ECA 45-49

Hello! This time, a little short post, and a little lighter in content.

About school:
I'm intimidated! But I'm going to do my best to have fun and be productive this quarter! I'll be taking Physiology, Ecology, Physics, and [some Education class that sounds a like my cousin's description of Theory of Knowledge].
I haven't settled on which clubs I'll be actively joining, but I know I'll be in the Writer's Circle, and probably Archery Club as well (need to stack up some reference for all those archer characters I have! XD

In preparation for this insane upcoming workload, I've already left the Tea-Essence roleplay group on deviantART. It's heartbreaking to do so, but I know I won't be able to keep up.

Finally, if you've visited the Index page of this blog anytime recently, you might have been surprised to see that there's a finish date for ECA! The day before school started (Wednesday) I finally finished all the entries to the 100 themes and all the accompanying comment blurbs! Thus even if I'm swamped with classes, there'll definitely be a post every week this quarter! (Though, if I do have something, I'll post that first to stay timely XD).

It's official!

My current idea (with not a lot of actual thought) is to finish up the collaboration project now. Further than that, I am working on plans for Dream's Edge, for rewriting during NaNoWriMo 2013. As for the next active project to be posted on here I'm unsure of currently. Sun Dagger is up there, but so is another little idea that popped into my head this summer. Maybe they're both be sporadic pop-up posts running simultaneously! XD

I'll leave further closing comments for the closing comment blurb. For now, please enjoy parts 45-49!


PREVIOUS SET (36-44)

45. Heart Song 

“You come here a lot.”  

The thief boy again. Arlin recognized his voice. She didn’t want to talk to him, but it was wrong to ignore. 

“Please…go away.”  

“Something happened to you during the attack.” 

Thoughts burrowed through her head; she thought her skull might explode. 

“You should see a healer.” 

Visions swept by like lost memories that weren’t hers.  

“It’s probably not curable.” 

“You’re sure?” 

Her heart dripped icy comfort. Why ice? Water wasn’t even her element.Sapphire dragon. Ice skates. Needles and cloth. Ice bow-blade. 

“I’m going to find a new place. Please…leave me alone.”  

---

46. Reflections 

The only sound was the ticking of a hundred clocks around her. No one was with her this time. She hadn’t told Anuna she was coming.  

“Pixies have healing powers,” her words echoed in the Room of Clocks, like they did in the dreamscape, though they never had before. She looked around and imagined Epsilona perched on the sundial. Only her. She could have one imaginary friend, right? 

“Most do,” came the mental reply. 

“Could you cheer Arlin up?” 

“Depends on her situation.”  

“…Do you exist?” 

“Yes.” 

“…Am I insane?” 

“No. You’re gifted.” 

“…That—…That’s not what the scientist said.” 

---

47. Perfection 

Celestine let fly an energy arrow, leaving spots that momentarily charred the moving bullseye.  

“6 in a row? Not bad.”  

Arlin danced in as another bolt found its mark.. “ECA, I think we’re safe! No attacks in a fortnight.” 

They were quiet, taking in each other’s relieved expressions. 

Moments later another gleam zipped under Arlin’s floating bed, followed quickly by another. Arlin cheered. 

Elysia crossed her arms, watching the bed bounce. “Want to be careful there?” 

“Sorry!” 

“Arlin?” 

“Huh?” 

Presently the tenth arrow hit home. Arlin squealed. “Perfect score!” 

“Not perfection though,” Celestine stowed her bow. 

“It’s perfection through imperfection.” 

---

48. Everyday Magic 

Arlin jumped off her bed gleefully.  

“My turn!” She straightened her arms, palms up and opened a glowing gate that she sent spiraling, blowing papers and blankets around. 

Celestine giggled as a pillow smacked Elysia in the face before following with a non-gate water charm that froze into an ice sculpture of Epsilona. 

“Ooooo…cute! Your turn!” 

Elysia raised an eyebrow at their antics but conceded. From her pocket shot a small metal disc that upon contact glowed, stuck tight and erupted in vines that climbed the walls.  

Arlin clapped with delight before summoning Murantagh; ECA’s practice continued merrily. 

---

49. Umbrella 

Around her a breeze stirred; ahead her a thin rail marked where the land dropped away. Her schoolbag hung on a tree that framed an old trail. 

A droplet landed on the rail, a hair’s breadth from her hand. More followed; she started a water-repellant charm. But the moment she conjured the thought, her mind exploded. She must have screamed as she collapsed, slipping to inches of death.  

Distantly, someone called her name, grasped her wrist, pulled her out of the rain; yet within her, the storm of visions raged on. She clung desperately to the umbrella of warmth.

