Aien Hime

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Mimi – You’re first because you’re my #1. You have been ever since I met you and you always will be. You’re my best friend, my soul mate, my everything. If I could take even one second of your pain away I would. I love you so much. Wtf would I do without you? Let’s work on making 2012 a better year – and know I’m there, always, forever.

Bennie – Even though neither of us know where this is going still, thanks so much for sticking with me. We’ll figure it out and we’ll do it right. I’m so happy we’re able to take the time. Thanks for all the patience, the understanding, the fights, the fun! Holy crap, you’re amazing. Let’s make 2012 even better!

Maru – Thanks for all the laughs and all the fun and for being there! You’re such an amazing friend. Let’s meet up for hot chocolate a whole lot more! And if you need help with your thesis or anything, please please just ask. I’d be glad to help!

Wilco – Wow. I’m just gonna say it… I miss you so much. I know you did what you did because you had to and I understand. You mean so much to me, even if I wasn’t able to show it. I hope we can still be friends in ’12!

Yuri – Yay we had so much fun this year! Best colleague ever! ;) Let’s keep it up, starting with New Year’s!!!

Harvey – Our conversations are still as amazing as ever and I hope we can have a whole lot more of them in 2012!

Fleur – Uh… Idk where you are. I miss you. Just know I still consider you my good friend and I’m here if you ever need me.

Stefanie, Sarah, Gilian – thanks for all the fun evenings with singstar and games and all!!! I want a whole load more of those in 2012!!!

Melanie – I’m so happy to have met you, even if it’s only online. You’ve been such a comfort and help, you have no idea. THANK YOU!!!

DBNL people – Wow I’m so happy to have met you all!! Thanks for teaching me so much!! I’ll miss you!!!

JB, Tim, Rens, Lucas, Shaggy – Omg can’t believe I didn’t get around to meeting you all sooner! You’re all awesome and let’s have loads of fun in 2012! Game night in January!!!

To everyone: I love you all, let’s hang out and make more memories together in 2012!!!

Merry Christmas and have an AWESOME 2012!!! SMILE!!!

Letter to Dolphinarium

2011-10-17T08:12:00.000-07:00

I know it's been ages since I last posted on this blog. I have been really busy with my new job, writing, my family, my photography hobby, my friends and last but not least, the orca Morgan.

Orca Morgan was captured weakened and in bad health off the coast of the Netherlands over a year ago with the intention of improving her health and then releasing her. Now, lots of struggles later, the dolphinarium where Morgan resided, has decided to send her to amusement park Loro Parque. The Orca Coalition is fighting this decision because Loro Parque is not a good place for Orca's (in fact, captivity is really bad for killer whales in general), and want to attempt to reunite her with her family.

Yesterday, the dolphinarium has released an open letter to the orca coalition basically telling them they have the best interest of Morgan at heart and also would have loved to see her released. As I did not agree with some things they said, I send them the following letter. It's in Dutch, but in essence I asked them why they pretend to want to have Morgan released as well when they never made any real attempt at seeing whether she can survive on her own. I wanted to share my response with the world :)

Beste medewerkers van het dolfinarium,

Met veel interesse heb ik kennis genomen van jullie open brief van 16 oktober 2011. Aangezien deze brief bij mij echter meer vragen dan antwoorden opleverde, wil ik graag een reactie terug sturen.

Ten eerste jullie verontwaardiging over de aangifte van de orka coalitie, en jullie verwarring omdat zelfs de orka coalitie zei dat jullie Morgan goed hebben opgeknapt. Ik denk dat jullie hier 2 dingen door elkaar halen. Het staat natuurlijk buiten kijf dat jullie een geweldige inspanning hebben geleverd om Morgan weer gezond te krijgen, en hier verdienen jullie ook alle respect voor.
Dat betekend echter niet dat alle acties van het dolfinarium t.o.v. Morgan goed zijn. De rechter heeft, in de rechtzaak van 3 augustus 2011, jullie opgedragen Morgan meer ruimte te geven. Echter tot op heden heb ik nog geen enkel bericht gehoord dat zij dit ook daadwerkelijk heeft gehad. Als dit voor jullie zo lastig is, waarom hebben jullie dan niet eerder ingestemd met een tijdelijke verhuizing van Morgan naar Neeltje Jans? Hier had zij al veel en veel eerder meer ruimte kunnen hebben in afwachting van een uiteindelijke beslissing. Ze heeft nu onnodig lang in een veel te klein bassin gezeten (ze had immers al in de winter of lente van dit jaar daar heen gekund), dit is iets wat jullie zelf ook hebben aangegeven. Ik vind niet dat de schuld hiervan bij de orka coalitie ligt; het heeft jullie immers een jaar gekost om een eerste aanvraag tot verhuizing; waarom heeft ze deze tussentijd niet in een grotere ruimte mogen doorbrengen?

Bovendien sta ik versteld van jullie houding tegenover Loro Parque en Morgan’s natuurlijke familie. Jullie praten daar over een adoptiefamilie van Morgan en beweren in dezelfde brief dat haar echte familie haar niet meer zal accepteren. Hoezo gaan jullie er vanuit dat een groep orka’s, die qua afstamming niet eens uit hetzelfde gebied als Morgan komen en die er om bekend staan een problematische groep te zijn zelfs zonder een ‘nieuweling’ als Morgan, haar wel met open armen zal ontvangen, en haar eigen familie die haar taal spreekt niet? Deze groep heeft de enige nieuwkomer waar ze tot nu toe mee in aanraking zijn gekomen, de kleine Adán die nota bene een kalf van een van de huidige orka’s daar is, ook niet geaccepteerd. Bovendien hebben deze orka’s al verschillende malen agressie laten zien tegenover soortgenoten (Keto naar Tekoa) en hun trainers (met een fatale afloop in één geval!). Ik ben zeer benieuwd naar jullie bewijs dat deze groep Morgan zal accepteren.

Waarop baseren jullie dat Morgan niet in staat zal zijn om haar eigen natuurlijke instinct te volgen en te leren jagen, terwijl ze volgens jullie wel prima onnatuurlijke kunstjes kan leren om dode vis te krijgen? Jullie beweren dat dit niet kan maar hebben jullie ooit de moeite genomen om dit te proberen? Morgan had prima in eerder genoemd Neeltje Jans kunnen proberen dit te leren. Als het niet was gelukt, dan had ze altijd nog ergens anders heen gekund. Maar deze kans is haar nooit gegeven omdat jullie vanaf het begin af aan niet wilden meewerken, en ik vraag me ten zeerste af hoe jullie kunnen beweren dat jullie haar ook liever vrij hadden gezien als jullie niet eens deze kans hebben genomen? Ik heb het hier niet eens over vrijlating maar over een tijdelijk verblijf!

Ik ben het zeker eens met jullie vragen over de toekomst. Het is naar mijn mening duidelijk dat er, in het geval van Morgan, veel te polariserend is opgetreden door zowel het dolfinarium als de orka coalitie. In plaats van in kleine stapjes te werken om te kijken hoe Morgan een zo goed mogelijk leven kan krijgen schreeuwde de ene kant alleen maar vrijlating en de andere kant alleen maar Tenerife en Loro Parque.Naar mijn mening zal er in een volgend geval goed samengewerkt moeten worden om een orka voor een leven in een amusementspark te behoeden, want we kunnen allemaal denk ik wel concluderen dat dit voor een orka een slechte uitkomst is (dit heeft zelfs de staatssecretaris toegegeven).

Dat het Nederlandse publiek zich weinig heeft laten horen over de toekomst van Morgan lijkt mij wel te verklaren uit het feit dat er al tientalle jaren geen orka’s in nederlandse wateren gespot zijn en al meer dan twintig jaar geen orka’s in gevangenschap hier in de buurt zijn gehouden. Nederlanders weten weinig van orka’s en van de grote verschillen tussen de soorten en hun unieke trekjes en wat gevangenschap voor deze dieren betekend, terwijl mensen uit bijvoorbeeld Amerika en Nieuw Zeeland veel meer ervaring hebben met deze dieren, zowel in het wild als in gevangenschap. Het is dus niet zo gek dat deze mensen sneller wat van zich laten horen dan een onwetend Nederlands publiek.

En dan nog even over jullie laatste vragen; nee, naar mijn mening heeft geen enkel mens het ‘recht’ om een dier op te sluiten om er dan naar te kijken, zeker niet als het gaat om een dier waarvan de natuurlijke omgeving absoluut niet nagebootst kan worden. Er is ook een groot verschil tussen een dierentuin, waar het doel is de dieren een leven te geven dat een reflectie is van zijn of haar wilde leven en waar natuurlijk gedrag wordt gestimuleerd, zodat bezoekers wat kunnen leren van de natuurlijke omstandigheden van een diersoort, en tussen het houden van dieren in onnatuurlijke omstandigheden waar zij gedwongen worden kunstjes te doen voor een publiek. Ik vind het persoonlijk juist niet etisch om Nederlandse schoolkinderen te leren dat dit wel oké is!

Ik kijk uit naar jullie reactie,

Met vriendelijke groet,

K.K. Brussee MA

Endless Daydreams

2011-05-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

So as I announced earlier, I decided to launch a new blog dedicated to my toy collecting! This means that some sections of this site will transfer to my new blog (the ones dealing with my story and my pullips mostly).

This blog will of course still be around but it will focus more on photography, writing (non-toy related), music, my website (the technical aspects) and whatever else I feel like sharing with you all.

So anyway, please do feel free to check my new blog right here!!!

Living in the city, 3.

2011-05-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

I seriously need to come up with a catchy name for this blog. The toy collection blog is coming along nicely, expect the first posts there (and a link to it) within a week or so.

So with all this talk about the new ashcloud thanks to the Iceland Vulcano, I decided to put this picture in the spotlight once again. I took this one last year during the 2010 ashcloud. Of course you can't see the ashcloud here, but it does have an effect on the color of the sky, which you can see here; I love the red color in the clouds and the way the sun looks in this picture. This picture was featured on the front page of NOS Nieuws (A Dutch news site) as well. I really hope the sky will become this lovely once again this year (although I'm not counting on it considering the cloud is less dense this time around). Thank you, iceland, for making my skies all pretty.

Living in the city, 2.

2011-05-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the irregular updates. My life is incredibly hectic at the moment but things will bet better in June I'm sure. I'm also still working out ideas for my toy blog. Basically all my toy and collectible posts will move there, but I haven't finalized my ideas yet, so hold on a bit longer for new updates on Royal Destiny, Rainbow Forest and my pullips!

Yes, this is basically the same view as the previous picture, only I took this one early in the morning before I left for work. I love the early morning light and the reflection on the water. I often wake up with the morning light lately (I really need better curtains...) and I often try to take a peek of the city awakening. My street is so different at, say, 6 AM then it is at 8 AM when people are rushing to school or work. I like watching the people pass by, but I also can really enjoy the tranquility of a city asleep.

Living in the city, 1.

2011-05-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

So I decided to change the format of this blog. I will move all my toy and doll related posts to my soon to be second blog, and this blog wil focus solely on pictures from now on. Why? The past couple of months my love for photography has moved on from taking pictures of my dolls to taking pictures in general, and I just kind of want to share the pictures I've made with you all, tell their story and hear your opinion. The why I love my job part will cease to exist because I don't work outside much anymore so I don't have any opportunities left to make new pics as a mailgirl.
I do still have a bunch of pictures lined up to show you all, but they'll just be a part of this section (I'll post them every Friday). So please look forward to loads of pretty pictures! Most of them will be taken in the city. I love finding random spots of nature and culture, especially those that are not very obvious, so I'm excited about photographing them and showing them off here!

