I haven't posted anything because school took over my life. And it continues to, along with something else I actually want to do.
NAtional NOvel WRIting MOnth is a month of crazyness where you try to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Yes you read that right. Fifty THOUSAND. And this year, it's an assignment in 2 of my classes. Yay.
I'm actually excited, and hopefully I'll hit 50k this year.
Follow my word count here, and friend me if you're signed up on nanowrimo.org too. :D
Friday, November 2, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
People that Live in my Brain part 3 - Kalec
Kalec is a Hylian who showed up in Hyrule Castle Town 5-ish years ago
and set up shop. Her shop sells everything from tunics and shoes to
shields and weapons and all the odd trinkets and things in between. She
has a reputation for being very harsh against shoplifters, and anyone
who has walked in her store with the intent of stealing always has to be
carried out; the odd thing is, nobody ever sees what happens to these
people. Other than that, Kalec is friendly and out-going, almost to the
point of annoyance, and she treats everybody she meets with respect. Her
history before she came into Castle Town is a bit of a mystery, and no
one really knows where she came from or why she came to Castle Town,
though she hints at following a certain special someone here.
She has the height and look of an average Hylian, though her body build is much leaner and fit than most of the other shopkeepers in Castle Town. Her eyes are a stormy grey with a hint of blue, and the color of her shoulder-blade-length hair lies halfway between that of straw and a ripe orange. She tends to wear (and sell) the latest fashions from all over the kingdom, and is well known for being fair with her prices.
Kalec is fascinated with Hyrule's history, particularly any stories that have to do with the Triforce Bearers. She can tell you any trivia you care to ask about, and some you never even wanted to know.
[character description for 'Pillars of Eternity']
---
She has the height and look of an average Hylian, though her body build is much leaner and fit than most of the other shopkeepers in Castle Town. Her eyes are a stormy grey with a hint of blue, and the color of her shoulder-blade-length hair lies halfway between that of straw and a ripe orange. She tends to wear (and sell) the latest fashions from all over the kingdom, and is well known for being fair with her prices.
Kalec is fascinated with Hyrule's history, particularly any stories that have to do with the Triforce Bearers. She can tell you any trivia you care to ask about, and some you never even wanted to know.
[character description for 'Pillars of Eternity']
---
Silence.
“So…
you’re Impa’s older brother?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“And
you’re a priest?”
“Priest-in-training.”
Silence.
“You’re
a Sheikah too.”
“Obviously.”
Silence.
“I’ve
never heard of a Sheikah priest before.”
“I’d
be surprised if you did. Most Sheikah
are guards, always hidden among the people.”
“Hidden?”
“Yes.”
Silence.
“What
do you mean by hidden?”
“Do
you ever shut up?” Kalec threw a glare
at Link. “I don’t talk because I’m
trying to listen. Didn’t my sister teach you that?”
Link
returned a glare of his own. “Yes, but
we hadn’t gotten around to the stealthy ninja lessons yet.”
Kalec
sighed. “And she leaves me to fill the
gaps in your education.” He glanced back
at the Hylian. “Listen up then,
Hero. You want me to talk, so I will.”
He
adjusted the pack on his shoulders and turned around so that he was walking
backwards. “One of the first things that
Sheikah children learn is to listen to their surroundings.”
Link
nodded. Impa had taught him that.
Kalec
took a long step backwards, stepping over a rock in his path. “If you always listen, and are always aware,
that will make it hard for enemies to ambush you.” He stepped to the side, around a stick lying
in the path. “Being aware in battle is a
good thing, yes, but try to extend that attention to the time outside of
fights.” He turned back around so that
he was walking forward again.
Silence.
[excerpt from "the Hero of Time"]
---
I know I had a list going, and I'm breaking from said list. BECAUSE WHY DO THINGS IN ORDER HAHAHAHAHA.
*ahem*
Ah, Kalec. Such a fun, interesting character. She's yet another rp-character-turned-story-character. My first idea for her was for a Legend of Zelda campaign, and I had to do some serious talking to convince the GM to let me play a Sheikah. BECAUSE NINJAS. And then, that awesome ninja secret (because the Sheikah were forgotten about, but still around, hiding among the people) only lasted until about the 2nd session. Ha.
She originally started as a he. Kalec was going to be my challenge: my first rogue character, and my first male character (to roleplay. I have plenty of male characters in my stories and such). But then we had a pre-campaign meeting with the group, and I found out that not only was I the only female player, but no one else was playing a female. So, naturally, Kalec changed genders and became a female. It worked out in the end somehow... oh, the shipping... (and that's ALL I'm going to say about that. XD).
