Sediment and Silver

Ripped from my good friend Max300's Deviant journal.

1. If you're on my friends/watchers list, I want to know 35 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, or if we already know everything about each other. Short and sweet is fine.

2. Comment here with your answers and re-post the questionnaire on your own journal. (You don't have to re-post if you REALLY don't want to.)

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
02) Have you ever been in love?
03) What talent do you wish you had?
04) Is there a moment in any tv show or film that touches you and makes you cry, no matter how many times you watch it?
05) Favorite bands/artists?
06) What was the last book you read?
07) When is your birthday?
08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
09) Worst Habit?
10) If you could only watch one tv channel for the rest of your life, what would it be?
11) Describe your typical weekend:
12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
13) Would you rather take a plane or go on a road trip?
14) Have you ever been to a wedding or a funeral?
15) Tell me one weird fact about you:
16) Do you have any pets?
17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
18) What was your first impression of me?
19) How important is your family to you?
20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
21) Is there anyone you'd go gay for?
22) What color eyes do you have?
23) Ever been arrested?
24) Have you ever done something you had previously sworn to yourself you'd never do?
25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
26) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
27) Do you believe in ghosts?
28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
29) Do you swear a lot?
30) Biggest pet peeve?
31) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
32) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
33) You can only go to one fast food establishment for the next year, which one is it?
34) Do you believe in God?
35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?


HERE WE GOES!!!!!!!!!!! >:D

01) Are you currently in a serious relationship?
No.

02) Have you ever been in love?
If being a workaholic counts.

03) What talent do you wish you had?
Mad fiddling skills.

04) Is there a moment in any tv show or film that touches you and makes you cry, no matter how many times you watch it?
The lyrics, "And Puff, that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar." Oh, a movie? Hmm... The end of The Iron Giant. But it's been a while since I've seen it.

05) Favorite bands/artists?
E. S. Posthumous, Voices of the Lifestream, and a little of everything from everywhere.

06) What was the last book you read?
Frankenstein.

07) When is your birthday?
The ol' 01/02.

08) Any Tattoos and/or Piercings? Explain where.
No. Don't want any. (I think blank canvases are wonderfully mysterious.)

09) Worst Habit?
Probably self-pity.

10) If you could only watch one tv channel for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Dunno. Maybe the Science Channel?

11) Describe your typical weekend:
SATURDAY: Wake up anywhere between 2am and 2pm, check my email, attempt to write Chapter 1 of some novel or another, or work on misc art projects, go to sleep anywhere from 12 to 22 hours later.
SUNDAY: Wake up whenever, attempt to continue said art or writing project, attempt to attend Kenjutsu class at 3pm, return around 5pm presuming I succeed, eat dinner with fam, attend church at 8pm, return around 8:50pm, watch movies until 1am, go to sleep maybe.

12) Do you have a Pessimistic or Optimistic attitude?
I'm the most optimistic person I know, but that says more about the people I know than it does about me... On the other hand, I like to shake my fist at the sky and dare Luck to work against me.

13) Would you rather take a plane or go on a road trip?
I wanna drive to Hawaii!! Hello, little fishy... Yeah, definitely road trips, because you see more, even though I love to fly.

14) Have you ever been to a wedding or a funeral?
Not enough weddings, and WAAAAY too many funerals. Recently, I was in Rocky Point on the "Fiesta Cruise" (two hour boat ride with music and dinner), and found myself seated smack-dab in the center of a large Mexican family who was using this particular voyage to scatter their father's ashes. THAT was VERY awkward. They solved the situation by unofficially adopting my dad, his cousin, and me. And we stayed through the whole ceremony.

15) Tell me one weird fact about you:
I haven't cut my hair since 2001.

16) Do you have any pets?
Boarder collie named Indiana, and a "flamepoint Burmese" kitty named Winky. I also have several plants. And two younger brothers.

17) What if I showed up at your house unexpectedly?
I'd be like, "Oh snap, it's not very clean in here. Wait a minute..." *panic*

18) What was your first impression of me?
Fruit Keyblade!!!! :D

19) How important is your family to you?
Can't live with em, can't live without em.

20) If you could change one thing about how you look, what would it be?
My voice, definately. It's IDENTICAL to my mom's. D: D: D: Secondary would be my jaw and teeth.

21) Is there anyone you'd go gay for?
No way.

22) What color eyes do you have?
Gray-blue with a LOT of pale yellow in the center; They look downright yellow-green from a distance.

23) Ever been arrested?
I came very, very close, once. Stupidly crossed the street in front of an oncoming parade, and got a talking to.

24) Have you ever done something you had previously sworn to yourself you'd never do?
Not that I know of, making me the only person I know who hasn't.

25) If you won $10,000 today, what would you do with it?
Buy a "kitewing" first, and then a snowboard to go with it. Put some away for assuring I can continue taking jujutsu. Then start my art business. Maybe patent a few ideas my dad's been haranguing me to...

26) What's your favorite place to hang out at?
On rooftops or in very tall trees.

27) Do you believe in ghosts?
Perhaps. Too much experience.

28) Favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Start new projects.

29) Do you swear a lot?
Not at all. (I think it's a crutch.)

30) Biggest pet peeve?
Loud, sticky-sounding eating.

31) In one word, how would you describe yourself?
Megalomaniacal. It's close enough.

32) Do you believe/appreciate romance?
Only a few very specific fairytales. *is a fairytale connisour* Most actually don't quallify, though, for not being complex enough. Other than that, you'd never catch me even walking within 10 feet of a romantic flick or novel. Literally!

33) You can only go to one fast food establishment for the next year, which one is it?
New China Chinese Buffet. (Best place in a 100 mile radius.)

34) Do you believe in God?
Quite so.

35) Will you repost this so I can fill it out and do the same for you?
What the heck.

Which I could probably do well in, drawing yet another scene from one of my books...