This picture was made on an April evening this year in Leiden, looking out over the Apothekersdijk / Boommarkt. I love the blend of the brown of the buildings and the fresh green of the young leaves. There's always plenty of small boats passing by on this water which is always a lovely sight, especially at sunset.

Why I love my job, part 39.

2011-05-13T11:04:00.001-07:00

Boy, am I exhausted! I really will start working on the Rainbow Forest site soon, I promise. In fact a lot of work has been done behind the scenes (thank you Wilco!) so updating the site won't be much of an issue now, hopefully! Did you already see the lovely lineart in the menu that Lunacat made?

Yes, another snow picture. As you can see there's a house boat (what's the English word? literally translated it's living boat but that doesn't seem right) in the picture. This particular one is pretty hard to reach when the ground is wet (or as is the case in the picture, snowy) or slippery as there's no proper path to it. There are more adresses like this around the city which are a challenge to reach but you've got to go out there and visit them anyway, because these people get mail, too. I always kind of like overcoming obstacles to deliver the mail anyway.

Why I love my job, part 38.

2011-05-06T10:15:00.000-07:00

With the weather this lovely, I can't help but want to go out there and make wonderful photoshoots with my dolls. I just soooo wish I had a garden! I was at a friend's place yesterday and I couldn't help but think of what lovely pictures I could make in their garden. But alas, real job first, garden later.

Now I do have to agree this picture is a bit silly considering the lovely weather outside lately, but okay. I took this pic last winter. Somehow I find this picture so romantic. Views like this are what inspire my stories and what gives me ideas for new ones. The great thing about delivering mail is that while of course you have to pay attention, there's still plenty of time to let your mind wander which I love to use to think about what stories I want to write. I love that I'm able to do this and still do a good job.

RD characters, part 16.

2011-05-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

So sorry for my unannounced lack of updates last week, but I was so insanely busy it's not even funny anymore. Let's hope this week will be calmer.

Takato

So, everyone's favourite guy of the series, I'm sure! Takato is such a complex pony. On the one hand, he's done a lot of good things. He fought to reclaim his kingdom from his father as he was sure Shanjahen had commited a great crime, he always took care of his followers and he really does love and care for his children, in his own way.

On the other hand, he's used Ruki (and cheated on his fiancé), he isn't listening to his advisors, he doesn't trust anyone and isn't quite giving everything he has to get his daughter back. His son isn't happy with how Takato is dealing with things and is drifting further away from him, and Takato doesn't even notice.

I always love writing about Takato. Because he's so complex he's quite unpredictable and he even takes me by surprise sometimes. His relationship with Ruki is so complex; both ponies have strong feelings for each other but they can not and do not want to be together, which is conflicting and hard for both of them.

Meanwhile Takato is the High King, but I'm not sure if he's doing a better job than his father. While Shanjahen made a lot of bad decisions and some horrible things, he was still a solid High King, until the final days of his reign when he felt cornered and trapped. Takato seems to be making more bad decisions.

2011-04-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

Because of the lovely weather recently, I keep seeing girls sitting in front of their houses lounging in the sun.

As I can't do that (there's a restaurant below my appartment, boo), I decided to just have some fun with my dolls instead!

Why I love my job, part 37.

2011-04-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

As far as I'm concerned, it's too warm. However, it's weather like this that reminds me I have the most awesome little job ever.

So this Wednesday someone stole my bike bags which I had gotten quite attached to. As it happened at the post office it was another employee. Of course this morning I noticed my bags on another bike and I just took them back and chained them to my bike. Who would do something like this? It's so easy to get your own sparkly new bags...

Picture is the st. Anna's gasthuishof taken from the other side (you're looking at the entrance here). Not related to the little story I posted, but still nice and pretty.

RD Characters, part 15.

2011-04-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

It's summer!! Or at least, that's how it felt today. I don't like it being this warm in April... but I guess some sunshine and riding my bike in a t-shirt was amazing.

Rain/Hikary

Hikary, or Rain as she was first called, is Taira's younger sister and Regina's second daughter. Like Taira, she was taken by Aras. As her powers were less strong than her sister's, she was easier to control and she didn't have to be re-sealed as often as Taira. This meant that Aras often used to send her out on a mission instead of Taira. As Hikary didn't know her real name, she took the name Rain.

When she was freed from Aras' rule, Hikary refused to use the name Hikary until she found peace within herself with the things she did under Aras' control. She lived on as Rain for a while, but she did accept her duties for the Friendship Lands instantly, unlike Taira.

Hikary is more straightforward than her sister and quicker to jump into action. When she knows she has to do something, she will get up and do it.

Hikary became second to Taira when Taira became the queen. Hikary quickly accepted this as her future and never objected to it. She always will support Taira. The two share a strong bond as two sisters who were forced to live in darkness together for so long.

Hikary never married. She did fall in love with someone, but at some point she decided to focus her life on supporting her sister. Taira didn't agree with this and stated that Hikary should be able to have a family of her own, but Hikary never had the desire to settle down.

Currently, Hikary is still working as Taira's support.

Why I love my job, part 36.

2011-04-15T12:30:00.000-07:00

So the weather is great again and tomorrow I'm off to the Elf Fantasy Fair, yay! I'm gonna have loads of fun for sure! I hope I can manage to make some nice pictures.

This is the Witte Rozenstraat covered in snow last winter. Doesn't it look lovely? There's a elderly home on this street. I always love delivering mail in elderly homes because the people are usually very friendly and I love the little displays of the things (pillows and such) that the inhabitants made. It's so much fun to see and often it's really cute. I used to love seeing them when I was small, and my mother used to perform a service in an elderly home (she's a minister), and I really like it that I still get the opportunity to see them now.

RD Characters, part 14.

2011-04-11T09:52:00.000-07:00

The weather has been lovely lately! Unfortunately, tomorrow it's going to be cold again. I really hope it'll be okay Saturday, as I plan to visit the Elf Fantasy Fair. I wonder what kind of cool costumes I'll see this year! Should I dress up as well?

Lady Flora

Lady Flora is Takato's fiancé and later wife, and the mother of Asteria and Firian. She never played a large part in RD, but behind the scenes she had quite some influence. Of course, Takato hasn't been faithful to her during the time they were in exile, trying to take the kingdom back from Takato's father Shanjahen. Takato was infuriated with Ruki. I don't think he really was in love, but he was attracted to her in ways he couldn't explain (It'll get clearer in part 5 why this was) and his love for Flora was never strong enough to keep him from being with Ruki.

I could never quite figure out whether Flora knew about Takato and Ruki. I think she did, or at least suspected it. Still, she knew that her future husband, as High King, would always have secrets from her so she never raised the issue. She had faith that Takato would do the right thing, even if it meant he had to do something she didn't like.

After Takato became High King they got married and Flora soon gave birth to her son Firian. She loved her child deeply and she soon wished to expand her family. It took a while for her to get pregnant with her second child. She was already preparing for another boy, but when she gave birth to her daughter Flora died from exhaustion. Little princess Asteria grew up without her mother and Takato could never look at Asteria without remembering the woman he loved dearly. Her death meant he could never apologize to her for what he did, something that will always haunt him.

Robot

2011-04-09T03:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to post more pictures I make of my dolls here. I love to do photoshoots with my pullips - it's a great way to develop my photography skills and an amazing way to express my emotions.

This is a photoshoot I did based on Miley Cyrus' song Robot. The song always reminded me of my dolls and the customizing process, so here you go!

Of course, the lyrics are © Miley Cyrus.

Why I love my job, part 35.

2011-04-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

So apparently TNT post will be renamed to Postnl which is the lamest name ever, but whatever. I have a two day weekend now and I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest! 2 days off- wow. Haven't had that in like, forever.

This is the Gasthuishof. You can't enter it like other hofjes, but you can see the pretty building on the outside from the Ceaciliastraat. I took this picture on a rainy day last fall when I got called in at like, 4pm to deliver a part of this area. I was slightly pissed off, but this view really cheered me up. The strange evening light and the illumination of the building made it look really cool.

RD Characters, part 13.

2011-04-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

I seriously need to get my hands on a DSLR camera. Seriously. It's so awesome to have so much control over your pictures! It also makes me much more excited about my new picfic, which I will start soon over at Pullip Fiction.

Regala

Lady Regala is queen Regina's younger sister. She survived the eruption together with her youngest daughter Togli, but her other children perished. She lived in a remote village with Togli, until one day Togli convinced her mother to go back to the old Friendship Lands with her to find other survivors. Regala lost Togli one night in the mountains of the old Friendship Lands, however, and as a result she lost her mind slightly, having lost all reason to live.

Regala decided to visit Regina after a visit from Twinkle Star, and she slowly regained some of her sanity there. After she found Togli living in the northern country Kin, she decided to stay with her daughter and live there.

Regala ended up being the character who lost it all, and therefore lost all hope. I always felt like I should have had more characters like this; considering what the ponies had gone through, it wouldn't be that surprising, but Regala ended up being the most prominent one. I liked writing Regala's character, and I miss having a personality in my story who has gone just a little insane.

Why I love my job, part 34.

2011-04-01T11:24:00.000-07:00

So I just got my hands on a dslr camera! How awesome =P Unfortunately it's not mine, but I got to borrow it from a friend for a while so I can see if I like it (I might want one for my birthday). So far I really do! It's awesome!!

This is the Ruime Concientiestraat. It's really hidden and only has like 5 houses, one of which is completely hidden away, almost on another street. It's a cute little street, but it's really hard to find one of the houses here if you have no idea where to look. It's kind of fun, though, to know all these hidden little places in the city. I love knowing all of Leiden's little secret spots.

RD characters, part 12.

2011-03-28T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, with everything going on with my guinea pig passing away, I didn't get around to writing much at all the past week. Things have become calmer now, though, so I hope to find some time to write. Also, my name was published with the new Within Temptation cd. Cool.

Crystal
Crystal is Regina's 6th daughter. While in her younger years there was no chance of her ever becoming queen, she functioned as heir for a short while after Twinkle Star took off from the New Friendship Lands.

Crystal has always been pretty serious about everything. She tends to take things seriously even when they were meant as a joke of sorts. She always tried to be nice and to make a proper decision, but this didn't always work out for her. She travelled with Twinkle Star for a long time before they arrived at the Friendship Lands at the beginning of the story, and they had fought a lot because Crystal found it hard to deal with Twinkle Star's impulsiveness sometimes. Still, she was happy and relieved she had found her sister.

Crystal was the first pony in my story to actually die. I didn't quite plan this ahead - it just happened as I was writing the story, and it made me feel pretty bad about it. Still, I think Crystal's death was important to the story; it showed that they weren't save, even if they had survived the eruption. Their world is a dangerous place. Even up to her death, though. Crystal was a brave pony who stood for what she believed in.

RIP Satsuki...

2011-03-27T06:05:00.000-07:00

My lovely little guinea pig Satsuki passed away Friday night. RIP little girl, I'll miss you.

Why I love my job, part 33.

2011-03-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, I didn't get around to doing much besides my work, my internship and taking care of my very sick guinea pig this week. The poor thing is very sick and I'm doing all I can to make her better... But I'm not sure if it'll work out. Please pray for my poor Satsuki.

So here's a silly mailbox! Fun thing about the inner city is that there are so many different mailboxes. Outside the inner city, most mailboxes are very basic and they all look alike. Inside, though, there's a lot of different mailboxes in all sizes. This sometimes does mean they're in inconvenient places or are simply too small, but it does make things more interesting.

RD Characters, part 11.

2011-03-21T09:39:00.000-07:00

Spring is here! Wow, and in such a wonderful way, too! The weather is lovely and I spend some wonderful time outside making pictures of my pullips!