Kalec was my first experimentation in a roleplaying class other than a spellcaster, and I have fallen in love with the rogue-y/ninja type ever since (hee). This campaign, "Pillars of Eternity," became one of my very favorites; we had an amazing group that worked well together, and it was just so much fun. Looking back, I think it would've been more epic to build her as an actual ninja, as opposed to a rogue and then playing her ninja-like, but it was still so much fun. :)
When the campaign was done, Kalec appeared in my Legend of Zelda fanfic as a male Sheikah, Impa's older brother. (Several of the characters from Pillars of Eternity have appeared, and will appear there too, heehee.) This fic is based off the (bogus) trailer for a Legend of Zelda movie put out by IGN (video here)--basically the Ocarina of Time storyline, but reversed, in a way. Kalec is Impa's older brother, a priest-in-training for the Temple of Time, and Link's guide in the past. I'm still in the process of writing this, but I know where it's going and what's going to happen... I just need to find the time to continue writing... >.>
As a note, Kalec is one of a couple of my characters that exists in multiple universes, but Kalec is the only one that isn't the same gender in each of those universes.And I put the character description
in for her from PoE instead of a quote or something, because very few parts of
this campaign were written down (and the ones that were are buried in a thread
on Quark that I didn't feel like digging through), but it's still something for
you to get to know her. :)
Some further information for those
who are interested in the Zelda universe:
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The People that Live in My Brain, Part 2 - Rita
I visited the spot where she died today, in the student form that I adopted three years ago when the invasion happened. I don’t know how long I stood there, replaying the gruesome scene over and over again in my mind, further solidifying my hate for the aliens.
I SPENT YEARS ON THAT PLAN. All my watching, and waiting, and plotting, and pulling strings, ALL FOR NOTHING with one swipe of a death ray.
Does it count as mourning if I’m angry that I’M not the one who killed her? I’m not sure…
[excerpt from Rita's journal]
---
By the time I got outside, the lot was mostly empty, with
a few exceptions. I could see the
football team wandering out to practice on their field, and I could hear the
marching band warming up on the other side of the school. The car with the dragon drawing was still
parked next to mine. I put my bag and my
books in the back seat, and a voice spoke.
“Ah. I figured it was you, new girl.”
I
turned. Rita was standing behind me,
leaning against the nose of the dragon car.
Her arms were folded, and she was smirking.
“I
have a name you know,” I scowled at her, clenching my fist to make sure I was
holding my keys before slamming the door shut.
“And what, is there a law against me parking in an open spot?”
She
rested her chin on her fist. “No. It just means you haven’t learned yet.”
“Learned
what? What’s your deal anyways?”
She
just kept smiling. “What? Didn’t dear, gossiping Amy tell you
everything about me?”
“Just
some silly rumors.”
“Rumors
have a seed of truth to them.”
“Yeah,
sure, whatever. I’ll believe that when I actually see you fly.” I tried to walk away, but the lanyard on my
key ring was stuck in the door. I swore
under my breath and opened the door to free it.
Rita
heaved a dramatic sigh. “Why are you so
angry and hateful? Is it because
you’ve left your dear Tommy behind?”
I
dropped my keys and whirled around to face her.
“How do you know his name?”
Her
smile had a chilling edge to it. “It’s
not that hard to know when he’s always at the forefront of your mind.”
I
stared at her as she pushed off the front of the car and got in the driver’s
seat. I stared at her as she started the
car, then winked at me through the window.
I stared at the car as she drove away, and finally noticed the pentagram
painted in red on the trunk hood.
(excerpt from High School Witch [tentative title])
---
Her original idea was meant for a roleplaying campaign (I have a lot of characters like that...). In this world, it's modern-day Earth--if modern-day Earth had had superheroes and super villains and had been taken over by an alien force. :) Rita's a witch--a magic user in the world of supers. She started life in the 1300s, and was hunted as a witch then. She developed a hatred for humans, discovered that she was ageless, and eventually turned into a super villain, and called herself Sorceress.
In the process, she managed to get a nemesis: Emerald Flame. The two fought until it appeared that Emerald Flame was killed in the alien invasion, and Rita swore her vengeance on the aliens for taking away her super. Though recently, Emerald Flame came out of hiding, and the two have been forced to work together, much to Rita's horror.
