Fanfiction.

No one wants to get trapped in fanfiction or be remembered only for that shite story they wrote two years ago. Pidgeonholed, they call it.

Like Jim Carrey, great dramatic actor, but when he's not funny, too many people go "What the fuck?". Dan Green, "It's time to duel!". No one wants to be trapped.

So, if anyone noticed, I've tried that too. Sure, my favs are down, my visits are nearly non-existent (and yes, I know they only picked up with that one rather graphic story). But I enjoy my original work the most, really, I do. I would much rather write about exploding volcanoes or research roads and license plates and learn new words and phrases in other languages and talk with foreigners about what they love about their country and how they feel about being from there and how they view other nations. Yes, I love. I love using stereotypes and breakng them apart. I enjoy it. It does more than amuse me.

But there is a time in every person's life when they look back at the work they never posted or published.

And this is where that comes into play.

I have more than 160 pages of this story. It's called Captive. And I will now post a short part of it for your enjoyment. If I see no interest in the week, it will be killed. If there are at least twenty people who comment and say "Please, we want more" it will live.

I have to be firm on this. It still needs editing. But I have not much else to do. I can't seem to crank out another poem, Sandra has Project Yellowstone. Book Two can't go forward until she sends it back. Curse you higher education, ha ha. Just kidding. Summer is going to be busy after that picks back up. Still, it's rather amazing. I will be pretty impressed to see her juggle her personal story (IT HAS DRAGONS!) and Project Yellowstone.

But until then, I have time.

Now, please enjoy this small snippet from "Captive"



Zuko looked at her tied to the trunk of the tree. He looked at the pirates with the Avatar. “How much for the scroll?” he asked. Aang looked at Katara. All three of them stared disbelievingly at Zuko. “Two hundred gold pieces,” said the captain suspiciously. Zuko snapped his fingers and a young officer pulled out two small leather bags. Zuko dumped them out into his big palm, “Is this enough?”


“Not for the Avatar.”


“No,” Zuko said, his eyes narrowed in aggravation, “for the scroll.” The captain nodded greedily. He walked over to Zuko and took the money. Zuko took the scroll and tucked it into his belt. Zuko stepped backwards from the smirking pirate captain. Zuko was ready to take his crew with him. This plan left him with a bad taste in his mouth. It also made him feel queasy, but this was the only way he could think of to get the Avatar.

If he had his way, he would have never involved the girl. His instincts told him something big was about to happen. He was ready to give the signal for a retreat if things looked dodgy. Zuko was even ready to take the girl to keep her from getting injured in the fray. These were not men of honor. If they got their hands on her there was no telling what could happen to her. She was a young girl and there was no way he could leave her and risk having her fall into the hands of scum. Zuko shook those thoughts from his head. He rationalized: even if the Avatar escaped he would finally have some leverage with the girl. Zuko was satisfied with that reason.

Zuko didn’t like the glint in the captain’s eyes.

Aang and Sokka both began to try to manipulate the crew. Sokka told them, “Why not take the scroll and the Avatar? Then, you can sell both!”

Zuko’s back tensed as the pirates began to talk among themselves. The soldiers stood behind the young prince and waited. Katara watched as they began to fidget beneath their heavy uniforms. She watched Zuko raise his hand and twist his wrist so his thumb pointed outwards. Katara felt two strong hands grab her and take her off the tree. She didn’t have the chance to struggle against the soldier’s superior strength. Katara still could not move her hands or her legs. She couldn’t bend anyway; they were too far from water for her to use it to escape. She felt them pull her away towards Zuko’s ship.

Her mouth was covered before she could call out to Aang and Sokka for help. Katara was taken away as a wall of soldiers acted as a screen to mask her departure. She watched her brother duck and she saw one of the pirates lunge at Aang. She felt a gag pushed past her dry lips as she struggled to free her tied hands so she could bend once they reached the river. But the tight knots Zuko had made were impossible to break free of. The soldier who grabbed her swung her over his shoulder like a bag of rice.

She struggled in front of the ship as she heard blasts of fire from the clearing. She heard Aang and Sokka scream and she heard Appa’s loud bellow and Zuko’s orders to return to the ship.

‘Did they get away?’ She was panicked and all she could hear was the beating of her heart. She silently prayed that Appa had been able to swing in and save her boys. ‘Appa, please save Aang and Sokka and fly as far away as you can from here,’ she pleaded to the furry beast. She hoped he felt her panic and somehow hear her frantic pleas. Her head knocked into a steel wall. She heard a muffled “Sorry, Miss,” through the soldier’s helmet.

She was taken below deck by the soldier. The soldier ran down the stairs with her jostling up and down. She was taken into the belly of the ship and another soldier materialized in front of her as she bobbed up and down precariously. He was in a heavy uniform and his faceplate was drawn down. “Should we tie her legs more?” he said to the soldier carrying her.

The soldier nodded, “That sounds like a good idea. We should tie her hands behind her back, so she can’t bend.”

