Pond Life!

Pond life. Because I'm going to be DW blogging on Mondays for the next little while, I think I'll start it out with the miserably short first part of "Pond Life".

What can I say? It was funny and cute, but for all its shortness, managed to have one scene they really could have done without. It reminded me lots of the beginning of The Impossible Astronaut. That was disappointing. Don't they realise that kids watch this?

Also, if it was in a real episode, it would have stretched my suspension of disbelief just a bit too far. Yes, Doctor Who is a show about a time travelling, bow-tie wearing alien, but when it's deliberately ridiculous, I have trouble taking it seriously.

But the ending was adorable - I love seeing Amy and Rory chilling at home, and can't wait for more. Tomorrow morning!


Miserably short post for a pathetically short clip - see you all 'round!

Thirty Day Character Challenge 2

Today:

6. The most annoying character

7. The hottest character

8. The funniest character

9. A character who could be your best friend if they were real

10. A character who taught you something about real life

     

6. The most annoying character

     Amy Pond and River song have their moments, but the minute Dolores Umbridge walks on scene, I have feelings of a violent nature.

7. The hottest character

     *blushes* do I have to answer this? I don't really like to call anyone 'hot', the word seems to have too many connotations. Suffice to to say that Loki and the Eleventh Doctor are very good looking.

8. The funniest character

     Most people on Doctor Who make me laugh from time to time, especially the Doctor and Donna. Fred and George Weasley never fail to make me smile. Darcy from Thor is pretty hilarious. "This is going on Facebook, smile!"

9. A character who could be your best friend if they were real

     I almost feel like, why would any of them deign to socialise with me? I realise "the Doctor" is the answer to, like, eighty percent of the questions on here, but if he'd be friends with me, I think we'd get along pretty well. I'd just stick around the Hogwarts gang in general - Ginny, Luna, and Hermione might be fun to hang out with, too. And for some random reason, I'm feeling like Lily Potter might be my first Marauder era friend.

10. A character who taught you something about real life

There's something about this guy that rings a bell.

But come on. Don't all good fictional characters, really, teach you something, whether you're aware of it or not?

(don't own the image.)

And Then I Went Camping

It's Friday again, and I have been - excuseless and lazy - a terrible blogger for a very long time. I'm honestly trying to smarten up, now. On Fridays, I'll blog about life (I mean, I'll try), and on Mondays, I think I'm going to review Doctor Who. Yep. I think I'm going to go over all of Eleven's era before series seven starts, giving reviews of each episode, so I can be all ready to go when we finally get the airdate for "Asylum of the Daleks".
These are the things I say, but may or may not get done.

I'm exhausted right now. I just debated a stranger on the internet about feminism (which is not a smart thing to do, considering the only base I have for my beliefs on most subjects is my faith, and people don't get where I'm coming from) and it's left me tired and thirsting for something bigger, for a change in the air, for a revival of life in the world.

And to that end, I will describe the recent trip I took up to the bustling metropolis of Merritt, that town to the left of Nowhere that has one McDonald's and a Starbucks.

No, seriously.

'Cos I went with Tomorrowsong - you might know her from her blog, or from Tumblr. She and I had some great talks about Life, the Universe, and Everything. And it was a joy to get away from everything, even if I missed the airing of the new Doctor Who trailer. The air was hot and dry, mosquito bites abounded, and sand and stars and the moon like a searchlight over the water - fishing and swimming and tyres crunching on gravel - lukewarm breakfasts and mountain passes - it all just reordered my brain, a bit. It's honestly nice to be away from good things. The internet is like rich food - every once in a while you have to just drink some water and eat a hot dog and enjoy little things instead. So maybe I'll keep a tighter schedule on my derpy online activities.

So nothing profound for today, because I'm dead tired. That's just my little update on life. Thanks for tuning in, and for letting me give my little description bit. *salutes* I'll see you soon, God willing.

Scheduling Update

Hey guys!
I think I'm going to be posting on Mondays and Fridays, instead of Wednesdays too. I'm sorry that the summer's been such an inconsistent time.

Thanks, love you all!

Micah

Drawing Spam!

I like to draw. I'm trying to get better. It's really hard. Anywho, this is what happens when I attempt to lay pencil to paper. And I say spam 'cos this is spam. Ten pics right out of the blue. Most of them aren't really that great. I just want to share.

