Ayshela

Thank you, Tzim, for so elegantly including Melinda in the storyline when I got hijacked by Real Life. I appreciate that more than I can say!

i swear i'm still here! not putting words together coherently atm, due to a spate of bad news, but i will get a post in before this phase is over, i promise! *Ayshela ducks flying tomatoes, frying pans, and a random old shoe*

Melinda is in her late teens, a pretty blonde who's sharp enough to take full advantage of the "dumb blonde" stereotype. The daughter of one of the wealthy financial backers of the vault, she treads the very edge of spoiled-brat, though she's careful to never make anyone TOO angry. While bored with the confinement of the vault, and curious about what might be outside, she recognizes the advantages of a closed and controlled society where people can't just leave to escape someone who knows just that much too much about them.

comments in bold: Weary are the the hands that hold the loftly (lofty?) one's (plural or possessive? i don't think you need the apostrophe here.) so high and bold... To lift you up so far and high Think not upon the one's (apostrophe again, this is plural?) that die... Keep standing tall, since all you see Are lovely happy tragidies... (tragedies) (I love the conflict here - lovely happy tragedies. nicely done) And shattered hearts, sank (sunk?) in the ground Will never reach, or make you frown... thought provoking. i like this.

sweet! i'm just back in the door with the kids and dead from the neck up and the shoulders down, but i'll pop back in tomor... (wait, it's after midnight now, isn't it?) Sunday afternoon with a character, k?

Ayshela looked about at the scorched tables and assorted bits of wreckage about the room and smiled. "Really," she murmured to herself, "not bad at all for a Pen event!" Chuckling softly, she disappeared for a moment, only to reappear with her favourite broom. Beginning where Mynx had already wiped down the tables, Ayshela joined in the clean up efforts.

hrmmmmm.. too late to sign up? i see a game thread has already begun, but kid stuff has kept me entangled this week.

Ayshela drags herself back from where thought has drifted. She rises and adds her voice in toast to the Pen, sends whispered thanks to Cyril knowing he would hear, and turns to look for Mira to give proper congratulations for a job very well done.

"car spangled streets" is absolutely brilliant, and i'm glad and relieved that you've left that unchanged. "bulletproof eyes" - i find myself wondering whether you mean the safety glass of vehicles or of buildings, or the determined avoidance of pedestrians? "the startling serpent hiss of bus brakes." - nicely illustrated, i can hear them as i read this. "yet unable to exhale, cold, stale streams of alcohol-tinged breath" - in either this or the previous version, the "who" or "what" is left unclear, along with the "why" for the inability. The first and last stanzas are pretty clear, but the middle leaves me going "hunh?" You've so much really good stuff packed in here, it's a shame to leave it clouded by confusion.

wonderful piece, and so very glad to see you writing again! one thing that caught my proofreader's eye and stopped me dead in my tracks: is that "prances" or "paces"? in context i'd *guess* "prances" - but that's an assumption, and assumptions are unsafe at best. honestly, it could be either, and which it is would really alter the meaning.

included everything but the most pertinent details there, Vlad - was it edible, and did you survive the experience?

Done the run over by a van at freeway speeds, and it's mostly a lingering pain in the keester (and other locations). OTOH, as insistently straight as my hair is, perhaps if i survived a lightning strike i wouldn't have to worry about every curling my hair again? };> Seriously, honestly, there's some kind of draw to "surviving an elemental assault" that just seems cooler than getting hit by a car and surviving it.

Ayshela scurried through the Cabaret, intent on finishing the last of the end-of-school-year activities that involved her charges. Hearing the word "Books" she came to a screeching halt, sliding several feet as she swung around. All other thought having fled her mind, she read the notice and, with a broad smile, signed with a flourish. BOOKS! I am SO there! =) Sounds like tons of fun!

Hey, Western! You'd be close enough we could harass you on a regular basis, right? Though i'm not sure if that qualifies as incentive, or deterrent... *snicker*

To all the fathers, to all the daddies, to those who've biological children, to those who've adopted children legally or in their hearts, to those who raise children day in and day out, to those who are role models and reliable sources of comfort and love when turned to - to all those of you who spend your coin of love freely - Happy Father's Day. May you spend it as you wish, surrounded by the warmth of those who love you.

I think, by this time, most if not all of the end-of-year hysteria should be over and our graduates should be into party phase and collapsing under the *lack* of responsibility related to school, for a bit! Congratulations. The end of thirteen years of hard work ushers in the next phase of your life. May you take a moment to look back, to thank those who helped you get this far, to really realize all that you've accomplished - and turn and look forward with confidence. Congratulations! *huge hugs*

oooooooooh! Xaious, being master of time and all, can certainly bring us back a few days to wish him a happy birthday in good time! =) *tacklehugs* sorry i missed it, but i hope your birthday was splendid!