Your Last Days

Uh, yeah; In my original stories, NO apocalyptic theme has been spared. >:]

Except invasions. Uhh, yeah. That's... *flatlines* :|

The prizes for this one are very generous, but they're not not really my style. I might still try to enter anyway, just because I want to try. Especially if it means illustrating my not-yet-written books. x]

Bawww! Did you really have to bring it up? TT___TT


....Well....I might like to ask Mr. Stradivarius a few questions....

PRETTY!!!!! =D


Well, if ur wearing sunglasses. B'D

Her dream began very serenely, on the beaches of the Hollow Bastion coastline near Haruka Town, a small paradise getaway, and her hometown. She was her younger self again, not a child, but before she fell in love. Zoe walked along the beach, skirting the waters edge. She wore a long, ruffly plumb colored skirt, a blue denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up, and a fitted white tanktop underneath. She was barefoot, but carried a large pair of brown leather hiking boots in one hand. Her hair, long, black, and twisted, was done up loosely in the back with a jade butterfly clip that she made, herself. Yes, Zoe was an artisan. From an early age, she demonstrated an elite understanding of craftsmanship. And now, to no one's surprise, made her living creating and selling fine jewelry at Haruka Town's best known item shop.

Out here, on this day, she was gathering natural materials from the sea for her latest project. Waves lapped at her ankles, every so often erasing her footprints in the strangely blue colored sand. In fact that was the usual color of earth in the world of Hollow Bastion. And the sky was normally a salmon pink. But, today, it was gray, so the sea reflected that color instead to appear a sad, silvery blue. Strong wind turned the waves rough, doubling the white foam of their crests, and warning any casual swimmers to stay away. It danced through Zoe's hair as well, chilling her. Though, as cold as the scene otherwise seemed, the water was warm, and so was the sand.

Over one shoulder, she carried a burlap messenger bag full of shell fragments and shimmering yellow stones. It was mostly the stones she was after; On rare occasion, large bits of flaming-gold amber, tumbled smooth by the sea, would wash up on the shoreline. Zoe would collect these lightweight gems, and craft them into merchandise.

After a time, her walk even took her as far as the abandoned pier, some three miles south of the rest of the village. A little surprised that she had already come this far, Zoe walked out onto the aging wooden construct, and sat down at its very end to rest, and watch the storm brew far out at sea. She dangled both of her feet over the edge, and leant her head sideways against one of the wooden posts.

Until, just a few minutes later, she was suddenly startled by a voice.

"Excuse me, Miss," said a young man in long red swim trunks, coming up behind her on the dock. "Care for some company?"

"Uh, sure," said Zoe, finding herself minorly disoriented now that the silence she had occupied for so long was finally broken. What had she just been thinking about??

The youth seated himself on the end of the dock beside her, but her hiking boots separated them.

"Are you from the village?" he asked, smiling casually.

"I am," returned Zoe. The first thing she noticed about him was actually the way he kept swinging his feet; He seemed full of nervous energy, somehow.

"I bet it's nice," he said, turning his face to look out at the silver-blue water. Now Zoe studied his profile, and saw his smile fade a little as he spoke, like he was getting lost in the view. "I'm only a tourist."

He had sharp, angular eyebrows and high cheekbones, a golden complexion, and short, feathery brown hair that blew every which way in the wind. He looked quite fit, but skinny, and Zoe couldn't help but notice that his eyes were the same stormy blue as the sea.

"It is. I love it there," she said.

The youth focused his eyes again, and bob-nodded his head. "I'm from the capitol. My family owns a small vacation home right back there," he said, indicating directly behind them, "but it's been years since I've seen the town."

Zoe twisted around in her seat to look back, into the foothills beginning just beyond where the sand stopped. A range of mountains sat in close proximity to the coast, running parallel to it for most of their stretch. Above a certain line, the salty shrubs and yellow beach grasses suddenly turned into a forest of evergreens which, from then on, covered the range entirely, like a thick green sweater. Zoe couldn't find the house, but realized how easily one could be lost in that endless mass.

"Ooh," she mumbled, wondering now if it was somehow connected to the happened old pier. Then, turning back around, asked easily, "How long are you staying for?"

"Just a few days," he shrugged, "I can't stay for too long." And Zoe noticed him start to swing his feet again; He glanced down, seeming mysteriously agitated.

"Hm," she nodded, curious, but choosing not to pose that question. Instead, she looked at the sky, and surveyed its vast, graphite-blue horizon. The storm will not come today, she predicted, but tomorrow looks to be nasty weather indeed. She sat quietly for a moment, just enjoying the spray of the sea and the sound of the waves.

Zoe considered the youth seated beside her, wondering how he wasn't cold without a shirt on. Perhaps it was because of the fidgeting; Yes, that must be it. Other than that, however, she found that she really did enjoy his company. The boy seemed to have some implacable personal quality about him that was just so very....bright. Very positive. In fact, just sitting here with him seemed to improve her outlook...somehow.

"Hm," she said again. "Then, why don't you come down later this afternoon? Do you remember your way around?" she invited.

"Well, now that you mention it," he started to say, completely turning his face to her, and leaning back on his arms. "I probably don't," he laughed. ".....My name's Freyr," the boy added, looking Zoe in the eye.

"Mine's Zoe," she returned with a smile. "And I'd be happy to show you around, if you'd like."

"That would be awesome," said Freyr. "But first, I need to check something. Hang on," he said, sitting up strait again, and scooching right up to the very edge of the dock. "Be right back!" he beamed. And with that, suddenly launched himself feet first into the air, landing some 10 feet out, into the ocean below.


ASDF.

"Zoe," she heard him repeat, quietly.

______________________________________________________
AN: Soo, yeah. Chapter 1.1 is fer keeps now, but that part where I talk about her hometown and how she and Freyr met needs lots and lots of help. :|

*edit #2* I'm trying so hard not to crack up as I write their character descriptions. Don't wanna lay it on too thick. Fun Fact: Normally, you wouldn't catch me walking within 10ft of a romance novel, but I thought adding this little bit of history could actually help enrich my plot. That is also how Victor Frankenstein began telling his narrative about his life in Mary Shelly's novel, so I figured, eh, it's worked before. :p

*edit #1* Hay! Check this out! :D

Oh... I wrote a big long rant, but aparently that wasn't so much what the question was asking... Sorry. Good topic, though.

