Doodle Palooza! Part 1

I realized that I haven't been a very good doodle sharer. Which is half of the reason this blog even exists, right?! So, without further ado, I present to you some of my favorite doodles of this past semester! I'll pick some of my favorites from each of my notebooks! (I have one for each class. And a permanent backpack notebook that serves as my idea log....usually.)

Here's hoping the internet at my partment wants to work because it tends to wuss out whenever it gets stormy. Stupid internet...:P Hooray! Internet actually wants to be tough!

Aaaand my internet is being super stupid and won't let me upload photos. So, for now, just IMAGINE all the cool doodles I'm going to do. And hopefully I'll be able to edit this and get it fixed up nice for you guys.

Murphy's law is in full force right now. Stupid Murphy.

AND WE HAVE COOPERATION FROM THE INTERNET! LET THE DOODLES BEGIN!

So this was the first day in Grammar class that I doodled. I had just seen the Avengers a few days before (and I have an EPIC crossover story based on that movie) so I was a bit on an Avenging high. Also, I forgot how to draw the Master Sword and forgot that Sora's right handed. My human version of Twilight Sparkle got a lot bigger than I intended it to, but I'm okay with that.

Last year, I was playing Kingdom Hearts Re: Chain of Memories. Vexen struck me as someone (or, Nobody, rather) who would be the resident mad scientist, so he appeared on every page in the margins spouting Science! in my Stats notebook. Luckily, I had another science class, so I could still use Vexen. Vexen helped me survive Stats. I would have died of boredom otherwise.

Here's Vexen and Axel, though Vexen isn't too pleased he has to share his margin. Also, Vexen's science has kind of deteriorated into my fan-induced next generation. He's not happy about that either.

This is how I feel sometimes.

First, I was extremely tired when I began doodling this in class (my real life friend is to your left). But I love my tired, holy-crap-can-I-sleep face. Anyways, in class, there has been this annoying whining noise, like that of a small circular buzzsaw. Either way, it's annoying. Also, I was snacking on Goldfish that day.

The noise came back on this day, and I had had enough. However, by exploding the piping where the noise had to be coming from, I also cut the power for the building. Oops. It's a good thing I don't actually have magic. I might break a lot of things otherwise.

I just love drawing T_T faces for some odd reason. And if you can't tell what happened, Riku and Roxas dumped water on Sora.

This is one of those times where I have the same realization as my characters. In this case, Peach was telling Mario and Luigi how shopping is kind of like dressing up. The moment I realized this, so did Mario and Luigi. I had to sketch out this comic after that. I'm not a girl who particularly likes shopping. I have about a 2 hour window where I'll enjoy myself. After that, I'm done. As I've gotten older, I see the social appeal of it. But there comes a point where it's like, "Why are you trying that on if you're not going to buy it?" Which is the question Luigi asks Daisy and Peach. Which led to our shared epiphany.

 

This is one of those moments where a made-up universe made more sense to me than my own. This is also me attempting the Y U No meme. It's also a good doodle of me attempting the slumped shoulders look. And this is Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra-verse, not James Cameron's giant elf/Smurf-fest.

I'll Take It

So this was in my inbox last night. I get a free song download. First time I've ever gotten anything like this, and I'm gonna take it! Whoo! I love being a nerd!

With finals week looming ever closer, I'm kind of scrambling for topics to post about. I guess I could start taking photos of all my doodles and start having an end of year bash type thing...

I don't know. What do  you guys think? No, seriously, what do you think? I've been so bad at this whole-

NEW TOPIC BORN OF SUDDEN REMEMBRANCE!

So our English Honors society is having a Harry Potter Party tonight. Guess who's going? Guess who's going to pull of the best Hermione ever? Oh yeah, it's gonna be awesome tonight. I'm excited, are you excited?

And now I'm lapsing into Pinkie Pie quotes.

Today's alternate title: Stream of Conciousness.

This is Stuck in My Head

Back to the daily grind of school...only it's not quite so daily anymore because we have T-Minus two weeks until finals week! My face is similar to that of the candy apple, popcorn and soda in today's song.

