#like I’d get it if the rest of the province isn’t dressed up with references to their deities in their clothes but…

[truth-01001001-liar]

grrr grrr I got in the shower, and I started thinking about Uriel Septim’s outfit design in oblivion.

I hate it so much. It could be so much more relevant to the lore and it’s just not. Like he has the blood of a dragon god…his ancestors had the blood of a dragon god…why would he not be dressed to the nines in religious regalia..

grrrr

[siarven]

NaNoWriMo Update #4 - Final

Hello friendsssss!

It is 01:49 on the first day of freedom except I’m moving straight into fluffcember *eyebrow wiggle* but shhh I have no idea how long I will keep up with that xD (yes it took me that long to decide on an excerpt shush)

...and I am tired... 

but also happy?

I wrote maybe 35k that can actually stay in the story. Which are words that I like, which I am going to keep. Which is far too little considering that this is what my final statistic looks like-- 

But then I remembered something!

I also did a lot of worldbuilding lore, and I figured out my DAMN PLOT, something I WAS STUCK ON SINCE MARCH, and my characters make so much more sense now, and I had a breakthrough regarding the changes I made to the characters, and how it’s going to affect the ending, and ahhhhhh the ending is WORSE now, but ALSO SO MUCH BETTER, and more meaningful, and asdkfjsldf

I may be dissatisfied with how many words actually ended up in the manuscript, but I shouldn’t discount all the words I used to discover things about my world, and to explain it to myself in ways that made sense, and to have an actual reference library of my own world that I can look at when I forget details. Before, all my stuff was... partially from 2014, partially still accurate, some of it from 2016, some of it from last year, pieces of all of them still right, but most not ... and some files are still like that. 

BUT I CLEANED UP SO MUCH, AND IT MAKES SENSE NOW.

I can’t discount that.

So while I may be very dissatisfied with the wordcount that ended up in my manuscript, I got damn far in terms of transitioning into the third draft, and making it easier for myself in the long run, AND FIGURING OUT THE DAMN ENDING. :’)

AND I WROTE A TON OF WORDS!!!! Even if most of them are stupid. XD

So heyyyy 

Excerpt

Here is a smol excerpt, from Elinor’s POV, below the cut... It’s very first-draft-y, and I’m still not sure about her character voice. Or any of that. But this is the gist of it, and I hope you like it :’)

You do not wait when you get summoned by the Regulator.

You dress in your best clothes, get your hair tidy, make sure to polish the Mask, and then you leave. You make sure not to run so you don’t sweat when you get there, but you do walk fast. 

You do not let the Regulator wait.

My thoughts are in shambles when I arrive at his estates. I’m still not over meeting my sister and mother, but even less over… the other thing.

Can’t even think about it. Too much tied to that, too much pain, and—

Take a deep breath.

You can do this. 

…I can do this.

While the rest of the city is basically a collection of houses stuck on top and next to each other, sorted into Levels and made to stabilize each other into tower form, Level Eight isn’t quite like that. It’s more like a million individual rooms than houses, haphazardly called Asimdrium. I still think it’s not an actual word, but everyone calls it that, so I guess it’s one now?  

The only place that doesn’t fit is the sprawling complex belonging to the Regulator. He rarely leaves it, only adding to all that mysticism… and now he’s summoned me here. I never much thought about him before—everyone meets the Regulator once in their lives, during the Testing, but few see him again after that. 

What does he want from me? And why in the dead of night instead of at a more reasonable hour? I have to get up early tomorrow. It’s not fair—

He’s probably busy. I shouldn’t question him like that. 

… no, in fact I mustn’t. He’s the most powerful man in Merreadon. The second most-powerful one in the entirety of the Empire… 

And he knows my name.

Alright, to be fair… he knows everyone’s name. Still, he does not summon most people to his office at such a late time. 

I take a deep breath— …I hope it's not connected to Ben… —knock on the door to his office. 

Nothing moves, and nothing happens. For a few moments I just stand there, heart straining against my ribcage, fluttering like a caged bird, trying to escape with every iota of its feeble strength. 

Close my eyes. 

Take a step back.

He will answer my knocking. 

He summoned me.

It feels like ages until the door finally moves, basically noiselessly. 

I kind of expected there to be someone else, a secretary, maybe, someone like that. 

But no.

It's the Regulator himself, in all his scary glory. 

He is the only one with a Mask quite like this, this… creepy. He is also the only one with such an imposing presence, or, well, at least here. There must be others in the other big cities, or at least in the capital cities of the different provinces.

“Good evening, Elinor Arborea”, he says. His voice is calm. Basically inflectionless. For a moment I have this really weird scene in my head in which he stands in front of a mirror, practising how to creep people out the most, testing around with the way he says certain words. Of course he's much younger in that scene.

…though it's really hard to tell how old he even is, exactly? And somehow that gives me hope. If he's not dead yet, the rumours must be true. There must be a way.

“Good evening, Regulator. Sir”, I say, trying to sound as dignified as I can manage. I kind of fail, but, well, I haven't had time to practise in front of the mirror, either. You have to take what you can get, right? And I don’t even have a mirror. 

I can't tell what he thinks at all, I can't even see his eyes behind the Mask. It's like there's a shadow clinging to it, hiding every sign of him being an actual person. Maybe he isn't one? Has anyone ever seen the Regulator without Mask? Maybe he's dead. Maybe he's just a walking corpse—

“You know already”, he says. For a second, I am terrified that he can read my mind, and that he’s addressing my corpse-fears. Then I realize that he must be talking about Ben. No… 

“Yes.” My heart is going mad. I can feel it. It won't be long until it escapes.

