Gallery of God's Mistakes

Come and Save me

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 15:47:01 GMT

I've watched 3 full different anime series in the past month or so. Yes, I'll admit that I have a problem. Once I start watching something I have a hard time stopping. Which is why I'm not allow to download seasons during school. But well, I caved and started watching back in November when I rode out a weekend of depression and got very little work done. So it was cartoons to the rescue!

First up was FLCL

This series is only six, 20 minute episodes. So it was a nice size to get me through one weekend. It's pretty crazy and random, especially since the main plot isn't completely understood until the last episode. So I kept thinking I was missing an important part of the story line but really it just wasn't there yet. It's got some fun characters, some inappropriately short skirts and a girl with a helmet on a scooter (this was obviously my first attraction to it). It really tries to build of this big heavy plot which is kind of lost on the size of the series and I could see it going somewhere, but it kind of cuts everything short, leaving lots of bit unfinished or even solved. So it's a little troublesome in that way but it has some entertaining fight scenes and nice artistic touches that make it fun.

Next was the much more serious Ergo Proxy

Proxy deals with a futurist world where most of the human population has escaped the planet while the rest at left to survive in domes since the air outside is deadly. But then this monster creature appears - called a Proxy - and many deaths ensue. The story follows Lil (pictured above), an investigator looking into the monsters. I really liked the feel of this one, as well as the art style. The anime touchy on some really big subjects of fate and destiny, and playing your role. The down side was that in 23 episodes there was at least 4 filler episodes which weren't all that enjoyable. One was funny, one was a bit of a groundhog day scenario, but they were back-to-back which made them a little harder to deal with. But they also dealt with some mythology symbols, some I think were Japanese so I didn't get it and I'm afraid that a fair bit of meaning was lost in translation somewhere, either that or I just wish that things were a little better tied together in the last two episodes.

But apart from that it held a nice collections of plot twists so I'd definitely say it's worth the watch, maybe even a re-watch someday since after reading some stuff online there are lots of thoughts on the world and it's characters.

And just yesterday I finished watching Kuroshisuji (Black Butler)

This was probably my favourite of the three. It deals with Ciel Phantomhive who has lost is parents in a fire - vowing to get revenge on who ever was out to destroy is family he signs his soul away to a demon to get the deed done, knowing that as soon as he has revenge he'll die. Most of the stories are just 2-3 episodes long, with very few filler episodes. But even then, one filler episode was pretty funny and another one was just fitting as a build up to the finale. What I didn't like was that even though you know that Ciel is out for blood for the whole series is that the big plot of finding his parents killers is rarely touched on until the second half of the show, before that it's just basic troubles being dealt with in England. Which was another thing I liked about it, since it was set in England it had mostly English references which I could get, like Jack the Ripper and the opium wars.

The continuing theme is dealing with revenge and how it can consume a person, and there was an extra episode I found (Not sure when it came out during it's original airing but it's not counting as an episode) but it does a good job of going over the theme of revenge by having the characters act out Hamlet - which was just funny as well! But I had also wished that the minor characters backgrounds would have been explained sooner, since they were only hinted at before the last 4 episodes and the ending is kind of unavoidable so I'm sure lots of people would find it anti climatic, but I found it fitting.

However, strangely enough there is going to be a second season, so maybe things end differently? No idea how a second season will work.

So that is my anime re-cap so far! Not sure what I'll find to watch once I'm actually one my winter break... However, I shouldn't start another just yet. One more exam to go! Yesterdays was painful, yikes.

Put you on your back girl, gonna blow out all your speakers

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:52:45 GMT

So last day of classes and I don't have much to do. There's no way I'm starting that take home exam until I'm home, and studying for my 2 finales is definitely put off until Saturday. And it's not as cold as everyone seems to be saying it is. Either that or I finally learnt the proper way to dress for the weather.

This is my badass looking Gaia avatar. See I'm just killing time now so this entry will be filled with random stuff. Us regular Nano Gaians have banned together to continue our writing productivity year round since we all get sad when November ends and we all disappear into the vast nothings of the internet. So there is some hope to finish this novel yet!

I've got a few ideas for some short #fridayflash stuff, so I'll see if I can actually write one of them tomorrow between this paper.

lyrics = NSFW but not in an extreme way or anything - just playing on the safe side.

These gives are my new music craze xD Found them when they did a cover of a Bloc Party song. It's obviously meant to be listened to at maximum volume levels. So they definitely have teh right to have the exclamation point on thir name.

See, told you this would get random. Work Christmas party on Friday, just going out for dinner. Safety training next Tuesday - no I don't know the dangers of the library. I think the most dangerous thing I do is put up the bulletin display which involves standing on a ladder.

I hate my snow boots, they are too big for my feet and uncomfortable. I should look for new ones when I start Christmas shopping. Ew, not looking foreword to it, need an idea for my mother.

So that's killed enough time. These movies today better be good. Or at least I hope to get a paper back.

She mumbled something as we got down on the floor

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:26:42 GMT

Still alive! November was pretty crazy, more because of school then because of Nano. Since most of my noveling was done during time that I would never do homework during anyway. Every weekend gets devoted to an essay and if it doesn't get finished it means the next weekend if devoted to two essay. I'm just terrible at working on papers during the evening after school. And work and piano kind of get in the way.

Which is why I'm updating now. Piano at 7:30 so I will hardly be able to focus on my current essay, Dual Meaning of Serpents in Mythology. Sounds interesting right? It kind of is, except my teacher told me to try and focus down on 2-3 different example which I have, but have now grown tired of those myths. So I'm pretty much just making up filler to drag it out to 8 pages.

That one should get finished tomorrow. Then I'll have 3 full days to work on another paper response for Women in Cross Culture Perspective, then have a exam on Monday then on Tuesday morning I'll get a take home exam for Anthropology of Political Systems. What worries me about that one is that it's pretty much writing 2-3 small essay, but I won't have a weekend to work on it, only 3 nights. One of which is a work night, the other a piano night D: I've pulled off straight A's in POLS and WOMN so far and would hate to see it drop.

Works been work - somewhere I try and relax and not stress about school. Even had the chance to decorate the Christmas tree on Monday and felt all full of Christmas Spirit and stuff, even if it was a fake tree. The snow helps too. A guy phoned looking for me today but I wasn't home so I'm pretty sure it was my co-worker since he's the only guy who calls me, but of course my dad assumes/jokes it's my secret boyfriend, urk. I'm really close to being ready to shake things up and put an end to that but I don't want to make Christmas family time awkward D<

Yeah, so life isn't all that interesting. I'll post some NaNo pieces when I have time to re-read parts of it. But for now I'm going to keep listening to the Glee Soundtrack on repeat. I heart Glee so much.

Something so sick about this, my misery is so addictive

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:53:09 GMT

I probably won't post more then chapter one, but it's short-ish and written completely different from the rest of the novel so far. Now I should get back to essays D:

Chapter 1 / Prologue
Talks of Peace, Acts of War

The great men of the country had gathered in the day that was meant to be known as the Peace Treaty of 2385, however, it was never meant to happen. Although the day was filled with talks of peace, all it’s actions were countered acted by the disastrous acts of war.

The Valentine family was present in great numbers, showing their commitment to the cause of peace, someone from every part of the family made an apperance. They met and mingled with everyone, children and grand children, part of the process. It was meant to be a day that would go down in history due to it’s tremendous advancement to merging the royal family with a democratic society, but as any of the Watchers would have told them, it went down in history for a very different reason.

Princess Sonnet Valentine, youngest of the main Valentine line of children spent most of her time next to her father. They met with the leader of the Peoples Republic and mingled with their forces. Finding themselves lock in an hour long conversation with Brian Tolle and his son, one of the notable commanders on the side of the Peoples Republic. The two spoke surprisingly causally for people who had been mashing wits for the last 5 years.

Sonnet’s older brother, Prince Avery wasn’t able to take the meetings at face value, he spent the days in an agitated stupor, unable to bring himself to trust the people gathered there. The missing two fingers on his right hand were all he needed to be reminded of what the Peoples Revolution was willing to do. He had also never been the overly sociable one either.

