#managing to reconnect with my estranged siblings | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bobbinbugs · 2 years ago

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HII so what do you mean about vessel OCs being thematically relevant? Did you mean specific OCs or the concept of making a vessel OC in general? either way i would love to read your thoughts

An ask! Anon, may you be blessed evermore. Thank you!

As for thematically relevant vessels, well… that’s kind of two separate questions! I’ll go with the general question for now, because that’s way easier to answer, but frankly I’m going to devolve into rambling and start talking about my little guys. You’ve been warned!

A lot of people just want to make A Guy and give them a story, with the backstory of the vessels as a base. And that’s all well and good! It’s lovely and compelling, and I support that. But hollow knight has a strong theme of family. You can connect a lot of the themes from there: duty in the name of your parents, having to unfairly fill a sibling’s shoes, the idea you’re one of many, the desire to reconnect despite everything: it all comes down to the fact that the 3 main characters are related.

All the vessels are a part of a family, and all save one are very young children at that. Either by luck or sheer solemn brutality, ghost managed to rough it on their own. But all of hollow knight is the story of those three siblings trying to connect with each other, and never fully bridging the gap: often, people design vessels in isolation, but I find it most interesting if they come in droves. Ghost, Hornet, and THK are an emotionally-estranged set. How would they react to a set of vessels who work together?

(I’ve seen this idea explored by @talos-the-mourning-vessel, which is probably why they’re my favorite vessel oc to date!)

In turn, I’m using this segue as an excuse to talk about my little guys.

I have two little guys, basically intended as self-inserts of myself and @two-children-in-a-trenchcoat (hi buddy!) and intended for a multiplayer true end let’s play that probably isn’t going to happen. Welp. Regardless… these two sealed their fates in the abyss/birthplace, where they helped each other up instead of killing each other. Canonically they went up the wall closest to the door (not the middle platforms) and pk was facing the wrong way and didn’t notice. Pk moment

They then decide “this entire kingdom sucks we need to leave NOW” and do exactly that, returning when they hear hollow scream, same as ghost. They then show up 15 min late to hallownest with Starbucks.* Their asses are not saving hallownest ‼️‼️

They don’t have the guts, resolve, or skill that Ghost does. Their main survival skill is being quick to retreat and having the other’s back.

I really love these guys because of how they interact with ghost: or, should I say, ghost hates them. Hollow knight, as is always worth reiterating, is the story of 3 siblings trying to reach for each other and never quite bridging the gap. Seeing their family actually act like family: always willing to help the other up & totally ride or die would be such a gut punch to Ghost.

There’s also hungry knight, which is the story of hk in extreme miniature, but missed the central emotional core and implied story behind “I carried a fallen companion to a resurrection altar (because they’re so fundamental to me I can’t continue without them)” that didn’t fully make it into hk. (that implied story was the only compelling part about hungry knight tbh. I love to see extreme hk beta but let’s be real. It’s not good.) I like the idea, and these two continue that dropped thread in a way that doesn’t undo ghost’s whole “lone warrior” vibe. Not even a vibe, it’s a theme: they were refused a helping hand from the very start. They crawled out alone, they returned alone, they take on the burden alone. These two won’t save the world, but they have each other, which rubs everyone in hallownest the wrong way, probably.

These are all my miscellaneous thoughts on the matter, really! Thank you for asking. I ought to draw my little guys sometime.

*I think they have their reasons. Partly fear, partly arguing, partly distance. They have no more memories than ghost, but know they wanted to leave the call’s origin so badly it sent them running blindly into the wastes. They finally came ‘round from the appeal/duty of there being another like them, but they were very avoidant to return.

#god I need to do paperwork #bobbinbugs originals

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andrewdaviesdesign2862 · 2 years ago

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Formative Presentation Script

Ok so the title of my project is ‘Broader Horizons’

Initially my focus was going to be designing for elderly smartphone users which was one of the main areas of focus in my exegesis, which was basically an exploration into ‘the evolution of modern-day interface and app icon design and how it operates within various user demographics’

But I decided to change my directory a little bit by focusing on HWM find a way to encourage older people to expand their social circles, in order to improve their health and wellbeing as current research indicates that about half of older New Zealanders experience some level of loneliness, and 8-9% feel lonely all or most of the time. Which is important because having inadequate social relationships has been shown to be as bad for health as smoking and loneliness has also been linked to an increased likelihood of entering rest home care.

I conducted several interviews with people over 50, talking with them about their friend groups and how they came to be, as well as how meeting new people and building/managing friendships later in life differs to when your younger.

As a way of synthesising the information I gathered in my interviews I played around with some empathy mapping as I wanted to ensure I understood exactly what my interviewees were trying to articulate in terms of what they said, did, felt and thought.

Some of the key insights I gathered from this research were that:

The majority of people that the participants referred to as their friends, were actually more like extended family, as they, alongside most people of this age demographic, tended to have grown up alongside several other siblings, usually quite close in age, so a large portion of their friends were introduced to them by other members of the family, so they never really needed to independently go out and build external friendships and develop the desire/need to meet new people. So, I considered exploring HWM encourage people over 50 to independently meet/build relationships with people who are unassociated with family members?

Participants also stated that by the time they reached 50 they had lost contact with a lot of their external friends as most had moved to another country or city either for work or family as these tend to take priority over friendships at this stage in people’s lives. So, I considered HMW make long-distance friendships easier to maintain for people over 50?

Participants stated that their social life was at its peak while at school and uni as well as at some of the earlier places they worked and during this period of time they tended to of made more friends than at any other point in their life. But because things like social media which allow us to easily reconnect with people didn’t exist at that point in time, eventually they have become estranged from the majority of them because of increasingly limited communication over time.

So, for my final HMW I’ve chosen HMW find a way for people over 50 to easily reconnect with old classmates/colleagues in order to build new friendships/relationships?

In terms of ideation I just did a basic brainstorm of solution ideas which I could explore that would appeal to an older demographic - meaning users over 50

Some of these ideas were:

An app or most likely a website which:

- Allows older users to communicate with friends overseas

- Enables older users to connect with people of a similar age via mutual interests and community events

- Allows older single users to connect with each other in terms of dating etc.

At this stage for my solution I’ve chosen to develop a website catered and designed for users over 50, which is where a lot of the research I did last semester will come in handy, which enables people of this demographic who might be feeling a little bit lonely at this point in their lives, to easily reconnect and catch up with people from their past such as old classmates/colleagues/employers/neighbours that they have otherwise lost contact with over time and ultimately rekindle these relationships that were up until recently lost.

So, these are screenshots from my initial prototype so it’s just showing the process of how the user would come across the profile of someone they went to high school with.

So far, I haven’t gotten around to doing any user testing for my initial prototype but I’m aiming to that over the weekend.

My next steps include continuing with user testing and developing my prototype as well as doing a bit of research into competitors and school reunions and such.

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sirensbeckon · 5 years ago

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hold! who goes there? why , is that 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒏 the 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒅 of 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔? they do look 𝒑𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒉 for a 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 of 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚 - 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 years. don’t they call 𝒉𝒆𝒓 the 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒏? i’ve heard they’re also 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒍 though. don’t take my word for it but they do look an awful lot like 𝒌𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒕𝒉. ( pinterest / google doc )

BASIC INFO

NAME : elena taliesin

PRONUNCIATION : ah - lay - na t - ae - l - eh - sin

TITLE : bard

AGE : twenty - three

PLACE OF ORIGIN : a small village in the northlands called freymore

FAMILY MEMBERS : her parents , rendon and margaret taliesin , and maternal aunt , penelope ward.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

HEIGHT : five foot three

HAIIR COLOR : light brown

EYE COLOR : pale blue

GENDER : cis female

BUILD : petite

DISTINGUISHING FEATURES? : beauty mark under her lips , freckles on her cheeks , a long jagged scar on her hip from when she was living on her own.

ANY HEALTH RELATED ISSUES? : not really , she does easily bruise though.

PERSONALITY

there is little elena can do without a twinkle of mischief in her eyes. she has little care in the world , or at least she tries hard at making it appear so. she radiates warmth to whoever dares to enter her orbit , as she does like to think of herself as the sun. arrogance and pride are not strangers to elena , and she often wears her flaws on her sleeves , thinking them assets rather than weaknesses. though , those who don’t consider elena a friend may think otherwise. she likes to play games and tease her friends. there truly is never a dull moment when she’s involved.

on the flip side , elena is motivated by two things : money and status. her ambition clouds her mind at times to the point where she is throwing herself into situations that are risky and sometimes just plain stupid. she will do anything to keep everyone’s eyes on her. the only time she feels important is when people are watching her or talking about her , otherwise she fears what would happen if she became obsolete. rather than risk anonymity , she pulls stunts and does all she can to be useful to others.

left alone , elena can become moody and melancholy. she hates living alone and sometimes even sleeping alone since it leaves her with little to distract her from the reality of life.

POSITIVE TRAITS : clever , playful , warmhearted , loyal , vivacious , welcoming , protective , ambitious , passionate

NEGATIVE TRAITS : selfish , guileful , manipulative , impatient , frivolous , puckish , attention seeking , reckless , hedonistic

ADDITIONAL INFO

HER BENEFACTOR : this person offers elena everything she desires : status , money and purpose. though they were not her first patron , they are the most important. they fund elena’s travels as well as hire her consistently for events and parties ; sometimes they hire her just for their own listening pleasure. they have a mutual understanding that elena is using them for their wealth and they are using elena for her company. pretty open ended plot that can turn platonic , romantic , or antagonistic.

PARTNER IN CRIME : an old friend she knew during her time spent traveling solo. they lost touch but reconnected recently as if nothing has ever changed. they knew elena before her rise to fame and ground her. they have no trouble calling her out when she’s acting out. this person is also one of the few people elena is undoubtedly loyal to. elena feels very protective over this person and tries to help them out in any way she can.

ESTRANGED FAMILY : hi my name is briana and i thrive off of complicated family bonds alfjksldj ( see estranged sibling in cecily’s intro ). ANYWAY elena’s mother was a member of a minor noble house in the northlands , the wards. though elena typically would zero in on any connection to status she has , she is standoffish when it comes to her distant family. she feels resentment towards them for cutting off her mother , as well as not coming to her aid when she was left alone. perhaps she and her family meeting in passing and they have no idea it’s her or the surname taliesin does ring a bell and remind them of a disgraced daughter or niece or cousin. elena surprisingly wants nothing to do with them , but this connection could think she wanted money or gifts or status. angsty shenanigans ensues.

