Twisted Creampuff

I helped all the receptionists of the company my dad works for get a raise. He was amending their salaries for the new year, and I was like, how about this person? Their salary doesn't go up that much. And he was all, hmm. Maybe you're right. My first good deed of the year, woohoo! So you see, us evil children with black nailpolish and lipstick aren't all bad. We might even be responsible for the increase in your pay. :P

On a different, far more awful note, he's suddenly taken to calling me princess. Ugh. Do I even remotely look like the nickname suits me? >.<

And omfg. The tattoo artist I chose is an idiot. Today's the second time that he hasn't turned up for my appointment. If he can't even do something as simple as turning up on time, there's no way in hell I'm letting him near me with a needle and inks. 

Another year is almost over. Nothing much seems to have changed. I don't know if I should be disappointed, really. I can't believe how little time I have until my exams start. I really shouldn't have been sitting on my behind for so long. Oh well. Physics, here I come. >.<

My family is killing me. Slowly, but surely. Soon, I'll be nothing more than a puddle of melted radioactive creampuff in the middle of the floor. Is it physically possible to have cousins as annoying as mine are? The youngest one, she's six. And already she has my mom's youngest brother and his wife wrapped around her pinky. It's ridiculous. And I know I should be used to it by now, but does the concept of personal space elude them? Don't get me wrong: I'm sure other people have nice Singaporean relatives. I do not. These family gatherings usually result in me, my father, and my brother actually taking the same side for once because not one of us can stand my mom's family. I wouldn't have asked to come here otherwise. Especially since mom conveniently left out the fact that we were having a massive family gathering that started in New Zealand and still hasn't ceased.

And it's not sell-mon. It's sam-mon. The 'l' is silent. For god's sakes, I'm trying to do you a favour here and fix your english. How on earth can you claim that it's your first language? gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. It's an entire nation suffering from the ill pronouncement of words. Don't they have an education ministry of some sort? *exhales* After new year the extended family will leave, and it'll just be the four of us. I can't wait.

I suppose the one advantage of being here is that no one is going to sic ID on me when I try and get inked tomorrow. Woohoo for silly Singaporeans and their inability to guess my age. That, and I got a gorgeous Venice mask from one of my aunts. Most of my aunts and uncles are lovely. But why are their children such brats?

And I have such issues with the maid system here. These women get paid a few hundred to do absolutely everything. Cooking, cleaning, looking after ridiculously spoiled children... I was disgusted when one of the children couldn't even be bothered to walk to the bin and throw her candy cane wrapper away. Her maid had to come to the sofa and collect it fron her. I'm sorry, WTF? Shouldn't some form of human welfare have kicked in by now? My mom's is lovely, and there's no way that we would ever manage without her, but I can't help but feel that she's hideously underpaid. I know it's the standard rate she's being paid, and my mother would never dream of paying less, but still. So what if she didn't go to college? She's away from home, in a much more material society than she's used to, having to learn a different language, all for a couple hundred bucks? It's not like we can't afford to pay her more. 

And she only gets one day off a fortnight. That's ridiculous, having to cook and clean full time. Like my dad says, Singapore may have first world infrastructure, but their mentalities still remain third world. Just because there's a disparity between the Indonesian and Singaporean exchange rates is no reason to pay her so little. >.< I'm going to stop before I insult someone.

I miss chaos. Badly. Condemn the lack of internet while I was in New Zealand. Her plans for RC really, really excite me though. I will say no more, though. It really isn't any of my business. XD

I have to indulge my insane relatives and go shopping with them soon. Before then, hopefully I'll have learned all the definitions I need to know for that particular module. Exams should burn.

I have others, if you're interested!:D

I'm currently twiddling my thumbs, and waiting for Chaos Dragon to be un-busy so that I can talk to her. I know I probably should be writing, but right now, I'm just too tired to give a rat's arse. But I'm determined to finish all of Metanoia by this weekend, even if that means I get absolutely no sleep. It's been dragging on long enough, and I need to finish it, if simply just to prove to myself that I'm capable of carrying things through. Otherwise, Anathema's Abode may prove to be a slight problem, since it's *cough*forty chapters long*cough*.