It was easy to tell the two factions apart, the royalty was dressed in the best that money could buy, even if a few of them were still bandaged and bleeding from previous incidents. Even if the princes weren’t fighting in the front lines, they were still being hunted down menacingly. The prominent players in the Peoples Revolution were also dressed in their best, but their own suits could not compare to what royalty could buy.

The day continued in a very similar fashion, small talk here, negotiation plans there. And over the course of five days it seemed as if some sort of compromised had been reached. The King had been to meet with the leaders of the Republic to sign an official declaration; peace was to be restored to the country that had lived through 21 years of intense battle fields and guerilla warfare.

The security was tight, both sides providing their own guards to check everyone twice on their way past the gate, but neither guards or weapons were allowed past that point. Just because they were all there on good faith didn’t mean that no one still had hard feelings towards the others, but they had all believed that would have been safe. They had believed that with the most powerful people in the country converged in one place would stop either side from doing something stupid. Which is why it still remains a mystery of which side it was that set off the bomb.

There was a lull in the talks, some people were sitting down for lunch and more notably King Bronislav had chosen to sit down with the man who had titled himself the Maestro of the Revolution, Martin Campbell. This was the man who had claimed to have kill one of the kings son-in-laws, pronouncing it as a victory of the half of the revolution. And now here he sat, in a tense conversation with the man he had spent the last 21 years trying to over throw, and the last 3 of those just outright trying to kill the man.

Most other people kept there distance, not wanting to infringe on the two powerful men, but nearly all the eyes in the vicinity were on the two. Some probably expected some sort of yelling match to take place, maybe an exchange of angry words or threats, but no one got close enough to over hear, and the conversation never went on long enough.

There was no warning, to hint towards the oncoming assault of flaming debris and explosive force. It started somewhere near the food kitchen, that was the first explosion, the second came from beneath one of the lunch room table and a third from somewhere in the main meeting room. If other explosion went off it was impossible to tell where they were coming from with all the chaos breaking out around them.

All the guards who had been forbidden in enter the peace grounds came rushing to the scene, guns out, ready to shoot anyone who was going to try and stop them from getting to their royal charges. The royalty was better off in that sense, each member of the family with a minimum of 3 personal guards each rushing to the rescue. The Peoples Revolution had personal guards as well, but none who were trained in the royal army.

The screams that filled the air mixed with the clouds of smoke and dust which burnt their lungs sent most of the people to the ground in hopes of finding air that didn’t taste like poison. Other were sent to the grounds on a completely involuntary basis. The walls were turning into deadly flying objects, it was impossible to tell who was alive or dead. Those who could still move were running, out past the barriers of the peace grounds, away from the smell of burning self and cries of pain.

The kings personal guards in on the scene faster then lightning, they made sure that all the pieces of his body with still intact before carrying him off scene was quickly as possible. Martin Campbell who had been blasted from his chair with a wooden stake through his chest bled out as he watched the king be carried away before he died. His years of hard work gone in an instant.

Princess Sonnet had been pushed to the floor by her brother who she had been talking to only seconds ago. Her head was spinning and she forced her eyes closed so they’d stop burning, tears forming at the corners to wash the dust away. Her ears were ringing, shell shocked as the world around her shifted. But even so she heard the distorted sound of a gun shot in the distance. All hell was break loose.

Avery said something to her but she couldn’t make heads or tails out of it, she assumed it was ‘Stay here.’ So she did, not that she had much of a choice, when the second explosion went off a chandelier fell from the roof, pinning her to the ground and knocking her unconscious. Her own personal body guard arrived seconds later, but not quickly enough to stop the over heated metal rod of the chandelier from burning through the Princesses expensive top and searing a long scar down her body. The guard through water on the young woman so she could remove the bar without ripping off to much skin. Sonnet still didn’t wake up.

After twenty minutes the explosions stopped, but the fire burned on as every tried to flee the building that had so recently been full. The family members of the Royal families found each other, if they were still alive, and breaking into smaller groups, they fled. It was no longer safe here, someone wanted them all dead and the only thing they could do was run and re-group. It was impossible to fight the enemy here where they couldn’t tell was trying to hunt them down.

The Peoples Revolution was blaming the monarchy and the monarchy was blaming the Revolution and their extreme methods. The time for talking was over, the news had just leaked, the king was dead.

Don't judge a book by the size of its' wrists

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:14:45 GMT

This week is World Opportunity Week at the U of M and I really wanted to go to some of the presentations about being part of an Semester Abroad or Teaching English as a second language in a far away country. And for two days I dove into the booklet they're giving out on campus and reading the website. But then I realized that I don't have that freedom to leave the country for that amount of time. I have sugar gliders my parents don't appreciate being left with. And I love my boys more then anything, but at the same time I crave that freedom to just leave. So yeah, that was a heart breaking moment for me. I might still go to one of the presentations, if only to keep living the day dream.

Hallowe'en weekend was crazy! Lots of fun. I went to the bar with my brother and his friends for the first time, a little strange but not to bad, except when my brother wanted to fight this guy who was just being a creeper/jerk. So I pushed them apart. The Burlesque show was pretty good, but short. We stayed at the bar till 12:30, which was when it was suppose to end, looked around and found we were the only ones still there. Of course I drank a little too much on Saturday night, but didn't notice till I got home and tried to sleep. Then tried to write, got about 200 words out and decided it was impossible to even try xD Oh, and I'm too lazy to post pictures right now, besides I think everyone has seen them since I've posted them in numerous other places already.

Past the 4k mark on my NaNo novel, it's going okay so far, but I'm looking forward to getting to the scenes that are more properly planned out in my head. Time balancing this month is going to get tricky.

I really should be studying

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:30:18 GMT

This has already been up in my Gaia thread for a few weeks now, so I just changed the code over to post it over here.

Sonnet Valentine

Age: 27
Side in the War: Pro-Monarchy
About: Sonnet, named after her grandfather (the king), due to his love of poetry, was present the day the second war started, the day the peace treaty was going to be signed.

After the explosion she traveled with the rest of her immediate family (mother, father, brother) for six months before their travel group was attacked and they were all separated.

Since then she has had Ellie at her side as they travel the country in search of any surviving royals in hopes of re-establishing the monarchy.

Over the last 3 years Sonnet has seen lots of her family members killed and has lived through plenty of horrors. Due to this Sonnet has become much more silent and withdrawn as an adult, often leaving Ellie to deal with people while she finds somewhere to be on her own.

Theme Song: Bang Bang, My Baby shot me Down - Nancy Sinatra

Eliapakeaka Leong'Sauh

Age: 29
Side in the War: Fighting to defend the Monarchy, is expected to side with the Royal Family.
About: Never called her long full name, Ellie is favoured. Been Princess Sonnet's closest guard since she was 12, but had been living by her side since she was 9. She is the daughter of His Majesties Royal Army Commander, Molokai Leong'Sauh, from the allied country, Veristé, in the south. She has minor magical abilities that she has yet to learn about.

She does her best not to voice her real opinions about the on going wars but feels like it is her duty to reinforce Sonnet's ideals. Ellie's own country is still run by a ruling family and believes that it can be done in a proper way but inside she believes that Sonnet's country has come to far in a revolution to go back to a monarchy.

Ever since Sonnet and Ellie have been traveling on their own, for the last year and a half before our story takes place, Ellie and Sonnet connect on a more personal level then body guard and charge. They very much see each other as equals with a mutual respect for each other.

Theme Song: Hell - Tegan and Sara

Amelia Revah

Age: 25
Side in the War: Devout Neutral, refuses to choose a side
About: Amelia was born the year the first war started and unlike the other Watchers, she was born with the ability to see. As the first and only Watcher to be born with sight she has been partially shunned from the community and had her mother not died in child birth she would have been shunned worse since everyone now assumes that she had slept with someone who wasn't of Watcher descent, which is strictly against the rules of the community.

It is assumed that because Amelia's eyes work, her inner eye is much weaker, explaining why she cannot see the complete future of the world as the full Watcher's can. The only future she can see if her own, and as all Watchers know, trying to understand the sights and dreams of ones future is very hard to piece together. But a skill that Amelia has developed is that to see magic, even just traces of it.