“In that case I will spare you the explanation.  As you probably know very well, you are a talented and hardworking young woman, showing great promise within the Asimdrium. I have been paying special attention to you for a while now, and today that might… pay off. For both of us.” He pauses. I have no idea what to say, and besides, there’s only dread and fear inside of me. I wish I’d never come. 

“Your brother is of… let us say, special concern to me. I have a proposal to make that will let both of us get what we want.”

He stops talking. I get the disconcerting feeling that he's staring at me from deep within his Mask.

I've never felt more uncomfortable. Except maybe at the Testing, don't remember much of that, though. It was a long time ago. This… it feels like he's staring through me. Into me. As if he can read my thoughts just by looking at me. As if he can hear my heart. I feel laid bare, on a far deeper level than mere nakedness. 

“Alright?”, I ask carefully, trying to suppress the tremor in my voice, the fluttering traitor living in my chest, the shiver running down my spine, like tiny frozen spider-feet. 

“I want you to go home”, he says, and for a tiny moment I think I have died and gone to the Eternal Sanctuary, that things will be alright, that I will get to go home—

“… sometime during your evenings, and to then report back to me on how your brother is doing.”

It doesn't matter that I can't read his face, his voice, or his body language. 

He paused like that on purpose. 

It tells me several things about this entity, this mystery, this man—because now I know for sure that he's still human underneath all of that. Maybe he's no longer the person he once was, but he's still unmistakably a person. A petty person who likes playing with people, in fact. 

Which is something of a relief, to be quite honest. Who knows what to expect from an animated corpse, or some other kind of inhuman creature posing as one? 

It still doesn't explain his eye-shadow but I guess that must be a Regulator speciality. 

“You want me to go home in the evenings to check on my brother because you want to keep an eye on him and can't go yourself?”, I ask, doing my very best at not mentioning the word spying. 