Comment Blurbs:

45. Heart Song

A short while after the fire attack on the campus (quelled successfully by Celestine and Elysia), Arlin is in her usual place, meditating by the gate, when Aldis approaches her. He knows there’s something bothering her, and thinks she should consult a healer about it, but she denies that it’s curable. She avoids his questioning and resolves to find another place to meditate if he keeps bothering her. However, since the attack, she’s had strange visions plaguing her. Weirdest still, her mind seems to be geared towards a water element instead of her usual air-based magic. 

In version one of this, I was worried that Arlin was a little rude and out of character. Hopefully this has been mended. 

I had a really tough time writing this scene in 100 words. I went for the flashes of memory coming in between lines of dialogue, but it may just be confusing. 

In case the dialogue isn’t clear: 

Aldis (AM): You come here a lot

Arlin (AY): Please…go away

AM: Something happened to you during the attack. You should see a healer.

AY: It’s probably not curable.

AM: You’re sure?

AY: I’m going to find a new place. Please…leave me alone. 

And typing that out, I just realized Arlin’s initials spell AMY. That’s amazing. :)

Elysia: EIK (eeiik!)

Celestine: CSS (ahahaha)

Anuna: AE 

Aldis: AM (radio). 

Vesper: VJW or Dr. VAN (lol)

Rhys: RV (lol!! That works so well with Dr. VAN! Hahahaha)

Aldis’s was supposed to be AM to go with Fiana (FM), (but Fiana became FL soooo :P) and I think Dr. VAN was semi-intentional as well, but the rest are just hilarious coincidence. 

46. Reflection

This is a little break from drama and action: Celestine is just talking with the pixie Epsilona in the Room of Clocks. Despite enjoying Epsilona’s company and trying to justify her as “an imaginary friend”, Celestine still has that nagging doubt that she’s insane. For clarification, Celestine is the one asking all the questions. 

47. Perfection

Celestine practices in their room and Arlin comes in with the news that it’s been two weeks since the fire attack and there haven’t been any other attacks on the campus in two weeks. Celestine’s preoccupation with being dead-center accurate all the time is also revealed.

You’ll need script for this one. I even need to figure it out sometimes T_T

EIK: Six in a row? Not bad.

AMY: ECA, I think we’re safe! No attacks in a fortnight!

(Celestine shoots two arrows under Arlin’s floating bed and  Arlin cheers, causing the bed to bounce.)

EIK: Want to be careful there?

CSS: Sorry!

EIK: Arlin?

AMY: Huh? (Celestine shoots a tenth bullseye) Perfect score!

CSS: Not perfection though.

EIK: It’s perfection through imperfection. 

That last line is a little odd in the context, and it actually won’t be revisited until the last 20 themes, and by a different character, but I threw it in because of the theme title. 

Celestine’s preoccupation with being perfect would have to do with her insecurity that she’s insane: She figures that the most she can do is hide this insanity behind a facade of being always accurate in her archery and everything. Whenever she slips up and doesn’t get a good grade, she gets insecure that someone will think she’s worthless or something. This explains Celestine’s frustration with calculus even more (from post 23. Failure). 

48. Everyday Magic

ECA practices :). Arlin starts off the practice with an air-elemental gate, that sends blankets and pillows flying about. Knowing Arlin, this probably helps to clean up the place more than mess it up XD). Celestine knows a little elemental magic and uses this to make a rough ice sculpture of Epsilona. Arlin just thinks its a random generic pixie though. Elysia isn’t as enthusiastic, but still reveals a small disc that sends vines sprawling over the place. To finish this scene (but not the practice), Arlin summons her anima to the scene. 

So the original idea was to just depict someone (probably Arlin) doing something nice for the Campus Beautification Project or something, but I really wanted to just do a scene where everyone’s spamming abilities. Thus, this post was more to satisfy that -_-. Not plot-conducive at all, but definitely fun to write. 

49. Umbrella

I do have a plot to continue though, so this post brings us back from the peaceful daily life scenes of the last three entries and back to the problem introduced in Heart Song: Arlin’s visions since the fire attack. 

In this scene, Arlin has found a new meditation spot at the end of a not-clearly- marked trail. It’s a small cleared corner on a cliff. Arlin is just relaxing when it starts raining. She starts a spell to repel the water, but the moment she does, the visions come back with a punch. She screams as she falls near the cliff edge. Luckily, someone is nearby, pulled her out of the rain and away from the edge. Despite not knowing who this is, Arlin clings to them, fighting the battle within her head. 

Vesper Institute’s campus is really large, spanning over three campuses at the elementary, intermediate (high school), and university levels. They are positioned in a triangle overlooking a vast valley, all of which is considered Institute property. Arlin moved her nightly meditation spot from the university gate to a cliff overlooking the valley and the river running through it. (I suppose you could say Rhys’s family is very rich lol)

NEXT SET (50-54)

Nothing and Nowhere

Greetings! This is post 3/3 of the last ten days.

