The Queen of Biting off More Than She Can Chew

Listen, it's been, like, a year, since I posted anything at all on this blog. And it's been close to two years since I actually posted some real content on this blog. Do you want to know the reason why I keep not doing anything? Yeah, you probably do.

The reason behind me taking such long breaks is because I constantly bite off more than I can chew. I throw myself into a project, but tend to stop and try to back up when I realize that I didn't even look first. Pro tip: Always look before you fling all your effort into one thing.

Here, look. I'm going to list everything that's been happening in the past year alone, to help you get caught up with my life.

Let's start with school. School's easy to talk about.
     The way my school works is that we each take eight classes. I'm taking a lot of advanced classes; six, in fact, out of the eight total, count as "advanced" on varying levels, but they all apply to an honors diploma. I'm taking AP Studio Art, AP US Government, AP Statistics, Oregon Ecology (which gets me college credit for just taking the class [passing is a requirement though]), Senior Shakespeare, and Forensic Science. The last classes are Ceramics 3, which is the highest ceramics class I can be taking, and an Independent Study class, to allow for more worktime on my AP Art projects. (It's always fun to see peoples' jaws drop when they hear about this long list of advanced classes I'm taking, like they can't believe one person can handle it all. Yeah, I can handle it, but there's also a lot more.)

So there's that. I've been managing my homework for those classes while planning for the SATs later this month, and the four AP exams I'm taking in April, WOW. My senior project also has to be completed soon, as well as applying for colleges and thinking about what I'm going to do over the summer. Quite a lot, when I type it out. It doesn't feel extremely stressful, though. It's just my life.

My year has also been filled with abandoned projects. I stopped working on Nosey stuff for a while, because of everything else. I keep trying to restart the Glen story, because I have increasing amounts of new ideas, but none of them can stay together very well. I had this new idea for a story that's completely unrelated, but it's not a very old idea so I basically just have a concept and I'll need to develop actual characters before I consider doing some real writing. I've been managing an art blog on Tumblr, and I'm currently working on drawing sets of every single character from a video game called Team Fortress 2 on there. I created this ghost character last Halloween but I can't figure out what to do with it. I've been painting up a frenzy for my art class; five paintings in one week at one point. I've been making a series of comics that operate on a different level of humor than what I'm used to doing, which is also a challenge to nail. I'm planning about five different webcomics simultaneously, and I'm working on them all to see which ones turn out to have the best stuff going for them. I've started doing photography, and I think I'm pretty good at it; I've been helping with designing the set for our school's production of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, which is no small task, either. My parents have been pressuring me into spending time working on getting my driver's permit, but come on. I'm only one teenager. I can't do it all.

On top of that, I've been sick for almost a whole week straight. I've been busy sleeping my butt off and falling behind in everything. Thankfully the weekend happened so I could catch up. I had to cancel last minute the other day on some plans because I assumed that my sickness would just magically disappear after a certain point. It did not, and I feel bad for having to cancel, but I wish there was more I could have done about it, somehow. I'm a very awkward human. I'm also not used to dealing with sickness for prolonged periods of time, as you might be able to guess.

People have been inviting me to work on stuff with them: someone wants me to help them paint a mural, others are working on a writing project and they want me to be part of it, every now and then I get asked to help with charity events. I've been cast as a character in a video game that's in the works - just voice acting though, and I'm pretty sure I'm not getting paid, which is fine by me. Multiple art clubs are wanting to recruit me, and I have like five people trying to take me to their youth groups. People want me to go to Mexico with them over spring break, or go to Disneyland (I have to pay though), come with them to Hawaii (I also have to pay for that), or to apply to certain jobs that require me to actually move, or to take part in summer workshops. Also there's just like, parties that happen, because those exist, and I sometimes get invited to those. So much has been happening.

I also still have to find time to consume media like TV shows, movies, and new music, because that's how I find inspiration/motivation, and also I just need some me time every now and then. Again, I am just human. It always bothers me when I have to say no to helping out/doing things with friends, though. Like, it bothers me a lot. It pains me when I have to cancel or say no to an event, and I'm left thinking about it for ages, wondering why I can't do more. Sometimes I have to look back and realize exactly how much I'm doing already.