However Amelia's physical vision isn't perfect, years of in-breeding cannot be fixed that easily. Amelia has zero vision a night, as soon as the sun or main source of light inside is gone, she's worse then blind.

Theme Song: Hero - Bloc Party

In reality one can "scientifically" foresee only the struggle, but not the concrete moments of the struggle, which cannot but be the results of opposing forces in continuous movement. - Gramsci

Aaron Tolle

Age: 29
Side in the War: Anti-Monarchy, but refuses to fight for it.
About: Aaron joined up in a small Mercenary group that worked to protect a small village as well as fight off royal guards who were trying to reclaim the land right after the explosion on the day the treaty was meant to be signed killed his mother. His father who was heavily involved in the Peoples Revolution was also present on that day but survived until the next year when he was kill in a gun fight.

Aaron was also present on the day the treaty was meant to be signed, he was even introduced to Sonnet Valentine but he doesn't remember this when he meets up again with her in our novel.

For the last month Aaron has been living in the Watcher village on his own, having been completely separated from everyone in his mercenary group. He carries with him a compass that when activated displays which members of the group are still alive, he hopes to one days find them again, but the lights are slowly going out.

It is unknown why Aaron has given up fighting, he even refuses to carry a gun.

Theme Song: Your Ex-Lover is Dead - Stars

I know the world’s not fair to you / I’ve got a cure for its crimes

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:48:16 GMT

So I've spent the last few hours trying to find the proper procedure for medical examinations for migrating into the US. A few times already I've come across sites wanting money for answers in their FAQ. One was from a lawyer site (So no surprise there!), BUT I was linked to the lawyer site directly from a .gov site. I think one of my TB books had a general overview of the process but I have also been able to find that online, but nothing that puts all the pieces together for me. Oh well, one of my searched brought me to the process for Australia - not really sure how that happened but I might be able to use it.

New Tegan and Sara leaked online and I downloaded it on Sunday. Not to worry though, I still have my pre-order copy on iTunes and I'll probably buy a real one, just cause. Other fans don't seem to care for it since it's a big change from their acoustic days but I'm still loving it. It makes me feel like writing, but pretty much everything makes me feel like writing right now xD

This next week is going to be pretty hell-ish, just busy with school. I am looking forward to the ballet on Thursday night I just hate having to find parking downtown. But the main cause of stress in my two mid-terms Monday followed by two mid-terms Tuesday and on top of that I agreed to take a reference test for the library on Wednesday(Really don't know why I agreed to that...). Halloween weekend is bound to be eventful but the closer it gets the less I want to do anything Dx I want to be able to curl up and kill my brain on tv or something after all that test writing.

Fort Garry Library told me they were desperate, nearly begged me to work a few shifts for them, one of which was this Thursday which I most definitely said no to. But I didn't really have a better reason that 'I hate full day shifts' for not taking a 9:30 - 5:00 shift on Nov. 7th. It's going to be torture. I don't know anyone there. I'll have to make small talk with the people since I'll be stuck at the front desk the whole time instead of on the floor like I normally am. Ugh, that complaining should be put off till it's closer to the actual date.

Over 700 words on my Tuberculosis paper, not counting the hand written bits or any actual analysis going on just yet. Should do a 15 minute word war with myself.

Everything else is forbidden to me

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:36:06 GMT

This was actually written last week but I wanted to get all that Ramathian writing out of the way before posting it. So this is my small NaNo sketch, just trying to find a feel for the story.

565 words.

Nano character back story, Sonnet Valentine – In the Hedges of Harmony

“Aven!” The name was taken by the wind and throw up against the hedges of the labyrinth, crashing over the briars and thorns. Next it picked up Sonnet’s red hair and whipped it over her eyes as she spun in place trying to get a glimpse of her brother running through the small path ways. “I’ll find you Aven!” She cried joyfully.

She took off running in a direction, any direction it didn’t really matter. Running around the large maze on their property was one of their favourite pass times and no matter how many times Princess Sonnet would enter she was never able to remember the proper way to get out. So she’d just run, branches scratching her face and pulling at her dress.

She stopped. Over there, that was him, she had heard him. There it was again, a giggle coming from the other side of the roses.

“I have you now Avery!” She called after him as she rushed around another corner sure that he’d be there crouching in the dirt. He wasn’t but she saw his coat tails disappear around the next corner and the wind carried his laugh back to her. She took off running once again, panting as she raised small dust clouds beneath her slippered feet stomping the path.

“You’ll never catch me little Haiku because you’re too slow.” She could have sworn that he was right behind her; it was a trick that the maze played with the sounds. Sucking up some and sending out others, impossible to follow.

She smiled foolishly at his pet name for her, her face lit up, sun dancing across her freckled face, a genuine princess.

She was laughing now too as the small bodies ran around blindly, doubling back and running in circles without even realising it. It was a moment of perfection.

A large explosion erupted in the south, shaking the ground and rustling the insects from their leafy perches. Sonnet hit the ground, scraping her knees and palms, a dust cloud started to rise over the top of the shrubs and the earth was shaken again by another detonation that rocked the surface.

Sonnet put her hands up and covered the back of her head, she didn’t understand what was going on, where was Avery? She shakily stood back up, whipping her face on the back of her hand. There was a ringing in her ears and her eyes were starting to sting. Someone was saying her name.

She turned around; heart hoping to find Aven, but it wasn’t him. Just Ellie, having come out of nowhere like she always did. Never seen until needed, always silent, invisible.

“I need to take you back to the house now Princess.”

If there was something terrible happening the young body guard didn’t let it show, she just stood and waited.

“Aven?” Sonnet asked, worried.

“He’ll be fine, someone else is watching him.” Ellie told her. Ellie always knew everything. It was almost impossible to tell that Ellie was only two years older then the princess.

Sonnet nodded deafly as she walked towards Ellie. Too many of her days where ending like this. When was the war going to be over? When was she going to be caught in one of those explosions? When was her luck going to run out?

With my lover she's countring the diamonds on rings

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:17:18 GMT

Oh conclusions, sad in so many ways x] It seems my too headstrong characters are still as head strong as ever. But I may have humanized Malvin more then I had ever planned too. Now I need to concentrate on studying some illnesses.

Part 5 – The final act; Painful Goodbyes
Tessera 15th, 81383

If this death had been singular. If it had been corrupt, an act of hate or anti government retaliation, it would have been the cover story, but not wanting to take away from the tragedy of the world wide event the article of the funeral of Artimis Jethro made it beneath the fold.

Malvin was standing next to his wife in his best black suit, not one hint of the fact that he had only had a few hours of sleep over the past 3 days. The rest of the crowd was painted in a multitude of shades of grey. The papers comment on how beautiful Kyrillus looked in her plain black dress and veil that covered her eyes . As well as how held together Demeter looked during the whole ceremony. They stood in solidarity as a family next to the casket.

What the media didn’t catch was the tall young thill standing a distance away in a sombre black outfit, left arm in a sling. She spent the whole ceremony glaring at the grieving father, who had definitely noticed her.

After the ceremony the crowds lingered coming forward to offer their condolences. Looking around Malvin noticed that the yellow thill had crept closer to the group; he started to move towards her. Their eyes met and she whipped around, walking quickly in the other direction. The councilman moved just as quickly but waited until they were a safe distance away before he reached out to grab her.

“You’re blaming me for this!?” He tugged at his eldest daughters elbow and spun her around, hissing the words into her face. She glared back in silence, wishing that her face didn’t look so much like his.

“How can you be blaming me for this? Did you want me to keep her on the same short leash that made you take off as soon as you could? I was to forbid her from leaving the farm?” He wanted to yell, to scream these words at her, but it would have drawn the attention of the few journalist who had come.

“Of course I am.” She finally replied in the same hissed whisper, just as afraid of having her picture taken as he was. “You went on TV and attempted to smother the rumours of a doomsday with a pillow. You told everyone not to worry. So no one was prepared! If you had opened your mid just a little to see that your precious government isn’t always right, better precautions might have been taken. She might have stayed home!” She was so filled with pain and grief that it physically hurt to look at her father.

