Count On You

I love this song, so I made a lyric photo for it just for fun :). 

photo credit

The Box and the Locket

My previous post advertised something I wrote, and this one is advertising something someone ELSE wrote.

!!CANNOT TAKE CREDIT FOR THIS AMAZING PIECE OF WORK!!

The talented Anna E. has given me permission to rave on here about her entry for another contest, The Box and the Locket, on Figment.

I love this story a lot, because I think it really illustrates the reality of where we keep our hearts, and what it looks like when one is accepted or rejected. It is sad yet triumphant at once. And the coolest thing is that it's told from the perspective of the SKY.

Just saying.

Give her a read, and let me know what you think! :)

The Tower Princess - Excerpt

photo credit

For Mary Kat

Years passed, and I graduated from college. Rae and I became close friends and we talked on the phone frequently. But Rae stayed stuck in her tower. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore.

I wanted to see her again.

So I walked to the back of the Hotel Tower building, and found the fire escape. I had to jump onto a dumpster to reach it, but then started climbing up without thinking. I didn’t stop until I’d gone as far as I possibly could. Then, I gave Rae a call on my cell phone.

“Hello?” she said quietly. Her voice was always a little hoarse from underuse.

“Rae, it’s me. Patrick. I’m under your window. Let down your fire escape.”

“What?”

“Let down your fire escape. I can’t go any higher until you do. I’m coming to see you.”

“You mean… open the window?” Rae asked nervously.

“Yes. You can do it, Rae. I’ll be waiting for you.”

It took a while, but finally, I heard the rattling and clattering of metal stairs unfolding, and the long, unreachable section of the fire escape tumbled down until it stopped at my feet. I climbed up two more stories, and I found my princess waiting for me at the top, sitting on her balcony. She had her arms wrapped around her knees, looking a little bit like she might blow away in the wind.

For a moment, she just stared at me, afraid and unsure.

“Rae,” I said gently.

Rae started to cry. She leaped up and embraced me in a tight, desperate hug. She hadn’t seen anyone but her mother in two years.

I wrote this story for an online contest. You can read the whole thing here at http://figment.com/


Copyright © Clare Marie S. 

Imaginary Friend

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Loneliness get's under my skin, 

crawls around,

comes out again.

And something new is born.

Combine my heart

with a lonesome ache

and a new heart starts.

And something new is born.

It starts with talking out loud

and a voice answers unexpectedly

"I never thought you'd talk to me!"

And something new is born.

It shares my joy and love and pain,

it knows how to listen and comfort;

it keeps my heart dry when it's caught in the rain.

And something new is born.

I gave it a name and I gave it a home. 

I brought it to life through my pain;

and with him by my side I'm never alone.

For someone new has been born. 

Ponderings on a Disney Princess, Part 3*

First post
Second post
Sleeping Beauty aka Aurora/Brier Rose

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Alright, onto Post 3!
Sleeping Beauty was released nine years after Cinderella in 1959. She was voiced by Mary Costa. In the original tale there were really TWELVE good fairies who bestowed gifts on the child, and the thirteenth fairy comes in a curses the little girl before the twelfth can. Also, after being cast into a deep sleep, Aurora had to wait a century before a worthy hero showed up to save her. The Disney movie gives a nod to the story when the villain, Maleficent, tells Prince Phillip of her planned fate for him. She says he will spend a hundred years in her dungeon and will be allowed to rescue the princess in his old age. Thanks to the three fairies, his fate is changed. Surprisingly, Disney remained true to the Grimm tale in most other respects.

Personality Rating:


Recalling our scale of 1-10 (one being 'I can't stand this grating female' and ten being 'I WISH I COULD BE HER!'), Aurora gets like, a 7. She's fantastic. She's spunky, talented, yet vulnerable enough to be realistic and likable. While she relies heavily on others (the three fairies and Prince Phillip), she's still a strong and admirable girl. 




Movie Overall:
I always loved this movie. I loved how romantic the unfamiliar world was, and I loved the three fairies. The plot is fairly watertight, considering it followed the fairy tale pretty faithfully, and it's entertainment value is higher even than Cinderella or Snow White. Mary Costa (now 82) was an amazing singer, and lent her incredible talents well to the third Disney Princess. 




Supporting Characters:
Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are just epic. They can shrink down small enough to fit through keyholes, and they have little magic wands that they can get into all kinds of mischief with. The two kings, Stefan and Hubert,  of the kingdoms in which Aurora and Prince Phillip are heirs, are absolutely hysterical. Of course, there are quite a few animals who follow Aurora around adoringly, but they don't speak, aside from the owl who only says, "WHO?". 




Villian:


Maleficent is terrifying. She's a demonic green woman who has horns built into her headdress. She commands an army of grotesque, monstrous drones. She uses the fact she was not invited to the baby's christening as an excuse to curse her, but Maleficent is no petty grudge-holder. She's an evil force to be reckoned with, and calls on all sorts of forces of darkness to wreak misery and tragedy on the kingdom. 




