Week 15 Story: Dante's Inferno The Video Game

 

Video game

Nathan had finally convinced his mom to buy him the best birthday present ever. The all new, Dante's Inferno: The Video Game. Every kid at Nathan's school had it and he was itching to get his hands on it. It took some convincing to get his mom's approval, considering the whole game is one big escape from hell. But she managed to crack. 

Nathan sat in the backseat gripping onto the box with excitement. When he got home he was going straight to his room and staying there all day. He wanted to be the first of his friends to beat the game in its entirety. Nathan's mom pulled into their driveway and before she had even parked he leapt out of the car game in tow as he rushed into the house. 

He slammed his door closed and locked it, excitement oozing out of his pores. He pulled out his chair, slipped the disk into his Xbox and put on his headphones. The game started up and the start screen emerged from the blank monitor. The screen showed nine circular rings surrounded by a roaring red fire. Inside the rings in a simple font read, "Dante's Inferno: The Video Game". His finger hovered over the start button on his controller. He took and deep breath and began.  

It had been eight hours since Nathan firth sat down. He had taken no breaks. Didn't get up to go to the bathroom, eat or even just to stretch his legs. All of this resulted in him making it all the way the the ninth level. Each ring in Dante's Inferno was represented as a level in the game. He was about to come face to face with Satan himself. Nathan's bloodshot eyes drooped but he pushed through for the sake of finishing the game. He knew he needed to win. If he lost this level he would be sent all the way back to the first ring and have to completely start over. 

He watched the screen with intensity. His once sleepy eyes widened at the sight of the animated king of beasts. Satan was as tall as the buildings that he stood next to. He towered over Nathan's small CGI character. His heart rate picked up at the sight of three men in the three separate mouths on each head of the monster. 

The boy's focus was unmatched as he battled and battled for what seemed like hours. He didn't dare break his gaze from the screen to check the time because he knew if he did the final boss would find a way to end him. His headphones blocked out any outside noise replacing it with the sounds of swords and the cries of the dead. He hadn't even heard the creak of his bedroom door opening. 

One shot to the heart brought Satan to his knees. Nathan almost had him. He was going to win. He'd show all his friends at school when they came over and tell them how he defeated Satan first. He could smell victory as it grew closer.

"Nathan! It's two in the morning what on earth are you still doing up?" Nathan's mother had barged into his room with a scowl that could rival Satan's. She huffed in annoyance and pulled the plug connecting his game system to the outlet. 

The screen turned black and Nathan stopped breathing. he slowly turned to his mother. The look of defeat apparent. 

"Bed. Now." 

Nathan crawled into bed. Still unable to process what had happened he closed his eyes and hoped to play again tomorrow.

Athour's Note: I read Dante's Inferno this week. The entire time I was reading I couldn't help but compare the 9 circles that Dante and Virgil had to navigate, to video game levels. That's what gave me the idea to make Inferno into a video game. I wanted some comedic features so I added the part at the end where his mom pulls the plug. 

Bibliography: Satan, Dante's Divine Comedy translated by Tony Kline (2002)          

Week 13 Story: "stan"

 

Harry Styles on tour in Nashville

In the city of Nashville where country music reigns supreme, there was a girl by the name of Olivia. Olivia, despite her peers' affinity for the sound of the south, was not a fan. She quite actually despised it. She found herself in her room listening to the sound of alternative rock most often. There was only one artist that could take her away from the continuous loop of guitar riffs and snare drums in her head. That was Harry Styles. She had been a devoted fan of his since the days of One Direction. And her love for the singer only grew throughout his solo career. 

On the day of Harry Styles' newest album release, Olivia found herself singing along to the new tracks while she walked through Downtown Nashville to go to his concert. As she passed by a nearby bar multiple men found themselves distracted by her head bobbing and singing. Enraged by their own prejudices against the artist they quickly banded together to teach the girl a lesson, even though she was doing nothing wrong. The men quickly left their table and followed the girl. Due to her headphones and being completely enveloped in the music she had no idea they were anywhere near her.

The men were finally able to circle around her and started to yell and criticize her taste in music and insult her favorite artist. Because she was one girl in the presence of a group of men she felt very vulnerable and scared. 

Olivia couldn't breathe. No words could escape her lips nor could she escape the situation itself. She feared for what might happen next with this group of drunken men until she heard a voice shout, "Hey!".

The group of men turned to see a swarm of girls flocking around them. Screaming at them the same way they had done to Olivia. Olivia felt a pair of arms grab her and pull her away from the men. She looked up to see a kind face looking down on her. Olivia joined the group of girls in efforts to scare away her tormentors. With victory, the squad of girls was able to scare away the drunken country fans.  

"Thank you so much for that I don't know what would've happened if you all didn't show up," Olivia breathed out a sigh.

"No worries, we would never let a fellow Harry stan get into trouble. It's just like he says, 'Treat People With Kindness'," The girl that had helped her escape winked back at her. 

Olivia's heart swelled at the thought that a mutual interest in a musical artist could have saved her that day. She went to the concert and felt an even bigger sense of community than she had felt only a few hours prior. Olivia had never been more grateful to be a Harry stan. 

Author's Note:

This story is surrounded by fan culture terminology. If you don't know, "stan" is a word that was created to describe someone who is a fan of something. But not just a usual fan, "stans" are completely enveloped by the content. Whether it be a musical artist, actor, or even a book series. Because this could be loosely related to religion I decided to use it in my retelling for "The Prioress' Tale: Little Hugh". Originally written by Chaucer but retold by Eva March Tappan in The Chaucer Story Book written in 1908. In the original a boy named Hugh is killed on behalf of Satan for his public singing of a hymn about the Virgin Mary. His body was left hidden but the VIrgin Mary allowed him to be found by placing a grain on his tongue that allowed his voice to carry even in death. For my retelling I decided to change the ending and not have my protagonist die. But to use the person my character looks up to and have a way for them to save her life. (p.s. Yes, I understand that I basically wrote a Harry Styles fanfiction, let's just pretend it didn't happen.)

