Week 12 Story: Common Tropes Among Story Characters

All tropes come from the TvTropes website: Source

Situational Hand Switch- The main character is injured or partially incapacitated, forcing them to use other parts of their body to accomplish tasks. We see the character grow despite their struggles.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Eragon. The character Eragon breaks his wrist and has to fight with his other arm for some time.
-Game of Thrones. Jaime Lannister had his hand cut off. The great swordsman had to learn to fight with his other arm.
-Star Wars. Luke Skywalker had his hand cut off by Darth Vader. Luke, however, gets around this by obtaining a robotic hand.
-Peter Pan. Captain Hook had his hand cut off. It was replaced by his hook!
-The MCU. Bucky Barnes (also known as the Winter Solider) lost his arm falling from a train. It was replaced with a cybernetic implant.


God of Thunder- Religions and stories love to have some sort of deity who can control lightning and thunder.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Thor. God of Thunder in the MCU and in Norse mythology. He controls lightning with a number of different weapons that only the worthy are capable of wielding.
-Zeus. The head god of the Greek Pantheon, he is known for his iconic lightning bolt he uses as a weapon.
-Jupiter. Zeus's Roman counterpart.
-Indra. Indian mythology.
-Keranos. God of storms in Magic: The Gathering.
-Zapdos, Raikou, Thundurus, Zekrom. These are all iconic legendary electric-type pokemon.


Fur vs Fang- The battle between werewolves and vampires appears in numerous media despite the two creatures having no inherent difference requiring conflict

Iconic examples of this trope:
-The 2004 movie "Van Helsing." Only a werewolf is capable of killing Dracula.
-The Underworld franchise. The entire movie franchise is based on the battle between werewolves and vampires.
-The Dresden Files. Monster hunters known as the "Alphas" can turn themselves into wolves. They fight off vampires from time to time.
-The Vampire Diaries.
-The Mortal Instruments.
-Tolkien's LOTR Universe. Vampires and werewolves both serve Sauron but hate each other.
-Twilight.

"I Just Want to Be Normal"- The main character of the story doesn't want the responsibility, powers, or strength that they have come to possess.

Iconic examples of this trope:
-Elsa in Frozen. Elsa tries to hide her powers to be seen as normal.
-Miles Morales in Into the Spider-Verse. He wants to fit in at school even before he has powers. he struggles with his powers as various Spiderman characters depend on him.
-Maximus in Gladiator. Emperor Marcus Aurelius wants Maximus to be the next Emperor. Maximus wants to return home to spend time with his family.
-Cypher in The Matrix. He aligns himself with the Matrix to catch Morpheus so they will return him to the Matrix.
-X-Men. The ongoing struggle between mankind and mutant-kind creates strife despite so many mutants wanting nothing more than to be "normal."

Mutants in the X-Men often struggle with their powers- they just want to be normal.

Source

Some tropes are so common that there's no reason to give examples that have them. Such tropes include:
The "Nice Guy"
The "Sensitive Guy"
The "Manly Man"
The "Clingy, Jealous Girl"
The "Girly Girl"
The "Damsel in Distress"

It seems quite clear that despite any storyteller's desire to create a new "type" of character, there are so many different tropes that it is almost impossible to create a new trope that does not already exist. Personalities, types of characters, types of conflict, and more are all summarized by a number of different tropes. Thus, while there are so many stories in the world, I wonder- are there not a ton of stories that are effectively the same? For example, I think of the Hallmark Christmas movies my girlfriend loves. I hate them. Why? If you've seen one, you've seen them all because the same tropes are present in every movie.
Are there a limited number of stories that can be created? Is the media, story-telling ability of the author, and the "shell" of the character (boy, girl, cat, bear, angel, alien, bacteria, etc...) all that differentiates the exact same story from another almost exactly like it? I think of Warriors (books about clans of cats who work together or fight at different points) and the MCU. In all honesty, is there that big of a difference? Both have character development, internal struggles, teamwork, and more. It's just that one is about cats and one is about superheroes. At the core, are they the same story?
This website is making me think ALOT about storytelling.

Week 11 Story: The Foolish Greedy Chipmunk

There once was a young chipmunk who lived with his mother and father in the forest. Each fall, the chipmunk family would work together to gather as much food as they could before winter arrived. This chipmunk and his parents lived through many winters by hoarding acorns and seeds they found while scavenging in the forest. They always made it thought the winter, but as the chipmunk grew to adulthood, the family found less and less food each year to store for the winter. As the chipmunk family left their cozy little home in the spring of each year, they looked thinner and thinner.

