Just Another List

So my good friend Vanessa, who also writes a blog, (You can find it by clicking on her picture at the side of my blog) wrote a list of 50 things about her. I found this pretty entertaining and informative, so I figured I would do one too!

1) You probably already know this, but my dream job is to become a writer. While in my spare time, and until I become world famous (kidding... maybe), I would love to own a coffee shop/book store. I know those won't earn me much money either, but hey, maybe together I can scratch by. If all else fails, I'll live in the coffee shop.

2) I've gone to two book signings for Brandon Sanderson, and I'm keeping my eye out for more signings by other authors

3) I'm a horrible procrastinator. Right now I should be studying for my History mid term that's tomorrow...

4) I have the amazing ability to grow my nails fairly long. I would say the average is about a centimetre long. They don't break often either, but when they do, it's normally into the skin, making it very painful.

5) I have terrible eyesight. I have to wear glasses if I want to do anything. In fact, I think by now I'm almost legally blind. My current glasses prescription is at about -6.75, and my eyesight has gotten worse. Legally blind is at -8.

6) I've been pretty much perfectly healthy my whole life. The only exception has been colds, of course. I've never had to stay home sick for more than a day, and I've never been to the hospital for an injury.

7) I'm very shy, but I'm trying to get over it. Once you get to know me, I'm very talkative. but I swear, I'm a nice person! I'm not trying to be aloof or snotty when I'm quiet, I'm just shy.

8) I'm proud that I took three years of Honours English and one year of Advanced Placement Literature in high school. I think the AP Lit was rather exclusive, because only thirty people got in for the whole year.

9) I'm really not a big fan of literature... Oddly enough. It's not that I'm sick of it, it's just that I find most of it very boring. I want to read for fun, not to have to pick through symbols and hidden meaning to understand what is going on.

10) My collection of books is over 150 now, which actually isn't all that big for a book worm, but I've also been donating and selling some in the past few years.

11) I was nearly published in my college's anthology of short fiction. Unfortunately, I didn't make the last cut.

12) I'm on Reddit! Look up Afyvarra if you want. I hang out mostly on r/books, r/zelda and r/WOT

13) I have way too much of a sweet tooth. I will go to a dollar store and buy three decent sized bags of candy, and it'll be gone in a week.

14) That being said, I have a candy chest. I try to keep it well stocked, but to do that I will probably run out of money in a month...

15) I'm very frugal. Most of the money I spend is on food. If you looked at a month worth of purchases, you will see a long list of cafeteria and Safeway.

16) I love European history, but I hate how uncreative they were with names. I'm 'studying' for my midterm, and I got confused by all the people named Philip, or Louis, or John. Then they add in the numbers, but then leave the numbers out sometimes in the textbook. It can get very confusing.

17) However, I like my history with a dash of salt... lots of salt. Meaning, I love reading historical fiction. In particular, Ariana Franklin's work, or Donna Gillespie's.

18) I also like salt. A lot. Especially as double salted dutch liquorish. And yes, that is a black liquorish.

19) I'm half Swedish! And no, that does not mean I'm tall, blond and very chesty. It means I'm pale as a ghost, with some mixture of ginger, blond and light brown hair.

20) Not particularly a fact about me, but my dad looked like a Weasley when he was younger. In fact, he saw a picture of Ron Weasley on my Facebook page, and thought it was a picture of himself.

21) I'm very good at staying up late. Unfortunately, I'm pretty bad at getting up early. It doesn't work so well with school or work...

22) I'm a Zelda fan! Which should be pretty obvious from my last posts. I love having friends over to play Zelda with me, and it's een more fun when we dress up. I'm always Link.

23) I love snakes. And yes, I have held one before. Unfortunately, my mom hates them, so I can't have one until I move out.

24) I know archery and fencing. I took fencing for about three years. I was never very good at it though... I only did archery for a year, but I think I was getting pretty decent. School got in the way though, and I haven't had the time to take it up again.

25) I also know how to read and write in Runic. My great grandfather was a master in runes, so we inherited some books from him. I started to learn them, and got interested. There are so many different forms that it's impossible to know the 'right' form. I used the most popula, called Elder Futhark, which is similar to what Tolkien used in his books. And for the record, it is NOT Dwarvish! I've had people telling me it's not runic, it's dwarvish. Idiots.

26) I love the Lord of the Rings movies, but I could not get through the books. I reached the halfway point of the second book and gave up. I did however love the Hobbit, and I'm disappointed that the movie was cut into three movies. However, they did a pretty decent job with it.

27) I may be a writer, but I hate writing essays. I was pretty good at them in grade 12, but since coming to College, I think I've exhausted any skill I might have had. I just want all academics to be over with so that I can focus on Creative Writing.

28) Technology hates me. Especially the internet. It's constantly going down, often at the most inconvenient of times. My ipad is always crashing and my phone drains it's battery so quickly.

29) My room is bright green. When I painted it I had to promise my parents that I would help them paint it a neutral colour when they wanted to move out.

30) I also have an Alice-in-Wonderland type of chandelier in my room. It's black and whimsical looking, and I love it. I'm taking it with me when I move out.

31) I cannot do laundry. I mean, I can work the washing machine and the dryer, but as soon as I turn the machine on, I completely forget I have clothes in there, and they sit for the whole day, therefore making them smell like dirty water.

32) I prefer to have short hair. I'm currently growing my hair out now so that I have something covering my neck and ears during the winter, but in the summer I plan to chop it all off again so it can be short enough for a faux hawk.

33) Let's go back to my room, because my room is awesome. I have a wooden shield hanging on my wall that my dad made in high school. It has a metal rampant lion on it.

34) I also have a map of Middle Earth with the path the Hobbits took in Lord of the Rings. Above that is my Hogarts Acceptance Letter, and above that is my timeline of the Triforce.

35) The first thing most people see when walking into my room is a large poster of the Mad Hatter hung right above my bed. People always wonder how I can sleep with that there, but no one seems to realize that I'm not craning my neck up to see what it right behind my head...

