A Hunter's Story

I’m sorry for my long silence. It’s been quite a chore getting settled here in North Carolina. I’m happy to report I’m fully settled and have started working at a job that enjoy. I’m working at a privately own botanic garden and nursery. I work in the gardens. I’ve had a blast despite the ups and downs with the job. Thankfully my body has started adjusting to the environment here. I’ve lived in Utah for three years and lost the ability to handle humidity. I did grow up in Maryland which has some humidity but not as much as North Carolina. I truly love it here and could never imagine leaving it.

However, during my time after work and on the weekends I’ve been busily playing Destiny on my Xbox One. For those who don’t know Destiny is an online game that was made by both Bungie (the makers of Halo) and Activision (the makers of Call of Duty). The game takes place in the far future where humanity has been able to grow thanks to the help of an alien entity called the Traveler. With its help humanity expanded into other planets and this created a Golden Age. However, a few centuries later the Traveler’s enemy the Darkness attacked us and ended our Golden Age. When the game begins humanity is all gathered into a haven here on Earth to hide from the different alien races that hunt us. Guardians are those brought back to life by the Traveler’s Light and can wield the Light as a weapon against these enemies.

  With the advent of the second game in the series coming out in September the game has an event going called the Age of Triumph. As you complete objectives you gain rewards for your guardian. When I started in year One (or Vanilla Destiny to my fellow guardians) I began as a Warlock. However, as life closed in I wasn’t able to play as much and this year in order to help gain some of the class based awards I created a hunter and a titan. I found while playing out of the three classes I identified heavily with the hunter class.

Just like the hunters in Destiny, I enjoyed exploring new places and preferred a very free following life style. I also have an interesting sense of humor and often am found on my own. I may have friends that I care for deeply but I’m mostly found by myself. I’m curious and adventurous by nature. As I’m forging my own path by changing the course of my life now mirrors a hunter’s mastery of the wilds beyond the City.

So, to honor this and my love of Destiny before the next game comes out I’ve decided to work on the story of my hunter. The actual story will be set just before and during the Taken King expansion. With the help of the lore I’ve learned plus some experiences from my own life I’ll bring Krya Masters tale to life. I can’t wait to post it to wattpad for you to read. Also, I may put up some experts from various chapters here on the blog for you guys to preview.

Until next time!

~ChildofCourage~   

New Story and Characters in development

            Since setting up shop at home I’ve begun work on a D&D based story. The full story and major characters are still in development. I’ve also decided to do the same with my Lunar Revelations book as well. Some of the characters felt a little under developed and as the main vehicles of showing the worlds that I’m working on I wanted them to be a little more flushed out. I wanted them to feel more real to you as readers of my stories. However, some major edits will be underway with Lunar Revelations to cut out some of the backstory I placed in. I don’t want to hit my readers over the head with a ton of backstory from the beginning. The stories I aim to tell should focus less on the characters' backgrounds and more on the world they find themselves in and how the learn about it and learn to survive in it. 

            However, I wanted to give my readers a chance to meet my two newest characters. These two adventurers will be the main stars of my D&D story. First, there’s Leslie Williams. A 25 year old college student who finds herself pulled into an amazing but dangerous fantasy world and fights to return back to the modern world from which she came. As some of you may note, her first name is my own. It’s for three reasons I gave this character my name. One, I like the meaning of my first name. Boiled down it means strength and that’s the trait I want this character to have. Two, I identify with this character. To be honest on some level all my characters come from some part of my own personality. So, this is an acknowledgement of such a connection. Three, it’s also a little vanity. My first name is very rarely used and I love it. So, I at least wanted one character to bear that name even if nobody really gets to see my work.

            Leaving the modern lead and going to the second, Kalandorl Rilynana is a drow warrior that risks his life to flee the life he’s been leading in the Underdark. For those who don’t know much about Drow or D&D, the Underdark is an underground realm that exists in Dungeons and Dragons where many evil, banished races live. The Drow are also known as dark elves. Their culture is cutthroat and violent. Most drow tend to live only a few hundred years or so due to the chaotic nature of their culture which is led by a tyrantical matriarchy that sees the males of the race as a step above slaves. Kalandorl wishes to leave this world of betrayal and bloodshed behind him.

            Both characters find themselves thrown together in an evil fey King’s dungeon and must try to escape but more dangers await them outside of the castle. However, to give you a taste of what these two characters are like here’s a little information on both of them.

