Leaves and Lunatics by EleCivil

[Graeme]

A great chapter 11!

In many ways, it is like starting the story again, but given that they have just started school again, that makes a lot of sense. Jerry shows a great ability to land on his feet, even if it's in a girls restroom.

There is still lots to look forward to, and having at least four distinct threads to follow (Cam, Nathan, Jerry and Andrew/Jill) is going to keep the suspense up.

I hereby promise to wait at least one week before I start hassling for the next chapter.... :-D

Graeme

[EleCivil]

A week, huh? Well, it's getting close to the end of the semester, and all my big projects are due shortly, followed by finals...and I am always looking for an excuse to procrastinate . Still, seeing as I can only really write when no one else is around (shared computer in an open space) it'll probably take a bit longer than that.

Oh, here's something that I added in the intro/disclaimer on Nifty that got clipped off here:

I learned from a reader that there is, in fact, a Gordon, OH. It's some small town in Southern Ohio, much smaller than the one in L&L. So, uh...apologies to all the real-life Gordonites for my assumtion that your town was fictional.

[dude]

I learned the same thing... there is a Gordon, Ohio... but barely a wide place in the road. As it had NO city park, I borrowed the pic on the L & L title page from another Ohio town. :-D

[blue]

Both fun and angst, in this chapter. I can see you've set up something for just about everyone. Cam, Nate, Andrew, and Jerry all get something interesting. I get the feeling there might be something for Jill waiting. Plus, we get to see more of two characters and two new characters are introduced.

Heheh, is that vague enough to avoid spoilers and still say I loved it? :heart:

Hang in there, Cam and Nate. (Poor guys appear to have melted into puddles of goo. Can you blame 'em. Pressure.)

Sympathy to Jerry, good luck with jr. high. It looks like Jerry will figure it out though. Attaboy, Jerry. -- Jr. High was not a lot of fun, but had its moments. Sr. High was much better.

[sumbloke]

I just read through this thread because L&L is - along with C&C by Klara Schulz - one of my favourite stories.

Off the net, I just read _Clay's Way_ by Blair Mastbaum and I really enjoyed it. It's brilliantly written it's funny, it's moving, it's angry and complicated: I can't praise it enough. There's also quite a lot of casual drug use - well weed use anyway. It's part of the story because it's culturally appropriate: you wouldn't really find the characters plausible given the setting otherwise - they're teenage surfers in Hawai'i, middle class white and working class Polynesian. It's also a plot device in that one of the lead characters deals some dope and this provides initial contact with the protagonist. But there's no moral commentary on the drug taking at all really.

Now I happen to know that Blair Mastbaum himself does approve of cannabis as a recreational drug but that's really a side issue.

I'm a Buddhist, I was brought up one and I've never taken any kind of intoxicant (I went through a really ultra-puritan phase when I was 14 when I wouldn't drink caffeinated drinks...god I was a brat). I can't really understand (or approve I suppose) of anyone messing with their mind like that. I understand that they should probably have the choice to and that for some people it's a coping thing. The fact is though that depictions of casual drug use, drinking, smoking and so on have never put me off reading a story any more than reading about graphic sex, or even sexual abuse, would make me bail. If I let my moral standards over-ride my aesthetic ones I'd rarely finish a story...

My 2 pence worth.

And Ele, thank you a thousand times for the story - I love it.

sumbloke (AKA Jakob)

[blue]

Hello, sumbloke.

I doubt we're likely to see anything gratuitous in L&L. That doesn't seem to be EleCivil's style. So if he does have anything specific in the story, it's likely it'll be important to the plot and well handled.

He has many fans hoping for more chapters. I'm sure he'll get back to the story after finals. (Good luck on those, E.)

Hear that, EleCivil, your fans are clamoring for more! :smt049

[EleCivil]

A few people have mentioned this now, so I just want to clear this up: I'm not some holier-than-thou straightedger. Some of my best friends smoke pot and drink now and then. It's not for me, sure, but I don't have a problem with it. Nor do I have a problem reading a story with such elements now and then. In fact, I'm currently reading Infinite Jest by D.F. Wallace - a book with TONS of casual drug use (and, on a side note, both the best and most difficult book I've ever read).