36) I have only sung twice in public (outside of elementary school choir), and that was at my friend's karaoke birthday party

37) When I do homework or play on my laptop, I prefer to sit on the ground than anything else. It can get uncomfortable, but as long as I stand up every few hours it's fine... And I'm pretty lazy...

38) I'm currently starting to freak out because the university I applied to still has not gotten back to me, and I need to apply for the program by the end of March...

39) I hate how people call it Game of Thrones, when the series is actually called A Song of Ice and Fire. However, I did just buy a Game of Thrones calendar, and I feel like I can call it that because it uses pictures from the show, which is called Game of thrones.

40) The farthest from home I have ever been is Europe. More specifically, Rome, Florence, Venice, Sweden and Paris. It was a good vacation.

41) When I buy a hard cover book, I prefer to take the sleeve off and leave the cover blank. It looks more like an old fashioned book, and in my opinion, makes it look much better.

42) I'm very competitive when it comes to video games. Except for Super Smash Brothers Brawl... Then I'm just surprised if I don't lose, since I have no idea how to play and I just button mash... But in Mario Kart...

43) I swore that I would never work at McDonalds because of how disgusting and greasy it is. Then I got a job at a Fish and Chips place where most of the food is deep fried. At least where I work everything is fresh and real.

44) I love writing poetry, but i don't really care for reading it. Especially when you really have to weed through the poem to figure out what it means... Then write an essay on it. I think my view on it's been corrupted because it's always been as homework, so I've never really enjoyed it when I've read it.

45) However, my favourite poem is Dulce Et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen. The first time I read this poem was in school, but it was just for fun, so maybe that's by I love it.

46) My favourite author is Brandon Sanderson, but Brent Weeks and Kristen Britain are close behind. However, my favourite book series is The Wheel of Time, which was written by Robert Jordan. Unfortunately, the rest of Jordan's work has never attracted me.

47) I am a huge fantasy fiction nerd. It's pretty much all I read, with the occasional exception for historical fiction, and even that can be fantasy related.

48) When I am looking for new books, I look at the cover first, then choose if it looks good enough to read the back. The thing is, with fantasy fiction, a lot of the time that actually helps. Most fantasy books have covers that depict a scene or an important part of the book. I hate how teen fiction will, for example, have a picture of an apple, then be all about some wimpy vampire. It has no relation and is never mentioned in the book, so what is the point?

49) I played soccer for about eight years. Then I couldn't find a team anywhere even close to where I live, so I had to give it up for a year. After that I just haven't had the time or motivation to find a new team. I would like to go back though.

50) And final one! I wish I had saved something super cool, but as it is, I've run out of steam. Anyway, when someone takes a picture of me with flash, there's a good chance that my skin will look like it's glowing. Yeah, that's the Swedish skin...

The seventh Creator

((Sorry for missing the update yesterday, I just had nothing to say. I still don't, really, so here is a couple pages from something I was working on a while ago.))

            “Retreat!” The booming voice was swallowed up by the sounds of battle. “Retreat!” A horn blasted, ringing over the field below. A second horn took up the call, and by the third, the blue clad men were pulling back, withdrawing from a battle that would have claimed each life. Horsemen surged ahead, passing foot soldiers and fallen comrades, leaving the slow and wounded to be hacked down as their enemy followed. As horses and men alike crested the hill and raced past the very man who had sounded the retreat, the attackers slowed, stopped and pulled back too.

            “Another skirmish.” A younger man spoke solemnly as he dismounted from his lathered horse. “They are getting bolder. This is the farthest we have encountered them in our territory. And yet, they never press us when we retreat.”

            “They don’t need to.” Lord Eiod growled and pointed to a map. Black spots marked the paper, like splattering of ink. Each spot marked an enemy camp. Red spots surrounded them, where skirmishes had been fought and lost. Blue spots, a symbol of a skirmish won, did not appear. “With each battle, they push us closer inward. They know that they don’t have to exhaust their own troops to defeat us. All it will take is time.”

            “Then don’t retreat.” Tanlar, son of Eiod insisted as he slumped down in one of the fold up chairs brought along for the commanders. A servant approached to tend to a wound on his arm. “Bring in the reserves. We can push them back.”

            “At what cost? We will lose half our men, and they will still have each camp to call upon. That is a lost limb compared to a minor scratch.” Eiod absently rubbed at his stump of a hand, lost many years ago while fighting in a distant war.

            “And huddling behind a shrinking line will make a difference? We must- Careful!” He cut himself off to snap at the servant, who had pulled out a sharp of iron from the wound. “That is an arm, not a slab of meat!”

            “Tanlar, would you rather have it chopped off?” His father roared. The servant flinched, but at a gesture from her lord, pulled out a needle to begin stitching the wound up. Tanlar tried to hide his winces every time the needle pierced his skin.

            “Perhaps you were not made for war.” Eiod observed, watching his son who flinch before a needle but met a sword without as much as a blink. “You love the fight too much. One day you will not notice the blade as it is rammed into your chest. A blood lust is only useful when all hope is gone.”

            “I do not fall into a blood lust, father.” Tanlar replied bitterly. “I fight with all the strength I have. Men die because of lack of skill, not from the rush of battle.”

            “And yet, you only feel your wounds now. You feel nothing while you’re down there. A scratch may be a scratch, but receive a hundred without notice and you will bleed to death before a blade can deal a fatal blow.”

Tanlar stared stubbornly at his father until the servant snipped the thread, and without a word he was back on his feet, stalking away to tend to his horse.

            “My lord… We found something odd while tending to the wounded.” One of the doctors said as Eiod walked through the make shift hospital. Many men would die from their wounds; many others would be unable to fight again.

            “It was an arrow… There was a message attached.” Eiod froze and turned to face the doctor. In his hand was a bloodied piece of paper. “The ink is smeared by the blood, but it seems to be a message from Tasrin…”

            Eiod snatched the paper up and unrolled it. Black in ran with the red blood, making reading it near impossible. A wax seal near the bottom marked it as a message from Tasrin.

