Fast Five Friday: Catchphrases!


Happy Friday! It's time for another installment of Fast Five, brought to us by the Cover Girls, Dani and Jax. This Friday, they would like to know our the 5 things we say frequently.

1. Eyyyy!
(not to be confused with)
2. Ayyyee!
3. Sweet Jesus, build a fence.
4. Wait, what?
5. Hmmm...

Yes, I make more sounds than actual words. lol

Have a happy weekend!

Wednesday Words: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Mystery Knight


I'm lagging on my reading, and at first, I didn't want to share another line from A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. THEN, I remembered that it's actually three books in one, so loophole! Today, I'll be sharing a line from "The Mystery Knight", the final book in this compilation. When I first put the page numbers into Random.org, it had the nerve to give me the last page, so I hit it again, and that time, it gave me page 305. I accept.



No horse, no sword, no armor. Perhaps those dwarfs would let me join their troupe. That would be a funny sight, six dwarfs pummeling a giant with pig bladders.

I'm curious to know what happened there, so let me get to reading!

Tuesday Tales: Blood Shift

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*


 Tuesdays are the day I have set aside to get my creative mind rolling by writing flash fiction. For the time being, these stories will be set in Teorre, the world of my current WIP, The Crystal Bearer. I used 30 Flash Fiction Prompts to help me pick a couple of topics before, and I have two more weeks worth of prompts from them! This is the first from the list. 1: Write a story in which something transforms into something else.


Blood Shift
 
This was a proud day for Dogna, of Gna's clan, and his wife Rohali, of Li's clan. They were going to teach their daughter the blood shift. It was a special gift of their kind, passed down through thousands of generations, and it helped them to survive among the beasts of the mountain around them. Iregna was now old enough to defend herself. She needed to learn.

Dogna cracked together two stones until they sparked a fire in the lake moss Rohali had gathered. Iregna rubbed at her eyes. They were weak from the darkness despite all the preparation to keep the light inside of them with fires. Dogna and Rohali feared Iregna's children would have weaker eyes still, perhaps even blindness.

Dogna took his young daughter's hands from her face and kissed them before he showed her the bag he carried around his neck. It fluttered and shook every so often, and when Dogna untied it, a bat jumped out. Rohali caught it before it could escape them. They often cooked the bats, but this time, for the sake of their gift, the blood had to be fresh. Once they fed, Dogna cupped Iregna's small face and bid her to watch him. Rohali explained to her how Dogna called on the energy of Teorre to change his cells. His dark olive skin freckled then filled in with the blue-black hue of the bat. The bat's skills would especially help Iregna, even in the firelight, Rohali said, because Iregna needed another way to see. She guided her daughter quietly off out of Dogna's line of sight as he closed his eyes. He perked his ears up, and Iregna jumped as her father let out a shrill howl. He waited, turned slightly, then howled again. After another pause, he turned directly towards his wife and child and howled. After he waited, he smiled, and pointed, eyes still closed.

Rohali encouraged Iregna to try to call on the energy of Teorre to change her. Iregna squeezed her eyes shut. She focused on the earth's life force, put into her mind the image of her father transforming, and imagined herself in his stead. She kept focusing until she felt chills down her spine and across her skin. They frightened her, but she knew she needed to keep going. When they went away, she opened her eyes. Her skin was as black as her father's shifted skin, and she inadvertently shrieked. After a few seconds, a small pulse bounced against her, and she froze. She shrieked again, and after a few seconds, another pulse hit her. Rohali put a hand on her daughter's cheek.

She could now see like the bats. She could see by listening.

Final Fantasy Friday: The Evolution of Summons


So many games, so little money.

2016 is shaping up to be the year Square FINALLY puts out Final Fantasy XV.


But seriously, though, ever since they put out a little bit of the game play which shows you what summoning looks like in this game, I've been dying to get my hands on whatever console I need to actually play it.

What do I mean by summoning, you ask? Summons (aka eidolons, aeons) are mystical beasts which are first seen in Final Fantasy III. In a few of the games (III, IV, V, IX, and X), you need a summoner to call them. FFX has my favorite look, but here is what a summoner looks like in games III and V.
Aren't they cute?
LOL at these.
I do see how they still maintained a certain look throughout the other games. FFX used many variations and the same color schemes of these two models.

