Post # 9 - All goods things must come to an end

Chambly Maralise - must meet her timely--or untimely---demise.  Post by class time on Wednesday so we can discuss.

Sep Caverly is in some way responsible. Read Chambly's post and complete by Friday class time.



Everyone else should complete by Monday, May 15th. Your character must include the death in some way.  You cannot change the narrative of Chambly or Sep.

#8 - All Boxed In (Due by the end of class on Wednesday May 3rd)

"IKEA is having a massive sale on doorknobs and lampshades, and almost everyone in town has shown up! They've even invited a special local celebrity to the sale, BoBo the clown. About an hour into the sale, the power goes off, all the doors close and lock (none of the blog characters are responsible (optional)). The police are calling it a hostage crisis, and suspect that the lock-in is connected to the murders."

# 7 - Somewhere over the rainbow...

It's late afternoon and there was a brief pop-up thunderstorm.  The storm has stopped and the sun reappears.  It's 11:32 in the morning.  Now, a double rainbow curves over the neighborhood. One rainbow ends in the middle of the pond. Where the rainbow ends, bubbles are gurgling out of the pond. The other end of the rainbow ends somewhere in the woods.  There is a farmer's market set-up between the pond and the water tower. Some people wander toward the pond while others are too caught-up in the recent news to pay attention.

People are headed to free waffles at the Karnival Diner.  They look up to see the rainbow while waiting in line and talk about the recent discovery. Afterward, some head toward the flea market set-up between See's Cafe and the abandoned apartment building. They hear birds chirping in the willow trees.

The day before, a cop walks into the diner like usual, but suddenly announces that he's discovered the missing body from the "Gazebo Murder."  It's been a year since the crime was committed, but the mystery game party murder still lingers, too. Somehow, the discovery doesn't sit well with most people.

#6 - Still waters run deep (Due Jan. 24th)

The Winthrop IKEA was massive. The high ceilings and clean white everything gave the inside of the blue warehouse a pristine shimmer. But it was easily the worst IKEA in America. For starters, none of the employees spoke a word of english, only swedish. Locals can walk the aisles for hours looking for an employee to help them, only to be brushed off with a simple “nejröst.” The IKEA has quickly become notorious for their terrible service. Second, there have been multiple reports of hair found in the meatballs. Whether it is from the workers or the horses, is yet to be determined. Even with all these reasons to avoid the IKEA, locals can’t seem to stay away from the cheap plastic furniture and easy to assemble tables.

Lately, Mab has been frequenting the IKEA. If you come at the right time, you can catch him whipping up some labranoodles in one of the model kitchens or taking a cat nap in the bedroom section. And if you’re brave enough and know the password, he will tell you your fortune. He did after all, predict the murder that occurred weeks ago.

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     Things are still really cold in Winthrop Place, but it hasn't gotten any colder since the last post. In the forest, someone has put up a shiny new blue mailbox.
     The post office in town is only used for out of town mail deliveries. If someone wants mail delivered in town, the mail goes Into one of the the blue mail boxes around town. There are three mailmen, Logos, Pathos and Ethos. Logos is really mean and grumpy all the time. Pathos is kind and loved by all of the residents. Ethos is pretty unknown and rarely seen. At any given time, two of the mail men are sick, and only one is working. This changes every week.
     The mailbox that Logos picks up from is by the underground trailer park. It's rusty, with nails sticking out of it and covered in dents. People are afraid that if they get too close, they'll get Tetanus and to get the box open, you have to jerk the door open. 
     Logos is missing a hand.
     The mailbox by the apple trees is Pathos's mailbox. There's a jasmine plant growing around the mailbox, but it never grows over the opening of the mailbox. Pathos always gives out gifts when he delivers mail.
     The mail box by See's coffee is Ethos's mailbox. It's a normal mailbox--what were you expecting?
     The mail men only pick up from their mailbox, but distribute all over Winthrop Place. It's gamble to put your mail into a mailbox because it's always a mystery which two mailmen are sick.
     Now that there's a new mail box, it must mean there's a new mailman too. Who's the new mailman? And how will the new mailbox evolve to resemble them?
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Between the Elementary School and the shop called Rose Records, there is an alley. One sunny afternoon, I heard the back door of the school open, which startled me, and out came a simple janitor. From my hiding spot- my mouse hole, I watched the janitor take a look around him, checking to see if anyone was around. Then, from his pocket he pulled out a pouch of tiny woodworking tools. He then began fixing up the tiny houses that lined the alley. The houses, I discovered, were indeed not for me and my mouse family, but for fairies. These Fairy Houses were architecturally beautiful. They were whimsical, and dramatic, and I had never seen anything like them. The walls were made entirely of small twigs, with roofs made of leaves. They glittered and sparkled in the light, and he had carefully placed a strand of twinkle lights throughout the town. After the janitor had finished these tiny additions, he quickly looked around, as if he had awoken from a dream. He hurried off quickly, in the direction of the elementary school. Once the daylight began to turn into twilight the dewdrop sized lights clicked on, as they were on a timer. I heard the thudding footsteps of an over excited elementary schooler and just as I began to shrink back into my hole, a young boy that looked to be about 6 rounded the corner. His hazel eyes widened in wonder as he took in the mystical sight that he beheld. He turned and scurried away before returning with a whole gaggle of elementary schoolers who suddenly fell silent at the delicate fairy town before them.