(snigger) Emo Kid You are 42% Rational, 14% Extroverted, 14% Brutal, and 0% Arrogant. You are the Emo Kid, best described as a quiet pussy! You tend to be an intuitive rather than a logical thinker, meaning you rely more on your feelings than your thoughts. Not only that, but you are introverted, gentle, and rather humble. You embody all the traits of the perfect emo kid. You are a push-over, an emotional thinker, gentle to the extent of absurdity, and so humble that it even makes Jesus puke. If you write poetry, you no doubt write angsty, syrupy lines about depression, sadness, and other such redundant states of emo-being. Your personality is defective because you are too gentle, rather underconfident in yourself, decidely lacking in any rational thought, and also a bit too inhibited. I probably made you cry, didn't I? Fucking Emo Kid. To put it less negatively: 1. You are more INTUITIVE than rational. 2. You are more INTROVERTED than extroverted. 3. You are more GENTLE than brutal. 4. You are more HUMBLE than arrogant. Compatibility: Your exact opposite is the Smartass. Other personalities you would probably get along with are the Hippie, the Televangelist, and the Starving Artist.

With a weary sigh, Ayshela uncurled from around her blessedly large cup of coffee and resumed perusal of her notes. Blessing her years of trying to hear while on guard through the sometimes raucous sounds of sleeping companions, she had at least been able to *hear*. "For all the good *that* might do." she muttered, flipping back and forth through her notes. Loki: the piece flowed well, with interesting imagery, yet left the definite feel that the larger meaning escaped. Nicely done, yet elusive. cryptomancer: as always, a topic one can relate to, yet ambiguous in places... cord - chord? stolen form - from? nice imagery, as one would expect from crypt, but grammatically awkward and seeming forced at several points which disrupts the easy flow. Mira: no set pattern, but an easy flow without seeming chaotic. clear, vivid description - again, as one would expect from Mira. a very common topic, on surface look one almost overdone - and yet an intriguing perspective. Perhaps as well this is the final round, as the contestants just get better and better. How to score them accurately? Ayshela wrapped herself back around her coffee, muttering dejectedly.

Ozymandias has requested that I pass along, with his apologies, note that he's "playing catch-up" after returning home. He said, specifically: "It will be a few days, give or take a few days, before I'll have a chance to get caught up." Gotta love his way with words.

Ayshela listened carefully as the second round performers took the stage, each in turn. She made notes to herself, with small hope that it would help. Shaking her head slightly, she thought to herself "Wow, round one was difficult enough but *this* is going to be tough." Settling back in her chair, she caught Mynx's eye with an unspoken plea for coffee, please - LOTS of coffee?

rah!!! congratulations! well deserved indeed!

*whoooooooosh* blinking confusedly, and wondering if she'd heard correctly, Ayshela slowly pries herself loose from her somewhat bumpy "landing pad". As she extends a hand to help Wyvern up, the well-wishers begin to gather and it soon becomes clear that despite the cries of departing investors she HAD heard correctly. Well, then! Ayshela opens her mouth to say - something? Anything? But for perhaps the first time in her history at the Pen she is publicly rendered completely speechless. With a broad smile, and warm hugs for all, she eventually kicks her brain back into gear and thanks everyone for their confidence and their good wishes. And the smile remains solidly in place for at least a week. Umm... wow. Thank you! I'm honoured, and will do my best to do justice to the position. Oh.. title.. may I have a few days to think about that?

dashing in a little late, but no less pleased to wish two wondermous people very happy birthdays! =)

Ayshela sat in a seat a bit behind the judges' table, where she could listen without trying to filter out owl sounds. She watched and listened with interest, making mental notes on each performance. Loki - engaging opening, and quite descriptive - she could almost feel herself riding along to indeterminate, unknown points. cryptomancer - Ayshela cringed at "dark and dreary" and noted the inconsistent meter, as she sat back and enjoyed the clear personal viewpoint. Gabriel seemed nervous, and Ayshela tried to listen but found when he was done that beyond the archaic pronunciation forced for meter, she really *had* no impression to separate this from any other like it. She frowned, and tried to recall detail, but was distracted by... drummondo - his posturing caught her attention, though waiting with raised eyebrow appreciating the strings of related rhymes but feeling tripped up even in listening as he set a rhythm only to abandon it and set another as he wove his way around the topic. Mira took the stage the last, and Ayshela breathed a sigh of relief as he began, taking a different perspective of a well known subject with clear but not cliched descriptions. Ayshela assembled her thoughts, preparing to record her scores for reverie. Hearing Wyvern's scoring, her eyes narrowed a bit and she strode by with a scowl, hoping that her scoring would be of *some* use in reverie's well-run quill quest. She then returned to her seat to await the next round, simmering silently.