[Scraps of Est] In the Coulisse

by **Estrellir Konrath** on January 1st, 2015, 1:15 pm

A Psalm of Life.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

by **Estrellir Konrath** on January 9th, 2015, 2:48 pm

Classical.

So I've been watching a certain anime that had a lot of my two favorite instruments in it: the violin and piano. The Saint-Saens piece could even be something Gwin will play in the future when she's at expert level or higher.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on January 20th, 2015, 5:51 pm

Had a thought.

It occurred to me that I tend to play exceptional characters – exceptional in a sense that they stand out from the majority of Mizaharian population, be it by birth, by profession or both. Since they’re PCs, that is entirely acceptable.

Still, I want to play a completely ordinary character every once in a while. A farmer’s daughter. A bartender content with his job. A hunter adept at wilderness survival. For some reason my characters just come out as the unusual type, but that doesn’t mean they have to be for me to enjoy writing them… quite on the contrary. It’s just that sometimes their lives and goals seem too complicated for me.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on February 5th, 2015, 10:31 am

Oh look, Est braided her hair and it doesn't even look messy!

Don't worry, she still has two cats. That one just came to visit for a day while Whimsy and Poppy were sleeping.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on February 9th, 2015, 8:35 pm

Origin of Languages.

You asked for it!
Hope it makes sense.

Original story by Luis aus Südtirol.
With all the language samples.

by **Aventis** on February 10th, 2015, 8:01 pm

This... This is funny. Funny. I like it. Thanks for actually doing it. c:

by **Estrellir Konrath** on February 13th, 2015, 12:27 pm

Announcement.

Some of you already know about it, but this is the official announcement so all of you are warned. I will be visiting Scotland next week from Feb 16 to 20. Don’t expect any posts from me during that time.

I promise there will be photos though and I’ll have plenty of time for all of you when I get back. Until then, have some Jim Morrison.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on February 27th, 2015, 10:50 pm

Scotland.

So after telling everyone about it, I felt I should share a few photos from my trip to Scotland. Here they are!

Beautiful architecture! And when it looks like a church, it's usually a gallery, theatre, museum or other artsy modern place.

In fact Glasgow is all about art. Street art too.

And tiny bookshops in back alleys with cats living in them!

But I also went to the west coast to see some nature and smell sea air again.

This made me laugh. Had no idea an apartment in the Spires comes with its own Jamoura servant!

Yep, that's me and my Scots friend. Despite being in the land of fish and chips, we went to eat sushi. It's fish too, right?

Obviously I had a great time! Met lots of exciting and inspiring people, some of them I'm planning to see again, some not. Either way, I hope this won't be my last visit to the isle.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on March 17th, 2015, 10:04 pm

Apologies for my absence during the last ten or so days. I’ve been busy, first with uni, second with my own writing. When not busy, I’ve been plain lazy. Yep. It’s just easier to sit down with a good book, anime or film than it is to open that document and write a post.

Maybe I needed a break. With Kenash populated by only two PCs, Est hasn’t had much to do but the Wild Ride and job solos. Gwin has plot going on, but I’d rather write more for Est. So I haven’t been that motivated lately.

But I definitely haven’t forgotten you guys! I’ll post when I feel like it.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to Friday. There’s a kind of fantasy book festival going on this week with readings and book signings. Now guess who’s the special guest? Patrick Rothfuss. That’s right… I’m going to get my book signed by Pat freaking Rothfuss. His Kingkiller Chronicle made me fall in love with fantasy all over again after I’d lost faith in the genre. Just had to share this.

by **Estrellir Konrath** on April 20th, 2015, 5:16 pm

Back.

That’s right, I’m (most likely) back. I really didn’t intend to stay away that long, but I just haven’t felt inspired or motivated for a long time. It’s not a good excuse, I know, but I don’t have a better one. I did get a few things done while away, mainly…

Researching and planning my BA’s thesis
Writing 32,000 words across two different stories this month, one of which I’ve been obsessing over for almost two weeks
Watching loads of Gilmore Girls episodes
(Re)Discovering the most beautiful coffee shop near campus

That said, I’ve started organizing stuff for Est and Gwin, thinking about what to do with them this season. Also hoping to get back into posting soon. It’s good to be here.