Wordless Wednesday - 177

Weekend Writer's Retreat - 34

Here's the latest installment of Scorpius' boyhood back story.

Scorpius is a character from my dark fantasy work in progress. For the first twelve scenes posted for the Weekend Writer's Retreat, we follow him as a seven-year-old, outgrown from the nursery where he'd been brought up with the other children of the blood. When no one from his family claimed him, Scorpius was released to serve a scarred and intimidating master.

The next twelve scenes follow Scorpius as a ten-year-old seasoned falconer's apprentice. The more he understands of his world, the more he learns to beware the nobles who come to the cottage for the hunt. The political intrigues that take the lives of its players can burn anyone who comes too close - including a falconer and his boy.

We rejoin him at age thirteen.

You can follow the progress of this story arc by clicking on the Works in Progress link just under the blog header.


Scene 34

Lord Dirske rejoined Richolf and Scorpius, leaning in to say, “So far I’ve been pleased with this event, Falconer. This is merely housekeeping.”

Richolf nodded but said nothing, glancing down at Scorpius, his eyes shadowed with warning. Scorpius’ heart pounded in his chest. He didn’t want this to happen. He didn’t want to be here. But the noble stood right beside them. There was nowhere for Scorpius to go.

Lord Dirske got what he requested at the very first cut of the lash. The young guard, who’d seemed so worldly and seasoned when they’d stood together watching the hunt, now screamed so that Scorpius’ hair stood on end. He couldn’t look, repelled by the way the young guard’s body flailed against his bonds. But there was no way to stop up Scorpius’ ears.

He was a heartbeat away from puking by the time the young guard was cut out of his bonds. How he wished he hadn’t glanced up at that very moment when two men from the detachment took the faltering guard by the arms and dragged him away. It was only a glance, but it was enough. More than enough.

Lord Dirske turned to Richolf, making final adjustments to his doublet. “The cottage will make for a nice little nest,” he said, a terrible smile playing over his face.
But Richolf simply bowed smartly and deeply. “My pleasure to serve, my lord.”

The noble turned while Richolf was still in the midst of speaking and strode away. Scorpius’ master froze for a moment. Then he let out a deep sigh, straightened and ran a hand through his hair.

“I want you to find out where they took that poor bastard,” Richolf said in a low voice. “Get him some water, some fresh cloths to clean him up with. You can’t enter the cottage. You’ll have to take the bandages from the hawk supplies.”

“Yes, sir,” Scorpius said. He dashed off in the direction they’d dragged the young fellow. It didn’t take long to spot the huddle of guards and to hear the moans of the one who’d failed to silence the only slave to have responded to her circumstances as logically as possible.

Scorpius passed the supplies to the man who’d swung the lash. Up close, he could see the dismay in the older man’s eyes at what had just transpired. The young guard’s moans continued in a stream of mindless suffering. Glad to be rid of his duty, Scorpius hurried away to rejoin Richolf, but his master was not where he’d left him.

Once he found him, Richolf ordered Scorpius to do this for the nobles and that for the servants, ensuring that everyone had whatever it was they needed. His master didn’t stretch out on the grass for a few hours of sleep until the night was nearly over.

Scorpius resorted to shaking his head and hopping in place to stay awake so he could assist his master. Once everyone was settled, Richolf chose a patch beneath a giant tree and stretched himself out. With a private nod between just them, Richolf motioned for Scorpius to join him.

Laying on the lumpy grass beside his master, he returned Richolf’s sad gaze for a long moment. Then the falconer reached out his hand and brushed Scorpius’ cheek where it was still tender from the blows his master had given him at the start of this nightmare hunt.

How mortified Scorpius had felt to suffer that first physical correction before this assembly.

“Problem, falconer?” Lord Dirske had asked, just after Scorpius had informed Richolf of his error in judgment, the one that had led him to feed the hawks before the hunt. His master had hesitated. Panic had flooded his master’s eyes, panic stemming from Richolf knowing only too well what type of man was asking as to whether Scorpius had created a problem.