Prince:


AH-HA! The first Disney Prince to receive the honor of having his own name, his own personality, and multiple lines of plot-progressing dialogue! Yes! Disney started the Named Prince prodigy off to a fantastic start. Phillip is a romantic, heroic fellow who allows himself to be captivated by beauty. He also has a fantastic hat, which automatically gets him big points. The whole scene where Phillip spontaneously sings Once Upon a Dream is very well-done, and I love the honesty and innocence portrayed in Phillip and Aurora's relationship. 




Best Song:

Favorite Line:


"It looks awful!"
"That's because it's on you, Dear." 

* This post and all similar posts may be classified as pointless ramblings. I feel very strongly about Disney Princesses in general, and as this is my blog, I would like to share those strong feelings. Feel free to ignore them, or even deign to agree with me

Will be gone for the week.

Miss and love already!-

Clare

Today I realized something...

While at work today, a small miracle happened. Rather than playing oldies, 80's, or country, for a couple of hours, music I actually like was playing. 

It was magical.

They even played a new Owl City song (Shooting Star)!

And then, they played this song-

And here's what I realized:

I have heard this song probably close to a thousand times, and I am still not sick of it. 

I could listen to this song all day. 

I can't even listen to the same Owl City song that much and still love it the way I did the first time I heard it.

I can actual still remember hearing this song for the first time. I was sitting on my bed at our old house, writing in my journal, and I wrote down the words to the refrain because it really spoke to me. 

I'm falling apart

I'm barely breathing

with a broken heart

that's still beating

In the pain

there is healing

in Your name

I find meaning...

Amazing. 

2 Peter 1: 3-7

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His divine power has bestowed on us
everything that makes for life and devotion,
through the knowledge of him
who called us by his own glory and power.
Through these, he has bestowed on us
the precious and very great promises,
so that through them you may come to share in the divine nature,
after escaping from the corruption that is in the world
because of evil desire.
For this very reason,
make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue,
virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control,
self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion,
devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.

Hot Air Balloon Harp Cover

The harp is so magnificent....

This is still my favorite song ever, and she makes it sound beautiful!

Tumblr...

I knew it would happen.

I sold out.

I got myself a tumblr.

And I've already reblogged three things.

I promised myself I would not do this.

I promised my blog it would always be my #1.

I PROMISED.

With full knowledge that this doesn't make me a horrible person, I feel like scum.

I'm going to get off the internet and clean my room now.


http://redhairedrapunzel.tumblr.com/

Balloon

This is my favorite poem ever.

Balloon

Graeme King

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I think that I might fly away, in my hot air balloon,
And hide from worldly worries on the dark side of the moon;
There’s but one thing I need before I float into the blue:
I need a sky companion and I want it to be you.

We’ll fly beyond the storm clouds and we’ll watch from up above,
I’ll cover you in rainbows as we feel each others’ love;
You’ll shower in the stars at midnight in our special place,
I’ll dry you with a comet’s tail and kiss your beaming face.

Dreamy drifting panorama, changing every day,
Every night your loving smile will be my milky way,
The moon will wane before us, sailing there in heaven’s height,
For nothing else can challenge our love’s everlasting light.

Venus shining on us, glowing soft at our devotion,
Our daily drifting dalliance in love’s celestial ocean,
I’ll write you lovers’ poetry, and you will be my muse,
Orion and Andromeda will oversee our cruise.

We’ll sleep with clouds as pillows, maybe steal an angel’s wings,
Then fly as magic lovebirds, or slide round Saturn’s rings,
And should we tire of drifting and the stars all floating by,
We’ll hook onto a meteor and soar across the sky.

Will you consent to be my mate on our celestial ship?
I’m ready, heart all packed with love, to last us for the trip,
Take my hand and step aboard, we’re heading for the sun,
We’re flying till we find the place where our two souls are one.

Rapunzel - Emilie Autumn

Amazing song. I can't believe I never found this before...

And pairing it with Tangled is just genius....

In the courtyard she used to sing as loud as she could

locked away here she's been quiet, lovely and good...

I thought my hair was long...

But....

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Not anymore. 

My mom has been telling me to look up Crystal Gale for years, and I finally did it. Oh my goodness. I WISH my hair was that long. 

And that's kind of always been an aspiration of mine.

When I was little, I would read this book called Coal Mine Peaches

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And IN this book, the main character's grandfather is telling her about when he met her grandmother. She had hair long enough she could sit on it.

For some reason, the thought of having hair so long you could sit on it was absolutely enchanting to me. It still is, weirdly enough.

And then, y'know, there's Rapunzel's hair...

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*sigh*

Yeah. Perspective blown. My hair really isn't that long. 

Books + Art = PERFECT

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Oh my goodness.

THIS is my kind of art. 

Because if you fold the person back down, the book is still perfectly usable. The figures don't make sense on their own...they only reveal the story when they two books are opened together.

Wow. 

I'm kind of in love with this.

Someone restrain me...I'm thinking of expendable books in our house...

My Hero

Long ago, in 2010 when I first entered NaNoWriMo, I wrote a story called My Hero. It was random, spur of the moment, never finished, and frankly...terrible.

But many people told me the prologue was good, and my friend and I liked the name Peach. 

