I'm BACK, baby!!

Hey all! I have some awesome news! I'm sure my internet viewers probably haven't noticed (heck I'm pretty sure most of my real-world friends haven't noticed), but I've made it through a rough patch!! Yheaay! =^^=
I'm feeling more Rahel then I have been in a while. =)
I've been battling depression lately. It probably mostly has to do with not getting enough sunlight. It turns out I actually need to absorb vitamin D through my skin to retain my soul. Who knew? In all seriousness, it does make sense. The sun is our largest energy source and I kind of need it to recharge my happiness.
Also, my friends convinced me to hang out in the park with them after school, and I actually enjoyed it!! ...Weird. I take it I'm beginning to need more human interaction? I felt warning signs when I realized that there were now two humans besides my family that I would literally die for. Despite this, I plunged on. I knew the risks. I knew that I'd probably get my heart broken a couple times. The truth is, I've already had my heart broken. Many times. Take the Harry Potter series for example. I cried so much when EVERY ONE of my favorite characters DIED without proper goodbyes. (I miss you guys so much!! Now I have to visit you on fanfiction.net. [and man. Sorting through all the MarySues and other crudd is hard work. =P] )
Anyhoo, not only do I think that I can withstand the pain of having people close to me (and thus having to witness all their pains), I was getting kinda weird toward the end there. I craved friendship. And now I have it! And I'm addicted.
...It's kinda like the spice. It started out like, dude, I can perceive the future now?? Sweet. Oh wait. I can't leave the planet? Darn. Ah well, at least I have my ARMY of religion-deluded sandpeople! Oh, and chicks. Lotsa chicks. Then two years 'll pass and I'll be the direct cause of a very bloody jihad! ...Yeah, that sounds cool.
Next thing I know, I'll be some kinda potato-thing with flippers floating in a foggy tank!!
OR. WAIT. I know. I'll get my DAD to do all that stuff, then I can be Leto II and have my blood infused with spice so that I get a crazy sandworm body!! YEEAAAAHHH. =D

...I'll go ask Dad.

A RAT'S VIEW!!

I did it!! Check it out.
http://aratsview.blogspot.com/
The news will never be quite the same again. =D

The Whipping of the Rogue

Hey all! I just wrote the first very short chapter to a story I thought of starting today! It's set in the D&D world, and it features a rogue as the main character. Tell me what you think. =^^=

PS!! I originally wrote the story in the present-tense, but I couldn't keep it up for long. It was really cool though!! It had a Twilight Zone kind of ring to it...

_______________________

Chapter One

In which we are introduced to our protagonist.

The crack of a whip rang through the biting spring air, followed by a low moan. A man of about 20 knelt in the half frozen mud, his thin wrists secured in the wooden stocks. He gritted his teeth this time, his eyelids squeezed tightly shut, as he felt the whip lash across his cold back. Blood welled, beginning to stream down lean flesh. Four more followed, each more agonizing then the last. Then it stopped and he was unshackled and hauled up. The guards handed him his shirt, cloak, and light leather armor. His wounds smarted at the air, though he didn’t dare put on his clothing just yet. Every movement caused his wounds to twinge horribly and stretch and bleed even more. Before he could quite get his balance, he was pushed aside and forced to walk away down the road, each step jarring his ragged flesh, tears welling unbidden and unwanted, threatening to drown his vision. With no one to help him, he sat down near the bottom of a mossy wall to patch himself up. He reminisced at having no herbs with which to heal himself as he clumsily tied bandages around his torso. Stealing some flitted briefly into his mind, but the idea was almost immediately pushed away. Stealing was what got himself into this mess in the first place, and he wasn’t in any shape to get away with it anyway. Besides, he didn’t like stealing herbs. Sure, he was fine with pickpocketing people in the marketplace who looked like they could afford it (They were asking for it anyway, dressing like that), but stealing someones medicine bordered on very different territory. So he cleaned himself up as much as he could, donned his clothing, and moved to find a relatively sheltered area where he laid down, wincing at the pain of movement. “I guess one never really gets used to being whipped. I'll have to find a healer in the morning. If I make it. At least they didn’t throw offal this time.” He had a moment to think gratefully before he closed his eyes and exhaustion took hold.

_______________________

Ehh? What did you think? I really like it, though I'm not that great with dialogue tags yet. I'm gettin there though! =D

ALSO, I'm not really quite sure what they'd do about turning him loose. Just shoving him back onto the streets seems kinda silly, although this is the middle ages and I'm sure they didn't have very much time to dally in the 'proper' punishment of thieves. That being said, getting wounds was a potential death-sentence in those days (what with their lack of sanitation), so maybe it would be more efficient to just kill wrongdoers? Then they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of finding the bodies and disposing of them before they became major health-hazards. ...Meih. I guess it doesn't really matter that much. Just so long as it kinda sticks with what we know of the Medieval times, and works with the story, it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, D&D isn't even true to our records of the Middle Ages, so what the heck am I so worried about? XD

I hope you enjoyed this!! =}

-Rahel Sewell

Some Freaky, Awesome, Awful Poetry

This is what happens to me in windstorms....