I've literally been spending so much time inside doing various things that whenever I take a walk outside, no matter the weather, I realize that it's almost like I've forgotten how it feels to breathe fresh air. Just taking time out of my day to walk around the neighborhood is pretty much a thing of the past, and it's just so weird. All of this is so weird. I've never had a year this filled with stuff while still simultaneously feeling like everything's cool. I guess I'm just so used to having this facade of coolness that I've finally fooled myself into remaining de-stressed even in the most stressful of situations.

Anyway, the other day I remembered how much effort I used to put into this blog. I've been putting that effort into other things, but maybe I should come back to this blog. As you can almost definitely tell, I've already reorganized this blog's theme for a potential new era. I don't even know what that era really is going to be, but I'll be here, thinking. I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here, thinking about you guys, and that I haven't been sitting around doing nothing.

Basically, things are looking up, but they're always looking up, aren't they? Maybe I'm just permanently optimistic about everything.

Anyway, I can link you to some of the things I've been doing:
-To see my art Tumblr, go here!
-I've also got a photography tumblr, which you can see here! (It's a little abandoned, but that's because I haven't taken any really good pictures lately. Most of the stuff on there is from when I went on trips, and I haven't really traveled at all since November.)
-To check out what I've been doing in my AP Art class, click here!
-To check out the Nosey Tumblr, go here (though I haven't posted on there in over a year, you can check it out)
-You can also, like, go to this website and buy my art on things!! It's crazy and I can't believe I forgot to mention it! Check it out, dude! I have to admit, the stuff on there is a little old, but I'll update it relatively soon.
-You might remember, I recommended you guys my personal tumblr while ago. "epicninjabowlerhatguy" was my username. But that Tumblr is no longer, so you can't find it anymore. Sorry, guys.

Anyway, that's what's been going on for me. I've been working on the post for what feels like ages. I'm sitting here with my window open (thinking about the fresh air made me want to breathe it, no matter how cold it is outside), streaming music on YouTube and wondering how best to continue with this.

A couple years ago, I seemed to gain this pretty big fanbase for someone so young. And I never truly thought very much about how it affected me. I know I would make posts praising you guys, the audience, and how much you'd changed my life, etc, but honestly, I was more focused on what I was doing rather than you guys. Which is understandable, but I didn't think about how good it was to have people look up to me. It was honestly a really good time in my life, and I think I'd like to get back into it. So look forward to an update! Because I'm probably going to start throwing some kind of content at you guys soon. And you better like it!! (I'm kidding, you can feel how you want about it, obviously.) At any rate, I want to work on one thing: communication between me and you guys. I don't really know exactly how I'm going to do that at this point, but I'll find a way. Something I've always thought would be a good way to help build the community would be to do livestreams. They'd be kind of like hangout sessions, where the fans (you guys) can live chat me while I'm doing things (those things probably being drawing art). It's a work in progress. Like everything is, at this point.

Writing a good conclusion is really difficult. I give up. Thanks for reading! Because honestly I'm not sure who is listening anymore. But that's okay. What happens happens. See you in the next post.

         ~Cassie

Well, then

In the past few months, I've thought about this blog, tried to come with a reason to revive it, and just couldn't think of anything.

Life happens in spurts, and it never lasts. I loved writing on this blog back in seventh and eighth grade, but that was a while ago. I'm, like, a junior now. I know I've written a lot more recently than in eighth grade, but I never felt the same as I did that one summer. You know which one.

My point here is that things come and go. I've been trying to focus on other things, because to be honest I'm not a great blogger. I also feel like blogs like this are starting to fall out of style, I dunno. I have nowhere to be taking this blog anymore.

I'm not deleting it, because I might have some epiphany and will need this blog later, but for now It's going on hiatus. Like, for a really long time.

It doesn't mean I'm turning away from my hobbies. It just means my hobbies have changed. And honestly, blogging isn't really for me anymore.

But I will tell you I'm working on some other stuff, mainly this comic series called Nosey the Skeleton. It's about a skeleton with a nose. Here's one of the first ones I did, if you want to check it out:

Yeah. Nosey has a Tumblr, http://noseytheskeleton.tumblr.com/, on which you can find almost all of the comics I've drawn, and can even send questions. It's pretty cool, I dunno.

So yeah, I think that's about it. I don't really have anything else to say.