This time, I have a short microfiction I wrote for the theme Nothing and Nowhere. This IS an ECA theme and will be coming up later, but I wrote this for another group. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it!

Nothing and Nowhere: Broken

“Quale!” He threw aside the rifle and gathered Qualia’s limp body against his chest. With one hand he ripped off his shirt and pressed it against her stomach, trying desperately to staunch the blood flow.  

“Cis,” Qualia breathed, weakly grasping his hand. Her eyes were already gazing indistinctly past him, and her ragged frame trembled with every shaky breath. He could hear Cristae, the other medic, rushing towards them. She wouldn’t make it in time. He could already feel Qualia’s life force ebbing away—he could tangibly see Qualia’s soul rising out of her broken body. “Keep living,” the ghost wished, then turned to wisps of dust. In a heartbeat, Qualia was gone, blended into the rising smoke. 

He screamed wordlessly into night, but the pain piercing his heart drowned out even that sound. As the tears started to fall, he lowered his head, drenching his hair with the blood of the only girl who had ever touched his wretched heart. 

----->><<----- 

Slowly, he blinked, piecing together the world around him. A table, a chair, a door, a mirror. 

“What happened?” he groaned, stretching aching limbs. He rolled, and sprawled unceremoniously on a wooden floor painted with something sticky and crimson. 

“You tried to kill yourself,” Cristae drawled, half awake herself. “Even after her last words were for you to keep living.” 

He searched blindly around him, spilling a bottle over himself. Just the smell burned the back of his throat. He suddenly had an idea of how he’d tried killing himself. “Give me a gun.” 

Rough, hacking noises escaped Cristae’s throat before she could reply. Half coughing, half groaning, she ground her head against the table to block out the pain. Irritably, she chucked the pistol on her belt at him.“Get out, Cisternae. If you want to die so badly at least don’t do it in front of me. She was my best friend.”

He found bullets under a shirt on the floor and loaded the gun up, sticking a tenth under the canvas of his boot. He squinted at himself in the dirty mirror: disheveled hair, sunken eyes, covered in bruises, a small scar on his chest over where his heart should have been. 

“Where’re you going?”  

He clicked the safety off, and shot the scar, shattering himself into thousands of tiny shards that, like his heart, could never be put back together again. 

“Nowhere,” he replied, his voice broken. “I’ve got nothing left.”

I originally wrote the microfiction in two parts, indicated here by the divider. However, this proved to be more than the 250 word submission word count limit. Since the words from the theme showed up in the second half, I just submitted edited the second half for conciseness and profanity and submitted that half. I ended up liking the filtered version more than the explicit version and thus kept it for the blog submission. If you're curious though:

• "What the hell happened"--> "What happened" 
• "Fuck you, Cisternae"--> "Get out, Cisternae." 
• "If you want to die so damn badly...."--> "If you want to die so badly...."

I did my best to hint at the reason why he tried to commit suicide was because he'd lost his girl, but this didn't get across as clearly as I'd hoped. XD Hopefully the first part clarifies that more. 

I had also written another piece for the theme, but didn't like this one as much. 

“I’m going nowhere,” the boy looked up innocently at the officer. He pulled his pockets out. “I’ve got nothing.” The policeman stared disbelievingly at the boy. But the kid seemed earnest enough. He let him go. And so the kid earnestly wished the officer luck on finding the thief, ran away, and earnestly enjoyed his stolen bread.

“I’m going nowhere,” the teenager drawled coolly, raising his drink to his mouth casually. The girls around him peppered him with questions. He smirked mysteriously and always gave them the same reply. He had an enigmatic reputation to keep up. “I’ve got nothing.”

“I’m going nowhere,” the man cried desperately. He wished his tears could heal—wasn’t this, the only sign of remorse he’d ever shown—enough? But nothing could stay Death’s scythe. He was left alone and unanswered, sobbing into the clothes of a corpse. “I’ve got nothing.”

Unedited. This one was centered around the repetition of the same words Cisternae says in Broken: "I'm going nowhere. I've got nothing." The idea was to show how the words would sound different and mean different nuances of meaning based on the context. 

Finally, we'll be back to ECA updates starting this Friday (09/ 27)! School is starting for me the day before, but I still hope I can keep up a semi-consistent posting schedule. :)

Thanks for reading! 

~Minerva

P.S. Does formatting the writing like this make it easier to read? It's a pain for the formatting, but if it helps space things out I'll continue to do it. :)

ECA 36-44

Hello! Today there are EIGHT ECA posts! I wanted to keep the latter 6 together, as you'll be able to see why.