SCORNED EX : a past patron who elena used for their fair amount of coin and status as a noble. the two’s professional relationship had developed into a romantic one , but elena spent most of that relationship lying about her feelings for the other. she never loved them but did feel comfortable , especially since the other was providing for her. ultimately , elena left them when a new patron offered her something she could not refuse. i imagine her ex would feel bitter towards elena and if they were to ever run into each other it could be tense or even hostile.

HISTORY

with a wicked grin , she tells people she was born from the sea , a daughter of a sea god with a tale to tell. the mysterious siren , a sought after bard and a must have addition to any party. she likes the simplicity of a legendary beginning , so farfetched that of course no one in their right mind would believe her. and in the same breath she can protect her past and herself from whatever could be used against her. besides , her past is disappointing , ridden with boring reality and misfortunes that elena refuses to let weigh her down.

but for the sake of transparency , her true tale goes like this : she was born in the northlands to a farmer and a disgraced noble. her village of freymore was small and not that important but she loved it. she spent her days helping her father with the crops and flowers , often picking some to bring home to her mother who made money as a scribe for the town. her mother had left a minor noble house for love and all but one of her family members cut ties completely with her — the one being her sister and elena’s aunt , lady penelope ward. it was her mother who took on elena’s education , reserving the late afternoons into evenings to teach her daughter reading and writing , but most importantly , history. her mother had been on the road to becoming a well respected scholar in her field before she left her home for rendon taliesin. she did not do it for prestige , but for the love of it and elena inherited that passion for history and mythology.

when her aunt managed to steal away to visit she would bring her lute and stacks upon stacks of sheet music to the taliesin farmstead. history and religion lessons were postponed so that aunt penelope could teach elena music. elena took to singing right away , often carrying the tunes from lessons over to work. her and her father would sing in the orchards as they plucked fruit from the trees. the lute was a tougher trick to learn , the strings complicated. by the time she was eleven , she was handling it fairly well and her aunt was thoroughly impressed — mainly by her own teaching. i will say , elena did not inherit her arrogance from her parents.

her childhood was sweet and truly all elena could ask for . . . though the taliesins did struggle financially. the northland winters were cruel , even in the southern most part of the kingdom. it was not an easy place to farm , even though it was a necessary trade. loans were taken out , as many as possible , to get the family through the harsh months. as much as her aunt begged her family to help elena and her parents , they did not budge. it was her mother’s stories and her father’s steady support that kept elena optimistic . . . until the snow melted and there were debts to be paid.

there was never enough money , all of it going straight to the lenders. soon it became too much for the family — her father was taken to the cells underneath the ruling family of the region for his unpaid debt. and her mother , unable to support elena on her own , begged her sister to take her. penelope obliged and elena left her home and family behind , never knowing when she would see them again , if she would see them again.

at thirteen she was living in the northland capital with her aunt , far away from her mother’s family for her own safety. her aunt continued elena’s studies , music lessons quickly becoming her favorite as the tales of history and myth never sounded right coming out of anyone’s mouth but her mother’s. she knew a life of comfort in mer sereine , something she was unused to and learned to relish. she distracted herself from her grief with pretty things whether they were dresses or songs or , as she grew older , people.

because of elena’s gift of music and storytelling , her aunt encouraged her to train as a bard with her , as she was a former instructor of a bard college. she did not have a traditional education after agreeing to it , instead she traveled vailar at her aunt’s side and performed. she was young but she had a natural talent for it and was ready to set out on her own when she turned nineteen.

her first solo year was not as successful as elena imagined it to be. she spent most of it in shitty inns but when her money ran out she turned to a less savory trade — stealing. elena refused to admit her failures to her aunt and did what she had to do to survive while traveling , saying that when it would pick up she could stop. a year later she did stop when she landed her first regular patron who then introduced her to another potential patron and another after that. things seemed to be falling into place for elena.

though there were dips in patronage as time went on , elena found herself becoming a fairly well known and wanted bard. as she delved further into high society she began to make up stories about her past so to keep herself a mystery ; the one that stuck was that she was a siren cursed to walk the land by an evil sea witch ( this is not the plot to little mermaid don’t @ me alfjsdlkjf ).

presently , elena is entertaining her high class patrons still and landing illustrious jobs for events. she has quarters at an inn in elysi but rarely frequents them as she prefers traveling to staying home alone.

the way elena conducts business is . . . interesting to say the least. as she grows more popular , she becomes greedier. she thrives off of the fame. the only things connecting her to her past are the few people who knew her as she was before. elena is attached to the glitz and glamor of being a bard and attending balls and galas. she has lost her innocent love for the art. she’s not above flirting or playing dirty to get what she wants. she’s been known to manipulate people and use them for their status or wealth :) she has no boundaries even though she really should.

#will i ever learn how to write a short intro #ABSOLUTELY NOT #kc.intro #*・ﾟ ﹙ ✶ ﹚ . HEADCANONS ↻ how do you tame girls with wildfire limbs

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smallnico · 5 years ago

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Does Sofiya like a specific kind of tea aside from just sugary? What's her family like? Why does Dom (presumably) like tropical print shirts? What are Lani's top five countries she would be banned from if she got to choose which ones? What's Chris's favourite sport if any and why? What got Candace into baking? Is she competitive at the bake sale? What are Erol's opinions on sci-fi as a genre? Would Leandro star in a musical and if so what kind? What does he think about musicals in general?

sofiya’s favourite kind of tea is milk tea, but when she drinks other kinds, she adds a lot of sugar and milk. she doesn’t really have a preference aside from preferring less caffeine, as she has a low bitter tolerance and is paranoid about setting off psychotic symptoms. i, personally, know that you need a lot more caffeine than anyone should reasonably digest in order to cause said symptoms, but sofiya does not, or at the very least, she’s so worried about it she refuses to even chance it.

how her family is depends on which family you’re asking about! her current family consists of the theatre dads -- her biological father miko and her not-yet-legal-unmarried-stepfather theo -- and her two honorary siblings -- theo’s estranged-but-reconnected daughter grace, and beau, a former student of his who he got legal custody of a few years back due to Circumstances. they’re a weird family, the members of which adopted one another into their lives at some point and just ran with it. they have a surprisingly natural and healthy family dynamic, all things considered, with the exception of grace, who is newer and less on board with the whole situation (she really only considers their house a temporary place to stay, though she warms up quickly to beau and miko). sofiya really likes grace and frequently tries to engage her and persuade her to be less mean and intimidating. it doesn’t really work. sofi’s one of a few characters in the group who wasn’t born in canada! she and her dad are russian-ukrainian, with her dad having lived and worked in russia most of his life, and having moved to ukraine after sofiya was born in order to live with her and her mother. sofiya’s dad and mom were in a tumultuous relationship from the start, and it only got worse after sofiya was born, since she was kind of an accident. she remembers her mom being cold, bitter, and deeply unhappy, when she wasn’t having spells of paranoia and intense emotional outbursts. miko and sofiya’s mom split on good terms when she was ten, then he took custody of sofiya and they moved to canada.

dom does like horrible loud shirts, yes. there are a few reasons for this, but none of them are very compelling: he’s gay, he likes thrifting, he likes that vibrant energy, and they make him feel better about himself. he has about a half dozen equally questionable fashion choices in his wardrobe, and a handful of quieter clothes he wears when he really needs to do laundry.

honestly, the only reason lani hasn’t made this list is because she’s allergic to planning ahead. her chaos is the sort that comes from impulse rather than conscious thought and self-awareness. i think it takes a lot to be banned from a whole country, but i also believe lani’s the kind of presence to somehow manage to do it by a colossal series of spontaneous mistakes. she has been suspended from school before, and she has been kicked off the bus on at least three separate occasions. if she had to choose a country to be banned from it’d be australia, because she’d think it’d be hilarious to be banned from a country that used to be where the british shipped criminals.

chris used to play rugby in high school. she initially got into it on a whim, but really committed to it after it became the thing to finally persuade her dad to say no to her -- see, she really wants to rebel and used to act out a lot more than she does now that she’s a bit more mature, but it’s hard to rebel against your parents when they spoil you unconditionally. her main sport is now kickboxing, for purposes of self-defense and good cardio, but she’s still a fan of rugby and women’s soccer in particular. she refuses to watch men’s soccer because she vocally thinks it’s overrated.

baking is candace’s go-to de-stressing activity. she’s a fundamentally high-strung person, so this means she got really, really good at it. for a long time baking was the Thing She Did For Herself, though it eventually got folded into the miasma of taking care of her younger siblings while her mom worked full time and late into the night. she’s kind of a duty elemental, though she hates being passively obligated to take care of people more than she hates anything in the world, except when people bring premade store-bought goods to bake sales. (”it’s lazy, it’s lying, and it’s disgusting”, she says. “some of us got up at five in the morning to make sure their homemade cinnamon bread rose and got into the oven in time to be warm for this, you animals.”) she loves her siblings, but literally the second they got old enough to take care of themselves, she left for university and resolved to never have kids of her own. she now truly bakes for herself, though she usually ends up bringing stuff in to the theatre and to parties, because baking a tray of delicious hazelnut chocolate cookies is absolutely no good if you can’t share them with the people you really want to be friends with. she does stay hyper-vigilant of everyone’s dietary needs out of habit.

erol really enjoys it, but only a certain kind of it. they see science fiction as a genre that should be fundamentally humanist, it should say something about human nature, rather than just being fantasy in space or “hey look at this cool robot”. they’ll get snitty and correct you if you say star wars is science fiction (”it’s space opera, it’s a whole and fundamentally different genre!”) but they’ll accept that star wars exists. erol’s more of a star trek kind of person for sure, but their real love of the genre is classic science fiction, your isaac asimovs and your phillip k dicks and your ursula leguins. overall their taste in literature skews toward either “shit you’ve never heard of” (which if i’m being honest, when i write erol, i just make up on the spot) or “classics that you’re allowed to be a snob about”. they haven’t read a piece of genuine young adult literature since they were 13 and read twilight. they refused to admit they enjoyed it for years, and now they’ll defend its place in the literary canon, past the point where any reasonable person would cave to the popular insistence that it’s just a book for teens that blew up and that’s Fine.

leandro fucking loves musicals and would kill to star in a big one. he’s actually a good singer and performer, too, so it’s not a far-fetched dream for him, though round river doesn’t put muscials on very often. they’re more expensive than non-musical stage shows to make good quality, and not all of the cast members can actually sing, so whenever they put on a musical, they have to bring in... the choir.(horror chord) leandro and erol are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to the sorts of shows they prefer, with erol preferring thinky highbrow stuff, and leandro being completely swept up in spectacle and drama and performance. he’d make a great phantom, according to himself. in the two musicals round river’s put on while he’s been around, he was billy flynn in chicago, and kenickie in grease. when i did my little heathers fancast (which is outdated, sofiya can’t sing and neither can lani), i set leandro to play jd.

thanks for asking! :>

#smallnioc #janetofficial #the askbox

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armageddon-generation · 6 years ago

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Fixing The Legend of Korra - Book 2

I’D LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT I IMAGINE THESE SEASONS TO BE 26-8 EPISODES IN LENGTH, YOUNG JUSTICE-STYLE, TO FIT EVERYTHING IN

ALSO THIS IS LONGER AND I TOOK MORE LIBERTIES WITH CANON BECAUSE BOOK 2 ISN’T THE GREATEST

Book 1 here Book 3 here, Book 4 here

BOOK 2

KORRA

When we start 6 months later Korra still doesn’t have her fire, earth or waterbending – but she’s still not mastered airbending because she associates it with her trauma.