In the following days I witnessed the same group of elementary schoolers return to the fairy houses to gather and stare in their childhood wonder that still believed in the possibility of magic. Midway through the week, one child, the same young boy who first discovered the houses, began leaving crumbs of food for what I could only assume was his form of an offering for the fairies he believed inhabited the small, shimmering houses. Other children then began leaving food while some chose to leave doll shoes and brushes.
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Around the back of the police station, up past Redwood Avenue, a few steps into the field, lays a circular pond, framed with silver maple trees and the rusting CP water tower. Sometimes, in the dead of winter, when most of the trees have shed their leaves, and the sky is bright and the air is cold, the pond is occupied by a few, warmly bundled skaters, making use of the ice while it lasts.

While, technically against the city law, the policemen enjoy watching the families gather to skate. They seem to have a soft spot for the icy pond, and on quiet days, when snow lazily drifts down from the clouded sky, they’ll let a few inmates go out back and skate for a hour or two. After the jitters of navigating slippery ice disappear, the worn, tired faces of the men and women transform into broad smiles, and even though the officers are watching them carefully, it almost feels like they are really truly free.

Almost everyone in the city has donated to the Little Free Library of Ice Skates; each year the collection almost doubles. Somehow, whatever size shoe you need can be found tucked in the corners of the small lilac box.

If you look close enough under the surface of the ice, there is a singular purple mitten embedded under a thick layer of glazed water, frozen and thawed time and time again each season. A couple walks along the edge when they notice a crack in the mesmerizing ice. As they looked closer, they notice a gaping hole in the frozen water. The mitten is gone.

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Memo and the Kelp Forest

There is a boy in the aquarium. He has blonde hair with a blue streak in the front. His name is is Memo. His mother was eaten by a shark back when he was a wee youngin. His dad whose name is Gerald works at the aquarium as the curator of aquatic life and is secretly trying to find mermaids. The reason Memo’s mother was eaten by a shark was because of her husband’s research that went too crazy - she was all about adventure and swam right into a shark trap. Memo is standing in front of the tank.

There is only one tank in the aquarium that all of the animals share. There seems to be some kind of trance over the animals; they live in perfect harmony with one another, so there has never been need for another tank. Occasionally, fish are removed, added, or exchanged, but nobody knows how they get there.

Memo notices a bunch of small fish gathered against the glass at one place. He goes to explore their strange behavior and notices a hairline crack in the glass running from the bottom of the tank to the top. Some of the fish look shimmery and seem to be appearing and disappearing around the crack. Memo reaches out to touch the crack, and feels a pull in his gut. Suddenly, the aquarium disappears around him and he is in the middle of the ocean. He looks around underwater, noticing that he is still able to breathe. He is in the middle of a flat sandy area, devoid of plants or any sea life besides some small grey fish. He looks down, and the ground is covered in scales that have been seemingly discarded from an animal. They seem to have lost any life or color they may have once possessed. Off in the distance, there is a forest of sea kelp, tall and dark in the murky water. He is afraid to move. His hand is still held out, and he can still feel the small crack in the aquarium glass, even though he can no longer see it. The sunlight that is left in the sky to filter through the water is tinged green. He focuses his eyes on the kelp forest, which is swaying back and forth in the gentle current. He stares for such a long time that he begins to see shapes in the water by the forest, as if large animals were swimming slowly, lethargically in and out. He gasps and steps back, his hand losing contact with the glass. The ocean disappears around him and he is back in the aquarium.

WHAT? I have to use all of these? No. Choose the one that will best help you in developing your character. The scene should be used throughout your blog to enhance/build your character. You are certainly allowed to use more than one, but try not to make it a list of sites you've visited.