Before Richolf’s hand withdrew from Scorpius’ cheek, Scorpius reached up and clasped it with his own. A bruise was not a lacerated back. Hurt feelings and confusion when he hadn’t realized, well they were not the same as those shrieks the guard had made.

© Julia Smith, 2010

5 on Friday - Set 42

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

A Piece of My Mind heads into its second week of our journey through nine decades of recorded popular music.
















1 - It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing - 1932 - Duke Ellington

It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing

It don't mean a thing
All you got to do is swing

It makes no difference if it's
Sweet or hot
Just give that rhythm
Everything you've got

It don't mean a thing
If it ain't got that swing

- Ellington / Mills



2 - Lullaby of Broadway - 1935 - Wini Shaw

The rumble of a subway train
The rattle of a taxi
The daffodils who entertain
At Angelo's and Maxie's

When a Broadway baby says goodnight
It's early in the morning
Manhattan babies don't sleep tight
Until the dawn

Goodnight, baby
Goodnight - the milkman's on his way
Sleep tight baby
Sleep tight - let's call it a day

- Dubin / Warren



3 - Begin the Beguine - 1938 - Artie Shaw



4 - Oh, Johnny, Oh, Johnny, Oh! - 1939 - Andrews Sisters

Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny
How you can love
Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny
Heavens above

You make my sad heart jump with joy
And when you're near I just can't
Sit still another minute

Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny
Please tell me dear
What makes me love you so?

You're not handsome, it is true
But when I look at you
I just, Oh, Johnny! Oh, Johnny! Oh!

- Olman / Rose



5 - Moonlight Serenade - 1939 - Glenn Miller

CLICK HERE to listen to the music clip

Thursday Thirteen - 186 - 13 Ways to Admire Jared Padalecki

1 - A tall drink of water with a passion for rescuing damsels in distress - furry four-footed damsels, that is. Jared Padalecki is a hero on the small screen and off.











2 - Jared Padalecki - currently appearing as Sam Winchester on Supernatural

6' 4"

Eyes - Hazel/green

Hair - Brown

Type - Athletic / Late 20's

He works as an actor / Animal rescue activist

Works in television / Film














3 - Jared grew up in San Antonio, Texas, and concentrated on acting though he'd once made plans to attend college.

Appeared on Gilmore Girls for five seasons (2000-2005)

Portrayed painter Thomas Kinkade in the made-for-television film The Christmas Cottage (2008)

Like his Supernatural co-star Jensen Ackles, Jared has done a lot of genre work, including:

Friday the 13th remake (2009)
Cry Wolf (2005)
House of Wax (2005)

Next photo is straying into Not Safe For Work territory...

























4 - Jared keeps in tiptop shape for the grueling stunt schedule required of his role on Supernatural.






































5 - No matter how delicious Mr. Padalecki may be, he's strictly eye candy, ladies - he belongs to Mrs. Padalecki, Idaho-bred actress Genevieve Cortese.

Also an actress, Genevieve met Jared on the set of Supernatural, when she had a featured role as an is-she-or-isn't-she-helping-Sam demon named Ruby.


















6 - Jared has appeared for the past six seasons as younger Winchester brother Sam. Along with his older brother Dean, he follows in the footsteps of his father, a hunter of the paranormal. When vengeful spirits, ghouls, angry pagan gods and all manner of gruesome beasts start taking down humans, the Winchesters step in and start taking down monsters.













7 - Sam looks so adorable when he's sad. Just sayin'.

Sam's sensitive nature sometimes pits him against his brother Dean as he tries to find alternatives to destroying the monsters they encounter. Of course, there's a reason Sam needs to believe that monsters can somehow be freed from their own natures.












8 - Remember my soft spot for a man in chains?

...well...

Supernatural gives us a tied-up Sam with wonderful regularity.















9 - And then there's the fact that Evil Sam is disturbingly attractive.














10 - I'm also quite fond of Sam's staring-down-disaster expression.











11 - But it's his straight-man-to-Jensen's-wisecracking role that is Jared's biggest strength.

