Unbelievable.

So I know it was Canada Day today, and I know it was St-Jean-Baptiste (St-John the Baptist a.k.a. Quebec Day, I guess) last week, but I celebrated neither. I understand national holidays are big things in North America in general, but hell if you'll ever see me waving flags around. In Quebec, it's a touchy subject anyway (let's not get into that).

Mostly, I just watch the fireworks from my bedroom window. I don't know what urban district does the fireworks near here, but they don't usually disappoint.

So Canada has the first of July, and intent party-goers just have to head south once they recover from their hangover and party on the fourth of July with all our southern neighbours. It's an ideal schedule for many people, I reckon. In fact, those who have no qualms about political ideals can even get drunk one week prior, on the 24th, with all Quebec seperatists, and then head to Ottawa on the 1st of July for more beer from the federalists, then to, like, Vermont on the 4th for more beer.

But since I don't drink (seriously: alcohol? Awful taste), I don't care at all. My brain is free of any befuddlement and can focus on writing, which, let's face it, is the only real good stuff.

So I've been procrastinating from FG (which is still steadily ongoing, at a pace slower than romance in OiH ―which is saying something, innit?), and wrote a short oneshot on the side, completely unrelated. It's kind of a TP sequel. Zelink this time, because Summit frustrated so many people by not having any pairings (which is kind of silly because it's not like pairings are the only thing that matters, but hey, whatever).

Won't be posting it tonight. I'm going to wait for a very special moment, probably in the next few days/weeks. I'll tell you all about it when it does come, but let's just say...

*Eee!*

And before you get your hopes up, it's not going to change your life. It'll just make me totally giddy for a week, is all.

Let's just say that OiH is getting very close to a very special hits count, one I never thought I'd hit, ever.

So, to thank you special readers, I'll be giving you a oneshot to feast on until I get over my agonizingly slow progress on FG and actually get enough material that I can safely begin posting. I'm writing very slowly even though I have handwritten material that needs to be cleaned up and typed. So I have the story down; it's just that the text needs so many details added in, it's painful.

Never fear; it'll get done. Hopefully within the next decade. ;P

Love,
CM

FG Character Bio

For those of you who read my blog before and during Only in Hyrule, you'll remember I posted character profiles to add depth to the numerous main characters used for the story. Seeing as I greatly enjoyed sharing the information at the time, I think I'll be doing it again this time, for Fighting Gravity.

I'm not sure with which character I want to start, though. I'd hate to reveal too many spoilers too soon, after all.

Alright, here goes.

Name: Link Forester
Age: Mid-twenties
Hair: Dark blonde
Eyes: Blue
Residence: Wherever the job takes him; his grandmother's house on Outset Island in Waker.
Skills: Agile pilot; excellent racer.
Occupation: Hylian Alliance Air Force captain.
Origins: Link grew up on Outset, during peaceful times. He built his own lightweight aircraft by the age of fourteen and was participating in regional races by the age of sixteen. His love of flying turned him into an excellent racer. When the war began, he joined the Army with his friend *****, a mechanic, in the hopes that they'd get funds for a larger engine. Soon disappointed, Link nevertheless got noticed for his excellent piloting skills, which got him promoted to the rank of captain.
Personality: Leader-like, a little immature at times, but mostly good-natured. He has a darker side, one that is either cynical and borderline morbid or aggressive and mistrusting. He also suffers from a mild case of recklessness. Generally, though, he fights his impulses and covers up his flaws with good humour and a genuine desire to help and protect.
Family/Friends: His grandmother and his sister Aryll/ his mechanic ***** and his navigator *****.
Likes: Flying, grilled Odd Mushrooms, adrenalin rushes.
Dislikes: War, losing races, uncertainty.
Hopes: To keep flying.

I think that sums Link up pretty well. The stars are names that will be revealed later on. You can take guesses based on the number of stars (not that it narrows down the list a lot ―ever notice how many names in LoZ have five letters?), but it wouldn't make sense to talk about them just yet. I need to keep you coming around, right? ;)

Currently writing part 9 (roughly chapter 5; don't ask about my calculations. Even I don't get them).

Love,
CM

Graduation

It was my brother's last day of high school today. His graduation ceremony was this afternoon.

All our life, my brother and I went to the same schools. For a full seven (eight in his case) years, we went to that particular private school. We basically grew up there, learned how to write properly, met friends we have no intention of losing, shaped dreams, laughed, cried, and grew. We were sheltered there, welcome and, to a certain extent, loved. The teachers were qualified, willing to help, ready to mentor us then, as time passed, become our friends and confidantes.

In a way, going to CCI (no point trying to trace it, kids―you won't find it) was like being part of a large family who looked out for its members in various ways. That, at least, is the impression I retained from it. It's not for nothing that PB, Slim, Josie, Kitty, Eva, Alex, Guy, Scarlet, Prophet and most of my current friends also come from there. It's hard to consider new people when you're so accustomed to the quality of the friends you made during those years.

And that's what defined CCI for me; quality. The very quality of the people there ensured that I was never let down. In comparison, so much else pales. I'm not saying this out of a false sense of elitism. My standards were always high, before I ever got in, but CCI reassured me in knowing that I was not alone to want success.