First drawing of Loki.

And my second. Sorry about the terrible definition.

Third, and staring to like this! This one's just better because I used an iPhone camera instead of a PhotoBooth one, and  because I chose an easy reference image.

I still think his forehead's too high?

Amy from Doctor Who. Um - this one's not very good. I just wanted to draw her hair. The face didn't work out, apparently.

Cossette from Les Miserables, in a scene that totally grabbed my heart, where she's playing with a little doll from her foster family. This is different, because it's not meant to look like too realistic, and I don't draw like that often.

Sherlock

Moriarty

...Tom Hiddleston being adorable.

And Tom again.

My favourite - Eleven<3

This Last Year

So - um - today was my birthday. (And America's, if you were unaware.)

No deep post this time: I just had a really nice day, and, allowing some ups and downs, a pretty darn amazing year. Can I share some memories from the past 365 days? Just in snippets, as I wrote them down last night - made a bit clearer, for blogging's sake, though. 'Cause half of it would only make sense for someone living in my brain.
Starting from about now and going back towards last summer.

-

Thank you, Lord, for the fantastic year. Thanks for Les Miserables, Jean Valjean, (and Jean-Valjean-cast-as-Tom-Hiddleston), Fantine, the lovely free audio recordings that have brought me so much joy - thanks for school, and my wonderful online courses. For soaking in knowledge. For sharpened pencil crayons and artwork.

For music. "Sail", Florence + the Machine, Keane, Paramore, YouTube, DW fanvids. Adele. Singing while washing dishes - home alone.

The Eleventh Doctor. Thanks for the times I had staring up at the stars - chilly nights and screenless windows. Frost and wind. Worlds in Time.

For "The God Complex", Dark!Doctor, and raspberries.

Knott's Berry Farm. California. Lying in hammocks in the heated evening - used bookstores, sandals, swimsuits, morning walks, Disney Channel, heavenly smells, windmills, choir.

For that community choir. That I didn't give up on it, even though I was in it for years and was tired. For bus trips. For hanging out after Christmas concerts. For ugly outfits, for mercifully easy choreography this year. For inside jokes. For almost passing out during the recording session. Scavenger hunts. Packed lunches. Laughter.

For safety. For Ernest Hemingway, frozen yoghurt, Robin Hood and Doctor Who. Great babysitting and tame kids. The Screwtape Letters.

Thanks also for conversations with friends. Classic Who. Blogging.

Thanks for that time I was new to DW. For community group and church. For Phineas and Ferb... for Bard on the Beach, BBC, in-mind recasting - series seven hype! My family.

Thanks for Sherlock, I nearly forgot. For Sinnerman, the Fall, "Come Undone" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lR8jDQ_aUiY ], cliffhangers. "Jim Moriarty, hi!"

For HP8, and how could I forget the Hunger Games? Endless awesomeness.

The pure, otherworldly beauty of our vacation spot - rain - Jonsi [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOd9zWdH2dQ ], and Mockingjay. That new-book smell that was totally unique to the world of Panem.

Winnie the Pooh, road trips.

For phases, and memory, and vivid dreams. And vivid DW rewatches - "Flesh and Stone"!

And so many other things I'm forgetting. Whoa, my brain holds so much sensation.

Thank you.

Stuff

So, I saw Macbeth. In our city, we have this lovely group who do Shakespeare in an outdoor tent environment. They have a proper stage and everything, but the back of the huge tent is open and the mountains and sea here serve as a backdrop. They're called Bard on the Beach.
It was pretty fantastic. However, the actors were yelling a lot of the time - I felt like it wasn't subtle enough. I blame this on a few things. One, the internet has turned me into a critic. Two, I have the most fantastic audio production of stories from Shakespeare ever. The actors are absolutely perfect and it all sounds so gorgeous. So I was expecting a lot. Three, I was repeating a lot of the lines over in my head, but executed by my dream cast for the play. Which is comprised of a lot of British, world-class actors. So what can you do? It was awesome, and I had a great time with my grandma, who treated me to it.
And we had sushi, which is heaven for the taste buds.
And of course, it was fantastic to be in the city.
Now I smell like sand, because of walking along the beach before the performance.
And I'm sunburned.
And earlier today I went boating with some good friends, and discussed writing, character development, and life questions, such as our opinions of BBC's Robin Hood and Whether "The God Complex" Is An Amazing Doctor Who Episode Or Not (which it is).
And presently I'm going to go mix and match the options of watching Doctor Who, writing, Tumbling too much, and drawing a poster for Macbeth starring a Doctor Who actor. God Willing, of course, because Tumblr might swallow all the time if I let it conquer me.
But it can't defeat my purposes until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill.

