Yui-chan

#24 Affirmation written 1 December, 2004 Time doesn't matter to a colorful dream. Long or short, continuous or broken, it makes no difference as long as that wish is threaded through with adamantine strands of determination and bound in a frame of passion. Glazed on either side by crystalline panes built on the support of friends and family, the thin wafer of its essence is protected from doubt and failure, shielded from the sharp edges of rejection. No matter how Chronos rages at the fragile image within, that dream will never be destroyed; it will never fade. I am so lucky to have two of the three... now, all I need is to forge the impurities out of the alloy of my determination. I must burn away the grains of self-doubt and laziness that weaken the structure and leave behind the kind of perfection that's required to handle the strain of failures and rejections. ... and I will do so, because I burn. I burn to make something of this passion of mine. I burn to become the person I want to be. I burn to share what I create with a world that needs something to enjoy. I burn to know that I'm not just typical and mediocre and useless. That is my flame, and as time passes, it becomes hotter and higher and more desperate. It may take weeks or months or years before its power is enough to make my hopes immortal, but that's okay... ... because time doesn't matter to a colorful dream. ((It's what I wanted to say, yet not... I'm disappointed. ))

Greetings, Pennites! So many great events happen here, so many interesting and fun activities, useful projects and community efforts, that it's starting to get hard to keep everything in mind. Here to solve any forgetfulness is the new, easy-to-use Mighty Pen Portal, the front page that will contain all the top tidbits of information and reminders of threads and events that need your attention. "Where's the forum?", you ask? Well, it's right where it's always been. Just click on the Forums link in the Site Navigation box to the left, and you'll see the view we're all familiar with and fond of. This page isn't a change, it's an addition, a cover sheet that sits over top of the exact same Pen you've always seen. You'll notice that on the left you can find new posts, display of any personal messages waiting for you, your control panel, the search bar, and even some hopefully-helpful links! Handy, compact, and all in one place, the Portal will be a useful tool for your peers in the Tower and Guild Halls to draw your attention to the most important Pen happenings. So... sit back, relax, and take a few seconds to get acclimated. Let us know what you like and don't like. Let us know what should be changed, added or subtracted. We of the Tower and Guild Halls are here to serve you, so don't be afraid to ask for more features or changes to existing ones. Thank you, and welcome to the Mighty Pen Portal. Yours, ~Yui-chan ... on behalf of your Loremaster, Elders, and GuildLeaders...

Though informative, that explanation has given me a nervous twitch. Just reading such painful words as 'foreceps' and 'epidural' is enough to make adoption sound that much more appealing. Wah! If you're my doula, someday, do you think I can pay you extra to just do the whole thing? Y'know... I'll watch. You birth. Jittery, now, ~Yui

Stay healthy, Sali-chan. We'll be sending warm thoughts to you and your newest piece of good news. All the best, ~Yui (and Aegon by extension)

Yui will have kept careful track of Aegon (at the least). Let's say he's gotten himself lost in the basement? Maybe he was out looking for the ones who disappeared. (Unless I missed a reference to something more specific that happened to him earlier. >_ Just thinking aloud, ~Yui PS: I hadn't planned on butting in with another post, but if anyone wants to cover the healing angle, Yui has a sung spell called 'Platinum Hand of Healing' that can mend wounds for the group. It's not terribly powerful, but it will ease aches and pains and stop bleeding. It can't reenvigorate Tanuchan or Merelas, though. If someone can get Chrissania's spirit to cooperate, Merelas' jewel might be able to get at least the half fire-elf back on his wobbly feet.