“Exactly”, he says.

~~~

But also, if you got this far. Let me rant a tiny bit. XD Dreams is going to be very long, I think XD I made a handy graphic:

Let’s hope I manage to cut some of those 35k words. XD or make the rest shorter XD

(yes that is my excel outline, it escalated a bit, but it helped immensely in figuring out how elinor impacts things, especially with the timeline, I usually just have an unsorted doc with notes in it aaahhhh)

especially since this is Part One: Dreams in more detail :))))))) AKA, just the red part.

I doubt Draft 3 will be less than 200k, to be honest. Whyyyy

@warmbones​ @wilde-writing​ @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad​​ @authordai​ @madmoonink​  @lynnafred​ @prismalicht​ @sincerestaffect​ @romenna​ @zekethegm​ @hypnocutiegypsy​ @random-stuff-thrown-into-a-pot​ @els-writes​ @randooooooooooom​ @asttralhell​ @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword​ @jellybeanwriter​ @kittensartswriting​ @purpleshadows1989​​  @raiswanson​​ @ettawritesnstudies​​​ @writingwordsanddrawingpictures​​

[goodbyecringe]

(Un)Natural Selection Chapter 11

Enjolras

As I stood in the corner watching girls get their hair and makeup touched up I couldn’t help but wonder what their angles were. For a few like the movie star Teresa their angle was obvious, eternal fame and fortune, but for others like Éponine, it wasn’t as obvious. I stared at Éponine while she talked to Cosette. The two were like day and night. Éponine was in a simple olive gown, possibly the plainest gown that Illeá would see tonight, while Cosette wore a sleeveless sparkly pink gown. Éponine, or at least her maids, had taken to wearing her hair down, while Cosette, and most of the other Selected girls, wore their hair in intricate updos so their faces would be easily seen.

In my efforts to end the Selection as quickly as possibly I chose a group of four girls to go on a group date with. This way, I could see how they all interacted together and in a group setting. While we were all playing some trivial game of croquet that one of the girls had suggested, I was attempting to guide Liberty, who had never played. All of a sudden two of the girls were wrestling each other on the ground in fit of immature anger. Several guards immediately came to separate the two and carry them away so they could prepare to leave. The biggest disappointment wasn’t even the fight, it was the photographer that was present. Instead of the bill concerning the next Draft being on the front page there was the hair pulling and tears that was turning into my Selection.

In two weeks, there were only 24 girls left, and this was on track to being the shortest selection in my family’s history. I needed to be strategic about when I sent girls home and when I chose to have a photographer on dates. I didn’t feel confident in having a photographer on the first date, for the sake of the girls, but the public would be demanding pictures sooner than later. I supposed I could see Cosette again at some point this week, maybe host lunch in the garden. I’m sure Éponine would be pleased to hear that I’d be blocking some time off for a meal since she had deemed herself as my “accountability buddy,” since she had come to the conclusion that I lacked self preservation skills. I smiled and decided to come out of my place in the corner to approach Éponine and Cosette.

“Are the two of you nervous for your first Report?” I asked as they curtseyed.

“How nervous should we be?” Cosette giggled.

“Nervous enough so that you’re mindful of your actions, but not nervous enough so that you become physically ill,” I said, thinking about the girl that had gotten sick an hour ago from all of the pressure.

“How are you feeling, Lady Éponine?”

“A grilled chicken salad with a cup of fruit and a cup of tomato soup,” she said, prideful as she gave me her lunch report.

“Salmon and asparagus.” I said curtly as her smile widened.

“Not too bad. I think I’m catching the nerves from all the other girls, I mean we’re just sitting and answering a few questions. Kyran won’t even have time to talk to all of us and I’m sitting furthest away from him,” she noted, pointing to a chair on the fourth row.

“I suppose that’s good news. Well, good luck in advance ladies,” I said, walking towards another group of girls that I had yet to acquaint myself with.

We made small talk about the weather and about what they had been doing to keep themselves busy. They suggested that we try another attempt at a group date and decorate some sugar cookies. I could tell that they were becoming desperate for my attention and feared that the longer they went without a date meant the closer they got to elimination. However, I felt that each girl deserved a fighting chance. Besides, I had to spend the rest of life with one of these girls and it would be stupid to rush through the whole thing. We had settled on Sunday evening when Claudia came to usher all of the girls to their prospective seats. I settled in my seat behind the podium next to my mother.

“How have things been going Julien?” She leaned in, watching the producers arrange the girl’s dresses.

“Things have been productive. I’ve seen ten girls and I’m seeing four more Sunday evening,” I said, while a makeup artist came over.

“Another group date, dear? After the last one I would have thought-”

She would have thought I’d narrow it down to The Elite out of a furious rage. Combeferre might have referred to me as a hothead at times, but I always tried to remain logical.

“These girls are under an extensive amount of stress that I’m sure you remember,” I edged as she clicked her tongue.

“Yes well,” she paused until the makeup artist was finished, “the future Queen of Illeá should not let the extensive stress of the Selection get to her. When you know she’s the one, she’ll know, they all will. You’ll begin to treat her differently without even realizing it,” she said in a state of reminiscence.

“Thank you Mother. I’m sure they would all look forward to hearing some advice from you.”

“I gave them their advice, but at this point, there really isn’t anything else I could say that would make this any better for them,” she breathed, sitting up as she saw my father enter the room.

A few minutes later the cameras started rolling and the anthem of Illeá began to play in the background. The backs of every single girl automatically straightened and their face lit up with smiles, even Éponine, who appeared to be shaking.

“People of Illeá, the palace has been bustling with more than the usual excitement surrounding the Selection. Tonight, we’re going to meet the lovely ladies of this Selection and hear how things are coming with Prince Julien. Speaking of our beloved Prince, how are you doing Your Highness?”

Typically, every eye in the room was on me as I waited to give my response. Tonight’s theme was light and pleasant. Keep down the mentions of the rebellious outbursts in several of the provinces to a minimum. The Selection had to serve as a beacon of hope and distraction from all of the poverty.

“I’m doing fantastic, Kyran. How are you this evening?” I asked, crossing my legs to appear at ease.

“I’m wonderful, Your Highness, thank you for asking. So are we in the presence of twenty-six possible Princesses tonight?”