Early incarnations of summons were just a 2D immovable beast that did its power and disappeared. Here's what the first ones looked like (Pay special attention to the third summon Ramuh.): Click Me. 

For the most part, this is what summoning used to look like (this is FFVI):


Beginning with FFVII, summons began to be more visual, the characters fading out of the way as one materializes and does a devastating attack on an enemy. In FFX, Summoner Yuna stayed with the aeons to guide their attacks.

In FFXV, THIS is what summoning looks like (Note: It starts when the sky changes):


What a difference two decades make! I'm so in love with the way this looks, and I NEED THIS GAME. (My cousin also pointed out to me that the head of Ramuh's staff is Ixion, the thunder/lightning aeon used in FFX, my favorite game of the franchise! GENIUUUUS!!)

Okay, enough fangirling.

Chances are we'll be snowed in this weekend over here in Delaware, so I'll probably replay an FF game while I have the time. Be safe, everyone!

Wednesday Words: Stop it, Dreams.



This is a short one, as I'm still reading about Dunk and Egg, but I had this really neat dream the night before last, most likely prompted by my finishing Jessica Jones this weekend (amazing!). There were mutants and a lab, and a young mutant who could slip through door cracks. Brock O'Hurn was my boyfriend (giggle). Google him if you don't know who he is. He had super strength and hearing. I can't remember what my name was, but his was Luke AND Brock for some reason.

I was at his mom's apartment with him and his sister but was leaving for somewhere. I went into the stairwell, started to get anxious, and whispered, "Brock, can you still hear me?" When I went back to see if he did, he opened the apartment door, and I said, "Sorry, just checking."

This is why I think it was part of a movie: I knew that once I got outside, I was most likely going to be attacked. My alarm went off before that point, but I knew that that was why I got scared in the stairwell.

Soooo, sounds like the beginning of another story. Which is good. My mind is still working. At the same time, remember I have 3 (2) other stories that are swirling in my head? Lord, the work of a writer is never done.

Tuesday Tales: The Cart Incident

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*


Tuesdays are the day I have set aside to get my creative mind rolling by writing flash fiction. For the time being, these stories will be set in Teorre, the world of my current WIP, The Crystal Bearer. I've mostly used writing prompts unless an independent idea runs through my head, and this time one has. It's based on a quick scenario mentioned in my WIP detailing the mischievous antics of one of the supporting characters. So here I go!


The Cart Incident

“You’re putting too much in!”

“Shhh!”

Andyrsn and Donovan were crouched behind the carthorse, giggling like young school girls, even though they had both turned 19 not long ago. A blue and green quetzal hopped up to the space between the cart bed and the wall to peck at Andyrsn’s wild brown curls. He gently pushed it back to its fellow birds and then scraped the last line of powder from the wall. Donovan was right. The walls had to be packed with just enough powder to cause them to fall but not enough to injure the quetzals. They chirped among themselves as Donovan secured the wall facing and protecting the mule in front. The cart attendant at Eastward Temple would hopefully unhook it before he unknowingly triggered the blast.

“Brodie’s going to shoot us both when she figures out what happened,” Andyrsn said.

“Well, I’m family, so she can’t kill me,” Donovan said with a smirk.

“Nice.” They stood up and checked each wall before sending the carthorse on its way. Everything looked secure, so Andyrsn nodded. “All right. Let’s get to the motorboat.”

Donovan patted the mule, and he and Andyrsn hurried towards the beach as the mule pulled the booby-trapped cart up the road to Eastward Temple.

~

Brodie heard the loud crack through the air outside of her window, but when her cart attendant started screaming, she grabbed her rifle and raced down the stairs, out into the temple yard. She froze at the sight of at least 50 quetzals flying and hopping around a ruined cart bed as a temple guard helped the attendant up. He was holding his arm close to his chest.

“What the hell happened?” Brodie demanded.

“Just some kids pulling a prank, I think. No real harm done until Cam flipped out.”

“I don’t like quetzals,” the attendant said, grimacing. “They’re creepy! Ow!”

“I think he broke his arm. I’m taking him to the nurses.”

Brodie had stopped listening already, the blood boiling inside her. She knew exactly who did this. Her brother and his jerk friend thought they were funnier than they were. As the other guards and attendants chased the quetzals around, she stormed back inside to her office to write Donovan a letter.

