Marveling at The Avengers

{Via}

{See what I did with the title there?  Huh?  Huh?  *coughs*  Bad pun, sorry.}

One thing about me is that I go through periods of, well, obsession.

Sometimes it's Doctor Who, or Merlin, or reading or writing.

But right now?

It's superhero movies.  The ones by Marvel, specifically.  In the past twenty days, I have watched The Avengers, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Captain America, Spiderman, and Thor.  In that order.

I'm not a movie person.  I see movies in theaters, but generally at home I'm not a big fan of them.  But the Marvel superhero films?  I've loved them.  I've loved finding the connections in them as I go along.  Though Spiderman wasn't really connected to any of them, so it isn't going to be included in this post.

Every time Agent Couslon or Nick Fury comes on screen, or the Black Widow, or Hawkeye, I immediately jump up and down.  I start seeing more and more connections in them, the more I watch.  And I really, really like it.  I'm loving watching the movies with my family, curling up in the basement to watch them, finding the connections, enjoying the films.

For the most part, I don't connect with movies.  I mean, there are some I enjoy, many of which are Disney or Pixar, and of course, some live action ones, but I don't seek them out.  If it's 8:00 at night and I want something to watch, I'm much more likely to go onto On Demand to look for a show to watch, rather than a movie.  Part of that, I think, is the connections.  With shows, I can see connections to past episodes, and theorize about what will happen in the next one.  But with many movies, you can't do that.  They're stand alone films.

But The Avengers movies?  It's different.  They're all connected, and in each film there are references to things that have happened, or characters who I recognize from other movies that pop up.  I like to see the way it all ties together, a bit like a TV show.

Now, I want to go back to the theater, and see The Avengers again.  I had never seen any of the other Marvel superhero films when I saw The Avengers, and I didn't know the characters.  I enjoyed the film immensely at that point, but now that I've seen all the Marvel superhero films to date, I'd like to go back and see The Avengers again, to tie it all together.

Have any of you guys seen The Avengers?  Did you like it?  Have you seen any of the Marvel superhero movies?  If so, have you noticed any of the connections?  Which was your favorite?  I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

The Dandy Lioness

Lazy Hazy Summer Days

Yesterday was the first "official" day of summer, in that it was the first day of summer that wasn't a weekend.  It was a fairly lazy day, in that I spent much of it watching three episodes of Doctor Who with my friend, but in the evening I went out and took some pictures, and here are some of them!

{If you don't know, SOOC stands for "straight out of camera" meaning that there was no editing, other than adding a watermark.}

{SOOC.  This may be one of my favorite pictures of me, ever.  I used the self timer thing, and was dancing (Irish Step dance), to see if I could get a picture of me midair, and it worked even better than I could have hoped.}

{This is another new favorite of mine.}

{SOOC}

{SOOC}

The "Columbia Ladder" and "Danger" pictures are from this ladder that was just lying in my backyard.  You can see it in the background of the first picture, the one where I'm dancing.  Actually, there are two ladders in the back of that one.  The one that I took pictures of is at my house because my dad was washing a picture window that's really high up, and the other one... I don't know, actually.  

These were really fun to do.  Since I (sadly) don't have PhotoShop, I used PicMonkey, which turned out pretty well.  I learned more about it in the process, making my editing steadily better, too.  I had quite a lot of fun editing these, and some of them I plan to put up in my room.  (I'm currently working on my walls by adding photos, posters, quotes, the occasional drawing, and maps to them.)

The Dandy Lioness

Do You Want To Go To The Seaside?

Life's not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Listening to// The Seaside, The Kooks

This past weekend I headed to the seaside, the coast, the ocean, call it what you will, with my whole extended family.  Aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins and dogs, everyone was there.  We always kick off summer this way, and I'm always looking forward to it during the last week of school

Do you want to go to the seaside?
I'm not trying to say that everybody wants to go
I fell in love at the seaside
I handled my charm with time and slight of hand

It was a bit strange, not having my sister there this year.  She's on the other side of the country, doing an internship.  She was at a lake, this weekend, by the water, but not by our water.  But it was fun.  Three of my cousins and I formed a "teenage pack", as my mother dubbed it.  Two fourteen year olds, one fifteen year old, and one seventeen year old.  Two girls, two guys.  Much laughter was exchanged, as well as some dirty looks (when two of them locked me and my cousin on the porch; the time my cousin got locked in a dog crate with two golden retrievers...).

Do you want to go to the seaside?
I'm not trying to say that everybody wants to go
I fell in love at the seaside
She handled her charm with time and slight of hand, and oh

Saturday morning, a steady drizzle was pattering across the beach.  My parents and grandmother and I had gone out for coffee and pasties, and came back to a wet, wet beach.  But despite it all, I threw on some flip flops, rolled up my jeans, grabbed my windbreaker, and headed down to the beach.  I met up with my aunt, and her three young children, and a few other aunts and uncles down by the water.  They were digging for clams.  The sand was wet and cold.  It squelched beneath my toes, but I didn't care.

But I'm just trying to love you

In any kind of way

But I find it hard to love you girl

When you're far away

Away

"Come dance with me," I called to K, my five year old cousin.  She ran out over to me, and we danced in the rain and the surf, and the sun came out, just a little bit.  We laughed and squealed as the wet, wet sand splattered our legs, but we had fun.

Do you want to go to the seaside?
I'm not trying to say that everybody wants to go
But I fell in love on the seaside
On the seaside
In the seaside

The sun came out later that day, and we managed to go out on the beach in the sunshine.  We ran the golden retrievers down the beach, across a stream, and wandered around a wooded area.  I adventured a bit, stepped out of my comfort zone.  We splashed through the stream water, even though it was cold, and threw sticks for the dogs.  Despite the constant rain for the majority of the weekend, it was a good year.  I can't wait to go again next year.

{I found this heart rock in the surf}

The Dandy Lioness

Quick Summer Update

Hello all!  As you can see, I updated the blog a bit for Summer.  I don't know how long it'll stay like this-- in the summer, my decisions get a bit flighty, and I may change it around a bit.  Do you like it?