Junai

Junai is one of those characters that ended up playing a bigger part in RD than I originally intended. Kiyoi just happened to have a brother and at some point I thought it would be fun if he showed up in the Friendship Lands. Little did I know that he would fall for Aline and marry her.

Junai is more adventurous than his older brother. He set out to see the world and to find adventure, but what he eventually found was a girl he loved more than anything. To him, this was the adventure he had been looking for. Of course, Junai missed his family and he wanted to take Aline to meet Kiyoi, but it never happened.

Junai was a courageous pony and he would do anything to protect those he loved. Like his older brother he is very caring and understanding, but Junai is quicker to jump into action instead of letting those he cares for take care of their own problems.

Why I love my job, part 32.

2011-03-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

Wow, part 32 already! Sometimes it feels like yesterday that I started this blog. I've been working on Rainbow Forest the past week. The main reason I haven't uploaded any new ponies to the new site is because there are still some flaws in the database so if I would upload ponies now I'd have to go back and edit them again later, so I rather wait until I can do it properly.

So here we have the bridge over the Galgewater. Every time I cross this bridge it reminds me of my introduction week at university (which feels like yesterday and ages ago at the same time), because we watched a boat race here. There are many places in Leiden which are somehow connected to my student time here, and I love having a job which still makes me go to these places and lets me relive memories I might not think about as often if I didn't have this job.

RD Characters, part 10.

2011-03-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

So this weekend it occured to me that I finally uploaded the final Nanowrimo chapter. Wow, I most certainly wrote a lot that November! I really have been writing at a slower pace ever since, but other things require attention, too.

Taira

Taira is, of course, Regina's oldest daughter. She was kidnapped by Aras when she was still a baby and everyone's memory of her had been sealed, so she lived in solitude and was raised as Aras' pawn which he needed to finally achieve his return to power.

Unfortunately for Aras, Taira proved hard to control. Her royal powers were extraordinarily strong and he often had to seal her mind just so she would obey him. Once, she even ran away from him for a long time and hid in the West in Batafurai, where she lived together with Fjaril and where she gave birth to her daughter Ruki, who she managed to hide from Aras.

After her mind seal was broken and she defeated Aras, Taira spend a long time coming to terms with the horrible things she had been forced to do under Aras' influence. Once she accepted that what she had done was not her fault, she accepted the position as heir to the throne and eventually became queen of the Friendship Lands, which she is now.

I absolutely love Taira. She has always been strong and fighting against which she was forced to do, and eventually she not only found the strength to defeat this but also the strength to live with what she did and make a change for the better. Writing from her POV was always rather easy for me as I always completely understood her intentions and motives.

Right now, Taira is busy being the queen of the Friendship Lands, and she loves her job and wants to do it right. She's in the background right now, but there's still a bit of her story to be told in part 5, and I'm looking forward to sharing that part with all of you.

Why I love my job, part 31.

2011-03-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to write RD at all this week! I've been so busy! Next week will be better though for sure (and it's not like I don't have over 10 episodes ready to go online). Taylor Swift was amazing! I'm so happy I got to see her concert!

Today's picture is from a pretty courtyard on the Galgewater. Now this is (officially at least) not a hofje, and I'm not sure what it used to be in the past (a hospital? an orphanage?), but it's a pretty little place that you hardly notice from the main road. There are more places and buildings like this that you somehow never notice when you pass them (the old hospital on the Hooigracht for example), which is a shame, because I think there's loads of places and buildings with a long history in Leiden that just go unnoticed.

RD Characters, part 9.

2011-03-07T00:56:00.000-08:00

The weather is lovely!!! A bit cold, but oh well, the sun is shining! Unfortunately the next day I get to go out and deliver mail is Wednesday which so happens to be the first day rain has been forecast. Nice. But in good news, I am going to a Taylow Swift concert this evening!!

Stelline

Stelline is Regina's third child, although due to Aras' mind seal, she was believed to be the first born for a long time. Stelline is a unicorn, of course. All unicorns in RD are white with silver markings and their horns can vary in color. Being a unicorn means that you can focus your royal powers better than your average royal pony, although it doesn't necessarily make them stronger. Unicorns are created when a father is also capable of using royal powers (usually without knowing, though) and transfers these powers into his unborn child. It usually only happens with royal ponies, though.
Anyway. Stelline isn't a very powerful unicorn. She dwelled in the mountains of the old lands for a long time, thinking her entire family had passed away and that she was guilty for the death of her sister. I don't think this was ever mentioned in the story itsself, but as she lived she did encounter Rain and Taira a few times. She was taken to Aras once who sealed her and set her free, even though he was aware that she was another child of Regina. He felt she was too weak to be of any value to him, though.
After she started living with Regina in the Friendship Lands, she soon found herself pregnant with twins, which is also something only unicorns can do: when their royal powers detect a child is needed, they can get themselves pregnant. Stelline loves her twins and she's a very caring mother.
Stelline is a very quiet pony, often caught up in her own thoughts and emotions. She keeps to herself a lot and is not really into royal politics. More recently, she has retreated to writing books as both her children are grownups now. I always really liked writing about the unicorns, but I'm happy for Stelline that she's living her life in peace now.

Why I love my job, part 30.

2011-03-04T10:20:00.000-08:00

Why, I survived the first week of my internship! So far so good, and I even managed to save some energy for writing rd! I hope I can manage to do that next week, as I'm pretty exhausted and Monday I'm going to Taylor Swift's concert! Yea!!!

Yes, another cherry blossom picture! I just love these trees so much! This picture is from spring 2010, I hope I can sneak in and take a picture this year again! The weather has been beautiful this week and instead of delivering mail, I've been stuck in an office, which is fine and all, but it did make me realize one of the most amazing things of being a mailgirl: You get to work outside. I just love being outdoors and I don't do it often enough, so it's great that I get to spend a good amount of time outside delivering mail!

RD Characters, part 8.

2011-02-28T11:02:00.000-08:00

Starting my internship tomorrow! So exciting! I really hope I'll still have enough time to write RD. I'll make time! You know, the good thing about being 12 chapters ahead of the currently published chapter is that I can go back and edit some things, making the story better in the end. I do have to pay attention that I don't spoil anything though.

Yuuro

Yuuro first appeared in the story when the ponies first visited Kin in episode 62. He was only Stanno's little brother back then, but of course he later returned as Ruki's love interest and father of Caleantha.

Yuuro is a very sweet and kind person, who loves Ruki so much. He'd do anything for her and he wouldn't do anything she doesn't want him to do. Unfortunately this means that he is often ignored by Ruki, who has a mind of her own and chases after her own things without consulting him. Yuuro is aware that Ruki doesn't love him as unconditionally as he loves her, but he knows she needs someone stable in her life who she can always return to, so he tries to be that person.

He adores his little daughter but he is well aware that Caleantha is like her mother in many ways and that he needs to let her be free. Yuuro was raised in a way traditional to the East, where women were seen as more powerful and thus more important than men, and Yuuro still lives his life this way. He wants to help those that do have power by making their lives easier.

Yuuro was always the one who would end up with Ruki (yes, this was planned from the beginning), and on the surface he's like the ideal man: he adores Ruki, is a wonderful father, does everything he can to help his wife with her hard tasks and he's very caring while he does still have his own interests (he likes doing historical research). Still, as you can probably tell, Ruki is not completely happy with her marriage. I won't go into detail because much of this storyline is yet to come, but Ruki, even though she loves Yuuro and appreciates everything he does for her, is longing for something Yuuro can't give her.

Why I love my job, part 29.

2011-02-25T08:07:00.000-08:00

I got an internship! Wow. I'm pretty excited (and a bit scared). Of course I'll still be working at the mail part time as well to make some money at least. I just hope I can find enough time to write RD! I really want to finish it this year!

This is the Pieterskerk. There are plenty of churches in Leiden, both as big as this one but also really small ones. Some are even hidden away behind normal houses because those forms of Christianity weren't allowed in the past, and it's fun to discover those. Anyway, the Pieterskerk is one of the most beautiful churches of Leiden in my opinion. It's standing in a large open place surrounded by older houses. It's been renovated recently and it looks amazing. This was actually the first area I delivered, ever, and I loved this part.

RD Characters, part 7.

2011-02-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

It's so cold today!!! And here I was thinking winter would be almost over by now. Well, it'll make me enjoy spring even more when it comes.

Chifre

Chifre is the first child of Reine, and like Stelline, she's a unicorn, which means her powers are more channeled and she's able to conceive a child without a father. Chifre's horn is considerably larger than Stelline's, meaning she is by far the stronger unicorn.

Chifre has always lived together with her sister Illuvia, except for the few occasions where Illuvia ran off (for example when she spend time with Aras). When they were younger, she felt like her sister was rash and thus that she would have to take care of her to make sure Illuvia didn't do anything stupid.

Of course, Chifre was not able to prevent Illuvia from making stupid decisions, so she had to force herself to let go of her feelings of responsibility towards Illuvia. This became easier when her own child, Corné, was born, but she decided to stick with Illuvia anyway because she didn't want her sister to be all alone, especially not after Illuvia had given birth to Câlin.

Chifre is a wise pony and very smart, and she's very capable of reading other ponies' emotions and thoughts. She knew about Illuvia's (and Câlin's) secret, their wings, and always kept this to herself. After Illuvia passed away, she knew someone with the same ability would have to raise Câlin so she left the girl with Twinkle Star.

Chifre has never been much of a main character in RD, but she's always been around and she tends to pop up every once in a while. I always pictured her travelling the world, gathering information here and there and using this information to help others make the correct decision, such as Twinkle Star. I've always had a plan of making a little side story about Chifre from when she was young and/or when she travelled with Corné somewhere in between parts 3 and 4. I haven't gotten around to doing it yet, but I hope I can, one day.

Why I love my job, part 28.

2011-02-18T01:16:00.000-08:00

Actually I'm not in the mood for a Why I love my job due to being rather angry at my boss at the moment, but hey, it's not the job to blame, right? On an unrelated note, I noticed that I am still uploading RD chapters which I wrote during Nanowrimo. Wow, I didn't realize I had written that much!

So todays picture is of the 4e binnenvestgracht (There's actually 5 of them scattered all over the city. Binnenvestgracht means it used to be a moat inside the city's outer walls). The houses you see on the left are actually houses from the Plantsoen (their back side) and thus don't have mailboxes on this side, meaning that you only have to deliver mail on one side of the street (with one or two exceptions). I'm always wondering if it's easier to do this with your bike or just to put your bike on one side and just walk and then walk back. as I'm a leftie, I usually pick the latter, or I end up stuck with my bike, but I can't help but think that other colleagues who do manage to do it by bike end up being a bit faster.

RD Characters, part 6.

2011-02-14T00:59:00.000-08:00

Today it's valentine's day! Now I got nothing special planned or anything, except for probably delivering loads of cards. Well, this is the mail that is fun to deliver! I'm sure it'll make many people happy to receive a fun card from a friend or lover. Yay for making many people happy!

Kiyoi

Kiyoi has been one of my favourite side-characters for a long time (ever since he appeared really, so that's like 7 years ago now). He's Twinkle Star's love interest (and later, husband) and of course father of Meran and adoptive father of Câlin. Kiyoi has always lived in the little house next to the forest which he watches over, much like his father before him and most likely his father's father, too.

Kiyoi has always been patient and understanding, especially of Twinkle Star. He loves her, but he knows there's things going on in her life that he can't understand and that he can't help her with, so he has always known he would have to let her go to do these things. He tries to be there for her by always providing a home which she can return to, which she eventually does.