In other ECA news, I had an inspirational spark yesterday and I am a little more than 90% done with the story now! (FINALLY -_-) It's gotten to the point that I have the same feeling I had with the Spring Ball Trouble story: that "Idk why this took so damned long and I just really don't like this story anymore"feeling. But I'm definitely going to finish ECA, and post all of it up here with their comment blurbs.

After that the main writing content on the blog will be Sun Dagger, though I do have plans for some fanfiction and maybe some other stories. But before that, school will be starting next week and I'll be hard pressed to find time for school, work, writing, and art.

Enough ranting.

PREVIOUS SET (31-35)

36. Dreamer

Vesper was avoiding her—no, she was avoiding him. For good reason too—how dare he imply her stupid? Elysia was good to loathe him. 

Elysia. Good. The words didn’t fit together. 

Elysia Kieran…literally Dark Heaven..

Intana…she didn’t know. She wondered…

“She is named for—“ 

“Stop!” Stop! Stop! 

“I don’t want to know!” To know! Know!

“But you—“ 

Celestine stood in a whirl of cloth and fog. Today an individual was floating in the air before her; she prepared to run as the figure flew forward, wings fluttering and hands outstretched. 

“Who—No, I’m dreaming—you… don’t exist!”

37. Mist

The head-tall purple pixie hovered at eye-level, half-shrouded in the mist.

“You—who—what—“

“I am Perilyn Epsilona Tinkerbell, aes sidhe, daoine maithe.”

She was Epsilona, species pixie. She came without ill will.

Celestine hesitated. She knew the ritual; she could only be polite: “Celestine Syeniar Sesium, mortal…”

Cautiously, they touched fingers. A flash of light, and a tingle ran up Celestine’s spine: two images flickered past her eyes: 

She saw herself, winged and dressed in strange armor, armed with a silver bow. 

Then a memory: her crying alone in the psychologist’s office after being pronounced insane. 

38. Burning

Weapons majors were designing swords for an upcoming exam. And since workshop days always went overtime, Elysia was sitting by the window outside the workshop room sketching designs an hour before class. Elysia hated missing lunch.

Elysia had practiced much with the blade of the Angelic legend during her three weeks off, and was envisioning how she would rebuild the one-handed longsword to suit a faster fighting style. Sye’niar was simple but strong; that would be her guiding principle in this project: Simplicity and speed.

Opening her eyes, she set her sketchpad down and through the window glimpsed flames.

39. Out of Time

“I’m late, I’m late, I’m so terribly late,” Arlin raced down the stairs, stowing books in her bag. “This is so totally your fault.”

Murantagh leaped beside her in the grass, a ribbon of silver-scale and pale blue. He clicked a terse protest. 

“Wand, wand, don’t tell me I left it in the room…” Suddenly Tagh screeched a warning and Arlin instantly skidded to a stop, her hair ribbon skimming the flames. 

“What—what happened?”  

Arlin turned to see Aldis and Fiana, also rushing to class, join her.

“Accident,” the thief guessed, already opening a magic gate. “Or attack..”

40. Knowing How

Celestine jumped and almost dropped her book when someone called her name. A flurry of crimson:

“A-Anuna! Something wrong?”

“Come quickly Celestine.” She explained as they ran: “Fire in the Great Wheel  Courtyard.”

“Wh-what?”

“Normal spells don’t seem to be able to extinguish it, but I think I know how.”

Celestine recognized where they’d come to. Anuna plucked a golden sundial off its pedestal and handed it to the wide-eyed girl. Summoning a book out of a clock face, Anuna thrust the spellbook into her hands as well. 

“I believe you can do this. Page 265. Go!”

41. Fork in the Road

Outside, Celestine saw that Anuna had undermined the fire. It had split to obstructing sections and was quickly overwhelming the students. Glancing down, she skimmed the spell’s words, motions and instructions; she swallowed, certain she would miss something in the unfamiliar working. 

She stared up at the courtyard in horror. On one side Arlin, Aldis, and Fiana cast water spells from elemental gates. On the other side Vesper and Rhys brandished their wands, working a fire-eating spell.

Epsilona’s caveat and frantic fluttering within her mind didn’t help: “You have time and energy enough to help only one, Syeniar. Quickly!” 

42. Start

“This can’t-I can’t let it end this way! Ep-Epsilona, help me! Show me you’re real!” 

Celestine spread her energy as far as she could, surrounding all flames. Book held open, sundial raised high and hoping the pixies—if she wasn’t insane—had heard and were with her, Celestine started the spell. 

Blood-red light bathed the clock but she continued. A massive gate opened above. She continued. Dark streaks engulfed the courtyard in a black cocoon, choking the air out of her.

“No start without a finish,” Epsilona reminded. Gasping for breath, Celestine uttered the last few words.