Woods part 4

Glen walked through the forest. It was a very trying experience, because he had no flashlight. He couldn't see where he was going. The trees were so big they blocked out the moon and stars.

But it was also so quiet at night. He felt like every step he took shook the world with the noise of crunching leaves and scuffling dirt. If he just paused for a moment, he could appreciate the quiet better... Except it wasn't exactly silent. Even though there were no animals making noise, the wind was still, and everyone had gone to sleep, he could hear something, feel it with more than just his pointy ears, almost like...

He could hear the trees growing.

Weird. He never realized that before. He'd always spent so much time stumbling through the forest, during the day, listing to the static in his own head, he'd never bothered.

"Ay," said Horatio, from up the path, somewhere in the trees. "Keep it coming. He'll want to talk to you."

"Yes, yes, I'm on my way," said Glen, and he started walking again.

And then he stopped again as he realized that he hadn't stumbled a single step this entire way. He trips on the flat, even concrete of sidewalks; taking a walk in the forest was usually like a minefield.  But here, in the dark, it suddenly wasn't a big deal. This was very out of character, and it made him uncomfortable.

He heard a coo come from Horatio, which Glen chose to interpret as a sigh. "Look," said Horatio, "just follow us. Whatever confusion you're feeling now will be tripled in a minute. And then, you'll understand. Just get your ass in gear already, we haven't got all night. He leaves at dawn."

Glen almost asked, "Who?" but figured that for now it might be best to just keep walking.

After a bit he could hear some voices, which would have been odd, but at the rate things were going, it didn't actually surprise him that much. The muffled voices seemed to get closer as he walked, until he reached a clearing lighted only by a few handfuls of fireflies.

"OH, for the love of --" started someone, a familiar voice. "Finally, you're here."

It was Colin. Colin Peterson, the librarian. He was sitting, cross-legged, on a big rock on the edge of the clearing. Of all people to be in charge of this shindig.... "What do you want?" asked Glen. This guy was pretty weird. Colin could never stop talking about a subject once you mentioned it. He acted all huffy, like he thought he knew a lot more than he was letting on, and was very selfish about it. He had antlers coming out of his head, but that wasn't a new installment -- though what did strike Glen as odd was the fur covering his legs, along with hooves in place of feet. "Um--"

Colin rolled his eyes, sighing. "It's simple enough to hide a couple hairy legs, Glen. Especially when you have a job as dreary and boring as librarian."

"Oh... kay...." said Glen, thoroughly weirded out by now. "So, uh... Why... did you want me here?"

Small critters scuttled across Colin's rock, squeaking as they ran by. "I know, I know, why would I, a beautiful faun such as myself, even bother to call upon your dreary elfish being?"

Glen scowled. "I'm not even -- "

Colin chuckled. "I know what you are. But pitiful enough, you happened to help me and my fellow creatures catch a murderer yesterday. As much as it pains me to say, you actually did... a decent job. Though you probably don't remember it, and it's painful when you try to. Which would mean I did my job well, as always. But I knew you'd freak out about some of the side effects of such a memory wipe, so I had to talk to you about it. Simple answer: I'm magic. Everything touched by my magic takes a bit of the forest with them, and you, my friend, can now communicate with creatures of nature. Why, earlier today, you already made friends with the... lovely.... Horatio, over there."

"Like hell I'm lovely," came a screeching voice from the trees.

Glen just looked skeptically at Colin. "You're full of it, Colin."

"Ah, yes, but that is what makes me such a great ruler of this beautiful forest!"

"Mm-hmm. All one acre of it. 'Night, man," said Glen, turning around. "I'll see you tomorrow in the library."

"Wait! One more thing: You mustn't tell anyone about this meeting, or the wrong people could find me..."

"I have a feeling I'm one of those 'wrong people,' Colin," said Glen. "Also, why would I tell anyone about this meeting in the middle of the night I was told about by a talking bird, at which Colin the Librarian revealed he was the faun ruler of the tiny forest on the edge of town? Hah, it's not as if people don't already accuse me of being crazy every day. Or worse. Usually worse."

"A--" Colin couldn't even get a full syllable in before Glen interrupted.

"Goodnight, Mr. Librarian. I'll see you tomorrow, and then, if you really want to talk, we can do it then." With that, he turned back the way he came, and headed down the path.