This doesn't mean that Kiyoi just sits at home waiting while Twinkle Star is off having her adventures! He takes pride in his job and he loves his forest. He's good friends with many ponies in the nearby town and he's not afraid to speak his mind. He has a sense of humor and he loves to teach children (I always pictured him as a teacher if he hadn't taken over his parents' job).

Kiyoi loves both Câlin and Meran equally. They're both his daughters in his view and he took great care to take proper care of both of them and to make Câlin feel that she was just as much his daughter as Meran is. Câlin shares his love for nature and the forest and he always enjoyed taking her on his trips through the woods.

After Twinkle Star died, Kiyoi raised the two girls on his own. While it was hard for him to keep on going without his true love, he did so not just for his children but for himself, also. He had his own life which he wanted to live and while it was incomplete without Twinkle Star, he wants to live it none the less.

Why I love my job, part 27.

2011-02-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

So the weather turned al grey and icky again, such a shame. I enjoyed the sun so much! Ah well, only a month or so left until spring. Meanwhile I'm thorougly enjoying the new lady Gaga song, Born This Way. It's amazing!

So this is the picture I referred to last week, but blogger didn't want to show it for some reason. Anyway, here it is... This is the Oude Vest (and the Oude Singel on the other side of the water). As you can see, there's loads of bikes parked here. To be honest, everyone has a bike and they are all over the inner city as not many houses have a place to put your bike in. They're really in the way sometimes! While it's annoying when everyone's bike is everywhere, it's fun to see how many different kinds of such a simple thing can exist.

Royal Destiny "book" titles

2011-02-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

So I didn't get around to start my new category this Tuesday because I had to make a picture for it and I just didn't have time to do so. Next Tuesday it is! Also, this Tuesday marked the first day of the year on which I could deliver mail with only one coat on. Yay for lovely weather! I can't wait until spring!

Today during work I was thinking about the five parts of RD and their names, and I realized I never quite explained what they all referred to.

First of all is Princess Awakening. This title basically refers to two things: First, to the fact that Regina's daughters are back with their mother and start living like princesses again. They, and especially Twinkle Star, are "awoken" to their role as princess and to the responsibilities that come with that role. Second, the title refers to the opening of the Friendship Lands to the outside world. For years the ponies of the new Friendship Lands have lived in solitude, sheltered from the world to mourn the loss of their country and so many relatives, and now they're opening up and getting in touch with other countries.

Second is The True Heir. While on the surface this title looks like it refers to Taira, it is actually referring to Ruki, who is getting a main role in this part. Unlike Taira, Ruki has mastered the Old Magic and is therefore the true Heir to the ancient throne, even though it doesn't exist anymore. The guardians respect her for this and consider themselves bound to her, as they have mentioned at the end of part three.

Third is Resurrection of the Guardians. This is probably the most straightforward title of all, as it really does refer to the return of the Guardians to the earth. There's not much more I can say about this, really.

Fourth we have The Goddess and the Mortal. This title actually refers to several things. First and most obviously, it refers to a world where Goddessess and Mortals live (the Guardians and the normal ponies), which has changed the world and the way ponies treat each other quite a bit, though often in subtle ways.
Second of all, the title refers to Câlin and Meran. Although Câlin is the winged one and Meran just a normal pony, you'll see that things aren't always as clear as you might think.
And finally, this title refers to some kind of eternal struggle some of the characters (Meran, Câlin, Firian and to a lesser extend Ruki) are facing: even though you know what is right, are you strong enough to stick to that? And how far will you go in order to achieve that? Can you truly stick to doing the right thing (being a "Goddess"), or will you succumb to the temptation of the easy way out (being "mortal")?

And of course, the fifth part will be called The Daylight Star, but I'm not going to say anything about that yet!

RD Characters, part 5.

2011-02-07T08:32:00.000-08:00

So it's rather windy lately, which is great fun while delivering mail (not). I'm surprised none of my letters have been blown away yet (I jinxed it now, didn't I?) and ended up in the water or whatever. Oh, the struggles of a mail girl.

On an unrelated note, I will no longer publish why I love my job on Tuesdays but I will start a whole new catagory. Stay tuned!

Reine

Reine is Regina's eldest sister and was once supposed to become queen of the Friendship Lands. Originally, as in way back when I played this story with my ponies, Reine survived and ended up with Regina and all was well (she's Lady Satin Slipper), but of course this changed in the final version.

I always thought it was a bit of a shame, though, that we only met Reine in a flashback scene through Regina's eyes. She has a very real and complex personality. Reine was raised to become queen which was very stressfull for her and which took up a lot of her time, even at a young age. Reine was used to getting what she wanted, and when she couldn't get the heart of the pony she liked, she lost it and ended up killing her own niece.

This makes her one of the few characters in my story so far who actually took another's life. Still, I don't see Reine as evil. She actually was very lonely at the time and did not know how to deal with the fact that someone else got what she wanted because it had never happened to her before.

Reine got exiled and gave birth to two children; the unicorn Chifre and Illuvia, Twinkle Star's soulmate, who of course had no father. Still, when Reine learned from the eruption, she ended up going back trying to save the ponies she was once born to protect, but she ended up dying in the ashes of her old home.

Reine's story is quite a tragic one, and I would have loved to explore it more, but it was only a side story, so I ended up cutting most of it out and only Chifre explained it briefly to Twinkle Star at the end of part one. Thankfully, we haven't seen the last of her children and grandchildren (she is, of course, Câlin's grandmother).

Why I love my job, part 26.

2011-02-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

This week, someone died at work. He was unloading bags of mail and then got a heart attack and died, despite attempts to save him. Wow. I didn't know him very well personally, but it's still shocking. These things really do remind you how fragile life can be sometimes. RIP, colleague.

I actually had another picture planned for today, but blogger didn't want to upload it, so oh well, here we go. This is the Meermanshofje again, in spring this time. I just love seeing the seasons change while I work. While it's less fun to deliver mail in rain and wind and cold weather, it just makes you appreciate the nice weather that much more. I'm looking forward to spring again, to feel the warmer sun and to see the flowers bloom. Bring it on.

Why I love my job, part 25.

2011-02-01T06:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, part 25 already! This is going faster than I thought it would. Maybe I will go back to posting this part of my blog once a week and replace the second one with another topic. I'll keep you all updated!

As you can see, this is another hofje. Oddly enough this one is not located in the inner city but outside it (granted, only on the other side of the inner city's outer channel, but still). I was kind of surprised to find it because until recently I didn't think these kind of things also existed outside of the inner city. As I've been delivering mail outside of the inner city a bit more frequently lately, I have run into all kinds of pretty places like this one, and it's a lot of fun to discover so many nice things I find in the inner city exist outside of it as well.

RD Characters, part 4.

2011-01-31T08:41:00.000-08:00

So I'm back from my holiday! I had a wonderful time and even managed to work on RD- I finally outlined the rest of part 4 and part 5. Now I had the idea for these parts in my head for a while of course, but it's good to have it written down. It's going to be so awesome!

Fleur
Fleur is only one of two of Regina's children who never were a POV character (except, oddly enough, for the first part of the first chapter) and who never seemed to be very involved in what her sisters were up to, but instead always chose to stay at home with her mother Regina.

As Fleur is the only daughter of Regina who has not been born in the Old Friendship Lands and the only princess born in the New Friendship Lands, she always felt very connected to the new lands and didn't quite get why her family felt the need to go out and explore the world and do whatever it was they did. She completely felt like she was a princess of the new Friendship Lands and did not have a strong relationship with the Old Lands and the duties to the world it represented which her sisters do feel (except for maybe Ivy).

I always kind of wondered what Fleur's role in RD was. I think it has been good for the story that there was one princess so different from the others, who kind of showed how they all could have been had the eruption never happened, and had they simply been princesses of a normal country.

Fleur doesn't have a role in the current part of RD, but she has a small family and often helps Ivy out with steward related stuff, while her husband owns a large farm.

Why I love my job, part 24.

2011-01-21T05:49:00.000-08:00

Just a little notice in advance: I will be on holiday next week, so there will be no updates here and I won't be able to update a new RD chapter either. Next RD chapter will be uploaded Friday Feb. 4th, 2011!!!

Today's special picture! Of course, there are a lot of cats all over the city, and some of them really love some attention from the mail girl! This is one of my favourite cats, it always comes over to my bike and askes for a pat and some attention. It's so cute!! It always waits at my bike for me to return for some more attention. There's another cat somewhere who always crawls up to you when you try to deliver mail, making it pretty hard for you to keep working. I love running into cats (and other animals too!) while working.

Why I love my job, part 23.

2011-01-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

So my prediction of a lot of rain is coming true it seems. Ah well, yay for proper rain coats.

This is a picture of the Jan van Houtkade. As you can see there's another mailman in this picture. Part of my job is to train new employees. It's always kind of exciting to see what kind of person I have to teach the job, and it's fun to meet all kinds of different people. I have noticed so many people learn in different ways so I always try to adapt the way I teach to the kind of person I'm with. Some people learn better if you explain a lot about the reasons of how things are done, while others just get confused with that information and learn better by just focussing on their part of the job. It's fun to teach new people and to try and make them enthusiastic about their new job.

RD Characters, part 3.

2011-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have the distinct feeling work is going to be really rainy. IDK, I could be off... I hope I am.

Aline

Wow, Aline. She was initially intended to only appear in one or two episodes to show Twinkle Star the way, but the girl was rather obnoxious and decided to tag along. Aline started out as a really happy girl who was pretty ignorant about the world but who managed to learn a lot about it in a short time.

Of course, everything changed for Aline once she lost her husband and her child in a short period of time. This had such an impact on her because she is the kind of girl that dives head first into everything and gives it her all, and this was even more so with her husband. When this all was taken from her so suddenly she became severely depressed.

I always loved writing from Aline's POV, especially in the beginning. She was always so cheerful and her impulsiveness really contrasted with Twinkle Star. It was fun to describe how the two of them became such close friends for a short time, and I was genuinely sad when they fell apart so quickly.

Aline is currently still steward of the newer half of the New Friendship Lands, but she never remarried and doesn't have children. Her heir will be Yoyeuxe, one of Stelline's children. Aline will probably not appear in RD anymore, or maybe only in a very minor role. It's a shame and I do miss her sometimes, but her story has been told.

Why I love my job, part 22.

2011-01-14T10:45:00.001-08:00

So I had another slightly involuntary day off due to personal reasons, and I sooo missed work! Of course I really needed a day to recover from recent events, but I really didn't like missing two days in a row. Meh. Ah well, starting at 6 again tomorrow, that will make up for it I suppose.

I took this picture from the Jan van Houtkade, and I have no idea what the street across the water is called, as it's in another department. I work in the inner city, and there are 4 more departments Leiden has been divided in. Every once in a while, I have to work in another department where I of course don't know the way as well as I do in the inner city. It's actually quite fun to go to different places and discover new and different area's.

Why I love my job, part 21.

2011-01-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

So the new anime season is starting this week... I'm so happy Crunchyroll is licensing so many shows now for the Netherlands too! I basically wrote my MA thesis about this subject (well, kind of, as it was about manga), and I still love to see how people are finding creative ways to distribute anime and manga to fans all over the world through the internet, combining the strengths and skills of both publishers and fans. But, as a fan, I'm just looking forward to the three shows I decided to watch; Gosick, Hourou Musuko and Kore wa zombie desu Ka?!