This past winter, the chipmunk and his family barely made it through the winter. Our young valiant little chipmunk knew that his parents would not make it through another winter with such little food. He volunteered to venture off to find new sources of food for the family. His parents reluctantly agreed, and the young chipmunk headed off on his adventure. He wandered for days and days, searching for a steady source of food for his family.

One week after his journey began, the chipmunk found a small grove of oak trees. Acorns galore were scattered on the ground. There was enough food to feed the chipmunk family for an entire winter! Yet, the chipmunk knew that his family would be in the situation the following spring- they would run out of food and the young chipmunk would have to journey off to find more, again. Thus, the chipmunk passed by the oak grove, knowing that he could return if he found nothing else.

Two weeks after his journey began, the chipmunk found a clearing with all kinds of berry bushes. These bushes were so plentiful that their colorful berries were scattered across the ground, ripe for the taking. Yet, the chipmunk knew his family would be in the same situation in three years. He wanted to make sure his family never needed to worry about food again. Thus, the chipmunk passed by the berry bushes, knowing he could return if he found nothing else.

A month after his journey began, the chipmunk caught of whiff of his favorite food- peanuts! The chipmunk had been raised in the South, thus he had been raised on stories of delicious peanuts. He'd only ever had the pleasure of eating them once, but he knew nothing in the world tasted better than peanuts. Following the scent, the chipmunk climbed a tree to peer over a massive peanut farm. There was enough food there for the chipmunk to feed his family for the rest of his life! He excitedly scampered down the tree to the nearest peanut plant. He yanked and yanked on the plant for a whole day until it finally came free. The chipmunk plucked the peanuts off the plant, stuffed them into his chubby cheeks, and journeyed home with a whole FOUR peanuts.

The young chipmunk stuffed his cheeks and headed home

Source

The young chipmunk returned home, just over two months from when he first set out to find food. His parents were horrified when he pulled just four peanuts from his chubby cheeks to add to the winter food storage.

"How are we supposed to live on this?" the young chipmunk's parents cried. The chipmunk explained that he would bring enough peanuts from the farm he found for the family to have food for forever! Yet, his parents were disappointed.

The young chipmunk's father took the young chipmunk under his arm and said, "My son, we simply need food to survive. At this rate, we will not have enough to make it through the winter.  Please understand that we can survive on acorns or berries, but only if you bring enough home for the family. We cannot possibly survive on your favorite food, peanuts."

As the chipmunk's father walked away, he looked back at the young chipmunk to say, "Do not let your greed be our downfall. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

Author's Note: After reading the jatakas this week, I wanted to write a story that both focuses on an animal and teaches a lesson. Specifically, I liked the story "Spend a Pound to Win a Penny" (Source). The chipmunk in this story is comparable to the monkey in that story- both wanted more than what they could have easily had, and it cost them dearly. I also wanted to add in elements of the chipmunk being too greedy, like the family in "The Golden Feathers" (Source). I tried to teach two lessons at once, as the father chipmunk states at the end of the story.

Week 9 Story: The Downfall of the Undefeated

It was January 18th, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.

The score was 19-14.

Only 2 minutes and 9 seconds separated us from the Super Bowl.

A single fluke of a play ripped that dream from us.

What happened? Two words.


Brandon. Bostick.


Those who know this name know the pain- that gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, hope-devouring pain that sticks with you for years after the fact- that this man inflicted on loyal fans of the Green Bay Packers. Even now, many still shudder at the name. Many have never forgiven him. Brandon Bostick will forever live in infamy among Packers fans, as all of us were left to ask the age-old question "what if...?"

Contextualization is vital to understanding the impact of Brandon Bostick's actions that day.
Both the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers ended the regular season with a 12-4 record. This caused the teams to be the first and second seeded teams in the NFC, respectively. Not only did this give the Packers a first round bye in the playoffs, but Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay's quarterback, was having a historic season that secured him the MVP. While the Packers were not unbeatable, there is no doubt that they were one of the best teams in the league that season.
Each team glided through their first playoff game with ease. This set up the matchup between the Seahawks and the Packers in the NFC Championship game. The winner would take a trip to the Super Bowl.

In one of the grindiest playoff games in history, the Packers took a 16-0 lead into halftime. On four scoring drives, the Packers had been held to only a single touchdown; the Seahawks technically still had life. This was despite astounding offensive and defensive dominance by the Packers.
The Packers' lead evaporated in the second half. The score was 19-7 with three minutes left in the game. With 2:09 left, the Seahawks scored again, making the score 19-14.