Also, you've seen that I got a new header.  Do you like it?  I couldn't quite decide between the one I've currently got up, and  this one here:

Thoughts?

Also, my eighth grade promotion is today, and I got nominated for an award, so... yay!

Really, this post is pointless, just telling you that I updated the background (which you can see).  And that I'm ready for summer.

I'm just going to post this pointless little post now.

The Dandy Lioness

Big Exciting Adventures

So, I’ve seen The Avengers.  That’s a thing that has happened.  And Hawkeye has to be my favorite, closely followed by the Black Widow.  I also got a box set of “Lord of the Rings” over the weekend (Amazon, I love you.  $15 for a regularly $50 box set?  Yes please!) which is replacing my seriously beat up copy of all three in one.  It also came with The Hobbit, which I am currently reading, and loving.  It’s so much easier to read than “Lord of the Rings” and I love the story as well.

I get “promoted” from middle school next Tuesday, which is CRAZY.  Seriously, where did all the time go?  And I mean, I’m psyched, but I think I’ll also kind of miss aspects of my middle school.  Like the TV Production program, which was just so fantastic, and I adored, and my French teacher, and my language arts teacher this year.  Sure, there are bits that I certainly won’t miss, and I’m excited to go on to high school, but it just seems so crazy that I’m graduating.

We have our eighth grade cruise tomorrow.  And we get our yearbooks tomorrow.  And we have our first promotion practice tomorrow.  …Tomorrow is a big day, full of big, exciting adventures.

But I’m excited.  And I know that I’ll have a lovely last few days of school, hanging out with my friends, the homework being very limited, yearbooks being toted from class to class and begging friends to take pictures with me, and have them sign my yearbook.  I hope that my last few days of middle school will be filled with private jokes and silly pictures, and hugs, and laughter.  I think that eighth grade has been my best year, by far, at my middle school.  Sixth I hated.  I actually really disliked sixth grade, except for my language arts class, which I quite enjoyed (I think I may have been the only one though…).  Seventh grade was okay, but I didn’t love it.  This year, however, has flown by way faster than any of the others.  It feels like it was last semester really recently.

This year I enjoyed.  I actually really enjoyed.  I had a solid friend group, I liked my classes and my teachers, and I got along with people.  My lovely friend Luna moved in across the street from me, and we got to be really close friends.  I didn’t have anything particularly bad happen, other than my grandfather dying.  I wrote another novel, and I got into the writing camp I did last summer, once again.  I started a few new traditions, and lost one or two.  But overall, it’s been a good year.  And definitely the best year I’ve had at my middle school.  Had all my years been like this one, I think I would have been a lot happier at my school.  But as it is, I’m quite happy to have spent this last year (and seventh grade too, to an extent) happy, and content. 

So here’s hoping that tomorrow will be a good, happy day, filled with good, happy memories. 

And to my friend group:  Girls, I hope that we get to meet up again and hang out next year, since we’re splitting up to go to three different schools.  

And those are my big exciting adventures of the next few days.  And next weekend I'll be gone, as I'm headed to the coast for a few days for an annual family get-together.  I'll try and remember to post in the next week, but I think it's pretty clear by now that I'm rather lazy when it comes to posting.  

The Dandy Lioness

Imagining Magic

"Those who do not believe in magic will never find it."
-Roald Dahl

Magic.  To everyone, I think, magic is a little bit different.  To me, magic is spells and fantastical creatures, bubbling potions and talking animals.  Dragons soaring high over grassy fields and craggy mountaintops, and questers sent to find some magical item.  My idea of magic comes from long hours spent reading fantasy stories.  Stories such as The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Harry Potter, Song of the Lioness (and anything else set in Tortall), and many others.  Oh, and we mustn't forget about The Princess Tales, and Ella Enchanted.

I believe that to everyone, magic is different.  To some it may mean knights in shining armor slaying dragons, and to others, it may mean traipsing through dense forests on a quest to find the Fountain of Youth, or something of the like.

But I think that believing in magic is what makes these stories feel so true, makes you feel like you're right there, with the characters.  Some may not believe in magic, that is true.  But they are also the type (or so I have found) who read the same kind of book over and over again, and it is never fantasy.  Because magic is imagination.  Believing in magic allows you to let your imagination roam over unseen lands, lets you piece together places you've never seen, people you've never met, creatures you've never even imagined before.  And it makes them real.  Magic is imagination, because those who lack imagination have difficult believing that maybe, just maybe, there are faeries and elves, dragons and wizards.

I spent my childhood in my backyard, brandishing a stick and wearing a cloak, pretending I went to Hogwarts. I spent my childhood pretending I was a seamstress to a queen in a made up kingdom.  I spent my childhood pretending that I was a pirate, or an adventurer, a dragon rider, a princess.  Because I believed.  I believed that perhaps magic did exist, and even if it didn't exist in the 'real world' it definitely existed in my mind.

Magic.
Magik.
Magyk.
Magyc.

Magic for me, is my imagination.  It allows me to go anywhere, any time, be it real or imaginary, be it my own creation or someone else's.  The very idea of magic is important to me.  It was such a huge basis of my childhood, and has shaped who I am today.  I am proud of the fact that magic has shaped me.  I know some people think that fantasy stories are 'ridiculous' because 'they're impossible'.  But who cares about impossible in the real world?  It's what happens in your imagination that matters.

{Photography and editing by me}

The Dandy Lioness

June: Snippets of Story

{Via}

Snippets of Story has rolled around again?  Goodness, these months go by fast!  I know it's been ages since I last posted-- I've written several posts since then, but I didn't really like any of them.  So I figured Snippets was a good reason to post.

Do any of you guys remember a short piece that I posted here asking for help with revision?  Well, the people who replied suggesting having a flashback.  So here's that flashback!

“Stay away, girl!  We don’t need no beggers here,” snapped the farmer, as Alea and her horse approached the fence.