Technically, this is one of the first pictures I made during work, I think I made it even before the first one I posted, but I had saved it in another folder and I had forgotten all about it until a few days ago. This is the Rapenburg, the single most beautiful gracht we have in Leiden. The church-like building you see on the left is the university building. I didn't attend classes here, of course, it's only used for ceremonies and the occasional exam, but I did graduate here. During my graduation ceremony my teacher told me to get a real job ASAP and that I could do so much more than delivering mail. While this is true (and I really want to find a job in publishing asap!), there's one thing university didn't teach me that working at the mail did: Work can be fun, and it is something to look forward to. For me personally this was something important I had to learn the hard way, and I'm happy to have worked at a job that managed to teach me this so well.

RD Characters, part 2.

2011-01-10T00:45:00.001-08:00

So I have an unexpected morning off which is really nice to catch up on things and hang around and update this blog. I'm also expecting my first pullip in months, so I'm really looking forward to receiving her!!! Now if only Isul hadn't sold out... (Or actually it's good that he did, with me not getting paid for the work I do and all nowadays. *sigh*)

Regina
Regina is, of course, the mother of most of my main characters (at least in parts 1-3). She wasn't born to become queen (she had two older sisters after all) but through circumstances she ended up becoming the heir, and later on, the queen of the New Friendship Lands.

Regina hasn't had an easy life; as she grew up she witnessed her oldest sister Reine commit a horrible crime and she saw her other sister Campestre lose her sanity, and after her entire country was destroyed she lived for fifteen years thinking she had lost four of her daughters. But through all this, Regina has always been a rational queen and managed to build up an entire country from the ground.

Regina has never been a POV character on purpose. She was always supposed to be the main character's mother and the wise queen who was always sort of in the background, supporting and guiding her daughters.

Now that she has been retired as queen for about 15 years (at the beginning of part 4), I always picture Regina as having grown a whole lot older because she doesn't have much to do anymore. She helped Taira in the beginning of course, but Taira is a good queen in her own right so she doesn't need much help. Regina is enjoying her days as a grandmother and tries to enjoy the country she build herself, but I always imagine her still trying to help out Taira whenever she gets the chance.

Why I love my job, part 20.

2011-01-07T04:06:00.000-08:00

This weekend I'm going to work hard on the new Rainbow Forest site, hopefully after my friend managed to update the coding so I can add new ponies without having to worry that I'll have to go back and edit them later again. If I beat this stupid cold, that is. Somehow I always feel so silly if I get a cold after I already had the flu that season. Weird.

Yep, another revisit. This is the Jan Pesijnhofje, which I covered with a spring picture in the very first Why I love my job. The reason that I have so many revisited pictures is that, as a mailman, you really do revisit the same places a lot, even if you don't have your own area that you cover every day (the inner city isn't that big, after all). This does mean that over the years you start to remember where people live and you can find their adressess even if it's written incorrectly on the envelope. Some of my colleagues can even remember people's adresses just based on their name alone! I think it's really great that this knowledge leads to more mail delivered correctly, and it's a shame that this is one of the things that will be lost when my company will go through with its reorganizations.

Why I love my job, part 19.

2011-01-04T08:34:00.000-08:00

So apparently now that the Christmas rush is over, I still get to start at 6AM. Grrrrreat. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a nice way to work a bit more and still have some day left, but it's pretty tiresome. But that's okay.

So here we have one of my crazy colleagues hugging his tower of containers after being pretty proud of handling this much mail (the area he was working on usually has 5 max of these containers, but now he had eight. To be fair, my area had 11). I always really enjoy hanging out with my colleagues at work and simply handling all the mail together as a team. It's so great to work together to get it all at the customers in time! And we always manage to have a lot of fun while doing so, even when there's so much mail as in this picture.

RD Characters, part 1.

2011-01-03T00:43:00.000-08:00

I decided to put the new blog section which I mentioned before on a Monday, so here we go, first part! Please do note that these sections might contain spoilers if you're not caught up to the current chapter of Royal Destiny, so read at your own risk.

Ivy

Ivy is the first character you meet when you start reading RD, so I thought it was only fitting that I started off this part of my blog with her as well.

She's the second to youngest child of queen Regina and the last princess born in the old Friendship Lands. As such, she does still have some memories of the old Friendship Lands, albeit only from the eruption. She is well aware that she's not actually supposed to become queen, even though she is the heir at the start of the story as her mother thinks all her other daughters had passed away.

Because of this, Ivy has always worked hard and did her very best to make sure the lack of her royal powers is compensated by her compassion for others and her knowledge and intellect. This made her the perfect choice to become steward of one of the parts of the new Friendship Lands eventually, even with her royal powers blocked by Rain.

It always amazed me that Ivy was usually the one who stayed home and didn't go on any adventures, except for her one trip to accompany Taira to the west, a decision that had surprised even Ivy herself. Ivy had always preferred to stay home, wondering why she should go through so much trouble if the place she loved best was already where she was. Still, after she met the butterflies on Batafurai and befriended them, she began to understand that just because your most important place is at home, that doesn't mean that there aren't any other important places - and persons - in the world.

I always found it quite easy to write from Ivy's POV and I sometimes really do miss her, because she was really down to earth (more so than any of the current POV characters) and it was a lot of fun to see her grow up during the first three parts of RD. She's still in the story, technically, and is married and has two little daughters now, but she doesn't play a very big part anymore.

Why I love my job, part 18.

2010-12-31T06:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the first day since nano that I wrote on RD! I'm really happy I have the energy to get back to writing. I also realized that the first year I wrote RD I wrote 103 chapters- while I only wrote 56 the past 2 years. Wow. That has got to change! One of my new years resolutions is to finish RD and start working on a new story. I'll keep you all updated!

This is the Heilige Geesthofje. It's not a really pretty hofje nor does it have any special features, except that their mailboxes are too small. This is actually a bit of a problem all over the city- people aren't allowed to change their mailboxes due to regulations about how the old houses are supposed to look, but they are too small for mail nowadays so you're often stuck with mail that won't fit, even though it is a standard size. This is problematic for us mailmen but also for the residents because if they're not at home they'll have to go pick up their mail somewhere. I don't really love my job because of this (on the contrary, it's annoying) but it's one of the things you have to deal with as a mailman in the inner city of Leiden.

Why I love my job, part 17.

2010-12-28T07:49:00.000-08:00

Please note today is the last day Royal Destiny will be updated on Tuesdays as well! From next week on, updates will resume to be on Fridays only, as usual. I hoped you all enjoyed the extra episodes this month! I will add a new section to my blog, though, which will be quite similar to the character descriptions of the current 6 main characters I did during November, only this time I will look into older main characters and minor characters. Not sure what day of the week I will update this (probably not Tuesday, as I already have a standard blog update on that day), but it'll be weekly.

Today's picture is yet another revisited area (the last one for a while though, I promise). It's the Plantsoen this time. It's probably not much fun to hang out here in the cold, but it sure must be fun to walk your dog or take your kids for a sleigh ride, or even ice skate if the ice has grown thick enough. Delivering mail here in this weather isn't as much fun though, because all the houses have stairs leading to their door (and thus, mailbox) which can get quite slippery in weather like this.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

Of course, let's not forget that Christmas is here (how could I, with all the cards I sorted and delivered the past 2 weeks??)!

I had planned to send the picture on the left as a Christmas card to my friends, but the card-making site didn't feel well so it didn't work, so I'm going to be a bit cheapass and publish it here. I do have a little special message for all my friends, which I'm just going to write down here.

B., I'm sorry for all the things I did that hurt you. I so wish I could take it all back, but I can't, and I am so, so, so sorry. I hope next year will be calmer for both of us and that we can work everything out. I'm absolutely sure you'll be able to find a nice job and find some peace in your life. You'll be fine, and I'll be there, always.

W., you're an idiot, and I'm so happy you're always there for me. Wouldn't know what to do without you. Just remember that you don't always have to be Superman.

M., I had so much fun on holiday in Germany. I hope next year you can find some peace to sort things out for yourself and move ahead. I'll be there for you if you need me.

F., I missed you last year! You're still my best friend and I really hope we get to hang out more in 2011!

Y., I'm so happy we became close friends in 2010. I am sure 2011 will bring loads of great things for you, and thanks so much for always being there for me and listening to my rants.

N., thanks for kicking my ass when I needed it.

P., thanks for worrying about me.

And E., I can't live without you in my life, I love you so much, I just can't believe how lucky I am to have met you. I'm so grateful that you came to trust me and that we're so close now. You're the single most amazing person I have met, and you know what? You're going to be happy. I'm here, you're here, and we're gonna make that happen. Just don't be afraid to move forward, ok?

Merry Christmas everyone!

Why I love my job, part 16.

2010-12-24T06:19:00.000-08:00

Considering All The Mail, the snow, getting started at 6 AM every morning and the fact that I might not get paid all the hours I worked this week and last week, I'm not loving my job that much right now, but hey, always look on the bright side, no?

I'll try to make more updates about RD and the new site next week, but work = crazy and with the holidays and all, I don't have much time this week.

Still, here's a pretty picture. This is basically how work looks like right now. Hectic and loads of snow. This is the st. Anna's Aalmoeshuis hofje which I showed before, but this time covered in snow. So romantic...

Why I love my job, part 15.

2010-12-21T06:37:00.001-08:00

So work exists of snow and Christmas cards nowadays, fun fun fun. I can't wait for these days to be over so things can go back to normal. Gimme January!

So here's the Loridanshof again, which was featured in part 2 of Why I love my job. Obviously this picture was taken during the winter. Isn't it amazing how places like this can look so different just because there's a layer of snow covering the ground?

Why I love my job, part 14.

2010-12-17T08:51:00.000-08:00

my life exists of sheer tiredness now. As I have been sick 2 weeks ago I have no energy reserves, so I'm pretty much either working or sleeping. Wow. It's okay though; work is hard now but it's a lot of fun, too. I like the atmosphere, and me and my colleagues are having fun.

I had a bunch of other pictures planned before this one, but I decided to push this one ahead. This is the Meermanshofje in the snow. It's my #1 favourite hofje and it's also the largest one I know of. I think it's beautiful with the large garden in the middle, and in the evening the lanterns make it look like something straight out of a fairy tale. I also made some amazing memories here, so I'll always treasure it.

Why I love my job, part 13.

2010-12-14T09:06:00.000-08:00

Wow, I really feel like writing, but I'm completely out of energy already. It's a good thing I still have 15 episodes of Royal Destiny left over from nano.
Today's picture was taken on a day almost exactly a year ago (December 18th, 2009) when I was delivering mail until 7.30 PM or so together with a colleague. I took this picture inside the Coninckshofje, which is one of the more secluded hofjes around. It was simply an insane day with SO much mail, something we're facing now again, due to Christmas. As you can see, there was snow, too. I have to admit, I don't really like being out at 7 PM delivering mail still, but the scenery was magical sometimes, with the lovely city lights reflected on the snow; it really made the city feel completely different.

Rainbow Forest

2010-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

So it's the weeks before Christmas which means my life is reduced to working and sleeping (seriously, try working at the mail during Christmas time. It's insane), but of course I'll update RD and this blog inbetween. It's a good thing I still have so many RD episodes left over from the nano madness though.

Anyway, today I'd like to tell something about my newest project, rebuilding my gen2 ID site Rainbow Forest. Now as you can all see I attempted to do this a while back, but I soon realized I wanted the site to be more dynamic and easier to update in the future, which meant I would have to use a database and PHP, but my knowledge of that was too limited to pull off what I wanted to do.

Thankfully I had a class in computer programming and I managed to recruit a really good friend of me to help me out so we're currently building the site together - I supply the content and he's in charge of the coding. It's beginning to look really good! With work and RD and applying for jobs and friends I don't have as much time to make new pictures as I'd like, but it's getting along okay now.