There's my little update for today! Thanks for tuning in. This has been Silly Songs With Larry.

In Which I Publicly Shame Myself And Use Too Many Gifs

Lostariel - Zoe (because somewhere deep down in me, that'll be your name forever ;) - I owe you a serious apology.
I'm re-reading my How to Train Your Dragon 2 fanfiction.

I think I might have to check myself into a hospital. How you still have a smidge of respect for me after reading that beats me. Oh, help. I can't even -

Look, I don't want to be one of those people who complains about their work when everyone else thinks it's great - and who do this because they secretly like the work and are looking for affirmation. I'm NOT doing that right now. I'm not going to utterly slam the thing - there were a couple of saveable moments and descriptions that filed under the 'okay' section. But I honestly have never, EVER read a fanfiction as utterly cheesy as that HTTYD one that is sitting under my profile name. No exaggeration.

Ah, Lostariel, I owe you a ton of my ability to actually write about people who are minimally in-character. Thank you for sticking with me through all those horror stories of mangled English.

Gosh, I can't believe I'm doing this, but, uh, I do want to make this post mildly entertaining for you guys, so I'll give you my least favourite part of the story. Because I'm insane. And, truth is, I do like making fun of bad writing. It's a pleasure similar to reading the Amazon.com reviews that detail why Twilight is not even worth the paper it takes to print.
I've never  been brave enough to actually share the crap I wrote, though.
When we're done, we'll pretend it never happened, 'kay?

To fully bring the terror of the situation to bear, I ask you all to remember to remember this cute and socially awkward kid, below right.

If you haven't seen him in his film, then you seriously need to. So sweet and touching. But Hiccup's certainly not capable of ever, in a million years, saying anything remotely close to this speech - and yes, he does indeed get eloquent enough to speak in third person:

[telling his girlfriend about his true heritage (as if that wasn't cliche enough)]
"Astrid, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is a half-breed hybrid infused with enemy blood. he's your nightmares come to life in one of your friends. He's going to battle with his relatives. He's stained and corrupted by the royal line of Thornburg. Kenna Nadderslayer is his flesh and blood, his cousin, and Peaeye Nadderslayer is his uncle, his mother's brother.
Why did Toothless choose me, when I was so filthy? Why was I destined to be the Dragon-Viking peacemaker when my family so freely sheds the blood of each of these races? I don't know. But even if you never care for me again, and try to forget about me as soon as I leave you, don't tell anyone else of my heritage. But if you choose to abandon me, do so, and I'll harbour no ill feelings toward you - I hate the Thornburgians as much as you do."
I looked at her.
She was trembling, and a tear shivered on her eyelash, about to fall.
She looked down, and traced something in the ground with her finger.
"So, do you hate me to your bones, Astrid Hofferson?" I asked softly.
She looked up at me, shaking her head slowly. "You can doubt that the stars are fire! You can doubt that the sun movess! You can even beleive truth itself to be a liar! But there's one thing you should never doubt, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third."
[kissing ensues]

Oh my Rassilon - Shakespeare. What was I doing, writing Hamlet into a headstrong, self-driven girl?

This freaking used to be my favourite part.

#physically ill

A Random Tag

This Wednesday: snippets, slices, and scenes from my work in progress. A tag. The kind of thing I do when I'm stuck for writing but I still love my story.

I found this one on a friend's blog: "Random Writer's Ramblings".

Story: Theta Tau

Synopsis: If there's any child he can't stand to watch cry, it's this one. But now, stopping the tears may have incredible consequences. Silence might even fall.

Less vague synopsis: The Doctor has a son with River, but this boy - Theta Tau - is medically unstable. And there's only one place the Doctor can take him to make sure he lives.