“Please, sir, I only wish for some food and water, and a place to shelter tonight,” Alea said.  “There’s a storm brewing.  I don’t want to be out alone.”

The man narrowed his eyes, and shook his head.  “Young girl, travelin’ alone?  You gotta be a witch, or sumthin’ and I’m not takin’ you into my home.”

Alea felt tears pricking the back of her eyes.  She didn’t want to be alone, without shelter that night—the storm that was brewing would be a fierce one.  But she wouldn’t argue with someone who wouldn’t take her in—she knew she couldn’t change her mind, and she had to find adequate shelter before the storm came.

She turned, and began to walk away.  She heard the farmer do the same.  She was walking slowly, scanning the nearby area for a place she could shelter, when she heard footsteps behind her.  She turned, and saw a pretty, middle aged woman wiping her hands on an apron, rushing up behind her.

Alea smiled at her.  “Hello ma’am, can I help you?”

The woman sighed.  “I’m sorry about my husband.  I saw him turn you away.  And you’re such a nice lookin’ girl, and this storm will be nasty—I don’t want you comin’ to harm during it.  I know my husband said that you couldn’t stay with us, but I’m goin’ to go behind his back, just this once, and let you sleep in the barn.  There aren’t any more neighbors for miles, and you won’t find good shelter before the storm comes.”  The woman smiled at her. 

-Alea's Story 

This next piece is the beginning of a story I started when I was on my trip.  I don't know if I'll ever really add more to it, but I definitely liked the idea, and reading back, I liked the writing as well, so I figured I'd let you guys read a bit of it.  It was originally supposed to be set in a futuristic Washington, D.C., but I'm not so sure now... it might just be a random city.

Elise leaned against the balcony, watching the lights of the city go out beneath her.  All at once, the city was cloaked in darkness.  And then, a few moments later, the lights of the watchtowers roared to life.  Her own home behind her, stayed lit.  They did not have to bend to the rules of curfew-- they were too closely linked with The Monarch.

Elise held her right hand in front of her, and examined the three rings she had known since birth, and had gotten new ones every year.  A simple silver band, symbolizing citizenship of The Union, was at the bottom of the three. Next came another silver band, but this one was made of three interlocking vines, with tiny flowers on them.  It was her family’s ring. Everyone in her family wore one.  Each of the Higher Families had their own ring, and wearing one showed that you had importance.  And last, a silver band made up of two arms, their hands interlocked mid-handshake. It symbolized unity with The Monarch.  Elise wore this one because her father and The Monarch worked closely-- though, it was true they had never met.  The Monarch met almost no one, even his closest advisers, like her father.  All information was sent through computers.

-Elise's Story

The Dandy Lioness

Sailing and Writing Thoughts

{Via}

Hello again!  I realize I've been gone for far too long, once again, but I'm back!  I was sailing over the weekend, so I couldn't post, and I had a lot of homework due to the fact that I wasn't here two weeks ago, to make up for at school.  So that's my excuse.

In other news, I spent my weekend working to memorize "Big Bang Two" by Chameleon Circuit.  Yay for being a Whovian!  I have eleven of the fourteen stanzas memorized, and I can sing them pretty fast.  And now I'll probably be singing it for the next week or so.  Not that that's a problem.  I can't sing it fast enough to keep up with Charlie McDonnell (who sings it for Chameleon Circuit).  I also read a ton, and finished the books "Evil Genius" by Catherine Jinks, which was much more interesting and intelligent than I had expected, and "The Wizard, the Witch and Two Girls from Jersey" by Lisa Papedemitriou, which was just as silly as I had expected-- though quite good, too.

Sailing was fun.  We went to a few nearby towns, and anchored each night.  Twice we put up the hammock, which was fun, and on the last night, apparently there were a lot of parties in the marina (we were anchored in the harbor) and we kept having dinghys zipping past our boat, with engines fast enough to make the whole sailboat rock.  Very loud dinghys, too.  You could hear them from way across the harbor.  Also, some crazy person was water skiing.  To some, this may not seem strange, in May.  But here, it's ridiculous, as the water is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just so cold.  You can get hypothermia within minutes, in this water.

In writing news, I have decided I'm not going to do Camp NaNoWriMo... at least, not in June.  August, maybe, but for June, I just don't have the time.  School is finishing up, and I have exams to do, and things to wrap up, and my teachers are trying to cram as much as possible in right now, so sadly, I won't be able to do it.  If my school ended in early June, I might have been able to, however my school doesn't-- it ends the 22nd of June.  *sigh*  So I've decided not to do it this time.  Also, I don't have an idea.  Hehe.  But I'm doing a two week long writing camp over the summer, so there's that.

I've found I've stopped writing as much.  I went on a kick where I wrote constantly... and then it just sort of died.  My writing amount daily dwindled, until I find that there are days when I don't even think to open up my word document and keep on writing.  I actually quite enjoy the story I'm currently writing, and I've gotten some good advice on how to adjust it, I just... haven't started writing on it.

On the twenty-eighth of March, I posted this post:  Time to Write.  I talked about all the things I wanted to do, all the writing related things I wanted to complete, and get done.  And I haven't done that.  Once again, I pushed it off.  Since then, I have started a new story.  But I'm still hovering around 9k.  Why haven't I added more in the last few weeks?  Why haven't I gotten back to writing?  I don't know.  At some point, I'm going to come up with a way of making myself do the things I outlined in that post.  Maybe I'll make a checklist, and once I've gotten something done, I'll check it off, or put it in a prominent spot, or something.  I don't know.

Anyways, I'm rambling again.  I don't have much more to say, other than that everyone should watch this speech of Neil Gaiman's, which made me think about all these writing related things.

The Dandy Lioness

A Returning, and A Request

{Via}

Hello, loves!  I'm back!  For those wondering where I went, I went to Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania for a short time.  I didn't end up posting, obviously, though I did keep up with blogs.  I think I've been feeling a bit writer's-blocky recently.