Light and pleasant.

“Well for the most part every one of these girls possesses the same poise and grace as my lovely mother.”

“Only most of them?”

The girls immediately began to whisper among themselves. I hoped Éponine had a good enough sense of humor to let me get away with this without facing too many repercussions.

“The first time I met this girl she had such difficulty walking in her shoes that she fell right in front of me. Since then I’ve made her promise that she won’t wear high heels until she can walk in them,” I laughed.

“So she’s still with us?” Kyran smiled, eyeing the girls.

“Yes, of course. I couldn’t send her away because of a genuine mistake, and I’m very glad I made that decision,” I said, thinking about Éponine’s participation in the meetings.

“Well Illeá, tonight we will be having a fashion show to find this mystery girl of Prince Julien. So first up, feel free to show us our fancy footwear Miss Musichetta Simon of Angles!”

Several of the girls hiked their bold dresses up past their knees in an attempt to be seductive. Other girls waited until they had already kissed Kyran on the cheek to build suspension in the audience before they revealed that they weren’t the mystery girl. Throughout the interview Kyran asked about any dates the girls might have gone on and how they went. Girls that hadn’t been on a date with me talked about how they were spending their free time and what their favorite part of the palace was.

“Now please welcome Miss Éponine Jondrette of Allens!”

Everyone applauded as Éponine made her way down the stairs and I could only notice how straight she was standing. I could only hope that she had enough time to organize her thoughts on how she would present herself. I didn’t know how the rest of the girls viewed her and I could only hope that I didn’t create twenty-five enemies for her. When she reached Kyran he had to bend his knees so that she could kiss his cheek. After several seconds, Éponine stuck a single foot out from under her dress so she could reveal a simple grey flat.

“It appears that we’ve found our mystery girl!” Kyran exclaimed as they sat down.

“Guilty as charged,” she laughed, holding her hands up.

“You must tell us the full story,” Kyran laughed.

“Well it was our first night in the palace and my maids had picked out the most beautiful shoes that I’ve ever seen. But I’ve never worn high heels before and when we were walking to the Great Room my heel broke.”

“No,” Kyran gasped.

“Yes,” Éponine insisted,” I had fallen behind the rest of the girls and I panicked because I didn’t want to get in trouble for loitering. So I started running towards the girls and I literally ran into Prince Enjolras,” she said, making eye contact with me.

“What happened,” Kyran asked on the edge of his seat.

“Of course I started to apologize profusely, he helped me up, and I asked him if it would be unladylike to run back towards the girls,” she said in a light voice.

“What happened next?”

“Why don’t you ask Prince Enjolras for his side of the story?” She said, calling me out.

I knew he wouldn’t let me off that easily like any of the other girls would have. In just two meetings I learned that Éponine was strong willed and fiercely loyal to beliefs concerning the impoverished.

“Of course, it really was mostly my fault. I was leaving the Men’s Room and thought I had narrowly avoided an early meeting with all of the girls. I was distracted watching the group and I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I helped Éponine to her feet, apologized, and told her that it was a capital offense to run barefoot through the palace.”

That line got a laugh out of the girls. During the rest of her interview, Éponine answered questions about our two “dates” since she was the only girl that had seen me twice. She played it off as if lying was second nature to her, saying that she believed the only reason I had seen her twice was because we were watching a series of highly addictive movies. I made sure to make a mental note to visit her after dinner to apologize and congratulate her.

[spectrumscribe]

lonely and craving feedback

below is a rough draft section from my original novel, North of the End of the World (wip title), and i just.... wanna see what people think of it’s tone so far? i’m gonna come back and smooth shit out later, but for the most part this is the basics of what i want it to be like.

all below the cut. it’s a dystopian setting, with adult characters, so while nothing too pg happens in this tidbit i still wanna remind yall to be careful with yourselves.

------------------

Colorado City. It’s the biggest one in the province, the rest of them scattered towns, clinging to other ruins. Colorado City is tangled, dirty, and overly full, even with it’s large size. It’s not even in ‘Colorado’, wherever that is. It got built on some other city, up in the northern of what was Alberta, Canada.

Colette doesn’t really care if the name is all wrong; it’s a city, it’s where she lives, that’s the end of things. She doesn’t need to know more than that to get by.

Colorado isn’t anyone’s home, far as she’s concerned. It’s just a place they’ve all gathered to clamber over one another; clawing out lives for themselves in a toxic environment, with nowhere else to go. Wasteland towns pop up and get swallowed up in the same month, sometimes. The only consistency anyone can find is here, or another big city. For whatever reason, the biggest of the ruins stay where they are; persevering through the fallout and standing tall.

They’ve even remained sturdy enough that new structures could be built around them, and under them. There are so few places left for humans, where they can defend themselves from the world. They’ve had no choice but to remain in cities like this, forcing it to accommodate them. Multiple levels, suspended between buildings, created to provide more room in their crowded metropolis. The same treatment done downwards; just as equally tangled and packed in.

Colette likes her burrow on the below ground levels. She likes it because the lights in the area are always malfunctioning, because skittering creatures make home in the shadows, because everyone else hates it and she enjoys being contrary.

She also likes it because finding work is easy. Someone who knows the underground like her is valuable, good for odd jobs. Colette has a near flawless success rate in whatever errands she’s given- be it locating an item, delivering something, just about anything, really.

And, unlike most other folks, Colette isn’t scared of the dark, or what hides in it. She’d walk through a pitch-black tunnel no problem; she wouldn’t even flinch. Nothing there is of any real threat, honestly; nothing to be afraid of. It’s what’s inside of people that scares her.

Still, she needs to eat. So, whenever she wakes up each day or night, Colette rolls herself out of bed to get dressed and head out. She knows the hotspots for the sorts of jobs she wants; quick and short, but decent enough pay. The people who frequent those hotspots know her well enough to refer interested parties.

Tonight, Colette wants something she can get done in a few hours. She’s still sore in her left leg from where someone got a lucky kick in. Serves her right, underestimating the thief she’d been sent to steal from. Stupid kid couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but he fought like hell to keep the package he stole.