This simultaneously justifies how protective Tenzin is, and how frustrating Korra’s airbending training has become – she’s stuck using the element least like her, forcing her to use cut-and-run tactics she hates

This also explains her frustrations with Mako – he’s fighting crime while she’s stuck on the island, feeling powerless. She’s angry at him for doing what she taught him to – embrace his gift. Their relationship is becoming unhealthy.

If Amon was powered by dark spirits it also explains why Korra is so angry her Dad has been hiding the spirit attacks in the South from her – in her head dark spirits are the thing that stole her bending, so she wants payback (which Tenzin is actively against)

This fear Korra will hurt herself also means Unalaqq’s faith in her will mean a lot more – we can see it positively impacting her

All this time we see Korra’s past lives debating what to do with her – Aang is defending her, but Kyoshi is taking a hardline approach – death and moving on to the next life?

After Korra shows herself to be completely useless against the first Dark Spirit attack, Kyoshi has enough and possesses Korra's body (like Roku did to Aang in ATLA 1x09 Avatar Roku). Team Avatar then have to hold off crazy Korra while she tries to reassert control over her own body

Kyoshi and Kurruk argue over who should be in control - the Water Tribes are his people - and Korra literally fights herself, destroying everything, as control switches between them (both Kyoshi and Kurruk try to flirt with Mako, which freaks him out)

Eventually it's Raava (unnamed and unknown at this point) who helps Korra reassert control - all the past Avatars are stunned she intervened

Only reopening the Southern portal gets Korra her bending back – the strengthened spiritual connection allows Raava to heal and reconnect her to the elements – Aang gets to say ‘I told you so’

Unalaqq's plan getting Korra's bending back explains her loyalty to him and desire to prove he’s a good person

Emphasise the familial connection between Unalaqq and Korra – maybe flashbacks to visits when she was a child?

Explore more Avatars' stories while we have the him, to deepen the impact losing her past lives has on Korra (she barely communicates with them in the original) - Aang sees a lot of similarities between Korra and Kyoshi, which worries him

Compare the active Korra to the last waterbending Avatar, Kurruk (the inactive guy who fought Ko the Face Stealer) - Unalaqq disapproves of him. Establish the Avatar was always flawed and prone to laziness

When Korra does get her bending back she’s boisterous and overzealous, driving Mako up the wall

Learning the origins of bending as a weapon against spirits in Wan's time causes Korra to reconsider the aggressive and excessive way she uses hers. She becomes a lot more self-conscious and careful

In Book 1 we established Korra had trouble with waterbending’s emotional side (accepting change and letting emotion flow) and Kya had to teach her using adapted firebending techniques

The conflicts of this book teach Korra (and Kya) to value her culture (the spiritual and emotional lessons it teaches) and she learns how to let her emotions flow from Katara

In the finale when Korra turns into a kid, have Naga be her guide, not the dragon-bird. It’s an awesome design, but it’d be cool to see Naga do her job as animal guide - she can have a crazy spirit form once Korra grows back up

UNALAQQ

I think this would be a really interesting opportunity to explore theocracies – If Unalaqq is the leader of a spiritual cult who worship Vaatu as a god. If spirits are influenced by human emotion, worship could do some very interesting, dangerous things

Have Katara also clash directly with Unalaqq (not physically, but in terms of ideals and influencing the people) as the South’s unofficial spiritual leader

Explore Unalaqq’s childhood, isolated and jealous of his brother (he’s basically Loki from Marvel, and he’s one of their most sympathetic villains)

Chart Unalaqq’s corruption under the influence of Vatuu – think the One Ring’s influence on Gollum – see him turn from a promising scholar to a scheming Machiavellian mastermind, turn it into a family tragedy

Also touch on the twins’ relationship with their father – I’m assuming it was cold and empty, like Mai’s relationship with her parents. But their parents are estranged (a result of Unalaqq’s fall) and their mother abandoned them, so he is all they have

Draw direct comparisons between this relationship and Tonraq’s relationship with Korra, which is almost too caring, yet at the same time he leys her be her own person in a way Unalaqq won’t let them – the twins don’t really get this kind of affection, though by the end of the season they express a wistful longing for what could have been

Asami relates to the evil father thing, and is a key instigator of their turning against Unalaqq

Lets see more of the actual Civil War in the South, to maintain the urgency of the plot – Tonraqq leading guerrilla warfare. Maybe one desperate moment where Katara comes in for support – not actual fighting, more like the wave from The Last Airbender Movie – something to scare pursuers off

ASAMI

In Republic City Asami is trying to put the Equalist experience behind her. This doesn’t work so well when she’s having to testify at her father’s trial at the beginning of the book

I think it’d be a tragic twist if the same day was the anniversary of her mother’s death, and she had to visit her grave (first one parent – in jail – and now the next – in prison). This compounds how lonely and directionless Asami is

At the same time, the Equalists (the same likeable Chi-blockers from Book 1) are attempting to gain legitimate democratic representation in the United Republic – something Raiko is understandably not keen on. Non-bender rights have actually back-slid in the wake of Amon’s revolution. They keep asking Asami to become their official representative – a multibillion-yuan company would make people take them seriously. Asami keeps turning them down because it’s bad for business, but she’s also not ready to go there emotionally

Asami comes to South Pole separately to Korra and the others – they bump into each other on the dock (which is super-awkward) and Bolin insists on going with her to see Varrick to get away from Makorra

Asami’s arc over the season is affirming she isn’t like her father (a legitimate worry, now she’s inherited his job and the Equalists want her to lead them) or Varrick – she is a good person and she wants to help people.

In the time when Korra doesn’t have her bending she and Asami bond over the frustrations of being a non-bender, and she helps Korra practice airbending – Korra now has much more respect for Asami, and her inferiority complex makes her think that, if it came down to it, Asami would be a better Avatar than her

Asami gradually becomes more involved in the Civil War conflict until by the end of the season she is basically Korra’s right-hand woman, and they have an extreme professional respect for each other – laying the groundwork for Book 3’s friendship/romance

In the finale Asami agrees to fund the Equalists’ political campaign – she is fully committed to righting her father’s wrongs and creating positive change (setting up the next book)

ATLA FAMILY TREE (KYA)

This a personal thing, but I think Kya would be much more interesting if she was Katara and Zuko’s daughter, and not Katara and Aang’s.

Because I’m rewriting Korra I’m taking liberties and declaring everything post-Sozin’s Comet fair game. No offence to any Kataang shippers out there (my first OTP), but I think it’d be more interesting if they broke up soon after the war ended and reality set in (I have many reasons why but that’s not why we’re here) and Katara eventually flalls for and marries Zuko

You could then have Tenzin’s mom be an air acolyte – I personally like the idea of Aang eventually ending up with Ty Lee because their humble monk/crazy flirty girl dynamic would be interesting, and there are loads of headcanons that Ty Lee has a connection to the airbenders.

Tenzin’s mom will have recently died so we don’t have to deal with another character, and we can still have an interesting pseudo-maternal relationship between all of Team Avatar’s kids and Katara

But imagine if Firelord Zuko’s firstborn, heir apparent to the throne of the Fire Nation, was a waterbender? Kya would’ve forfeited the throne as soon as her younger sibling was born (this could be a version of the Izumi character) and her roaming the world trying to find herself would have greater weight

Kya always connected more with Aang and Toph’s kids then her own sister – her arc over the season is reconnecting with them and creating her own family – maybe she and Tenzin clash, because she knows what it’s like to be disappointed by family and wants to tear down his delusions of Aang as the perfect father

ZUTARA + FAMILY

Because he’s now blood-related to Katara General Iroh has greater motivation to help in the war – he takes a leave of absence and goes with Korra to the Fire Nation to appeal for help. When they’re attacked by Eska and Desna, Korra saves Iroh from the dark spirit and he manages to make it home on his own.