            “Send a group of healthy men down to the field, look for scrolls or pieces of paper.” He ordered to one of the commanders, who had been talking to a man not far away. He looked up in confusion, but did not question his lord’s order. Within minutes there were two dozen mounted men riding down into battle field. With both armies now evacuated the area, ravens and other carrion birds had begun to circle in the sky.

            “We found twelve in total.” The commander reported once the scrolls were placed upon the map table. Most were soaked in blood, and one was torn into several pieces. Two were legible still.

            Lord Eiod, it read, You have fought valiantly, but you must know by now that you have no hope. I wish for not only your land, but also your people. Therefore, I hope we can end this war, and therefore save the lives of many. I offer a truce. I will call off all attacks and keep part of my army in your land only for protection and policing, in exchange for the hand of your daughter in marriage.

            Eiod stopped reading there, and with a curse, tore the paper in half. It was not the offer that angered him, but the knowledge that he had no choice but to accept.

            “My Lord, orders?” The commander asked hesitantly.

            “Pull back, Commander Lap.” Eiod sighed. “Back to the keep.” Lap nodded before turning to shout orders. Soldiers well enough to work leaped to attention and began pulling tents down.

            “The army is getting small.” Eiod murmured, drawing Lap’s attention back to him. “We must start recruiting again.”

            “My lord, the only men left to recruit are too young, too old, or crippled. Even they are hard pressed to bring in the harvest without the support of their fathers or sons.”

A Memory of Light review

Today I finally finished the final book in the Wheel of Time series. I read the last page while on the bus, and I have to admit, by that point I was sniffling (Though that might have been from my cold...) Either way, it's hard to describe my feelings. I'm overjoyed that I could read the ending and find out what happened, but then it's the end. There will be no more Wheel of Time books, and even no more books in the same world. Although only some characters died, I feel like they all did, because I can never go back and discover for the first time who they are and what happens. It's like looking at childhood videos. You can appreciate that time and moment, but you can never go back and relive it to the same extent.

Furthermore, I think I've just realized how terrible Robert Jordan's death was. I only started reading the series after he died, and right before Brandon Sanderson took over the series. I was shocked when I found out about Jordan's death, but I was just happy to know that the series was continuing. Now that it's over, Sanderson has sworn that he will not continue in the same world that Jordan wrote, because Jordan didn't want anyone to take his work and continue with it for their own gain. The only thing Sanderson did was finish the series, but he will not go further. That means we will never see what happens after the final books, despite so many questions being left unanswered. I think that if Jordan was still alive, he would have continued, if not with the same characters, at least in the same world, and that would have provided the readers with some answers. As it is, A Memory of Light will be the final work in the Wheel of Time world.

Even the hope of a movie being made is pretty slim. Because there are fourteen books in the series, which spans about three years, it would be almost impossible to create a movie for each book without actors ageing significantly or dying. Some people have suggested making an anime, but honestly, I would rather never see a movie than see The Wheel of Time in anime. It would make it seem too juvenile and childish, and although I know lots of anime is meant for young adults or older, I cannot shake the feeling that everything would be exaggerated and comical. Personally, I think the best way to approach the movies would be the same way as they made Beowulf. It was skilfully done animation, where it was difficult to see the difference between reality and made up. They would still need actors for voices and models, but it would fix the ageing problem, and even the death of an actors wouldn't be too catastrophic. Of course, it would be very expensive with all the designers and programmers. However, it also takes away the cost for sets, costumes and props needed in a filmed movie.

And finally, for anyone who has not picked up The Wheel of Time yet, I urge you to do so. It can be a little slow sometimes, but as long as you have an interest in medieval fantasy, or fantasy of any kind, I can guarantee that you will get sucked into the world and plot.

**SPOILER WARNING**

I'm leaving the brief summary for the end, in case someone is reading this and doesn't want to stumble across a spoiler. The question I get asked the most is 'what is it about?' The easiest answer is 'It's the basic plot of good against evil. It's kind of like Lord of The Rings, but almost five times longer and five times better.' I say this because the characters are very deep and change drastically throughout the series. Not always physically, or from corruption, but also mentally, for good and for bad. It's not a sappy love story, but there is love, between characters and most definitely between the reader.

My favourite character is Mat. He's a gambler, trickster, curser and prankster. He is also fiercely loyal, and completely lovable, especially later on in the books.

A lot of people like Perrin, especially girls. He's like a teddy bear, or a large dog. He's a blacksmith and hates fighting or hurting anymore, and is almost more emotional than his wife. It's adorable.

Rand is the main character, but of the three he's my least favourite. He goes insane for a while, kind of turns into a douche, becomes a player (he has three girlfriends), but then he changes back into a really caring and gentle guy. Unfortunately, he's also prophesied to die while fighting to Dark One.

Which gets us into the plot. As I said, it's the basic fight between good and evil. The good is called the Light, and the evil is called the Dark or the Shadow. The idea is that there is a supernatural and almost omnipresent thing called the Dark One, or the Shadow Lord, or any number of other names. He was defeated long ago and locked away in a prison, but now he's starting to break out again, sending with it plagues, droughts, evil creates and any number of terrible things. With them comes the people called the Forsaken. They are able to do something called Channel, which is the power in this series. It's like magic, but it's used through weaves, which take skill and training to master, and of course, use energy. I would say about 1/8 of the world's population is able to channel, including men and women. However, for the first part of the series there is a taint on the men's side of the power (called the One Power). This makes it more of a curse for them, as they go insane if they channel too much. Unfortunately, Rand is able to channel, and starts gathering male channels, who are bound to go insane. I don't want to say much more about this though, as it would be getting too far into the plot. Anyway, there are plenty of other mythical people, things and ideas, many of which are completely unique to the Wheel of Time. What I love most is how each book seems to have a new problem or a new plot that will ultimately work toward the final Battle. Think the style of books like Harry Potter, with the setting and plot of Lord of the Rings. It provides for a good, long read that doesn't work itself out too perfectly or too quickly.