The one place he thought he'd never go again.

Fine, I'll give you the spoiler. It's Gallifrey.

1. What's your word count?

     14,937 words, including a scene or two that will almost definitely be cut.

2. How long until you finish?

     Hopefully not too long. I'm desperately hoping I'll finish in June. Pessimistically speaking, I'll probably still be slaving at it when the school year rolls round again. The balance of truth is most likely between those two.

3. If you have finished, how long did it take you?

     I actually don't even know when I started! Let me check.

Oh, no way. I've been going on this since February?

4. Do you have an outline?

     Yes, yes I do. I'm looking at it right now. It's this maze on a piece of paper - really, a flurry of cause-and-effect - upon which I tried to figure out how I was going to get to the climax. But I think I have it sorted now.

5. Do you have a plot?

     Yup!

6. How many words do you typically write a day?

     If I had to make an average, accounting for all the days I haven't written anything, it would be like, three words. Probably less. Right now, I'm writing a couple hundred a day, if it's flowing. Sorry, I write slow. When I write fast, I write crap ;) Well, mostly crap. Get-the-writing-done-don't-stop programs are good, but I never have time to come up with anything really creative or atmosphere-invoking.

7. What was your greatest word count in a day?

     I wouldn't know. Of recent times, somewhere around 1,064.

8. What was your least impressive word count in a day?

     I'm so amazing that I pulled off zero words once. Twice. A zillion times. Not to brag but I've probably written less words in a day than you.
       What do you mean that's not a good thing?

9. What inspired you to write?

     Another short story I wrote, called "Darillium", had a lot of reviews begging me to do a fix-it for it. Voilà, Theta Tau was born.

10. Does your novel/story have a theme song?

     Doooooooo weeeeeeeeee ohhhhhh… eeeoooo ooo da da da daaa dada …

11. Assign each of your major characters a theme song.

     The Doctor's theme - it fits the story amazingly, but it also works for Nine, Ten, and Eleven in general - is "Iridescent" by Linkin Park. It works insanely well. And I don't really feel like doing more theme songs right now. Maybe some other time. Sorry, I sound grumpy. I've just got some stuff to do and it will take me a while to find the right music for everyone.

12. Which character is most like you?

     Rory, probably, simply because he's the most normal person out of everyone I'm using.

13. Which character would you be friends with?

     The Doctor. If he'd want to be friends with me. *fangirls* adfsh;dfajshk; that would be the time of my life. Also, I'd love to get to know the TARDIS, because she's beyond awesome.

14. Do you have a Gary Stu or Mary Sue -like character in your story?

     If I created the character of the Doctor, I'd never get away with it. But his flaws are written so well, that, even though he's good-looking, funny, brave, and brilliant, we can never forget for too long that he's selfish and arrogant. Here's to hoping I'm able to write that okay.

15. Who is your favourite character in your novel/story?

     The Doctor. I love the TARDIS, as well, but she's so minor in this story.

16. Have your characters ever done something completely unexpected?

     I guess it wasn't utterly out of the blue, but Rory faded into unimportance. Which is odd, because, since I dislike Amy, you'd assume I'd use him more often. But I can't really nail down his character. Amy's just easier to write, for me.

17. Have you based anything in your novel on personal experiences?

     Minimally. I know how to hold and treat a baby, but that's about it. Google has helped more than actual experience has, so far.

18. Do you believe in plot bunnies?

     What, story ideas that pop up and won't leave? I don't believe they're unconquerable, but I do believe they come. I mean, of course they do. And they are so tempting. So very… very… *drifts off to write Wholock fanfic*

19. Is there magic in your novel/story?

     Meh. It isn't really magic. More like really out there sci fi elements.

20. Are there any holidays in your novel/story?

     Not that I can think of.

21. Does anyone die?

     Wouldn't you love to know ;)

22. How many cups of coffee/tea have you consumed during your writing experience?

     One or two, probably. I don't drink a lot of warm things like that. And when I do, I usually have hot chocolate.

23. What is the latest you have stayed up writing?

     Two thirty AM or somewhere around that. Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

     No, I'm serious. I love staying up.