I was just talking to a fellow classmate about my doodles, and I realized that I have been a very bad poster of all things doodle related. Probably because I'm still getting comfortable with the idea of sharing my artwork on the internet. The internet can be a cruel place, and I'm not in the mood to have people tell me my artwork sucks. Which is true, but still, it's not very nice.

So, hopefully I'll start posting some more of my doodles as time goes by, because that may be what I have to do seeing as I have projects and finals and all this crap to get ready for. Agh! Where did the semester go?! Why is time moving so quickly? Panic!

*insert random picture here of me running around like a chicken with its head cut off*

Well, time to prepare to face the dragon that is finals week!

If I can get through the fallout of the emotional bomb Dad dropped on me, that is...

Thanksgiving Week: Magic

I love Christmas decorations. I love Christmas Trees and Christmas garlands. I love ALL OF IT. Probably because of the way we bring a little extra light in our homes. I love the way everything looks right after it snows. There's something so peaceful about it. Like everyone's homes becomes their own personal, livable gingerbread houses.

I love all the lights, especially at Temple Square.

Probably because this is the closest thing I'll ever get to actual magic. And I love magic.

Thanksgiving: Laughter and Nerf Guns

On this day, when many are thankful for all the things they have, I'm thankful for my family, and for all the laughs we share together. Today, on my dad's side of the family, we spent a nice lunch together and then we went to go see Life of Pi. Both the book and the movie are amazing, though its not one for the kiddies. Read the book first. Always read the book.

After our voyage to the movies, we went home and played the Grab Game. We used to do this on Christmas Eve. My family can get a little...spirited at this game. So much so, that we've moved it to its own separate night, and now we take turns and after three steals, the item is locked and no one else can have it. We also don't steal from the kids, as a general rule of thumb. Tonight, though, we brought it back. Back to the old ways of frantic dice rolling, pointing, shouting, exclaimations of joy and despair, (and fiendish glee), and the frantic moment of indecision where you can't remember who has the Star Wars cups (Dad's side of the family is the more nerdy side. We have a lot of fun..). The nice part is though, once the final item has been stolen and the lightning round is over, we end up trading a lot of the goods around.

My main item of the night that nobody stole from me?

Aww, yeah. Who's got a Nerf gun? I do. Who's playing HvZ next semester? I am.

Also, I'm wearing my "tunic" ^_^

 

It goes without saying that I'm seriously happy with my haul. I feel like a sniper. Or maybe more Riza Hawkeye from FMA. (Fullmetal Alchemist, for those of you not up on your abreviations)

 

I'm grateful to be in a family that loves to laugh. That makes me laugh. Where our sense of humor just line up beautifully, and we can start lapsing into character voices and start making up stuff. Where we play video games with each other and not leave the room in a hissy fit.

 

And I'm thankful that I'm not standing in a line that's wrapping around Target behind some smoker dude. Black Friday Shopping is ridiculous. And yet I've put it on my bucket list...

Thanksgiving Week: Mom and Christmas Music

Christmas music always makes me feel like a kid, peering out the windows, watching the snow fall through the blinds. It always reminds me of my mother in the kitchen, making something to eat. It reminds me of pretending to ice skate in my socks on our linoleum floor to the Christmas music.

I'm especially thankful for having a mother who knew how to sew. I have multiple costumes and formal dresses made just for me. The best part is knowing that no one else will ever have what I have. It's especially nice when you're trying to find your midnight showing costume, and you have options to choose from.

I miss my mom. She was my emotional cheerleader, and, not that my dad isn't good at being there for me, but he doesn't understand emotions the way a woman does, the way your mother does. But I'm thankful for the deep impact she's made on my life. For the things that I want to instill in my children.

Christmas music just has this way of bringing back childhood memories while at the same time, bringing people together. Those memories are things I cherish, and I love looking back on them.

Maybe that's why I'm the obnoxious person playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Week: Bed

My bed. This thing has seen it all. My good days, my bad days, my good nights, my bad nights. it's kept me warm when the weather is freezing cold, and too hot in the summer. I like sleeping with my layers.

But I'm especially grateful that tonight, it's my own bed. In my own room, in my house. No roommates coming up the stairs, or getting ready for bed. Just me, myself and I. And the crazy people who live in my head, but they don't really count that much, do they?