That's when Brandon Bostick happened.

He handed the Seattle Seahawks the miracle they so desperately needed. Rather, he couldn't hold onto the victory.

The Seahawks lined up for an onside kick. The Packers knew what was coming. They lined up accordingly. The ball was kicked. Players on both teams took off at a sprint. The ball flew the necessary ten yards through the air... directly to Brandon Bostick.

He leapt into the air to catch the ball.

It. Bounced. Off. His. Helmet.

Seattle recovered the ball.

The hearts of devoted Packers fans across the nation shattered.

The worst part? Brandon Bostick was not supposed to have ever touched the ball. His job on the play was to block, allowing Jordy Nelson to catch the ball.

Brandon Bostick's infamous onside kick recovery

Source

As the game went on, the Seahawks drove down the field. They took the lead with 1:25 left on the clock. 19-22.

Aaron Rodgers led a miraculous drive that ended with the field goal necessary to tie the game and force overtime. Yet, it was for nothing.

Seattle won the coin toss, immediately drove down the field, and scored before the great Aaron Rodgers had a chance to take the field.

The game was over.

Brandon Bostick had lost the Packers the game and a trip to the Super Bowl because he couldn't do his job. Just like that, an amazing Packers team was felled by a single mistake. A historic Packers season ended on a fluke, a mistake, an accident.

Nothing could change the fact that the season was over. The Packers were never the same afterwards.



Author's Note: I based this story on that of Bhisma. It was my understanding that he was arguably the greatest warrior in this story. Yet, he was defeated in battle. Why? He could not bring himself to fight a woman. The concept of someone who is so utterly astounding in one discipline- strength, intelligence, etc- yet has some sort of glaring weakness that turns their ability on its head spoke to me while reading the Mahabharata. This reminded me of the 2014 Packers. Like the Packers, Bhisma should never have been defeated in battle. He couldn't bring himself to fight anyone born as a woman. In that moment where Bhisma paused, he was shot full of arrows and eventually died. This was the inspiration for my story. The historic 2014 Packers, complete with MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, were defeated by something so absurd that it was unbelievable. Onside kicks NEVER work. In fact, the kickoff rules have changed since this event, making onside kicks even less likely. Yet, the impossible happened. As a die-hard Packers fan, I knew I couldn't make it through the whole semester without writing a story about them, but it genuinely made me sad to write this story. My own memories of the game came back, and the overwhelming feeling of disbelief still sticks with me today every time I think of this game.


Bibliography: The Five Tall Sons of Pandu by Richard Wilson

Week 7 Story: Beast Battling Brothers

13:00 on Monday, the 8th: A monstrous beast has been attacking Kishkindha. As both king and the city's greatest warrior, it is my duty to track down this fiend and put an end to its reign of terror in and around my city. My brother Sugriva will be hunting the beast with me. I have yet to hear of any two descriptions of the beast that match. Reports say the monster walks on two legs; others say it walks on four. It has been described in a number of different ways- scaly, furry, fiery, enormous, and even invisible. Despite these descriptions, I have little fear that beast will be too much to handle

09:00 on Tuesday, the 9th: Sugriva and I left Kishkindha this morning. Equipped with the finest weapons and a week's worth of provisions, I hope to find and slaughter this monster soon.

18:00 on Tuesday, the 9th: While we have not yet found the monster that has been terrorizing Kishkindha, we have followed its path of destruction through the forest. Trees have been completely ripped from the ground. Enormous scratch marks score the ground. Even a straight narrow creek I've seen numerous times before now bends as though it were injured by the beast! As the sun sets, I pray that monster does not devour Sugriva and myself in our sleep.

10:00 on Wednesday, the 10th: Sugriva and I have tracked the beast to a series of underground tunnels. Because my boon should afford me additional protection from the fiend, we have decided Sugriva will stand guard outside the tunnel while I venture inside. Thus, should I die during my feat of heroism, Sugriva may retrieve my body for a proper treatment before returning for reinforcements. I now plan to venture inside this musty tunnel in defense of my city.

This is the entrance of the tunnel Vali is venturing into

Source

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The evening of the 10th: Vali has not yet returned from the tunnels. He has been gone for some time. I have heard the roaring of the beast inside the tunnel. While I have not yet heard Vali's voice, I am beginning to worry.

Midnight of the 10th: With the moon high in the night sky, I can only see by the light of the moon. A sticky and warm fluid has begun to flow from the tunnel. I believe this fluid to be blood. I have no way of knowing whether this blood belongs to Vali or the beast, but I am beginning to worry my brother may not return. I did not know this network of tunnels was so vast.

