calliopeace - Tumblr blog

[calliopeace]

[calliopeace]

This is why I always save my old writing...

I decided to go back and revise some old writing from eighth grade. It's a real boost of confidence.

Before:

Theseus clenched the rail. His grip was tight enough to make the blood drain from his hand. He couldn't remember ever being away from home before now. He felt keenly the vast expanse between him and everything he knew. The fact that this was a happy occasion did not help.

Theseus closed his eyes and thought of Ariadne, the beautiful princess of Crete. They had never met, but her fame preceded her. He glanced up at the white sails. They were meant to bring joy and celebration. They did a deplorable job of representing his feelings.

He glanced at the two girls on either side of him. They were no longer conscious of his closeness, nor the fact that he was the Athenian prince. Even so, he was careful not to touch them. He could see the glint in their eyes, feel the shortness of their breath. They were excited. They had a right to be. He was likely the only one on the ship to feel anything but joy, pure and undiluted. Being a commoner had its perks, he thought.

Theseus heard the clatter of oars being stowed. He felt the movement all around him. They had officially arrived. He raised his eyes to meet the icy blue ones of the figure waiting. Such unusual eyes. They caused him to shiver. From his apparel and carriage, Theseus could tell this was the king.

Theseus allowed everyone to file down the gangplank before him. This was an encounter he was eager to delay. When he finally ceded to the natural course of events, he walked as regally as he could onto the dock. He would not be intimidated by this foreign king. He could not, however, hide his reaction to the smell that awaited him.

A thick miasma hung in the air, as immovable as a stone wall. He felt as though he were walking through water, a natural reaction to the fetor. King Minos seemed unimpeded. It seemed as though nothing could touch him.

Ignoring the others, King Minos gripped Theseus' hand and welcomed him, as he would his own son. Theseus felt intensely uncomfortable. He tried to avoid physical contact whenever he could. King Minos seemed to have the same idea, for he let go quickly. It did not occur to Theseus that this was a facade.

King Minos waved a regal hand at the entourage that accompanied him. He turned, without looking back, and ascended into the chariot that had brought him to the harbour. The message was clear. There would be time for further formalities at the castle.

After:

Theseus clenched the rail, his grip tight enough to drain the blood from his hand, as the island of Crete grew slowly on the horizon. He knew he was meant to be happy, but all he could feel was nerves. Though it was less than a two days’ journey, he felt keenly the vast expanse between him and everything he knew. He had never been so much as a hair’s breadth beyond the walls of Athens, cloistered as he was within his luxurious prison.

And now he was getting married.

Theseus closed his eyes and thought of Ariadne, the beautiful princess of Crete. They had never met, but her fame preceded her. Those among the ship’s crew fortunate enough to have seen her seemed scarcely able to describe her, a dreamy, far-off look entering their eyes whenever Theseus asked. He could only hope he would not suffer the same affliction once he finally met her. His father had assured him that they would make a wonderful match, and his mother had smiled, which was the closest she ever came to an opinion, but Theseus couldn’t help the feeling that he was totally unprepared.

The same girls who had fawned over him the entire journey no longer paid him any mind as their future came into sight. He might have been a bit offended if he didn’t know they were only attracted to his title. They, too, gripped the railing, but he knew it was excitement not fear that caused their short breath and glinting eyes. If only he could say the same for himself.

Theseus heard the clatter of oars being stowed as the helmsman skillfully steered the ship into harbor and the ship leapt to life around him. They had officially arrived.

As the highest ranking among them, Theseus led the way down the gangplank to the uneven dock, though this was a moment he was eager to delay. Awaiting them stood fourteen elegant steeds, each draped in gold and accompanied by a uniformed servant. The finery was jarring against the background of fisherfolk and fetor, the air thick with the miasma of fish guts and seaweed. Theseus walked briskly toward the line of horses, eager to be away from the smell and the staring eyes. The servants greeted them with bows, producing footstools to aid the visitors in mounting, but they worked in total silence, no words of welcome forthcoming. Theseus supposed they would be greeted properly at the palace, but still, a knot of unease began to form. It got along quite well with the nerves.

