncoming drivers. He was brilliant, dodging driver and car heading fast through the oncoming drivers. As several drivers were up to four laps behind the leaders, it would be a rough several miles as the rest of the drivers caught up. No sooner had the turns started, then the crashes started. Trixie wanted to cover her eyes, but she could not take her eyes off of the race. She needed to make sure she watched out for Speed.
Trixie was so consumed with watching the race, that she did not notice when two new people arrived in the spaces beside her. They were furtively watching her. And then it happened. Trixie screamed out when several cars crashed. There were ten cars burning. Speed was not among them.
But while the crowd screamed at the car crash, the two men who had arrived, grabbed Trixie. She screamed for help, but her cries were overwhelmed by the shouts of the crowd.
To be Continued ......
Today's Word Count: 1,832
Total Word Count: 18,558
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