43. Nature's Fury

Fire cascaded in waves around her, setting the ground on fire and racing around the building, scorching walls and windows. Through slitted eyes Celestine found herself floating above the giant wheel statue, surrounded by streams of black fire. Her only defense glowed as brightly as a second sun in her hands and her only weapon was already singed. 

Smoke choked the air out and snuffed bricks to ash. Whenever she fought with it, the incendiary flared up again, refusing to be tamed. 

It raged without equal, melted into the sundail and exploded into a giant monster of shadow and ash.

44. At Peace

Elysia dodged screaming throngs before skidding; over her now-winged friend, a black, bone-monster bellowed.

Calming herself with a prayer, Elysia touched the birthmark on the back of her head. “From the depths of Blackmist, I summon Sye’niar.” The blade and its gear materialized in her grasp and from the first downstrike her heart stopped racing. 

Thrust, parry. Her motions were fluid, as if the fight had been choreographed. Sweep, strike. No doubt. Dodge, Leap. No hesitation. Twirl, stab. Every movement from the soles of her feet to the tip of the blade radiated control. Block, blast. Inner tranquility.

COMMENT BLURBS

36. Dreamer

The entire first part was legitly just an excuse for me to connect heaven with dreams. And to rant about name meanings that I usually spend forever tailoring to the character (e.g. Elysia). I always end up doing that or just coming up with a random name on the spot that I like too much to change into something complicated (e.g. Arlin). And sometimes it’s a random cross between sense and randomness (e.g. Celestine).

But this part is called dreamer because for the first time there is a form to the voice that Celestine hears. And she’s tempted to succumb to the voices in her memory and say yes, she’s delusional, but at the same time she knows she’s asleep and wants to cling to any scrap of sanity she might still have. Even if that means rejecting a friendly figure.

37. Mist

The voices gained a form last post, and now they/ it has a name! Enter Perilyn Epsilona Tinkerbell, who was created because I saw a cute picture and had to make cute little pixie characters. 

Aes sidhe is actually irish for something along the lines of fairy/ pixie.  Daoine maithe is also Gaelic Irish for “the good people,” which is a way to say fairies. I twisted this a bit and in addition to saying she is a fairy, more specifically a pixie, by “good people” she also implies that she does not come with ill intent. Which is fairly believable, because irish fairies are supposed to be nice unless treated cruelly. 

Everything I know about Irish mythology comes from wikipedia. I feel bad in advance for getting something wrong D: 

38. Burning

This one should be pretty plain and boring: it’s basically just Elysia thinking about an assignment to design a sword. She’s been practicing a lot with Sye’niar, and while she’s more or less fine with its weight and strength, she has a bit of a problem with its speed. Although she knows she will get faster with more practice, Elysia is currently looking from a designer’s perspective and wondering how she would design a similar sword more conducive to attack-speed based fighting. The part that aligns with the prompt is the last line, where she blinks out of her envisioning and sees a fire burning outside the window. 

This is actually the second version of this entry. I changed it after reasoning that it would be pretty ridiculous to expect college freshmen to design and forge their own sword then use it in combat, especially at the beginning of the new semester. The original had a line that also featured fire (“In her mind [Sye’niar] itself guided herself through the fires of the forge.”) 

39. Out of Time

Basically, Arlin is rushing late to class (out of time) when she runs into a fire that’s pouring over the campus. She is joined by Aldis and Fiana who are heading the same way. As Aldis opens a magical gate to help put out the fire, he speculates that this is an accident (since the forges are nearby as implied by Elysia seeing the fire) or some kind of terrorist attack.

I noticed that Arlin sounds like the Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. I don’t know what to think of that, but I guess it’s cute enough to keep? Arlin in Dreamland, teehee

Since it’s mentioned, Murantagh (nicknamed Tagh) is a skinny, silver eastern-looking dragon with pale blue and pale green accents (such as whiskers, the odd scale, and eyes). He has four forms, differing mainly in size and power. The form he is in this post is probably around 2.5 feet long and the second smallest form. He moves by flying or leaping lightly on surfaces. He communicates in clicks, purrs, growls and other animal sounds, which only Arlin understands completely. 

And finally, there are three forms of magic mentioned in this 100 words: anima summoning (Tagh’s presence), wand-mediated magic (Arlin searching for her wand), and gate-mediated magic (Aldis’s gate). This is partially due to my complete indecisiveness when it came to a set system of magic and partially due to my belief that all forms of magic-mediation should be appreciated and somehow present in my worlds XD. As you may have noticed, the magic system itself is never really gone in-depth to in this story aside from the existence of air, fire, earth, water elements and the dark vs light distinction. Thus (at least in this story) it would be a “soft” magic. 

40. Knowing How

I never really understood this prompt, honestly. So I made it more or less having someone (Anuna) knowing how to put out the fire that normal-level spells (such as the one Aldis was seen casting in the last post) aren’t able to put out. Anuna takes Celestine to the Room of Clocks where they’ve been practicing and summons a spellbook for Celestine to reference and a sundial to amplify Celestine’s power. 