Her current desire, other than to kill the aliens and kill her nemesis, is to become a dragon. She's become rather good friends with the world's Last Dragon (he was the one who taught her about magic, several hundred years ago), and they are working together to improve their magical abilities and to rid the world of the aliens so that she can be transformed and become a proper dragon. And I get the feeling she won't leave me alone until that happens. ^^; Though, we're not yet done with the campaign, and I'm excited to see where it will go from here. :D
The other excerpt is something that I wrote just the other day. Currently, I'm in two creative writing classes, and I have to write a novel in each of them. I was trying to think of a second idea, when Rita stepped in and suggested something. Rather nicely too, I must say.
The tentatively titled High School Witch is about Cat. She's moved with her family to Suburbia (read: an as-of-yet unnamed suburban town) during her senior year of high school, and left behind her boyfriend and all her other friends. There, she meet Rita, who has a reputation for unnatural things happening around her, and for being cruel and for having amazing strength (she can "lay out flat any boy in the school"). While Cat is trying to survive through school, a mysterious arsonist moves closer to her town. When the arsonist strikes in their town, Cat finds herself more suspicious of Rita than ever.
Rita's one of my newest characters, and still a lot in development, but she has 700 years of history for me to play with, so it's safe to say she'll show up over and over again. It's a good thing I like her. :)
Sunday, August 12, 2012
People that Live in my Brain part 1 - Alonia
“State your name.”
“Alonia
Mathar.”
“Age
in Earth years?”
“Twenty-four.”
“Race?”
“Human,
I think.”
Inwardly,
I winced. Did I really just say that out loud?
Great.
The
secretary raised a heavily penciled eyebrow at me. “You think.
Ms. Mathar, you either are or are not a race. And what exactly you are should be obvious.” I
sighed. “Let’s try this again. Race.”
I
hesitated only slightly. “Human.”
“There
you go. Was that so hard?”
Perhaps.
---
That's an excerpt from the beginning of the novel I'm currently working on--Flying with Horus (tentative title), my first foray into science-fiction. I started writing it for the class I took from Brandon Sanderson this past Winter semester, and it's been a lot of fun.
However, Alonia came to be quite a bit before that. I joined a play-by-post campaign (where you are on an online forum, and each person posts what their character is doing. Your character can react to the other characters, and there's a Game Master (GM) to control it all) that was set in the Lovecraft Universe. Sadly, the campaign died after a while.
Alonia was a type of magic user who was able to control metal and degeneration (meaning she could make things rot and decay... a slightly odd combination, I know). She came from a planet where magic users were killed outright, so when she had her Awakening (rather explosively... she killed her ex-boyfriend in the process), she ran to preserve her life. During the campaign, she was on the search for mystical towers of knowledge where she would be able to learn to better control her magic. She's also a bit of a jerk who doesn't really like people, and her eyes change color according to her emotions.
When that campaign died, Alonia sat quietly in a corner of my mind for a long while until Sanderson's class. How the idea and her change came about was pretty funny (at least, I think so).
How Sanderson's class worked was that we split into writing groups according to the genre of what we were writing. The first group was a Science-Fiction group (the only one in the whole class), and they needed a couple more girls to join in. On a whim, I jumped up and joined, and my first thought was: What the heck am I going to write?
I came up with a plot line and I had been trying to fit in another character into that line--a technomancer that worked as an engineer on a ship was a fascinating idea to me. However, that character just didn't quite fit into the story. I thought and thought for days, trying to make it work, but it wasn't working, until I glanced through my list of characters.
Alonia fit the description perfectly. She's enough of a novice with her magic, and enough of a jerk to fit perfectly in the protagonist role. In the world(s) of Flying With Horus, she's a Hyperspace Mechanic--fitting for someone who can control metal. She's still a jerk (it just works, trust me), but she's close friends with an alien named Zuril--he's based off the character I was original going to make my protagonist. I kept her eye color changing with her emotions (it's a lot of fun to play with), but how she got her power is a different story entirely... and I'm not going to spoil anything. You'll have to read it when it comes out. :)
Friday, August 3, 2012
The characters in my brain are trying to take over and sometimes they succeed
As many of you know, I am a writer. And, as such, I have many character (and concepts) and plots and scenes constantly bouncing around in my head, fueled by music, chocolate, and Dr. Pepper.
I've been thinking about my characters a lot lately, and I figured, hey, why not introduce you to some of them? (This is also a good way to keep me sane and thinking straight through the end of the term and all the fun finals and papers and stuffs)
It's something new to try, and I'll aim for at least one character a week, maybe more depending on how things (aka life) go.