I'mma Just Going to... Sleep...

As the title suggests, I am very tired. And as you might have noticed, it is very late on a Saturday night, which means that I missed my Friday update, and I apologize to anyone who freaked out (kidding). My excuse is work, since I worked every day from Saturday to Thursday, whether at Starbucks or the Museum. Then I had another Zelda party on Friday, and more work today.

I believe I mentioned in my last post that I got a job at Starbucks. Since it was my reading week, I was able to stuff all my training into one week. This also meant that I had at least 24 hours or trained work, then I also had another two days as a full worker. I think by the end of today, I've worked a total of about 42 hours... And yes, I did just add that all up on a calculator, because I am too tired to do simple math. Now I'm not complaining, far from it. I'm overjoyed that I have a job now, and it's a lot less stressful than I originally thought it would be. I have a pretty bad memory, so I was scared about learning all the drinks. Ends up a lot of them are very similar. I'm still not very good with iced or blended drinks, but I figure as soon as it gets warmer out, I'll get a lot more practice.

Anyway, on Thursday, which was Valentines Day, instead of going on a date or anything, I worked from 9:30 in the morning to 6:00, at which point my parents picked me up to drive me to a book signing done by Brandon Sanderson. I got in line around 6:30, and left around 9:30, so three hours in line. About an hour of that wait was either spent waiting for Sanderson to actually come out (it started at 7), then there was a Q&A and a very brief reading from the book (the famous first paragraph from the first chapter of each Wheel of Time book). The last time I went to his signing (a couple years ago), I was in line for about three to four hours. I had gotten there an hour late, so the line was huge. This time I arrived half an hour early, so that probably cut the wait down for about an hour. All in all, from waking up around 7:30 and getting home around 10:00, I had been sitting for a total of two and a half hours. Needless to say, I wasn't able to feel my feet for the rest of the night. Then to next day my right calf hurt... Just my right one.

Which brings me to my Zelda Party! (A lot happened this week, I'm sorry) Kyra dressed up at Tingle, so I dressed up at Link. Then we (Shaina, Brandi, Kyra, my mom and myself) went to Walmart... We didn't get as many stares as I thought, but if we don't end up on the People of Walmart, I will be very disappointed. Actually, I seriously think I will submit a photo myself. Although I just checked it out, and you apparently have to live in the states to submit a photo to that website. Dang... Anyway, we bought some post-Valentines Day chocolates and ingredients for home mad mac 'n cheese, then we lost my mom and had to wait outside for almost half an hour. One of the employees gave us a funny looks, then smiled, and another customer asked Kyra is she was an elf. I'll post pictures at the end of the post.
When we got home we played some Skyward Sword, then took some pictures, then played more Skyward Sword. In total, we played about ten hours, though about an hour of it was just when the game was on and we were out doing something else. Still... We started at the boss fight in the first temple, and now we're just starting the Ancient Cistern temple, so that's about two whole temples done, along with a bunch of other side stuff and preparation to get to the water temple, including the damned Silent Realm.

Okay, so the party was great. Only Vanessa slept over, but that was okay. We played a bit more in the morning, then she went home and I continued to just kind of wander around Skyloft... Then I had to start work at 5:15 and was supposed to end at 9:15, but I was closing by myself, and I ended up getting out of there at around 9:35... I'm hoping it will be a lot sooner on Tuesday when I have to close again. I was just paranoid that a customer will come and want a food item that I had just thrown out (because it's no longer fresh after a certain amount of days). So I waited a little too long and then had trouble wrapping all the food up, because I am terrible with Saran wrap. But still, it was only a little over fifteen minutes late, which is still almost half an hour sooner than I expected... And I know I will improve. I don't think they expected me to do an absolutely perfect job, as long as I did the import things.

And now I need some sleep. I have tomorrow off, which I will be spending reading my book for class. It's 150 pages long, which is funny because there's a chapter in A Memory of Light that is 195 pages long. I've been on that same chapter for days now (I had to take a break to start reading my school book, I'm honestly not that slow of a reader.) But it really messes with me, because when I read in bed, before going to sleep, I like to get to the end of the chapter. I still have, like, thirty pages to go until the end.

Anyway, here are some of the best pictures!

This is us at Walmart, Shaina was taking the photo.

This is the most bad-ass I have ever looks. And yes, that is a sock sewn to my back. I use it as a sheathe for my sword.

I was trying to imitate how Link runs in Skyward Sword when you don't put his sword away and you hold the wii remote upwards. Then Tingle started to either imitate me, or wanted to hit me...

Tingle trying to be as Awesome as Link

The Tingle smolder

The Lazy Tingle. It was a little too late, but we should have brought a bottle of beer for her to hold.

And then just a quick photo of me at the book signing

I know there are more photos, but I can't seem to find them while stalking people's pictures on Facebook. I don't own a camera, so I only have one photo on my phone, which I'm too lazy to get off of it.

An... Award Nomination?

So my friend Vanessa Wong seems to have nominated me for the Liebster Blog Award, of which I have no information about. I'm still rather new to blogging and I'm pretty clueless to anything outside of my own blog. It makes me feel like a reclusive... But, well... I kind of am. Anyway, thank you Vanessa! I have no idea how to tag people, but  trust you'll be reading this anyway. I'm just going to go ahead and answer your questions.