He helps Lord Zuko sneak into the South on a small ship (paralleling Zuko sneaking in to the Northern Tribe in the ATLA book 1 finale) to go help Katara (Zuko splits his time between her and his responsibility to Izumi)

Zuko is present when the Krew arrive at the South on the Zhu Li. Zuko is horrified by what Unalaqq is doing to the spirits and explains the story of The Search comics to Korra in flashback – how a spirit gave his mother a new life and then reunited them years later. This story of inspiring positive interaction between humans and spirits is partly what motivates Korra to keep the portals open – tying it to the biggest mystery from ATLA means the choice is more likely to emotionally resonate with the audience

Compare how different Katara’s life is to her daughter’s – Katara settled hard when Kya never stopped running. This is because Katara wanted more than anything to be a good mom, because she knows what not having one is like, and no-one should ever go through that. There’s a suggestion that because of this Katara’s potential as a spiritual leader and figurehead wasn’t fully realised (a deficiency exploited by Unalaqq) – she feels guilty, for failing both her tribe and Aang’s legacy

Kya reassures her before the final battle that she has nothing to regret – she’s an amazing mom. They reconnect, and Katara gets to make fun of her for her crush on Lin. Tenzin is the one to reassure her about Aang being proud of her, after returning from the spirit world

LIN

At the beginning of Book 2 Lin is being pushed out of the Police Force – Raiko wants her to retire. She knows it’s just because she’s still stuck being a non-bender (because Korra has fixed her own problems yet). Not only does this mean no-one trusts her to be as hands-on as she used to be, but to Raiko’s administration she is a scar left behind by one of the greatest instances of civil unrest in history – she is an unwelcome reminder of Amon

Bolin is drifting - he attempts to join the RCPD but flunks out when he's unable to metalbend - a frustrated Lin sympathises, but she's ha her own crisis of faith desperately drafting and training up new metal benders who have far less skill discipline and respect for the art than her - a teaching role she's clearly uncomfortable with

Insert flashbacks of Toph trying to teach Lin as a kid (Toph's line about her girls never taking to metalbending in Book 4 implies this wasn't happy). This plays as a tragic parody of Bitter Work - Lin suddenly has a bitter empathy for how her Mom felt

She starts receiving letters from Su, asking if she’s OK or if she needs help – these only make her angry, and she ignores them (Toph hasn’t sent her anything)

By the beginning of the book (I’m thinking we spend a whole episode in Republic City setting everything up, then move to the South in Episode 2) it’s gotten so bad that Kuvira turns up at Precinct One in full Zaofu guard uniform. She’s the only one with enough will and stubbornness to come down and try to talk some sense into Lin. Because she’s looking for the Chief, they send her to Lin’s favourite rookie – Mako.

Mako talks with Kuvira (at this point a complete stranger) and comes away really admiring her. This trip is the first time she’s taken administrative leave from Zaofu. She takes particular interest in how they deal with prisoners, and Mako’s upbringing comes up – she reassures him to hang in there, explaining her own tragic origin as an orphaned nobody. Mako is inspired (she reminds him of the way Korra used to be, the way he wishes she was now)

Lin, of course, kicks Kuvira out as soon as she recognises her uniform. This doesn’t go as smoothly as usual, though – Kuvira is one of the few people who can stand up to Lin, and leaves on her own terms.

Lin’s angry, near abusive reaction to Bolin's incompetence at metalbending makes him concerned about for her, not angry (Build a relationship between these characters!) and Lin realises she's becoming the worst parts of her mother. She needs a break to go find herself

She accepts an invitation (from Katara) to go to the Glacier Spirits Festival (Lin doesn’t really do vacations – she has nowhere else to go)

While in the South Lin’s interactions with the other Team Avatar kids are pretty awkward – she hasn’t talked to Bumi in literal decades – but she has a warm (if reluctant and awkward) surrogate mother relationship with Katara, which bonds everyone together

Kya and Lin in particular bond over both being outcasts, never feeling like they were what their parents wanted – I just really like the idea of Kyalin and want to see them interact – joking about their role reversal - Lin is soul-searching while Kya is the devoted daughter

Once Korra gets her bending back she cures Lin, and Lin comes storming back to the City with Mako, halting Raiko’s replacement plans

She is now a big supporter of non-bending rights, and together with Asami, by the end of the book she’s become an official advocate

MAKO & BOLIN

With benders gone Republic City is still in a semi crisis state, with electricity being rationed and the removal of a lot of triads' bending (and the prison break in the finale) sparking a full-on gang war keeping the RCPD busy

Mako’s colleagues are bitter he is only getting ahead in the RCPD because he is one of the rare benders left, and therefore more effective in fieldwork

Explore Mako’s struggle as a cop with ties to the triad – before he gets framed, establish no-one on the force really trusts him yet. Lin is sympathetic (suggest, when Su’s letters arrive, she’s trying to make up for what happened with Su becoming a criminal – saving Mako is equivalent to making up for her mistakes)

Lin believes Mako’s theory about Varrick after he gives her the evidence (her ignoring him is frustratingly dumb) . When Mako is framed and Raiko demands his arrest she secretly helps him go on the run

The triads nearly catch him and kill him, but he gets to Bolin’s new apartment in time

Have Bolin not be an idiot – after Mako warns him, he recognises who Varrick is. They’re actually really similar – both using a ridiculous personality to distract people

Bolin is the one to turn Mako in because he’s playing the long game, and recognises that in a holding cell Mako is safer than out on the streets where the Triads (and, he fears, Varrick, if the problem isn’t solved) are more likely to kill him

Life on the inside is still rough – explore that, have Mako be confronted by old acquaintances from his childhood, Equalists, and triads he’s put away as a cop. (He tries out some of his corny lines on them as a coping mechanism)

Now the brothers’ original dynamic is flipped – Bolin is the one supporting/protecting Mako as much as he can (sending in mover fan art as moral support etc.) Build the contrast between their lives – Mako in the gutter and Bolin living the high life.

Don’t prolong the love triangle – Makorra breaks up midway through the season, that’s it. Asami kisses him (?) but she feels really guilty about it because at this point she really respects Korra, so they don’t start dating again. No amnesia when Korra comes back. That’s it. Done.

RAAVA AND VAATU

Obviously explore Wan’s story more – maybe a four-part mini-movie like the ATLA finale. Explore Vaatu’s influence on humans, so Korra understands what he did to Unalaqq; have her sympathise and feel sorry for him

Establish the idea of Gaana, the original, primordial harmony spirit that split into Raava and Vaatu

A big complaint about Raava is she overwrites the explanation of the avatar cycle in ATLA as the combination of all the past Avatars’ knowledge. In this version, combine the two – make it clear that everyone reincarnates (Sozin into Zuko, Gyatso into Momo) but the Avatar is the only one who can communicate with their past lives, through Raava

During the finale let's see the chaos Harmonic Convergence is causing - Dark Spirits terrorising the world as in the third act of Ghostbusters

Also Asami goes ham with tons of gadgets she’s been developing with Varrick, and a customised plane, instead of sitting on the benches. She gets Jinora to the healing hut and then gets back just in time to bomb Unavaatu after he’s destroyed Raava, stopping him killing Korra’s physical form too. She takes Korra back to the Spirit World and the Tree of Time.

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siarven · 6 years ago

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Dreams and Shadows - Beta Phase?!

I finally finished the (more or less) second draft of Dreams and Shadows!

[WIP PAGE] [PINTEREST BOARD]

≽(^ ᗜ ^)≼ Still can’t believe it. Honestly I feel a little dead inside :’D This is the first version of it that I actually kinda like! Sure, there are many problems but... it’s getting there!!! ●.◉

THIS MEANS SEVERAL THINGS

One, I can finally work on Like Dragons of Old again! YAYYYY!!!!

Two, I’m searching for beta readers. Now, there are a few things to add at this point: About half a year ago, I finished the first half of Dreams. Some of you already read that and gave me great feedback. Since then I haven’t touched the first half, even though some things have changed slightly between the first and second half. Therefore, there might be some (additional?!) inconsistencies there :’D

This is only a second draft, for the most part. I’ve reworked some parts of it more often than others, but some only once or twice (after rewriting scenes, for example). Therefore, I need to find out where pacing does (not) work, which plot points (and twists) and characters work, or not... If I need to include more worldbuilding or less, if there are info dumps anywhere, if the character voices work. Stuff like that. There’s a list of beta-questions after the main text.

I’ve never actually *really* done this because this is the first story that ever got to this point. I have to say, I’m hella proud of having gotten here at all, and without you and some personal friends I probably would’ve never done it. I’ve been working on Dreams and Shadows on and off since November 2014, when I wrote Draft Zero during NaNoWriMo. I never really worked on it outside of NaNo season, until approximately March of 2018, when I suddenly started making writer friends! :’))) Honestly, I love you and your projects so much and you’re all so talented and it’s such a pleasure to see your projects grow, and to be motivated to finally get stuff done...

As to any deadlines: I myself am currently head-deep in my bachelor’s thesis, and several of my friends are, too. Since they can only start reading in March and I won’t get anywhere before that (and have Like Dragons of Old if I get bored and want to write) you’d have until the beginning of August? The more feedback I get, the better; so the more time, the more feedback? Right? :’D

Dreams and Shadows is 120K long, so about 300 pdf pages. (I’m still surprised that I managed to keep it there. There was a point where I thought it would end up being two books).

A general warning: I love being very mean to my characters.

If you’re (still) interested in finding out more about my stupid brain-child of a novel, you can check out the info below the cut! (Also, taggs are below the cut, too)

Name: Dreams and Shadows [WIP PAGE] [PINTEREST BOARD]

Genre/Setting: Fantasy with some steampunk elements set (for the most part) in another world called Aelaris. Technology is a combination of magic and steam-powered machinery. Type: Standalone, with the possibility of a sequel set 10 years later. Language: English POV: First person present. Two “main” POVs, two “less main” POVs (less often). I usually write 3rd person past tense, it just didn’t work for this one... :’D

Synopsis

Two siblings and their guardian-cat get dragged into an ancient conflict when the older has a life-threatening “accident”.

AVA’s whole life up until that point has been revolving around Ben so the fact that he's now so badly hurt that he's (more or less) in a coma comes as quite a shock. Incapable of coping with the situation, she sees everything falling apart around her since since Ben was always the one holding the more and more estranged members of his family together. BEN, meanwhile, “wakes up” as a sort of ghost days later and remembers nothing at all. Now he has to find a way to return before the living give up on him, and Ava has to help her parents reconnect and learn that pushing everyone away when they only want to help is probably not the best plan. And maybe there’s a way for her to help Ben, even if she isn’t quite sure if he’s still there at all. At least there's still the family cat, Amber, who is a lot more than she seems.

Ava is almost eight, Ben is eleven-and-a-half, in case that matters^^

Worldbuilding:

It's been roughly 500 years since an apocalypse that basically killed off most of the human population. Society before that was really advanced and had almost wrecked the planet, until a powerful entity disagreed and unleashed chaos. So nowadays society remembers only a few things from before, mostly by word of mouth, or from the sealed-off ruins they excavated once they had recovered enough. That’s why technology is mostly a mix of steam-powered technology and magic.