My room hasn't changed too much since I was about...five. I still have my bunny wallpaper, my quilt my grandma gave me when I was born hanging on the wall. The cross-sitched picture is currently MIA, but I have a hunch where it could be. The only things that have changed are the addtion of my chair, which is currently holding clothes and another quilt, my bedspread, though the orginal is just underneath my comforter, the big pink rug that I probably should vacuum soon, my endtable replacing my bench one, though that's at the foot of my bed, and the moving out of the Barbie house. Keep in mind, this is just a summarization of the past 20 years I've been in this room. Oh, forgot to mention replaced the crib full of my stuffed animals with my sister's dresser.

But I like my room the way it is. It's reflective of who I am: trying to grow up while holding on to childhood.

Maybe my mom should have let me paint my room pink when I wanted to. Then I might be more open to changing my bedroom now.

Thanksgiving Week: Dream Chasers

Today I'm thankful for people who go out and chase their dreams. People who go out and chase their dreams, and end up acheiving them. I've gushed about Lindsey Stirling before, so you know how I feel about her. But I'm more grateful for her success at her own personal dreams. She's doing what she loves, and she's loving every second of it. And for that, I'm grateful, because for me, it means anyone, even dorky nerd girls, can get their dream if they chase after it hard enough. I'm sharing a Lindsey Original today, Transcendence. For Lindsey, it means completely overcoming something and making your trials a part of who you are. For me, it means breaking away from the mental boundaries I keep putting on myself and letting my real self shine.

Another artist I'm proud of/thankful for is (are?) The Piano Guys. Nothing cooler than a bunch of dads from Utah forming a band and making amazing music videos that have garnered millions of views on Youtube. How cool is that? And now, they've joined with Sony so they can make MORE money! They said on their videos that they wanted this to be their full-time job. And now it is! If that's not a sign they love what they do, I don't know what is!

Dream Chasers, keep on doing what you do. You help the rest of us realize we have a dream to chase after too. And if we don't give up on that dream, we can acheive it.



This calls for a song from Tangled!

Thanksgiving Week: The End

I'm so punny.

Seeing as I'm going to have tons of time this week, I'd thought I'd share some of the things I'm grateful for with you all week long. Granted, it's going to have a bit of a nerdy spin on it, for most of the posts, but I do want to share my gratitude with the world.

Who would have thought being nerdy would make you grateful? I sure didn't.

Today I'm grateful for the end. I can already hear you through the internet: "What?" Allow me to explain. I'm grateful for the end of the journeys that I've embarked upon, where everything resolves itself, when everything is made right, when, at last, the hero gets to go home and get his reward. Sometimes, the ending may mean a new beginning, where they have to rebuild from all the bad things that have happened. Or, it just may mean a new chapter in their lives. But the end is what everyone strives for in the game. That last boss, that last dungeon, that last star...once we get it, the story is truly complete.

There's always something satisfying about seeing the words, "The End" crawl up after the credits have rolled. Because inside I think, I earned that. I earned that ending. Me, a dorky girl who is crushing big time on fake people, beat Ganondorf, defeated Bowser (again), saved all the worlds. Me, who could never do anything like that in real life, earned a "The End," and a heavily implied, "And the lived happily ever after." Until the sequel that is.

In the end (ha!), the ending is where it all comes together. Where everything you worked for, that I worked for, comes together to make a beautiful whole. And the best part is knowing that you did it.

Midnight Showing of The Hobbit: Last Call!

I don't know about you guys, but I just about died when I saw this last year. Middle Earth is coming back, baby! And I will be there at midnight, in costume. The fates have aligned; my last final is on Thurdsay, which means I'm getting the heck out of dodge the second its over and going home and dressing up and staying up until 4 (ish) watching this movie.

I've invited my friends, but I've gotten a lukewarm response to it. Today is the last call, because I'm not going to the 12:30 showing. I'm going to the freakin' midnight showing. And I want to celebrate this moment with my friends.


A certain other film series wrapped up its finale last night/today. All I can say is Halleujah! No more sparkly vampires angsting around anymore.