1) How old were you when you started to wear makeup? 
I was in grade ten, right after coming back from Europe, so that would have made me... about 14? My math is terrible. 
2) Coffee or tea?
This is really sad, because I just started working at Starbucks, but I'm not a big fan of either. I can stand having a mocha, and I love iced teas, but I can't have straight coffee, and even a mixed coffee drink is too much for me, and teas need a lot of sugar... A lot.
3) What's the first thing you notice when you look at a person?
I've never really thought about that... It's strange, but I guess the hair. If they're smiling, then the teeth. I like clean-looking teeth...
4) How are your New Years Resolutions going?
I kind of gave up on making those... Like, five years ago...
5) If you could travel anywhere in the universe, where would it be?
The closest planet similar to Earth. I really love thinking about places that could hold life, intelligent or not. I love thinking of how their culture and people would be like, and how they would react to humans. Most of the time I would hope they're still in the medieval era. I would love to visit a planet almost exactly the same as Earth, but a millennium behind our own time.
6) Do you like your height or do you wish you were taller/ shorter?
Sometimes it would be nice if I was a bit taller. I still feel like I should be growing, but as long as I stay around shorter people, I'm good.
7) Have you ever had braces or headgear?
I had braces for about a year. I was really lucky that my teeth were nearly perfectly straight (I had to have one tooth slightly rotated) The problem with my mouth was a large overbite that made it hard to eat pizza... So we paid a ton of money to have my lower jaw moved 5mm forward, and to make it easier for me to eat pizza... Yeah...
8) Is your room a mess or super tidy?
It's a kind of organized chaos... My desk is hopeless. I've decided it's not even worth cleaning anymore, so I use it as storage. I have all my old textbooks and my video game stuff under it, and everything else on top. Then I have a ton of school stuff for my current semester in the opposite corner, along with jackets and other stuff... I have organization, it's just kind of lazy organization...
9) Are you a gamer? If so what's your favorite game at the moment?
I wouldn'd classify myself as a gamer, since I only really enjoy a few games, and I've only ever owned nintendo consoles. I think to be a true gamer you need to be able to play on at least three different game consoles, and a computer. However, I do enjoy playing Legend of Zelda, some Mario games, and Age of Empires on the computer. And the Sims, of course, but for some reason I just don't include that as gaming...
10) Quickly summarize a memorable dream you had while sleeping.
Oh man, this is going to be fun, and most definitely not quick. So I'm part of a colony of water centaurs. Don't question why, I guess I just liked centaurs and sea horses? Anyway, the leader of the tribe decided that we wanted a relic that the humans were keeping in their fortress. So we packed into some canoes (I think he magically turned human here...) and started to storm the fortress. The dream turns kind of fuzzy here, but at some point I was poisoned by some flower on my back and my POV turned to the leader. He managed to gather the relic, which seemed to be broken up into small triangles, and glowing slightly blue. We loaded the pieces onto carts, but I was captured, along with my son. Luckily, for some reason, the relic created with glowing blue path that was able to send me home. This part was kind of fuzzy. I want to say that we wre floating, but also in a canoe that moved by itself, but then I remember the water splitting to make a path along the middle of the river. Either way, we got back, and were sad that the rest of the tribe had not returned yet. At that point, I (as the original POV) washed down the river. Apparently that poisonous flower isn't poisonous as long as I'm either under water or it's night time. So we are all happy because I'm alive, and honestly, that's all that matters. Then we realize that our own fortress has been taken over by Amazon women. So we go to fight them off. I somehow end up on a very high ledge, and I'm fighting off a couple Amazons with a morningstar. There's a third one though, so I roll a rock to go squish her. At that point I realize that it's daytime, and I'm above water, so I either blacked out, or jumped from that ledge.
At this point I woke up.
It was awesome.
11) Bold eyeshadows or flattering neutrals? Perhaps a mix?
Uh... I don't wear eyeshadow. I feel like it's just too much on me, and that I'll look like a hooker if I wear any. Don't get me wrong, I think it looks beautiful on many people, but I already wear thick eyeliner and mascara, and I think that's enough. Even that would be a little too much if my glasses didn't make my eyes look smaller.


Now apparently I'm supposed to nominate eleven other blogs... But I only follow three, and of which is Vanessa's, and the other two have not been updated in a very long time. So.... I'm just going to leave it off here. Besides, as I said before, I have no idea how to tag people...

Coffee Flingger

Oh man, I completely forgot it was Monday. It's a holiday, so I just kind of assumed it was still the weekend... and it's reading break, so I might forget again...

Anyway, I have some pretty good new. I recently got hired at a Safeway to work in the Starbucks. I had my first real day on Saturday working on the till and doing small things like pump coffee and make tea. I think I caught on pretty qucikly, since the till is kind of similar to the till as my other job. I still get a little confused as to what button corresponds to what coffee, since it's not labelled dark roast and medium roast on the till... I think I might be getting the hang of it though. Luckily, even if I press the wrong bottom, most of the time I'm the one getting the coffee, so I know what to pump.

Today was my second day, and I learned some of the more popular hot coffee drinks, like lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, things like that. I was told how to make other drinks too, like hot chocolates, but I haven't actually made one yet, so it might take me a little longer to get that. I assume that I'll be taught the non-coffee and cold drinks soon, though they're not going to get popular until the weather gets nicer.

So far it's been enjoyable, if a little slow. I guess on weekends and holidays you don't get as many people. On a weekday, especially in the morning, I assume there'll be a lot more people. Pretty much all the customers have been very friendly, a few have even wished me luck or said that I was doing very well. I think my favourite part is being inside, even if one (or both) of the doors gets stuck and there is a bit of a draft. Since my other job is pretty much outside, I think I have gotten used to working in the cold. For once I'm not the one bundled up in five layers and still cold.

So we'll see how things go by the end of next week, when I'll be going to work directly from school. Luckily I think I'll be able to get a ride, or it might even be quicker to bus there...

And on an unrelated note, on Thursday I'll be going to a book signing for A Memory of Light. I'm very excited, but it's at 7 at night... A little annoying, but I figure as long as I get there about an hour early, I shouldn't be home too late. I just need to find a friend who will for sure go with me. Then on Friday I'll be having another Zelda party, so look forward to that!

Dreamcatchers: Part three

((Finally, I've finished! Well, I finished it Wednesday night after my post, but here is the rest! I'm sorry with how rushed it is. I wanted to add in another character and extend the stay in the Dream world, but I had a word limit, so yeah...))