Colette had kicked the shit out of him in exchange, and pried the package out of his singed hands. The consequences of his theft far outweighed the gain from it, in Colette’s opinion. All the kid had to show for it were burnt fingers and an introduction to the heel of her boot.

She kind of feels sorry for the nameless thief, because that’d been her at some point. But, she learned. She got smarter and tougher. If the thief is lucky, he’ll live long enough to do that, too.

The bar she’s visiting tonight is closer to a giant hole in the wall than a proper establishment. The painted sign on the concrete ceiling says High Street’s End, but the tunnels have no real streets, so most people just call it Jerry’s. Colette calls it a shithole, personally.

She’s woken up in the afternoon today, so the dinner rush hasn’t started yet. There’s plenty of after work drinkers, though, scattered in numbers large enough Colette knows she’ll get to eat tonight.

She lifts her scarf a little higher, over her chin. The strung-up lights of the bar wash out her already sun deprived skin, bleaching her long, tangled blonde hair to near white. Colette has two layers on, a thick sweater and long coat. It hides how lean she is, bulks up her small stature. Doesn’t help the fact that her feet dangle when she sits down on the metal bar stool. A glass of water is set in front of her on the counter, clean and clear.

Colette takes it and drinks it in just a few gulps. Good water is hard to come by; many sources are tainted. Jerry’s bar is special because of that. He can purify it, no matter how filthy.

He’s also older than nearly anyone else around here, making it to the point where his hair is almost pure white and grey. Colette doesn’t much like people, but she has something like fondness for Jerry. He’s a stout set man with a trim beard, paired with a sense of humor that’s as endearing as it is annoying.

“Evening, Russian Colette,” Jerry says with a cheeky grin, leaning on the counter. “You on any particular errand right now? ‘cause I’d rather you didn’t break my furniture again with a brawl.”

Colette shakes her head no. She digs a coin out of her pocket and flashes it in front of Jerry, the five-dollar digits imprinted on it making her point clear.

“Ah, job hunting,” Jerry says, nodding. He takes the coin and digs into his own pockets, producing a notebook. He flips through it, the arthritic swell of his fingers stiffening the action by the slightest margin. “Well, let’s see here… got a few requests for runners up to the topside, two for finding missing persons, an advertisement about a prophet geared educational group…”

I hate being upstairs, Colette signs, though it’s mostly for her own benefit, and those missing people are dead or shipped off already. The group thing is a scam. Probably another con to catch any young magicians without anyone watching them.

“What’s that?” Jerry is bemusedly confused by her hand signs, like always. “You know I only recognize my name in all that hand waving, right? Use a paper, woman.”

Colette raises one hand and lifts a single finger. Jerry guffaws.

“Now that I know the meaning of,” he says, chortling still. “Sorry, but that’s all I’ve gotten today. And you already refused everything else I have.”

Colette snorts. The other jobs Jerry has on offer are as shitty as the newest ones. She passed on all of them because they either paid like shit for an enormous amount of effort, or because she knew she wouldn’t be able to complete it and so wouldn’t be paid.

She taps her glass pointedly. Jerry obliges her a refill of water, right from the tap alongside his beer options. As he hands it to her, he says, “Think on it a little more before you leave, alright? Your good business is good my business, and you haven’t taken a job from here in a few weeks.”

Colette shrugs. She’ll think about it, sure. She’ll think about how stupid the jobs are, and then she’ll leave to find better ones.

Jerry moves on, going to greet other customers coming in. Colette sips slowly at her water, enjoying its sweet freshness. As much as she’d like to buy another five waters, and a hot meal on the side, Colette is counting her coins and not liking the numbers. Jerry’s right; she’s been skimming without serious jobs for a while. Any longer and she might have some trouble.

And speaking of trouble; Colette turns on her stool, hearing a chair be knocked over and rancorous laughter. She raises an eyebrow at the poor guy who’s the butt of the joke. He’s big, bigger than almost anyone Colette’s known. Tall and well fed. He’s also got clothes that lack the level of wear and tear hers has, that everyone’s around here has. Nice deep green coat and a shiny leather satchel; boots that could be new, all the buttons on his shirt still.

He doesn’t look like someone who’s a member of the Families in the city, though. Those sorts never come down here anyway. The guy looks about her age, maybe younger. Early twenties, likely. He’s got a soft cheeked face, with equally soft dark curls framing it. Colette looks at his skin and thinks of the grove of acorn trees she once saw; nuts light as sun to dark as earth. He’s between that, the sort of brown that lets you know it’s not too early or too late to eat the nut.

Colette pushes away the memory of that warm fall, from somewhere far in her past. The guy picking himself up off the ground may look as strong as an oak tree, but he’s clearly no better than a dried twig. Colette can give him a single glance and know he’s easy prey, a target for anyone to take advantage of.

Not her scene. Colette does some pretty terrible things to make ends meet, but she doesn’t cross the line like that. Kicking a thief around is one thing; robbing someone of everything they have is quite another.

Colette grimaces, watching the out-of-towner huff and scold the group of men he’s sitting with. Now she feels all melancholic about how awful everyone here is. She finishes her drink of water, annoyed that her evening has barely begun and it’s already been spoiled.

Colette whistles at Jerry to get his attention, rubbing her fingers together to show she wants one of the jobs. Her mood is quickly sliding into prickly grumpiness; she might as well ruin it further.

When Jerry asks which job she wants, Colette jerks a thumb across her throat.

tbc

[purplesurveys]

199

Have you ever read the Hunger Games series? No I never got into both the book and film series. I wish I did read the books though...oh well, it’s never too late to start on them. When was the last time you ran into something? There’s so many things I could run into though haha. I guess the frog that I met while I was taking some trash out a couple of days ago? Do you enjoy dressing up? Sure. I love parties. Do you live in the city or a rural area? In the middle. I literally live right before the city and right before the more province-y part of town. Would you say you have a sense of style? Yeah, my friends have pointed it out occasionally. It’s never intentional and I never wanted to project a certain image, but whatever.