These two actors hadn't met before being cast as brothers on Supernatural, but the producers played cupid to a real life bro-mance between them. They got along so well, they even lived together before they each married, and they were both there for the other on their wedding days.

Here's a clip that showcases their easy chemistry with each other. The clip has fun with the premise of the show when Dean and Sam need to become patients in a haunted mental health facility. Sometimes it pays to simply tell the truth...

(Note: in the clip they are using aliases.)

CLICK HERE to watch clip















12 - And Jared is an awesome crier.

CLICK HERE to watch clip




















13 - Jared is a serious dog lover and animal rescuer.

His two dogs - Harley and Sadie - were once shelter dogs. Jared helps coax strays off the streets of LA and to raise money for A Dog's Life.

Wordless Wednesday - 176

Poetry Train Monday - 179 - No Pain, No Gain

I'm on Day 21 of NaNoWriMo.

I had a lot of catching up to do on my NaNoWriMo manuscript this weekend, since I'd planned to be at 37,500 words by Sunday night when I laid out my original word count graph. This year - my fourth NaNo - I had vowed to be finished ahead of time. Not 15 minutes to midnight on the 30th, like last year. Or the other years.

No, this year I was going to finish before the 30th. That was part of my word count plan. And for the first time doing this writing marathon, I was keeping pace with the other writers who'd finished early in previous years.

I'm a year-and-a-half into acupuncture treatment for my migraines and chronic pain issues, and I was having the best writing sessions ever. No crushing pain. No mental fatigue. No having to sleep with a heated Magic Bag on my neck. This NaNo was turning out to be awesome.

Then I went to my every-three-weeks acupuncture session last Saturday. My acupuncturist treated my back (which is always more of an ordeal for me) and then did gua sha.

This is what my back looked like when I got home.















That's my body shrieking. No, really. My office has had renovations recently and I'm highly chemically sensitive. I'm hanging in there, but only because I was able to move to a different desk. Still, I've been exposed to a multitude of things that bother me, and it shows in my gua sha marks.

Gua sha urges the body to detoxify, so with this much internal warfare going on, I felt hideous all week, as if I had a really bad case of flu. I muscled my way through daily word count for NaNo, but I couldn't keep up my previous pace. By Friday I was 10,000 words behind schedule.

But here's the good news. We had a swift temperature drop here in Nova Scotia over the weekend, which usually brings on a migraine for me. I had some signs of an impending migraine on Saturday morning, including the dreaded floating prism visual disturbance, which usually preceeds intense nausea and other wonderful miseries.

But remember my detoxing gua sha from last week? The visual disturbance lasted all of ten minutes or so. Nothing grew. No miseries. No narcotic painkiller.

It's all good.

I've caught up on my missing 10,000 words. My NaNo word count now stands at 36,011. So for the Poetry Train this week, I give you this opus:

No Pain, No Gain


Gua sha stripes are red
They lay you flat like flu
No pain, no gain it's said
But they sure as heck fix you


© Julia Smith, Nov. 21, 2010


For more poetry, Ride the Poetry Train!

Weekend Writer's Retreat - 33

Here's the latest installment of Scorpius' boyhood back story.

Scorpius is a character from my dark fantasy work in progress. For the first twelve scenes posted for the Weekend Writer's Retreat, we follow him as a seven-year-old, outgrown from the nursery where he'd been brought up with the other children of the blood. When no one from his family claimed him, Scorpius was released to serve a scarred and intimidating master.

The next twelve scenes follow Scorpius as a ten-year-old seasoned falconer's apprentice. The more he understands of his world, the more he learns to beware the nobles who come to the cottage for the hunt. The political intrigues that take the lives of its players can burn anyone who comes too close - including a falconer and his boy.

We rejoin him at age thirteen.

You can follow the progress of this story arc by clicking on the Works in Progress link just under the blog header.


Scene 33

The young slave raced away from the others, driven onto the open field by a shove and the crack of a whip. Her body gleamed in the torchlight, the sound of her ragged breathing tearing the air and battering Scorpius’ chest. She got about as far as a game hen would have reached.