I had a lovely time on my trip.  It was pretty warm in D.C., which was really lovely.  Here, it doesn't really get warm until June, so it was just fabulous to wear shorts (almost) every day.  I don't know if I'll post pictures, but if I do, I'll probably post them soon.

I keep coming to this post, and trying to write on it, but it just doesn't seem to be working.  I did write a big long post, but I think that if I do end up posting it, it deserves its own post entirely.

For those of you who are wondering how my writing has been going... eh.  It's okay.  I didn't write much at all when I was on my trip, but I have managed to hit 9k on it, which is exciting.  However, I seem to be having the problem of "telling" rather than "showing".  I keep launching into long paragraphs of what's going on in Alea's life, but not actually showing what happens.  The problem is, it's just her and her horse at the moment, and so there aren't many dialogue opportunities.  I mean, I can have Alea talk to her horse, but is the horse going to respond?  No.  Making it a very one-sided conversation.  And I always find it difficult when writing a dialogue to not have another character around.  There's just not as much that one can do with it.

Actually, I'm going to post one of my more "telling" paragraphs here, and see if you guys have any suggestions to how I can adjust it, and make it more of a "showing" paragraph, something more interesting to read.

Alea clicked her tongue, and Mira trotted into the forest.  They’d been stalled on the edge, having lunch, but it was time for them to move on.  She had gone a long way in the three-quarters month she had been travelling, and knew that she would, sometime soon, reach the swamp that bordered the Hiekka Maa.  However, on the way there, there was a lot of forest to cross, and farmland.  Farmers were, for the most part, quite nice to her.  A bit wary, of course.  A single girl, relatively skilled in the arts of fighting and riding, traveling across the country toward the desert? She’d been called a witch by more than one farmer.  But she didn’t mind.  She knew they were simply wary of things they didn’t know or understand, and she was certainly one of those things.  But it got a bit weary, after a few days, with farmers pushing her away in fear.  Their wives tended to be nicer, and once, even after her husband had pushed Alea away, his wife had secretly allowed Alea to sleep in the barn.

I just really don't like the feel of this particular paragraph.  It seems very jumpy, and I don't like the way it tells so much more than shows what's going on with Alea.  So does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can adjust it?  I would really appreciate them.

The Dandy Lioness

A Bit of a Vacation

{Via}

Hello lovelies!

This is just a bit of an update-y post.  But, I just wanted to say that I'm going to be on vacation until the 19th of May, so I will probably not be posting.  I may have one or two, as I will have the laptop with me, but I don't know how likely that is.

Anyways.  I won't be posting because of this.  I will be back after the 19th, though I'm not sure when.

It's funny.  This trip has been planned for months now, but it's only now, the evening before we depart, that it's finally hitting me-- I'm leaving.  I'm packing up my stuff, and just leaving for nine days.  Skipping six days of school, and just... leaving.  It's weird.  In the entire time I've been at my middle school, I've missed two days.  Once in sixth grade, when we went to New York, and once this year, when I hurt my neck.  It's funny to think that in after just missing two days in three years, I'm just missing six more.

And in case you're wondering how I managed to only miss two days-- I don't really get sick.  Colds, yeah, but not really fevers or the flu or anything.  Which is how I managed to only miss two days, and one of them was for vacation.  The other was because I twisted my neck in my sleep somehow.

I'm excited, though.  I'm getting on an airplane-- which, strangely enough, I don't hate.  I kind of enjoy them, in fact.  I like the idea of knowing that I'm going somewhere new-- or not new, but loved-- and getting to have new experiences and memories because of it.

Speaking of it just hitting me-- we literally just sent our dog, Milo, off with the woman who's going to dogsit him while we're gone.  We've known her for years.  Seventeen years in fact, I believe.  She has an adorable little bischon frise, named Bitzer, who adores Milo.  Milo's not so sure about him, though.

Anyways, this was just to let you guys know that I'm going to not really be around for the next week or so.  I hope you all have a lovely ten days while I'm gone.

The Dandy Lioness

Snippets of Story- May

So, I'm linking up with Katie this month for Snippets of Story!  I'm glad to see that people like Alea, I think she's really fun and interesting to write.  Because of this (and because it's my only current WIP that I like) I'm going to give you some snippets from her story!

{Via}

{Alea, who would, in my mind, be played by Keira Knighley.}

She was free, finally free.  But it didn’t feel that way.  It didn’t feel like she had imagined it.  She had been cast out; she had not flown out, of her own free will.  She’d been cast out, cast away, by the only person she knew.  It didn’t feel like freedom. 

-Alea and Sancha's story

The innkeeper raised her eyebrows.  “Where are you headed then, youngster?” she asked kindly.

“The Hiekka Maa,” said Alea, taking a bite of toast.

“All by yourself?”  The innkeeper was horrified.

Alea laughed.  “Yes, all by myself.  I’ve lived too long cooped up with others who I didn’t particularly like, but I had to listen to.  I’m ready to find my own way.  And I’ve always wanted to go to the Hiekka Maa.”

The innkeeper pursed her lips.  “Are you sure you don’t want a position in my kitchens, lass?  I’m sure there’s room.  You could settle down, find a nice boy, get married.  Start a family.”

Alea shook her head.  “I’m afraid that’s just not what I’m looking for at the moment.  I’m seventeen.  I’m young.  I need to adventure while I still can—I want to find my own path, ma’am.”

-Alea and Sancha's story

“I think you misunderstand me,” he said, smiling cruelly at her.  “You need a man to be with you.”

“No,” said Alea, her eyes flashing.  “I think you misunderstand me.  I don’t need a man to be with me.”

“I think you do,” he said, stepping in front of her once again, when she tried to move forward.  “You need a man to protect you.  You can’t go on alone.  It’s unsafe.”

“I think I will be much more unsafe if you join me, actually,” said Alea.  “I’m fine on my own, thanks.”