I think too much honey.
I'm pretty sure my mind is blown.
My brain feels kinda runny
Especially when I'm all alone.

In the darkness I do tinker
With springs and levers and spidery, ghostly things.
In the darkness I'm a thinker.
A Daedalus with clockwork wings.

Please don't think me a sham,
A spinner of inventions wild and untrue.
If you just looked behind as you ran,
I'm sure you would catch a glimpse of the real you.
----------------------------
Lurking in the darkness
Beneath your bathroom sink
There lives something cold, blind, and heartless-
Just dying for a drink.

If you were to give him your eyes my dear, then he would surely see.
If you were to give him your blood my dear, then he would surely be.
With a rasp then a breath, He'd be up and abreast.
But give him your heart dear; Your birth and your name.
Give him your life and you'll never be the same.
---------------------------
My bouts of passing inspiration
Never quite give me their name.
They flicker and wink, a vague illustration;
Like deadlights or a flame.

The Art of Being in Two Places at Once

There is a certain magic in hanging halfway out of windows.
There being few opportunities to lie stretched across the threshold of two worlds, I seize them whenever possible. Right now, my laptop is resting on a table outside, I have my feet on the couch inside, and my torso is resting against the sill. Inside is so warm and comfortable, cozy and still. Yet the cool outside breezes and currents are so alluring, I just can't help but be caught up in it's sweetness. This is just the place for someone like me.

I have always had an affinity for gateways.

Of Fluffy Bunnies and Mental Scarring

Hey people! I'm sorry I haven't been posting as often lately!! I'm trying, really I am. There just hasn't really been much new with the Rats of Mommika (go here and here if you missed the posts!), no household appliances have been in extreme need of exorcism, and I've been getting further into D&D and schoolwork. (I'm DM! And I'm kinda, sorta, maybe, learning more stuff. For those of you interested, the dandwiki has helped me tremendously. =^^=)
Anyway, here's the post that you may or may not have been waiting for....


Yesterday, I was browsing through images to put on the front of my new Homemade!DM Screen. As I browsed, I saw this picture.

I thought that it was one of the funnier things I'd seen, so I saved it to my Desktop. When I took a second look at the picture though, something stirred deep within me. I even got a visual of a monster rising from a heap of ash, the grey pools shifting and moving, giving way to something clearer and definitely more sinister. (Maladaptive Daydreaming for-the-win!! =D) ....I'm guessing I got it from the original Dune movie, but i can't be sure. Anyway, I instantly felt sad and strangely wistful. The feeling stayed as I looked at it (instead of skittering away like most strange remembrances do).
I showed the picture to my Dad, and he said that it was from Watership Down. My awesome friend had come over last year, and told me about this book. It sounded very sad, bloody, and interesting, so (of course) I remembered it.
Funny how all these little things are connected.

It turns out that my Mom rented Watership Down for me when I was around 4. She thought that it was a children's story about cute fluffy bunnies.... Hah.
She got the cute fluffy bunny part, but failed to realize that it wasn't exactly suited for children. I looked on youtube for the trailer, and oh man. I totally remember this. THIS explains my wariness of rabbits... Well, that and watching that part with the Killer Rabbit from 'Monty Python's King Arthur and the Holy Grail.' (Also showed to me by my Mom. Correlation? Maybe. XD) ...OH YEAH. And having a really-scary-once-feral-pet-rabbit-with-really-sharp-teeth running around my yard for years.... We named him Max. ...After Max Shrek. He belonged to our neighbors before he escaped. Over and over again. We caught him and gave him back each time, but after a while they decided that he was safer with us, so we kept him. Our neighbors raised him with cats, so he liked to eat cat food. He'd also play with our cats. He was really sweet and gentle... Before he hit puberty.
PARENTS. You think that your teenager is bad? Try taking care of one that literally runs up to you and BITES on to your pants-leg and shakes their head like a bull-dog. (SEE? SEE?? THIS is one reason I ALWAYS wear denim jeans thought ALL SEASONS. So nyeh!)
Anyhoo, after about a year, he mellowed out. ....Kinda. He was still a bit strange in the head... And I wouldn't turn my back on him for a millisecond. He died several years ago, and I haven't seen him since.
OoHh! Really scary mental image of a Zombie Bunny there...
Zombunny wants braaains......