I thought I'd step in just to give you a little extra edge against an Undead creature. Enjoy the battle. I'll just be making sure no one gets hurt too badly from the sidelines. We old-timers have to let the young'uns have the fun, sometimes, too. Great job at coming up with a solution you all could handle, by the way. It's good to be innovative in a story. Thanks! ~Yui

Like the happily-battle-ready dwarf he is, Gnarlitch is ready and waiting for Vahktang's signal. He crouches to launch himself forward and draws breath to let out an exhuberant warcry, his beady eyes sparkling with impending destruction. However, just before the dwarf would have lept into the fray, a pale hand descends from the darkness to rest on the hilt of his weapon, and a whispered voice tickles the hair by his ear. Surprised, he glances to his right to find the a familiar figure knelt by his side, her eyes closed in concentration. Whatever she's saying is beyond his ken, but as her alien words fill the air around them, his weapon warms and begins to glow with a soft, silver light. "'Tis about time ye got yerself back in tha game, lass!" he exclaims with a grin, feeling strength and righteous power infuse itself into his muscles and his hammer. With the power of the Sword of Light blessing, he's suddenly quite confident that the Undead prankster that has harmed and harassed his friends and colleagues will very soon be languishing where it belongs - in Hell. With the spell complete, Yui opens her eyes and smirks at the stinky dwarf, giving him a condescending pat on the head. "Who am I to steal all the fun?" she teases, backing out of his way. "Get moving, shorty. We're missing a Halloween party because of this guy." {Editted to reflect the fact that the stinky dwarf uses a hammer instead of a good, old-fashioned axe. Bad Yui! You didn't do your research.}

I'll be glad to write in if the party needs me, however I'm a little less-than-entirely up to date about what's going on. I spent some time reading through things, this evening, but I never was able to figure out what Yui's been up to since helping Celes look for that book in the haunted house's library. Did I miss her getting 'pranked' or moved or anything? Would anyone like to suggest a plausible explanation for what she's been up to, if not? Also, there seem to be a lot of suggestions throughout the story about there being a history and mystery surrounding the house itself. Has anyone figured out who this 'mischievous spirit' is or what its story might be? That could be a key to enabling your characters to deal with it without a Holy mage's intervention... Just thinking and wondering, ~Yui

Given no choice, I would choose to be deaf before I'd choose to be blind, just like a number of you. My reasons aren't terribly complicated, either. My first thought was that I need my eyes to draw and paint, but that's really minor compared to other reasons why I could not be blind. I couldn't live without being able to see the beautiful and interesting things around me, and that's the long and short of it. I'm too inclined to internal dialogues of pessimism, self-criticism and general unrest to be left in the dark with myself all my life. I think it would either make me miserable or make me a misery to be around, and both are states I most definitely don't aspire to. I would miss music and voices very, very much, but I'm quite certain that I could live with the memory of them. I'm not as certain that I could live without a daily influx of light. The darkness would get too deep. Pondering, ~Yui

Funny enough, I've been arguing with myself over whether or not to mention this event here in the Pen or not. I'm actually planning on participating for the first time, this year, though I've known about it for a couple of years, now. If anyone else wants to join in, moral support is always generously flowing through the hectic month. ... also, does anyone know what I'm going to write for this NaNoWriMo? I don't, yet. *sob* Thanks for putting up the info, oh Evil Doctor! Rushing, ~Yui

Thanks, Katz! Great suggestions, as always... I'm starting to think that one of these days, you're going to read one too many 'towards' from me and snap like a twig in a tornado. @_@ *hides behind Gyrfalcon* Help! I'm too young to die! ~Yui

Cannon fodder? Would I make a decent cannon fodder? You can have Aegon, too, if you want. He'll never know one way or the other, the absentee Weenie bum. Yours, ~Yui