She moved forward once again, and this time, he raised his hand to strike her.  But Alea moved faster.  She delivered a swift punch to his ribcage, ducking beneath his defenses, and ramming into him.  He doubled over in surprise, and she kicked him out of the way.  He crumpled, and fell to the side of the passageway.

“Like I said,” she said, as she walked past him.  “You misunderstood me.”

-Alea and Sancha's story

I think it's becoming pretty obvious through these snippets along with what you learned about her in my previous post (linked to above), that freedom means a lot to Alea.  She doesn't like being bullied, and she's always ready to fight back.  She's a strong girl, and she knows what she believes it.  She wants to be free, and doesn't want anyone to stand in her way.  I really like this about her, that freedom means a lot to her.  She won't back down, she won't let other people push her around.  I didn't really expect that to be as strong of a theme in this as it's turning out to be, but I think it's really good, that she knows who she is and what she believes in.

The Dandy Lioness

Meet Alea

As some of you may remember, I've started working on a new project.  Because of this, I thought I'd give you a bit of an insight into one of my characters.

{Via}

Hello!  What's your name?
Alea Fairweather.  (Ah-Lee-Ah Fair-Weather)

Alright, well, hello Alea.  How old are you?
Seventeen.

That's cool!  Do you have any family?
I have a sister, Lilja (Lil-ya).  But we don't exactly get along.

What do you mean by that?
Well, she kicked me out of our home because she thought I was impeding her chances of seducing the prince into marrying her.

Uh... right.  What's your race?
Human.

Nice, nice.  Favorite food?
I'm not sure.  I'm not too picky.  Probably something with chicken in it, or soup, I quite like soup.

Do you have any aspirations or dreams or goals?
Well, my current goal is to get to the Hiekka Maa (He-ekk-ah Maw), the desert in my country.  I'd like to meet the people who live there, and see if I can seek shelter there.  It has always fascinated me, and been my dream to live there.  That's actually what I'm doing now, seeing as Lilja kicked me out.

Wow!  That's kind of an unusual dream.  Any particular reason why you chose the desert?
Well, it's about as different from my mountain home as possible, so that's partly why.  Also, when my father was alive, he would tell me stories about his adventures there, and how much he loved it, and I would like to follow in his footsteps.

You mentioned earlier that you didn't get along with Lilja too well, and that she kicked you out because of a prince.  Can you expand on that a bit more?
Alright.  It's kind of complicated.  But basically (long story short), I was in the forest, and I found the prince of our country, and he was hurt, so I took him home and nursed him back to health.  But when we figured out he was a prince, Lilja kicked me out, because she wanted a chance to become queen.

Hmm.  Sounds like you've got some family problems there, eh?
A bit, yeah.  I've not been too good friends with Lilja since we were little kids, though, so it's not too surprising.  I think since our father died, she's considered me more of a hindrance, than a sister.

Alright, well I'm going to shake things up a bit.  Do you believe in love at first sight?
No, not really.  I mean, how can you just know you love someone if you haven't talked to them?  If you don't know their personality?  I think the idea of love at first sight is sort of superficial, it claims that love is based on looks, and just maybe one or two short conversations.  I think that love has to be built up over time, and for it to work, people have to be both similar and different, in a balance that's just right.

Alright, now for some more random questions.  Are you a righty or a lefty?
Righty.  My handwriting with my left hand is atrocious, though I think it would be really cool to be ambidextrous.

Favorite animal?
Horses, definitely.  Mirabelle, my horse, is my best friend, and we've been through a lot together.  But if not horses, then probably cats.  I've always wanted a cat, but Lilja would never let me get one.

Do you think you're an organized person?
I'm kind of half-and-half.  I prefer neat rooms, but I find that my room gets messy easily, and it's hard to motivate myself to clean it.

Do you have a big secret?  Will you tell it to me?
I don't think you understand what the word 'secret' means.

What's your favorite color?  Why?
Probably green, because it's the color of trees, and I love trees.  They're one thing I will definitely miss, when I get to the desert, but I think it will be worth it.

Do you enjoy reading?
Immensely.  I think it's very enjoyable.

What about friends?  Do you have many?
Not really.  I lived four days ride from the nearest town, and so it was mostly just me and Lilja, who, as is quite obvious by now, wasn't a great friend.  I knew some of the town girls, but we only talked occasionally, when I went into town for supplies, or the fair.

Well, thanks Alea!  This was really interesting.  Did you enjoy this questionnaire?
It was okay.  But these things are never that fun.

The Dandy Lioness

This and That, Just Some Stuff

Hello, lovelies!  Long time no see!

{Via}

First off, just some randomness.  This post is entirely random and just kind of me rambling and updating you guys on my life.

I want to wish the lovely Mirriam a happy early birthday, as I know it's in the next few days.  So happy birthday Mirriam!  I hope it's wonderful.

Now, I don't have much I actually want to talk about.  I just realized it had been almost a week, and I figured I should post.  No, this has nothing to do with the fact that I don't want to study for my social studies test tomorrow.  Nothing at all.  *whistles*

I'm off spring break now, sadly.  Though this week has been a tad wonky, as we went on a field trip yesterday, and had a two hour early release today.  The next two weeks are standardized testing weeks, meaning my entire school schedule will be wonky for two weeks, and then I'm going on a trip for a week, meaning that my school schedule won't be back to normal for three and a half weeks.  Yikes.  That's close to half the amount of school I have left.  (I have eight weeks, if you're wondering.  We get out on the 22nd of June.  Yes, I realize it's late.  But we also don't start until about a week into September, so we get out way later than most schools.)

I haven't been writing much lately, though my wish to write a spy novel was renewed last night, when I read Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter last night-- it's the fifth Gallagher Girls book, and was very good.  I don't know what it is, but the idea of spies, and boarding schools are two of my favorite things, and teenage girl spies who go to boarding school are just amazing.  Of course, I already have a project I've started, but I think I might have room for a boarding school/spy novel.  Seriously, I don't know what it is about boarding schools, but I just seriously think they're awesome.  Especially when they're in old mansions, and filled with teenage spies.