The single most time consuming part is digging up my ponies and making new pictures, and the main problem is that I need daylight in order to make proper pictures, but I'm usually home from work late so I don't have enough light left.

Here's the site so far: http://www.kyudenholland.com/pony/index.php Please feel free to have a look around! Of course, the database is not full yet by far, and the layout is not yet final and there's plenty of little bugs floating around, so do consider it a beta site. Of course, nobody has to update their bookmarks, when it's done the old URL will simply link to the new version.

I'm curious what you all think, so please feel free to leave me comments here with your opinions!

Why I love my job, part 12.

2010-12-10T09:41:00.001-08:00

So I'm back to work at full force now, right in time for the Christmas rush. Yay, it's good to be back! I hate being sick and not being able to get around to anything. Thankfully I managed to work on my site for a bit. I'll make a post on that really soon- there's lots going to change for Rainbow Forest.

Today's picture is of the Kijfgracht. This particular part of Leiden has heavily suffered from 'stadsvernieuwing' (city renewal, literally), meaning a lot of the old houses were taken down and replaced with new buildings. While I understand this was necessary (old houses aren't always in the best shape, after all), it does take the beauty out of a city. Of course, as you can see in this picture, this particular gracht still has plenty of old houses and I love to see certain parts of the old city are still there, even if everything around it has changed.

The names of Royal Destiny

2010-12-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

So it occured to me the other day that I mave a lot of names in Royal Destiny which are not based on any existing My Little Pony lore, and I thought it would be nice to elaborate a bit on these names, especially because I recently found out many of the names I chose have different meanings as well, and I was not always aware of this when I chose them.

First of all, the names of the countries in Royal Destiny are all made up (apart from the obvious Friendship Lands, of course). The countries in the East (Madash, Kin and Tokowa) are all made up by me, and aren't really based on anything except that I thought they sounded nice. As I developed the West I was a bit older so I put more thought in their names. Asterian was made up by me as well, but I specifically aimed to make it sound like a male version of a female name (Asteria), to illustrate that the High Kings came after the High Queens. The country's capital city, of course, is something else. I wanted a name that had at least a part of Asterian in it, so I settled on ZoroAster, not aware that this was indeed the name of an ancient religion. I only realized this a few years later during my History studies but by then I had become so used to this name I didn't want to change it anymore.

Many of the character's names were in fact inspired by real gen2 ponies, even though their names are different. For example, Regina, the Italian word for queen, was taken from the pony's Italian name (Regina Raggio di Sole), and Câlin is baby Twinkles' French name.

As you know, Hikary used to be called Rain when she was under Aras' influence. This came from her pony's name (Silver Rain) and was meant to contrast with her real name which is based on the Japanese word for light, Hikari.

Ruki and Takato are named after two characters in Digimon Tamers, Ruuki and Takato. I never saw this series but I have been greatly influenced by Japanese Digimon music during the time when I made up Royal Destiny (when I was like, 14-15) so their names are a homage to that.

Then the more recent characters. Firian's name was chosen because I was looking for something that sounded a bit like a knight. Asteria was named after her country. For a long time I thought Takato would name his daughter after his precious sister Asana, but somehow this made more sense.

Caleantha was at first named Ceridwen, the name of an enchantress in Welsh mythology. I was never content with this though, as I didn't want to have a character so obviously named after a mythological character which had no base in my story, and a good friend of me named her main character in one of her stories Ceridwen as well. I ended up settling on Caleantha, a name I made up for my world of warcraft character, but which seemed to fit Ruki's daughter nice

Why I love my job, part 11.

2010-12-07T07:44:00.000-08:00

First of all, my apologies for the lack of updates last week, but I was in bed with a rather severe flu. Thankfully I'm recovering now so I have energy enough for a new update. As I promised on the website, I uploaded a new chapter of RD as well today!

This is a picture of the Burcht, which is the remains of an old fortress which stands in the middle of Leiden on a hill. It's a pretty little thing and it always reminds me of Leiden's diverse and long history. There's a large old tree in the middle which is absolutely lovely, too.

Why I love my job, part 10.

2010-11-30T09:41:00.000-08:00

So I'm posting this while I'm apparently sick (*pokes thermometer indicating fever*), but oddly enough this hasn't registered in my brain yet. I want to do all kinds of things but whenever I do my body protests. It's really weird.

Here's one of my two favourite Hofjes, the St. Anna's Aalmoeshuis. It was meant for widows back in the days, and as far as I know it's still inhabited by old ladies. The little building in the middle was a small chapel. Isn't it absolutely beautiful? This hofje has inspired so many stories (none of which were written down yet, mind) already. Rest assured there'll be other pictures of this hofje further on.

Nanowrimo, day twentysix: done.

2010-11-26T04:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, I finished it. I just wrote the final words on chapter 310, which pushed my word count to 50.583. To be honest, I'm quite amazed I actually did it. Not that I ever really doubted that I could do it, but I actually was able to force myself to sit down and write, and here we are, over 50.000 words. Of course I won't stop writing RD now (still 80-90 chapters to go!) but I will take it a bit slower so I have time for my other hobbies again. I've written 21 chapters (290-310) in 26 days.

So, what did I learn from this experience? First and foremost, writing goes a lot better and is easier when you actually write. This may sound kind of obvious, but I don't think it is. If you need to write something, just sit down and write. Editing can always be done at a later time. Don't be too much of a perfectionist; get your story written down.

Second of all, time management. If you simply plan things properly you can get a lot of writing done even on days where you work 9 hours and have to cook and clean.

Third, know when to stop. In the beginning I sometimes forced myself to write more just because I had some more time to spare, but I actually had already done enough and I was just burned out for the day. It doesn't work. Sometimes you have to work on things even though you're tired, of course, but if you can stop, know when to do it at the correct time. You'll be more fresh the next time you continue and your writing will most likely be better.

Fourth, it just really feels good to make yourself do something you like. I am really familiar with the feeling of "not getting around to it" or "not having the proper focus for it" and more of those excuses. Just sit down and do it! You'll feel so much better when you do.

And finally, don't quit when you reach the finish line. This has been one awesome achievement, but I don't plan to stop here. I won't stop writing when RD is finished, either. There's always more I want to write and there's always room for improvement.

Now, it's finally time to relax on WoW for a bit and to start on my next project, the renewed Rainbow Forest site. More on that in a future blog post.

Why I love my job, part 9.

2010-11-26T00:47:00.000-08:00

So, I finally have my first real day off in like, forever (I know I said that last time but of course I got called in for work 2 seconds after I hit the submit button). There's the strike going on of course but I decided to actually take the day off to have some much needed time for myself (working 6 days a week and planning all your Sundays with social activities does break you up at some point) and finish nano!

Today's picture is the Herengracht. There's not really an accurate translation for the word gracht (moat and canal don't quite cover it, and even wikipedia isn't much help), it's basically a man-made water road through a city. Leiden has plenty of these and this is one of the nicest ones, with old mansions on both sides and, as you can see in the picture, plenty of trees. I love delivering mail here, but also along other grachten, because it's a lot of fun to see boats passing by, especially in summer, and to see all the ducks and other water animals splash around.

Nanowrimo, day twentyfive: Asteria

2010-11-25T13:14:00.001-08:00

Sooo... despite my self-inflicted RSI, I managed to write over 48.000 words so far and I am very likely to hit 50.000 tomorrow! Wow. That went by so much faster than I thought!

Of course, there is one character left I haven't discussed yet and as it so happens I just wrote a chapter from her POV. Asteria is Takato's youngest child and only daughter. Initially, Takato wasn't going to have a daughter and even if he had more than one child, Firian was the only one of interest. Asteria kind of snuck into the story as I mused over how interesting it would be to have Takato have a daughter as well; it would put him in the same position as his father, and I wanted to know how he would deal with that. And so, Asteria was born.

As Asteria's mother died giving birth to her, she has never known her mother and sees her nanny miss Holly (yes, tribute to Breakfast at Tiffany's right there) as her mother figure. She doesn't really feel guilty over her mother's death, despite her father not being able to love her correctly because he always links Asteria to the death of Flora. He does love her, but he can't express it properly. Asteria also made him realize how hard it had been for his father, as the High King and supposedly the strongest prana-wielder on the continent, to have a daughter (as men who are strong in wielding prana don't usually have daughters, just like how women who have strong royal powers usually don't have sons).

This means that Asteria is kind of growing up without a real parent in her life. Takato doesn't much care what she does so she is relatively free to do as she pleases, as long as she shows up when she has to, doesn't shame him and works on her studies properly. She has developed an interest in climbing towers and she loves her plush toys. She also loves to spend time with her big brother Firian, but he doesn't have much time for her.

This means that Asteria is the most innocent and childish of all my POV characters. She is almost the same age as Ruki had been when she first appeared in the story, but Ruki had been more mature, especially since she had to take care of herself after she had run away from home. It's interesting to see how Asteria will grow up and how she will deal with the hardships that are coming her way. I love to write from her POV because she is actively growing up and I do think she will change and grow a lot before we reach the end of the story (which, alarmingly, is less than 90 episodes away now).

Why I love my job, part 8.

2010-11-23T05:36:00.001-08:00

In nanonews... I got myself RSI. Not kidding. I've written so much this Sunday my arm and my wrist hurt, lol. But I'm 5000 words away from the finish line, so I'm not going to give up now.

Todays picture is the Sionshof. Most hofjes in Leiden are pretty much hidden behind secret doors but this is one of the few I had no clue about until I had to deliver mail there. It's a really standard hofje, much like any of the others, and I always love how much green there is in these things. It must be so lovely to live here. It's always really quiet in these hofjes, too: the way they are build blocks out the sound from the road.

Nanowrimo, day twentyone: Firian.

2010-11-21T01:27:00.000-08:00

I'm almost at 40.000 words! Woah! The end, here I come! I'm noticing it's getting harder to focus on writing now. Not that I dislike it, on the contrary, but I have neglected my other hobbies for so long now that I'm beginning to miss them. I still need to make a Pullip post here, after all!

Anyway, today's (well, technically yesterday's) episode was written from Firian's POV. I still feel like I'm getting to know Firian. He's the only male POV character RD has had (and will have). This was quite intentional: I didn't want to have any male POV characters at all at first, but as I was planning part four I realized I couldn't tell some parts of the story without having either him or Takato as a POV character because none of the others would be around, and I really didn't want to have Takato as a POV so Firian it was (not that I would have minded writing as Takato, but I prefer to describe him as others see him).

Firian is, of course, Takato's son and heir to the High Throne of the West. Firian is more polite and gentle than his father, and in many ways more sensible and more capable of listening to others. This means Firian often finds himself disagreeing with Takato's decisions.

That doesn't mean that Firian is completely unlike his father; he truly believes a High King is in the best interest of the West and that there are ponies who would rather see a world without a High King is something he doesn't understand.

He really loves his younger sister Asteria, and he really dislikes the way his father treats her. He knows Takato does love his daughter, but he is completely incapable of showing this and Asteria ends up suffering because of this. Firian always tries to make time for his little sister, but as his father keeps him so busy with work and studies, he often finds himself unable to find or make time.

Writing from Firian's POV is a fun change from all the girls, but it's slightly difficult because I'm not used to it much. Still, the relationship father-son is fun to explore as it is different from the mother-daughter relationship I have touched upon more often in RD, and I always picture Firian as a knightly kind of prince who would come and rescue a damsel in distress (I should have made him white).

Why I love my job, part 7.

2010-11-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

Nanorwrimo stats: 35.000! Wow! I can't believe the end is coming this much closer! Thankfully I'll have plenty of time to write next week so if everything goes according to plan, I can be done at the end of next week, finishing a few days before the deadline. This is such a great experience, but I am looking forward to it being over, so I can focus on some other projects I have going on, such as my new Rainbow Forest website.