24. What is the best line?

     Hate to be a fun-killer, but I'm really not sure what my favourite line is. I had one, a piece of dialogue, but then I got worried that, maybe, I couldn't actually hear the character saying it. So I'm not sure about it anymore.

25. What is the worst line?

     If I knew about a terrible line, I hope I'd fix it! There probably are a bunch, I'm just not sure of their exact location.

26. Have you dreamed about your novel/story?

     Not that I know, woe is me.

27. Does your novel rely heavily on allegory?

     No, it doesn't. Not like you'd think. I guess every hero is an echo of Christ, but not past that.

28. Summarize your novel/story in under fifteen words.
     "Silence is falling and lives are slipping away. But he hangs on desperately."
     I'm so cheesy.

29. Do you love all your characters?

     The only character I honestly love is the Doctor, but I'm fond of writing all of them. As characters, I don't love Rassilon and I don't love Amy and I'm not bananas for Rory (apologies). There's this one character, the main villain, who I'm trying to make more likeable. But, again, all of them are really enjoyable to write.

30. Have you done something sadistic or cruel to your characters specifically to increase word count?

     I guess I could cut all the terrible things I'm going to do to the Doctor, but that would decrease word count too drastically. So I suppose! But it's mostly because I'm brutal when it comes to characters I love.

31. What was the last thing your main character ate?
     He's eating right now, at the scene I'm on. Some kind of Gallifreyan bird.

32. Describe your main character in three words.

     Oh, no. Umm... brave, selfless, and arrogant. Which makes for interstingness. Oh, BBC, I love you.

33. What would your antagonist dress up as for Halloween?

     Every time I fill this out, and I have to leave this blank! Why don't I ever have antagonists who dress up? It's just out of character for all of them!

34. Does anyone go to a place of worship?
     I don't think so.

35. How many romantic relationships are there?
     None, really. There's established Rory/Amy but they don't get screentime.

36. Are there any explosions in your novel/story?
     Unfortunately, no.

37. Is there an Apocalypse in your novel/story?
     Another no...

38. Does your novel take place in a post-apocalyptic world?
     Again, no.

39. Are there zombies, vampires or werewolves in your novel/story?

     Heck no. Time Lords for the win! Who needs creepy 107-year-old stalkers who watch you when you sleep when you can have a 907-year-old watching you while you sleep because he cares about you  and because he's come to say goodbye? And then giving up his life to save your world, even though no one will ever know?
     No, I should stop. I could go on and on comparing the Doctor to Edward and watching Edward melt. Even if the sun's rays only make him sparkle, I'm sure the blinding awesomeness of the Doctor can still send him up in flames.

40. Are there witches, wizards, or mythological creatures/figures in you novel/story?
     You know fairy tales. The good wizards always turn out to be the Doctor.

41. Is anyone reincarnated?
     I thought about it, but I didn't have the courage to lose Eleven.

42. Is anyone physically ailed?
     Yup! Theta needs two hearts, but he only has one.

43. Is anyone mentally ill?

     I might include the Master, who seems to fall under that category.

44. Does anyone have swine flu?
     HahahhhaahahhaNO.

45. Who has pets in your novel and what are they?

     Well, I can't think of anyone who has pets, though what Karen Gillian said about the Doctor's companions being his hamsters might apply.

46. Are there angels, demons, or any religious references/figures in your novel/story?
     Again, most heroes are Christ-figures in some way, but otherwise, not really. There may be a chant later on that seems a bit monk-like, but not really. Oooh, I should include some Angels. The Weeping kind. Perhaps.

47. How about political figures?

      Yay! I can finally answer one of these questions with an affirmative. There's a Lord President and a Council to help him.

48. Is there incessant drinking?
      You'd think, what with it being a British program, they'd never put down their "Keep Calm and Carry On" mugs full of strong English tea. But in actuality, they only have one or two sips of the stuff. As for alcohol, it hasn't come up. *shrug*

49. Are there board games?
      No. There's Perudo, though, which is the dice game they play in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Spot", and that my family has been playing since before that movie came out, and which the Doctor has been playing since before Rome fell.

50. Are there dream sequences?
      There are going to be sequences of vivid simulations, visions, dreams, whatever you want to call them - but the victim is still conscious, so, to quote George from "Night Terrors", "It wasn't a nightmare, I wasn't asleep."