Sunrise on the 11th: After a few short hours of sleep, I awoke to the rising sun. I can now confirm that blood has pooled at the entrance to the tunnels. I pray that my lapse in consciousness did not lead to my brother's death. I cannot imagine telling Tara, the woman I love, that her husband has died. Perhaps I could help her through her grief? Should Vali not return before noon, I will assume he has died.

Noon on the 11th: Without Vali in sight, I feel that I have no choice but to assume Vali has died. Surely battling the beast did not require more than a full day from the greatest warrior in the kingdom. If the beast could defeat Vali, I fear that no man will ever best the beast. Rather than waste hundreds if not thousands of good men, I realize that I have but one choice- I must leave my brother in the tunnels so I can trap the beast for good. I look at the blood in the tunnel's entrance. Surely, Vali has died.  Knowing the size and strength of the beast to be impressive, I grab an entire mountain from the neighboring region. I shove the mountain deep into the tunnel, ensuring nothing can ever escape. At that moment, I realize I must rule in my brother's stead because whether by the beast or my hand, Vali is now surely dead. It is certainly a good thing that Sugriva, King of Kishkindha, has a certain ring to it. It is a name I expect people to hear for years to come.

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Author's Note: This story was inspired by my project and the story of Vali and Sugriva. From information I could find, the story goes that the two brothers were together hunting a great monster. Vali followed the monster into underground tunnels while Sugriva stood guard at the mouth of the tunnel. When blood came dripping out of the tunnel and Vali failed to answer Sugriva's calls, Sugriva blocked the mouth of the tunnel with a mountain, ensuring that nothing could escape the tunnels- including Vali. The blood was that of the monster Vali had killed. Sugriva had trapped his beloved brother and returned to Kishkindha to claim Vali's crown and wife.

Week 6 Story: Microfiction

Dribble (50 words):

The scent of coffee and bacon woke me. Sun shone through the blinds onto my face. I stretched before going to the bathroom. The cry of the baby shattered the peace of the morning. That's when I remembered. I live alone. Whose baby was crying and who was cooking breakfast!?

Source

Six Word Story (6 Words):

My rejection letter shattered my world.



Twitterature (140 characters):

I didn’t know how to study. Lectures didn’t help. I stopped attending class, read the textbook, taught myself, and everything became clear.

Author's Note:
I wrote three stories because I felt that the second and third required so little time to write that I could put forth additional effort. Yet, I needed to do a shorter assignment this week because I have a BIG test to study for.
My idea behind the first story was somewhat silly. I had a conversation about the movie "The Hangover" with a friend of mine this morning. The conversation was still on my mind, so that was my inspiration. Obviously, my story doesn't have all the same craziness.
My second story I wrote because the same friend showed me a tik-tok (ugh) of a girl who was recording while she got the email about her rejection from dental school, and you could see her face absolutely fall apart. She didn't say anything, but you could tell exactly how she felt by her expression. Given that she could convey that emotion without words, I thought I'd use as few words as possible to do the same thing.
The third story actually comes from my roommate. He actually gave a speech in one class about how he had stopped going to the lectures for another class because the professor was not good at lecturing. He learned everything he needed by simply reading the textbook. It worked. This was on my mind because I'm really considering doing the same for one of my classes this semester...
The exercise of conveying information in so few words was not easy. Each of the stories has the maximum number of words/characters it can have, and I still want to say more.

Week 4 Story: Story Laboratory

This week I wanted to use Twine so that I can get comfortable with this technology before using it on an actual project assignment. I expect that I will want to use Twine because I can easily see the potential this technology possesses. I made my first Twine interaction focused on the NFL, as I thought that this was a straight forward and understandable way to utilize the abilities of Twine. Thus, I set Twine up recommend an NFL team to a fan hoping to find a team to root for. Simple questions then narrow the field before one of nine teams are recommended to the reader based on factors such as the team's current state, the team's historic success, and any notable players each team might have. I used the first question to sort all of the teams into three sets- two of these sets were entirely separate, but the third set could be reached by either answer to the first question. I liked how I could potentially set up the questions so that the same question could be reached by a number of different routes. I could also make questions loop back on one another.
I'm sure that if I use this to create a story in the future, I would make many fewer branching choices. Rather, I would probably treat the Twine link that takes the reader to a different page like the turn of a page in a real book. This would make the structure of the story much simpler and easier to follow. This could be especially useful to hide important details from the reader or build suspense by placing a single word on a page on the way to the climax of the story.