Holy cripees! It's... #23 Knight written 20 Oct, 2004 "You're allowed to fail, you know," he said in that too-gentle voice, crossing toward me from the window. "There's no one standing over you with a sword, no one waiting with their finger on the red button." He only wanted to help, I know, but ... I was too low, too raw. I scoffed, feeling my face warp around a disfiguring sneer. Self-derision is always supposed to be ugly. "No one but myself, you mean." The words were sharp enough that I wasn't the only one they cut. But he's got thick armor when it comes to me; I only saw their effect in the new angle of his chin. It was a defiant angle. My stubbornness alarms went off, and as I felt him take up his sword and shield, I reflected - not for the first time - that this man had come to know me very, very well. Of course, I knew him, too. I watched his eyes as his thoughts skipped over the points that were too obvious to use as a rebuttal: that I was always my own worst enemy, a vicious judge and bloodthirsty jury; that no one could expect to be perfect; that feeling down about my mistake didn't help anything. He knew very well that none of those would stop the internal beatings because he'd tried them all before. So, he shifted gears entirely, leaving the dialogue behind in favor of a sudden attack-embrace. I might have resisted had I seen it coming (I still felt like I deserved some extra misery), but my chance had passed by the time I surmised his new plan. His arms locked around me, a trap of warm flesh that I couldn't hope to escape from. That tender hug of his, so weak in theory, is actually an irresistable force in practice, and he knows it. I leaned against him with a sigh, pressing the sharp ridge of my cheekbone into the pillow of his chest. His softness ensured that my hard edges weren't enough to hurt either of us, though for a moment, I did try. Then his scent, his support and his peaceful presence attacked my anger, dulling the blade of my inner voice in complete defiance of logic. Such insubstantial forces shouldn't be so effective against self-derision steel! It's just not fair... It felt wrong to just forget, but only for the heartbeat it took for him to draw out his ultimate weapon. When he pressed his lips to my forehead, my stubborn urge wafted away like sand in a stiff breeze, leaving me nothing but the residue of irrational blame and a gritty feeling behind my eyes. How can I hate myself when he loves that same self so deeply? He knew he'd won when I lifted my hands and pressed them to his back, cuddling closer. I felt his triumphant smile against my skin - the smarmy twit! - but I couldn't really regret his victory. The dragon was quite effectively slain, once more. After a time, he pulled back just far enough to look me in the eyes, a wry grin twisting his lips. "You're silly." What could I do except pull a face at him and answer, "I know"? And then I gave him a kiss, because, after all, it's tradition that the knight get a favor from the maiden he just saved.

All the best of luck to you for your final exams. I hope you go into them confident and come out feeling satisfied with yourself. We'll be waiting as patiently as possible for your triumphant return! Yours, ~Yui

Not a poem, here, just a note: Pulling open this thread is like lifting the lid on a fat chest of pirate's treasure. Squinting in the gleam of so many wonderful, shiny things, you never know what to touch first. It's wonderful to be presented with so many beautiful things, and I'm awed by the raw talent displayed here. Marvellous work, everyone. Thanks for sharing the exercise with us, Cryptomancer and Mynx! It's a great inspiration. Now, get ye're pens back to waggin', ye scurvy seapoets! Ah'll keelhaul yer india ink if'n ye don't spin more treasures fer me trove! Yarrrrrrrrrrrrr! Pirate mode, ~'Patch' Yui, most vicious privateer on the Pen sea >:}

Hi, Aurora! It's so good to see you're still about. You're one of the people I haven't heard hide nor hair about in far too long, and I was wondering what you'd gotten up to. I hope things are well for you and the family. Let me guess... the Reincarnation has gotten you, too? Aegon's on there, somewhere, though I know he's not AoD this time around. He's also not playing his turns very often, so you should look him up and say 'hi' with a very large army. *evil laughter* Free land! I'd tell you his top stack if I knew what it was. So, how've you been? What're you up to? How's that troublesome brother of yours? You're going to have to give me a mini-update, now that you've poked your head in. You can PM me, if you want. Anyway, as Peredhil said, please feel free to stick around. We'd be only too glad to have you to read, write, comment or even just lurk. There are a lot of really great people hanging out around here, many of whom aren't from Archmage. If you need some more friends, this is a great place to find quality stock (and who can't use a few more friends? It's all about the connections!). Let me know if you want any introductions or juicy gossip on anyone here. Great seeing you! Yours, ~Yui PS: Watch out for Wyvern. Don't buy anything he's selling, don't sign anything he gives you, and if he looks like he's going to sneeze - DUCK AND COVER! {PPS to Pennites who're scratching their heads: Aurora is a friend from Ye Olde Archmage days, in case you didn't guess. AoD stands for Army of Darkness, which was the POWERFUL AND INTIMIDATING guild we were in for a few resets. Why, it's so mighty that they've resurrected it for this new Reincarnation thing that everyone is returning to en masse. Bow down, ye silly Rabbits and depetaled Roses! }

