[Lumi's Scrapbook] Iridescent Illumination

[Luminescence]

'I should start a scrapbook' I said a million times, before finally freaking doing it because I am, at the time of writing this, on a 2 hour break between classes. I could be doing productive stuff like writing posts for my PCs but here I am instead.

Most of you know me as Lumi, some of you know me as Aster, but you can also feel free to call me Jasmine! (I apologize in advance to the confusion this might bring Meadow lmao) I'm 20 years old and live in Quebec, Canada; I speak English as a first language and French as a second. I have a white beastie (aka Alaskan husky/shepherd mix) named Nova and a fat grey furball (aka Maine coon mix) named Loki.

To name a few things, I like: cats, tea and coffee (about equally), autumn, taking naps, being nocturnal, video games, space, tattoos & piercings, sushi, dark chocolate, Dungeons & Dragons, and reading & writing (if that really needs to be said ).

I dislike: People that block sidewalks/hallways, being (unnecessarily) rude, screaming children in public places, being too hot (or cold, really), overly judgemental people, spiders, any & all bugs, cold showers, grapefruits, 8 am classes, and math.

A few fun facts about me: I'm pescetarian (the only meat I eat is fish and seafood; I have been for about a year and a half now), I have 2 older half-sisters and a younger brother, I'm pagan & a witch, I had a very religiously diverse upbringing, my favourite show for a really long time was Supernatural (I don't watch much t.v anymore), and my favourite colours are pastel pink & gold.

I'm probably mostly going to use this scrap to just talk about stuff in my life and on Miz, to vent every so often, to share stuff I think is cool and maybe some of my own writing too. I don't really have anything specific in mind. Anyone can feel free to post comments, questions, or anything else in here! (Memes are welcome; I'm sure I will be posting many of my own...)

But anyway, I think that about does it for now.

~Lumi

[Luminescence]

It's a day late, but happy spring to you all, and happy Ostara to those of you who celebrate it!

I have been crazy busy and incredibly stressed lately. I have midterms now, and I've fallen behind in school some due to illness; I'm also more behind on my PCs posting than I would like, and my ST to-do list only ever seems to get longer.

That being said, I think the first day of spring is a lovely place to start fresh. I much prefer it over the new year, to be quite honest. It feels better to me; there's something comforting about knowing it's not only you starting over, but the earth around you. It's especially a strong visual reminder living in a place where the winters are long and cold and you're up to your eyeballs in snow. You get to feel the weather warm up and see the snow begin to thaw and melt, and the flowers begin to peek out. It's refreshing and hopeful.

So I've decided this spring is going to be my fresh start. I'm going to try and stress less, but more importantly (to me, anyway) I'm going to catch up on things. I'm going to fall back into pace with school, and I'm going to be more up to speed with my threads; even my solos.

There really wasn't much of a point to this scrap; I just thought it would be nice to write down my thoughts on the first day of spring, and having my commitment written down where you all can see it will be encouraging, if nothing else!

So here's to an awesome spring; both irl, and on Miz.

~Lumi

[Luminescence]

Happy Friday the 13th! A poetry blog I follow (nosebleedcluboriginal on tumblr) posted a prompt for today, and I adored it. I figured I'd share the prompt here, as well as what I wrote with it. If any of you do anything with the prompt I'd love to see it! Also please keep in mind I do very free-form poetry; it's more prose than poetry, really.

Prompt

1. The true name of your black cat
2. Blood pooling into the form of a rose on the sink
3. Raven-haired
4. Forces beyond cruelty and evil
5. Lover’s demise
6. Mother’s collection of cursed knives
7. Field of poisonous flowers
8. Intelligent life in an unexpected place
9. Gauze
10. His laugh from long ago
11. Protection from the kitchen witch
12. Omen in the birdsong
13. Good luck glasses

What I Wrote :

i. She has no name. Not one that any mortal tongue can pronounce. She lives in the shadows, and I know she’s there when I see the telltale gleam of golden eyes peering out of the darkness. She watches. Her gaze sends shivers down my spine; it is comforting to know she is always nearby.

ii. My fingers grip the sink’s edge, my knuckles turning whiter than the porcelain. I taste copper, sharp in my mouth, sharper than the edge of the blade. The crimson is so bright and vivid it burns my eyes, dripping steadily and slowly into the sink, like the last petals of the rose that fall to the concrete when winter takes hold.

iii. Black fur does not show on my clothes. It absorbs the light, and when she is curled up next to my head, she’s an inky spot among the black curling strands of my hair, blending in almost seamlessly. I watch her and think maybe we are one and the same.

iv. The universe is not cruel, nor evil; it is not kind, nor good. That would imply that the universe cares. The universe is far detached from something so pitifully human. I still spit curses at it as I chase the children with sharpened sticks away from her, I still whisper reverent thanks to it as I find my way home without trouble in the night.

v. I don’t need him, I never needed him. I stab the needle through the felt puppet, and I watch him die and the spark in the black button eyes fade. I will always need him. I hold it in my hands as I burn it and feel what we once had turn to ash.

vi. Bone hilt, ebony hilt, wooden hilt; gleaming silver blades, sharp in the dark. No reflections stare back at me as I look into the flat edges of the knives. Blood runs down my fingers, drips down my wrist, when I touch the handle; a price must be paid to harness a curse.

vii. They smell sweet, of honey and nectar, and the delicate shades of pink and purple invite me in. I lie in the field, I feel the flowers sway around me. It is silent. A bee buzzes clumsily along, the only living thing aside from myself, and succumbs to the venom. I’m alone again.