I've just put what's probably closest to my other half to bed, so my entire night can now be devoted to trying to salvage what's left of my ability to write. Not that I ever had very much in the first place. 

Does it make me a bad person if I'm actually happy that she's missing me because of my abrupt love of all things to do with the internet? Or that I hold deep satisfaction in the fact that she's followed me around the entire night in an attempt to spend more time with me? And she's being so uncharacteristically affectionate. 

For once, in our insane, almost too dysfunctional to work relationship, I actually hold all the power. I wanted a cup of tea, and she actually jumped to make me one. She doesn't jump for anyone. Ever. She's the most insensitive, self serving, obtuse human being to ever exist. Hell, she's even asked if we could apply to the same universities next year. And I'm meant to be the clingy one. We've spent more than twenty four hours together, and neither of us has raised our voice once. As strange as this may be, I can't say that it's not welcome. I was tentatively planning to tell her I loved her some time soon, but I'm enjoying this new version far too much. Bah. An evil bitch, that's what I am. God, if she ever finds this, she'll kill me. Reading it through again, I do  sound like an awful person.

Personal rants aside, you'd think that with the amount of time I spend bouncing ideas off Chaos, fics would come easier. Hell, that woman works at a rate of about one plot bunny a minute. If you're reading this mate, I'm still waiting for my Danny x Sheego crossover. 

And jesus fucking christ, if that woman comes around one more time and tells me to turn my lights off, I will resort to murder. It's the bloody weekend. I bet if I was researching my bloody AEA questions she wouldn't have a problem with it. It's the weekend, I don't have saturday lessons tomorrow, so I believe I'm at perfect liberty to do whatever the hell I like. It's the weekend; doesn't she have a life? Says the girl ranting on LJ, lol.

I haven't really left a particularly interesting post to read, so I think I'm going to stop now. Metanoia calls.

*glomps Chaos Dragon* 

Thanks to her, I now have two months with a paid LJ account. I have no idea what I can actually do with it, but there's no time like the present to learn. I can't wait to help with the DP fanfic awards either. At least I have something to look forward to this week:D

Thank. God. It's. Friday.

I cannot believe I am back at school. This stinks. It's even worse that I'm meant to be spending every breathing moment of my life (which judging from the first two days back at school is already over) reading up on stuff that I don't understand so that I can impress random academics sometime later this year. God, that means that I'm going to have to work. Had a long moan about this to Chaos just now, I pity her. I probably wasn't the best conversation. Was rather appreciative of her drawing of Danny. I must say my drawing of Sam on paint was worse. To be fair, I only had a touchpad. I'm also slightly bemused at Sasia's choice in prom dresses.

So instead of reading my thick and highly interesting book about the basics of immunology, or writing fic, which you probably care a lot more about, I'm sitting at my laptop, moping. This really isn't a constructive use of my time. I'm pretending the mechanics questions in front of me don't exist, and that I didn't get told today that at the rate I'm going, I'm not even going to merit an interview. I've only been back for two days, mind.

Just got back from a gig at a local boy's school. Met a fit bassist. Typical stuff happened. Stopped by to listen to a midnight busker tell a ghost story before catching the bus. Missed the school's curfew by half an hour, but it's the first weekend back and we got lucky.

I'm sorry for the lack of teasers/spoilers, but I really haven't written very much. The grand plan was to get a new chapter of AA done for this weekend, but at the rate I'm going, the likelihood of an update is slim. I also should probably update Metanoia. I won't be surprised if people think it's abandoned.

Alas, damn prep calls.

I come back from a week of camping, and suddenly the DP fanfic awards LJ is looking fabulous. I'm so glad that more people are taking part now. Maybe my frantic emailing of every single email addy I could get my hands on actually helped. 

I received a really nice review yesterday for Metanoia that managed to guilt me sufficiently into thinking about updating again. I can't believe that I had originally aimed to finish it by its one year anniversary. Deadlines are never met when I'm involved. I've always known where I'm going to take it. So I must admit that it was sheer laziness that stopped me from updating.

Went to Camden today, which is always great fun. Came back with deep purple and deep green hair dye, among other things. Strand tested for the purple, because I reckon that's probably going to be less obvious. hopefully, my school won't make me dye it back. Bought Chaos Dragon a badge. It was amazing to be back among people who don't give a shit what you dress like. Singapore was great and all, but I was getting pretty sick of prissy people staring. Not that I have anything against my mom's country. I just think that they need to start learning to be less conservative. 