I actually got the chance to meet Ally Carter, when she went on tour this year, which was very exciting.  That makes my total number of authors seen this school year go up to five.  Which is a number I'm very proud of.  Sadly, I didn't get a signature, as I (shockingly) realized I didn't own any books by her.

I've been reading quite a lot lately-- my final total of books read over spring break was six, which was a number I was very proud of, and for the first six days or so, I managed to read a book a day.  But then I ran out of reading material, and was thrown off my schedule, and started reading Harry Potter again, until I was able to get a new book.

Oh!  I had my birthday party on Saturday, which was very fun.  We made pizza and played capture the flag, and had ice cream sundaes, and watched a movie.  I got a sonic screwdriver from one of my friends, as well, which was very awesome.  It's Eleven's, so it's got the green light, rather than the blue one.  One of my friends was baffled as to why it was called a screwdriver, if it wasn't a screwdriver, and just lit up at the end, and I told her that she had to watch the show, which she just generally thinks is crazy. Which it is, a bit.  But also very good.  The TV show I'm talking about (if you don't already know) is Doctor Who, which is one of my current TV obsessions, and I love very much.  You'll hear me talking about it quite a bit here.

I've gotten quite off track here.  Not that I had a track originally.  It was really just a me-sitting-down-and-writing-something-down kind of post.  Anyways, I'll talk to you soon, lovelies.

The Dandy Lioness

Bookish Nostalgia

{Via}

My childhood was filled with books.  I spent huge swaths of time reading, poring over favorite books, creating my own characters, and my own stories.  I read, and I read, and I read.  I have an entire bookshelf in my room that is devoted to books that I don't really read anymore, but have so many memories attached to them, that I couldn't possibly give them away.

The Penderwicks.
Warriors.
Hannah West.
The Tortall books, by Tamora pierce.
Harry Potter.

These books shaped my childhood.  In fact, they still shape my life, and I do still read some of the books in that list.  I spent four years reading and rereading the Warriors series (Erin Hunter), and creating my own clans, my own characters, and making up stories.  From about second grade up, I've constantly had a book in my possession, being carted around from here to there.

I spent years running through my friend's backyard, pretending to be Ginny Weasley, while she was first Hermione Granger, and then Tonks, from Harry Potter.  A few years later, and our obsession had shifted to the Warriors series, where we came up with a set of four clans, and all the cats (who we bothered to integrate into our story) in them.  We had our main characters we played, and we came up with a prophecy.

I pretended I was the fifth Penderwick sister, or occasionally Batty, or Skye.  I played this game with myself, as none of my friends had read these books, until this year, when I made one of them read The Penderwicks.    I pretended I was Hannah West, a teenage sleuth solving crimes in Seattle, another game I played alone.   Another series I adored was the Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan.  I spent hours pretending I went to Camp Half-Blood, that I was Annabeth, or Thalia.  I distinctly remember running around my backyard, using a short wooden dagger my sister made at pirate camp to fend off imagined enemies.

Later on, my obsessions shifted once again, this time to Tamora Pierce's Totall series.  I would pretend I was Alanna, or Daine.  It took me a while to like Kel as much as I liked the other two, but I do like her now, though I rarely pretended I was her.  This is one of my more recent obsessions.

I still have all these stories.  All these books I adored as a child, that swept me up in fangirling over them for years.  I remember distinct moments from playing each of them.  Do you have any distinct memories from books like these, that you adored as a child, and have read seemingly a hundred times each?  Did you ever pretend you were a certain character, be it one from the book, or one you made up?

The Dandy Lioness

On Birthdays, Doctor Who, and Delicious Food

Yesterday was my Golden Birthday.  Fourteen on the Fourteenth.  And in true me fashion, I spent the entire day reading Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Yes, it's a 500 page book, and yes, I finished it yesterday.  It was really quite good.  And guess what?  Those of you who know how much I dislike dystopian novels, will be interested to know, that I found one I liked, and that didn't follow my formula.  Actually, I really liked this book.  It was fabulous.  I can't wait to read the second one.

And on Friday, my dear friend Luna baked me brownies, which were delicious, even if we all felt rather sick afterward, from eating too many brownies.  It was fun, though.  And we managed to stop from getting mobbed at lunch, because we hid the brownies until the people who would mob us had left the lunch room.

I also got two other books, (Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, and Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey), a t-shirt, and a pair of Doctor Who wind-up toys.  They're the TARDIS and a Dalek.  I had a really fun time yesterday, even if I did just lounge around the house most of the day, doing basically nothing.  It was gorgeous outside, though, so I did spend some time outside as well.

But then my parents took me down to this quirky neighborhood in my city, and we walked along the canal, and got Thai food at one of our favorite restaurants.  It was fun.  :)  And then we came home and watched Midnight in Paris (which to be honest, I've seen before, and didn't love,) and ate a TARDIS cake that my dad made me.  I had no idea he could bake.  Cook, yes, bake, no.

Also, I'm on spring break, so hopefully that means I'll post more.  ;)  Though in the last few days, I have been posting more than usual.

Oh, and for those of you who've seen Doctor Who, I watched one of the first surviving episodes of it today.  It was from the "Aztecs" disc.  And... it was hilarious.  The grainy, out of focus, shaky camera work, the paper hats, the miniature TARDIS at the beginning, the super slow, terribly entertaining fight scene...  I had fun watching it.  It came out in the sixties, and my parents, who were watching it with me, were laughing, and talking about sixties television.  My mom said the Doctor Who episode was camp.

Anyways.  This has probably just been a bit of a boring, update-y post, and really rather random, but I had fun writing it, and you know, sometimes just update-y posts are needed.

The Dandy Lioness

Snippets of Story-- April

{Via}

Hello again!

The time for Snippets of Story has rolled around again, hosted by the lovely Katie.

