Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.
This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Characters to
Minimize Time Stuck on an Island
Initial Thoughts:
So does this week’s topic somewhat encourage polygamy or what? I’m just saying…that was the first thought that came to mind. And like always, I love putting things into perspective; especially using narratives to start things off—because I’m a try hard like that and perhaps you enjoy it.
Day X:
You hear cacaws and breathe in—salty—you think despite being dazed. You feel the contrast of the cool water lining one side of your body and the god awful sun heating the clothes on your backside. Your mouth opens to a dry, tasteless grittiness and you begin spitting, trying to get the specks of dirt or sand or whatever it is off your tongue. Unsatisfied, the slits of your eyes barely open and you see a heaping mass several feet from you. You roll over; a newfound euphoria takes over as temperatures juxtapose. You relax and unwillingly enter the abyss.
Day Y:
You barely hear the birds anymore and you don’t feel the rush of the water against your skin. You see greens and browns and yellows and everything smells like wet earth. Whatever that means. You realize you’re sitting upright against a jagged surface, no longer disoriented and the veil of comfort ceases. You are not alone.
But who do you hope to find?
Although everyone’s criteria for what can be found or is needed in a deserted island is different, the one common thread of similarity is that in the end…we all (ideally) want to survive for as long as possible until salvation is found and we can get off said patch of floating land. That being said, I’m trying to be as realistic as possible (for the most part, anyways) in my dream team even if it sounds like I’m trying to recruit slaves.
Contingency A: The Stranded Island Life
Finnick Odair (The Hunger Games) –
Deserted Island surrounded by water? No problem—food aplenty.
Food slave #1.
Chuck Noland (Castaway) —
Pretty adept at surviving on an island. Bonus points if Wilson finds his way back to him (and us?!); deducting points if Chuck brings his crazy.
Food slave #2.
Herb (The Rule of Three) –
From what I gather, he’s like Bear Grylls meets survivalist in knowledge. That’s worth some points.
Food slave #3.
Leopold Fitz & Jemma Simmons (Agents of SHIELD) –
My dream team needs these two nerdy kids who basically fill the role of every single science/engineering role and occupation. I couldn’t take one without the other because they are [one of] my OTP. Real talk.
Hard workers #1.
Ron Weasley (Harry Potter), Uriah Pedrad (Divergent) –
They just seem like cool, hardworking, positive people to have around who know how to live life.
Hard workers #2.
Tyrion Lannister (Song of Fire and Ice) –
Now, I’m only basing this from Game of Thrones…but it seems to me like he could hold court by himself. His propensity to lead while entertaining with witty, thought-provoking conversations is a bonus (if not a necessity).
Fun fun fun #1.
Donna Paulsen (Suits), Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Project), Britta Perry (Community) –
Uhh, yeah, they can all just be themselves and life is a blast.
Fun fun fun #2.
Manchee (The Knife of Never Letting Go) –
Now, I only started reading this last week and despite thoughts that all animals and mascots I love end up in some perilous fate…I JUST LOVE MANCHEE SO MUCH. UGH, EVERYTIME THIS DOG SPEAKS…IT’S GOLDEN. I JUST CAN’T. Like, what if, on the island…suddenly: “Poo. Poo, Joey.” For those of you who have read (or are reading) this series then I’m sure you understand my animal/pet feels.
Mascot #1.
Piggy (Lord of the Flies) –
Not much utility out of him but I think he deserves another chance…with a sane group of people. That’s worth a spot in my book. But if he dies from assmar (asthma)…well, that’s his problem.
Mascot #2.
Contingecy T: Turtles: The Salvation
Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) –
Have no fear, if all else fails, the turtles will come for him and will come for us. The only problem might be coercing him to help us along and not abandoning all of us. Don’t be like that, Jack.
Turtle herder #1.
Contingency Z: Rescue Takes Too Damn Long And We Die
Legolas (Lord of the Rings) —
Sorry Katniss. Sorry Hawkeye. Sorry Arrow. Sorry anyone-else-who-owns-a-bow because this man is light as a feather, nimble as laser, old as old can be, and will likely trump all other archer-esqe characters. This is the only person that I will stretch the magical realism for because it’s not technically overpowered as having abilities to change things on a whim (i.e. like, if I threw in Avatar Korra to this list or something absurd). If we all die from old age, he is my contingency plan if someone (anyone) ever arrives to said abode and he can recount our stories: how Jack Sparrow tried numerous times to ditch, how Finnick convinced Britta a wet cube of sand was a brown sugar cube, and how he [Legolas] avoided and overcame grief so he wouldn’t die.