“Don’t say it. I don’t want to know.” Ria grimaced as she sat back down on the bed. “What do I do then? Just stay here and wait for him to lose interest in me?”

                “You will die of old age before he does that.” Banton said bitterly. “My people have been trying to defeat him for years. He’s too strong for us though.”

                “So why did you bring me here? Why did you even bother saving me if all I can do is hide in this place?”

                “Will you just be grateful that you’re still alive?” Banton snapped at her. “I couldn’t see anything else to do. It was either bring you here, or let you die like your parents.”

                “And I had no choice, just like I have no choice now. You’re just trying to cover up that you kidnapped me!”

                “I did not kidnap you, I—Where are you going now?” Banton stood up and followed her as she stormed out of the room.

                “Away from you.” She told him without looking back. The hallway was made of white stones, with large arching windows that made it feel more like a balcony. Through the windows she could see the sky, looking cloudy but still light and sunny, as if the city was covered in haze. At some point as she walked, Banton’s footsteps behind her vanished, leaving her alone in the unfamiliar castle.

                He caught up with her again hours later, as the light in the sky was starting to set. A tall middle aged woman followed him, the small crown on her head marking her as a Queen.

                “Miss Lyte, I am very sorry to hear what happened to your family.” the woman said somberly. “We had taken notice of you a few months ago, and we did our best to protect your family, but there was not much we could do. My son says that you wish to go home. I’m afraid at the moment that will not be safe for you.” she frowned in sympathy and place a hand on Banton’s shoulder—her son, presumably.

                “I understand.” Ria murmured and lowered her eyes in an attempt to hide her anger. All she wanted to do was return home, even if it meant leaving the city she had grown up in.

                “Good. There is something we must talk about then.” the queen said and leaned in closer so she could lower her voice. “The Sandman has been asking about you.”

                Ria pulled back in horror and quickly shook her head. “How did you hear this?” she demanded. “I thought you were fighting him, not chatting over a cup of tea.”

                “We are trying to negotiate with him.” the Queen said calmly. “He says that he will draw his forces back if we give you up.”

                “No, you can’t. You saved my life, you can’t just give me away…” she trailed off as she looked into the eyes of the queen. She looked sad, almost ashamed.

                “We have been talking, and we think we have an idea.” Banton spoke up. “We’ve recently come up with a powder that will disintegrate rock. Unfortunately, it will only work at close range. The best way is to deliver it straight to him, but none of our messengers can get close enough to him. Even during our negotiations he relayed his messages through someone else and remained far away from us.”

                “However, he will let you come close, to make sure that you really are who he wants.” the queen continued. “All you would have to do is deliver a token of peace in a box. Inside will be a trigger to release the powder after ten seconds. You have in that time to back away as far as you can. We do not think it will reach more than a metre away from him, but it’s best to be safe. Once the powder is released, we will send our army in to deal with his soldiers.”

                It seemed like a risky plan, riddled with uncertainties. “Once he is dead, I can go home, right?”

                “If that is what you wish.” the queen nodded and gave Ria an encouraging smile. “Of course the plan is dangerous, and we cannot predict what the Sandman will do, but it’s our only hope of getting rid of him. If you return to us safely, then we will bring you back to your home.”

                Ria pursed her lips in thought, then reluctantly nodded. “I cannot see any other way.”

                “Good! Let’s find you a mount then.” the queen smiled and turned to lead the way to the stable.

                “Wait, now? Don’t you have to prepare?” Ria protested as she hurried to catch up with the woman’s long strides.

                “We have been prepared for weeks now. All we needed was that key person to set the plan in motion. We are lucky that you arrived so soon.” she said cheerfully.

                “Lucky?” Ria repeated in disgust. “My parents were killed and I was brought here against my will. I would call that more of a coincident.”

                “Call it what you like, you’re still getting revenge for your parents.” Banton pointed out, and Ria had to agree.

                They entered the stable, filled with odd creatures that looked like a mixture between a horse and a cat. They were all tall and skinny, with large slitted eyes and shaggy fur, each with their own pattern of stripes, spots or a combination of both. The queen picked out a small one and had a groom rein it up before gesturing for Ria to mount.

                “I believe they’re just like your horses, so you should be fine.” she explained. “Just hold on tight to the reins and don’t fall off.”

                Before Ria could ask about a saddle, the groom had picked her up under the arms and lifted her onto the animal’s back. It tensed and pawed the ground with a two-toed foot, anticipating the important journey. A servant approached holding a small chest, which he offered up to Ria. She took it, surprised at the weight.

                “Good luck, Miss Lyte. Your success could mean the end of the Sandman’s tyrannical reign of your world and ours.” the queen nodded politely and stepped back as the groom led the animal out of the stable.

                Ria glanced back at them. Banton looked nervous, and averted his eyes when he noticed her gaze.

                It didn’t take them long to travel through the city and reach the gate. Like the castle, every building was made of the same white stone, with whimsical looking architecture and arches so thin it seemed impossible they could hold anything up. The gate, however, was made for use, not appearance. Although it too was made of white stone, it was easily ten paces thick, each end with a sturdy iron gate. On the other side all appearances of being beautiful gave way to a massive army of nightmarish monsters. No two looked identical. Some were mythical creatures like the minotaur or gorgon, others looked like a combination of two, three, even four animals, and even more were humanoid, with features missing or exaggerated. All of them were lined up as if ready for a charge, and when they spotted Ria exiting the gate, they started howling, screaming, roaring. From their midst stepped the Sandman.

                He looked even taller now, but wore the same robes and still had the crack on the side of his head from Banton’s attack. He grinned as he strode out to meet Ria.

                “I was not expecting a reply so soon.” he laughed. His presence caused her mount to become anxious, and eventually Ria had to climb down, letting the animal turn and flee.

                “I did not have much choice.” she replied coldly and started walking forward to meet up with him. She held the box out in front of her. “The royal family wished me to give you a present, a peace offering.”