In March and April (so far) I've actually written more than usual, at least, what's been usual recently.  I started a new project, which is exciting for me.  It has no name yet.  I'm about 6,000 words in, and so that's exciting.  So, because of this, I'll give you some snippets from that.  To be honest, I haven't been writing much, still.  I need to get back on track, but this project is helping me with that.  So, without further adieu, here we go.  I only have two snippets today, because I don't have that much written, and I'm not really to any exciting bits yet.

“You like reading?”

Alea glanced up.  “Oh!  You’re awake!”

The young man smiled, his eyes crinkling at the edges.  “That I am, Alea Fairweather.”

“You remembered,” she said, smiling back.

“Of course.  I always remember when a beautiful girl tells me her name,” he said.

Alea laughed.  “You know my name,” she said, “But I have yet to learn yours.”

“Anders of Colthurst,” said the man.  As an afterthought, he added, “Prince of Kiellot.”

Alea gasped.  “Your highness, I’m ever so sorry.  I had no idea…”  She quickly stood, and curtsied.

The prince laughed.  “Alea Fairweather, there is no need of that, among friends.  And you, because you saved my life, are most definitely a friend.”

Alea blushed.  “Well, I thank you most kindly, your highness, but I’m afraid a mountain girl’s bed is probably not quite what you’re used to.”

He laughed, lightly.  “That is true.  But it’s quite alright, Alea.  I don’t mind, so long as I’m living.”

Alea smiled, shyly.  “I thank you, your highness.”

Wind swished across the fields that surrounded her house, toying with her hair, and twisting her skirts around her legs.  She glanced at the house, and then turned and began to run.  She ran full tilt toward a tree that sat in the front yard, facing toward the south.  Toward the desert.  Alea skidded to a halt in front of the tree, and then walked slowly, purposefully toward a branch, from which hung a small wooden swing.  She sat down, arranging her skirts around her.  And then, she began to swing, allowing herself to go higher and higher.  Allowing herself to soar, like a bird, high above the ground.  Perhaps it would be the closest she would ever get to flying.  But Alea… she would take what she could get. 

She felt herself swoop gracefully toward the desert, only to be pulled back again, back toward the only home she had ever known.  And in that instant, she felt torn in two.  Her home, her only home, versus adventure.  But she could feel the call of the desert in her heart.  It was telling her she had to go.  It was telling her it was high time for her to leave her home.

So, there we go.  What did you think?  Are you guys linking up with Katie for Snippets of Story?  If you like to write, how are your writing endeavors going?  

The Dandy Lioness

An Accidental Poet

{Via}

I’m a novelist.  It’s what I do.  I write novels.  But I’ve found, on occasion, that I dip into the realm of poetry.  The thing is, I don’t do it on purpose.  I’m not a huge fan of poetry, to be honest.  I just haven’t ever really gotten it.  I’ve been thinking about this quite a lot recently, because last week we started a poetry unit in language arts, and we've been reading a lot of poetry in class.

I’ve been told, on numerous occasions, that I talk like a poet.  That my words are flowery, and flow together well.  “But I’m not a poet!” I protest.  “I’m a novelist.  You know.  Big, long, not too flowery.  Books.”  And then they laugh, and tell me I’m a poet too.

I took a two-week long writing camp over the summer, and we did some poetry while in it.  Several times, when we wrote poetry, I was told I was good at it.  I was shocked.  Me?  Good at poetry?  Please.  I’m not a poet.  Not at all. 

I mean, how can you be a poet, if you don’t even like writing poetry?  Let alone reading it?

Apparently, however, I am one.  I was flicking through some of my old posts, today, and I noticed something.  Several of them are poems.  They start out in paragraphs, talking about my life.  But then those paragraphs slip away, into stanzas, and flowery words, and altogether poem-ness.  

And I had never realized this.  I mean, I don’t do it on purpose.  Several times, my mother has told me that my poems are lovely.  “What poems?” I ask.  She points to my blog, at my posts. 

“These poems,” she says.

And I’ve looked.  And simply not seen them.

But today, while I was looking through my blog, I finally figured it out.

I’m an accidental poet.  I don’t love writing poetry when I have to.  I slog through it, picking out the perfect words, and trying to figure out what should come next.  In fact, I quite dislike it.  But when I’m not paying attention?  I can write poetry.  And it doesn't sound forced.

So, somehow, I’ve become an accidental poet.  When did that happen?

The Dandy Lioness

Velociraptors Part Deux

I've been struggling for the past week to write a coherent post.  It hasn't worked.  I wrote one or two yesterday, another the day before, and composed several in my head over the past few days.

But I don't want you guys to think I abandoned you, so here I am.  And to make up for my absence, here's a short story written for you all on the spot, that will likely be terrible.  Be warned, this is over 500 words long, and sort of long.  Enjoy.

___

The writer hurried down the hallway to her office, keeping her notebook clamped tightly shut.  She burst into the office, and threw the notebook on the ground, and just as its pages began to flutter, slammed her foot down on it.

"Guys, we have a problem," she panted.

"What seems to be the issue?" asked one of the other writers, looking curious.

"We've got another case of them."

"Not again."

"I thought they were gone for good this time!"

The writer nodded.  "They're back.  Well, they want to be.  I've managed to keep them confined.  I just hope we'll be able to contain them."

"Just stick it in the Vault," said one of the other writers, pointing at a heavy, metal door in the wall.

"But my whole novel's in here!" protested the writer, gesturing at the notebook pinned to the ground.

"But you hate writing by hand..." said one of the other writers.

"I was trying to broaden my views, and decided it was okay.  Only..."

"You wrote them in again?"

"It wasn't on purpose!  They were important to the plot!" wailed the writer.

The other writers nodded, understanding.  "I just wish they would stop appearing in your stories.  We always seem to have... issues... with them," said one of the other writers.

The writer nodded, looking miserable.  "What am I supposed to do?  I can't keep the darned thing, or they'll all escape, but I don't want my novel to go into the Vault!"

"Hmm... we could try a careful extraction of all written pages except for the ones with them on them..." mused one writer.