Food slave #4….Last hope #1.
Afterthoughts:
So if you were counting, there’s eleven. Whatever, we can count me out of this deserted island and send my dream team in and they’d get work done and either be back soon or be able to start a new civilization there.
This theme this week also reminded me that I watched this movie earlier in the year called “The Philosophers/After The Dark” which basically has the same premise as this week’s theme (sort of). It’s a film that’s thoughtful at best and definitely brings me back to philosophy class in high school. But otherwise, here’s a link to the trailer. The entire movie is also on youtube if you’re interested.
“AFTER THE DARK is set at an international school in Jakarta, where a philosophy teacher (D’Arcy) challenges his class of twenty students to a final thought experiment. Faced with an impending nuclear apocalypse, they must determine which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race. The decision quickly becomes deadly as each in the group turns against each other in a desperate fight for survival that blurs the lines between theory and reality.”
And as always:
Cheers,
Joey
thoughts and afterthoughts. 
LOVED this week, Joey. I don’t know all of the characters you’ve picked (some from shows I haven’t watched yet/ever) but I was giggling quite a bit at your descriptions anyways, especially Captain Jack and the turtles. With any luck, yours would be the island he hid the rum on 😉
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Well I’m glad my words have value in entertaining even if many have not read/seen these characters in action. All’s that needed is a simple description and I’m sure I conveyed the vibe of each character to everyone.
At least with rum, both he (Jack) and Tyrion would make more sense than being sober. So I’ll take that as a benefit.
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Fitz and Simmonds – YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS! That is all.
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I knoooooooooow right? I was reminded of them because I skimmed through their arcs again recently…and you know, being under the sea and all…
FEELS FEELS FEELS.
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Um, yes. This is wonderful.
Also, good plan with the multiple contingency thing – you never can be too prepared!
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Thanks — had to get my bases covered if this ever happened in this magical-less world (though, I’m still holding out for the possibility).
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Oh Legolas! I should have put him on my list, too! Same with Finnick, because he is just awesome! And he can swim! and spear fish! Good list, and great plans!
Thanks for stoppin’ by! have a great week!
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I think there are just so many characters we all wished we could fill our island with — limiting it to 10 was pretty daunting! As a foodie, I definitely had to meet and exceed the usual 1-2 individuals most people had on their lists to cover for food. I’m sure there’s something in the survival manual that says keeping peoples bellies filled makes for less stress and crazy talk or something something!
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Ergh, reading your list is frustrating because it reminds me of all the people that I should have picked! Like Finnick. How could I fail to bring Finnick? And Jack Sparrow already has experience with deserted islands. So clever!
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There were definitely many interpretations to how we could get off the island. I definitely had a hard time kicking out some key players that everyone seemed to covet (like…Katniss?! byeeee). I think the major route I went with was getting people who were either familiar with deserted tropic survivalist life or simple had experienced the whole scenario before!
While it seemed like many people took the fun route I was completely dead set on trying to survive if this happened in the now LOL.
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Haha, yeah, my list was more aimed at long time settlement than escapists. Basically I made sure I had people who could get us food, and then a lot of the people were just there for the conversations we could have, haha.
And seriously, you were probably the only person I saw who didn’t have Katniss on your list, including me! 🙂
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Haha, I think Katniss was a good choice but I think I’d be enough awkward for the entire group–don’t need two of us (even if she’s a decent archer)!
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Great post! It was nice to see Uriah made the list and Tyrion would be running the show in no time – officially or unofficially. I would select Legolas over Katniss any day. Though, I did pick Gale to fill that role. If Legolas was on my island I would find myself transfixed by him and he would end up asking Tyrion for a restraining order against me.
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Thanks!
I couldn’t help but to include my bud Uriah as he seems like a pretty chill guy; and positive too–which goes a long way!
