ARK happened.

Dinosaurs happened.

Carnotaurus happened.

Then Spinosaurus happened.

Goodbye world, I'll see you on the other side.

So I did that thing where you go around the sun again. Cool.

Fuck being sick. *koff*

And all that good shit.

DC is nice. Weather kinda sucks.

I'm really bad at it.

Or lack thereof, recently. On the flip side, I'll be shifting my life across the continent here in a couple weeks and maybe some new surroundings will get the juices flowing again. We'll see.

On another note, I think I've identified a key part of my creative process. Last night I actually managed to hit on a character that I really, really like. The name is kinda meh and I'm not a huge fan of it, but physically she really struck me. I've only had this happen a couple times before, which I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing; out of my vast array of characters, I think there's three - including the new one - that I actually LIKE. I mean, I don't dislike the vast majority of my characters, of course, but they're very much a 'take it or leave it' scenario.

Always a good feeling to get inside your own head and realize that, not only do you know what makes you tick, but at least you can work towards that goal further.

In other news.... project is going smoothly, if slowly. But I didn't expect to finish this overnight, either. Considering posting ideas here, but we'll see how that goes.

I'll be moving here in a couple weeks, out of the house I spent most of my life in. I should be excited, but it's kinda melancholy. I always expected to move away on my own, not move away from the house. It's my safe spot, y'know? This has been 'home' for a very long time now. Longer than I care to admit.

And then I'm moving in a couple months again, this time across the continent to what, I hope, will be a new start.

I'm really not that excited. Not scared, not worried, just... I dunno. Maybe it'll grow on me. Back to packing.

I've just put the final nail in the coffin of the newest (and largest) project I've been working on, for a handful of reasons. It sucks, but it was very definitely a learning experience. Over the past year and a half, with almost 70,000 words hammered out, I've come to grasp a few more aspects of writing.

I think the biggest learning curve was the characters, which is something I've always prided myself on being good at. The "main character" (I'm using the term loosely, since the story actually focused around a handful of characters as opposed to a single "main") was, in all sense of the word, a God. Turns out it's incredibly difficult to write a likable God.

It's kinda nigh-impossible.

Let's get one thing straight: Gods are dicks. You can flaw them as much as you want, but they'll never be likable in context. When you give one man the power to wipe out an army, chances are, people won't be rooting for him. In a cavalry charge, when the brave knights are attacking an unknown foe and he rolls up in a main battle tank, well, the odds are getting slimmer.

However, on the flip side, I did get my "Sir Percival" reader-insert character to work incredibly well. Everyone who read the 4(5) chapters was already absolutely in love with him, which is good! That's what was supposed to happen, and it worked out exceptionally well.

One for two isn't too bad, I guess. I'm disappointed that the God-character wasn't as likable as I would've hoped, but I was expecting that from the start. Turns out it's a lot harder to root for Lancelot than it is for Percival. Who knew?

Okay, look. I get that it's your fantasy setting, and things don't have to make sense. MAGIC and all that jazz. That's fine. But establish that it's not Earth so that your rules can apply. When you make your hyper super duper awesome character who can do anything and is single handedly carrying a rebel force on his shoulders to save the human (furry, whatever) race, okay, fine. You can even put him on Earth if you want, eighty-six bajillion years in the future. That's fine.

Don't give him a fucking M14, a gun that was developed just after WWII.

Because when everyone else is carrying a laser rifle, and you've got an M14 and an apparently unlimited supply of ammunition, it kinda kills what credibility you might have left.

Just sayin'.

Made it back in one piece... jesus fucking christ, what a ride.

"The rainforest culls the weak and kills the stupid" was the quote of the trip, right up there with "titty sprinkles" and various other breast-fueled commentary. Anyway, I'll post some pics soonish, probably in scraps (until I decide what I actually want to do with this damn account). Either way, back now and I survived!

And was not arrested for cocaine possession.

1. We all know what we call you, what about the folks at home? Whats your name?
I've got a dozen names. No, seriously. AJ, Andrew, Jason, whatever you want to call me works.

2. How tall are you?
178cm

3. Natural hair color? (if you can remember it)
Brown

3. What about eye color?
Brown (yeah I'm cool)

4. What orientation are you?
Currently, I think I'm.... northeast?

5. Are you single, taken, or undecided?
It's complicated. Very complicated.

6. What do you do in your spare time?
Write, game, shoot, drive, paint, fix, break... yeah.

7. What's your job?
Writer for Earth Common journal.

8. What's one thing you like about yourself?
My ability to absorb really stupid information en-masse.

9. Alright, now what about something you dislike about yourself?
We're working on it.

10. What's some things your friends noticed about you when they first met you?
Everyone seems to get a really bad impression the first time I meet them... NO IDEA WHY.

Good! Hold on, yer coming up on some deeper questions now... ready?

11. Of what faith/religion are you(if any at all?)
None. Well, Taoist, kind of.

12. Do you drink?
I've got a bottle of Russian Standard on my desk right now.

13. Do you smoke?
Have, yes. Not recently.

14. What are your fears?
I'm not exactly fond of heights... but other than that, I don't mind it.

15. What are your dreams/goals?
Professional journalist, touring the world. Preferably in any range of cars worth more than houses.

16. Ever had any crushes/ex's in the past/present?
Yes...

Almost done!!! Time for some lighter topics now :D

17. Who's your best bud?
Eric. That fucker has gotten me through EVERYTHING.

18. Alright, you got the cravin' for munchies, what'cha reachin' for?
Fruit. I am a fruit zombie.

19. Favorite drink?
Sidewinder Fang. :]

20. Favorite color?
I don't have one. All colors can look cool if used right.

21. If you had any super power, what would it be?
Stop time. Possibly the ability to fuck with matter in general.

22. Favorite movie?
Shooter

23. Least favorite food?
Olives

24. Quick! You have only one meal left before you die!!! What is it?
Whatever stops me from dropping dead once I finish it

25. What do you drive/wish you drove?
I CAN'T LIST THEM ALL HERE. To keep it short: Pagani Zonda Cinque and a 1993 Mazda RX7 FD3S with a 20B.

Last 5 questions. You're in the homestretch, come on, you can make it! Lets see what gets under your skin.

26. Most disliked bug?
Flu virus.

27. Most hated pet peeves?
People chewing with their mouth open.

28. Dislike in life?
I think physics in general. That, and police.

29. Most annoying?
Photo radar. Fuck off.

30. Most disliked TV show?
TV in general? Is that a thing?