Katara felt ropes wrapped around her legs. She felt them tighten around her thighs and calves. The soldier left the hinge of her knees passed over as special attention was paid to her ankles. The soldier carrying her set her down on her immobilized legs and held her steady as the other man tied her shoulders. Then, he tied her arms to her waist and surveyed his work. He gave a nod of approval and the other man slung her over his shoulder again.

The soldiers picked up a brisk pace as they went deeper into the ship. Katara tried to pry herself away from the soldier but his grip was too tight. “I’m sorry Miss,” he whispered, “but I can’t let you get away. Prince Zuko wants you to be unharmed and we can’t guarantee that if you start bending water at us.” The soldier sighed, “I don’t want to hurt you either; if anything, I’d like to see you leave this ship in better shape than you are in now.”

Her blue eyes went wide at the firebender’s words. Katara stopped her movements for a second. She tried to absorb what was being said. The soldier behind her nodded and his helmet bobbed comically, “Just be on your best behavior and everything will be fine. The Prince is a good young man—” The man carrying her cut in, “Deep down!” Both soldiers laughed.

The three of them stopped in front of a large steel door. The soldier who had added ‘preventative measures’ opened the door for her and his comrade. She was set down onto the large bed of a steel room that was promptly closed. Katara’s eyes bulged as she watched the heavy Z-shaped lock clunk ominously.

She looked around the room to find the furnishings too well-made and ornate for a prisoner. He looked at the huge Fire Nation insignias embroidered onto heavy red tapestries that hung on the wall. She maneuvered her body upwards and fell on her bottom. She could see a very ornamental altar. She saw golden Fire Nation relics rest on the altar in no particular order or pattern.

The room was large and the smell reminded her of the certain someone she wanted to watch jump into any river or ocean or cliff. Katara cleared those thoughts from her head. Her family had taught her better than that. She swallowed hard.

Katara worked out the impromptu gag with her tongue and steel will. She gagged as the taste on dirty rag became noticeable.

‘Did they make it out?’ she wondered.






CHAPTER TWO

Zuko and all of his men had escaped the pirates to the ship. Zuko didn’t mind that the Avatar had escaped as much as he would have normally. As long as the Avatar was out there for him to capture he would be okay; as long as no one else had the Avatar he could be okay for another day.

Besides, he had something almost just as good. He had the Avatar’s waterbender. This was good. He felt the necklace he kept on his wrist. The suede choker was soft against his skin. He put his arms at his sides as his men siphoned into their rooms to rest. The boat was already barreling through the water.

Uncle was suddenly at Zuko’s side. “Nephew, do you need to rest?” Zuko shook his head tiredly. He looked out at the approaching ocean, “I think I’ll keep watching for a while.” He paused, “Is she okay?” Iroh shook his head, “I don’t know, but I think you should check on her yourself.”

He was about to leave when he remembered the scroll. Zuko stopped midstep, “Uncle, can you hold onto this for me for a little while.” Zuko pulled out the scroll from his belt. “What a wise investment, Nephew,” said Iroh. Zuko walked in front of his uncle and handed the scroll over, “Thank you, Uncle.”

Iroh put his hand on Zuko’s shoulder. “I have great news,” he said. Zuko looked hopeful, “What is it Uncle?” Iroh smiled, “I’ve found my lotus tile. It was in my sleeve this whole time!”

Zuko stared at the small white tile in his Uncle’s big hand.
Uncle Iroh then closed his thick fingers around the tile. His Uncle’s huge grin was grating at this moment. He pinched the bridge of his nose to calm himself. He looked back at his uncle. His brow furrowed, “I’ll go check on her then.”

He walked away. Zuko licked his lips. There was no use getting angry. That little Pai Sho tile had brought him closer to his goal: capture the Avatar and restore his honor.

Zuko saw one of his guards and stopped him. The man saluted the sixteen year-old prince, “How may I be of service?”

Zuko received the salute with, “Where is the waterbender?” The soldier nodded at the blunt question of the prince, “She’s in your room, Sir.”

Zuko glared, “What made you think that was a good idea? She has everything I own at her disposal to escape!” He felt his momentary calm evaporate in the heat of his anger, “Whose stupid idea was that?”

“Yours, Sir,” said the soldier. Zuko exhaled a small flame and smoke, “What makes you say that?” The soldier stiffened, “You said it would be best to keep her in the middle of the ship away from water. Your room was the best candidate, besides, she’s still in bondage.”

Zuko felt the heat rise in his face. “Fine. Just… go… get something to eat.” The soldier quickly took his leave. Zuko slapped his forehead.




I'm not sure what people want to see to be honest. Only that I refuse to see the movie. At least Jesse McCartney would have looked like Zuko with the right make-up and his acting abilities are pretty good, just needs some fine tuning. He's got angst down pretty well too. I'm still disappointed.

So, tell me what you think about this snippet. Remember, its life is squarely in your hands.

At the moment I'm doing well. I've been put on a vitamin regimine to help my eyes and anemia. Also, to help my such and such. Yup, my health is being taken care of right now. I feel a bit better. My skin and nails haven't inproved and neither have my eyes or hadaches, but the nosebleeds haven't happened in a few weeks and my hair seems to be growing in straigher rather than a thick spirally curl. (weird, eh?)