In short, BRING BACK WRITERS WITH A DROP OF TALENT, and then we'll talk.

Education must have failed somwhere, because most of the fiction I've seen coming out the past few years has been pure #$^%. I mean that the writers of today weren't trained very well. And guess what?! They're already training the next generation, who isn't doing much better!

Fundamental quallity stanbdards need to be raised. By publishing companies, if not schools.

Since the question apparently was addressing vulgar vs censorship, though, I dissagree. People chant, "old enough to know the difference," and "freedom is in the Constitution," in order to get their way, but I have NEVER seen the understanding of which they speak actually DMONSTRATED!

My little brother, for instance, is THE sterotypical, uncontrolable, unballenced, emotional, self-hating teenager. And HE USES THOSE LINES ALL OF THE BLINKING TIME, AND DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN!! He plays PC games by Valve, so many I can't even keep track of all the titles. They basically look like this:



Except x 50. And now he keeps babbling excitedly about shotguns.

We're only as strong as our weakest link, remember? And you really want poeple like my little brother having unrestricted access to the same things that supposedly more intelligent people his age are getting their hands on?

"We want our teenagers to read more, so why stop them from reading if they find something they like? Let them read friggin Mein Komph if they want!" Well, my bro does read manga, but I've found that I have to check over them first to make sure they're not actually cartoon porn in duisguise, which I find MOST of the ones he reads ARE. He's 13 years old, so there we DO hit a snag.

I'm an artist AND a writer, and I'm completely FOR censsorship. Doesn't make sense, does it? Maybe I know something. Like...

WRITERS ARE SNEAKY!!!!

The Odyssey, other Greek myths. Among the Hidden, and others in that series. Lois Lowry, or however you spell her name. All of Steinbeck's books... The list goes on and on and on. [and on and on and on]

Just for the heck of it, lets ban textbooks, too. Because out of ALL the teachers I've EVER had, the only ones who were worth their salt happened to be those who deviated the most from the textbook, and the worst teachers I've ever had just happened to be the ones who thumped the textbook like a Bible.

This is war, folks. It's the fiction they assign that impacts children the most, I swear. Notice the similarities between Odysseus's slaughter of the suiters and the Virginia Tech massacre; Back in 9th grade, I did an illustration of that scene because my teachers were acting drunk with love for this story, and I waned to show them the truth; They could not see it, which was obvious because they hung up the poster, depicting 36'' x 20'' of pure murderous gore, in the classroom for who knows how long. I really don't know how long they left it, this was years ago, but I ACTUALLY TRANSFERED SCHOOLS because they wouldn't get off the Greek and Roman myths; I was taking GATE English and its co-requisite Humanities course, but the two of them together was more like a two hour Homer-worship session five days a week. I transfered to a Catholic high school that January, and discovered, deeply envious, that while I had been studying that filth, my new classmates had spent the fall semester studying The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The difference? The later novel taught that murder was a bad thing, whereas the Odyssey taught that it was just, even downright glorious to kill people who were unarmed!

I never had to read the Lois Lowry books, thank God (literally), but my little brothers did, so I know they're made of the same stuff. I had to read Among the Hidden in 8th grade, and my impression of it then was that its only purpose was to portray America as a lumbering badguy. What does that teach American children? If that book is set in the future, then it's really about THEM! It's message is that American children should hate themselves and their country, and it worked didn't it?! I don't know ANYBODY younger than me with an old-school sense of ownership and pride. "Americans are stupid and dumb," is the ONLY vibe that I get. Well, since y'all elected Obama, maybe.

Fiction is such an overlooked tool. It can make people believe things without having to reason with them. I know this is true, because of the select type of books I had to read in school, vs what treasures I found on my own that were far more successful (and laudable) in their time than public education would have us believe. They make up things, I swear.

In kindergarten, I vividly remember that they tried to teach me Monday was the first day of the week. They even taught us a neat little song, which I STILL remember! Nowdays I would have been like, "Excuse me, Miss, just look at a calender, and tell me that you're right and the calender's wrong." And you know what? They might actually have tried!

And so, I've made it my life's ambition to become a writer. I have a natural ability to analyze context even deeper than the original authors of certain works probably could. (Read through my posts.) I wrote an essay back in 9th grade analyzing the Odyssey that my teacher gave me a B on because it was slightly too short, but asked to keep a copy of to read to future classes. Go figure? I should have tried to bargain with her, "Give me an A or I'll say no." Anyways, it was just one more missile of mine in the ongoing argument I was having with them about the poems' merits. My mom read it, and said it was collage-thesis level thinking; Back then, I was like, "What's a 'thesis'?" I was only allowed to analyze one chapter of the Odyssey in this assignment's description, "Book IX", from which I was somehow able to extract a theory pertaining to Homer's original inspiration for the whole darn thing. Worse yet, I wrote my whole essay itself in the form of a poem. And still got a lousy B!

I don't know what I did with the darned thing, but I memorized the closing paragraph way back when, because it cracked me up. C:

"When readers read what writers wrote, they see what the writers saw. And there seems to be no exception, no matter where you look. Homer's blindness was written all over his writing And to someone who's read all over his writing, that's easy to see."

My preferred kind of story to write are essentially children's stories, but I strive to make them absurdly complex, so that they're not really for children, but rather intended for adults, to make adults realized that they are still children. Usually they involve searches for meaning and wisdom, but I never fall back on the snide-atheist approach, "there is none", which seems to be increasingly popular these days... (I cosider it a cheap conceptual-shortcut on the author's part.)

No freebies this time, sorry. Just read and review Heart of the Realm for me, or of I'm not updating often enough, encourage me. (Pretty please?) After I finish Heart of the Realm, the whole point of which is to streamline my writing style, I be gonna publish ma REAL beauties unto the world! Something tells me they're not gonna make it into schools to be read alongside Steinbeck's novels, though, even IF I were to become EVEN MORE successful than he was, just because my books are gonna rub them the wrong way, and introduce a POSITVE view of humanity for once. What book was ever assigned in school that wasn't narrow minded and bleak? Or was I just particularly unlucky with my draw of the lot?