51. Is there humour?
      A bit. I hope.

52. Is there tragedy?
      Tragedy and angst are the cornerstones of this project, in my mind.

53. Does anyone have a temper tantrum?
      No ...I'm running various characters through my head as they freak out. It's kind of funny. Just because it's really out of character for a lot of them.

54. How many characters end up single in your novel/story?

      Everyone except Amy and Rory. And they weren't single in the first place.

55. Is anyone in your novel/story adopted?
      Not that I can think of.

56. Does anyone in your novel/story wear glasses?
      

...but not during the story itself.

I love how this is the only question I used gifs to answer, and then I used two.

57. Has your novel/story provided insight about your own life?

      Meh. Other than the fact that a) I'm lazy b) I'm really lazy and c) I can't stop the procrastination, even when there's a big "STUDY YOU IDIOT" note written on the back of my hand. I have to fill out tags instead -- other than that, not much insight.

59. Has your novel/story inspired anyone?
      It has inspired me to get writing things (other than one-shots) again, so that's good. I'm quite happy about that.

60. How many other people have asked to read your novel/story?
      I don't know. Not many. A few indirectly asked, by suggesting I could write a fix-it for my other story, "Darillium". It's okay, though!

61. Have you drawn any of your characters?
      Yeah. I never stop drawing the Doctor. Except when I'm on Tumblr. Then I just stop everything.

62. Has anyone drawn your characters for you?
      Not for me, no, but a lot of people have drawn my characters! I think some people get paid to draw my characters. Writing fanfiction is just that awesome.

63. Does anyone vomit in your novel/story?
      Not yet. I don't think anyone really will, either.

64. Does anyone bleed in your novel/story?

      What's an angst/whump fic without blood? But seriously, have you noticed how little blood there is in Doctor Who? I'm not calling for gore, but it would be nice to have a little more. Because it frankly just pops the fictional bubble when Melody, who has just been shot by Hitler, and has just been worried over by Rory, who muttered, "Gotta stop the bleeding!', stands up and is completely without bloodstains. Anywhere. I can't even see a bullet hole. But now I sound kinda sadistic so yeah.

65. Do any of your characters watch TV?
       Not during the fic. They do crossword puzzles. Choose the healthy alternative (imagine if I followed my own advice. I'd be writing crossword puzzle fanfiction).

66. What size shoes does your main character wear?
       Size ten. But he should warn you, he has very wide feet ["The Rebel Flesh"].

67. Does any of the characters in your novel/story use a computer?

       Not unless the TARDIS monitor screen counts as a computer.

68. How would you react if your novel/story was erased entirely?
       Oh, I would be mad. And I would cry. Probably. Then give up - like, I mean, I could never re-write it all.

69. Did you cry at killing off any of your characters?
       Why would someone do a crazy thing like that?

70. Did you cheer when killing off one of your characters?
       I haven't killed anyone yet, but there's this one that I've got my eye on. I don't know if I'll exactly cheer when they pop their clogs, though.

71. What advice would you give to a fellow writer?

       Though it's been said many times, many ways, "Keep Calm and Carry On."

72. Describe your ending in three words.

       "Despair! No, actually!"

73. Are there any love triangles, squares, hexagons, etc?
       No. Though, if I can say a word on those: they've been totally brought down by Twilight. But I've seen them done EXCELLENTLY - there's this little series floating around called something like "The Hunger Games" that made me cry... in the bookstore... just because of its love triangle. It wasn't even an emotionally charged scene. It was just introspection. And I was sitting there tearing up on a beanie bag chair in the "Kids and Teens" section of the store.

74. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being least stressful, 10 being the most) where does your stress rank currently?
       Probably about a seven, because there's this little voice going, "You do realize it's due on Friday, right? The exam and the essay? And are you planning on pulling that reading percentage grade up to from 93%? At all? No? Just going to sit there?" in the back of my head.
       What? You didn't say it had to do with the story.

75. What odd things have you researched for your novel/story?

       How to kill a chicken. Also, how to do CPR.
       Not on a chicken.

76. Was it worth it?
       What, writing this tag out? Well, it was fun. But I think everyone's probably had enough of my griping about my exam, so I won't say anything along those lines.