“No one could have known, none of the seerers could give us anything solid. We – “

“Don’t try to justify your policies too me!” She cut him off. “Why can’t you just admit that you were wrong? That you were all wrong and you failed to protect the citizens of your world. You failed to protect your daughter!” She started moving her left arm around, it was feeling stiff and she wanted to message it but Malvin was still holding onto her right elbow.

He didn’t wince at her words; years of professional training had prepared him to keep his composure in any situation. But he had to stop; he had to stop yelling at her. They were both sad and angry.

“What’s wrong with your arm?” He asked, watching her.

“Nothing.” She didn’t need him to start worrying about her now. Now that he could use her to replace Artimis.

“Does a bartending job cover ‘nothing’ in its health insurance?” He quizzed her, throwing out his curve ball.

“How do you know that?” Her brows narrowed and she was angry all over again.

“You should never underestimate my resources.” He said, she scowled and he regretted it. He wasn’t sure why he was threatening her. Maybe it was just a hard habit to break.

She pulled her arm free of him and moved to walk away.

“Your mother would really appreciate your company right now. Your sister too. Why don’t you come home for a bit? For lunch?”

Her grey eyes scrutinized his face, trying to figure out what he was trying to get out of this. What was his master plan? She glanced over at her mother who she had never seen so weak and defenceless.

“Tell her my door is always open… to her.”

I'm telling you my only secret, I'm so only, she said.

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:49:02 GMT

Second last part, as long as the plot doesn't go on to long anyways. I'll try to hold back in the future ;)

Happy Thanksgiving f'list <3

Part 4 – Learning to Cope; Life and Death

The report of the fire in Aurius came through the telecommunication line quickly. There was worry that others would try to use magic to put out the fire, which then could have made things even worse, but news seemed to quell those fears, everyone was still alive, if barely.

This news troubled Malvin on a very personal level, he had no idea where his daughters were, he hadn’t even thought to check on them. He made a quick call to Demeter, his second daughter, she picked up. She had stayed at home to watch the eclipse, he asked if he knew about Artimis, his youngest. She didn’t, so he made another call to his wife, Kyrillus, who he knew was at home. She too hadn’t heard from Artimis yet, but she had thought she was staying around home somewhere. He told her to try and make some calls, he would do the same. After a moment of hesitation he asked her to also check on Maeanu. He knew he had no chance of reaching her, but his eldest daughter still spoke, from time to time, with her mother. Feeling uneasy about his youngest daughter Malvin assigned one of his aides to drop everything he was doing and to focus on finding out where she was.

Walking back the way she came, cradling her frozen arm, Maeanu began to worry about how quickly cell death happened once the blood stopped flowing. The field was nearly completely empty now, only a few strangles left behind and the scorch marks and other markings of magic gone wrong. Her ears picked up at the sound of electrical crackling, she followed the sound, thinking that if she could find someone with electric magic that she’d be able to re-stimulate the muscles and blood in her arm. Had it been anyone else in the world lying in the grass with sparks dancing over them she wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but seeing Cilea there made her seriously consider abandoning her arm.

“I need your help.” Mae was standing over her, looking down at the thill she hadn’t spoken to for nearly 3 years.

Cilea opened her eyes, heart racing at the sound of that voice and the fact that it was talking to her. But at the same time there was bitterness inside as well, they hadn’t exactly left on the best of terms, there were days when Cilea had despised Mae for multiple reasons.

“I’m a little preoccupied at the moment. I might accidently stop your heart if I move in the wrong way.”

“I think my arm is dying.”

Cilea squinted, trying to see Mae’s arm, but all she could see were the limp finger tips hanging out of the jacket sleeve.

“I trust you.”

The two slowly worked at the damaged muscles in Maeanu’s frozen arm, and eventually it started to show signs of life. Cilea was exhausted from having so much electricity flow through her that she had finally stopped discharging large electrical outburst. Cilea was forced to stop before the job could be finished, but she had made good progress, leaving only a few scorch marks in Mae’s fur where the magic had escaped her, and leaving only one pinkie finger completely immobile.

“What are you doing here Jotln? I told you not to come back until you had news.” Malvin held multiple reports in his hands while he hovered over a table that wasn’t anything like his normal working desk.

The young assistant was still standing a bit of a distance away, and having not yet looked up from his work Malvin didn’t see the devastated look on the young ardens face.

“Jethro’ba…” He hesitated. “They found her.”

I can't find you so I call your name

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:57:37 GMT

This whole sort story thing has gotta way out of hand, so I made sure to squish it at five parts.

Must prepare for a full on study day tomorrow, oh how I hates it.

Part 3 – The Aftershock; Electricity and Economics

Before he started his normal trek to the Council chambers in Ajita one of his assistants told him what had happened. The floating city had fallen, the place was now a disaster zone. A few quick messages sent around and within a few minutes a temporary location had been chosen in Mansukh and Malvin made his way there. Not all of the thirteen council members were present, there was a very high chance that some had been in Ajita when it had started to fall, and given the numbers that were starting to come in as a death toll, there was a chance that they wouldn’t be showing up.

Time passed and the fields slowly started to clean, but some remained behind not wanting to miss the chance of something else happening. But the news of the problems popping up all over the world drove most people to return to their homes and check on their loved ones.

Kazul stayed a few hours before giving up on waiting. He packed up his supplies and made the long trip back to the Academy, he didn’t want to risk using the teleporters. He wanted to keep his whole body in one piece.

Eka didn’t stick around long, after hearing about the tragedy on the flying island she teamed up with one of the disaster relief teams in hopes of putting her healing powers to use. Cilea’s friends had left, but she had decided to stay a little longer, lying in the grass she discharged her body’s electrical build-up into the ground. She needed to wait for her magic to stabilize before she went any where. She should have worked harder in class to control her magic.

Teolun ran. Blindly. She couldn’t be around when the bodies were found. Maeanu was running as well, but only because an accidental magical apparition had been sent in her direction. It was some sort of frozen being and as it got closer to her shoulder she felt her whole arm start to go numb as frost started to grow on her jacket. Eventually the spectra died out and she was left panting in the middle of the forest with an arm she could no longer feel. She scowled, remembering why she hated being around other ‘dragons so much.

There was much heated debate between the Council members, and Councilman Hydrus definitely had a lot to say on the matter. Malvin had never really cared for the guy on a personal level, but he had to respect him on a professional one. As the Councilman of Commerce he was worried about the dive the market was going to take over the next few days, the stock market was going to have to be shut down, all trade suspended.

The announcement was finally made to the public and all the 28 hour news channels were picking it up and replaying the message to reach the world population. But it didn’t mark the end of anything, the debates still raged on, how was the best way to deliver supplies to the ravaged city? What was the death count at now? Where should they all be moved to? Where were they going to house all the still living habitants of the city?

But there was a lull in discussion as they seemed to hold their breath as they watched video footage of the sunken city of Aurius rise to the surface of the Samundra Ocean. If the magika powered shields failed, they’d be looking at disaster site number two.

I was never faithful, and I was never one to trust

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 15:27:01 GMT

So much snow! I love it, but the roads are ice and I need to head back out there to get to work!

Went to a Hallowe'en themed wedding social last night, might steal some pictures later. I wasn't supposed to work at all today but I'm now working twice, but, I have the house to myself for most of tomorrow which means I have a nice full day of studying to look forward too.

And now we continue to the second part of the large Ramath-lehi plot, things are getting messy.

Part 2 - The Aftermath; Magic and Malpractice

They thought that would be it, some of them thought the end was already here, no one could have seen what was coming. Some of Cileas' friends were quickly packing up their stuff, others had already disappeared. She was busy searching the crowd.

The rumble that came from no where and everywhere shook her down to her bones and she felt a surge of electrical energy pass through every pore on her body.

“Ouch!” She had forgotten she was still holding on to Laertes’ arm. He pulled away revealing a scorched patch of skin.

“Sorry.” She winched, slowly moving away from anyone else, afraid she might shock them too. Electricity that was out of her control was sparking up and down her arms.