The original reason why Anuna doesn’t just do it herself is because in order to take any clock out of the room, another person would have to stay in there, but this became too complicated to explain. Now, the reason would have to be something like summoning the book drained enough of Anuna’s magic that Celestine would have to do it. OR, it could be that Anuna, who’s been teaching Celestine these spells, believes Celestine has greater magic power than herself. I’ll leave that up in the air.

Page 265: why? Because on page 265 of my copy of 1984, O’Brien tells Winston, “Reality is inside the skull”. This is hands-down my favorite line in literary fiction.

Trivia: The Great Wheel in the Great Wheel Courtyard is supposed to be in the image of a massive clock (something like the Room of Clocks Celestine and Anuna hang out in.) It’s also a minor reference to the Wheel of Fortune tarot card. 

41. Fork in the road

I didn’t see a way to incorporate the theme with the story, so I made the fork in the road a choice for Celestine to make: the fire in the courtyard has broken down into a bunch of fires sprawling the entire courtyard (college courtyards can get pretty huge).  Epsilona, the little pixie that talks in Celestine’s head, warns that she only has enough time and magical energy to stop one section of the fires. Not exactly the most reassuring thing to say when someone’s already flustered thinking they won’t be able to work the spell required in the first place.

42. Start

The last line is what I really wanted to comment on in this post. I found it very interesting that there is a “Start” theme at point 42 (more than a third into the themes list). Furthermore, there is no “Finish” theme aside from the last theme, “Endings”. 

So in this post, the idea is that, no matter what was going on, Celestine strived to finish the spell completely. It’s also a bit of a reminder to myself on perseverance ;)

43. Nature’s Fury

As Celestine finished the spell, the fire fights ferociously against her control. Celestine herself is caught floating in the eye of a giant firestorm. Ultimately she perseveres and the fire gets sucked into the sundial, but the clock soon explodes into a giant ash-and-shadow monster. 

It’s pretty ok if they’re switched, by the “defense” Celestine mentions is the sundial and the “weapon” is the spellbook.

44. At Peace

It’s been a long 6 entries since the fire-monster was first mentioned in passing. I realized in retrospect that this could have been a “calm after the storm” moment, but the way I ended Nature’s Fury didn’t lend itself very well to that. Instead, I tried to focus on the calm within the heart that a lot of athletes attest to having in the middle of a match. The idea of being at peace in the midst of chaos has always showed itself as an eerily beautiful scene.

It’s a minor but important detail also how Elysia enters the scene: pushing past panicking students, Elysia finds the giant ash-shadow-bone monster created from the aftermath of the inferno. Huddled unconsciously at its feet is Celestine, who in the course of the particular spell-working and the last 2-3 posts, has grown wings. Not like anyone saw it, but this would be how Celestine was floating in that last post. 

Finally, Elysia, the weapons-tech major does use a form of summoning in this post, but I would think that weaponry people would learn at some point to summon their weapons so they aren’t hauling battle-axes everywhere. Finally, even if this was not the case (I mean, Aldis carries his knife-whip everywhere) Sye’niar is obviously a special weapon. XD 

NEXT SET (45-49)

A Summer of Manga

For my rambling today, I wanted to feature, however briefly, some of the manga I've finished this summer XD
Aside from CardCaptor Sakura, Fairy Tail, Skip Beat, Reimei no Arcana, and Fruits Basket, which I've already mentioned, these are 12 cool new ones! (in roughly alphabetical order).

Caveat: Most of this is shoujo. If you don't like shoujo, please skip this list XD. Since the summary on managahere.com (linked) is probably better than one I could write, I've  focused mainly on being brief and saying what I personally got from it. Unless otherwise mentioned, all of them are complete.

If you don't want to read rambling, skip this list. I've got a shorter paragraph summarizing all of this at the end. 