Today's picture is of the Schoolsteeg which is an alley which runs between the Gerecht (see last why I love my job post) and the Breestraat (one of Leiden's busiest streets with shops, the city hall, a cinema etc.). Like the Gerecht, this alley reminds me of how Leiden may have looked 100 years ago. There are plenty of little streets and alleys like this one in Leiden, but this one really gives off this old city vibe (see for example the little lamp post in the picture, or the little crane attached to one of the houses).

Battle with the giant raccoon

2010-11-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately I didn't get around to do a lot of nano writing yesterday due to work and some personal things and having a friend over in the evening, but I should be back on track today (and hey, I'm still 6000 words ahead of schedule). I can't believe It's almost over already! Wow, I feel like I started this silly adventure yesterday.

Anyway, today I'd like to tell something about the chapter I put online Tuesday. As those of you who have read it may have noticed, it is a bit of a random silly chapter. It was actually put in the story waaaaay back in 2000 as some kind of filler episode based on a raccoon plush toy my mother had given me, and I was simply in a weird mood.

Now, back in the day I used to add more silly chapters like this, but I ended up cutting most of them out of the story because they served no purpose and were nothing but filler. For someother reason this chapter slipped through until I ran into the title a few months ago, and I decided to keep it in.

The main reason was that it reminded me of the fun time I had playing this part out with my ponies (although the main characters were Caleantha and her cousin/friend Eila at the time, not Meran and Câlin) and because it was just so silly to have a giant raccoon prevent my characters from reaching their goal.

Now, the chapter transformed somewhat and ended up delivering some character development for Meran (she has strong powers but has no idea how to use them) and Câlin, and the bond the two have, but the giant raccoon is still quite ridiculous. I did think of a reason why he ended up like this, but I'm not sure if I'll ever write that into the story as it's not really significant.

I did have fun writing this chapter (action, hoo!) and it's the last pre-nanowrimo chapter I got to upload. 290, which will be released tomorrow, will be the first nano episode. It's pretty amazing how much I am ahead of the chapter I'm uploading now, usually I was only one or two episodes ahead max. It does give me the amazing advantage that I can go back and edit a few things now.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the little filler episode. The episode on which the cover picture is based is coming up soon, too. I'm still enjoying writing for nanowrimo, but I do hope to have a bit more time for it this weekend.

Why I love my job, part 6.

2010-11-16T05:23:00.001-08:00

Okay, it seems a bit silly to make a post like this on the day of the big strike, but oh well. It's not like I love this job or the city any less because the company is making some really bad decisions.

Today's picture, made during the summer of 2009, is of one of Leiden's nicest squares, the Gerecht. In the past, people who had committed crimes were judged here (hence the name, Gerecht means something like the court) and it borders on the old prison. I really like this square because it looks like it hasn't changed in years and you can easily imagine walking around in the 1800's or so when you're here. It also borders on some other nice places (which will be featured in future posts) making it a part of one of Leiden's prettiest areas.

Nanowrimo, day fifteen: Meran.

2010-11-15T04:33:00.001-08:00

Right, so I'm back from my rather wet but otherwise very enjoyable short holiday! It was nice to be out of the city for a little bit.

First, I'd like to mention two milestones which I reached simultaneously last Friday: I wrote over 25.000 words on nanowrimo, which happened in chapter 300 of Royal Destiny. Wow! 300 chapters! By now, I'm not even sure if I will make 400. I used to think 400 chapters was a nice number, but I'm finding myself cutting chapters here and there to make the story flow better, so it's currently scheduled to have 388 chapters, which will of course change still. But yea, 300 is a nice number to reach.

Today's chapter, 301, is written from Meran's POV. Initially I thought Meran would be naïve and ignorant, but she ended up being neither of those. Merans' personality is much like her fathers: She is down to earth and she knows right from wrong. She may not have a lot of knowledge about the world, but Kiyoi raised her to know a lot about nature and he made her respect all living beings.

Meran was written into the story rather late (I think I was already way into part two), but once I made her up, her existence made perfect sense. As the daughter of Kiyoi and Twinkle Star, Meran is a completely normal, mortal pony (unlike Câlin) and thus she doesn't quite grasp the differences between her and her sister (apart from the obvious fact that Câlin can fly).

Meran barely remembers her mother, but Kiyoi made sure that he told his daughter plenty of stories of her mother so Meran would have an idea of what Twinkle Star was like. Meran doesn't miss her mother, but as she grew older she did begin to wonder what her mother would have thought of her, and if she would have been proud.

Meran loves her older sister, and she remembers the days they used to play in the forest together clearly. Now that Câlin is older, Meran longs for her sisters attention but Câlin is usually occupied with her own thoughts. She isn't sure if she agrees with her sisters' quest, but she promised both Câlin and Kiyoi that she would stick around, so that's what she is doing, and she does enjoy her journey through the West.

Still, following her sister doesn't mean that she agrees with everything Câlin does or decides, and she has her own little ways to show Câlin that she might be wrong.

I really like writing from Meran's POV. She's very to the point and knows what she wants, so it's not hard to imagine what she feels and how she would convey these feelings to others. I always thought writing as Meran would feel similar to writing as Twinkle Star, but Meran really has her own personality and I think she ended up more like her father than her mother.

Why I love my job, part 5.

2010-11-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

So I happen to have an involuntary day off which kind of blows because I really want to work, but on the other it hand is kind of nice because a) the weather is not mailgirl-friendly today and b) it's been a while since I had a real day off on which I had no appointments or whatever. So I'm just going to use this day to send out job applications and write on RD!

That is, unless I get called in at 4PM or something. It happens.

Todays picture is of some flowers (I'm so bad with flower names, anyone who can tell me how these are called?) which I saw growing on some sidewalk. They're absolutely gorgeous! Especially in spring and summer I run into beautiful parts of nature here and there, spread out over the city. Some are put there by people, some just grow all by themselves. I love the city, but it's really nice to see flowers and plants grow here and there, as a reminder that mother nature has not completely forsaken this city just yet.

Nanowrimo, day eleven: Caleantha.

2010-11-11T04:39:00.000-08:00

So, nanowriting didn't go that well the past 2 days, due to being extremely busy (hello, working 9 hours with only a 10-minute break) and meeting friends, but I'm back on track! I do hope to hit 25.000 before I leave on a short holiday this weekend.

Anyway, todays chapter is written from Caleantha's point of view. Caleantha, Ruki's daughter, has had many different names before I settled on Caleantha. She started out as Ceridwen but has also been called Alia and Ceri. She also used to have a best friend who she was inseperable with, but I cut this character out of the story mostly.

To be honest, it's a bit hard to tell much about her, because most of her storyline hasn't started yet, not even in the chapters I'm writing at the moment. This means her character hasn't been able to evolve much yet.

Still, Caleantha is, overall, a sweet girl and a bit naïve and innocent. She's also a bit lonely, as she lives in this big castle and doesn't have any brothers or sisters. Ruki decided Caleantha had to attend a normal school, though, instead of being tutored privately at the castle, so she has managed to make some friends. Because of this she's also a bit more down to earth than most of her family members because she's so used to hanging around with common ponies.

Caleantha, like Firian and Asteria, doesn't remember anything about the world before the Guardians returned. She doesn't remember the fear of facing the end of the world like her mother does, so she is more light hearted. Her family has become more important and ponies everywhere look at her family as the one that has the support of the Guardians, and therefore surely must know what the right thing is. Caleantha is familiar with this attention, but so far Ruki has tried to keep her daughter away from this pressure so she could enjoy a normal childhood.

This means that Caleantha is a sheltered but smart girl, who knows she is from a special family and she is aware that one day, she will be queen. She has, however, not yet really experienced these things so she doesn't know how to apply this knowledge in her daily life, but she hasn't really been confronted with it, either.

Why I love my job, part 4.

2010-11-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

First, in nano news, passed the 20.000 word mark yesterday! I won't have much time to write today though. Still going strong!

Today's special picture! This picture was made at the same time as the previous one in the Plantsoen. It's my awesome companion, my bike! No, really. Think about what the poor thing has to go through every single day, hauling so much mail through the entire city, no matter what the weather is like. And it never complains much (except for the one week in which I had to bring it to the bike repair man three times in a row. But my guess is it fell in love with a handsome male bike there)! I felt like it deserved a spot here inbetween all the pretty pictures.

What Might Have Been.

2010-11-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

First of all, nanowrimo-wise, over 17.000 words!

Today I was sitting in the train thinking about RD, and it occured to me that so many things I once had planned when I first thought of the story never came to pass, for several reasons. It's fun to see how the story evolved over all these years!

Spoilers, of course, for those who are not up to date.

First of all, Joker was supposed to survive the eruption, too. I ended up killing her off because she had no real purpose in the story and it seemed kind of weird to have everyone survive such a cataclysmic event.

Second, Takato was supposed to be Rain's daughter. This was scrapped because it made no sense on so many levels, and would make a certain relationship kind of... well.

Caleantha was originally called Ceridwen, but a friend of me named a main character in a story of hers Ceridwen already, and I wanted something more original.

There originally was no Meran- in fact, Twinkle Star never went back to Kiyoi and never had those wonderful years with her family. There was no Asteria and Firian either, for that matter.

Aline never went with Twinkle Star and they never became close friends; she was more like a deus ex machina character.

Aras never was a guardian- he was some kind of evil overlord monster type who had abducted the eldest two daughters of Regina.

There was this whole storyline about Illuvia kidnapping a child from the school Câlin went to. I can't really remember how this went (it was one of the first things to go) but it was pretty insane.

The division between the East and the West wasn't as big as it is now. The West was a separate part of the world, but that was because it was so far away, not because of the breach and the cultural differences, not to mention the prana, which wasn't there until I first wrote Takato into the story.

And finally, there was supposed to be a long storyline in the Tokowa Lands in part four, where all the inhabitants had become soulless zombie-like creatures and Caleantha fell in love with the prince of the Tokowa Lands. I scratched this idea because it was rather ridiculous and because it didn't add anything to the overall storyline. Besides, there is no prince of the Tokowa Lands.

Nanowrimo, day six: Câlin

2010-11-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

Nanowrimo day 6, and still going strong! I just started on chapter 296, and I have a word count of 14676 right now! Wow! I am seriously considering to update the RD site twice a week this month, because I seem to have plenty of chapters right now anyway. More on that when I decide.

Please note that the following section contains spoilers for those who have not yet finished part 3 of Royal Destiny!!

Today, I wrote chapter 295, which is written from Câlin's perspective. The weird thing about Câlin is, that ever since she appeared in the story in part one, I've been looking forward to part four, so I could finally start writing from her POV. Now that I can, I find her the most difficult position to write from.

I'm not even sure why that is; probably because she has a really complicated personality. She has a goal in mind and she will do anything to achieve it- but on the other hand, she's very protective of Meran and she would do anything to keep her little sister safe, even if Meran annoys her sometimes.

Câlin is also difficult because she is part Guardian, part normal pony. She is not a Guardian in the sense that she is Vitalia's daughter, but she is the daughter of Illuvia and Aras, which makes her unique in the world; there has never been a pony like her. She is well aware of this, of course, but she prefers to hide it to avoid annoying questions. She is however not afraid to use her powers if it happens to be to her advantage.

Her powers used to be so strong, she would project whatever she said right into other ponies' minds. She learned to control this because it not only instantly gave away that she was special, it was also kind of rude. Still, she has mastered the ability to transfer her thoughts into other minds perfectly, and she can even control other ponies or seal parts of their memories like her father could, but she dislikes this so much she doesn't ever use this.