There are also a bunch of tiny dragons, some ancient entities, a former pirate queen, several monsters, pigeons, and a demon who may have something to do with the accident. And a lot of mean magic.

That’s the main aesthetic. I have one for Ava and Ben respectively on my wip page :)

If you’re interested or want to learn more about it, you could send me a private message on here or contact me via email [email protected] :) Anyways, thank you so much for your interest! <3

Taglist / some peeps who once professed interest in my stuff and might be maybe interested??

@romenna @asttralhell @prismalicht @authordai @madmoonink @lynnafred @fynniana @writin-maaagic @raiswanson @paper-shield-and-wooden-sword @warmbones @importance-of-being-crazy @thereisnothingwrongwithbeingmad @merigreenleaf @sincerestaffect @zekethegm @hypnocutiegypsy @writin-maaagic @random-stuff-thrown-into-a-pot @kittensartsbooks @stephrawlingwrites @annelaurant-writing @lady-redshield-writes @wolfdancer333 @bmariewinter

hope it’s ok to tag you aaAAAHHHHH

#writeblr #writeblr community #beta #beta readers #wip novel #beta phase #dreams and shadows #dreamshadow #FINALLYYYYYYY #AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH #I've procrastinated this post for three days #now it's done #XD

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envysea · 6 years ago

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2018 in Review

I did this same questionnaire for 2017, so here it is for 2018.

What did you do in 2018 that you’d never done before? Graduated from University. Went to China. Went to my first Pride festival. Went to my first comic convention. Started my own D&D campaign.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? “My goals for (2018), to graduate college, buy big kid enclosures for my snakes, get fit, draw more, and spend more time with my animals and friends.” I graduated, 5/8 of my snakes are in adult enclosures, I have lost 15lbs, drew even less than last year, still struggling socially but I’m getting better about giving my dog the time he deserves from me. My goals for 2019: Save up enough money to be able to put a deposit on buying a house. Start streaming consistently on Twitch. Learn how to knit. Plant a garden. Draw at least once a week, maybe start doing watercolor. Pick bobbin lace-making back up. Learn a musical instrument. Lose another 15lbs.

Did anyone close to you give birth? No

Did anyone close to you die? No

What countries did you visit/Where did you travel? China! I visit Beijing and Jilin as a graduation vacation with my mom. This year I also went to Portland, Oregon and San Diego,California.

What would you like to have in 2019 that you lacked in 2018? A portfolio of artwork, photography, and crafts.

What dates from 2018 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? June 20th, when I brought my longtail boa, Amari, home. October 5th, the date my sibling and I’s application to our townhouse got accepted.

What was your biggest achievement of the year? Definitely graduating from university. It took me 5 years, from losing a full time scholarship, moving out, taking a gap semester, going part time school fulltime work, and finally finishing those last few classes.

What was your biggest failure? Not pushing myself to draw or create.

Did you suffer illness or injury? Banged my head hard enough to make it bleed on Halloween. Got a wicked sore throat and cold. Broke a tooth while on vacation.

What was the best thing you bought? A new apartment to live in. I don’t own it but moving was a lot of $$ and this was definitely one of the biggest changes to my quality of life this year.

Whose behavior merited celebration? My cat Minerva for being the bestest girl. She gets sweeter every year.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? Frustrated with myself. I need to get better about not complaining, communicating positively, and putting myself out there to make friends. Still a constant push to also clean up after myself.

Where did most of your money go? Besides living expenses, a fair amount was spent moving, then I spent quite a bit getting my snakes new enclosures, and then I put money into savings and treated myself to good food and other things.

What did you get really, really, really excited about? Dungeons and Dragons, Critical Role, Steven Universe, registering for a ceramics class (starting next week!), my growing dice collection

What song will always remind you of 2018? Happier by Bastille

Compared to this time last year, are you: (a) happier or sadder? (b) thinner or fatter? (c ) richer or poorer? Happier, thinner, richer.

What do you wish you’d done more of? More productive in my downtime. Like if I’m listening to a podcast I want to do cross-stitch, or lacework, or knitting this year. Drawing during instead of just watching streams. If I take naps, make sure to set an alarm.

What do you wish you’d done less of? Less work. I like my job but there are so many hobbies and skills I wanted to learn.

How did you spend Christmas? First half of the day was spent lounging around at my parents, second half I went over to my girlfriend’s parents for dinner.

Did you fall in love in 2017? No. I feel as if I’m falling out of it if anything

What was your favorite TV program? I still love Steven Universe, but this year I really got into Critical Role.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I’m trying to contain the rage I feel towards my apathetic and incompetent management at my job.

What was the best book you read? The Unnamed Midwife

What was your greatest musical discovery? Mother Mother

What did you want and get? By donating plasma I was able to save up enough to buy a new graphics card for my computer. I also got myself a Kindle Paperwhite because of how much fun I had reading my grandpa’s old Kindle while on vacation.

What did you want and not get? I still really want to own my own home, but that will come in time.

What was your favorite film of this year? Mary and the Witch’s Flower

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? 24 – The Saturday before it I went to one day of anime Banzai with my baby sister. I couldn’t afford the whole weekend after moving. The day of my birthday I got in an argument with my mom over financial stuff. Went home, then had a family dinner in the evening.

What one thing made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Not having to worry about school this fall, and moving into a better home.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2017? Tank tops, snap backs, and ponchos

What kept you sane? Moving into a new place that doesn’t stress me out to come home to or to deal with neighbors, wasps, and bad management. My pets for snuggles and laughter. Dungeons and Dragons as a creative and social outlet.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I still remain very gay for Rebecca Sugar. If you like Steven Universe and haven’t listen to the official podcast I highly recommend it. It really is amazing to hear from the creators and actors about the love and personal experience that the show is built on.

Who did you miss? I miss my college friends. They’ve all moved or we’re estranged in some form or another. I’m very happy in the friend group I am now but it feels less like friendships I forged and more like something existing I assimilated myself into. It’s hard to explain.

Who was the best new person you met? Not necessarily someone new but I was very happy to reconnect with a friend from middle school that I hadn’t gotten to really spend time with in nearly a decade. Cambridge is my coworker now and it’s always a good day when we work together cause they have such a great attitude and are fun to talk to. They’re also the reason I finally went to SLC Comic Con :)

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2018. Take care of yourself physically and mentally. You live in the 21st century, take advantage of the medical and technological advances humanity has made. I went to a psychologist, an Ob/GYN, the dentist, and a chiropractor. I no longer have back pain or debilitating cramping and I’m on my way to managing my depression.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year

Basically the whole song fits: Get Up by Mother Mother You want greatness, you wanna taste it You wanna be a king You wanna make it, don’t wanna fake it You wanna levitate You want love, want truth, wanna feel brand new You wanna do it You got dreams But there’s something in between, man And you’re stuck there underneath them So get up, get up Get up, get up Put your head on straight Put your head on Get up, get on, get out Get up; fly away, little birdie You’re so sad, you’re so gone, you’re so lost You’re so sad, you’re so down, I wanna pick you up and put you in the clouds You want love, want truth, wanna feel brand new You wanna do it You got dreams And you wanna set ‘em free, man But you’re stuck there underneath them So get up, get up now Get up, get up now Put your head on straight Put your head on now Get up, get on, get out Yeah; fly away, little birdie Fly away little birdie For such a little thing, you sure are in your own way I’d love to give you wings, but babe you’ve got to grow them So get up, get up Get up, get up Put your head on straight Put your head on

#naomi talks a lot #year in review #2018

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hardygalwrites · 3 years ago

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The O’Sal Siblings (again)

Found this in my old story ideas notebook. Estranged family drama *thumbs up*

(image source)

“Considering the amount of times you need my help, you should probably start thinking about payment.”

“Oh please,” Oliver scoffed. “I’m certain Mr. Davidson pays you more than enough.”

Thomas stared at him uncomprehendingly. “What? No, I mean you should probably start paying Mr. Davidson himself.”

“Mr. Davidson?” Oliver echoed, bending and unbending the corpse’s fingers.

“Yes,” Thomas said slowly.

“Why should I pay Mr. Davidson for your services?”

“Well, it’s a bit inconvenient for him–“

“I should not have to pay for time spent with my estranged younger brother,” Oliver muttered as he brushed a hand over the corpse’s combed hair.

“Ah.” Thomas laughed. It was a short, cutting sound, not at all how Oliver remembered the lad’s laughter. “Is that what we’re doing?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Oliver asked. He kept his attention firmly on the corpse in front of him.

“You literally always ask, ‘Mr. Davidson, would you kindly lend me my brother’s services?’”

“Hm, as opposed to ‘figuratively’?”

“Don’t give me an English lecture, Oliver,” Thomas snapped, and Oliver heard the American accent falter.

“Don’t make me sound like a villain from one of your idiotic American motion pictures,” Oliver retorted cooly.

“Oh, boys,” Persephone sighed, appearing between the two. “I know youth is hard to let go of, but surely the two of you can at least stop arguing like you’re children again.”

“My point is,” Thomas emphasized, ignoring their sister and regaining control of his accent, “there has never been a moment on this ship in which we’ve simply ‘spent time’ together. I’m only around when my services are needed, when you’re too much of a prick to actually talk to people, or when Persephone’s skills aren’t enough to get you through a problem.”

“I was under the impression you enjoyed being called upon,” Oliver said, standing up from his crouched position to examine the nearby chair.

“That was before I realized you had no intention of reconnecting.”

“We exchanged our greetings and established our current lots in life. What more do you need?”

Thomas raked his hands through his hair with a tight groan. “Oh my lord...”

“All right, ladies,” Persephone cut in again. “You’re both lovely, but could we please save this argument for later?”

Her voice came out light, but it held a final edge to it. Oliver was reminded of being a child and of being told to come out of the house in spite of his protests. He had hated attending social events as a child, even more than he hated attending them as an adult. Persephone called to him at their parents’ request, but despite her friendly tone, something about her voice had left Oliver with no doubt that she would push him down the staircase if she had to.

Evidently, Thomas was recalling similar childhood memories, because he backed down.

“Fine,” he mumbled.

Persephone hummed happily, grasping her youngest brother’s arm before turning to Oliver. “Found anything worth mentioning thus far, brother dear?”

Oliver sighed. So much time that could have been spent investigating other aspects of the case had been wasted thanks to Thomas’s little tantrum. Well, it was no use crying over spilt milk.