Midnight showings are among my favorite things. After experiencing the end of the Harry Potter francise (*sob!*) at midnight, I'm determined to not miss anymore midnight showing experiences. It was so fun to be in a theater where it was okay to yell and cheer, to laugh out loud, and not have to obey the normal rules of theater etiquette. It's like a big, huge nerdy gathering, and we all get to share in the moment.

Fun fact: I went to a special premiere of Order of the Phoenix, I got to see it at 8 o'clock instead of at midnight. My sister, brother-in-law, and I tormented the midnighters with false quotes: "I can't believe Voldemort is Harry's father!"

I just realized, my family is full of nerds. But I love them!


This, because I just can't be mad while listening to it, and it's gorgeous music...


Must...resist...urge...to...post...Lindsey...Stirling...cover...

You Know You're a Fan When...

...you begin composing an epic length piece of fanfiction.

As a fun little factoid about me, I'm currently working on a My Little Pony fanfiction. On my laptop, it is currently 35 pages. I started working on it in April, just after Season 2 ended. I begun posting it in the summer. It's taken some time for traffic and such to pick up, but I know I've got fans. I do need to keep working on it, though, before Season 3 completely trashes all my current theories!

However, Ponies has been side-swiped by a project I didn't see coming at all. About a week ago, I read a Lindsey Stirling (Yeah, I'm one of those fans) fanfiction. It places my favorite violinist in a fantasy setting, where she has to gain back her kingdom from a wicked cult that has declared war on all music. I wanted in on this universe, so I joined the fanfiction's group and made a character.

I decided to help the author out by offering myself as an editor. After all, I'm an English Major, I should use all these skill I have somehow. Less than 24 hours after joining this group, I was promoted to author. My ideas have been implimented to the story, and I love it.

http://stirlantis.wordpress.com/
You can check out my current fanficton project here. I wrote the ending of chapter 2, most of chapter 3, and sporadically throughout chapter 4.

What I love most is how this is making me realize how much I really love writing. I love how I'm meeting people with similar interests, how I can talk to them about nerdy things like plot, character arcs, establishing the bad guys as a serious threat, etc. I'm learning to love everything about the writing process, and that's going to help my own personal writing projects.

Oh, if you want to check out my Pony fic, (and a Kingdom Hearts one)
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/3487495/fairiegirl2992
These are all my stories. There will probably be more in the future.

It's safe to say I'm a dedicated fan. And I love it.

Almost to a Million

You poor people. You have to deal with my nerdy fangirlism. Also, Christmas music because I'm the annoying person who plays Christmas music in November.

Anyways, this lucky lady is almost to one million subscribers on Youtube! I remember when it was just 250,000! That was when I joined a year ago! Pretty crazy to see how popular she's become in the past year. I really think Crystallize put her on the map, though the Zelda Medly helped too I bet.

So in honor of Lindsey reaching this amazing milestone, the Stirlingites (Lindsey's official fan group on Facebook) are putting together a little something just for her. And since half of it was my idea, I kind of have to participate now. But I don't care. I'm actually kind of excited for this. Let the crazy fandoming begin!

Also, ponies was FREAKIN' AWESOME! And it's proof you don't have to dumb down children's TV shows for it to be "acceptable." Kids grasp more than you think. So thank heavens for good writers who understand that.

Oh, and I'm in the final arc of Brotherhood. The past episodes have all been ONE DAY. Holy crap Amnestris is having a busy day! Can't wait to see how it ends.

Also Mario Kart 64. Hello, Childhood, I've missed you.

Yeah, I've had a productive nerdy weekend.

PONIES!

I use this every chance I get. Do you know what this means? No?

Tomorrow is the Season 3 premiere of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic! I'm so stoked! And my friend and I are gonna celebrate in style. I'm going to make a treat for us to munch on while we watch Season 3. We're just gonna have to avoid the massive spoilers that will inevitibly be in the comments.

I think it's safe to say that my pony obsession (but that makes it sound so bad) is to the point where I'm going to need to invest in some merchandise. Namely, a Pinkie Pie pony. I mean, I'm already writing a massive fanfiction based on Princess Celestia and Luna's adventures over a thousand years ago. How much more dedicated can you get?