This rant has got WAY too long. :\

Just watch for snakes in the grass, novels that are meant to warp your mind, because you know that's what they're up to when those kinds of books appear in clusters. >:[

A break. :>

My grandparents just baught a new house, and there's this story floating around about how she came to own a book of prints of paintings done by Claude Monet, who's work she really loves. So, anyways, I have this canvas that's been laying around for months and months, which I just had no idea what to do with. I finally got the bright idea to paint a reproduction of her choice for her to hang in their new house, as a Christmas gift. :)

Earlier this evening, she told me she'd chosen "The Magpie, Snow Effect" and showed me it in her book. However, I wasn't wearing my conteacts, and couldn't see very well. So, I comed home and Googled it. :3


The Magpie (Snow Effect) by Claude Monet

The jpg will also come in handy [as my reference] since I don't want to get paint on her nice book.

I helped paint her old house today, too. So I asked if she wanted a Monet on her front door. She said she would then have to take it---the door---with her when they move, so that would be the problem. :3

We ate dinner. Tacos and steak. And about halfway through, my bro said the taco shells smelled dusty. I took a sniff of mine, which I hadn't eaten yet, and recieved a great epiphany: I wasn't just smelling the paint on my hands, that taco stunk right off the plate!! So my uncle checked the expiration date on the box. It said, "Use by October 30th, 2007"

My grandparents baught those shells when we were still living with them!!! xD

Yummy.

Remember when I said?

And YES! I swear upon my honor as a complete goody-two-shoes and hardcore nerd that my plots for meh completely original novels, tho I will never discuss their details online, are much more detailed and awesome even than this!

For one of them, imagine the original Deep Dive trailer combined with the Birth By Sleep trailer, only MUCH BETTER!!!! ^.^ <3 <3 <3

Im very excited....I be wantin to paint jumbo oil paintings of scenes from it....if only it was already written, I would hug my manuscript to shreds. And then be very sad, and grumble a lot to myself as I tape all the shreds back together so I can send the darn thing to the publisher. xD


Well, guess what I just saw on DeviantArt! =D

Deviants, Bring Your Dreams To Life!

Soon as I read the summary of what the theme meant, my thoughts immediately jumped back to said-above. What'll make my entry special? I'll be drawing a scene from my certain novel, but kind of movie-poster-esque, since as many writers do, I somewhat hope it'll be made into a movie one day. Not to mention, the images in my head of this novel are unbelievably crisp, and strikingly colorful, so it should translate to any visual medium extremely well. Further yet, since this is a 10 year or so plan, there's a chance I could be good enough in martial arts by then to choreograph all my own fight scenes. And, in a completely different department, there's another chance that I could be designing all of the sets and costumes, too! Yes, it's a buttload of work, but that's why I'll do all the designs and stuff before I even publish the book, and thus be armed with a gazillion illustrations handy for references and promotional material. (Don't tell me you never picked up a book just because the cover was pretty, you fantasy and scifi fans.)

The prizes ain't so bad either, but I was just so excited about drawing this picture I didn't really care what they were; Even if they were bad I would enter. Except when I read them, I was like...

*straps on electric wonder hat*

Silly me, I tend to get serious ideas from my own randomness. ',:\

I happen to be in teh market for an original helmet design, so I got to thinking how cool said "electric wonder hat" would look if I made one for cosplay. And then, dun dun dun, in a flash I got this wonderful idea for a suit of armor (Medieval style) with electric nodes all over it and huge, Frankenstein-esque bolts of statc coming off it. :D

Kind of like Terra's armor was for a split second in the BBS trailer. Then again, one could also say more like the suit of armor Danny Kay wore in the tournament scene of The Court Jester. :,D

(The suit is struck by a rogue bolt of lighting before Kay puts it on, and it becomes so magnetized that, when he does put it on, he sticks right to his opponent!)

Still wanna design/make my own helmet, tho. Helmets are gorgeous things... :*

I be on de interwebz,
hackin ur secret recipeez!! :D



Somet'ing tells me dat de microwave will come in handy. 8D

All I really have figured out so far concerning her roll in Heart of the Realm, quoted from older posts:

I also would like Ansem not even to meet Maleficent until he is much older, king already, and possibly finally starting to slip a cog. I want her to be introduced as a summon, whom Ansem calls on for a few specific favors, decides is uncommonly useful, and begins to conjure frequently. In addition, he senses something nostalgic about her, her similarities to the White Witch, whom Ansem no longer remembers consciously. They get to talking, and eventually become personal friends. But, unlike with Riku, Maleficent never grants Ansem special powers. When Sora battles Ansem in the game, in all of his many forms, Ansem uses lots of energy blasts, most of which resemble Riku's somehow. This is not because they were both using the powers granted them by Darkness. There is, in fact, no such thing! The powers are augmented by darkness, yes, but not enabled by it. It is, actually, only Riku who can wield power, because this was his gift from Maleficent. Ansem never received such a gift, therefor he can only throw energy blasts when he is possessing Riku. (I am SO a genius now, right?) ^__^

I'll leave Maleficent's real reason for this unknown, but I'll very likely have Ansem get all in a huff because he thinks that, since the both of them are pursuers of Darkness, Maleficent silently knows that, if she gives Ansem power, then Ansem will in fact become more powerful than even she.


And now, to continue ze brainstorm! *straps on electric wonder hat* >:D

Last time I saw Sleeping Beauty, not long ago, actually, I developed another one of my signature, overblown theories about a nanoscopically small detail which I doubt even the original creators were aware of; Had they been, they might have taken it out!