Week 3 Story: Achilles' Diary

Achilles quarrel with King Agamemnon

Dear Diary,

    It has been a few days since I last quarrelled with King Agamemnon. I have taken my people to a seashore ways away from my companions of the Greek army. I couldn't help but weep in despair over the injustices that had been made over me. Agamemnon had no right to slight me of my spoils. My poor mother couldn't consol me. I wonder how she is doing on her voyage to Olympus. I asked for her assistance in persuading Zeus, the king of gods, to aid me in my troubles. My request of his aid to the Trojan effort may sound naive and immature but how I long for Agamemnon to feel the foolishness that that was driving away the strongest warrior the Greeks have ever seen. They must understand that they will fall without my swift of blade. 

    I do fear that I will not know what to do with myself during my time out of battle. For I do miss the cries of the wounded and fearsome on the battlefield. But I must say that this time away from the Greeks has opened my mind some. I constantly think back to my mother had said to me. She told me of my fate, dying in my youth at Troy with an astounding legacy or going home and living a long eventful and meaningful life. My name not scratching the surface of the ancient scrolls. As of now I have no fame, Agamemnon has shamed me in front of the people. How would a life of anonymity serve me? Why I could be back at my home of Phthia with my father. I could swoon a fair maiden and create a harmonious family. I could teach my sons the skills of a warrior. What kind of reward does a man get for fighting anyways. We are all honored the same. So what should it matter if I decide to stay home all day instead of battle. Death comes to us all equally. That's it. It has been decided, I will stay out of battle. Nobody could convince me otherwise. I would rather cut off my own foot than serve under that Agamemnon. I will stay here with my noblest and most loved companion, Patroclus. 

-Achilles 

Author's Note: After reading the story of Homer's Iliad, I felt a certain attraction to Achilles' character. This diary entry is to be set in between What Thetis Did For Her Son and The Embassy to Achilles. During this time Achilles leaves the Greeks but we don't know what he was up to or how he felt before the other chiefs came to persuade him to come back. I felt that because of his change of stance on war, we needed to have some sort of look into his mind during this time. I pulled most of the events straight from Achilles dialogue in "The Embassy to Achilles". 

Bibliography: "Homer's Iliad" (retold by A.J. Church)  

        

Week 2 Story: The Basilisk's Return

My portrayal of the Basilisk

    Carrie Inglewood was a fairly courageous student. As could be seen by the colors she wore around her school. She was a Gryffindor, some of the strongest and most daring to walk the halls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So, it came to no surprise when her friend Angus Capell had asked her to go down into the Chamber of Secrets she happily obliged. What she didn’t know was that Angus had been down there a day before on his own accord. And that this mission was based on his ulterior motives.


    A Slytherin, Angus was able to get into the chamber on his own. He can speak to snakes and was able to get past the Parseltongue door. While in the chamber he stumbled upon a golden chalice. He was mesmerized by the glimmer in the inscription. He lifted it off the ground to read it. Before he could look at the first letter a large Basilisk emerged from the water in the moat that surrounded the chamber. Careful not to look at it in the eye, Angus kept his eyes placed firmly to the ground. The Basilisk bared its teeth and spoke to the boy. It told him for attempting to steal one of its possessions he must do something in return. He must bring him a Gryffindor. And so, he did.


    Carrie and Angus walked back into the chamber. They looked around for a few minutes and the Basilisk emerged as it did the day before. Carrie shut her eyes and stood her ground. While Angus slinked back toward the exit of the chamber. The Basilisk’s menacing voice told Carrie she was now trapped down here. She could not leave and would be his prisoner. She obliged and took the situation or what it was. All the while she was planning escape routes in her head. For the next two days she stayed there, helping the Basilisk shed its scales from time to time. On the third day the Basilisk came to her and asked for a favor. It requested her to cut its head from its neck. She was surprised to hear this and stood confused. She responded telling it that she had nothing to cut it with. And like that a glimmer appeared in the corner of her vision. She looked to see the sword of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four founders of Hogwarts, appearing on a nearby rock.


    With one hand and one fell swoop she cut the Basilisk’s head from its body. She wiped her brow only to find them furrow at the sight of a new head taking its place. She didn’t let this get the best of her as she took a step back and with both hands this time sliced through the flesh of the beast. This time, instead of another head growing, the beast started to transform in front of her eyes. The final form of the Basilisk had become a girl. A girl wearing the same colors as Carrie. Despite the older look of the uniform Carrie concluded she was in Gryffindor robes. The girl looked at Carrie and gave her a smile. She explained to her that a dark wizard had cast a spell on her 100 years ago and had turned her into the Basilisk. She asked Angus to bring her a Gryffindor because she knew that only a Gryffindor could go through with the tasks she would have asked. Carrie and the Gryffindor girl walked hand in hand out of the chamber. They chatted about the time that had passed and headed straight for the Headmaster’s Office.

Author's Note:

After reading the original story, the image I had of a Basilisk was similar to the one from the second Harry Potter film/book. I found that I could create an adaption of this story using the world of J.K Rowling with my own original characters. I also wanted to change the ending a bit from the two characters marrying to two female characters bonded by their house. 

Bibliography. "The Key of Gold" by Josef Baudis (1922) Source.