The rumble stopped Maeanu from pursuing her escape route. The sound of the beast had stopped her from fleeing. Would it devoured her or let her be? She could feel something big happening here, and she was going to stand here and watch it happen, she wanted to be a witness to the future.

When the aqua glow took over, it was hard to hold back the crowds, it was the last straw for lots of the people who had decided to stay, but the blinding flash stopped the rush momentarily.

Teolun pulled her arms up to her face to block the light, but nothing could really stop it, it was coming from everywhere. Kazul had been stopped by the blinding flash but the aqua glow seemed to spur him on as he resumed taking rushed measurements from his devices. Eka had gotten to her feet, a figure on the edge of the trees caught her attention. Mist? Her own personal ghost of what once was.

And just like that the sky was normal again; the on lookers gave a very audible sigh of relief. They were still alive; the planet was still spinning, for all they knew anyway.

Further away back on the farm house patio Malvin took the phone that was handed to him from one of his assistant. A few taks(Ramathian: seconds) ago every phone in the house had been going off, but it was the phone that connected him to his private line that he was holding now.

“I’ll be right there.” He told them. The Council was being called in, he was about to find out the disastrous side to the beautifully striking event.

Teolun blinked her eyes to rid them of that terrible flash and looked around here. Her followers, the ones she had weaved all the dreams together of, were all lying crumpled on the ground. She thought they were dead and tried to get up to check on them. Her head spun and she blinked her eyes forcefully once again. There were colours and shapes appearing in front of her that she knew shouldn’t be there, forms and figures that she should only be seeing in a dream world. She did her best to ignore them as she approached the nearest body. He wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t sleeping. She couldn’t break into his mind with her powers, when ever she tried she felt like she was being tugged by a strong tide of Fronima magicka that made her feel sick.

She checked all the bodies, they were all in the same state, some sort of strange magic induced coma. And still her eyes wouldn’t clear.

No I'm not ready for a big bad step in that direction

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:43:19 GMT

Busy days - what's new? Just been called into work a lot, so even all the time that was meant to be dedicated to school work is being taken away. But no biggie, I'll live. But for the reason I'm making this update...

I was being a studious little student on Sunday so I let myself do some writing, a small NaNo character sketch piece and a piece concerning all my characters over at Ramath-lehi.com since the big world wide plot is slowly being revealed. So I'll post the later first, since it's just part one so far, with at least one more part to follow.

Part 1 - The Eclipse; The Sky is Burning
It was to be the eclipse of the century, and at the very least it was going to be the party of the Season for Cilea and her friends. They had gone out three days prior, hoping to beat the crowds but they still ended up nestled between other groups of families who already had their tents set up in the field.

Maeanu hadn’t prepared at all for it, but she knew it was coming and that she wanted to see it. Instead she took the last teleporter out and made it to the field only a few mosas before the fated event.

Eka found herself laying on an old blanket in the grass with another large group of ‘dragons. Her fingers playing with the necklace around her throat. There was no point in trying to hold a class at any of the schools today.

Malvin didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, he had done his best to muffle the panic, but due to the pressures from his younger daughters he opened up a portion of his property to allow everyone ample viewing space. He even found himself standing on his front porch with the day’s paper waiting for the spectacle.

Teolun, recent small cult leader, had a small following at her feet as they entered a state of deep mediation and dream weaving all hoping to harness a fable power source of the cosmological manifestation. Either that or slip away with the end of the world.

Kazul, for once clean of his dream tripping experimental serums was also present in one of the large gatherings on the day of the eclipse. Note book in hand and ready to document the event to share with his students.

And when it happened it was beautiful. Day turned to night, and even the regular occurrence of other eclipses couldn’t prepare them for this, for the unnerving and quiet gasp passing through the crowds. A few people cheered, someone else was crying and others attempted to take pictures. But what could you see when the light was taken away? Nothing.

The whispers spread like cursed wild fire through the crowds. The Nothing.

‘The Nothing has returned!’ yelled out one of Cilea’s friends in a joking way, she slapped his shoulder, but laughed at the same time. Maeanu stared, just stared, eyes turned towards the heavens. Eka lounged in the grass and felt the warmth of the sun disappear. Malvin leant against his front railing and even he was moved by the sight. Teolun locked the dreams of her followers together and basked in the unfolding fear. Kazul looked on like a professional scholar, taking measurements of time and temperature.

And they all waited.

The slow shifting, light would be returned to the planet as they all knew. But then came the flash, the scarlet flash that engulfed the planet.

Kazul dropped his pencil, he had put no faith in the prophets of death and destruction, but how was this nothing but proof to a theory? Teolun smirked at having her beliefs reinforced. Malvin dropped his paper and watched on in horror. This would be nothing but piles of paper work and a headache, he had to get back to his offices, the Council would be busy. Eka sat bolt upright, people around her were leaving, running, escaping. But she stayed where she was, repeating the one name that would give her courage. Maeanu was being pushed and shoved by the powerful crowds as she too tried to make her way out of the field. Cilea and her friends all stood up and she clung to someone’s arm, she wasn’t sure whose. She looked around frantically and screamed.

“What is it? Did you see something?” Her friend asked.

Cilea felt a cold sweat grow at the back of her neck, she had see that bright yellow pelt and striking blue hair and those once not so cold grey eyes, her old best friend.

“Just a ghost.”

To be continued...

31 days!!

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:59:34 GMT

Oh Linux computer room, oh how I've missed you. There are cameras in the other computer rooms that stop me from eating, but here so some reason I eat while underneath the 'No food or drink' sign and feel no fear. (Wait, there is a camera here, I just always forget about it, oops). And even though I have no knowledge what so ever about these operating systems this is still my favourite computer lab because it's always so empty.

School has obviously started to take over my life, LJ updates will be rare, even though I spend hours in front of the computer on weekdays and at least one or two during the week. Sadly this time is spent researching. I hate researching, it's so time consuming.

I have too presentations to do today, one which was all of half an hour ago. I think it went well, or that I at least raised some good points, still couldn't get much class discussion going on, kind of hard when only 5 of us show up to the class. The next one in about an hour should get more discussion going, more kids and more importantly, more talkative kids.

Super stoked that it's the 1st! NaNo site should relaunch later tonight, then the Gaia guild and Prize thread will open up so I can hobnob about with everyone from the last few years. Of course studying all the while...

Anyways, I should stop reading about the proper way to structure and plot a novel and try to read this article about Mother Love and Death in Northeast Brazil.

#Fridayflash 3 - Art of Growing Up

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:51:28 GMT

EDIT: hey you #fridayflash-ers, be sure to leave your name if you comment!

This might be my last #Fridayflash for a while, not sure if I'll be able to write consistently with school. Not to mention if my weekends look like this one. I have two work shifts today, one more on Saturday and two more on Sunday. Good bye weekend!

Art of Growing Up

“I’m just saying that it’s an awfully empty house for a single woman like yourself.”

Caitlyn’s mother waved her fork in circles, as if she was trying to magically summon the grandchildren she wanted so badly. Her father sat at the opposite end from her mother, more focused on his peas then the normal man.

“I haven’t really had the time mom. You know they’re thinking of making me Vice President at the office, I’d be the youngest VP in their history.” Caitlyn had already made it as far as she was going too in her own meal, there was something about these family visits that made her lose her appetite.

“That’s great dear.” Her father said, finally looking up from his plate. His wife echoed the sentiment, but modified the ending.

“Looks like all the business is paying off. Always knew it was what you were made for.” A proud smile crossed her face, but Caitlyn couldn’t help but wonder if she was maybe taking pride in her own victory of getting her to go to business school.

Small talk followed until they had finished eating and Caitlyn got up to clear the table. “Tea?” She asked them, their traditional after dinner drink.

“Decaf dear, and no sugar for your father. You know his diabetes.” It was an unspoken promise that she would give her father a spoonful of sugar when they came over.

“Okay. Why don’t you go sit in the living room, I’ll be right out.”

Her parents slowly made their way into the living room, both taking the time to look at the art on the walls and the strange abstract statue that neither of them could make heads or tails of. Her mother slowly lowered herself on to the couch, obviously uncomfortable on the modern furniture.