...Well I still have to go to a convention. And post some form of Pony art. And/or create a massively popular askblog on Tumblr.

Ah well. I'm just happy for this weekend when I get to let a little friendship and magic enter into my life.


Guess which pony is my favorite? (No going back and reading previous pony posts!)

Fullmetal Alchemist

So if you ever want to hear a great story about brotherhood, sacrifice, and general all around awesome, look no further than Fullmetal Alchemist. Or Brotherhood, the second series that follows the manga of FMA rather than the first anime, which took an important plot point and ran with it, creating its own story. Both are extremely well done, but I'm liking Brotherhood a lot more, just for the sheer amount of plot twists going on. It's freaky.

This version is much darker than the first series, but I like it. There are so many things that are just INSANELY messed up that...why would you want to even go to this world? Oh that's right, we've got great characters that just make this series.

I adore the main characters, Edward and Alphonse (Al), Elric. Their relationship is just so good. It's how all brothers should be. They'll do anything for each other, and they know what the other is thinking just by looking at each other. That is dedication and trust right there.

Aside from Ed's awesome older brother protection sense, Edward is such a great character. His biggest pet peeves are being called short, and people mistaking his brother for him. Because, you see, Al is a suit of armor, and is full of metal...but Edward is not. He just has automail prosthetics.

Okay, I'm going to have to explain: When Ed and Al were young, they lost their mother. They decided to use alchemy to bring her back from the dead. However, this practice is one of the taboos, THE taboo, in alchemy. Edward lost his leg, while Al lost his body, and it still didn't bring their mother back. To save Al, Edward bound Al's soul to a suit of armor, losing his arm in the process. Al then took Edward, who was bleeding to death, to their friend Winry's to save Ed.

So yeah, that's the dramatic part (and that's not even half of it). Edward tends to get himself into really funny situtations though.

Okay, I'm starting to ramble so I'll conclude: Go watch Fullmetal Alchemist. And then go watch Brotherhood. So awesome.

Music..right, music.

This is one of those songs where I stopped playing and started listening.

Anyways, this Monday I'm very tired and a little out of it right now. Probably because I stayed up until 2 working on homework. *glares at past Nessa* While I'm happy my homework got done, I need to remember that I'm one of those people that likes sleep, and I need it to function properly.

Did you know that this month is NaNoWriMo? Or, National Novel Writing Month? Basically, starting November 1, you crank out a novel. You don't edit or anything. You just write. I've been meaning to start my project for this year, but life likes to keep getting in the way, but I will start it before it's too late! I mean, I just have to get to 50,000 words by the end of the month, right? I can do that...hopefully.

On a crazed-fan-of Lindsey Stirling note, she just released her Assassin's Creed 3 video, but I can't listen to it/share it yet because I'm at the writing lab and the sound is muted on all the computers, and as awesome as she is, I don't think people will appreciate me blasting my music. Especially since I could throw people out of their groove. And you don't do that.

You Can't Fandom Alone

It was earlier this week I decided to take a huge step in my overwhelming Lindsey Stirling love, and I joined the official fan group on Facebook. Needless to say, it's been a lot of fun having like-minded individuals around to talk about all things Lindsey.

But I've also discovered it's impossible to enjoy a show unless you have someone who enjoys it as much as you do. This can be as simple as having someone go, "You watch the latest episode of Once Upon a Time?" and you freaking out with joy/rage/wonder at the show with them, or having a friend you watch all your shows with. When you're alone...you can't talk about anything, you just have to let all your emotions get bottled up so that when the next episode airs, you're practically dying because it's been a week since your last fix of the show.

Either way, a show becomes much more enjoyable when you have friends to enjoy it with you. The same is true for gaming. I think that's why I tend to spaz out when I find people with similar interests as me, because I have so much pent-up love and admiration for the game/show/person, that when someone else says they like it too, I instantly latch onto them, and they are my new best friend.

...I now need to draw that old guy from Legend of Zelda saying, "It's dangerous to go alone: take this!" and he holds up a bunch of friends. Because it really is a lot easier to fandom with friends than to fandom on your own.