I'm honoured that someone nominated Anathema's Abode for best AU. I would've thought people would've forgotten about it by now, after a fortnight of no updates. If it was an attempt to guilt me into updating, it's worked. I feel terrible about the state of my fics at the moment, and even worse knowing that the situation is going to get even more dire once school starts in two days. 

For the moment, I will leave an excerpt of Metanoia chapter 16:

Sam raised her knuckles to the chipped wood of Valerie Gray's front door, rapping them twice against the cheap, flaking white paint to produce two firm knocks that she hoped would not betray the magnitude of her anxiety regarding their meeting.

She was being stupid, Sam told herself, as she strove to regard the situation dispassionately. She was hardly in the wrong for demanding to see Danny's best friend, after all that he had put her through. The identities of the Red Hunter and Phantom's alter egos had never been any of her business, not that she had ever been interested. The Goth was far more interested in learning what in god's name had been going through Danny Fenton's mind when he had decided to deceive her into thinking that he was two different people, only one of which had been interested in pursuing a relationships with her.

When Valerie finally answered the door after what seemed like an eternity, Sam was relieved that she had refused to allow her nervousness to show despite the awkwardness of the situation, subjecting the ghost hunter with a slight smile in offering of a truce.

“Hey Valerie,” she greeted, her fingers furling and unfurling around the hem of her skirt.

“Sam,” the ghost hunter acknowledged coldly, stepping aside to allow her to enter the small, run down apartment. “We'll talk in my room, I can't risk my dad overhearing if he comes home early from work.”

“I really appreciate you doing this,” Sam demurred, gratitude evident. “I'm sorry that I picked such a bad time,” She bit her lip, wincing as her statement was met with stony silence as they crossed the living room.

“I guess there's isn't much point in hiding any of this from you.” Valerie Gray conceded grudgingly, gesturing to the wide array of ectoplasmic weapons scattered on her bedroom floor as they entered.

“Not really.” Sam shrugged, unsure what to make of Danny's best friend's hostility. “Look,” she began, facing the ghost hunter. “I'm not looking to expose either of you, you know me better than that. I just need to know what's going on with Danny.”

“I know you don't mean either of us any harm,” Valerie scowled. “But just because you'd never willingly expose us doesn't mean that it'll never happen. Does Tucker know?”

“No,” the Goth affirmed, “I haven't told him yet.”

“Good,” the ghost hunter stated shortly. “That's one less thing Vlad Masters has to worry about. So what do you want to know?”

“Whatever you're willing to tell me,” she shrugged. “Everything, I guess.”

“That'll take years,” Valerie snorted, but Sam was relieved to notice that some of Danny's best friend's enmity towards her seemed to be ebbing. “You're going to have to be more specific than that.”

“Alright then,” Sam allowed her self a deep breath, pushing raven hair out of her face before addressing the question that had led her here in the first place. “Why did Danny leave tonight?”

“I can't say I didn't see that one coming.” Valerie raised an eyebrow in amusement. “The final stage of his assignment ends tonight. After this, he no longer has any reason to be here. Yes, he's actually going back to Wisconsin,” the agent added dryly, noting the expression on Sam's face.

“Danny wasn't overshadowed today, was he?” Sam queried. “He didn't have any help assaulting Dash Baxter.”

“I should have known you'd figure it out,” the Red Hunter chuckled dryly. “It was too much to hope that you wouldn't connect him with Phantom.”

And because I'm still overwhelmed that Anathema's Abode has been nominated, here's an excerpt that will be appearing in the near future. I really should stop spoiling you guys rotten.

 

“Back for more, Fright Knight?” Phantom smirked, as the ghost general stepped out of the shadows to join him. “I would've thought that our previous encounter was sufficiently humiliating to deter your return.”

“Phantom,” the midian acknowledged, revulsion evident in his tone. “I see your impudence has not left you. The only reason I am forced to endure your company is because I am here on Pariah's orders. I bear a message from the king.”