I am hoping that Twine allows simple links to work and that you like my first attempt using Twine!
file:///C:/Users/cbavl/Downloads/Testing%20this%20Goosebumps%20format.html

What team do you want to root for as part of America's greatest pastime?

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Week 2 Story: Too Much Kindness

A young man found himself on hard times. He had no friends, no home, and no job. With no one else to turn to, the young man found himself searching for his only living relative- his kind, wrinkled grandmother. The young man had not seen his grandmother in over a decade. He worried that she may not recognize the man he had grown-up to be. With his unshaven face and ragged clothes, the young man feared that his grandmother would not welcome him with open arms. Yet, the young man, in this rough patch of his life, felt that he had no option but to find his grandmother so he could get back on his feet.

He asked around town of his grandmother. One day, as he sat on the street corner asking for money, he overheard his family's name in the conversation of two strangers walking by.

The young man leapt up with excitement and cried, "That is me! That is my family! Do you know my grandmother?"

The startled passerby answered, "The only living member of that family lives in the next town down the road at the top of the biggest hill in the town. Surely, you can't be related to that kind old woman?"

The young man did not respond, as he had already started running down the dirt road out of his town. He did not stop running until he reached the next town. He found his way to the biggest hill in the town and ran up to the only house at the top of hill. The young man had never seen such an amazing building. He saw a grand courtyard full of all kinds of flowers and a fountain. Beyond that stood a shining white three-story building complete with columns, statues, and wrinkled old woman standing in the doorway. The young man ran to the old woman and explained that he was her grandson. The kind woman recognized her family immediately and accepted him into her home. 

The kind woman's gardenSource

The young man was given every luxury he could have desired- fresh food cooked for him, a soft bed, even money! The young man was so thankful. He promised his grandmother that he would be back on his own feet within the month. He went to sleep that night and, unfamiliar with comfortable sleeping conditions, he slept for a whole week! Upon awaking, he lost himself in the beauty of his grandmother’s flowers, the relaxing noises of her fountain, and the taste of her delicious food. The young man did not leave his grandmother’s home for a single moment all month.

At the end of the month, the kind old woman explained that the young man could continue to live with her if he needed it. However, she was too old to return to work, and he was eating into her life savings. If the young man stayed too long, the old woman would also find herself on hard times. The young man told the kind woman he would again find work by the end of the month and get back on his feet.

Another month passed. The young man had begun to eat more food, sleep more, and put on weight. It was considered a good day if the kind grandmother did not have to feed the young man in his bed. Again, the grandmother reminded her grandson that she could not support his for long. Again, the young, now round, man promised to find work by the end of the month.

The month came and went with the young man again making no progress. On the morning of the last day of the month, the kind grandmother told the young man that she could support him no longer despite their bond as family. The young man was outraged. He leapt from his bed and accused his kind grandmother of not caring about him. He reminded her that he was living on the street with no friends, no home, and no job before she took him in.

“How could you want me to return to that?” the young man cried.

“I don’t want you to find yourself on hard times,” the kind old woman answered. “Yet, I don’t want to find myself on hard times either.”

The kind woman told the young man he had until the end of the day to leave her home because she could no longer support him. The young man told his grandmother he would be gone by the end of the day. The end of the day came and went. The young man fell asleep in his bed, ignoring the sobs of his grandmother in the next room.

The young man awoke the next morning to rain falling on his face. He slowly opened his eyes to see that no roof covered his head. No blanket covered his body. No bed was underneath him. There was no food made for him. He awoke on the same streets he once slept on in his own town.

The dirt road the the man awoke on.

Source

Rather than lie in the dirt with the rain splashing in puddles around him, the young man returned to the spot of the wise old woman’s home. Everything was intact. His grandmother still lived there, seemingly as rich as before. Yet, she no longer recognized him, as though something had erased her memory. She did not welcome him into her home. Rather, the old woman asked the young man to leave.

The young man knew he had wasted his chance to get back on his feet. He should never have taken advantage of someone who was only trying to help.

Author's Note: 

Reading the Jatakas for this week, I saw that each story was trying to teach a lesson. The majority of these stories used animals as their medium. I chose not to follow this route because I felt the lesson to be learned is more easily understood if the story is about humans. I liked the lesson of the "Crane and Crab" story where the crane's downfall was his own trickery. I attempted to take that sort of teaching moment and apply a slightly different lesson.

Bibliography. "The Cunning Crane and the Crab" from The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse. Web Source.