A lot of these characters are recent creations for roleplaying games I've been a part of, but a couple of them (like Alonia) have morphed into something more, and have insisted they star in their own short story/novel.
They all have a life of their own. I'm just here to tell it.
List!
- Alonia Mathar (Flying with Horus and the Cthulhu (Lovecraft) universe)
- Rita Parker (Necessary Evil)
- Serimel (Dark Planes and The Horror Facing Sugrand)
- Diana Wyte (Shattered Earth)
- The Aprils (there are 3 of them): April Derben (The Balance), April Zeeling (Shadow's Dawn), and April Cossak (Requiem's Awakening)
- Kalec (Pillars of Eternity (female) and The Hero of Time (male))
- Mr. Wyton (Magical Botany)
- Dr. Vladsnik (How Dr. Vladsnik Got His New Assisstant)
- Vetra (Under the Dust)
This isn't really an extensive list, but all of them (with the exception of April Cossak) have been created in the time I've been in college, and all of them have played a part, however big or small, in shaping my style as a writer, and me as a person.
I've been thinking about my characters a lot lately, and I figured, hey, why not introduce you to some of them? (This is also a good way to keep me sane and thinking straight through the end of the term and all the fun finals and papers and stuffs)
It's something new to try, and I'll aim for at least one character a week, maybe more depending on how things (aka life) go.
A lot of these characters are recent creations for roleplaying games I've been a part of, but a couple of them (like Alonia) have morphed into something more, and have insisted they star in their own short story/novel.
They all have a life of their own. I'm just here to tell it.
List!
- Alonia Mathar (Flying with Horus and the Cthulhu (Lovecraft) universe)
- Rita Parker (Necessary Evil)
- Serimel (Dark Planes and The Horror Facing Sugrand)
- Diana Wyte (Shattered Earth)
- The Aprils (there are 3 of them): April Derben (The Balance), April Zeeling (Shadow's Dawn), and April Cossak (Requiem's Awakening)
- Kalec (Pillars of Eternity (female) and The Hero of Time (male))
- Mr. Wyton (Magical Botany)
- Dr. Vladsnik (How Dr. Vladsnik Got His New Assisstant)
- Vetra (Under the Dust)
This isn't really an extensive list, but all of them (with the exception of April Cossak) have been created in the time I've been in college, and all of them have played a part, however big or small, in shaping my style as a writer, and me as a person.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Oh hey look, another update
I feel like all I ever do are these updates, since I don't post often enough, haha
Mike
He's all graduated! :D Now he's got a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from BYU, and is applying for various grad schools (BYU, CU Boulder, USU, and Cal Tech). At the beginning of the summer, he got a job working for the Heber Valley Railroad and he works there all the live long day. He loves being on the train though, and helping out and getting to know a whole slew of people from all over the world. His Portuguese skills have come in handy a couple of times! He's been working on one of his train sets, and is currently building a model of Mt. Timpanogos out of paper mache. He loves it.
Me
I have been "suffering" through Spring and Summer term, and I just have ONE MORE SEMESTER before I graduate in December! I CAN SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AND IT'S MOCKING ME. I made Merida's dress (from the movie "Brave") and went to go see that opening day with my friends. I've gotten back into role-playing games and video games (it's still summer. I need my sanity to get me through classes), and it's been a blast. This summer, I'm taking a class called The Philosophy and Sociology of Rock and Roll, and it's the best class EVER. A few weeks ago, I had a photoshoot with my awesome friend/old roommate Nena, and THAT was SO MUCH FUN.
Us
In March, Mike came with me and a bunch of my friends to Fannatiku Fest, a small anime convention in St. George. It was his first con, and his first time cosplaying, and we both had fun! At the end of May, we took 2 days to drive out to Colorado to go to my brother's graduation. We camped overnight in the mountains and it was beautiful! While we were there, we went on the Royal Gorge Railroad with my grandparents and DJ, and we had a ton of fun! A few days after than, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! We haven't traveled after that (because of school for me and work for Mike), but my family's moved to Lehi, and we've been spending some fun times with them. We're planning on going to Anime Banzai in October (an anime convention in Layton, UT), and we're very excited to be able to cosplay together again!
Mike
He's all graduated! :D Now he's got a Bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering from BYU, and is applying for various grad schools (BYU, CU Boulder, USU, and Cal Tech). At the beginning of the summer, he got a job working for the Heber Valley Railroad and he works there all the live long day. He loves being on the train though, and helping out and getting to know a whole slew of people from all over the world. His Portuguese skills have come in handy a couple of times! He's been working on one of his train sets, and is currently building a model of Mt. Timpanogos out of paper mache. He loves it.