• 100% Perfect Girl: A lot of drama. It's a bit of a modern day cinderella story in the beginning, and just drama + drama after that. You've got amnesia, shooting, bribery, sexual tension, and depression (just to name a few) all stemming from some possessive lover issues. I actually don't like the protagonists because I feel they're a little pathetic at times, and read it mostly for the very dramatic drama going on.  Really, I think my favorite character was Luigi Calpetti, a mafia boss. XD The drama makes it worth the read, but it isn't at the top of my list (haha irony intended)
• 24 Colors: Short, but very cute. It's a love-at-first-sight situation, but I still thought it was quite adorable. If you like drawing/ mangas about artists, this'll be a good one for you. 
• Ability Shop: Psychological oneshot. The concept revolves around the eponymous shop where you can buy abilities. It's short, and very powerful. I will probably be borrowing the concept in some form at some point in some story.
• Black Bird: Apparently completed, but not completely scantalated. Drama and romance and more drama and more romance, but with a fantasy element: demons (e.g. tengu, kitsune). The protagonist impresses me decently at times, even if she is still a crybaby shoujo protagonist; her boyfriend on the other hand....T_T.
• Cat Street: It's short, and the romance is pretty poorly written, but the psychological undertones of failure, friendship and getting back up are beautiful. The show-biz parts sometimes make me cringe, especially after Skip Beat, but it's not a bad story for 35 chapters. 
• Hadashi de Bara o Fume (Stepping on Roses): Quite a bit of drama in this one as well, and also a cinderella story. I really enjoyed the relationship development, and a few of the plot twists were really good. The protagonist is a bit simple-minded, but I feel like she's decently strong and worth the drama that surrounds her. It's one of those that just pulls at my heartstrings sometimes ;) 
• Kare First Love: I picked this up by accident, but I'm glad I did. It centers around shy, not very attractive girl and an aspiring photographer with a bit of a traumatic past. It's...cute, and very typical shoujo. 
• Kare Kano (aka Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, aka His and Her Circumstances): This is probably the best story-wise on this list. It has a good mix of drama, romance, and character development, and although it drags and seems predictable at times, it's very cute and worth every chapter. Both protagonists, Miyazawa Yukino and Arima Souchiro are at the top of their class and have hidden personalities behind their perfect masks. Her development happens earlier on and is more subtle than his, but is just as magnificent when considered. A special bonus about this manga: Almost every character is actually developed/ detailed on, making a very memorable cast. 
• Koukou Debut (High School Debut): Just finished this one a few days ago. Protagonist Nagashima Haruma is a bit of a tomboy, while her "popularity coach" Komiyama Yoh is the quiet one just trying to moosey along life. Although it's pretty standard shoujo, Haruna's high school romantic debut has a captivating energy and innocence.
• Mars:  Just finished this one as well. Similar to Kare First Love, but a lot darker, dramatic and detailed (aka longer). It's about an outcast girl that avoids contact with everyone, especially boys, and a playboy delinquent who meet by chance. 
• Special A: I actually read this a longggg while ago and was surprised it wasn't mentioned anywhere. Plenty of cuteness with a touch of drama. "Ms. Second Place" Hikari really instills a competitive and motivational spirit in me XD. There's an anime version as well, but the manga version goes a lot further. 
• Witch Hunter : Shounen. This is an action-oritented manga that's very different from everything else on the list. Action-packed with touches of sentimentalism and a very nice magic spice. Incomplete, but there's enough to get into for now.

So, if this list doesn't overtly scream SHOUJO, then basically, I've been reading a lot of cute, enthusiastic romance and have maybe been convinced that getting a boyfriend isn't such a horrible idea. To summarize all of this, my top recommendations on this list would be: Ability Shop, Kare Kano, and Special A

And I think I'll try doing this: my top 10 manga. (not including anime! That's in another list!)

1. CardCaptor Sakura
2. Skip Beat
3. Fairy Tail
4. Ability Shop
5. Fruits Basket
6. Kare Kano
7. Reimei no Arcana
8. Special A
9. Stepping on Roses
10. High School Debut

And then the anime/ tv show list:

1. CardCaptor Sakura 
2. Sword Art Online
3. Psycho Pass
4. Teen Titans
5. Once Upon a Time

I think. I'm probably majorly forgetting something.

I've gotten a few recommendations for anime that I'll be working on (namely Steins; Gate and Ouran High School Host Club), but for now I'm going to be trying to get back into school mode, for the most part. 

There'll be a few more posts this week! Please look forward to them!

TRW: Celestine Sesium

 So earlier last week on 750 words (which I've kinda got back into, but I'm not very obsessed about making the 750 every day) I randomly wrote another River-Windrose scene. It's a little less descriptive of the scenery, but I hope it offers a bit of insight into Celestine's character.

(There'll be an actual 6+ post-long ECA update soon. I just realized this would be a good time to post this XD)

This was her eternity. 

Celestine Sesium sat on a cold and slippery ground, in an endless expanse shrouded in light mist. Bright lights pierced through the arena, spotlighting her every movement.  She felt sadness in her heart, but a smile on her face. She stood and raised her hands. She beamed, bowed, and when she rose, the music started, a soft melody ringing of flutes and violins and bells and triangles, and led by a soprano whose voice reached the heavens.

Her dance had begun. She glided smoothly over the world tinted blue and floated easily along an imaginary line. She turned around, gliding backwards without breaking her speed. She ducked her head and leapt, suspended horizontally in the air for a moment. She spun, reveling in the speed as the world whirled around her. She was the center, and as long as she remained exactly balanced on the tip of her toes, she would remain the eye of the storm around her. If she let go, she would be a gale rushing around the ice-covered arena, leaping and twirling until she found that balance again and spun, spun, spun herself into another storm of ice and cloth. 