Another installment complete! Sorry for the long wait, school started a couple weeks ago, and I had to get situated. I've only had a bit of time, here and there, to even think about writing. And now, I've finally gotten the time to do it. Been one heck of a ride while I was away, though. Maybe I'll write about it sometime. Who knows?

It's getting exciting, having the story advance like this. I have so many plans now, and it's just... Evil plots are going to take place, I can tell you that much. So hang onto your seats, kids, 'cause it's gonna be an adventure!

~Polar

Woods Part 3

Basil set his glass of water down on the counter. His counter. In his own apartment.

Glen had to be crazy. He had to be. Hah, but then, Basil would be crazy too, because he heard the bird speak himself.

He also knew all about the crazy outings Glen went on. He needed none of that crap, now more than ever. Basil had been to the hell they called jail. Honestly, it was hell. Maybe he was only there for a day, but he knew how to get his facts straight. He needed to test how serious Glen was about this thing.

And so far? All Basil had was a rushed explanation of a crazy story, and a deadline missed and unchallenged. Didn't seem too plausible right now.

But this was also unlike Glen as a whole. Where the frig was he? It was actually not up to his strict standards. Usually, he kept the crazy appointments he made. Basil could bet he'd already forgotten the whole thing. At least, he thought so...

But what if Glen believed all this crazy stuff? What would that make Basil? A friend who wouldn't listen? Oh, that would be rich, spinning him around to become the crappy friend.

Basil sighed. Naw, here's what he'd do: he'd wait until midnight. If Glen showed up, he'd listen. But if he didn't show up, he'd stomp right up to that loser's door and demand to see him.

But what if he wasn't even there?

Well, then, Basil thought, maybe he isn't crazy, if that happens. If he ain't found by morning, he thought, I'll just report his little "episode," and continue his investigations.

There was no question about it: they were both insane.



Here's a short part three! Get ready for part four! Guess whose point of view we'll be seeing from next.....

In the next installment! Heheh.

~Polar

Woods Part 2

Glen sat on the porch steps. He wasn't old enough to live on his own quite yet, but he sure as heck didn't want to live with his parents anymore, so he lived with his sister instead.

It had been hours since he'd talked to Basil, and he knew that his shift ran late sometimes, but never quite this late. This was actually quite ridiculous. Basil must be avoiding him.

Glen stroked the bird sitting in his lap. It cooed affectionately. He frowned as he realized that he'd only met the bird earlier that day. Why was it taking to him so quickly? He wasn't being particularly nice to it. Then again, he wasn't being particularly mean to it, either. He suspected that may be part of why it stuck around him.

Maybe he should just go to the bookstore, see if Basil even left yet. Maybe he had specifically stayed longer to avoid meeting up with him. Whatever the case, it was probably a good idea to head over there and figure it out.

He was just considering to muster up the courage to stand when he heard a creak behind him and a voice said, "Glen." Panicked, he shooed the bird out of his lap, trying to make it look like an unwanted crow had just landed there. He tried to whisper sorry, but Horatio was a fast flier. He worried that the bird might not return, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment.

"Are you doing okay?" asked his sister. She came and sat next to him on the steps, looking at him for a minute before gazing lazily out toward the red sky. "Never mind," she said. They just sat there for a moment, Glen being very confused about why she was out here, when she interrupted the silence again: "Glen."

"What?" he asked. "What is so important you can't figure out how to say it?"

"Why did you take the day off work today? I was worried when you weren't in the house when I woke up, and when I stopped by to ask you about it, they said you'd come in late to call in sick. What's up with that?"

"Uh..." said Glen. "I had sort of a strange night."

His sister sighed, red hair floofing in the breeze her breath created. "I swear, Glen, if you..."

"Golly, what kind of a person do you take me for? One mistake and I never hear the end of it!"

There was the flapping of wings as the bird fluttered back and settled on Glen's shoulder. His sister looked at it with a hint of disgust. "You... seem awfully calm... for having such a thing on your shoulder, Glen."

"Hm?" he said, then realized that Horatio was on his shoulder. "OH! Um..." He didn't really know what to do. "Well, uh..."

"'Bluh- bla, uh, um' -- holy hell, boy, you stutter quite a lot!" shouted the bird. It turned to look at Glen's sister. "Why, hello, I almost didn't see you there. This guy's hair takes up half the planet. And what, might I ask, is your name?"