Me
I have been "suffering" through Spring and Summer term, and I just have ONE MORE SEMESTER before I graduate in December! I CAN SEE THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AND IT'S MOCKING ME. I made Merida's dress (from the movie "Brave") and went to go see that opening day with my friends. I've gotten back into role-playing games and video games (it's still summer. I need my sanity to get me through classes), and it's been a blast. This summer, I'm taking a class called The Philosophy and Sociology of Rock and Roll, and it's the best class EVER. A few weeks ago, I had a photoshoot with my awesome friend/old roommate Nena, and THAT was SO MUCH FUN.
Us
In March, Mike came with me and a bunch of my friends to Fannatiku Fest, a small anime convention in St. George. It was his first con, and his first time cosplaying, and we both had fun! At the end of May, we took 2 days to drive out to Colorado to go to my brother's graduation. We camped overnight in the mountains and it was beautiful! While we were there, we went on the Royal Gorge Railroad with my grandparents and DJ, and we had a ton of fun! A few days after than, we celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary! We haven't traveled after that (because of school for me and work for Mike), but my family's moved to Lehi, and we've been spending some fun times with them. We're planning on going to Anime Banzai in October (an anime convention in Layton, UT), and we're very excited to be able to cosplay together again!
At Fannatiku Fest in March. We really did have fun, I promise. XD
Camping in the mountains near (ish) Glenwood Springs in May. Mike wanted to have hot chocolate in the mountains, so we did.
Us with DJ at his graduation in May.
There's a fly-bug-type-thing in this room and IT WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
A much needed update
So... yeah, it's been quite a while since I've done anything on here! I suppose it's time for an update on our lives. :)
Michael
Mike just started his last semester for his undergrad at BYU! He's soooooooo ready to be done now, he can hardly stand it! Lately, he's been researching jobs and been bugged constantly about the GRE (heh heh), and really trying to decide what he wants to do once he finally graduates. He'll be getting his BS in Mechanical Engineering (finally!) and minoring in Math and Family Life. He loved having a Christmas tree up this year, and he loved having a train around it even more! He's more or less looking forward to coming to his first convention with me at the beginning of March this year.
Sam
I've been really busy too! I'll be graduating in December of this year (FINALLY), and I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do afterwards! Not grad school for sure though... lately, I've been sewing a lot and writing a lot as well. I'm making costumes for both me and Mike for the convention in March (I'm sooooooooo happy that he's finally coming to one!) and I've been sewing some of my own personal "I-think-this-is-a-really-awesome-idea-so-I'll-just-make-a-costume-for-it" projects. I'm taking a writing class with Brandon Sanderson (AMAZING author of series such as Mistborn, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, The Way of Kings, and the author chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series), and I'm writing a novel this semester as well! I'll be posting bits and pieces of that on here, 1,000 words at a time, if you want to read along!
Us
WE WANT SNOW. Also, our 2-year anniversary is coming up in May! We'll see what we do for that later on...
Michael
Mike just started his last semester for his undergrad at BYU! He's soooooooo ready to be done now, he can hardly stand it! Lately, he's been researching jobs and been bugged constantly about the GRE (heh heh), and really trying to decide what he wants to do once he finally graduates. He'll be getting his BS in Mechanical Engineering (finally!) and minoring in Math and Family Life. He loved having a Christmas tree up this year, and he loved having a train around it even more! He's more or less looking forward to coming to his first convention with me at the beginning of March this year.
Sam
I've been really busy too! I'll be graduating in December of this year (FINALLY), and I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do afterwards! Not grad school for sure though... lately, I've been sewing a lot and writing a lot as well. I'm making costumes for both me and Mike for the convention in March (I'm sooooooooo happy that he's finally coming to one!) and I've been sewing some of my own personal "I-think-this-is-a-really-awesome-idea-so-I'll-just-make-a-costume-for-it" projects. I'm taking a writing class with Brandon Sanderson (AMAZING author of series such as Mistborn, Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians, The Way of Kings, and the author chosen to finish the Wheel of Time series), and I'm writing a novel this semester as well! I'll be posting bits and pieces of that on here, 1,000 words at a time, if you want to read along!
Us
WE WANT SNOW. Also, our 2-year anniversary is coming up in May! We'll see what we do for that later on...
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