Two of the three good fairies granted the princess magical gifts of voice and beauty. Then the wicked fairy Maleficent burdened her with a terrible, powerful curse. The third good fairy was not strong enough to undo this awful magic, but none the less succeeded in lessening it, saving the princess's life. In an attempt to avert the curse entirely, the three good fairies then hid with the infant in the forest for sixteen years, raising her themselves until the singular, fateful sunset prophesied by Maleficent had passed without harm to the princess. During this time, the princess grew lovely, and could even tame the wild birds of the forest with her beautiful singing. Since the good fairies forbid her to speak to strangers, the animals of the wood were her only, lonely friends. :C

All this time, she carried within her these magical gifts, each one reflecting something of the fairy who had long ago bestowed it. Signs of each one's highest values, weather it was true love, beauty, or music. True to her name, Princess Aurora (a swirl of colors) became the very embodiment of these virtues. And--my theory---perhaps a bit extra.

Somewhere in the fabric of Aurora's being, she also carried Maleficent's mark. Even though it was merely intended to seal her fate, suppose that magic was much more personally associated, similarly to DNA...

While watching Sleeping Beauty, not long ago, about the second time through, I realize that, at the start of the forest scene where "Brier Rose" sings to her animal friends, she lets a cute little bluebird perch on her hand in a particular way. And I said to myself, "Now where have I seen that before??" And realized that she held the bird in EXACTLY the same way Maleficent sometimes held her pet raven. The only realistic justification for this, from what I can figure, is that Maleficent and Brier Rose must have both been animated by the same artist; Or, perhaps, that one of these characters in her respective bird-holding scene was animate before the other, and there were indeed two different animators, but the artist for the second scene used the first completed scene as a style reference. That's all I can figure, unless the designers of that movie really did intend for such terminally obscure character analysis, like mine above.

But I doubt that's likely. Tho that don't mean I don't have to!! :D

I've been kinda mulling it over in my head for a while, but I think I'd like to have Maleficent, in a time before Ansem's birth, place a similar curse on Hans. Hans is the older of the brothers, making him destined for the throne; But since he dies, Ansem gets it.

So, Hans is born, the king and queen throw a knock-down-drag-out party, the good fairies come, bestow gifts of "strength" and "wisdom" on the baby prince, Maleficent shows up and crashes the gala, and instead of proceeding exactly like how it happened in the movie, I'll have an all-out magical duel break out which ultimately ends in Maleficent being trapped inside a humble wooden spinningwheel. Or something to that effect, anyway. So, technically, the curse is still in full effect, but Maleficent herself isn't considered a threat anymore. Are we safe? I think not! But, they do, unfortunately for Hans. :(

The curse soon becomes forgotten, for everything in the castle is right peachy. Even more so when a second prince is born. Ansem! However, all those years growing up, and no one ever talked about Maleficent, so Ansem never found out she was bad. Then he discovers the spinningwheel, like, a decade or so after his bro's death, and learns how to call upon the magical being trapped inside, hence Maleficent the Summon. Then finally there's all that junk about them becoming friends and whatnot, when actually it was she above all who was responsible for Hans' fate, throwing all kinds of insult into the mix; Maleficent knows, and probably sneers at Ansem for being so uninformed, but never enlightens him.

(*edit* Oh my, this is where I get completely off topic! Very well, I shall continue on my original point at the end of this post. Carry on, but be alert!) =___=

As for what said fate will be exactly, I STILL haven't figured out yet. All I can figure so far is he could get thrown from his horse mid-transit from Haruka Town to Hollow Bastion Castle, and his foot catches in the stirrup. But the horse keeps running a strait line and, first spotted from a great distance, arrives at the Castle, riderless, but trailing an unidentifiable cargo... Which so far is the single, nastiest character-death I have ever come up with. >___<

A friend of mine was gonna teach me how to saddle her horses a while back. I should ask her again, so I can figure out factually weather this could work or not. (She was also going to let me get some super cool uber awesome pics of my Riku cosplay on one of her horses, too!) *_____*

Not sure I like how it fits into the general 'flavor' of the HotR, though. Except that it can be paired up with another idea I had for their mom, where she owns chocobos back in her youth, whereas I want Hans to be a notorious horse hobbiest. I have this picture in my mind of young Zoe riding a black chocobo named Fenrir down a sandy, stormy coastline, at night, and wearing an enormous, flowing white rain cloak. I figure the difference between horses and chocobos could be that horses are a much snootier mount, preferred by royalty and the wealthy, and chocobos are much more commonplace. So the trend goes like this: Zoe loves chocobos, Hans inherits this trait, and attaches himself to horses in Narnia where they can actually talk, only he continues to love horses even after they return to Hollow Bastion. So up until his death, this love was always a positive thing, making his death truly a freak accident, which I was going for.

Perhaps, just as Maleficent herself took the shape of a spinningwheel in order to do-in Princess Aurora, Maleficent could take the shape of something that spooked the horse, or even become the horse itself.

That is only, of course, should I choose to settle with this idea. It is only what I have come up with so far, but for some reason, just doesn't seem 'right' yet. :\

Maybe if I watch that movie 30 more times. :\

Question: Do monarchies usually crown the new king after or before the old king's funeral? Or are both ceremonies smushed together into one proceeding? :P


*edit* Continuing now from where I left off before those sly little parenthesise. :3

If Hans was the one blessed by the fairies and cursed by Maleficent, how could I demonstrate the subtle personal traits that might have piggybacked over to him? MOST IMPORTANTLY, how could these deep inner markings affect his relationship with Ansem, and subsequently contribute to Ansem's future turning evil?!

I dunno as much yet; I actually think I'll figure it out when I figure out Maleficent's modified curse-poem that she [supposedly] improvises at Hans' birth celebration. "Listen well, ALL of you. *slams down staff* The prince shall indeed grow in strength and wisdom. BUT! Before the sun sets on the eve of his coronation, he shall catch his ankle on the stirrup of a....blahblahblah..." :\

And YES! I swear upon my honor as a complete goody-two-shoes and hardcore nerd that my plots for meh completely original novels, tho I will never discuss their details online, are much more detailed and awesome even than this!