To the approving roar of the assembled nobles, one of the lords tore after her, his battle-hardened body closing the distance between himself and his prey in seconds. Stripped down to leggings and boots, unencumbered by sword or finery, the noble cut an impressive figure as he tackled the slave to the ground, rolling them both to a stop.

Scorpius’ heart seized with dread, just as it had done the night of the cupboard, just as it had done when he’d entered the sick room to collect Richolf. Protesting incoherently as the crowd applauded the capture, the slave pushed at her attacker but he would not be denied.

His master steadied Scorpius by the shoulders when he tried to recoil. “Don’t look away,” Richolf said in the barest of whispers. “There are eyes everywhere. Our enthusiasm as hosts must not be questioned.”

Nodding once, his heart sickened by the display, Scorpius glanced over at the group of frightened slaves and wondered why only one of them had cried before it all began.

The chase was repeated until every slave had been run down and plundered by a noble. Scorpius hoped that none of those eyes keeping watch had seen his tears when the crying slave was forced onto the field.

At first he didn’t see Lord Dirske, but all at once he caught a glimpse of the noble shrugging back into his doublet, emerging from the darkness. Scorpius started backwards, but Richolf’s solid form prevented him from retreating. Grateful for the night with its cloak of shadows, Scorpius worked hard to pull himself together, hoping his tears had dried on his face.

“I have a bit of business with my guard detail,” the noble said. “Where do you take care of that sort of thing?”

Richolf paused, but only for a moment. “The…ah…the hitching posts, out front.”

“A bit of a trek, that. Nothing to hand?”

“I must consider the falcons, my lord. They’re likely to join in the screeching. Can be rather ear-splitting.”

“Ah. Well, the hitching post it is, then.”

The golden boy guard who’d shared his food with Scorpius made his measured way along the corridor between the mews, hemmed in by four of his fellows. Scorpius followed behind Richolf, who followed behind Lord Dirske. They rounded the cottage, which was being readied to house the most regal of the guests for the night.

Scorpius glanced with longing at the warm glow of the windows, knowing he was barred from his own bed. If only this was a nightmare.

But there was no waking from the sight of the young guard removing his jerkin and tunic. Why was this happening? What had the guard done, exactly?

Sick with dread, Scorpius watched as the young man was pushed to his knees, his wrists tied to one of the wooden posts. Uncoiling his lash from his belt, the sergeant stepped forward and silently offered the guard a folded piece of leather to bite upon.

The young man took the leather in his teeth and looked up for a moment at his commander. Something passed between them, something that helped the guard to brace himself.

But the sergeant had barely turned to take up his stance behind the guard when Lord Dirske strode up to yank the leather from the young man’s mouth. “It was their sniveling I didn’t want to hear,” he said. “I’m very much interested in yours.”

© Julia Smith, 2010

5 on Friday - Set 41

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

This week A Piece of My Mind sets out on a stroll through nine decades of recorded popular music.

We'll begin our journey through time with:


















1 - Rhapsody in Blue - 1924 - George Gershwin

This recording features Gershwin on piano.



2 - Blue Skies - 1927 - Josephine Baker

Blue skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but blue skies
Do I see

Bluebirds
Singing a song
Nothing but bluebirds
All day long

- Irving Berlin



3 - A Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight - 1927 - Bessie Smith

Please, oh please
Oh, do not let me fall
You're all mine
And I love you best of all
And you must be my man
Or I'll have no man at all
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight

When you hear
Them bells go ding-a-ling
All join 'round
And sweetly you must sing
When the verse is through
In the chorus all join in
There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight

- Hayden / Metz



4 - I Kiss Your Hand, Madame - 1929 - Bing Crosby

In dreams I kiss your hand, madame
Your dainty fingertips

And while in slumberland, madame
I’m begging for your lips

I haven’t any right, madame
To do the things I do

Just when I hold you tight, madame
You vanish with the night, madame
In dreams I kiss your hand, madame
And pray my dreams come true

- Erwin / Lewis / Rotter / Young



5 - When You're Smiling - 1929 - Louis Armstrong

When you're smiling
When you're smiling
The whole world smiles with you

And when you're laughing
Oh, when you're laughing
The sun comes shining through

But when you're crying
You bring on the rain
So stop your sighing
Be happy again

Keep on smiling
Cause when you're smiling
The whole world smiles with you

- Goodwin / Fisher / Shay

Thursday Thirteen - 185 - 13 Ways to Admire Jensen Ackles

1 - A chiseled face with a beautiful mouth, eyes that don't miss a thing and reveal so much, and an attitude that can't be harnessed - Jensen Ackles was obviously born to share his many attributes with far more than the hometown crowd.


