Caitlyn came out with three cups and a tea pot on a tray that went perfectly with the décor, placing it on the coffee table she left the room once more and this time came back with a large gift wrapped square, placing it in front of her mother.

“Happy birthday mom.” Caitlyn said, with more genuine emotion then she had given the rest of the evening, but with a smile that spoke of apprehension.

“Oh you shouldn’t have sweetie.” Pulling off the paper both her parents looked on with a hint of confusion as they found a framed piece of art work – similar to the one’s that decorated the house they were in. But this one had something else in it, more life. “It’s very nice Caitlyn, where did you find it?” Her mom asked, but Caitlyn wasn’t able to tell if her mother’s words were authentic. But it was her mother she was dealing with, she had never learnt how to read her properly.

“I painted it.” She told them.

After tea her mother volunteered to wash the dishes, leaving Caitlyn and her father alone, he left his seat and took a second look at some of the paintings in the room, trying to read the signature in the bottom corner.

“You painted all of these?” He asked as she came and stood beside him.

“Yes. It takes my mind off work.” She ran her finger along the metallic frame of the one they were standing in front of.

“Why weren’t you ever interested in going to Art School?” He questioned.

“Why didn’t you ask me this question ten years ago?” She countered.

“I guess I just never thought about it. Why didn’t you mention it, your mother might have been swayed from sending you to that distant business university.” He walked over to another one of the paintings.

“I was too afraid that you and mom wouldn’t approve.” She admitted.

“Why did that matter to you? It was your future.” Face riddled with concerns of the past.

“At the time, it felt like that was the only thing that mattered.”

University Reading List = My possible death!!!

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:26:29 GMT

I didn't plan on posting this when I started writing it but it just go so long that I thought it had enough 'shock value' to be postable material xD It should be longer but I stopped adding 'Optional Readings' believing that I'll never get to them!

Reading List

Sept 14-18
Humanity (Chapters 2, 6, 7, 8 and 17) by Peoples and Bailey
Field Of Medical Anthropology - Brown
Types of Political Systems - Lewellen

Sept 21-25
Highpoints in Anthropology ("On Social Structure" and "Gifts and Return Gifts" and "Status and Role") - GN 17 H54 1988
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 1 - Stone
Structure and Organization in a small Community - Firth - Anth 2390 172
Disease, Ecology and Human Behaviour - Brown
Religion as a Cultural System - Geertz
The Problem of Symbols - Evans-Pritchard
Is Female to Male - Ortner
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p 1-21) - Brettell
Anthroplogy and the study of State - Kurtz
The Anthropology of the State in the Age of Globalization - Trouillot

Sept 28-Oct.2

Gender and Kinship - Chapter 1 - Stone
Humanity (Chapters 12) by Peoples and Bailey
"The Hijras of India" - Nanda - Anth 2390 171
The Man who believed he had AIDS... - Plummer
Confronting HIV/AIDS - Golooba-Mutebi and Tollman
AIDS as Human Suffering - Farmer and Kleinman
Monster Stories - Tsing
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p 21-50) - Brettell
The Concept of Hegemony - Femia
Japanese Mothers and Obentos - Allison

Oct. 5-9
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 1 and 2 - Stone
The Substance of Kinship and the Heat of the Hearth - Carsten - Anth 2390 170
Ebola - Hewlett and Amola
Factors in the Emergence of Infectious Disease - Morse
Myth in Primitive Psychology - Malinowski
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p 85-107) - Brettell
Sleep - Murakami
Blurred Boundaries - Gupta
Entrepreneurial Governmentality in Postsocialist Russia - Yurchak

Oct. 14-16
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 2 - Stone
The Incest Problem - Fox - Book: Kinship and Marriage - GN 487 F68 1883
Incest and Suicide of Handsome Young Tieng - Condominas - Anth 2390 174
Ethnomedicine - Erickson
Conclusions - van Gennep
Psychoanalysis and Gender - Alsop
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 191-227) - Brettell
How to Build a Man - Fausto-Sterling
Fear as a Way of Life - Green
Rumors and Politics in Haiti - Perice

Oct. 19-23
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 1 and 6 - Stone
Witchcraft - Evans-Pritchard
Reconsidering Witchcaft - Sanders
Death be not Strange - Metcalf
Serpent Handling as Sacrament - Daughtery
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 249-273, 282-292 and 275-282) - Brettell
Domination, acting and Fantasy - Scott
The Office of Reason - Desjarlais

Oct. 27-30
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 6 - Stone
Marriage Among !Kung - Stockard - Anth 2390 175
Medical Traditions in Aboriginal Cultures - Waldram et al.
Traditional Dene Medicine - Rabesca et al.
Sympathetic Magic - Frazer
Form and Meaning of magical acts - Tambiah
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 297-327) - Brettell
Honest Bandits and Warped People - Ries
Contesting Displacement in Columbia - Sandford

Nov. 2-6
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 3 and 6 - Stone
Shamanism - Langdon
Clown Doctors - Miller Van Blerkom
Baseball Magic - Gmelch
Witchcraft explains unfortunate events - Evans-Pritchard
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 329-345) - Brettell
Rape and Rape Avoidance in Ethno-National Conflicts - Hayden
Analytics of the Modern - Inda
Standards and Person-Making in East Central Europe - Dunn

Nov. 9-13
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 3 and 4 - Stone
Biomedicine as a Cultural System - Rhodes
History of Medicine - Porter
Child Witches - Brain
The Evil Eye in The middle East - Spooner
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 347-394) - Brettell
On Suffering and Structural Violence - Farmer
Lifeboats Ehtics - Scheper-Huges

Nov. 16-20
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 4 and 5 - Stone
Shamanistic Performance in the Inner Room - Bogoras
A Shaman's journey to the Sea Spirit - Rasmussen
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p.395-448) - Brettell
Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions - Banks
The Vezo are not a kind of People - Astuti

Nov. 23-27
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 5, 7 and Appendix - Stone
Witnessing and the Medical Gaze - B. Davenport
First Cut - Montross
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p.449-482) - Brettell
Medical Metaphors of Women's Bodies - Martin
Nationalism and High Cultures - Author Confusion!!!!????
Woman and Nation - Walby

Nov. 30-Dec.4
Gender and Kinship - Chapter 8 and 9 - Stone
Medical Metaphors - Martin
Medicalization of men's health - Lohan
Cargo Cults - Worsley
The Unification of Church - Barker
The Transforming Influence of American Gatherings - Orion
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 482-504) - Brettell
Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? - Abu-Lughod
Spirit of Resistance - Ong
Domesticating the French Fry - Caldwell

Dec. 7 - 9
Apocalypse at Jonestown - Hall
Armageddon in a Tokyo Subway - Juergensmeyer
Gender in Cross Culture (Book) (p. 505-532) - Brettell
When Victims Become Killers - Mamdani
Rape in Kosovo - Bracewell

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:00:12 GMT

If you have 20 minutes to spare and have a thing for eco-friendly, mind boggling architecture, you should watch this video, Danish architect Bjarke Ingels rockets through photo/video-mingled stories of his eco-flashy designs. I want to live in his buildings!

But since that was my computer slack time of the day, I should go do some school reading. Then maybe make some time to write my #fridayflash story which I'm a little on the fence about... And then piano lessons later tonight. First one of the season! (And probably my last year of piano depending on how much I can practice between school and work.

Skipped some classes to get my hair done today, it's surprisingly hard to get in to see my hair dresser. So now it's a richer, darker brown with a fair bit of purple highlights. I have very much missed unnatural coloured hair :3

#Fridayflash - take 2

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:50:25 GMT

I have continued 28 Gears -part 3 but I probably won't use those as #Fridayflash pieces because I actually want to learn to write short stories. So I'm hoping I'll still be able to manage a story a week even with school starting.

Catholic Guilt and Lima Beans

The sound of the trains always reminded me of my father, but I couldn’t hear that music right now. Sitting here in the small white washed waiting room I scanned the walls for distractions in the silence. My father was undergoing triple by-pass heart surgery behind closed doors while I sat here waiting, just as I would sit when I was younger, waiting.