Glen's sister gasped, her face turning red. "What IS this?"she shouted. She stood up quickly, pressing her body against one of the posts that the held up the roof of the porch. She seemed genuinely freaked out now.

Glen hurriedly scooped up Horatio, mumbled about going to Basil's, and ran down the street.

Should he have run like that? Surely, his sister would be worried sick for his, or worse, her own, health. Birds don't talk. They just don't. What would his sister think of him now? What would he do tomorrow? How could he deal with this mess he was digging himself into?

"What the hell was that?" asked Horatio, sounding genuinely offended by how Glen had taken off. "Why would she react that way? How impolite of both of you!" He began flapping his wings, but he was under Glen's jacket again and wasn't getting anywhere.

Glen stopped running, and pulled Horatio out of his coat. "Listen!" he said. "Birds don't talk! You speaking to people makes them question reality! It makes them feel unsafe! And nobody likes feeling unsafe!"

"You wanna know somethin', punk? People didn't used to talk either. Least, I never understood them walking pink fleshy things. Until this morning. Friggin' everyone talks now. What the hell. You think I don't understand them scaredycats? Nah. They just don't understand me." With a nod, he climbed back into Glen's jacket.

"Huh. Strange things are happening everywhere, I suppose," said Glen, unsure of what else to say. "Maybe we should go talk to Basil and get at least some of this sorted out."

"Maybe we should," pouted Horatio from somewhere in the cozy comfort of Glen's coat.

"Fine then," said Glen, walking again, "that's exactly what we'll do."

But he was stopped as a tiny chipmunk ran in front of his feet. It wasn't clear how he interpreted it, but he figured out that it was trying to get his attention.

"Excuse me," squeaked the tiny little thing. "You wouldn't by any chance be Glen, would you?"

"Well, er," stuttered Glen. "Yes, I suppose I am. Who, if I may wonder, is asking?'

"Never mind who," chittered the chipmunk. "You're wanted in the forest."





Part 2, complete! Woodland creatures are cute, adorable, and have great character, don't they?

Anyway, I hope you're liking it so far. I'm having a ton of fun with it. There's a lot more room for character diversity and I can have them do literally anything. Freedom is fun.

That's it, I guess. My main point was to post this.

But hey, if you want, you could check out this art blog my sister and I made on Tumblr: cataastrpohe-gaa.tumblr.com. That's a thing I've been spending time working on. Also, for little over a week, I was staying in the mountains where there was terrible internet connection. It was really hard to type anything up. So I just waited to finish this until I got back. And now, I'm back! Yippee!


~Polar

Woods part 1

Glen hurried across the sidewalk, trying to avoid the other people walking by. They were going about their business, and he wanted them to keep it that way.

He was coming from the Auto Shop, where he worked daily. Though today was his day off, he had still stopped by. He needed to be there, even if he wasn’t working. A bird had flown in an open window and ran into one of the walls. He didn’t even know why the window was open, it was really pretty chilly outside. He wasted a moment wondering who would’ve opened it in this weather, but then was awakened by the sound of a car honking its horn as it drove past him, pulling him out of his daze.

Standing on the curb, he poked his head up, out of the crowd.

He sighed, running his hand through his poofy hair. He liked it that way. The way it stuck up in the air accentuated his pointy ears just enough to make him look dangerous. And that was the part he thought was cool.

Well, Glen thought. It might be best to head across the street. The building he was looking at was the quirkiest bookstore he’d ever seen: the moment you set foot in it, you were swallowed in the massive collections. Books spewed from every nook and cranny. But the place had an overall dark look to it, giving it a haunted feel. Only the really cool kids hung there. That and really creepy old dudes.

Instead of just standing there imagining walking into the store, he dashed across the street. A bell rang as he opened the door and walked in. The strange thing about it was how dark the place was -- it really was just one room, with shelves placed so that it’d feel more like walking down a winding corridor than across a room -- the large windows on the left wall spewed light but none of it made it to the books. Glen stepped forward, only a couple strides to the desk. As usual, no one was there. But there was a bell on the desk, which Glen bopped with his hand, and he stood there, waiting.

A cooing noise came from under his jacket. “Shh,” he said, patting the slight bulge. “Soon, you’ll be able to come out. But not yet. So be quiet, please. Or we’ll both be in big trouble.” A small peep, and then silence.