2 - Jensen Ackles - currently appearing as Dean Winchester on Supernatural

6' 1"

Eyes - Hazel/green

Hair - Dark blonde

Type - Athletic / Early 30's

He works as an actor / Director / Producer

Works in television / Film / Stage


















3 - Jensen grew up in Richardson, Texas, the son of actor Alan Ackles. He modelled as a young boy and moved into acting for television after graduating from school.

He worked steadily, receiving Daytime Emmy nominations for his work on Days of Our Lives. Aside from appearances on Dawson's Creek, most of Jensen's work has been in the science fiction / paranormal genre:

Dark Angel
Smallville
Supernatural
My Bloody Valentine remake

Next photo is straying into Not Safe For Work territory...























4 - Jensen keeps in tiptop shape for the grueling stunt schedule required of his role on Supernatural. A strong sports background almost led to a career in sports medicine.

Luckily for us, the acting genes won out.



























5 - No matter how delicious Mr. Ackles may be, he's strictly eye candy, ladies - he belongs to Mrs. Ackles, Louisiana-born actress Danneel Harris.

Also a former model and gymnast, Danneel met Jensen on the set of Ten Inch Hero, an independent film they made in 2007.














6 - Jensen has appeared for the past six seasons as older Winchester brother Dean. Along with his younger brother Sam, he follows in the footsteps of his father, a hunter of the paranormal. When vengeful spirits, ghouls, angry pagan gods and all manner of gruesome beasts start taking down humans, the Winchesters step in and start taking down monsters.














7 - I have to admit I love Dean's stare-down-authority expression, whether he's challenging his own father (above) or a scary angel (below.)














8 - I also love Dean's serious relationship with his car, a black four-door hardtop 1967 Chevy Impala. I think it's the longest and most intimate relationship he's ever had, other than his relationship with Sam.













9 - Remember my soft spot for a man in chains?

...well...

Supernatural gives us a tied-up Dean with wonderful regularity.





















10 - I'm also quite fond of Dean's taking-the-shot expression.











11 - But it's his tormented hero expressions that really do the trick for me.

Since most of my own fictional characters wear this expression at some point in my stories, I adore discovering an actor who captures it so well.

CLICK HERE to watch clip











12 - And Jensen is an awesome crier.

CLICK HERE to watch clip



















13 - Sharing a laugh with Supernatural co-star Jared Padalecki


Here's a bit of levity from the Supernatural set:

During the shoot for the Yellow Fever episode in Season 4, one of the producers encouraged Jared to miss his cue on purpose. The producer let the cameras roll while the audio playback of Eye of the Tiger, needed for the scene, blared over the location. Jensen lay out of sight on the front seat of the Impala, waiting for Jared, assuming the scene was in progress.

Keep in mind that in the world of television and film production, the actors - once embarked on a scene - must continue until they hear the word 'cut', and only from the director. Because time is money - a lot of money - on a set, when a scene is somewhat bumpy, the director will often leave the cameras rolling and tell the actors to regroup into a second or even third take in a row without stopping, as it's less expensive than calling 'cut' and doing a new set-up for a new take.

TV actors in particular get used to this shake-it-off-and-keep-going mentality. It requires the quick thinking of improv skills and is highly-valued by the studios.

In the case of the Yellow Fever shoot, the producer made the call to spend money on preventing Jared from picking up his cue in order to see if Jensen would give them something for the gag reel.

Here is what happened:

CLICK HERE to watch the clip

Wordless Wednesday - 175