Leslie Williams

• Age: 25 
• Race: Human 
• Height: 5’ 1”
• Build: Petite 
• Skin tone: ivory white 
• gender: female 
• ethnicity: White
• identifying features: pixie-cut dark brown hair and pixie-like features with extremely dark eyes 
• Profession: College student/Medical Assistant (her other world profession ends up a being a ranger)
• hobbies: writing, reading, gardening, video games, watching anime and tv, and art
• Habits: sleeps in late (isn’t a morning person), keeps clean and organized room, quiet person unless around the right person (ambivert tendencies)
• Faults: shy, pessimistic, often fights depression, has trust issues (especially with men)
• Clothes: At work: medical scrubs and tennis shoes; At school: jeans, graphic t-shirt, and converses; At home: loose t-shirts and shorts
• Body language: eye contact level: eyes constantly scanning or focused forward on her path or glued to her phone or writing journal; gait: smooth; carriage: slightly nervous; posture: upright with head held straight and often moving; hand movements: often flourishes hands when passionate, movements can be jerky or smooth depending on mood; nervous ticks: bites lower lip, often has a nervous laugh or messes with her hair when nervous

Kalandorl Rilynana

• Age: 126
• Race: Drow
• Height: 6’ 1”
• Build: slender but well-muscled
• Skin tone: Obsidian black
• Gender: Male
• Ethnicity: dark elf
• Identifying features: piercing lilac eyes that almost seem to glow in the dark and a scar on his right cheek from an old duel
• Profession: Drow warrior
• Hobbies: gambling, playing cards, training physically, and music
• Habits: Sleeps little (due to elven heritage), practices his fighting skills on a regular basis to keep them sharp for battles with enemies (often other Drow), often likes to gamble with fellows in his patrol to trick them out of treasure he wants, only does anything musical when he’s alone but enjoys what music he can find, constantly on the lookout for threats to him
• Faults: Distrustful of others due to the culture he grew up in, Defensive about his hobbies that aren’t in line with the life of a warrior, has deep rooted prejudices against other races from his upbringing
• Clothes: at “work”: black leather armor, belts, and weapons with all tools he needs; At home: a simple red tunic with leather belt and black cloth pants and leather boots
• Body language: Eye contact: Holds the gaze of anyone he sees as an equal except when it comes to women were he looks away or down to show respect; gait: long strides that are smooth and precise; Carriage: confident and proud; Posture: stands up straight with shoulders squared as if in formation, Proximity: keeps a fair distance between him and those around him; Hand movements: deft and flowing but almost minimal when not fighting; nervous ticks: glances around the room when nervous and often will mess with the hilt of his sword

Hope you guys enjoyed learning about these two! See you next week with another post!

~ChildofCourage~

Haunted Mansion Fan Fiction Cast

 I've been doing a lot of introspection lately. So, it was time to shake it up. In an effort to do that I'm showing you some of what I've worked on with my newest Fan Fiction, Lost in the Mansion. Mostly the things that have been going on is figuring out the cast of my little story. Currently, the main cast has started to take shape. Below is the list of my current cast of  main characters. I still have some kinks to work out. Here's the list!

·         James

Age: 22

gender: male

Star sign: Leo

DoB: August 11, 1988

Appearance

Height: 5’ 10”

Hair:  Dakr sandy Blonde

Eyes: Light blue

Build: Well-muscled but not excessive and a fair weight for his muscle

Face: gentle, well defined jawline, and athletic in appearance

Nature:

Brave, adventurous, stubborn, passionate, kind, vibrant, jock/closet geek

·         Jack

Age: 21

Gender: male

Star sign: Aries

DoB: March 2, 1989

Appearance

Height: 5’ 10”

Hair: Black/brown

Eyes: Dark Brown

Skin: Fair (white)

Build: Bean pole, but has hidden muscle

Nature:

Thoughtful, jock/geek, prankster, reckless at times, funny

·         Karen

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Taurus

DoB: May 13, 1992

Appearance

Height: 5’ 2”

Hair: Very Dark Brown

Eyes: Brown

Face: Rounded, large eyes and mouth but gentle and intellectual by appearance

Build: Very skinny with large chest but no real other types of curve

Nature

Kind, can be apathetic at times, smart but has low self-esteem, artsy, bookish, geek, gamer

·         Velein

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Star Sign: Aquarius

DoB: January 24, 1992

Appearance

Height: 5’ 1”

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Blue-green

Face: Pixie-like with small, delicate features

Build: Hourglass figure with a fair sized chest

Nature

Curious, kind, restless, intelligent, creative, inventive, artsy, playful, rebellious, geek, gamer, has some self-esteem issues

I'll get in last names soon and start working on art of the characters as well. Hurry back for the next update!