viii. I walk beneath the shadows of a claw-branched tree, its leaves long turned to dust. I hear the screeching of a raven, and when I look up, it sits in the branches and stares at me with one dark eye. It hops along, and I swear it speaks before it takes off in a flurry of wings. A single pitch feather drifts to my feet.

ix. The sink is stained red and I don’t think it will ever come clean. Claws pierce my skin, and I wind the bandage around the fresh cuts. When did they appear? I no longer know. I snip the cloth and pin it in place. I wind another stretch around fresh scratches. I don’t remember seeing them before.

x. I smell ash and feel his smile pressed against my skin as I lie in the darkness. The golden gaze tells me to forget, but I can hear his laugh echoing in my ears. I roll over, and I swear I feel his hand on my head. I blink and he’s nothing but a memory again.

xi. I stir my tea clockwise, sprinkling in cinnamon and nutmeg and whispering words of protection. The silver spoon clinks against the porcelain mug; once, twice, thrice. The chiming of a bell, driving away the dark spirits that linger.

xii. It is a silent morning. Only one bird dares pierce the air with its song. The raven is back, dark-bright eyes watching me through the window as it shrieks and caws. Once, twice, thrice; I take it for what it is. I leave the house clutching its gifted feather that day.

xiii. The day is cold but the sun is sharply piercing. I blink it out of my eyes, and settle my sunglasses on the bridge of my nose. The shadows welcome me, and I see her more easily as she slips, silent and dark, across my path. Some would call it bad luck; I smile and welcome her to my side as I continue on my way.

[Luminescence]

It seems these sorts of scraps have been going around lately; not to just hop on the bandwagon for the hell of it, but I feel like you all deserve an explanation and an apology. I know I've been around in chat on and off, and I have been doing CSL stuff, but my writing has become fairly nonexistent the past while.

I really am sorry to my thread partners, and to those who have been waiting on modded threads from me; I feel awful keeping you all waiting so long, but I've been really sick lately. My mental and physical health both have never been the best, but in the past few weeks they've both taken a dive, and I recently found out why. It turns out I have a genetic disease that, in short, causes copper to build up in my body and wreaks havoc on my health.

I'm not trying to play the 'woe is me' card, and I really hope I don't come off as trying to one-up others who have had health issues of late also; I just want to be transparent and honest with you all, as I think you deserve it. It is treatable and manageable, and going forward my health should only get better. That being said, I am going to start getting back into the swing of things. I want to thank you all for your patience, and hopefully now that I know what the problem is and am starting to treat it, I will be more consistent with my posting as I start to feel better and have more energy and motivation.

I don't really want to get more into it than that; if you have any questions about anything, personal or Miz related, you're free to PM me on here or on discord and I'll do my best to answer. Otherwise, you can look forward to me (probably slowly at first) getting back into posting. Modded threads will of course be taking priority, but then I will start hitting up Asterope's posts, especially since Alvadas will be closing soon.

Thank you again for the patience to all of you who have been waiting on me in any way; you're all gems.

~Lumi

[Luminescence]

So with all these weekend challenges we've been doing, I figured it might be fun to compile a little list of websites that encourage writing! Some of us are awesome enough that we don't need the extra nudge, but for those of us that like incentive, I think these are fun little websites.

1. Written Kitten - This one is well-known around here, and many thanks to Antipodes for telling us all about it! It's definitely the one I use most often. Every 'x' amount of words you write, you get a new picture of a kitten! (Or a puppy or bunny)

2. Write or Die - I'm sure this one is fairly well-known as well. It's a bit more severe; more of a punishment system than a reward system. If you stop writing for 'x' seconds, the program will begin to delete your writing; there are all sorts of customization options. (I've linked the latest version which is V3, but I personally prefer V2...I find it much less cluttered)

3. Fighter's Block - This is a bit of a newer one I believe, and it definitely appeals to the gamer in me. You get to set up a little RPG character that fights a monster, and the words you write gradually do damage to your enemy; the goal is to kill the monster before losing all your health.

These are the only ones I know of and use myself as of now; if you know any others, or want to suggest any, by all means please do so!

[Luminescence]

Building good habits...it's not as easy for some people as it is for others. As I'm sure any of you who are Catholic know, it's Ash Wednesday today, which is the beginning of Lent. Now I personally don't observe Lent, because, well...I'm pagan. However, my boyfriend is Catholic.

So even though he knows full well I'm a dirty heathen, he's giving up a few things for Lent, and asked if I wanted to do it with him as a sort of support system. My first response was 'uhhhhhh' because to be honest, the thought wasn't super appealing. But he suggested instead of giving something up, I try to build a good habit by doing something every day until Easter.

I tried to get him involved in Miz awhile back, but unfortunately for a few reasons it didn't end up panning out. Still, he knows how much I love it here, and suggested I try writing something every day. So...for Lent, I guess, (can I say that as a pagan???) I'm going to be trying my best to do at least one post a day.

The religious aspect aside, I think this is actually a pretty good way to try to force yourself into a new good habit, or kick a bad one. Pick something you want to do, or want to stop, and try your best to do it (or not do it) every day for a month. You might not do it perfectly, but if you can do it for a month, you can do it for another, and another, and another...until it becomes natural to you.

I'm sure I'll slow down again after Lent, but I'm hoping it will help me build a habit of posting more consistently; maybe every two or three days. Are any of you doing Lent, or feeling inspired to try and kick a bad habit or build a new good one? I'd love to hear about it if so!

[Itt]

Heeeey, I'm trying to do a post every day as well! I'm not doing it for Lent because I didn't know what day that is and I'm not Catholic, but I did want to get in a good habit of writing since I stopped writing for a year or two and it wasn't good times for me. XD So we'll do a post a day together, Lumi! We got this!