Into the Unknown

Mira / Lorei (whichever rings nicer). Amateur artist & writer... And also a pun enthusiast, a perpetually tired undergrad maths student, a spoonie, and I'm not sure what else. Probably something else also.

He who herds the dandelion seeds, the noble steed of fae. His voice shattering the early hours of the day, he -- the shadow at your beck and call... provided that a price is paid.*

*- cheese slices are an acceptable form of currency. Just remember not to get yourself lured into a mushroom circle, hm?

Designs inspired by my lovely friend @my-day6 and her wonderful corgo, @pippin-rally-corg >:3 I'm overjoyed to hear that you liked the trinkets from me 😭💖

You know, there is a bit of whimsy in making merch of your own characters. It feels like, hm... A cherry on top? A cherry on top. I know I will get those printed for myself when I have all the designs ready for a bulk order.

You know, I used to think that I was decent at writing sad stories. It used to be cathartic in a way and all my sadness would evaporate once put into words... Well, no longer. Things changed after I got sick.

How do I even say it? My feelings are lead-heavy when I try to lift them to my lips, but feather-light when I sit with them or push them aside. Sadness doesn't seem as sad, pain doesn't hurt all that much, and all in all, it isn't a bad state to be in.

The weather is so beautiful. The spring has come again and as simple as that is, I am so grateful for it. I am grateful for the days getting longer and for the sun shining bright, for the snow melting and soaking into the ground. I am grateful for the half-frozen warmth and...

Sometimes, late at night, I think back to the time I spent at my previous uni... And I realise that, involuntarily, I am often a humble walking rage bait.

For the word of introduction, my previous university is a prestigious institution with a long, long history to boot. Perhaps some of the professors teaching there are just as ancient. Apparently, some people dream about studying there, but I did not. What is more, I believe it was generally not that different from the unis my former classmates went to? Not on any particularly meaningful level.

Ester trading card design >:)

You know, at times I envy the writing skill of other people. The imagery they build, the eloquence with which they describe even the smallest of gestures, the complex trails of references they scatter between the lines... It is so beautiful in my eyes that I wish I also could achieve it.

I try my hardest to learn and to hone my craft. However, in this particular case, I never seem to reach exactly that. Surely, I improve, but the effect I arrive at is different. What is even more interesting is that, well, I don't exactly mind it much?

It never ceases to surprise me that what my culture considers to be polite often earns me a headache online. Hmm... Curious, curious.

Over here we consider directness to be a sign of respect. We expect people to be able to hear things and process them. After all, if you ask a question, you have to be ready to hear the answer. Who would be to blame if you didn't like it? To us, it is generally a non-issue. Other people aren't there for you to enjoy.

To make matters interesting, however, there is a category of people that you are socially permitted to be indirect with... Yet I'd wager the guess that you wouldn't want to be included among them. It is the childish, unpredictable people, the ones who have an extremely short fuse, blow up over any small thing, cause scenes in public, act unreasonably, and generally, are a real pain in the ass to deal with.

There is something really curious about the various ways in which people create and manage their characters. Some prefer to plan ahead, to hammer out every detail before fully immersing themselves into their work... And in all honesty, that is rather hard to imagine for me?

I often find that the best way to "get to know" my character is to write them. I generally have some plan, I know what the end point is... But how do they get there? How do they react? That is to be found out in the moment, as it happens through the words. In that vein, writing those short stories I've been posting has been a really neat exercise :D