What's your biggest fear? These surveys have made me realize that aside from cockroaches, I am also very terrified of fire. :-( Have you ever been bitten by a wild animal? Not bitten, although I got pecked by this huge bird in a mini-safari because it caught me taking a picture of it when I was 12. Are you close to any of your cousins? I’m close with one. We’re quite older, and everyone else is much younger so I can’t really build the close and personal relationship that I would want to have with them. Have you ever been lost in the woods? Nope I wouldn’t want to do anything that will put me in that situation. Where did you last travel? I was in Vigan last September. Do you enjoy driving? I love the independence aspect of it–my mom can’t ever say no to my plans now because I’ll always have the capability to drive anyway. But that’s the only advantage, really. Driving is exciting for the first few months but then you realize Manila traffic takes out at least four hours of your day everyday just weaving in and out of traffic. It’s ultimately tiring. What song did you last listen to? Tell Me How by Paramore. If you have a job, how often do you work? No job. What time do you normally go to sleep at night? I can’t give you an exact time but it’s usually between 9 PM and 1 AM. Do you watch a lot of movies? I used to but I’ve temporarily lost my muse for it. Hopefully the upcoming awards season will rouse my interest again. Do you like Tom Petty? Never listened to his music. Would you rather have snow or rain? I mean just because I’ve never seen it, snow. Do you own a lot of sweaters? Nope. I only have one and it isn’t even mine, technically. It’s too hot to wear sweaters any time of the year, so why spend several hundred bucks on something I doubt I’ll be able to wear more than twice a year? Have you ever tried rock-climbing? Oh man I always wanted to but was always lazy when there’s an opportunity hahaha. Ever ridden in a police car? No. Favorite decade of music? I don’t have one. I have favorite genres and they encompass various decades instead. Have any of your best friends been your best friend longer than a year? Yes. For longer than a decade, really. The only best friend I had who wasn’t able to hang on was Sofie, but even that had been longer than a year. Ever witnessed a murder? No. I’ve seen my loved ones getting murdered in my dreams, but never one in real life. Do you care what people think of you? My friends, yes. Anyone else, I don’t see why it should concern me. Does your room have a ceiling fan? No, I find it too old-fashioned for my room. Would you consider yourself poised? I have my moods, and that’s all thanks to my Classic Hollywood phase hahaha. I learned all of my etiquette from Audrey Hepburn. Have you ever tried blogging? Yes. I made a bajillion Blogger accounts but only made one entry with each of them. I had a lot because I would forget my username and password as soon as I made my first post and proceeded to abandon them. Favorite television channel? I don’t watch TV. Have you ever lied under oath? No. I’ve never even been under oath. What are your religious views? I don’t have any other than I never agreed with anything that’s ever come out of Catholicism, and that’s coming from 17 years of experience. Are you a romantic person? I’m super sweet in private. Otherwise, in a public setting, I’m hesitant to be showy. Just because I know it would annoy me if I saw a couple who’s a little into their PDA. Would you consider yourself a flirt? No. I never had the opportunity to find out for myself. At what age do you plan to be married? 27-29 should be fine. Do you eat a lot of junk food? Hah.  When did you last go on vacation? September. Are you resilient? I can be. It will ultimately depend on the situation at hand. Have you ever failed a subject before? No. I’ve failed tests, but never a class. If so, what was the class? Do you wear more bright or dull colors? Dull. Wearing bright colors would be very out of character for me. Do you know anyone who has attempted suicide? Yes. What's your favorite quote? I give different answers to this question all the time. Right now it’s, “Next time you point a finger, I might have to bend it back or break it off / Next time you point a finger, I’ll point you to the mirror.” from Paramore’s Playing God. Would you consider yourself mature? Yeah, at least more mature than the wild party animals that are the business students in my school. How many clocks are in your house? Several. I can’t be bothered to visualize and start counting right now. Do you play any sports? Yes. I play table tennis. What is your biggest life regret? This isn’t my doing and it’s not really a regret, but I’ve always wanted to see the person I would have turned out to be if I wasn’t raised in the detrimental environment I was raised in. Like, who would I be if my mom didn’t put me down mentally and emotionally every single day? What kind of outlook would I have if I had parents who had jobs that allowed them to be constantly at home and thus would be able to actually build a connection with us? How happier would I have been if I didn’t have to spend every time wondering if my relatives would nearly attack each other to death, intoxicated? It’s really saddening and I apologize to myself every day for not being given something better, even though I don’t even know who to blame it on. Have you ever been injured in a car accident? No, I’ve been in veeeery minor ones. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? I’d love to be in a museum right at this moment. Have you ever had highlights in your hair? Never did like highlights. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jollibee. In what country were you born? Born and raised in the Philippines. Are your eyes more than one color? Nope. Have you ever caught something on fire? NOOOOPE. I’m scared of fire so when I do have to deal with it, I’m careful as all hell. What would you consider your biggest flaw? I’m way too sensitive. If someone takes even the slightest, most innocent dig at me, rest assured that it will stay with me and could change the way I look at myself. What do you think your best quality is? I’m fiercely protective of and loyal to my loved ones. I’d put them first before me any day. Some have noticed that I kind of sacrifice too much in order to benefit the other, but I’ve never seen that as a bad thing. My specialty, really, has always been being there for people. Do you enjoy listening to others' problems? I don’t enjoy the fact that they have a problem. I do enjoy that they trust me enough to tell me all about what they are going through and went to me for either support or advice. Do you keep any plants in your house? Yup, we have several in the living room. What is your mother's occupation? I have no clue. Last time I bothered to ask, she was some kind of secretary in one of the departments of the hotel she works in. Do any of your friends like your musical style? I don’t have a distinct musical style, that belongs to my other friends who give more attention to the aesthetic they put out haha. But none of them enjoy my punk rock taste, definitely.  