For one them, imagine the original Deep Dive trailer combined with the Birth By Sleep trailer, only MUCH BETTER!!!! ^.^ <3 <3 <3

Im very excited....I be wantin to paint jumbo oil paintings of scenes from it....if only it was already written, I would hug my manuscript to shreads. And then be very sad, and grumble a lot to myself as I tape all the shreds back together so I can send the darn thing over to the publisher. xD

Ew, no. Then again, you never really know, do yeh. How may unsolved cold cases are there? O.o

Haunted? Depends by who, or what. Ghost of pets, I can handle. Dead family members ringing the phone every night at 4:12am, I can handle, too. Maybe poltergeists. But malevolent presences, no way; I swear I have uncanny bad luck as it is, don't need to invite invisible enemies on top of that. A while back LJ asked a Q, "What if you could live this day, month or whole year over again? Why?" which I never answered, but immediately knew my answer to. I'd live the whole year over again. For one thing, because I dislocated my shoulder three separate times, the SAME shoulder. For another, because of how my project at the Comic-Con went down. But mostly, because of how many people have died this year. TT^TT

1. My mom's friend's daughter was killed in a car accident not wearing her seatbelt. She was in her early 20's.
2. My friend was at our house when she got a call that one of her other friends was just killed in his ultralight.
3. One of our Church's pastors, an older man at least, got sick and died very suddenly.
4. MJ died, of course. But all four of these people all died within a mere two weeks of each other. :(
5. A boy who graduated one year ahead of my brother in the TABC, who my bro even toured South Korea and Hong Kong with, killed himself about a month ago.
6. It was discovered that, a few weeks before that, a friend of his had just killed himself.
7. And then, alas, there was that "Fiesta Cruise" incident in Rocky Point, where this Mexican family used a tourist yacht to scatter their father's ashes; We were not told that the tables at the bow of the boat were reserved, so, as some of the very first people to board, guess where we sat. >.<

And, as if this list wasn't long enough, two of my family members just had very close calls. My oldest cousin, now on his third tour of duty, was present at Ft. Hood when the recent shooting occurred. I didn't hear of this until my dad said he called to let us all know he was ok, and wasn't actually at the scene. And then, there is my grandpa, who just had his second toe amputation due to poor circulation, (on top of that, he's been on dialysis for somewhere between 14-16 years), and now his whole leg is infected with cellulitis; this is NOT good, because his mother before him died of amputations that wouldn't heal. D:

Your prayrs are desperately needed. My grandparents just bought a new house in a beautiful retirement community, and aren't even moved in yet. My grandpa originally hurt this toe laying down vinyll floor tiles. He is in good spirits, but my grandma could die before he does of just plain worry. Seriously. TT^TT

If I could live this year over again, boy... The next twenty years from now might look very different. :|

One thing my grandma once told me: Maybe it's a good thing that we can't know the future, because we'd probably all be so scared we'd hide under the covers and never, ever come out.

So, yeah. Keep yer evil spirits. >:P



^ Notice the triple 6. Yes I know they're really upside down 9s.
Photo I took of my doggie, Indiana, because one day I looked down
and saw this random newspaper sitting next to him at the door. EEK! D:


For some reason, I feel, just from observing, like the more energy I put forth into my art, the longer annual lists like the above will grow. It's absurd, absolutely, but the coincidence is notable, and extremely disturbing. For every year I was in school, not counting homeschooling or collage, a least one person I knew by extension died. And, this year, I've worked exponentially harder on my art than I ever have before... Since I don't believe in superstition, I'll continue to work on my art as much and as hard as I can. But to not be haunted by the circumstance is another matter entirely.

Yesterday, I had a dream where my grandpa went nuts with a kitchen knife and attempted to kill my mom, grandma, and me. Only he did katana-style cuts that were to slice us each clean in half through the torso. So clean where these cuts, however, that our top halves balanced perfectly on our bottom halves, and our organs could still work. While the three of use were trying not to bleed to death, I got my grandpa in Ue Noru, and proceeded to hammer some sense into him with my fists... I saw my baby cousin there, not injured, but staring around at us, and I said to her, "You're going to need some counseling, little lady." Then, I asked my grandma if she needed the phoneline, to dial 911 for an ambulance, or if she already had and I could log on to the internet while we waited. I got on my Jujutsu class's forum, and started typing a PM to the sensei. "This may be the last time you ever hear from me," I said, meaning in all honesty that I might not live. "I missed class tonight because..." And, FORTUNATELY, about mid this sentence was when I woke up. O.o

In other random nightmare news, I started watching Fantasia again, on YouTube. I realize now how short each of those scenes in there were. Then I got to the volcano scene, and thought to myself, "OMYGOSH THIS REALLY IS THE SCARIEST MOVIE EVERRR!" I was a volcano for Halloween when I was.....three-years-old was it? And I've had more volcano-themed nightmares than any other kind for like.....ever since then? 16 years!! Even though I think volcanoes AWESOME now. >.<

What if Walt Disney had directed more of his tallent into the Horror genre? I'm going to start paying more attention to how he built his villains, and try to write an hypothetical crytique of what might have been. :D

Now I'm just shifting topics randomly. Stupid brain. Haha, oxymoron. xD

Butterscotch. Seawed. Words I need to learn how to spell: yacht, dialysis, cellulitis, ludicrous.

Goodbye.

For somebody who hates sleeping, it's funny how occasionally I can loose the will wake up, entirely, and sleep for days strait. Doesn't normally this bode ill? I slept from 1:00pm yesterday until 6:30pm this evening, waking up every few hours, but never having the strength to get up and just live. Besides the usual depressing factors, the only thing different that occurred earlier that day was that we went to a book store for an hour and a half. I could propose a few different stress-inducing effects this could have had on me, but really, none of them seem important enough to knock me out solid, as if I was actually sick with something. :\

Could just have been the strain of seeing all the new books that are coming out, and knowing deep down in my soul that they were all probably written in less than a year, and by people who had far more assets to their aid. And their general quality.....which I would have considered unacceptable had I written that stuff. D:

After six years of having one certain novel (not HotR, fyi) present in my mind on a daily basis (around 2192 days 'max combo'), certainly the issue carries an enormous amount of weight, for me. Perhaps even enough to affect me physically; When I think about how little I have done so far, it just slams me, and I find myself in a cloud of blackest despair I've ever known. Perhaps meditating on that, yesterday morning in the bookstore, wore me out in a way that couldn't be restored by sleep, as I spent many hours now and then just lying awake, too weak to stand. Details of this novel which I'm writing, or wanting this badly to, are topmost secret, btw; Again the reason I am even bothering with Heart of the Realm is for technical practice, which I am definitely going to need in writing the aforementioned. Only I would know, of course. However, for context.