Hmm... where did this idea come from? Since the (hopefully numerous) additions to this thread will be collaborative works of amusing fiction (except for the ones about Katz, which will undoubtedly prove true to the last, thus be strictly nonfiction), I moved it to the Conservatory. Any stories about yours truly will be handled in a power-hungry and vicious way*, however please proceed to write mind-boggling tales of debauchery on such Pennite prominences as Orlan, Peredhil, Finnius and the ever-lovely Annael. Will you give out bonus points to articles harassing our newer and more vulnerable members, Katz? >:} Ever Supportive, ~Yui * 'power-hungry and vicious' = BAHLETED! *Katz glares a bit and brandishes her spear*... okay, just kidding.

This is very unique and interesting, Alaeha. I like both the concept of including two disparate voices and the way you managed to make a very contrived rhyme flow through the conversation. It's not what I would call an intuitive scheme or rhythm, but it's clear, nonetheless. I find a lot of parallels between the disagreement and argumentative nature of the words and the rhyming scheme. Both seem to me to portray the act of trying to force someone (or something) into a certain shape. It really adds a depth to the piece that I can appreciate. I'm not even sure whether it's a good thing or bad thing, but I do note that I think the poem requires your explanation or at least the use of two colors as you did. The tone of the two voices, the language and wording they use, doesn't really suggest to me two separate people, so I rely on your enhancements to tell me that. To me, that lends credance to Drummondo's suggestion of schizophrenia or multiple personalities and draws a little bit away from the idea of two entirely separate people talking. (Since most people aren't both optimist and pessimist at the same time, I'd say it also slants the poem away from a discussion between those two types of person.) One thing I wish is that you'd taken it just a little further, though. The conversation, while clearly illustrating the two different viewpoints of the voices, doesn't have any kind of resolution or message to my mind. I feel like it just trails off instead of coming around to either agreement or separation. Perhaps part of that perception is that I don't quite get the logic of the red voice's last statement. ;;; I don't see why blue asserting that it doesn't lie is being taken as an assertion that red does. Soooo... maybe I just don't see the resolution you've given it. Anyway, regardless, I love the direction you've taken with this, and I can really appreciate the fascinating way you've played with the words and form. Congratulations on a unique approach and a thought-provoking poem. Thanks for sharing it with us! Contemplating, ~Yui

It's 'Welcome Back for Good', now, then? ~Yui

Late as usual and typically edgy before entering the confined chaos of a Pen party, Yui strolled through the courtyard of Custos Manor with her eyes on the half-open double doors. Her swagger was a practiced exaggeration, all hips and attitude, and it matched the plastic tommy gun at her side and the grey bowler set at a jaunty attitude atop her head. Decked out in pin-striped Armani, sporting a fake faerie ring and a thin layer of illusionary fur, she felt like she walked the line between interesting and rediculous... but, hey. It was Halloween! The thought was buoy enough to her confidence that the little Huntress (much smaller, mind, than the Giant Guinea pig she was imitating) slipped sideways into character and settled there like a marble in a pothole, the story she'd concocted for this disguise slipping down around her like a stage curtain. She didn't even notice how her glued-on whiskers tickled her nose when she sneered. Shoving the doors open with unnecessary force, Yui-Guido bounded into the party with her faux machine gun at the ready and paused only long enough to scan the surroundings and find her dastardly target before she was barreling through the crowd, mumbling the required Polite apologies to those she bumped without even noticing. "Youse villain!" The shout drew stares as she stomped to a stop in front of where a rather meek Doctor Evil chatted too-amicably with white-masked Finnius and bewildered Gwaihir. Her target blinked at her in surprise, taking a half-step back as she raised the tommy and aimed it in the general vicinity of his chest. "What'd youse do wit' da Boss's fav'rite pocket hanky? Huh? HUH?!"