When I say success, I don't define it by how much money or notoriety one earns. I measure success in how much of ourselves we're willing to put into a task, how much of our capacities we're willing to use. Success is within range of everyone, but since leaving the security and shelter of CCI, going to college, I've come to realise how rare it really is. So few people are willing to put themselves fully on the line, so few people care about their own future, so few people can honestly say they did all that they could in their life.

Over the past year, in going to college, I slowly grew accustomed to the world's disarmingly low self-worth, in spite of my struggle to maintain a standard for myself, but in the back of my mind, I longed for that world of quality and hope I'd left behind, a full year ago.

Which is why returning to CCI for my brother's graduation ceremony was a touching moment, one that made me actually tear up. The halls I travelled for many long years still smelled the same, like ceramic and dust and paint and cotton, and the educators and administrators still looked the same, still smiled the same, still recognized me. Every one of them, from the principal to the coordinators to all my teachers recognized me and greeted me like an old friend, asking questions about my life in college.

I saw two old classmates, had long conversations on the way CCI was now being administrated, and just couldn't stop smiling and joking and longing for a time I'll never have again.

My brother, predictably, looked great in his robe and mortar, as did all his friends and his girlfriend (she won a prize for her excellence in French). The ceremony was sweet and friendly, polite and touching. I have to admit I couldn't help but cry a little when one of their honour students came on stage to pronounce the student's speech. It awoke memories and feelings I hadn't felt in a whole year.

I hadn't realised I missed it so much.

It's hard to film, I found out, when you're both laughing and crying. At the same time. But then, when a whole promotion is called to answer to the question "SEC FIVES, WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION?" and they respond with a resounding "AH-OOMPH, AH-OOMPH!" and you can see them tearing up at the idea of never having the insider's joke again, you kind of remember how YOUR promotion also had insides, how it used to sing those damn songs your Spanish teacher would play in her class to educate you in Latino music, and as stupid as it was, you tear up too.

I got most of my old teachers (at least, those I managed to get a hold of) to promise me a guided tour of the building extensions (the school keeps adding more and more to its premises). They all spontaneously invited me and my promotion (they know I'm still in touch with them) to drop by and say hello in the upcoming years. I promised to do just that.

The rest of the evening was spent in a restaurant with the family of his girlfriend. She and my brother are sickeningly perfect for one another, which is great, in that awkward-for-the-big-sister sort of way.

God, I'm just so proud of my brother. I remember the day we first attented CCI, dressed up in our uniforms, him short and baby-faced, and me so prim and proper. Now he's a tall, extra-skinny, handsome guy with a loud mouth and I'm his sister, dressed in what we used to call 'civilian clothing', sitting in the audience, holding a camera up and trying not to cry at the memories.

I'm just so proud of him and his whole promotion. I'm sure if they join us out in the bigger world, maybe the number of successes will go up.

Even if just a little.

Love,
CM

No way, José!

Oh my God I totally got a Wii! All my cousins met up and my uncle finally bought me one from the outskirts of the city, where fights for Wiis don't break out as much anymore!

It's awesome and it shines and my cousin Dave showed me how to play Wii Boxing in Wii Sports.

My aunt and my Mom were actually interested by it!

All is right with the world.

Love,
CM

Fighting Gravity Map and news

I thought, considering the amount of background work I'm putting into making Fighting Gravity a plausible story, I ought to share a little bit of it.

I mean, I exposed my technical designs to my father, to see if the engines I have in mind are plausible. I've never written techno stuff, and his input as a physics genius, engineer and electronic/electric master was invaluable. While I'm into arts and literature and cinema (in other words, almost useless in mathematics and physics), they compensated by making it understandable for li'l ole me; we found common ground in using well-known cinematographic and literary examples of physics applied in a science-fiction context. He and my brother are both well-versed in the domain, and they gave me some advice on how to make the impossible plausible.

I won't tell you what it was, though, because that would just ruin the magic of word-weaving (which happens to be my domain and not theirs).

As fortune would have it, my father is a program wiz and he gave me the disk to SketchUp 5, which is a 3-D modeling program. It's used to design 3D renditions of buildings or objects to put them in instruction manuals or give people a three-dimensional idea of what something looks like. It's easy to use, and fortunately there is a mode that can help one build topographical maps.

Bottom line... fun.

Before I get to that, though, here's a flat map of the world in Fighting Gravity, with all eight countries and the major cities. Some cities may not be visited during the story, and some may appear that aren't on the map at the moment, but overall, that's the layout.

By the way, you can see all the following images in full by Right-clicking and selecting "Save Picture As...", or the equivalent in your browser. Resizing the images would make them lose quality.


Of course, I have a special secret map with what cities are part of which alliance, and which also indicates the area of influence of each great political force, but it's a little to early for you to see it. ;)

As you can see on the bottom left, a meter is giving an indication of distance/time. On my flat screen, each increment is approximately a centimeter long, and each centimeter distance on the map represents a one hour flight. That ought to give you a sense of scale.

Sure, it's not easy to visualise relief on a flat map, so here's a more topographical rendition of the Hylian Alliance, as it were.



You can see it in many angles too.


Awesome, isn't it? I've grown quite fond of the program, and I'm working on a 3-D rendition of the machines Link and company will be using, but not full-time. What takes priority is the actual story, right?

Anyway, I thought you might want to see for yourself. :)

Love,
CM