He worked for the rail line that wasn’t far from our house, so at night I would listen to the trains coming and going, feeling as if my father was always near by, even when he was gone for weeks at a time. My mother would tell me in the morning if my father was due back or not, then I would wait, toy train whistle in hand. I had convinced myself that he was a conductor; it was what I told all my friends. But really he went around repairing the tracks, sometimes being sent to parts of Canada I had never even heard of. He always came back to us.

One year he won the company lottery for a set of four tickets that let us ride the train all the way to British Columbia and back. It was my favourite summer ever.

The wall across from me had the generic calming country side painted, signed by a Canadian painter I felt like I should have recognized. The adjoining wall held a cross and a bible verse that I also believed I should have recognized.

I should have known it because I was raised on Catholic guilt and lima beans. My parents would have me dressed in my Sunday best and take me to church, then sometimes they would take me to confession and I wouldn’t know what to say. They told me to ask for forgiveness but I didn’t know what I had done wrong. Were there rules I had been breaking? So I repeated the words they wanted me to say and set goals for myself to be a better Christian. But I guess I really jumped the track on that one.

And now here I was again, sitting in my Sunday best that hadn’t been at its best since yesterday morning when I had first put it on. This time I knew what I wanted to ask God for, but I couldn’t bring myself to dream so loudly.

The lima beans were grown by my mother in our back yard. She loved them; put them in all kinds of recipes. These days I avoided them like a plague. Sometimes I wonder if my father wouldn’t be as sick if he had eaten his instead of feeding them to our dog that lurked under the table.

The sound of the only door in the room being pushed open derailed my nostalgic thoughts, the doctor I knew to be working on my father’s case came through the door, looking for me. And I was afraid because I couldn’t hear the sounds of the train bringing my father back to me.

Take my heart out of my chest, I just don't need it any more

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:19:51 GMT

Today if my first full day of work this summer, 1-8:30, usually I pick up more during break but all the other times I asked I was usually in class. Which I don't mind, I like my small 3 1/2 hour shifts. So I guess this is my last money grab before school.

I haven't let myself take any more painkillers since Saturday morning, my jaw still hurts from time to time and I can't open my mouth all the way still but I think that's the last of my problems to stick around.

House of Leaves is sucking me in, which makes me want to go to work less, I only have 2 days till school starts and reading gets put on hold again. In the last few days I've also been out dancing, got lost in a corn maze and cleaned my room. It never fails that I'm productive the last week before school, but hardly productive for all of the free time I had for the rest of summer, durrrr.

Cilea - whom I've missed colouring. I didn't realize how much I miss her colours and that was one of my pain reasons for creating her. I think the inspiration came from finally throwing her into a thread over at www.ranath-lehi.com.

Malvin - who I don't miss drawing so much because brown is boring. But it gave me a chance to learn wood effects and adding texture to the jacket. I would of had the same pattern on the pants but by the time I got there I had forgotten how I did it on the jacket xD

28 Gears - Part 2

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 15:20:33 GMT

I had actually written something different to be my first #FridayFlash piece but it needs some touch ups done to it, so I wrote the continuation instead.

Part one can be read in a previous post or On my DeviantArt Page.

Part 2

Seconds after Toby’s abrupt leave Raphael got up from the table, grabbed his cloak from the hooks by the door and his own bag before rushing out the door. He staggered for a second in the sunlight, forgetting that he had only woken up a few minutes ago, threw up his arm up to block the sun and scanned the crowds for his friend.

He caught a flash of the golden hair pushing its way through the morning crowds and took off running towards it. Bumping a few shoulders on his way Raphael pulled up beside Toby, out of breath from the short jog but feeling much more away then before.

“You should start working out or something.” Toby jibbed as they fell into step together.

“I work my brain hard enough.” Raphael retorted, wishing he had taken the time to find his own goggles before leaving the house since the dust in the air was more bothersome then normal. Instead he just pulled his dark muffle higher up on his face to block what he could.

“You know I was able to put it together for myself in the end. I’ll be able to tell the story again.” Toby said, sounding a little annoyed at how much Raphael seemed to doubt his intelligence.

“Of course you will. I’m just saving you the trip of having to come back and get me for questioning. They’ll probably want to talk to Isabella as well.” Raphael’s mind was racing now, not sure what kind of situation he was going in find himself in for the next couple of days.

“Isabella?” Toby asked as they crossed the street into the main tram station in the area. Sharp sirens were going off as steam was realised from the machines that were coming and going. The lights on a board near the entrance changed colours as certain trains left and others changed route, keeping everyone informed in the most timely was possible.

“The evening librarian.” Raphael pointed out.

“You know her name, step one complete.” Toby gave Raphael a bit of a push onto the nearest tram, getting them on before the main rush, forcing them to the opposite side near the window. There weren’t any chairs on the express trams, standing room only. The city was becoming so large that they were fitting more people in where ever they could find room.

The metal death trap, as Toby had lovingly referred to the tram a few times before, gave a sudden forward jolt as the metal grate doors slid shut as the last lucky passengers pushed their way on. A few seconds later they were moving at a decent speed out of the large station.

They passed through open streets for a while as the layered city buildings towered over them. A few moments later they were inside the cave system that had been built into the mountain that once bordered the city, once bordered because the town now expanded to within the mountain and another whole cliff face. The rail car went silent as they broke back into the open sunlight and the cityscape was visible out the window.

Raphael couldn’t stop the ‘aw’ from building up in his chest when ever he came this way. He loved this city and its grandeur. He loved every part from the government building built into the wall of the mountain watching over the city to the slums that spread out like tendrils to the outskirts. The tram ran on its thick suspended metal tracks that weaved back and worth into the mountain side casting them back into the shadow of the mountain. Not far in the distance everyone could see The Tower, the most well known symbol of the city with an individual clock face pointing towards each Rosary point. It was at the top of that tower that the murder had taken place.

The Tram finally passed back through the mountain and into the liveable part of the city, a few people got off and even more piled on. Toby and Raphael both waited till the next stop before elbowing their way to the front and off the rusty bucket, another nick name Toby had given the public transport system.

Shops were opening in this part of the city as everyone woke up and dragged themselves to work. Raphael’s favourite bakery had already opened its doors but he knew that a real breakfast would have to wait.

As the passed through the streets Raphael pushed his cloak hood back and tried to look around in the dusty haze. A strange feeling of eyes watching him from every direction made him feel nervous and guilty, he was already going in for questioning, so why did he feel like this? He then caught the eye of someone who was actually watching him. They quickly looked away but as he continued to scan the walls of faces he found that other had people had been staring at him. He gave a nervous tug at Toby’s sleeve.

“We’re being watched.” Raphael informed him.

“I noticed.”

Now I'll go start reading all the other ones that are clogging up my Google Reader feed

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:46:42 GMT

Samm is engaged?! ENGAGED!? This is blowing my mind, I can't believe it. I always joke about being excited for a big wedding party, but this is kind of creeping me out, lol. 20 is really young in my mind to be engaged...

Productive Wakefullness

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:18:14 GMT

So it might not be the pain that is keeping me up, but the fact that the meds that are suppose to keep down the swelling also cause sleep problems. And as I have learnt over the past year, I'm pretty susceptible to side effects.

So what have I been doing with all this awake time? Well this morning I went through pictures and made a college of all the hats/headgear I've been caught wearing. I've got 8 different ones so far and I need one more to even out the page before I post it anywhere. Looks very unprofessional to just have that empty space sitting there, haha.

Last night I stayed up and worked on a first piece of a story that I completely blame Sims 3 for. One of my Sims sits down to write a novel and I have to name this Sci-fi novel. Well I can't name a novel and not start thinking of a story. So I named it 28 Gears and decided it sounded like a good title to play around with a Steampunk genre since I've never written in it before but I've always found it ridiculously pretty to look at/read about. And since I was craving some new music I typed 'Steampunk Music' into Google on a whim and actually found music.

I finished at 11:50 last night and almost submitted it as a #FridayFlash hashtag on Twitter but felt like I was cheating since I wrote the first bit a few days before and had high doubts that I would continue to write it.