On the other hand, I've known a lot of people completely screwed over by drug abuse. Just some really bad stuff that I prefer not to dwell on. That's why I occasionally bail on stories with drug use - they bring to mind all those images, and sometimes I'd rather just not think about it. It's not because I hate drug users, it's not because I don't think the issue should be covered in fiction, it's just a personal thing, you know?

Now that that subject's done with, on to a lighter note:

Thanks for the encouragement, Bloke and Blue. Hopefully, I'll get another chapter done before the end of the month. I'm currently in the process of moving out, so I may be kind of scarce around here for a while.

[JamesSavik]

Cam and Nathan, both being relatively new to the area, agreed to follow along with anything the others decided. Jerry, knowing that he was lucky just to be able to hang out with the older kids, would have gone along with them even if they had said "Hey! Let's go throw rocks at beehives and rob the liqueur store!" Lucky for him, the liqueur store was too far away to get to on foot, and the bee hives were all well hidden this year.

:smt046

A hidden gem in this story is Jerry-- 10 year old tag-a-long to Clint and Cam.

Hat's off to EleCivil- I loved this passage because it is so true. To the younger kids there is nothing cooler than hanging with the older kids. Of couse they take a little hazing for it... ok a lot of hazing but what the hell. That's the price of cool.

[JamesSavik]

Another pricelessl Jerry moment:

Just then, Jerry showed up. He had a new ribbon pinned to his shirt, which was a mess.

"Hey, what'd you win?"

"Pie-eating contest. Bunch of pushovers. All 'fraid to get their clothes dirty. I showed 'em how it's done."

Perhaps EleCivil could do a Jerry sequel?

[dude]

Wow... somebody agrees with me. Jerry is my favorite character in Leaves & Lunatics!

I hope we get another Chapter before the current one drops off the bottom of the front page... 30 days are fast approaching!

How's that for pressure, EC?

:roll:

[Codey]

I like Jerry ok but Nathan/Clint is my favorite character. Anyone loonie enough to black his own eyes and bruise himself up just to try catching things he threw up in the air sounds like my kinda guy. lol

Codey

[Graeme]

A great chapter 11!

In many ways, it is like starting the story again, but given that they have just started school again, that makes a lot of sense. Jerry shows a great ability to land on his feet, even if it's in a girls restroom.

There is still lots to look forward to, and having at least four distinct threads to follow (Cam, Nathan, Jerry and Andrew/Jill) is going to keep the suspense up.

I hereby promise to wait at least one week before I start hassling for the next chapter.... :-D

Graeme

My sense of time is a little distorted. Since it's been three months since I wrote the above, I'm guessing that's more than one week, so I can start hassling again....

I hope things are going well, EleCivil. Real life can interfere at times, so a simple heads up on what's going on should keep me placated for at least another week.

Cheers!

Graeme :-D

[EleCivil]

I hope things are going well, EleCivil. Real life can interfere at times, so a simple heads up on what's going on should keep me placated for at least another week.

Things are going pretty well. Last three months went like this:

-Moved out

-Took a summer class

-Got evicted (turns out my landlord was renting out a place he didn't own)

-Moved back

-Turned nineteen

-Joined a local writer's group

-Fried a graphics card - a month without a computer

-Started a new story, which I like a lot more than L&L

Still, it's been three months already? Jeez, I need to get to work. Alright, to ensure that I actually get some writing done, I'm going to say something that I probably shouldn't:

Next chapter by this time next week.

Maybe I'll work better with deadlines.

[Codey]

If you like the new story better than L&L, it must be a great one because L&L is one of the best!

Codey

[Graeme]

-Moved out

-Took a summer class

-Got evicted (turns out my landlord was renting out a place he didn't own)

-Moved back

-Turned nineteen

-Joined a local writer's group

-Fried a graphics card - a month without a computer

-Started a new story, which I like a lot more than L&L

How about writing up your last three months as a story? It has drama, trauma, and a triumphant conclusion!

Seriously, I hope things are going well. It certainly sounds like it's been an eventful time. I won't hold you to your deadline.

Cheers!

Graeme :D

[JamesSavik]

Things are going pretty well. Last three months went like this:

.

.

.

Next chapter by this time next week.

Wow, glad you survived EleCivil! That's enough drama for a summer movie.

