Sunday, June 27, 2010

Cancelled Meeting for July 4th Weekend

So... Jaron and I will both be gone this weekend to different places for the fourth of July. Jaron is going to some sort of cabin in the woods, and I'm also going to a 'cabin' which is actually like a mansion in the middle of nowhere. In short, we can't host the Somnambulist's meeting. If there's anyone who wants to get together anyway, you're all free to do so.

I'm very excited because my rough draft is 99% done, and I'll be finished before I go on my trip. How are your projects coming along? Who has made progress? We should have some kind of party for everyone who meets their goals for this summer. All right?

-Tsira

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Heeeey long time no see

Not 100% sure I can come this week (I'm scheduled off early, but I don't know if they'll ask me to stay or if I'll be too tired or what), so I'm posting two super short stories here just in case. The first is creepy, the second is fan fiction so you probably won't get it...
--

This first story is based on a dream I had (anyone that follows me on twitter or has seen my status update on facebook--this is the one my characters were in).
*
He's having another episode. His hair is long and messy, he hasn't shaved for weeks it seems.
"I want you to bury me."

Out in the backyard, everything is slowly turning grey. I stare at the broken swingset and he continues to rant in a language I can't understand. I follow him to a greyed vegetable garden, and kneel, my numb hands digging into grey dirt.

Under the grey there is black, thick dirt. I remove the skeleton lying there, first the skull and lower jaw, then a spine and ribcage, hipbones and legs. As he lays down, I stumble to my feet, hearing but not feeling my sobs. At the edge of a bright green lawn I fall to my knees, choking on the sobs as I crawl. The tall man with white-blonde hair and cold blue eyes stares down at me.
"Hurry up," is all he says.

My fingers wrap around clumps of black soil, and I drop them onto the man in the hole. He lies still, calm and pale at first. More dirt is followed by his chest heaving and a wide grin on his face. He starts thrashing in panic when a pile lands over his face, but he doesn't move to stand; mania overcoming the instinct to survive. I stop, but the two men tell me to keep going. I can't feel the dirt in my hands as I push the dirt from the edge onto him.
--

And I'm just going to copy-and-paste my explanation from deviantArt onto here for this second one. This is fan fiction for Axis Powers Hetalia an anime and manga I've been into recently. Basically, it's about the countries of the world--personified. To clear up any confusion, or to confuse you more: Elizabeta (Héderváry)=Hungary, Roderich (Edelstein)=Austria. In the anime/manga they're only referred to by their country name, but the creator gave some of them human names too.
The "compromise" refers to the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of (year I can't remember) that created the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
*
It was just a political marriage, to signify the compromise between their two kingdoms. Roderich didn't care if that's all other people thought of it, he loved Elizabeta, and his reasons for proposing to her in the first place had little to do with the compromise. He could only hope she had said yes because she loved him back.

The organ droned out a song Roderich was surprised he was sure he knew, but couldn't remember the name of it. He knew he had to be nervous if he couldn't even recognize something by an Austrian composer--if it was an Austrian composer, he couldn't remember. The murmured chatter buzzed in the background of the music, and Roderich caught a few stray phrases, mostly about how nervous, sick, or uptight he looked. The music shifted, and the crowd rose. Roderich froze, slowly turning his head to look down the aisle, his eyes going wide. Elizabeta appeared from behind the large oak doors, a small smile on her face. She clutched a bouquet close to her, edelweiss and tulips surrounded by white and red roses, tiger lillies, and baby's breath, all tied together with purple and gold ribbon. It might have been the candle light, but to Roderich's eyes she was almost glowing. She walked down the aisle slowly, and Roderich barely remembered to reach out and take her hand as she reached him. She handed her boquet to one of the girls who had been holding her train, then turned to face Roderich, her green eyes wide with the same nervousness her smile had. Roderich returned the smile, gently taking her hands into each of his.

Later that night, as the two spun around the dance floor in a waltz, Elizabeta leaned in close to him, whispering in his ear.
"I lieb di."
Roderich paused for a moment, taken by surprise. Then he smiled, turning his head to whisper in return.
"Én is szeretlek."
*
(I lieb di=Bavarian for "I love you"
Én is szeretlek=Hungarian for "I love you too"
At least, that's what the internet tells me. I used Bavarian because I read somewhere that that's the dialect of German they speak in Austria. Again, so says the internet.)