Part 1

The sound of metal joints mixed with the echoing of the large alloy clock that kept pace with every second. The footsteps that lurked into the room were silent upon the soft carpet as they crept towards the scientist at their desk. Small gadgets sat motionlessly on the desk surrounding a framed picture of a happy family that sat squarely in the center of the light projected from the small desk lamp. The light flickered a few times but remained strong.

The lab at the top of the clock tower had seen better days, days before the Simbiote revolution, before his work had started to lose prominence in the view of the general public. Outside on the door plaque the name Dr. Beta used to strike astonishment into the children who would climb the tower on school tours. He was a pioneer in robotic technologies, but the rapid nature of the advancement of science was his curse. It was impossible to stay on top for too long.

The intruder walked up behind the sleeping genius and with it’s rusted metal claw spun around the scientist swivel chair. The smiling man in the family portrait wasn’t the same man sitting in the chair now. His hair had greyed and his beard grew like some sort of fungus taking over his face. His glossy eyes opened once and didn’t register the figure standing in front him, the second time they opened they focused in a hawk. His mouth shot open to screen, but he never got that far before the chain drawn clawed hand plunged through his heart.

_ _ _

A loud thud of a heavy tome jolted Raphael awake from where he was sleeping on his kitchen table. The look of surprise and horror that had flashed over his face was quickly washed away with a look of annoyance that he shot at his roommate Toby, the culprit who had thrown the book on the table.

“It’s not like you too fall asleep in front of your books so often. First the library now just again last night. You might have to stop trying to pull these all night study sessions.” Toby, tall, light haired and the “better looking” one out of the two of them, walked into the kitchen, throwing his bag into the other open chair.

“I don’t fall asleep in the library. I never have – “ Raphael protested until Toby cut him off.

“When the librarian has to wake you up in the morning I’m pretty sure it means you fell asleep. Besides, everyone saw you two leave looking disheveled and dazed. But I guess there could have been more then just sleeping going on that night.” Toby winked at him as he opened the fridge, groping around for something to eat for breakfast. Or in Toby’s case, dinner. He worked the night shift for the Tower Watch squad, meaning he was up all night, rolled in around seven in the morning and went to bed.

Raphael just groaned at the suggestion, it wasn’t the first time that he had heard it.

“What? She’s cute.” Toby closed the fridge and pulled out a plate of leftovers from who knew when.

“And she’s old.” Well she wasn’t really that old, but he was running out of reasons why he had never asked her out before since they did spend so much time together. But the truth was, when Raphael was at the Tower Library he was juggling many other things in his head.

Reaching over Raphael grabbed hold of Toby’s bag, leafing through it to find the morning paper that was always brought home. Unfolding the yellow pages the two fell into a temporary silence. This was how most of their mornings went. However this morning it was cut shorter then usual.

“Did you read this yet?” Raphael asked, a strange look having taken over his face.

“Glanced over it on the tram home. Why? Did I miss something about a revolution?” Toby knew that Raphael held interests that out grew his own and was guessing that this news would mean very little too him.

“Dr. Beta was found dead in his office yesterday.” Raphael’s eye brows drew closer together as he read on. “They are estimating that he was killed on Tuesday night, shortly past midnight but no one had gone looking for him because it wasn’t rare for him to lock himself in there for days on end.”

“He was from an era that is soon becoming the past. I doubt he was on the tract to making the next big discovery. No big loss.”

“No you don’t get it.” Raphael’s tone had become tense as he put the paper down on the table, flattening it with his hands in a nervous gesture.

“Explain it to me then genius.” Toby replied with a mouth full of food.

Raphael took a deep breath. “Dr. Beta’s laboratory is at the top of the Tower.” He paused giving Toby the chance to put it together himself, but his face was still blank. “The same Tower that holds the Tower Library.” He pushed on and still Toby couldn’t put the pieces together. “He was killed 15 floors above me as I fell asleep in the one place I have never fallen asleep before.”

The look of understanding was so quick to hit Toby’s face that Raphael hardly saw it as the taller man nearly jumped out of his chair and started off towards the main door.

“Where are you going?” Raphael asked as he followed him to the door.

“I have to report this to the squad.” He looked so serious that Raphael didn’t dare say anything else, he just nodded and watched as Toby swung his bag over his shoulder, pulled down his goggles and walked back into the mornings blazing rays.

I was also productive enough to finally say that I've written the first chapter to Squadron D, which has been an on again off again novel that I've been working on since December 2004. And I would probably keep working on it tonigh, but having only gotten 5 hours of sleep last night I think it might be a good time to try and sleep again.

Will I someday regret filling subject lines with random music lyrics?

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:57:25 GMT

I'm so happy I took that second summer course. I feel like I do nothing with my time now, so it's a good thing I only have 2 more weeks left to kill. My days generally involve reading time, computer time, tv time and video game time. Then I just fall into a lull of not wanting to do any of those things.

Hmm, if I go a buy my school books early would I actually read them?

Right now might just be Puzzle Time. Professor Layton is just as good as the first one, if not better for the single fact of the Memo feature which lets you jot now notes on top of the puzzle. And all the extra cut scenes + new voice actors definitely adds to the feel of the game. However, I've either gotten smarter (which is a possibly side effect from school so I've heard) or the puzzles may be a tad easier. So far I have less then 7 saved up in the riddle bank that I had to pass on so solve later.

Wisdom teeth are coming out tomorrow, meaning I have to stop eating at midnight tonight, then survive till 1:30PM Friday on clear liquids and all the pills I need to take Pre-Op. So in other words I might disappear for a day or two depending on how well I can bounce back from the surgery. I've heard good things and bad things, and I'm fighting the urge to Google anything about it!

Gotta wanna be the drummer in the band

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:47:34 GMT

Busy days. However they end this Thursday, classes at least, then a final on Saturday morning (9AM, yay!) then off to Birds Hill to camp for one night for Braelin's birthday.

Went to a big family reunion thing this past Saturday. There was probably around 200 people there, but I only knew about 30 from my branch of the family. So it was an awkward day of meeting old people who remember me from when I was 7 or so.

Kal, who took the most shots during out trip is finally putting his pictures up on Facebook so I might steal some and post them up for some reminiscing :D

Oops, fell asleep last night while writing this.

Off to go shopping with Jen this evening, we originally wanted to go to the Leo Mol Gardens with our sketchbooks but it's not overly nice out and there's still a chance of rain. But for now I should probably try to get some studying in.

Can someone spell 'tavern' in this txtmsg for me?

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:10:56 GMT

Got called in to work today, grouchy, old, bingo players have never understood the meaning of a long weekend. And I can't bring myself to say no, mainly because I'm the only real option for them to call and I could use the money. So hopefully I won't have my head bitten off by any of them since my canteen skills are pretty rusty and I plan to spend as much of my time there studying since that was my original plan. I'm probably just bitter since I'll be working a lot in the next month.

Yesterday morning I woke up with every muscle in my body hurting, even in my toes. I had no idea why, since the night before all I did was sit around a bonfire and eat s'mores. So I went to work and over the course of 3 hours I just started to feel worse, headaches, stomach pains and very fatigued. At first I was just blaming the fact that I had a really late night out on Friday and still hadn't recovered, but then I got the idea in my head that I may have got the flu from someone. Well have this thought brew in my head for a few hours really freaked me out because if I did have h1n1 I would have had to drop out of my summer class, drop all the extra work shifts I'm taking - so on and so forth. So I came home and quickly put myself back to bed. The aches and pains stuck around but by last night I was pretty much completely fine, so crisis averted.

So that late Friday night was a family dinner at our house, there was something like 15 of us. I got a little drunk for the first time around extended family and my aunt was like 'Kylie I've never seen you this relaxed!'. It funny though, because I used to always be the only one not drinking at family get together, even the 3 younger then me would be drinking. So I'm no longer the black sheep in the family (we now just sound like alcoholics :O). After dinner I went out with my cousins and two of their boyfriends. One of my cousins then forgot his home so I kept it and played secretary for the day, forwarding his calls to another number.

Anyways, should try and do that Geography reading that I've been putting off all weekend. And I now find entries without pictures to be kind of boring...