I could have easily slept longer, but I managed to drag myself to Jujutsu class at 6:45pm in the hope that it would perk me up, and break this spell. I'm still dragging, but that I'm even writing a post, even one such as this, is a major improvement. Just talking about something you want to write is partway to actually writing it; Or, well, at least it helps; Better that than nothing at all?

What I need to do is reclaim the "library" I started to construct, and get that desk clear of my brothers' junk. For some reason, rearranging the furniture usually helps when I get like this. But if I'm too weak to even stand, then where do I find the strength to move mountains? I have no choice, I gotta pull it outta my......... O____O

Another possible reason for this crash was one of the titles I saw in the bookstore, one that I can't even exactly recall anymore, but I just keep thinking over and over again that it might as well have been called "A Fart in Your General Direction". There are so many books coming out now days that that could apply to, huh. But this one was special, because it was in my favorite section: that of science books, probably on the same shelf as Stephen Hawking's works. So, naturally, I took it very personally, for it touched on the very agonizing reasons I dropped out of HS, what my experience was like before then, and what my life has been like ever since then. Probably only I could blow something as small as one random book's title so mega-ly out of proportion, but, like I've been saying, that one really hurt. :(

I'm probably not gonna actually divulge it here, because it has a whole philosophical argument attached to it that I, frankly, don't even believe has any business existing. But you know how people jump on the bandwagon...choose sides with built-in arguments, make airheaded presumptions........

Essentially, there's no such thing as opposites, but thinking so is just old Eastern philosophy rubbed off on Western culture. Science, art, and religion, for instance. I don't see what all the fuss is about; OF COURSE they can harmonize! Stupid heads. Instead of solving the issue, however, I find myself getting hit with three times my fair share of bigotry and contempt; I'm on all three sides, because at their cores I think they are one, if other people would just stop tearing them apart unnecessarily, and converging on poor little me.

That's what my secret novel is all about, btw. Which of course doubles my frustration of not having nearly even begun writing it yet. The more they bicker, the more I think I might know something they don't. And I feel like it's trying to explode out of me, but know that it'll most likely be another TEN YEARS before I can speak openly about my idea. TT~TT

Man I need an icecream sundae. ╥_╥

*slam* *slam* *slam* *slam* ...
*keyboard obliterates* ... *Eu Tyto Alba arranges the dismembered keys into short messages spelled out on the floor*


I wRotE VEry LoNG post
GoT dELeteD

iN shORT:

For me, always instant. Every choice I can make in an instant always turns out to be the one I am happiest with in the long run, even when just buying cloths. If it takes any longer than that, I consider the extra time taken as time spent "talking myself into it." In other words, I didn't really want that direction to begin with, and probably won't again in another ten minutes.

Last month, I found myself in an highly odd position where I felt it might be necessary to post a warning directed at any possible admirers that may possibly be out there... A very odd position indeed, I must say. Not sure where to begin...

Perhaps, a list of random points that I could never stress enough?

•  I don't take flattery well. I hate it, in fact. Yeah I'll say thanks and smile, but seethe inside, and probably dock you serious points.
• Arguing with me about the above is NOT cute. It's a given fact that I'm wonderful; I don't need to hear about it.
• Other than the usual (honesty, integrity, est), your TEMPERAMENT is the most important thing. What sort of temperament am I looking for? Well, if you don't got it, then you just don't got it. I'm not gonna ask you to change, just ask ya to find yourself another girl.
• Must love: SCIENCE, extreme martial arts, travel, snow, and more I don't care to think of right now. (I'm talking consummate obsession here, not just, "Oh, I like that stuff....kinda".)
• Can't deal with 'consummate obsession' in the house? Well.....heh heh.....I'm your worst nightmare. Art projects EVERYWHERE. ...Worse yet, you'd be expected to help. And to be happy about it!
• None of this: "You will deny it, but I know you better than you know yourself," bs. I could say the same thing, ya know. Except that I'd probably be more right. (Three different guys have said that to me!)
• DESPITE APPEARANCES, I'm NOT in to: anime, manga, Japanese pop-culture, dark things, metaphysics, new age, environmentalism, fantasy, science-fiction, video games, conventions, est est. More so, people who are kind of annoy me, but I'm too nice ever to say anything.
• I'm nice to everybody, but don't assume that I like everybody I'm nice to. Meaning YOU!
• *edit* Even suggest that I should act or dress more femininenly, and you'll be dead to me.

Sorry to sound like a jerk, but I seem to only get weirdies trying to hit on me. Or if they weren't weird to begin with, they certainly became that way as soon as they started trying to hit on me. Why is this so? Because [I think] they made an assumption at the start that, as a female, I partake in this universal fantasy that [I guess] they think all females dream in common, which guys then try to become like in order to make themselves more attractive. Which only makes me think they have no business being attracted to me in the first place, because obviously they have no idea what I'm like. (Use the words "man" and woman" in the same sentence, and I'll surely barf. That's like eating strait maple syrup and washing it down with soda!!) D:

To make life easier, tho, I stick to this one simple rule: I would never expect more from a guy than I expect from myself, but no less either, and I KNOW that I'm not normal; You'd practically have to be an astronaut! (Not literally.) Just check over my work first to see if you're up to par, because otherwise you'd hate hanging out with me anyway. As would I, you, most likely, which is the whole point of this post.