^       ^

|  |  |  |

\O _ X /

[|]

U        U

‘ ‘ ‘    ‘ ‘ ‘

           x          P

U       U

......Back to the Watership Down thread!
*Ahem.* Yes. Well. I researched a bit, and found that there is such a thing as Bunnies and Burrows (hehe. B&B), and it was based off Watership Down...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunnies_%26_Burrows
I even found a character sheet! =^.~
ALSO, this dude wrote a post on the game! =D
http://apaladinincitadel.blogspot.com/2011/05/bunnies-burrows-rpg.html
Thanks dude! =^^=

Phew! I guess that's about it... Losing ranting-steam.
... Ooo. Steampunk-Ranting-Rahel....
Aw darn.
That silly point is hitting again. When I get tired, I pass through different stages and mood-swings. This is when my humor takes a turn for the worst.... er. Ish. Ness. Okay, I'm gonna publish this and be done with it. BEFORE IT GETS SERIOUS. O_O
Goodnight! o^^o

Dice Gauntlet

I just have to say....
NO. CRAPPIN. WAY.


http://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/333

.... I NEED to make this.

Pie-VS-Marshmallows

I shuffled through the kitchen today, my eyes alighting on the dish that had contained a piece of brownie just minuets before. Stress on had. Someone *coughalenacough* had eaten most of it yesterday, and Mom had just finished it off. I rolled my eyes and continued my journey through the kitchen. It being extremely small, I soon reached the end and turned to sweep my gaze over said room, searching for anything chocolaty and/or loaded with coffee to score before shuffling back to the couch to finish my schoolwork on my laptop. Seeing nothing very appealing that no one would miss, I gave up and began to head back to the couch (OF ACADEMIC DOOM). However, before I quite reached the doorway to the living room, something caught my eye. A BAG OF MARSHMALLOWS. Score. I hastily squatted down to regard my find. When it didn't scream of attempt to run away, I reached out a tentative hand to grasp my prize. I opened the bag to find that the marshmallows it contained were- STALE.
"Yesss." I thought with satisfaction. This day was turning out to be quite nice. As I popped one of the small puffy cylinders of sugary greatness in my mouth and sealed and replaced the bag, I went over the merits of a stale marshmallow and how it compared to, say, pie. In an instant, the information was laid out in front of me in my mind's eye and I came up with a very interesting conclusion. With the process I used to reach said conclusion in mind, I hurried to the couch, brought up the Getit program on my laptop, and typed out my findings. They are (haphazardly) as  follows:



hypothesis:
stale marshmallows>pie.
______________________________
TEST

pie=pie in whatever form.
stale marshmallows must be STALE to be stale marshmallows.

one can make pi jokes with pie (or vice-a-versa)
one can't really make many Ghostbusters jokes with STALE marshmallows.
_____________________________

hypothesis=FALSE

PIE REIGNS. O_O


I think that the results are conclusive.

PS!!
I just realized.... When I was about 5, I drew up diagrams in a little notebook on how to make marshmallow pies..... I think I'm on to something here. O.O
*Patent*

School

Hey all! As you may have noticed, I have been doing more school lately! I have become inspired to work on it more often (researching Japan and North Korea will do that) and think I love it. Unfortunately, most of my posts nowadays are more centered on funny short reports and teenage angst. Yay. Just please know that it may be a good thing that nothing crazy is happening at the moment that needs to be recounted in this blog. Apart from the rat colonies living here, we haven't had anything crazy going on with the house, we're more or less financially stable, and we're pretty happy.


................... THE SILENCE IS KILLING ME.
I kind of need some kind of creative outlet right now and I'm saving the good writing stuff for school. Oh well. Something awesome will happen soon. I'll also make another Rat's Weekly post pretty soon here! In the meantime, you must be appeased with funny short reports.
Like this one....

"21. Have you ever thought about the way hair has grown to become a personal expression of the wearer? Write about hair. Write one paragraph in which you compare your own hair to that of someone else you know from history, from the news, or from your life. What do the differences tell you? Do you think your hair is typical for someone of your age and lifestyle? Do you care? How many times have you thought about your hair?


'I have thought about a person's hair as artistic expression. In our society, hair is one of the many things we relate to a person, so one must be careful how one presents it.

My hair is short and unruly. It frizzes out in odd places, and goes into waves in any long parts. It's also thin, so I can't really pull off a fro. This, mixed with my tendency to wear hoods and my strange behavioral patterns, must give people the first impression of a muppet when they meet me.
Contrast this with my sister's hair. Her hair is slightly thicker and, while wavy, doesn't frizz out in odd directions. She also brushes and dries it regularly. I think that these differences tell more about me then my hair's genetic traits. I can't be bothered to dry my hair properly, I hide in my hood when I'm nervous or when the Sun is too bright, I keep it short because it increases my peripheral vision and because it won't get caught in trees, and I can pull of the 'road-kid' look. I'm not sure if this is typical in people my age and gender, and I don't really care, just as long as it works for me. I am usually not in the habit of thinking of my hair too often.'"

Weird question, no? Strangely enough, I have just gained some insight as to how others view me... O.o



PS!! I have found when I type start to type 's' into the 'labels' box, I come up with this drop-down list.

samurai
sandworm
school
screenshots
sick
sick humor
Silver
sister
slash
smurfs

I can actually feel my awesomeness increasing... XD
I should see if I can get a word cloud on here...