                “I don’t care for presents. You’re the only thing I wished from them.” he pulled out a dagger, the blade gleaming red in the light of the setting sun.

                Ria faltered and stepped back in fear. “I… I would like to see it, before you deal with me.”

                His lips pulled into a scowl. “Fine, open it.”

                She hesitated again, then started to open the lid. As long as she got the powder close to him, her job would be done. She could wait until the last second before running, leaving the box behind.

                Inside there was no device to release the powder. There wasn’t even any powder to be released. The bottom was lined with stones, and on top rested a piece of paper.

                “She is yours now. We have our deal. Leave us be.”

                She dropped the paper as the Sandman stepped forward. A moment later a sharp pain pierced her stomach.

Dreamcatchers

I've finished about two more pages for my short story, and have decided to name is Dreamcatchers (Maybe)... Anyway, here is what I've written since my last post:

“Who are you?” she growled, her hand gripping the useless hilt of the dagger until her knuckles turned white.

                “I believe your kind calls me the Sandman.” he calmly replied and took a step toward her.

                Ria edged to the side, glancing at the door behind him. “How did you get into the house?”

                He laughed again, louder this time. “Darling, I am the dirt on the floor, I am the dust in the corner. I can be where I want and make not a sound.”

                “Don’t call me that.” Ria spat and took another step to the side, inching closer to the door.

                “If you insist, Miss Ria Lyte.”

                She shivered at the use of her name, but wasn’t surprised that he knew it. She doubted anything more could surprise her tonight.

                “You are not welcome here.” Banton said as he appeared in the doorway.

                The Sandman scowled and turned around to face the Dreamcatcher, but before he could say anything Banton swung a fire poker at his head. The thick iron bent where it hit him, but it distracted the Sandman long enough for Banton to slip past him and toward Ria.

                “Close your eyes.” he told her as he wrapped her in his arms.

                “What are you doing? What about my parents?” Ria demanded and tried to squirm out of his grip.

                He held her tighter, and with a muttering of strange words, the world began to shift. Everything blurred and seemed to melt. The last thing Ria saw was the Sandman striding toward them, one side of his head cracked and chipped from the fire poker. Then everything went black.

                Ria woke up in a strange bed, in a room with too much light. She groaned and raised a hand to rub her pounding head, and was startled to find herself wearing an unfamiliar dress of pure white silk. The sleeves were long and broad at the end, and as she sat up she found a gold cloth belt tied around her waist.

                “I told you to close your eyes.” Banton said from the chair he was sitting in. He had changed into a more subtle outfit, now wearing a coat of deep purple with plain black leggings and dark leather boots. He stood up and brought a tray of food over, though Ria didn’t recognize any of it. “Changing worlds normally leaves humans feeling sick, so we don’t attempt it often. I saw it the only way to get you out of that house though.” He bowed his head in apology and backed away from the bed.

                “Where are we?” Ria asked and glanced at the tray of food. Banton might have saved her life, but she still found it hard to trust him.

                “Neeran.” He said bluntly. “At least, that is what we call it. You are more familiar with it in your dreams. Humans will often subconsciously visit this world. In your dreams it will shift to be anything you wish, or anything you fear. You are here in person though. What you see is what it really is. In other words, this is the dream world.”

                Ria frowned as she tried to understand. “So, when I dream I come here?”

                “Your mind comes here, not your body. Not normally, at least. Right now is an exception. To leave under ordinary circumstances you must just wake up in your world. It’s a little trickier now, but I don’t think it would be a good idea for you to leave anyway.”

                “But my parents, I have to see to them. I cannot leave them.”

                “Your parents are beyond help. The dead cannot visit this place. The best choice—What are you doing?”

                Ria climbed out of the bed, ignoring Banton as she strode toward the door. “I want to leave. Now.”

                “I cannot allow you to do that. It is unsafe for you there. The Sandman will hunt you down.”

                “And I will be safe here?” she asked, looking from the door to Banton.

                He hesitated, his mouth open to reply. “Safer.” he finally said. “We have the armies and technology to fight him off, but he has the creatures of nightmares on his side. So far he has not made an effort to enter the city, but… Well, I fear that by bringing you here I might have enraged him.” he looked down, seeming ashamed.

                “If he’s here, why can’t I go back home? Will he know if I’m not here anymore?”

                “Yes. Once he has taken an interest in someone, it’s easy for him to track them. The only reason why it took him so long to find and kill your—“

                “Don’t say it. I don’t want to know.” Ria grimaced as she sat back down on the bed. 

Evil Sandman

((Pardon the title, I'm feeling very uncreative right now and I can't think of anything better. Anyway, I'm writing my second story for my speculative fiction class, and I'm about a thousand words in. Here is what I have so far.

You might recognize the theme from another story I wrote for my fiction class, but the plot is different and the characters are more evil.))

Ria Lyte watched the lights in the windows snuff out as she strode past the houses. The edge of her lips twitched into a smug smile and she proudly lifted her chin. Her family was one of very few rebels who dared defy the curfew. They were trying to prove that it was just a law made up by the King to keep his subjects in order. He went as far as to bring his soldiers off the city walls as soon as the sun set. But her family didn’t believe the story he had made up. It told of a monster that prowled the streets, searching for anyone that dared to leave their house after dark. It was called the Sandman, because of the way it killed its victims, though no one she talked to had actually seen what happened.

                The streets were eerily quiet except for her soft footfalls, and even those fell silent when she turned down the walkway to her house, cutting across the grass to save time. Although she openly defied the curfew, that didn’t mean that she didn’t need sleep, even if that sleep was plagued with nightmares. Lights still glowed in the upper windows of the house, and Ria briefly saw a figure move in one of the rooms; her father, no doubt. She leapt up the couple of stairs to the front door, but as she started to turn the handle someone grabbed her arm.

                “I wouldn’t go in there.” the owner of the hand whispered.

                Ria screamed and glanced up at the window as she tried to rip her arm free. No one came to investigate the scream, but the stranger let her go anyway.