“...Not exactly,” Oliver muttered. “Just let me perform my role while the two of you go off and perform yours. It is the whole reason I called upon your services in the first place.”

Persephone scoffed, but gave him a light curtesy. “All right. Have fun with the corpse, little brother.”

Having managed to get in the last word, the eldest of the three siblings swept out of the room, elegant as ever.

“Do you require some kind of instruction, Thomas?” Oliver asked shortly, acutely aware of his younger brother still standing by.

“No.” Thomas lowered his head and left.

#original writing #original character #original fiction #retro futuristic #alternate history fiction #period fiction #angst #siblings #HardyGal writes stuff #HardyGal writes original content

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backtomylakearearootsstory · 6 years ago

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S1E13

Saturday mid-morning. Malachi and Quincy are out and about running errands.

“Hey I have a few bills to pay”

“Oh sure dad!”

Malachi sat in the truck wearing a sleeveless Nike t-shirt with a dark pair of cargo khaki shorts with a pair of Keds shoes wondering how his father, who wore a button down and a pair of blue jeans was managing not to break a sweat.

“Dad, it’s hot outside! How are you not sweating?”

“Son, I’m from the deep south where we have a head index of 90 plus in the morning. Your boxers will be stuck to your ass at 7:00 am from the humidity during the summer months. By 10:00 am, the heat index is more than 100 degrees! This ain’t nothing for me.”

They went to pay a few bills prior to going to the grocery store.

“Your mom has a cousin who lives in Long Beach who’s coming to visit. She’s gonna bring her kids”

“Yea, mom said something about that”

“She’d be grandma’s niece?”

“Yes, your mom’s first cousin”

He picked up a block of cheddar cheese, two bags of shredded cheese, and a can of salsa. “I hope they like nachos. Doesn’t costs too much and it’s an easy fix”

“Son, grab a couple of packs of ground beef for me”

After placing the ground beef in the basket, they went to the produce section to grab some fixings such as sour cream, lettuce, pico, and tomatoes.

“Essentially, we are reconnecting with family and being introduced to some through all this”

“Right!”

Malachi then asked about Quincy’s family. He had seen them more than he had seen his mother’s family. It was usually during the summer. They would make at least one trip per summer to California for vacationing. He had not seen his aunt or his uncle in about three years. He had not seen his grandparents since he was about 6 years old; however, he did not consider them strangers. On the other hand, he was clueless when it came to his father’s cousins.

“My mom was born and raised in Mississippi. My dad is from a town in Louisiana called Jennings, it’s about a half an hour east of Lake Charles. He went to Jackson State University on an athletic scholarship. He majored in Management, got a job at a beverage plant and eventually worked his way up to being a sales supervisor. Mama worked in the hotel industry. We weren’t dirt poor, but more or less low middle class. There were five of us; I have three sisters and one brother. I have three siblings that are older than me. Me and my baby sister are the last two.”

“Do you still talk?”

“Yes, and I’d always make the effort to get a trip in down there when I was on duty. We don’t talk as much as I’d like, but we’re not estranged”

After checking out, they headed to the house to clean up. When they got there, they saw Deja and Clarissa sitting on the sofa reading something on Clarissa’s phone. “Did y’all forget that we got company coming over?”

“Yeah, and the house is a mess”

Deja make getting ready for company a difficult task. “You know how stressed out you get when you have to clean house” Quincy reminded her.

“I know, I’m on it. Clarissa, wanna help?”

“Well since I’m here….. I’ll grab a broom”

The children were then sent off to their rooms to clean as well as clean the bathrooms.

“Can one of y’all straighten out the guestroom?” Quincy asked, “I’m fixing to get in the kitchen and help your mama”

While cleaning Aundrea was talking with Malachi and QJ, “She has four kids, they’re spending the night tonight, and we’re going to be on the floor in the den. Better, get the air mattress out. Just giving you a heads up”

The kids were cleaning while Deja and Quincy were getting the food ready. Hours passed by when Yvonne, Azalea and Anita arrived. Faye arrived shortly after 5:00 pm. 5:15 pm to be exact.

Faye can be described as dark brown, about 5’8, with a pixie cut. She sported a pink sundress with matching earrings.

“Hello”

Deja then called for the kids to come in.

She then had her kids introduce themselves. Two daughters and two sons. The youngest son was around QJs age. Her older son had just turned 14 and her daughters were 11 and 12.

“This is my youngest one”

“Darius”, the young boy said, shaking QJs hand.

The oldest son introduced himself as “Ian”

The 12 yr. old “Ramona” and the 11 year old revealed her name to be “Alexis”

“Dominic” Azalea’s son said.

After introductions, Deja informed Faye that Yvonne had mentioned her in a conversation.

“All good I hope?”

“Nothing bad, stated that you lived in Long Beach and that you’re our mother’s first cousin”

“Yes, my mom is your aunt Clarisse.”

“So tell us about you?”

“My mom and your mom are like three years apart in age, your mom moved out here early on in life. My mom was 35 when she moved, so I was 10 yrs. old. We lived a rough life for a while, she never married and I unfortunately did not have a relationship with my dad growing up. She went to school later in life and became a therapist. She began applying everywhere, and having our cousins in Sacramento was a big help. She stayed in Sacramento until she could get on her feet and then we settled in Long Beach. I graduated from Long Beach Polytechnic High School. I went to a technical school and obtained a certification. I’m currently working for a cable company out here. My kids go to an online k-12 school. I initially had them in public school, but I took them out due to teachers wanting to penalize anything and everything.”

Yvonne chimed in. “Zero Tolerance, was a trap”

“Amen” Faye responded followed by a hi-five.

“well you guys hungry?” Deja asked

“we have a little food fixed, not much, but you know? Last minute.”

While they were eating. Deja asked Faye if she was married.

“No divorced. Been six years, I found out that my husband had been seeing another woman for half of our marriage.”

“Damn!” Quincy exclaimed

“Yeah, imagine my surprise to find out that he has a child around the same age as my 11 year old.”

“We have joint custody and I’ve never withheld the kids from him, we co-parent alright, though I’ll admit that it took me a while to get there”.

Anita then asked about the homeschooling situation

“I took my kids out of public school due to what I felt like was unfair treatment. My sons couldn’t even play tag with their friends without administration throwing a bitch fit about it. They do okay with the k-12 academy I found. It’s a free online school. I’ve networked with some other parents who have enrolled their children. We do a field trip at the end of the school year.”

“That’s neat, what do you do for the cable company?”

“I work in IT, enough about me, what about you?”

“Well I’m an attorney; I’ve been with the firm for a little less than a year”

They continued talking over nachos and wine when Clarissa and Azalea confirmed that they were both professors and Deja informed about her status as a high school English teacher. As they asked more about her father, she revealed that her mother informed her that she was conceived through a one night stand and that she met her father when she was 15 years old doing a trip down to Louisiana. While they were conversing, Azalea asked, “Hey, where’s mama”

“Aunt Helen?” Faye asked, “I have yet to meet her and we’ve been living here for so long. My mom has told me some of the stories. I know that our grandmother had a drinking problem. She’s sorry about what happened”

“What do you mean?” Deja asked

“Well let’s just say, there is a reason that the family is somewhat estranged now. Our grandmother’s alcoholism got in the way of her being the parent that she could have been. I’ll leave it at that for tonight”

The children were sitting on the porch when QJ and Darius decided to go play video games. The adolescents stayed on the porch and finished eating prior to watching TV

“Hey can we have some more?” Darius asked.

“Of course”

“Eat in the kitchen” Faye interjected.

QJ laughed and said, “My mama is the same way”.

They later played video games for about two hours before getting the sleeping bags out.

“Can Darius sleep in here tonight?”

Deja agreed, figuring that they would probably fall asleep playing video games.

After Clarissa, Anita, Azalea, and Yvonne left. She got the air mattress out and some blankets. The older children decided to sleep in the den on the air mattress watching movies on Netflix.

Faye, Deja, and Quincy went to bed. Before calling it a night, she Deja advised that they not stay up too late as they were going to get out and do something tomorrow morning.

TO BE CONTINUED WITH EPISODE 14

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andrewdavies2862-blog · 5 years ago

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Formative Presentation Script

Ok so the title of my project is ‘Broader Horizons’

Some of the key insights I gathered from this research were that:

So, for my final HMW I’ve chosen HMW find a way for people over 50 to easily reconnect with old classmates/colleagues in order to build new friendships/relationships?

In terms of ideation I just did a basic brainstorm of solution ideas which I could explore that would appeal to an older demographic - meaning users over 50

Some of these ideas were:

An app or most likely a website which:

- Allows older users to communicate with friends overseas

- Enables older users to connect with people of a similar age via mutual interests and community events

- Allows older single users to connect with each other in terms of dating etc.

So, these are screenshots from my initial prototype so it’s just showing the process of how the user would come across the profile of someone they went to high school with.

So far, I haven’t gotten around to doing any user testing for my initial prototype but I’m aiming to that over the weekend.

My next steps include continuing with user testing and developing my prototype as well as doing a bit of research into competitors and school reunions and such.

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tendaifmp-blog · 8 years ago

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Jonda cynecki hasn't seen her twin sister Wanda in 13 years and doesn't hold out much hope that she ever will. Their last contact came at a family gathering in Ohio for Christmas, after which Wanda returned to her home in Key West, Fla. Then she disappeared. She didn't call, didn't write and couldn't be reached. When her parents died several years later, her siblings had to use intermediaries to get through to her. She called to borrow money about a year ago. Since then, the only sign she's still alive is that no one has heard anything to the contrary. And yet Jonda, 54, a school librarian, says wistfully of Wanda, "There isn't a day that goes by that something doesn't remind me of her."

Usually that something is doing the laundry. Whenever Jonda goes down to her basement to wash clothes, she sees, tucked under the stairs, an old tandem stroller. Her father crafted it from spare parts, painted it white and wrapped rubber around its wooden wheels. Jonda won't get rid of the stroller, even though it provokes sorrow and anger toward the sister who walked out on her family. What Jonda doesn't know--and might never know--is why.