What are you most looking forward to? Our field trip for our art studies class next Saturday. What was your favorite television show as a child? My first-ever favorite was The Wild Thornberries and Hi-5 with the original cast. Then I moved on to Spongebob, Fairly OddParents, Drake and Josh, and The Suite Life as I got older. Are you afraid of insects? Completely. Are you cold-natured? I’m not sure what this wants to refer to. How old were you when you got your first pet? I may have been 5 when I got my first goldfish. Did you/do you enjoy high school? For the most part, yes. I went through a lot, but the reward from it is that I learned so much about myself in return. I gained a lot of friends, finally knew which types of people I want to build connections with, and I also grew a lot closer with my batch that I will never stop referring to as my sisters. I never viewed my academics as very important since I figured early on that it isn’t going to matter in the real world and in the long run, so I didn’t stress myself out on them as much as everyone else did. My only enemy was the Catholic vision of the school. What would you say was your favorite age? 16 was my happiest age. What annoys you most about social networking? I hate that homophobic, transphobic, and racist people are allowed to have accounts. Are you the center of attention most of the time? Definitely not. What are you currently reading? I’m not reading anything but after this I hope to start on my readings for history class that I’ve been putting off for ages hahaha. When did you last go to the library? I have no clue. April? Are you ill at the moment? Far from it. Do people tease you about anything? Nope. How late did you stay up last night and why? Around 10 PM. No reason. I wanted to sleep earlier but couldn’t, so I watched videos and read articles to make myself feel sleepy. Have you ever written poetry? Only when I had to for English.  Curtains or shades? I have shades, but prefer curtains. How many people have you spoken to in the last hour? Two. Do you tend to text a lot? Yes, but the only person I text is Gab hahaha since everyone else is reachable on Messenger. Still, I text a lot. Ever lost a great best friend? Yes. Losing Sofie was kind of sad, but I got over it quickly. I also lost Gabie for a while. What is your favorite kind of flower? Answered this before. I love all flowers except anthuriums. I’m not sure about other countries, but in the Philippines that’s the go-to flowers for cemeteries and I’ve since grown to hate how it looks. How tall are you? 5′1″ or 5′2″. Haven’t checked in a while so it could be either one. Do you own any guns? No. I don’t have a reason to own one. What would you say is your favorite book of all-time? I’m afraid a book hasn’t had that much of an impact on me yet. Do you think you're living a good life? No. What's your least favorite part of the day? The afternoon when the weather is at its most humid :( Plus everyone just seems to be a little more dead at that time of the day. Are you an over-achiever? Hahahaha, no. No matter how well I perform there’s always someone else that makes me achievements almost laughable in comparison. Have you ever won an award for a speech? No. I’ve gained recognition, but not an actual award. Do you tend to curse a lot? Yes. Have you ever played on the Ouija board? No. Always been fascinated with it. Do you sleepwalk? I don’t. Have you ever slept on the floor before? Yes, I’ve had to several times. Are you a fan of public displays of affection? Fan is a creepy way to put it. I don’t mind PDA, people are allowed to hold hands and hold each other by the waist and such. It becomes meh when it goes too far like excessive cuddling, but thankfully I rarely witness that. I do remember one couple openly making out in Universal Studios in Singapore though. In a line for a ride. Filled with families. I wanted to make gagging noises so bad ugh. When did you last attend a yard sale? Years ago. Do you wish your life were simpler or more interesting? More interesting, of course. What goals do you wish to accomplish tomorrow? I want to get started on a homework for my major, and get more readings done. When is your birthday? April 21st. Which is worse: going blind or deaf? Bad question. What was the best part of today? Eh, it’s been pretty slow today. Nothing so far, really. Do you attempt to stay away from drama? Ugh for fucking sure, yes. I know some people who are still obsessed with high school level drama. It’s fun to watch it from afar.

What liquid did you last drink? Water. Do you ever prefer to be alone? Majority of the time. Have you ever had a deadly animal as a pet? No. My mom wouldn’t let that pass. Favorite Disney movie? Toy Story or Tangled. Have you ever been to the beach? Many times. If you have, how many times have you been? ^ What was your dream occupation at age ten? I wanted to be an author at the time, so not really far off from my present aspirations to work in mass communication. Are you terrified at the idea of weight-gain? No. I actually want to gain a little so that I can fit (nicely) into clothes that I do want to wear. I’m naturally thin and something that people tend to skim over about being skinny is that very few articles of clothing can complement your figure. Do you drink a lot of water? Yes. Love water. I’m responsible for finishing up the pitchers in the fridge all the time. Does your room have carpet or hard-wood floors? Hardwood. Do you take naps daily? Most of the time I can’t, since I spend the whole day in school. Who were you named after? I was told that I was named after the Swedish singer also named Robyn, but my parents’ versions change EVERY TIME I bring the question up. I have no idea why they can’t give me a straight answer. Do you plan on traveling this spring or summer? Yes if my dad happens to be home at that time of the year. Do you know anyone who is colorblind? I don’t think so. Have you ever been a teacher's pet? Ugh no. I stay away from that particular spotlight. What is your absolute favorite hobby? Exploring museums and other cultural sites :) I also love watching movies. How many times a day do you brush your teeth? Once. Twice at most. Ever been to a tanning bed before? No. I have no use for one and I don’t even know how to operate them, and I’ve seen the tanning bed part from Final Destination 3 enough times to know not to mess with them haha. Are you satisfied with your financial stability? I’m alright with my parents’ financial stability. Who is your favorite actor/actress? Kristen Stewart. I also like Kate Winslet but she’s in my shit list for now because she defended Woody Allen.

Are your nails painted? They aren’t. What's the meanest thing you've ever said to someone? When I was a kid, around 9, I used to tell my siblings all the time that I wish they were never born and that I were an only child instead, since I was always fighting with them for attention. I wasn’t raised a brat and I hate that I ever said that, and it’s really because of the environment I was raised in. I heard those words from my relatives and other people, and I just mimicked it because I thought it was an alright thing to say. Do you ever accidentally talk to inanimate objects? Yeah I say sorry ALL THE TIME to inanimate objects I bump into. What's your favorite flavor of ice cream? Cookies and cream and any flavor with an unusual concept. I tried spicy chocolate ice cream before, best thing ever. Have you ever kissed someone of the same gender? I would prefer to kiss somone of the same gender. Do you receive any hate mail? No. I got hate stuff on my Ask.fm once and since I don’t tolerate negativity on any of my social media, I went ahead and deleted my profile altogether. Have you ever sent a letter in the mail? Nope. If you could, would you have a pen pal? That seems sweet, but no. What color are the pants you're wearing? My shorts are blue. Have you ever had a stalker? I haven’t. What is your life philosophy? People don’t have to be blood to be family. Who last sent you a goodnight text message? My girlfriend. Do you own any clothes that are your favorite color? I have lots of black clothes; but as much as I love pastel pink, I have nothing of that color. Have you ever been in a hot tub before? Of course. What's your favorite comedy movie? White Chicks hahahahahahah.