#5 - Happy holidays??

It has been 2 weeks since the murder mystery party murder.  The neighborhood has been on edge.  But the holiday is fast approaching and everyone is relieved for something to take their minds off the murder.

The neighborhood is showing signs of the holiday season.  There are...

But also, some people have noticed decorations that seem a bit off, like they should be decorations, but they seem more ominous than festive...

In addition, there are several people dressed up as..... (christmas/holiday theme) and are ..... around the neighborhood

Each blog character receives a gift from an anonymous source....

As the day moves on into the evening there are several events that are meant to celebrate the season...


And finally, the evening is capped-off with a tree lighting at the top of Winthrop place.


After the lighting of the beautiful tree your character ends-up at the.....

Use the group drawings and your individual drawings to create your story.

#4 - Who Done It? Due date: Oct. 26th

The weather has dropped to the high 30’s during the day and well into  the 20’s at night. It has become the coldest winter Winthrop Place has ever seen and it’s expected to become even colder as the year progresses. Some trees still hold onto their leaves but for the most part the leaves are scattered over the streets, no one has cleaned the streets yet.

There becomes a concern that the circus folk are the ones causing the strange things happening all over town, there’s a rumor that says the ring leader is the one that left the pool of blood a few weeks before.

In the lobby of Winthrop Place there’s a sign up inviting the residents to a Murder mystery themed party encompassing the entire 7th floor. The host as also slipped flyers for the party under everyone’s door, but who is the host? It’s held on a Saturday night, those who RSVP are given roles in the party’s mystery.

Surprisingly, everyone wants to go and receives the invitation under their door at exactly at 11:11 PM. The invitation reads:

"Hello. We are excited that you are coming to dinner with us. Hopefully, you will make it through the night. This is a black tie affair, please dress accordingly. Take care to prepare your character roles. Your life may depend on it.

Time: 8:18

Place: 7th Floor storage room" (It's a huge space with various, discarded items, boxes and whatnot)

Here are your roles:

Party host - Sep

Detective - Paul Paul

Sidekick - Ava

Murdered - Briar

Murderer - Sail
The Mayor - Eadon
Doctor - Tom
Professor - Jupiter
Race Car Driver - Micheal
Rich Housewife - Timma
Real Estate Agent - Maxwell
Butler - Ridley
Maid - Margo
Waiter - Lev
Waiter - Joon
Waiter - Chambly
Cook - Maya
Lawyer - Beck
Bank owner - Banks(of course!)
Husband of rich house wife - Ed
Author - Nathaniel
Accomplice - Mab

At one point, about 9:31 PM, the lights go out, there's a scream, and the lights come back on. There is a dead body, but it isn't one of the above people. It is, in fact, the side kick to the circus ring master. When the lights come on, he is laying on the floor next to the party's murdered person, Briar. The actual murderer isn't the party's murderer. In fact, now there is a real murder on their hands. You should write your character to that moment: when the lights come back on. You can start at any point, but end at that moment.

#3 - You're invited-- Due date: Oct. 4th

The circus has deserted the plot they were occupying. It’s dusty ground still contains the glass shards from the incident in the gold tent. The blackout and exploding chandeliers. “Random,” people in the town call it, “Not worth our time,” the police declare. But is it?

Many residents have noticed that same energetic man advertising the circus, and the round circus master have stayed behind. They have been seen at the underground trailer park, where they’ve apparently rented a trailer.

The bar is hosting a forum, an environmental group that preaches ideals of a smaller carbon footprint and energy star washing machines. It’s an invitational only event. So far invites have been sent to all residents on Winthrop, but no one knows who sent them.

It’s started to get colder. Frosty winds and temperatures below 50 have become a regular. There’s been no snow so far.

Your blog should be between 400 - 500 words only.

Characters:

There are no specific pairing of characters this week, but you should read some blogs and write another character into your scene this week in some way. Below is the part of the above scene that you will use. In this scene, your character will learn something essential, frightening, enlightening, disturbing, or joyful about his or herself that has never revealed itself before. Whatever it is, it should shift the character out of past actions and motivations into something new.


Those who go to the forum:
Chambly, Sail, Joon, Ed, Tom, Ridley, Paul, Briar, Micheal, Beck, Margo

Those who worry about or encounter the two circus people who stay:
Mab, Eadon, Sep, Banks, Nathaniel, Maxwell

Those who struggle with the cold:
Ava, Maya, Jupiter, Timma, Lev