The writer looked hopeful.  "Can we try?"

The other writers nodded slowly, but they all looked nervous.  "If we try this," one of them said, "Are you completely positive you can make them go away, if they get out?"

The writer paused, then nodded slowly.

"Alright then."  

The other writers stood, and walked toward her.  They knelt at her feet.  "When I say 'Now!', you remove your foot," said one of the writers, who had taken charge.  "Then, we'll flip through a few pages, and you'll put your foot down again.  We'll do this until we reach them."

The writer nodded.  "NOW!" shouted the writer in charge.  She lifted her foot, and the pages began to rustle. The other writers quickly began their work.  "And... down!" shouted the one in charge after a moment.  The writer slammed her foot down.

They continued in this fashion for seven or eight more times, until the writer shouted, "STOP!  In one more page, you'll reach them, and they'll get out again."

The other writers quickly ripped out the necessary pages, and then the first writer slammed her foot down again.

The notebook rustled angrily under her foot.  "Now, that thing goes into the Vault," said the writer who'd taken charge.

The writer nodded, and stooped down, to pick up her notebook.  She held it tightly closed, and sighed.  "I did like you, you know," she said.  Then she turned, and faced the others.  "Alright, I'm ready, open the Vault."

The writers moved over to the heavy metal door, and opened a small hatch in the door.  The writer threw her notebook in, and almost immediately heard the angry, frantic screech of the confined animals.

Velociraptors.

(550 words)

{Via}

___

Does a velociraptor post make up for the fact that I didn't post for eight days?  Also, I applaud you if you read this whole thing-- it was kind of long.  

And if you want to read my original velociraptor post, click here.

The Dandy Lioness

Time To Write

{Via}

Sometimes, you just have to sit yourself down, and write.  Maybe your story isn’t seeming too interesting right now, or your characters are fighting.  Maybe you’re not sure how you want to continue.

But you have to.

You have to just settle down, avoid distractions, and start writing.  Let the characters take hold, and see where they’ll take you.

And even as I type this, I realize that I haven’t been doing this.  I’ve been pushing away the thought of starting a new novel.  I’ve been pushing away the thought of continuing work on a novel I was working on over the summer.  And I don’t know why.  Maybe I’m just unsure of my writing abilities at the moment.  Maybe I’m scared.  I don’t really know.  But what I do know, is that I have to sit myself down, and start to write.  I have to start that new story I’ve been working on—sure, I’ve been saying I’m almost ready to start, but have I been pushing myself to finish the final stages of planning?  No.  I’ve been letting myself get distracted, letting my attention wander.  And I can’t do that.  I want to write.  No.  I need to write.  But have I been writing? 

No.

And how is this possible?  In November, I had words flowing from my fingers.  I was happy, and writing away.  But right now?  Nothing.  The occasionally story idea hits me, but it soon fizzles out.  And because of that, I’ve gotten scared.

What if this new idea doesn’t do anything?  What if it fizzles out, like all those other ideas I had?  What if… What if… What if…

And I know it’s cheesy, and people say it all the time, but I have to stop thinking about the what-if’s, and just start writing.  Because I can’t just keep doing this, pushing away my writing.  Because writing is something that I feel lost without. 

So, I’m going to make myself start writing again.  Writing is something I love, and I need.  And I need to teach myself to write every day.  Writing every day is part of why I love NaNoWriMo.  It gets you to just sit down, and write, even if you aren’t really sure if your story makes sense, or if you like it, or whatever.  It gives you motivation to write.

And I need motivation.  I have to start writing again.  I use school as an excuse to not write, saying, “Oh, I had a lot of homework.”  But you know what?  If I can spend hours lollygagging on the internet on school nights, I can most certainly put away half an hour, or an hour, and just write.  And sure, there will be some nights when I can’t do that. But that's okay, because most nights I can.  

So, I’m going to start writing again.  I’m going to either do a rewrite, or just a revision, I’m not sure, of my NaNo10.  I’m going to do a read-through of a novel I started over the summer, that I abandoned about 20,000 words in, and perhaps start writing on it again, after having read through it.  And I’m going to start a new novel idea I’ve had filed away in my brain for a few weeks. 

So I’m pushing away this writer’s block that has settled over me like a blanket, since November.  I’m pushing it away, and I’m going to start writing again.

The Dandy Lioness

P.S.  Sorry if this post is kind of ramble-y and repetitive.  I just needed to get this out of my system, and write it down.

Changes

Hello again!

Sorry I've been missing lately-- I just haven't gotten around to blogging.

I'm sure you've noticed by now, that there's a new background and header.  I decided to spruce up my blog in honor of spring.  Being averse to change, it took a whole lot of convincing myself that this was a good idea, and that no, I shouldn't just change the header, etc.  I'm still thinking of going back to that sort of gray, tiled background I had before.  Thoughts?  Anyways.  I'm quite happy with how it turned out, even if I am a bit iffy on the background.  The header took me ages (I had to redo it three times today.  I also made two other ones, and now I have five different ones to choose from, once summer rolls around.)

Am I the only one who's rather averse to change?  I kept finding myself wavering, as I would stare at my background and header.  Spring is coming up, and I have a snowy tree as my header.  I should change it, one little voice would say.  But then another would pipe up, saying, No, no, this one is good.  I like it.  You shouldn't change it.  Ever.  And they would get into a bit of a war with each other.

I find myself not wanting to change many things in my life.  But what if I don't like the new one?  I wonder.  What if I like the old one better?  It's part of why I haven't changed my room up recently, even as I longingly flip through PB Teen, thinking, Oh, that's nice.  It would look good in my room.


I'm averse to change.  But I know that I need to get over that.  In my life, many things will come and go.  Rooms will be rearranged, or redecorated, I'll switch schools, I'll grow older, and my responsibilities will change.  But I find myself clinging to the old things, the old me, as I grow, and get older.  Change is something I will experience many times in my life.  I need to learn to accept it.  Even if I don't want to.

The Dandy Lioness