Estrangement from siblings is a powerful ache not only for Jonda but for millions of other Americans as well--especially during the year-end holidays, when the absence of relatives is most poignant. Many of the 77 million baby boomers, now well into middle age, live farther from their brothers and sisters than did previous generations. And with each passing year, they face more of the life passages that often trigger splits with siblings, particularly arguments over the care of elderly parents or over their estates. At the same time, boomers have more divorces and fewer children and are less tethered to neighbors than were their parents and grandparents, so they are more in need of strong relationships with sisters and brothers--the most-enduring ties many of us have in our lives. Eighty-five percent of adult Americans have at least one sibling, yet an estimated 3% to 10% have completely severed contact with a brother or sister.

Such absolute estrangements may not be the norm, but experts who study family relationships believe they are on the rise. Psychologist Carol Netzer, author of Cutoffs: How Family Members Who Sever Relationships Can Reconnect, thinks that today's broader cultural freedoms have made it easier for people to say goodbye to traditions and to relatives. "The nuclear family is not as tight as it once was," she says. Some rifts reflect larger trends. The Woodstock generation, Netzer explains, was full of young people leaving their families to lose themselves in drugs or join religious groups, political movements and communes. "Often, when that ripple in the culture passes," says Netzer, "people go back to their families." Terry Hargrave, family therapist and author of Families and Forgiveness, believes that while the psychological self-help movement has been largely positive, "it teaches the individual that 'you're the most important thing; family is not.'"

The origins of a sibling breach often can be traced to childhood. Psychologist Stephen P. Bank, co-author of The Sibling Bond, observes that eldest children who are expected to care for younger siblings may feel overburdened and resentful. Children born too many years apart, says Bank, may never share common interests or developmental stages. For them, slender ties are sometimes easy to cut.

Nancy B. (who asked that her full name not be used) is a management consultant with a sister older by six years and a brother older by 12. She doesn't speak to either of them but for differing reasons. "The age gap was so significant," she says. As a child, she worshiped her brother, whose trips home from college were cause for celebration. A few years ago, he stopped returning her calls. She doesn't know why.

On the other hand, she was never comfortable with her sister. "There was always tension between us," Nancy, now 52, says. "I couldn't figure it out." Nancy ended contact after the sister attached herself to yet another violent man, and Nancy felt relegated to the role of caretaker--for someone who didn't want to be helped. The three siblings were last together 25 years ago at their mother's funeral. Nancy still feels the loss, she says, "but my heart isn't breaking anymore. I've figured out a way to be in the world without trying to make love happen where it isn't."

Yet in other families, psychologist Bank says, large age differences can help alleviate competition for toys, friends and parental attention. Some older siblings enjoy being caregivers, often in exchange for adoration. Studies show bonds among sisters tend to be strongest, epitomized by Bessie and Sadie Delany, co-authors of Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years. And when parents are absent, neglectful or abusive, siblings often fill the void by forming tight bonds, as did the brothers in the movie Radio Flyer.

Major life changes such as marriage, divorce, birth, illness or death can trigger a separation, Netzer says, but usually only if tensions have been building for years. Consider, for example, the case of Michael Carr, 42, a money manager, and his older brother Steven, who ended contact with each other two years ago. When they were growing up, Michael saw Steven, two years older, as his best friend and guardian angel. "We were really close," Michael says. "He was the ringleader in the neighborhood. He was my hero." (Steven did not respond to requests for an interview.)

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91424,00.html

n the early '70s, Michael says, Steven became temperamental and less reliable, no longer resembling the person Michael had admired. Steven wasn't crazy, Michael says, just increasingly moody and self-centered. About six years ago, their father was hospitalized, and the brothers went to Florida to see him. They stayed with their stepmother, with whom Steven had a quarrel. Steven told Michael he was going to the hospital to tell their father about it. "It was ridiculous," Michael says. "My father was at death's door, and my brother wanted to complain to him about my stepmother! I had to physically restrain him from going."

Their father died that night, and Michael hasn't seen his brother since the funeral. "I wouldn't be surprised if I never see him again," Michael says. "If I saw him on the street I would talk to him, but I wouldn't let him back in my life. I don't know who he is."

Money issues are a common source of strife between brothers and sisters: Why wasn't that loan repaid? Who can afford the bigger house? How should the family business be run? Behavior outside the family's value system can also trip the switch: coming out of the closet, marrying interracially or converting to a new religion. Then there are cutoffs linked to extreme emotional states, the reasons for which--such as untreated mental illness, substance abuse, incest and violence--may never be brought out into the open.

Wanda's older brother Charles Bucklew has only a few clues as to what might have caused his sister's self-banishment, including her drinking in the midst of their nearly teetotaling Lutheran family. Wanda, who no doubt has her own analysis of the split, never explained; her siblings never asked. And she could not be located by TIME reporters in Key West and New York. "There may be some reason out there that if you knew, it'd bring you to your knees, and you'd say, 'Oh, my God!'" says Bucklew. "But I don't know."

The drive to create sibling bonds or something like them is to some experts primordial--even for an only child. Parents always have a disproportionate power over offspring, but siblings teach peer-level tolerance, loyalty and constancy--qualities that later apply to colleagues, friends and lovers. In moderation, sibling discord is useful, says psychologist Bank. "If the frustration is too great, it cripples you. But we all need a level of frustration in our lives in order to move ahead."

In a 1996 study of people ages 18 to 86, 33% of those surveyed described their sibling relationships as "supportive," and only 11% were "hostile," with the rest falling somewhere in between. "I understand that there is sibling rivalry because I have two brothers and a sister," says Robert Stewart, chairman of the psychology department at Michigan's Oakland University. "But if something came up, and I needed to be on the other side of the country because one of them called, I'd go. There's not a whole lot of people in the world I'd do that for." Most people think of "rivalry" and "siblings" as synonymous and negative, he says, "but I think of it as a close affectional relationship where affection is not necessarily shown in a Hallmark card kind of way."

The sibling relationship of D.B. (who asked that her name not be used) won't ever be confused with a greeting card. As a child, she looked up to her brother, 3 1/2 years older. After his marriage broke up, though, D.B. didn't like the way he treated his ex-wife. Well after the two divorced, he abandoned their original settlement agreement, demanding half the house and full custody of their daughter. D.B. saw his demands as unfair--and didn't think much of his parenting skills. "I just felt he was such a pig," she says. So she stopped talking to him--for seven years. "I come from a long line of grudge holders," she says. "They like their grudges. They air them and walk them and make jokes about them--embellish them."

The silence ended, though, when an aunt died, and D.B. and her brother were the only relatives left to arrange her burial. "I remember thinking, Damn, now I have to see my brother." But the two reconciled somewhat and now talk occasionally on the phone. D.B., now 54, says if she ever needed money, she wouldn't hesitate to ask him for it. She has no money to offer him if the situation were reversed but says, "I would give him lots of time."

Often, estranged siblings are struck by a sudden yearning to reconnect. Says Bank: "Your children leave home, your friends are sick, the leaves fall off the trees, and you say, 'Well, what do I have from my past?' And for better or worse, you've got this sibling who might have been a pain in the neck but who probably knows more about what it was like to live in your childhood home than anybody else."

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,91424-2,00.html

Yet even for siblings who wish to reconcile, breaking the ice is hard. "The difficulty most of us have is how do you pick up the telephone after so many years?" says Stewart. "People get into a pattern, and even though they're not comfortable in it, they can't imagine an alternative. Or the amount of courage and energy it would take to try to change may be beyond what they're capable of doing right now."

The ability to overlook imperfections for the sake of a relationship is one hallmark of maturity. Siblings may decide to forgive one another once they have their own children. For Mark Horton, 44, a recent falling-out he had with his eldest sister still baffles him. He's not sure what happened or why. Now that they are back in tentative contact, they still haven't talked about it. "It was kind of a Twilight Zone episode," he says. But he does hope things heal. Horton (whose sister declined to be interviewed) says she has done remarkable things for him--sending him money when he was a poor college student and then being the only one to show up at his Harvard graduation. And he wants his four children to know their aunt. "It places them in the world," he says. "They're not comets flying through space randomly; they're part of a solar system."

Reconciliation, experts say, is almost always worth an attempt. But about 40% of the families in Hargrave's clinical practice fail at reconciliation, mostly because when difficult issues get stirred up, no one is willing to take responsibility for what happened. Says Hargrave: "The person who has left just seals off again."

For Douglas Matthews, 49, a human-resources consultant, finally breaking off from his parents and three brothers three years ago brought immense relief--and not just to him. "I see it as the best thing he could have ever done for himself," says his wife Teri-Ann, "and for me and the kids."

Matthews has always been reluctant to discuss his family situation because he felt that well-meaning people just wouldn't get it that his parents and siblings were harmful to his happiness. "I learned early on that very few people understand the positive aspects of estrangement," he says. For decades, Matthews waffled between trying to be part of the family and retreating. He would try to initiate changes but says no one was willing to join in. Over time, and with therapy, he discovered that the yearning he felt was based on an unrealizable ideal of what his three brothers might have been to him. "A real brother would be there no matter what," Matthews says, "and not have an agenda for you--just accept where you are and listen. But it would be unconditional--nothing could break it. And also do the stupid things, you know. Go to a ball game together." But what Matthews has with his wife and two sons is no fantasy. "I have a home," he says, "and that's what I didn't have before. And I cherish it."

Cutting off can be beneficial in some cases, says psychology professor Stewart, if what you're getting is nothing but negativity or grief. But it's "escape learning," he says, and if the other people involved are ever willing to work on the problem, "you won't know it because they're gone."

For 15 years Keith Bearden, 33, had given up on his family, including his elder brother Dean, 38. Their parents' divorce cleaved the family into separate camps, and Keith wanted no part of either one. "I was really angry," he says. He also felt that he, a self-described "meek intellectual," had nothing in common with his tattooed, motorcycle-riding, machinist brother. Then Dean started telephoning a couple of years ago, just to see how Keith was doing. Keith, to his surprise, was happy to get the calls. Dean says he had no particular plan, that he had never even thought about the years when they were out of contact. "If you were never close," he says, "you never miss it."

But becoming a parent got Dean thinking about family, and as Keith says, Dean was never judgmental or bitter about what had happened in childhood. Now the brothers talk regularly. They visit each other every few months and have realized they have the same sense of humor, the same taste for adventure, and they notice the same things--someone's weird shoes on the subway or a cute woman in a bar.