                “I would tell you to stay quiet, but you’ve already blown that.” the voice muttered.

                “Who are you?” Ria demanded and took a step back down the stairs.

                The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a young man in strange multi-coloured clothes. He would have looked human, had it not been for his large leaf-shaped purple eyes and long pointed ears.

                “Who are you?” Ria asked again, though she sounded more curious than angry now. He was certainly not any creature she had seen before, and she found it hard to believe that he could be the monster that the stories spoke of.

                “Banton Dulcest.” he replied and bowed deeply. The movement caused his cloak to fall forward, the fabric shifting colours as the fire light hit it. He straightened up and looked up at her, then blinked, the colour of his eyes turning from purple to blue. “Now if you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you came with me without another sound.”

                Ria laughed loudly and shook her head. “Okay, what are you?”

                “I am of the Neeran race, if that’s what you’re asking. We are not well known to your people, but when we present ourselves, we are generally considered Dreamcatchers.”

                “Dreamcatchers.” she repeated. “What does it mean?”

                Banton pursed his lips and glanced up at the windows. The light was starting to sputter. “I don’t have time to explain. We have to get out of here.”

                “My parents taught me not to follow strange men, especially at night.” Ria scowled as she slowly made her way back up the steps and toward the door.

                “What your parents said does not matter now. They aren’t going to be able to punish you for not following their rules.” he insisted and reached out to grab her arm again.

                “What?” Ria breathed, and before he could get a grip she pushed the door open and raced into the house, Banton cursing asfter her.

                She hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time, then raced along the hallway to her parent’s room, where she had seen the figure only moments ago. Inside the candle had nearly burned out, the last of the flame sending dancing light across the room. On the bed laid two figures, as if asleep. Ria breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, they were only sleeping; they had to be only sleeping. She crept closer, her foot squeaking on a loose floor board.

                Their eyes were open and glazed over. Their mouths gaped like dead fish, but were filled with sand, a thin trickle falling from her father’s lips. They each had been cut open from neck to navel and more sand packed their bodies, bloating them up as if they had been dead for hours. Not a drop of blood marred the bed.

                “I’m glad you found them.” a new voice cooed from behind Ria. It was deep and gravelly, like sand against rock. “I was worried I would have to hunt you down.”

                She stiffened and slowly reached a hand out for the dagger her father always kept on his night stand. They often had trouble with intruders breaking into the house during the day to kill them, claiming that her family was going to bring the wrath of the Sandman upon the whole city. Perhaps a knife to the throat would have been more merciful than what had been done tonight.

                “A metal blade?” the voice laughed.

                “You murderer!” Ria screamed and spun around, bringing the dagger down to plunge into the man’s chest. It hit his skin and shattered.

                He didn’t react except for a small chuckle. “Your human weapons will not work on me.” He told her and stepped back, letting her get a good view of him.

                He was easily eight feet tall, his bald head almost brushing the ceiling. His eyes were large and shone like flakes of obsidian. When he grinned he showed off teeth like quartz, transparent and pointed into sharp spikes. Over his body he wore a midnight blue robe with tiny dots of silver to look like the night sky. However, what caught her attention most was his skin. It was mottled brown, white and black, with patches of pink, like that of a granite rock.

Story Number Two

My second short story for my speculative fiction class is coming up next week (I kind of forgot about it...) and I need help picking the plot. I have about four in mind.

1) Evil Sandman
   I used something like this for my fiction class, but that was only two pages long and wasn't really what I wanted to go for. This time it will be evil. The Sandman is a supernatural creature who keeps a strict curfew by killing (or warning) anyone who is found out of bed after dark. He's not technically an actual being who everyone knows and fears. He's more like a thought and a fear that everyone obeys, kind of like most people follow the law, not because it's an actual thing, but because it's engrained in our minds that we cannot break it. Anyway, a young woman and her family start to challenge this idea, and of course, they're punished. She finds them all killed, but before she can be killed too, someone comes to save her. Ends up this man is part of a race who has been fighting a war against the Sandman for years. he takes her to a dream world, where the Sandman is trying to overthrow the people, and in the process is giving the humans in the real world nightmares.

2) Ancient Rome
   I'm really hesitant about this one, because the main character is a vampire. However, there is not a chance it will be some pansy that hates killing and sparkles in the sun. They won't even be the sophisticated and beautiful vampires from Interview With a Vampire. They will be the stone cold, heartless monsters that they should be (if they were real, of course). They will look lie humans, so they could be beautiful, or they could be ugly, but when they get angry, or when they're about to kill, their eyes turn completely black, their jaw extends, all their teeth (not just the canines) extend into razor sharp fangs and their veins rise close to the surface of their skin in a dark red shade. The idea of the plot is that they have been discovered in ancient Rome and now are an attraction in the Coliseum. Some people wish to break them out though, whether for ethical reasons, or for their own gain.

3) Dark Circus
   This is kind of a cliché, so once again, I'm a little hesitant to use it. I also touched on this in my fiction class, when I did a character sketch. However, I barely even hinted at the plot in that one assignment. This time I'll go full in. The plot is that there's a dark circus that seems to appear and disappear without notice. It appears just outside a small town and lures everyone in. The ringmaster is actually a demon who feeds on the souls of the spectators. The catch is that the main character is a young man, gifted with foresight, or able to see the future. He warns as many people as he can while staying under the radar of the Ringmaster. The whole idea is still kind of blurry, and I have no idea how it'll end (since I have to end it, I can't write it as a chapter)

4) Supernatural killer
   This is the one I'm most unsure about. The idea is that there is a slumber party, and at it a bunch of girls are playing MASH. Part of the game is that they include how they're going to die. Later that night, the supernatural killer comes and kills them in the way that was predicted. The host, however, never had a chance to play the game, and is the only one left alive. It's another rather cliché one, and I'm not very good at horror, so I'm not sure how well this will play out...


So those are my four ideas. Bear in mind that I will have two more stories after this one, so I can use three of these plots eventually.