He knew it would be a few minutes until Basil  would arrive. Bookworms have a tendency to take their time. So Glen’s thoughts wandered.

He wondered if he could fix everything.

He remembered how he’d taken a walk yesterday morning, through the small woods on the edge of town. It was nice to walk through a place like that, pretend there were no deadlines. Live like time didn’t exist. But this walk was different.

He remembered the strange tracks, following them. He remembered someone in the woods he didn’t recognize, though he never saw their face -- yelling, then screaming. Screaming at him to leave the forest. But why? That had been his question. He remembered the yelling getting louder, him asking the person to relax -- but then what happened? Glen remembered darkness -- but not complete darkness. Incomplete darkness. For how long, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t know if there was something that happened after it, either, or if that was it...

But after the darkness he remembered the sun setting. And the bird. The same bird that now hid in his jacket. After that he’d called his boss, told him he couldn’t make it to work the next day. He needed to sort some things out.

But he’d forgotten something at the Auto Shop, his first aide kit. And he needed it if he was going to fix his scratched body, along with the bird’s hurt wing. That was why it needed a place to stay -- but someone had left the stupid window open, and another bird had flown in, totally freaking out the hurt one and causing it to try to fly away, which just strained its injuries, and -- sigh. It was just all very stressful.

He didn’t know why exactly he felt that he had to keep it secret, or why he told himself and the bird they’d get in trouble if they were caught. Caught by whom? Who would be searching for them? The strange person?

All Glen knew was that he saw something he wasn’t supposed to and now he needed to talk it through with somebody. And that somebody just happened to be --

“Well, what a friggin’ surprise,” came a familiar voice, followed by footsteps, which were followed by a face emerging from around the corner. With a head that was kind of squarish and a body like a rectangle, small eyes and a face that seems to tell the truth, you’d think Basil would be the quiet, respectful type; but he was practically the opposite.

“Before we get any farther, I wanna remind you that--” started Glen, but he was interrupted by Basil.

“You don’t approve of me swearing. How many times have we gone over that lame conversation? Look, ‘friggin’’ isn’t even a swear word, technically, but for your sake, I’ll change the rules to be as strict as my freaking grandma. Seriously, for a dude as chill and goth-lookin’ as you, you’re pretty uptight about a lot of stuff. Can we just get on with why ya dragged me outta one of the best books in the world?”

“Well,” started Glen, “this might not be the absolute best place to be talking about this, but there’s really nowhere else to go...”

“You get arrested again?”

Glen frowned. “No, of course not. I’ve only ever been arrested once, Basil, and you know it was a misunderstanding.”

“Yeah, a misunderstanding concerning a convenience store and some beer. Honestly, I don’t understand what’s up with you sometimes, you’re okay with stealing but not the f-bomb?”

“Shut up,” said Glen. “Look, I came here for some help. If you don’t wanna, you don’t have to. But at least let me tell the story first.”

“Who’s sayin’ you can’t tell the story? Just get started already! Geez!”

“Okay, fine, Mr, Impatient. It happened yesterday morning. Something so serious I only remember parts of it.”

“What is this about? Drugs? Debts owed? What’s so dangerous? You need me to talk to Nike again? ‘Cause I explicitly told her, I did, if she ever messed with -- “

“Just be quiet and lemme get started,” hissed Glen. “So I went --” But he was interrupted again, this time by the bird. It squawked loudly and flew out from under his jacket so suddenly that it seemed the bird had startled even itself, and it ran straight into the window to the left with a muffled thunk.

“Ow,” came a small, strange, voice.

Glen started sweating plenty. “Shhhh!” he hissed. “Be quiet!” He turned to explain the situation to Basil, who was obviously in shock.

“It... talks?” Basil said. “But what? How...?”

“I was getting to that part,” said Glen, crouching down to pick up the injured bird, “but no one would let me get that far.” The small, black creature hopped up Glen’s arm onto his shoulder.

“But,” said Basil, “it can talk.”

“You bet your ass I can,” sneered the bird.

“Hey,” Glen complained, “were you even listening to our conversation?”

“Not even in the slightest,” sniffed the bird. “I was too busy suffocating to death. I eventually got enough of it.”

“Fine,” said Glen. “Whatever. Can I get started with my story yet?”