Keith says he's much happier accepting rather than resenting the differences in his family, that it's helped him with all his relationships and that Dean deserves the credit for helping him reconnect. "Dean kept the door open, and I eventually walked back in," he says.

Jonda Cynecki hasn't closed the door on her sister but is at a loss as to how anyone can pass through it. Since the death of their parents, Jonda has felt an increasingly acute sense of the irreplaceable nature of family. "There's that line that connects you," she says of her missing twin, "and I don't know if it'll ever be broken. Certainly when one of us passes away--and she could be gone now--I don't know if I'll ever know that." Cynecki pauses, wipes away tears, and collects herself. "Someday, I really need to find her. But just not today. Not today."

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siarven · 7 years ago

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An introduction to my WIPS and projects including Links to read more!

Monster

Status:

Not yet started to write/paint. It will one day be a graphic novel. I hope. A 3D short film exists which is when I first developed the idea. Mind you, that’s my 2nd semester short film, it’s not perfect and I had no idea what I was doing. But given all that I’m still really proud.

I have about two thousand ideas for four-panel comic strips and short comics and short stories and a whole novel and a graphic novel. One day I’ll make them all!

Synopsis/Description:

Sierra is nine years old and she has befriended the monster under her bed. At first she was kind of scared until she realized that the monster was probably as scared of her as she was of it. Now they’re both very comfortable with each other and the monster usually wakes her up during the night because it wants cookies. Suffice to say Sierra is not amused. They do kind of love each other, though, even if it’s more in a sibling sort of way.

Dreams and Shadows

AKA my current WIP fantasy novel

Status:

First Draft done. Second and third drafts abandoned half-way through because they were stupid. Currently on the fourth draft, the one that might actually be worthwhile!

Wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo 2014 which was back then 93,734 words. At first it was called Dreamweaver, then Dreamweaver and Shadowdancer, and then I shortened that because it sounded stupid. Now the total wordcount that I’ve invested in this stupid book is in the 500K words area, and the current approved words are roughly 75K. It’s probably going to be two books if it continues getting longer without my permission. Also, it’s a fantasy novel set in a world that’s more or less steampunk-y (because who doesn’t love steampunk) :D

Synopsis:

How does one break someone? There are different ways for different people. Take Ben, for example. He has many friends, many loved ones. To break him one needs to isolate him from everyone else. Pull him away. It won't work by just taking someone he loves -- he loves too many, it wouldn't be complete. He has lived most of his life with a chipped heart anyways -- another crack would hurt, but in the end it wouldn't make much of a difference. But then there's also Ava, his little sister. By isolating him one isolates her as well, because her whole world revolves around him. Sure, she's got friends, a mother, a father. But there's only one person she can't live without, so by taking him away you break her, too. It’s an art to break someone, an art that only few have mastered.

When Ben wakes up the world and his place within it have changed. There was an accident he can't remember, and now he's in a strange parallel world where nobody can see him, changed in ways that go so much deeper than he could ever imagine. He's alone now, invisible in the crowd, isolated from everyone he loves. And with his loss Ava's world burns down within a single night, leaving behind nothing but ashes and broken bones.

Ben must find a way to Return before those he left behind finally give up on him. Ava needs to learn that isolating herself only rarely helps and that accepting help from others might be difficult but necessary – and that she might be the only one who can help her estranged parents reconnect and rebuild their relationship.

Also, there might be a way to help Ben, even if Ava is only half certain that he’s still there at all.

The good thing is that they’ve got a guardian on their side, the family cat Amber, who can see both and knows much more than she lets on.

More about it here!

Icicle Soul

Status:

Currently on hold. Started the first draft during Camp NaNo a few years ago, plotted the whole thing, and then wrote something else. This is the project that I’m most hyped for! I just never feel as if I’m good enough to write it yet. It’s also the one I’m going to write when I’m done with Dreams and Shadows! AKA the thing that’s keeping me focused and writing because once I’m done I can get back to this one! :D It’s also the story that is simplest to pitch and probably sounds the most boring but actually it’s really complex and I love it so much (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Synopsis:

Four different people have to face the Lord of Winter because otherwise Spring won’t return to the worlds.

Morning Star

Status:

Currently on hold, started with the first draft which is not yet finished. Completely plotted out, characters are fully developed, many great plot twists, magic system and worldbuilding are there... just have to write it. AAAAHHH.

Synopsis:

The Ekhir Empire has survived for over 60 years but now that the First Emperor has died the throne passes on to his only surviving son, a monster by all accounts, throwing millions of lives into the bloodiest conflict to date as the various rebellions form into one to fight back together against a common enemy.

The Guardians created and appointed by God have split into two factions whose conflict has grown into a full-blown civil war, fought by beings who command incredible powers. A small group of people has decided to search for the body of God and to re-awaken her from a coma that, according to legend, started millions of years ago, in hopes of getting help during the fights. What only one of them knows are two important facts: One of the travellers is Lucifer Reborn; and in addition, if they actually manage to find and re-awaken God, she will die. The storyline follows twelve different POV-characters as they try to survive the conflicts that threaten not only their lives but also their families, friends, everyone they ever loved and everything they ever knew.

Since this no longer takes place on earth I’ll change Lucifer’s name when I get back to it^^

An excerpt can be found here! ヽ(‘ ∇‘ )ノ

Burning Skies

Status:

Currently on hold. Another half-written NaNo project. The origin story of my fictional universe (the one where all the other stories except maybe Sierra’s take place.) I’ll definitely write it one day.

All the NaNo chapters that I’ve written for this are on my sideblog @lirhin which was my writing blog back then, here. First draft though, so probably kinda wonky.

Still love the concept, and all the plot twists. And the magic systems! I’ll start from scratch when I write it again, though.

Synopsis:

It’s been three hundred years since The Fall. Society has slowly started to revive, pick itself up again, rebuild what was destroyed and retrieve what was lost. Only, the questions remain: What was The Fall, why did it happen, how can we make sure that it doesn’t happen again? Everyone who knew the answers to those questions died back then. A lot of knowledge has been lost during those last days of chaos – including the knowledge of magic. Something of legends, people say, stories told children at night, to try and keep them from acting stupidly. The only problem is — magic has never been lost, just pushed away. Now the power thickens and it’s returning, fast, and the costs are very high. Too bad that the world is trying to force every single mention of it away, and too bad that it’s becoming more and more important in the grand scale of things…

Rin has been abandoned by everyone she’s ever loved, left behind and betrayed. And she knows that she will one day destroy the world. At least that’s what everyone who’s trying to kill her tells her (and she’s dealt with a lot of those people). They have never told her how she will do that but apparently many of them think that she will, somehow – and why shouldn’t she believe them, after all of their attempts? If they think so, so be it — and if the world doesn’t care about you, why should you care about the world?

Cass, on the other hand, has had a similar life in the one sense that she’s completely, utterly alone and lost. Working as a slave for a man who owns a dozen children like her isn’t easy, especially if he choses to train each of them according to their newly-given talents. When the chance finally arrives, the chance to escape and achieve freedom once and for all, Cass doesn’t know what to do. Run and hide or stay and plot revenge?

Firewings (Feuervogel)

Status:

Currently on hold, also going to be at least a trilogy, I guess. This is my first “proper” story, the first time I participated in NaNoWriMo, and I really owe everything to that program. First I wrote it in German, then I re-wrote it in German, then I started re-writing it in English, and now I’ve got at least 600K worth of words. I still love the worldbuilding, magic systems and characters. I might have to think about the plot when I re-write it. Still love it though. Also, it has a lot of characters even if it only started with one (Ilien... always Ilien).

I named my side blog @lirhin after one of my main protags from this project, and my username on NaNoWriMo is also Lirhin... guess why (✿◠‿◠)

Synopsis:

Erlanthar — a world where demon-like creatures, the Skadar (meaning Cursed), come out at nightfall to kill and torture all life they can find, human or otherwise. Everything that protects the human population at night are runes and prayers — prayers that they and their families might be spared tonight, that the runes won't fail, that everything will go on. Several different plotlines follow a series of characters: Ilien has lived alone for a very long time solely for the purpose of revenge, hunting down demons in his spare time, until one night he saves a litlte girl from being kidnapped. Her parents were murdered during the kidnapping, so he sort of adopts her, calling her Lirhin since she’s stopped talking. Now the kidnappers want her back. Jeanna is still a child when her mother and older sister are killed (amongst others) in a demon raid because there was a flaw in the rune system of the whole village. While Jeanna is determined to learn how to protect herself the whole village starts to collaborate to survive the night. Everything changes when she discovers something unbelievable about herself and her older brother. Razouk is brought up knowing that he is not good enough, that he will always be second choice after his sister. He decides that he must prove himself, which is quite difficult when you don't even know the real identity of the man you want to prove your worth to. Then there are also Meena and Arrick, crown prince and princess, watch as their kingdom falls apart since their father is not capable of ruling anymore and their mother is the only person holding everything together. They must find a way to survive and do the best they can for their people. Finally, Rheon is fed up with the way the kingdom is ruled, being the ruler of a major city himself and fearing for his people who are starving to death. He decides that he must do something about that and that the best way is to start a rebellion.

Sky Citadel

Status:

Currently on hold. A former Camp NaNo project. I love it and I’ll come back to it. Probably not top priority though.

Synopsis:

What was once forgotten must be relearned.

What was once lost must be reforged. How can we stand against an enemy when we cannot stop fighting ourselves, each other, our only allies? When we have forgotten the truth about them and about ourselves, when we don't remember the threats of the Deeps? How can we survive if our biggest threat is rising again and we don't remember how to fight? The People of the Spired Sea have forgotten the past, have forgotten about their guardians, the Faye, and how they were saved. Now the old inhabitors of this world are returning but humanity's struggles are directed at each other, inside the community, and at the Marked who have started to rise again to protect humanity against the once-known threat. Jaivyn has lost everything he ever had, and yet gained so much. Ivy had everything and lost it all. And they are only two of the Marked, mankind's "Saviours", broken and conflicted, who are supposed to fight the Ancients and ensure that the Spired Sea has a future. How can anyone do something like that while they cannot even save themselves?

An excerpt can be found here! (▰˘◡˘▰)

#dreamshadow #sierrasmonster #iciclesoul #morningstar #skycitadel #firewings #burningskies #siarven writes #my wips #my ocs #wip #this took so much longer than expected

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