[evnoweb]

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

Yes, it’s that time.  Time for a wander around the province looking at some of the great thinking (and blogging) from some Ontario Edubloggers. (The big list!)

The Art of Leading Like a Sage and a Lunatic

I think that this post, from David Carruthers, tags on nicely to a previous post where he talked about Pockets of Innovations.  He introduces a couple of terms “sage” and “lunatic” to the conversation.  The latter isn’t the nicest of words but David brings it into play from a post that he had read in another place.

The intent here, it seems to me, is to identify the safe areas and then those that choose to lead by going past that safe area.  Those that go beyond aren’t necessarily the most popular but I would maintain that a system that wishes to grow in new areas needs these types badly.

Which one do you identify with?  Think about your staffroom.  Can you put faces to the names?  What would a system be like without either?  And, when there are names/tags, there are also opposites.  What would you say is the opposite to David’s interpretation of a sage or a lunatic?  What is their place within a system?

Also, note that David has a new blogging address.

As Stephen Hurley and I chatted abou this on VoicEdRadio, Paul McGuire was countering some of our discussion with his own perspective.  I’d love to see a post from David or Paul or maybe them together with the topic “Do schools move forward because of centrally assigned resources or despite of centrally assigned resources?”  Gauntlet thrown.

It Takes a Village

Talk about airing your parenting philosophy!  Every parent of a pre-school child needs to read this post from Jennifer Aston.  Well, at least if you want more from childcare than just a drop off for the day while you go to work.

Jennifer develops a story of two daycare centres; one chosen by convenience and another chosen by a philosophy of care that is in line with her thinking and desires.

They were considerably different.

I’ll never forget watching a little girl run up to a teacher to share something excitedly with her.  While the little girl was interrupting, the teacher dressed her down in front of me and I quickly saw this little girl deflate in front of my eyes.  She was embarrassed and humiliated.

In the position that Jennifer describes, would you have the will to make the same decisions that she made?

Towards the end, she makes reference to one of the points raised by the Liberal Party as we head into an election.  It should make you think; right now, your dollars and philosophy drive your childcare decisions.  With universal free daycare, will you still have a choice?  How similar to public education would public daycare be?

OLYMPIC ATHLETE NICK POLONIATO!

Kimberley Weir gives us a one sentence blog post about a special guest to her classroom.

Don’t let that stop you from clicking through to her blog though.  The rest is a wonderful collection of pictures from the visit that really tell a bigger story.

i.e. do you earn anything if you don’t get a gold, silver, or bronze metal?

And, if you thought that bobsleigh or skeleton was just a fancy name for tobogganing, you have to check out the helmet!

Get Ready, Get Set, Present!

In Ontario, we are so fortunate to have great people like Diana Maliszewski who takes the time and effort to present at various professional learning events throughout the province.

I still remember seeing her in full Minecraft costume at an event and stopping right in front of my path and her mime act that made me wonder just who the heck this person was!

In her future,

TDSB Unleash Learning

ETFO ICT Conference

ECOOcamp Owen Sound

Make a Difference

As well, she’s planning to assist with the OLA Superconference.  With the call for proposals out now for Bring IT, Together, I’ll bet that’s on her list as well.

Part 4: Ahas and the Road that lies ahead!

There isn’t enough room on this Friday morning to dig into this post, er, series of posts, from Anne Marie Luce.

It involves a Tweet, a dream team, and a series of professional learning events half a world away.

We’re fortunate that she documented things in a collection of blog posts.

Part 1: It all started with a Tweet……

Part 2 of 4: East meets West

Part 3: The Tipping Point

Part 4: Ahas and the Road that lies ahead!

For those who wish to be leaders in professional learning in their school, it should provide interesting reading about a journey of growth within a staff.

OK GO – Rube Goldberg in the Grade 5 classroom.

This post, from Marc Hodgkinson was nominated by colleage Ramona Meharg.  I’m thankful for that.  It reeled me in at Rube Goldberg.  Ever since I first played Mouse Trap, I’ve been a fan of Goldberg and those who have continued to make the concept grow.

Who remember The Incredible Machine?

The blog post is an overview of a Grade 5 activity and embedded, you’ll find a link to a Google Slides presentation that provides more detail and inspiration about this Simple Machines activity.

The Good And Bad Of Labels

Very nicely in this post, Aviva Dunsiger takes us on a trip through the use of labels and Autism Awareness Day was her inspiration.

In education, we have noble goals about making every child a success and yet traditional approaches don’t work for everyone.  For those, we have labels.

So, the good part is that if we assign a label to a child, they get the desired assistance that they need.  The bad part?  Once you’ve had that label applied, can you ever get rid of it?

She got me thinking about labels that aren’t always so visible.  When I went to secondary school, for example, I was in the “5 year program” and my homeroom was 9A.  In my school, we also had the “Occupations program” and their corresponding homeroom was 9a.  There was no way out from 9a to eventually get to 9A.  They were clearly labelled by type and by program.  I hadn’t thought about that for a long time, so thanks Avia.

While labels may have their purpose, they really do need to be used appropriately.  And, we need to remember that they’re labels and not tattoos.

What a wonderful collection of blog posts yet again.  Please click through and read them in their entirety.

And, make sure that you’re following these folks.

@dcarruthersedu

@jen_aston

@KimberlyAnnWeir

@MzMollyTL

@turnmeluce

@Mr_H_Teacher

@avivaloca

This Week in Ontario Edublogs published first on https://medium.com/@DigitalDLCourse