“Yes,” said both the bird and Basil at the same time, in very bored tones. It didn’t feel very fitting, because for Glen the past day and a half had been very exciting, but for all Basil knew, this was just another shenanigan in the life of the troublemaker elf-man Glen. But it was different this time. He felt it.

“Wellll,” began Glen, for the third time, “it happened yesterday morning. I was taking a calming morning walk in the woods --” Glen was interrupted by a pfft from Basil -- “when all of a sudden I noticed something. Or really, someone. Someone new that I’d never seen before.” This got Basil’s attention. Glen really got around, socially. He knew everyone in town. It actually wasn’t very hard, because it was one of those towns that hardly ever got visitors. For him to not recognize someone meant that an unknown being had snuck into town without anyone noticing, which was quite a challenge, because there was only one road leading into town, one that ended in the center of the town, and the woods were on the farthest outskirts.

All of this information thought through within a fraction of a second, Glen continued with his story. “They were yelling about something, then noticed I was there, and directed their shouting at me. ‘Just walk away,’ they were saying. ‘Walk away and forget I was ever here.’ I asked them to calm down, because, you know, this was totally an un-chill situation, and they started screaming at me. ‘No, don’t take a picture.’ ‘Please just leave me alone.’ But you know, louder.”

Basil sat in the quiet for half a second before asking, “so what the hell happened next, man? You can’t leave off on such a cliffhanger.”

Glen scowled at the use of language, but answered the question anyway. “I don’t know, not really. It gets fuzzy after that. I do remember a lot of darkness. But it wasn’t complete darkness, not like I’d been swallowed by something. it was more like there was something behind it, trying to get in. Like I’d been covered in a veil and no one could find the edge to get me out. After that... I remember opening my eyes, and the sun was setting, and this bird--” he gestured to his shoulder -- “was lying on the ground next to me. It asked me to help it.

“But now,” he continued, “it occurs to me that I didn’t even ask you for your name.”

“Horatio,” replied the small bird, peering through its black, beady eyes.

“Well, then, Horatio,” said Glen, “Basil--“ he nodded at Basil -- “I think it’s time to figure this whole thing out.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Basil. “We’re going into the woods, of course. Where the possible murderer was last seen. Just wait for my shift to end, I’d gladly die with you.”

“Sweet,” said Glen. “See you in a few hours, then.”

“Yup,” replied Basil. “See you.

Glen turned and walked out of the store, wondering what would happen next. Would the strange person still be there? Would there be evidence they ever were? What were they planning?

Well, thought Glen. I guess we’ll see in a few hours.

This is a new story I've been working on! I've been taking my sweet time with this one, and I feel like the characters are better developed in this thing than The Super. Plus, the Super never really had a plot to begin with, and it just kind of wandered. Which sucked. So I'm trying out a new story with an actual plot idea this time, and we'll see how it goes. I like where it's going s far.

   ~Polar

Why, Thank You

So you remember my ranting post about the Wii remotes? Of course you do. If you haven't read it, there's an easy solution to that. It's the last post I wrote. Move your mouse to the right hand side and it should be there. Unless you're on mobile; then I don't know where the heck the archive's located.

Well, it was really just me freaking out about losing yet another part of my childhood to the swirling vortex that time creates, but someone took it quite seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they sent me a BRAND NEW Wii remote in the mail! I just received it today. It's new and black and has Wii Motion Plus BUILT IN and did I mention that it's freakin' new? I haven't held a brand new remote in eight years. It's pretty awesome.

Now, I don't know who sent it to me. There are many people I suspect, but rather than send out messages to every single candidate, I figured it would be more efficient to thank them here, since they obviously read my blog so carefully. They can then reveal themselves if they feel like, or they may feel it better to leave themselves anonymous, which is fine. Either way rocks. Which makes me writing this thank you here so awesome: no privacy violated.

So, to whoever sent me the Wii remote: THANK YOU!! I know that the specific kind of remote you sent me was not cheap, so it makes it super AWESOME that you did such a thing for such a strange and random individual on the internet! I'm really happy about it, if you can't tell!

You're probably someone that I actually know personally, and if you read this and want to say hi I'll gladly thank you in person.


That's all I'm really writing about. This entire post is a thank you letter.


Thanks again!

 ~ Polar