At that moment, nothing else mattered . It didn’t matter if the entire world closed in and crumbled, because at that minute, all she needed was that point of ice so she could keep up the whirlwind. Within that whirlwind, it didn’t matter who she was, or what mistakes she’d made. In that spin, she was safe. 

It was very good that she felt this way, because this ice -scape was not indeed endless. Running across half of the landscape was a river of frozen water that stretched endlessly in both directions. It was ice, like the rest of the scenery, but it was nonetheless a line. This was a line. Sanity was one side, insanity the other. Good was one side, bad was the other. Right, wrong, dark, light, strong, weak, victory, defeat. Everything could be divided across this line. She could not cross the line. She could only hope that good qualities would fall on her side. 

Shadows stood on the line. Sometimes she'd see her mother, who laughed as she left Celestine behind. Celestine would see the doctors and teachers who'd said she had an attention deficiency disorder and would never succeed. She would see the district officials, who had said she was delusion and possessed by violent spirits. Over the music she heard their voices in unison: "Celestine is insane." This round, insanity was on her side. No matter how everything else was cut, she was insane. The shadows laughed and faded, leaving her alone in the mist, with a terrible spotlight following and taunting her every shiver. She would retreat into the sides, hidden in the crowd. 

But, sometimes, just when she could bear no longer to live and her dance on the ice would slow, the shadows would be benign: she would see her roommates, Arlin and Elysia, cheering her on and laughing. She would see her friend Vesper, rambling on about something esoteric he'd done.  She would see Epsilona, the purple pixie that visited her in her dreams. She would see her father, telling her in his deep patient voice, "We are who we believe we can be." Those were the good times, the times she treasured and held in her heart, the bulwark of hope against all the other shadows that visited. And it was these times that convinced her to tighten the laces on her skates and step back into the light again. Because as much as she hated that light following her as she breezed over the ice, she loved donning the glittery mask and costume. She adored the moment she dropped her hands and the music started and her routine began. Because once the music had started, no matter what else might happen, she always knew the next move. She always knew the next turn in her dance and when the next spin or leap was. And no one could tell if behind the mask she was utterly confused and humiliated. Once she was onstage, everything but the performance just faded away. 

It was an antithesis, but it was simple. Celestine felt safest in the cold of the rink and in the heat of the battle.  She liked herself best when she was behind a mask and behind the front-lines, yet ahead of the world. Only there, on the top, was she safe. Only on the stage, with everyone watching her and her life cemented in the script, was she safe. 

This was the rink, where Celestine's world was a paradox, yet a paradox she loved. 

The two art projects that I plodded through this summer.

Greetings! I FINALLY finished painting Calliope (a character of a character)  :D

Before insane idea to color.

After insane idea to color. 

In a magical world populated primarily by winged humans, Calliope suffers from an inability to use magic, even to summon. However, to compensate for this, she is an extraordinary flier, and her ability in the air is unparalleled. As per her namesme, she is also very interested in the arts :)

It was originally just a random drawing, and I liked it enough to scan it into the computer. But the scan turned out weird so I had to clean it up. And by then I thought it would look nice with some color. I started to add some color, thinking I could just put it on a different layer with a multiply filter. But, being the persistent fool I am, I decided just to paint over all the lines. That was too rough to post so I had to go back and add details and make it a little neater. This entire thing was dragged out over about three months but actually only took a few hours XD.

First time ever painting trying to paint wings globby blue things. Fail attempt at color-reflection on sword, but an attempt nonetheless! And I think the sword hilt looks like it's in a completely different style... which may be explained because I added it only after the coloring. I also edited her face :P

Accompanying this is a sketchdump compiled from Spring Quarter 2013 and maybe a few things even before that. There's a lot of Jane and a lot of Fiana because I was trying to practice drawing them for the deviantART roleplays that I'm completely inactive in T_T.  As you can see, I gave up on coloring everything for the sketchdump. So it's more or less a black and white blahpile. These two projects are the reason why I have not finished the outfit meme for Jane D:
Before anyone kills me about the weird proportioning on everything, this was a matter of months/ half a year ago! I've gotten (a little) better X.X

There's a sketch of Adelaide (yes! Adelaide from the Tale of the Darkest Star from the "Spring Ball Trouble" series!), 2 illustrations of Jane's essence/ tea-partner, Rue, 2 random scribbles of dramatized chibi-avatars, 4 doodles of Skarlett Maximus in her early development, and 6 drawings of Fiana, and 16 depictions of Jane.

Aside from that, it is the end of the summer and my room is again in need of cleaning. With it, I'm probably going to try another round of character pruning!