So here you go...enjoy :)

cover made by the lovely Kayla 

Prologue

Peach saw herself; small, blonde, large blue eyes, dressed in a white hoodie and jeans, standing in black, surrounded by swirling white mist.

I'm dreaming, she thought subconsciously, but it didn’t really register, or matter, especially after what happened next.
The black morphed into one of those stereo-typical, terrifying forest paths, where the trees are dark, bare, straggly and gloomy and the sky is gray/brown, and the air is cold as death and has the scent of something horrible coming after you. She staggered, terrified, through trees and dark and mist. She didn’t know what she was running from, or even why she was running at all. Than, she saw them. Shadows. Shapes. Slipping in and out of shadows and changing, flashing, nothing clear, but the shapes so horrible Peach knew she was running from them. They looked like monsters, animals…beings Peach didn’t know she could imagine.
“Help!” she cried, her voice hoarse and whispery. She must have been yelling for help all her life. Why did she keep trying? The things got closer, and she ran faster.
Up ahead, all she could see was more of the same…straggly bear trees, cold mist, black. Black. The black made her want to turn and run back…except of course for what was chasing her.
“There’s no hope,” she gasped, her words coming out in little puffs of mist. “No one can hear me. I’m doomed!”
She slowed enough to turn around, which was her biggest mistake. One look, and her heart, her body, her thoughts all froze in terror. She didn’t even know what she was seeing…there was nothing there. Maybe that was what was so horrible.
“No!” She screamed, horrified. “Help me! Someone! Please! Save me!”
Suddenly, she was stumbling…she flew forward and scraped her face and chest on the hard ground. She cried out, unimaginable terror washing over her. She flipped onto her back, and saw dark shapes flapping towards her. They were too big to be bats, and every one of them was screeching like it wanted to rip her apart.
She scrambled to her feet, and found herself unable to see clearly. Everything was a blury haze, and the forest path was melting into black. The mist stayed put. The black squirmed and swirled. Everything that had been chasing her was melding together into a world of darkness, fear and pain. And it was going to suffocate her. She whirled around and around, but there was no escape. The mist that had assured her she was still at least in a real world suddenly flitted away, like the flame from a candle.
Peach screamed, her hands flying up to ward the black away from her face. “Why didn’t you save me!?” she sobbed, but she had no idea who she was yelling to. She dropped to her knees, knowing it was over.
Suddenly, there was a noise like wind ripping through a paper bag, only it was deafening. Peach’s eyes flew open, and she saw…light.
Light, beautiful, pure, blazing light ripped through the black, blinding her.
There was a beautiful yet horrible wind, and Peach covered her head with her arms as it rushed over her. She felt…hands…grabbing at her. She cried out, but the hands were wrenched away. Nothing touched her.
She was safe.
The rush of wind passed, and Peach hesitantly looked up. She gasped. Where there had been darkness, now there was light. She was surrounded by light. It was warm and beautiful and horrible at the same time. It was unbearably wonderful. It hurt her heart in a way she didn’t understand.
“Where am I?” she wondered aloud, her voice quavering.
And than, through the light, there came a dark silhouette. It looked like a man…a strong, broad, tall man. She stared at the person. Whoever it was, even through their form was dark, they seemed to make the very light around them look dim. The light was coming FROM them.
“Peach,”
The voice was beautiful, warm, and deafening.
“You owe your life to someone,”
“Wh-who!?” Peach stammered, sounding hysterical in her own ears.
“You remember, Peach. They saved you. You couldn’t be alive right now if they hadn’t. You owe them your life. You owe them your love.”
Peach stared at the silhouette, her trembling body starting to still. “I…I remember?”
“Yes. And you need to be grateful.”
 
The next thing Peach knew, her eyes were open and she was staring up at her ceiling. Her heart sped up by about three hundred beats and she sat up, sweat running down her face. “WHOA!”
She looked around, panting. Her bed, her pale blue sheets messed up and her flowered bedspread rumpled over her shaking legs. The room was unchanged. The walls were dark, the shades were drawn. It was clean. The rug was wrinkled from where she’d launched herself into bed last night. Her desk had five or six books on it, and her closet door was closed. The fan whirred quietly on the ceiling. The green letters of her alarm clock read 3:37.
Peach slowly looked down at herself. She hadn’t changed either. Purple ankle socks. Black sleep shorts. Pink sleep tank top. Her brown/blonde hair hung in tangled lumps around her face.
But…she had changed. Something was different. She could FEEL it. I shouldn’t be here.
I SHOULDN’T BE HERE.
“I should be dead.”
A shiver went through Peach. The voice in the dream said she remembered. But she didn’t! She didn’t even understand! She took five breathes one might expect froma beached whale rather than a rather small fifteen year old girl. Than she let her head collapse back against the pillow, trembling slightly. She closed her eyes.
“I should be dead,” she repeated, whispering into the dark. “But…somebody saved me. I have a hero.” She paused, tears of awe welling up in her eyes. “A hero. I have a hero.”
She opened her eyes, her jaw setting in determination.
“And I need to be grateful.”