It's a great story and I look forward to it!

And... I'm intrigued by the new work that you hinted about.

[EleCivil]

How about writing up your last three months as a story? It has drama, trauma, and a triumphant conclusion!

Hm...there were some pretty amusing parts to it. Especially the epic in-house prank war between myself and my roommates (who I've been friends with since about 3rd grade). I might as well summarize it here, since it was pretty funny. It went something like this:

-Roommate 1 pulls the bucket-of-water-on-the-door trick on Roommate 2. It doesn't work (the bucket fell in the wrong direction), but it starts the war.

-Roommate 2 puts a condom on Roommate 1's car antenna.

-I forge some legal documents to make Roommate 1 think that he owes a local chain store $3,000.

-Roommate 1 puts my phone number in a personal ad in the local paper.

-I encase Roommate 1's car in a giant pyramid of milk crates.

-Roommate 2 steals Roommate 1's dog, replaces it with a cat tied to a fish.

-Roommate 1 and I turn Roommate 2's bed into a giant, working replica of a douche, complete with a hand-lettered sign reading "Yes, your bed is indeed a douche." He didn't get home until around 3 in the morning, so he was none too pleased.

-Roommate 1 photoshops Roommate 2's face onto a picture of a large naked man, coats neighborhood (as well as the interior of Roommate 1's room) with copies.

-Roommate 2 ties milk crates to Roommate 1's feet while he's asleep, so that he wakes up a foot taller.

-Roommate 1 slips a smoke bomb into my bag of juggling balls, ends up filling the attic with pink smoke.

-I rig a series of ropes and pulleys to Roommate 1's door, so that a raw chicken swings from the cieling and hits him in the face as he walks in.

After that, we had to move, so a (temporary) armistice was signed.

[Graeme]

LOL! :smt068 :smt065

[JamesSavik]

-I rig a series of ropes and pulleys to Roommate 1's door, so that a raw chicken swings from the cieling and hits him in the face as he walks in.

:smt117 :smt075

:smt046

I've seen a LOT of movies where the gags weren't nearly as creative.

[Codey]

I knew you were a lot like me!! LMAO

A great one is to take an old towel and cut it into strips lengthway but not cutting it all the way through. Then you wet it and roll it up and fastenen the uncut part over a bedroom door. It should be tied in the roll with the type knot you use to tie your shoes leaviing one end much longer than the other. Fasten this long end to someones bedroom door, making sure that it's short enough to pull the loops loose when the door is opened and the wet fingers of towel will fall down in the doorway.

In the middle of the night, turn off the power to someones bedroom (turn off the circuit breaker) and start making weird noises. When they get up to inveztigate and are in the dark, I guarantee there will be screaming when they open their door and walk into those cold wet fingers. (this works especially well on younger brothers who have been told ghost stories before bed and on macho men around sixty :twisted: )

Codey

[EleCivil]

Hahah, I'll have to try that towel thing.

And for the record, I don't recommend the chicken/pulley system. Takes a lot of materials and prep time, without that much of a payoff. The car-in-a-pyramid, though, I whole-heartedly endorse. Takes just as long, but that look of desperation they get makes it worth it. Plus, if you explain what you're doing, you can usually get passers-by to help out.

[Graeme]

I know I'm taking the thread off-topic, but I just wanted to make a comment about chapter 12....

A good chapter, but one I found disturbing. This is because I'm feeling for the characters and I would've liked some more good news for them.

Having said that, well done! I'm now looking forward to chapter 13, but I'll wait a while before I start harassing for it.... :-D

Graeme

[EleCivil]

I wonder if it's bad luck to end a story at chapter 13.

Anyway, it's official - I work better with deadlines. And since I'm done with school for a little while, I'm going to try this again:

Next (and final) chapter by this time next week.

[Codey]

The only bad luck will be for those of us who love the story and will hate to se it end. :( :( :( :(

Codey

[Graeme]

I wonder if it's bad luck to end a story at chapter 13.

Anyway, it's official - I work better with deadlines. And since I'm done with school for a little while, I'm going to try this again:

Next (and final) chapter by this time next week.

I've always considered 13 to be my lucky number (why? Probably just because I like being contrary).

Best of luck EleCivil -- just don't put too much pressure on yourself.

Graeme