No seances for me. But I do strongly believe the dead do still communicate. Freaky family stories. Like how everyone's clocks all stopped the exact second my grandma's aunt died, in different timezones even but all of them calculating out to the exact same moment continent-wide. Like how our deceased cats (my family loves cats) have popped in again on more than one occasion, meowing invisibly or rubbing on somebody's leg when they weren't thinking and didn't realize that there wasn't even a cat 'around' anymore. Once I was running down my grandma's hallway in the dark late at night, and as I turned around a corner I saw a cat round the corner first and run past me in the opposite direction, so I jumped out of the way, only I didn't hear anything (normally you can hear their claws loudly on the carpet when they run) so I turned around to look, and saw only a desolate, dark hallway, no cat at all. There're also other stories about family members who actually appeared to other family members immediately after their deaths to say goodbye, when those family members didn't even know yet that they were dead, but figured it out because of the apparition, and later confirmed it with the rest of the family.

My heritage is very Irish. And my bro and I have this theory that, the Japanese may write about strange things in their fiction, culturally, but in ancient history, the Irish actually had strange things happen to them in reality, hence the particularly frightening old Irish ghost stories. I'm trying to get my hands on a book or two of Celtic myths, since I started reading a few on Wikipedia and realized, hay, these are ACTUALLY pretty scary! (I've been fed up for so long with cheezy horror fables, you have no idea. *headdesk*)

My two favorite so far, as I've said before on this LJ, are the tales of the washerwoman seen prior to a death washing the bloody clothes or armor belonging to the person doomed to die, and the muse who enslaves an artist and leeches off their health, usually killing them young or driving them utterly mad, or both. If I can aquire this book, I might even like to reference some of these creatures in my own fiction; already I've determined how to use the leanan sidhe----the muse one----on more than one occasion in my original novels. I wish I hated to say it, but that's one I can easily identify with. *shifty eyes*

Unfortunately, the best supernatural life experiences I've personally ever had have not yet really been recorded here, although I have tried on several occasions, usually hiding those posts for not being happy with how they came out, because I just can't quite get my head around them. Some extreme stuff there. Not like, spiritual apparitions or anything, but immensely complex circumstances that, when analyzed seem only to spell out a very clear message. Messages I'd have trouble believing if it were not those situations themselves that seemed like proof. A dream that came true, years and years ago, and still continues to, to this very day. And, actually, an affirmative answer to a question I asked, from the deceased MJ himself. Just thinking about those two stories make me want to pull my hair out, but that wouldn't be any good... If I could just write them down without being so overwhelmed by awe that I couldn't write coherently anymore.

I only say so because I'm hoping that stating my dilemma (above) will help me to resolve it. Having them down would be a load off of my chest, like when I wrote down how I first got interested in theoretical physics. They are of the same magnitude. At least, maybe greater. Sometimes, I think my life resembles a psycho-thriller, where nothing much happens on the outside, but on the inside, I'm always having my mind blown away. Probably resulting in me appearing to be unstable?? I know that's what my bro thinks of me, but generally he's one of those misguided know-it-alls who would bet their immortal souls on the assumptions they make. Literally, he has. He makes absurd bets all the time, but only in cases where we'll never know the real answer. I scoff at him, "like that really makes you more credible." (Oh no, a tangent! *abandons, but does not delete*)

Gotta go. Will finish this later. :)

Computer's winning. :\

Random extension to my brainstorm earlier about Ansem not being able to wirld power unless he was possessing Riku because Maleficent only granted tat power to Riku and not Ansem. I'll leave Maleficent's real reason for this unknown, but I'll very likely have Ansem get all in a huff because he thinks that, since the both of them are pursuers of Darkness, Maleficent silently knows that, if she gives Ansem power, then Ansem will in fact become more powerful than even she, because his Darkness is greater thus the augmentation of said powers would be greater.

All this deep thinking JUST to explain the inscrutable look on Possessed-Riku's face right as Maleficent walks off to meet her doom. 1:18 below I figured that the showing of the blue aura (Ansem's, whereas we know Riku's to in fact be green like Maleficent's powers) meant that Maleficent didn't know Riku was now possessed, that Ansem was the one to whom she was really speaking, and also that it meant, since it glowed the moment she turned her back, that Ansem and Maleficent had known each other previously, in some unknown chapter of Kingdom Hearts history. ...Savvy? :3




*edit* Aww, poor Riku... I just had an idea; If Riku was the only person who Maleficent ever endowed with her own powers, then after Maleficent's defeat, a more logical way (than in KHII) for her to try and come back would have been to try to come through Riku. So, imagine struggling against 2+ inner, powerful, evil entities. In order to come out on top, cause I mean, common, Ansem AND Malleficent BOTH AT THE SAME TIME?!, Riku would have to become one heck of a very bad-awesome dude by the end of the story. Although, somehow, I don't think physically turning into a character-cross between the both of them would exactly be quite what I had in mind. Ew.

*edit* Then again, that would be a very, very adamant "ew'", exactly what is called for in writing horror... It provokes a strong gut reaction. Perhaps, if done well, handled delicately, and not just 'thrown out there'.... Then again, I might just earn myself a reputation as one really twisted writer. O_o

HotR is not about Riku, however. *phew*

Then again, I still haven't decided how much I want it to overlap with the original game.

Back in HS, when I was a freshman, I took an art class but when I got there, they were studying point-perspective, which I'd been taking in art class since middle school and was downright sick of, so the teacher let me bump up to sophomore level art. Towards the end of the year, the sophomore art students were going to paint a mural together and had the teacher explain to me that I wasn't really a sophomore and they wanted this mural to be just a sophomore project, regardless that we were in the same art class and this was an art project. I didn't mind at all at the time, since it gave me the opportunity to do a solo project. However, my overall HS experience ended very, very badly. And even to this day, the mural still hangs there; I saw it recently when I attended a ceremony for my little brother who now goes there, and was surprised at myself for all the well of bitterness I now held against it. To me it is a blaring symbol of singular exclusion, which is all my HS experience ever was. Particularly in assotiation with the room it is now hanging in, the drama hall. Long story about that... Very long story...