[calliopeace]

Constantly asking myself if I need a good reason to put roller derby in my fantasy book...

[calliopeace]

[calliopeace]

Evanescent: Or the Art of Seeing Things

This month, I am participating in National Novel Writing Month. For those of you who don't know, Nanowrimo is a challenge to write 50,000 words of a novel in a month. In hopes that it will help motivate me, I have decided to post chapters a I write them. If you choose to follow along with me, I hope you enjoy!

Prologue: The Beginning

When Lior was a child, it didn’t matter that she sometimes saw things other people didn’t. Certainly, it earned her the reputation of being a terribly clumsy child, and yes, her parents learned never to let her out of their sight, but as far as she was concerned, she was perfectly normal. And as far as her parents were concerned, she was only mildly abnormal. After all, there were far more unusual things in the world than a child bumping into walls.

At the age of seven, Lior had her first true vision. The wispy shapes and colors she had always seen resolved into a vibrant city bustling with life. Buildings rose high into the clouds, massive images were projected into the air, and high speed trains whizzed silently on airborne tracks. She most certainly would have been terrified to find herself suddenly in this strange place, if not for the fact that the passing pedestrians walked right through her, none of them even looking down to where she stood. Having never learned otherwise, Lior assumed this was perfectly normal and strolled along with the crowd, until she ran painfully into an invisible wall. The pain caused the marvelous city to melt away, and Lior found herself nose to floral pattern with a wall in her family’s home.

A week later, it happened again. This time, she was playing in the front yard when everything was replaced by that same metropolis. It was exactly as she remembered it, and she wandered down the sidewalk just like before. The people seemed so different, all colorful hair and strange clothes. Neon signs and so much noise competed for her attention. Lior was certain she had never seen anything more bright or alive. She wanted to explore everything, but she had hardly set off when she tripped over a small step that wasn’t there. She closed her eyes to brace for the fall and opened them to the breeze of a passing vehicle and her mother’s tense arms wrapped around her. Lior tried to tell her mother about the city and the people and about how the road wasn’t there before, but her mother just shook her head and ushered her inside. The next day, Lior wasn’t allowed to go outside.

At the age of eight, Lior dedicated herself to memorizing the layout of anywhere she might frequent, which was, admittedly, mainly home and school. She began to actively observe every space she was in. She would walk around rooms with her eyes closed and draw maps from memory. When the visions, as she thought of them, hit, she practiced exploring the other world without bumping into anything in her world or she would challenge herself to retrieve a certain item from another room.

At the age of nine, someone saw Lior, and she made her first friend. He was a boy about her age with shaggy blond hair and a distinct limp. Though she could never tell him when she would be back, he always had a broad smile and enough words for the both of them.

At the age of ten, Lior’s school recommended her for psychotherapy. It didn’t take her long to decide that she thoroughly disliked the experience and refused to talk. Shortly after, her mother relented and stopped taking her. Instead, Lior was pulled out of public school and began homeschooling. It suited her just fine.

Little by little, Lior taught herself to navigate the world deaf and blind, until by the age of twelve, she could memorize a room at a glance and recognize the slight breeze of a passing person. She learned how to blend in with both her own world and the other world. And she learned about the boy and his world. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.

[calliopeace]

My friend said she thought I was straight, while I was driving her, in my subaru, to roller derby practice. I don't know what else I can do

[calliopeace]

Now I feel like I have to read them

The Ninth House (but make it a Roller Derby team)

Prints and stickers available on my Etsy shop !

[calliopeace]

I think it looks more like a dragon

The Shark Nebula

The Shark Nebula, LDN 1235, is a faint cloud of interstellar gas and dust located approximately 650 light-years from us in the constellation Cepheus. The image spans about halfof its actual length of about 15 light years.

Telescope: 16″ f3.75 Dream Scope Camera: FLI ML16803

[calliopeace]

"Space still contains infinite unknowns." © STAR TREK (1966–1969) esahubble.org

[calliopeace]

via NASA https://ift.tt/oC2MiTV