Dearest Brother,

I hate you. Tell Andyrsn he’s dead.

Love, Brodie.

Fast Five Friday: Reading Spots


Happy Friday!

I haven't done a Fast Five in so long! The Cover Girls, Dani and Jax, bring us these fun questions where we list 5 of what they're asking about. This week, they asked us to list our five favorite reading spots. I don't really get to mine, so they're basically ideal reading spots.

1. In the park
2. At the lake
3. In the library
4. At home in a cozy chair
5. Anywhere silent
 
 
Do you have five favorite reading spots?

Wednesday Words: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms


Happy Hump Day! I was planning on writing a flash fiction yesterday, but post-cruise vertigo was on me strong, so my mind wasn't anywhere near ready for thinking. But Wednesdays are easy! They are the days I have set aside to share with you all what I'm reading or writing.


For Christmas, my awesome cousin bought me GRRM's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the complete series of The Hedge Knight, based on Ser Duncan the Tall. She also bought me the second graphic novel, so I have to buy the first. lol

Using Random.org to choose a page for me, I will share with you all a piece of this so far great book. There are 355 pages, and Random has chosen page 221.

His own shield was on his left arm, the shield Tanselle had painted with his elm and falling star. The old shield rhyme echoed in his head. <Oak and iron, guard me well, or else I'm dead, and doomed to Hell.>

What are you reading?

Sailing Away!


Howdy!

I'll most likely be back on schedule next Friday, but as for this one, I'm heading to Florida for a much needed vacation! See you Tuesday! ;)

IWSG: I Should Be Writing

Brought to us by Alex J. Cavanaugh,
sensei and founder of the Insecure Writer's Support Group.


I am writing this a week ahead because my dates were all discombobulated, and I thought January started already, but hey...

While my current MS is in CP mode, I've been doing a lot of extra reading (by extra, I mean I've passed my goal on Goodreads), but I haven't done that much writing. I've been wavering back and forth on it, but I plan on doing some writing in 2016. I have many stories I've already started and one I've written like 1/4 of a scene for, but that I have ideas for, just need to flesh them out. I'm anxious about it, but writing is almost always what I set out to do, so I need to hold on for dear life.

Wish me luck!

Tuesday Tales: How I Met Your Mother

*This post occurred before I changed the WIP title.*


It's 2016! Happy New Year! It's also a Tuesday, so time for writing.

Tuesdays are the day I have set aside to get my creative mind rolling by writing flash fiction. For the time being, these stories will be set in Teorre, the world of my current WIP, The Crystal Bearer. I actually went to Pinterest for my prompt today. I will be starting this flash fiction with a prompted sentence.


How I Met Your Mother

When I first saw her I didn't really see her, just the pile of books she was carrying. I had come to the Crystal Continent to help guard the Ossamontra citizens from mountain lions coming down the trail and needed to meet with the scholar to confirm my arrival. Your great-uncle John was the Royal Scholar then, and she was his apprentice.

I had just come into the library of the temple, and--honestly, first I heard her. Her voice was so smooth and fluid. She and John were speaking in Crystalline, as most did there, and I looked to see where her voice was coming from. She had to be holding thirty books. It was just this tower of books with a skirt and feet. The top few fell off, bounced off what I imagine was her head, and the tower went tumbling.

Your mother was a sight. Her hair was pinned back from her face with pencils and pens, but most of it still stuck out like one huge black cloud around her head. Her blouse had ink stains everywhere--I can't imagine why she would wear a white shirt, but she did. Most of her fingers were wrapped with bandages, paper cuts, I think. And when she bent to start collecting the books, she hit her head on the edge of your great-uncle's desk, but she only hissed and kept on like it was normal.

John acted like none of what had happened had. I imagine he was used to it. "Nelyssa, this is 2nd Lt. Watchman Dal, of Xanctis. Dal, my grandniece Nelyssa."

"Monhas-mi hra adrati hin essa altra," were the first words she ever directed towards me, though she didn't say them to me. (Gentlemen usually help by now.)

She didn't know I spoke Crystalline, so when I crouched down and started helping her pick up the books, her eyes--all to Teorre, how beautiful they were--they got pretty wide when I said back, "Spahero pla vi-mi pijera." (I hope you will forgive me.)