I’m sure no one would judge you if you were transfixed by anyone! It’s pretty hard not to give someone your attention on an island of 11 people! I mean, sure you could potentially ruin the dynamics but hey, if you can somehow salvage up some wine for ol’ Tyrion, he’d be on your side!
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Finnick… That’s a good one to include.
Also, Jack Sparrow must have a lot of experience with deserted islands. Such a good list!
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Thanks — I had shortlisted characters who could fill the necessary roles of survival and those two seemed to be at the top of it in terms of utility and transferable skills and experience. They were definite winners in my book!
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Wow I didn’t even think of Finnick! I like how elaborate your top ten is! (:
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Not sure if elaborate would be the word to best describe it. I think it’s more of my tendency to overwrite most of time–but thanks!
Finnick was an obvious choice for me as everything would seemed to be in his element.
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I love Manchee. Ruddy great dog.
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Right?! Everyone should have their own Manchee–I wish my dog was like him (or maybe he is but I’d never know).
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If my dog had been male, I would have named her Manchee.
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Loved the narrative element to this post!! I also really can imagine Britta falling for Finnick’s sugar cube trick! Great post!
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Ha! When I first thought of Britta as an inclusion, I imagined how she could Britta herself (to say that least) and Finnicks sugar cube seemed like something people of pop-culture would know/remember from the movies (to say the least).
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Oh yes! Manchee is an amazing dog. I love that dog ❤
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I know! Manchee has quickly risen as one of the top animal/pets I’ve come across in books!
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I love your approach. Food slaves are key! So glad that you included Fitz & Simmons — definitely a useful pair to have around in a pinch. And I think if you had both Finnick and Legolas, you’d be pretty much all set. (Let them do the work, you chill under the coconut tree chatting with Tyrion!)
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My thoughts exactly! Had to front-end all of the necessary help needed to keep myself–er the group–alive while hoping they’d do double-time in figuring a way off the island!
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Ron Weasley, Piggy, and Jack Sparrow – ALL YES. &&I love your reasons for all of them! (Especially Piggy. Poor, poor Piggy. Let’s hope in your world he gets a better go of it!)
Great list, Joey. I love how creative your posts are! 🙂
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If all things go accordingly, I’m sure Piggy would make it out in my world! (Well, I’m hoping at least).
And thanks, I’m just a bit of a try hard when it comes to these weekly memes!
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I would definitely want Finnick on that island with me 😉 oh and Tyrion! Fun, fun, fun indeedy. Totally missed out on an interesting TTT topic this week 😦 what luck!
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If you’ve ever done zombie apocalypse dream team…I’m pretty sure this is similar to it.
You could have just totally missed 1-2 episodes of teen wolf just drew up a rough sketch of TTT posts and schedule them in advance. :< Quit yo laziness.
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-.-‘ I was trying to stay focused on my upcoming exam at the time. It was only over the weekend that I got back on the blogging boat and teen wolf boat…
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Thanks for visiting Jorie’s Reads by Starry Night Elf and sharing your thoughts! Uriah from Divergent would’ve been a great idea! We both thought of Finnick Odair, though! 😉
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Hahaha, you can always [usually] expect a comment from me when I do my hoppity hop for weekly memes. :D!
Both Uriah and Finnick seem like amazing company; both guys I can definitely kick back with for sure!
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I’m pretty sure that I’m the only person who didn’t add Finnick to the list this week! Uriah’s a great choice though, as is Tyrion.
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Ha, you not including Finnick is similar to my omission of Katniss! It was pretty hard to narrow down the choices as there were so many ways to craft an ideal group of 10.
I can’t imagine what kind of fun Uriah would bring to the table, which is why I included him into the mix.
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Oh man, you should write scary, desert island books! And yes, some great choices there. I’d totally bring Finnick, Tyrion and Jack Sparrow with myself too 😉
And thanks for that movie rec! I’ll check it out.
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Haha, that’s neat that you would say that. I’m most certainly using these TTT lists as an outlet for creative writing when I can. So I’m glad that you enjoyed the little bit of it!
No guarantees on how good that movie is though. It was definitely only so-so for me; with poor acting and the like, but the concept was one that brought me back to high school philosophy! (Except my class was definitely less cool than that).
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