Dodging all tacklehugs and general mischief and nodding greetings to a couple of unrecognized faces, Yui rushes toward the birthday girl with a harried look and an apologetic smile. "Oh, I can't believe I missed it! Happy belated birthday, Tralla. I hope you enjoyed your day." ~Yui

Ah, the dangers of simultaneous posting. I see that Mynx submitted a next line that got overthrown by Cryptomancer's, so I hope I'm not breaking too many rules if I backtrack and give hers a go. ___ I believe in people dying with their blind eyes open wide, with their torn nails bent to prying at the truth that tries to hide. I believe in people wading through a melee of a life, through a dawn-to-sunset spading down their pile of daily strife. I believe in people building peaks of shifting, pebble dreams, peaks of too-deceptive gilding stretching up to cold extremes. I believe in people living in a knife-edged daily game. I believe in people dying having fought through, just the same. ___ Gah. Rather disappointed with the product, ~Yui PS: The line for next time is still cryptomancer's "Race upon the twilight clouds". Have at thee! {Edit: Words shifted because I can, and I didn't like what it was. Changes are, respectively: line 4 = that's tried >> that tries line 8 = of a putrid pile of strife >> down their pile of daily strife line 12 = telling bald lies with their gleams >> stretching up to cold extremes Ponderance... why is 'gleam' a word that just always sucks in a poem? I've yet to find a way to use it that doesn't sound contrived. It's not colloquial enough?}

Stand strong, Vlad! You don't need the Archmage, any more! You're doing just fine without it. Yui tugs on his arm, trying to help him resist.

Writings (quick and dirty version in no particular order that will eventually be organized and prettified): Prose: Duality - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=11576 He Never Broke a Promise - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=11368 The Embrace - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=10018 Symbolism Exercise - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...t=0entry68936 Fate's Storyteller - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=8122 Sanctuary's Song - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=6532 Nightmare Inferno - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=7424 Freewrites - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=9435 Poetry: Yui's Poetry Collected - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=6664 Alliteration Exercise - The 9.2.5 - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...t=0entry88354 Happiness Haiku - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...=25entry87953 Peredhil's Poetry Place - Acrostics - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...036;#entry89114 Participate: Hostel Fox - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=9057 The Gaze of Eternity - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=6799 Death Becomes Yui - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12156 The Fall Ball - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=10279 Cerulean's Masquerade - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=7431 Darkness Rising - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=7436 Application to the Pen - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=7310 An Interlude at Midnight - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12453 Ward - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=11892 Text-Based Game - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12279 Tag - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=11869 Happy Birthday, Zool!!! - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...t=0entry86636 The Quincinox - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...=25entry84080 The Fall Ball - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...=50entry73744 A Halloween Party. - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...=25entry74358 Transitional Vignettes - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...t=0entry45357 Creative Writing Exercise #5: Symbolism - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...692entry68936 Other: Yui-chan character knowledge quiz - http://vayenne.friendtest.com/ Pen character sketch: William Azunost - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=9573 Pen character sketch: Valdar - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=10240 Pen character sketch: Stick - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=8906 Pen character sketch: Archaneus - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=8814 Which Pen Character Are You Most Like? quiz - http://quizilla.com/users/Vayenne/quizzes/...0most%20like%3F Birthdays! Shadow Cake with Inverse-light Candles - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=12251 Shadow Giftwrap - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=9830 A big, bald birthday party! - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?showtopic=10038 All Hail the Founder! - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...150entry65058 A late almost-party for our fave almost dragon. - http://www.patrickdurham.net/themightypen/index.php?show...t=0entry48852

Brief Biography (Coming eventually. ) ____ Websites Personal Gallery (Writing and Art): Lucent Roleplay World: The World of Two Skies Public Galleries (same content as personal gallery): My DeviantArt My Epilogue My Wyvern's Library My Elfwood ____ Contact Info E-mail = yui-chan AT twoskies DOT net AIM = Vayenne ICQ = 19474263 IRC = galaxynet >> Yui