Câlin is very lonely, because there is no one like her in the world, and mostly because she lost her mother at a really young age and Twinkle Star, who not only looked identical to her mother but also took her in and raised her as her own daughter, only a few years later. She longs for her mother (Twinkle Star and Illuvia have kind of merged into one in her mind, as she was so young when she lost them both) even though she's an adult now.

I don't have an emotional connection to Câlin like I have with Ruki, but she certainly is one of the most interesting characters in the entire story because she is so conflicted. I'm really looking forward to telling her story, and I love the challenge writing from her perspective brings. It's a lot harder than with Ruki, but that also makes it more interesting and it teaches me more.

Why I love my job, part 3.

2010-11-04T23:34:00.000-07:00

No hofje this time! I would like to mention that in the nanowrimo department, I passed the 10.000 word mark yesterday! Wooh! 1/5th down! I'm working on chapter 294 at the moment. Meanwhile I just uploaded chapter 287 (which was really hard to write for someother reason) for you all to read!

This is a picture of the Plantsoen, which is one of the very few parks in the city centre of Leiden and by far the prettiest one. While this particular area is a pain in summer (all the houses face southward-ish and almost all have stairs before you get to the mailboxes- you do the math), it's really nice to see the park on the other side of the road and to see people walk their dogs and where children play. I also like to hang out in this park just for fun with friends.

Nanowrimo, day four: the music.

2010-11-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm on the fourth day of Nanowrimo, and it's going quite well! I'm hoping to reach 10.000 words today (I am on 8200 now), but as I'm waiting for my medicine to kick in to cure my annoying headache after the Get a Real Job Class© (more on that in another post sometime in the future, I'm sure), I decided to just make a post here before I continue.

I was sorting out my playlist the other day and I realized I never really told much about the music I'm listening to while writing RD, even though it can really impact some specific parts in the story. When writing RD I hardly ever listen to music with vocals (they distract me too much) but rather to soundtrack music from mostly anime and some movies. Now, after seven years there's simply too much music to cover in one single blog post, so I'm just going to do 2 things here: cover one of my favourite artists and then I'll pick out some songs and explain what parts of the story I wrote while listening to that song.

First of all, the artist whose music I listen most to is Kajiura Yuki. She is a Japanese artist who wrote a lot of music for anime series and, more recently, also for Japanese drama shows, and she is also the composer for pop groups Fictionjunction and Kalafina. Her music is characterized by a mix of modern instruments and classical themes, often using choirs to add chants (often in a non-existent language) to her songs. I have always found her music very powerful and inspirational, and it manages to bring out a really emotional side of me, which has often influenced the more dramatical and emotional parts of Royal Destiny.

Please note that the following section contains spoilers for those who have not caught up to the latest chapters of RD, so please don't continue if you don't want to read any spoilers!

Now, for a few songs. The first song I'd like to describe is actually one of the more recent ones. It's the song Pandora Hearts which is, indeed, written and composed by Kajiura Yuki. This is the song I had on repeat when writing the end of chapter 265, Royal Destiny. The powerful chanting of the song really touches the choice Twinkle Star made and the impact it has on everyone involved.

A completely different song is the song Up and Down from the Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At world's end soundtrack. I listened to this song while writing chapter 223 in which Hikary chases Ruki through the crowded city of ZoroAster. It's just such a fun song for such a scene, and at the end it becomes stronger and uses deeper instruments, which enable me to picture the entire city and those two ponies rushing through it, Ruki desperate to get away and Hikary desperate to catch her.

Another song, which is slightly similar to Pandora Hearts, is A song of storm and fire from the Tsubasa Chronicle OST, once again by Kajiura Yuki. I listened to this song while writing chapters 155-157, which deal with the final battle against Aras, the last guardian. Whenever I close my eyes when I listen to this song, I can really see the battle unfold and I can feel the determination of Taira and Rain to finally break free of Aras' endless mind control.

A more emotional song is InuYasha and Kagome, from the soundtrack of the anime Inu yasha by Kaoru Wada. I've been an InuYasha fan even before I started writing RD, but this song always reminds me of the forbidden and distant love between Ruki and Takato.

Finally, there is the absolutely breathtaking song from a secret garden, which was the song I listened to while writing chapter 270, a Child's Tears. I don't think I need to say anything more to those who have already read it. It's just... so amazingly sad, and yet so incredibly beautiful.

Why I love my job, part 2.

2010-11-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so after counting all the work pictures I made, I realized it would take more than a year to post them all here if I only posted once a week, so I decided to just post new ones every Tuesday as well.
This picture was taken on one of the first really nice summer days in June 2009. This is the Loridanshof (Yes, another hofje), also in the city centre of Leiden. What I love most about this one is the gallery in the back- somehow it's so romantic. I can see people meeting there on a rainy day in the fall, or maybe steal a kiss on a summer evening. I also really love the flowers here =)

Nanowrimo, day one: Ruki.

2010-11-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm not going to make an update on my writing progress every single day, but considering this is the first day, here we go. I'm actually planning to give a bit of background on my 6 current main characters with each Nanowrimo update, based on whoever I've currently written an episode about.

I finished chapter 290 today at lightning speed! It's been a while since I actually wrote an entire chapter in less than three hours. Somehow, whenever this happens, this always seems to involve chapters with Ruki as the Point of View (POV) character. Of all my current POV characters, Ruki is the one I seem to understand most, so whenever it involves her view on things, I don't have to think much- I already know what she thinks and what she feels!

Ruki came into existence during a time when I was in a really dark place in my life (winter/spring 2001). Initially, when this was just a story I played out with my my little ponies, Ruki was a very depressed girl and originally she really ended up being saved from this by Taira and Hikary. In Royal Destiny, though, Ruki ended up being a lot stronger and she eventually saved herself from her depression, although she did make some bad choices in the process.

I think Ruki is the only character of whom I can conciously say that she is based on a part of me. She is clearly influenced, especially in the beginning, by my own feelings of being lost and wandering and being confused about your own emotions. She is also the only character who will be a POV character in all 5 parts of Royal Destiny (although her role in the first part was really, really small). Especially in the transition from part 3 to part 4 almost all the old POV characters dissapeared because their personal stories were mostly completed (Hikary and Taira), or for obvious reasons (Twinkle Star).

I sometimes consider her the true main character of the story (with maybe only Twinkle Star as competition, especially in part 1 and 2), because although the story is not always about her, she does end up influencing almost all the other characters in some way or another and she has played a part in many of the important story lines. There's also some other reasons for this but I can't explain them without spoiling the story, but it'll become clear in time.

So all in all, I wouldn't say Ruki is my favourite character (strangely enough I don't really have any favourites, I love all my characters equally), but she certainly is the one I relate most to and who I understand more than anyone else. Writing from her POV feels natural and is almost always quite easy for me, and I'm curious if this shines through in the chapters. Surely, many of my most emotional chapters involved Ruki, but I'm curious if, when reading RD, these chapters are also easier to read or better written than the others.

I have 4 chapters in my backlog now (the first of which will be released next Friday!), so writing is coming along quite nicely. I really hope I can make those 20 episodes this month!

Right, going to continue with chapter 291!

The Other Story.

2010-10-31T01:14:00.001-07:00

So, Royal Destiny is not the only story I've been working on the past year (I'm so sorry RD! I feel like I'm cheating!). The Other Story, though, is a picfic, so it's not like they're real competition for my attention!

The Mayhem Chronicles, as the picfic is called, is my pullip picfic which can be read on the Pullip Fiction forum, alongside many other amazing picfics. Unfortunately you can't read mine unless you've registered as a user (although you can read MIB, which I highly recommend. It's an amazing picfic with a fun story and really dynamic pictures).

Anyway. I started that story 1,5 year or so ago because I wanted to do something silly with my dolls, and I didn't quite expect it to grow into a story of 100 episodes (and counting). It's become quite a bit more serious than when I first started it, but I try to keep it lighthearted and fun, and I try not to write too many love stories.

I actually did realize I'm better at writing drama than humor, and I've often wondered if I should restart my picfic with a more serious story in it. But, to be honest, writing a comedy series is good excersise for me, and I don't think of my dolls as overly serious characters anyway. They're supposed to be good fun! (This is making me wonder how colorful my little ponies ever turned into such dramatic characters in RD).

Writing the Mayhem Chronicles is fun, especially because it's such a different way of storytelling than just writing- the pictures are just as important, if not even more important, than the dialogue. you shouldn't describe what's happening- it should be obvious from your pictures. It's hard sometimes to make the pictures dynamic and to show depth in them (I tend to use a picture taken from the front too often), but it's nice to learn how to do this properly.

It's also a nice way to give my dolls a personality beyond what their stock discription says about them- and usually, my dolls end up becoming quite different than what they were intended to be by the manufacturer. I love giving them personalities and making them interact with each other - it inspires me to write even more stories, even those that are completely unrelated to dolls or whatever.

Nanowrimo and Royal Destiny

2010-10-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

So for a while now, I've been considering taking part in nanowrimo this year (nanowrimo is this thing where people are encouraged to write a 50.000 word novel in November). The problem isn't that I don't have time, but the problem is Royal Destiny. While 50.000 words in a month seems doable, it's certainly enough to leave me with little time to write RD. And as much as I love RD, I want it finished. It's been almost seven years, after all.

So I came up with a new plan. I'm just going to write 50.000 words worth of Royal Destiny! As each chapter is somewhere inbetween 2,500 and 3000 words, That would be about 18-20 chapters in one month. I can do that! Especially now that the story is finally picking up pace again, I'm sure I can manage.

So yea, loads of writing for me in November! I won't upload all of them at once on the site (It's nice to have a backlog so even if I don't feel like writing, I still have something new to update), but I might add an extra chapter or two besides the usual weekly update (which will resume next week Friday, by the way).

Why I love my job, part 1.

2010-10-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

During the past 2 years or so, I've been taking pictures of pretty places I see when I deliver mail. Once a week (every Friday evening) I'll share one picture with y'all. Of course, all these pictures are made in the city Leiden, where I happen to work.

This was the first picture I made in spring 2009, and the picture that inspired me to make all the other pictures I made. It's the Jan Pesijnhofje (hofje s are like almhouses with a courtyard... They're amazing, and you're going to find lots of the pictures I will post are from hofjes). I just entered this and I was blown away by the beauty of the cherry blossom tree. It's so quiet in here, you forget for a moment that you're in the middle of a busy city. This particular hofje is not my favourite one, but I love the cherry blossom tree in the middle, and I always try to take a peek every spring, even without having to deliver mail here, just because it looks so nice.

I wonder who's more insane.

2010-10-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

My boss for calling me in at 3.15 PM (I'd finished my shift at 2PM) or me for actually agreeing with it.

That, or my colleague who just happened to run in to me and who ended up helping me out. In his free time.

What this blog is (and what it's not).

2010-10-29T06:09:00.000-07:00

So, here I am, giving in to this whole blogging thing. The reason why is quite simple, really: I just want a place where I can ramble and vent about things which I can share with people.

So what will I ramble about? My current job, mostly; I'm a mailgirl. I love it- it's amazing to be outside for work, I love my colleagues, it's the most fun, but it's chaos. And, of course, I'm looking for a Real Job, having recently graduated from university and all.

Oh, and my story, Royal Destiny. I've been writing that story for 7 years now, and the end is coming closer. I'll make a looooonger post describing it later on.

So yea, what I'll mostly be doing is tell about things that happened to me and ramble about my writing- why it is and why it isn't working out and all.

Well, running off now to deliver some mail. Sigh.