A Spirited Story

            During a recent bout with the disease known as writer’s block, I got an idea for another story. This story would harken back to my oldest and most beloved fandom. “Which fandom is that?” you may ask dear reader. The fandom I’m speaking of is my deep love for Disney. You may start wondering which movie I might be doing. However, I’m not writing about a film but one of Disney’s well-loved rides from the parks.

            This ride is my personal favorite and will come as no surprise to my family that I’ve chosen this as the subject of my newest fan fiction. The ride in question is known for having “999 happy haunts that are just dying to meet you”. The one and only Haunted Mansion. This ride has been a favorite of mine since I was nine years old when I first rode the Florida version of the mansion.

            Now, with the 60^th Anniversary Disneyland past, I decided to throw my hat into the hatbox of this mysterious and spectral mansion. I love this ride and the story and imagination that went into creating it. Also, I’m really happy that they finally put the Hatbox Ghost back on the ride. If you don’t know who he is I recommend you look it up. Especially since Guillermo del Toro back a few years ago announced that he’s going to redo the movie of the mansion. He’s reported to be a huge Haunted Mansion fan and he was partly responsible for the Hatbox Ghost’s return since he said he was going to make him a main focus of the film.

            So, to get in the spirit of both these events, I am writing my own creepy rendition to the tale of the mansion. I won’t be posting it until Halloween but keep an eye out for art from the story and excerpts from it on my Tumblr and here on my blog.

            In parting I leave you with the cover art of my story. Its working title is “Lost in the Mansion” and a little greeting from the ride itself. Happy Haunting!

"Hurry back! Hurry back! Be sure to bring your death certificate, if you decide to join us. Make final arrangements now! We've been dying to have you!"

Little Leota 

(from the end of the Haunted Mansion Ride)

Geek vs. Nerd

It seems to me that some people now a days have problems telling a nerd from a geek. So, I’m going to set the record straight. That way this confusion over who is a nerd and who is a geek can end. To first illustrate my point I have a little video from youtube to help start you thinking. 

 As you can see from this video there are some distinct differences between a true nerd and a true geek. However, there are some places where the two overlap. Which leads to the confusion of the two. To help explain the differences I will preface this. A nerd can have geeky qualities and a geek can have nerdy qualities. These two kinds of people do not have incompatible qualities.

To help you better understand the differences between a geek and a nerd I’ll take you to the origin of their respective names. The word “geek” originated in the early 1900s. It was given to a person who worked in a carnival sideshow. This person would perform bizarre or disgusting acts, like biting off the head of a chicken (gross).

The origin of the word “nerd” can be traced back a doctor by the name of Suess in 1954. In a line from one of his books he wrote, “A merkle, a nerd, and a seersucker too!” The connation for a nerd is of a person who is irritating, unattractive, who is brilliant but chooses non-social pursuits.

Here’s what those terms actually mean for someone in today’s world. A geek is someone generally knowledgeable (often to the point of obsession) on a certain topic. Geeks are often very good with technology. They are frequently self-taught in how to do things like computer programming. The hallmark of a Geek is that they closely follow whatever obsession they have. Wither it be technology, science fiction, fantasy, etc. These people love to obsess over their favorite fandom. Also, a geek is a very social creature. They appear to look like your average person. Unless you start up a conversation about their fandom you won’t be able to tell if they are a geek at all.

A nerd on the other hand is a very different animal. A nerd is generally solitary. If they do socialize it is with others of their own kind (other nerds). They also specialize in things that a geek enjoys as well. This is often where the lines get crossed about who is a nerd and who is a geek and that leads to major confusion.

I hope to have cleared some things up for you guys. To clarify, I am a geek. I have friends that are and aren’t geeks. I obsess over fandoms like The Legend of Zelda, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings. However, I do have some nerdy tendencies. I often prefer solitude because socializing can cause some anxiety but I will still do it and enjoy meeting people from all walks of life. However, I love hanging out with others of my own kind. It helps to recharge my spirit when I know that I’m not the only geek walking around my college campus.

Now, which one are you?

(if you want more information you can find it at this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Tell-the-Difference-Between-Nerds-and-Geeks it’s where I got most of my information is very helpful)