“The great Fright Knight, reduced to a messenger boy,” Phantom taunted, raising an eyebrow in amusement. “How the mighty have fallen.”

The half ghost was unaffected by the midian's roar of outrage, his eyes flaring a deathly purple as spectral energy flared at his fists. From their previous encounter, it was clear which of them was the superior fighter. Despite Phantom's offhanded insult, the white haired ghost knew that the Fright Knight would be reluctant to cross him. For now.

One of the reasons that Phantom had so easily felled the ghost general in their previous engagement was due to his immunity to the control the lunar cycle extended over the strength of his kin. The Fright Knight had believed his opponent to share his weaknesses when they had dueled, causing him to now overestimate Phantom's strength. The youthful ghost was certain that he would still be able to defeat the general at the height of his power, but not without sufficient difficulty. It was in his best interests to allow the Fright Knight to remained disillusioned.

“Whatever the ghost king proffers, tell him I am not interested,” Phantom stated flatly, ignoring the general as he turned to leave.

“It will do you well to listen, cretin,” the Fright Knight spat, obviously embittered by the message he was charged to carry. “My lord offers you amnesty in exchange for your services.”

“If Pariah believes that I will serve him, after he has sanctioned two attempts on my life, then he is a fool,” the white haired ghost snorted, the soft sound resounding in the silence of the cold night air. “I will yield to none of his subordinates. Your king has no control over me, short of his choosing to leave the ghost zone to challenge me himself.”

“Nothing is beyond my lord's control,” the midian growled, as deep purple flames erupted from his fingertips, barring Phantom's path. “You may have proven yourself incapable of being destroyed by my hand, but can the same be said for your little wench?”

Phantom stiffened, willing his facade not to give away the slightest semblance of emotion as he turned to face the general. “I know not what you speak of.”

“Liar,” the Fright Knight hissed. “The king is aware that you are harbouring a second traitor to the empire. Perhaps the Night Police cannot overpower you, but have you considered the consequences of your actions on your acquaintance?”

“Again, I have no idea what you're talking about,” the white haired ghost insisted roughly, as he found himself overcome by chilling fear. Until now, both he and Ember were under the impression that the empire believed her to be dead, allowing her slightly more liberty regarding her movements. Had their recklessness resulted in the Fright Knight discovering the truth?

“You may be unmoved by my liege's offer of amnesty, but it would be a farce on my part for Ember Mclain to be sought, and slain,” the midian smirked, well aware that his previous statement had unnerved his rival, despite his reluctance for Phantom to enter Pariah's employ. “Accept, and we will extend the offer of amnesty to include her.”

“You are bluffing,” needles of ice seemed to have gripped Phantom's stomach, despite his attempts to retain an air of cold indifference towards the Fright Knight. “If you truly knew where Ember resided, she would not still be alive, twenty years after her betrayal.”

“You gravely underestimate the capabilities of my trackers,” the ghost general shook his head, clearly taking sadistic enjoyment from the white haired ghost's plight. “I understand it will be be difficult for you to find a replacement, seeing as to most women of our kin will be reluctant to warm the bed of a traitor.”

“You are just as much a fool as Pariah if you believe Ember to be defenseless,” Phantom's eyes flared an ungodly shade of green, refusing to rise to the bait of the Fright Knight's derogatory comments regarding his best friend. “Now leave. You are not welcome in my territory.”

“You think all those affiliated with you impervious to our elite?” the Fright Knight barked a laugh, making no move to comply with Phantom's demands. “Allow me to prove you wrong.”

“Harm Ember, and you will regret the day you chose to abandon your humanity,” the white haired ghost threatened, his hackles rising.

“Why are you so reluctant to serve at Pariah Dark's side?” the ghost general snarled, overcome by unexplainable anger. “He is granting you an opportunity that heathen like you does not deserve.”

Phantom paused, aggressive tendencies leaving him as he dispassionately regarded the rage flaring in the Fright Knight's gaze, surprise overcoming him. The ghost general was jealous. Whatever Pariah was offering him in return for his services, the Fright Knight coveted greatly. That lone fact in itself piqued the white haired ghost's interest.

“And how exactly would I be serving the king?” the outcast arched an eyebrow, curious despite himself. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to listen to what Pariah Dark had to offer.

“At the head of his forces,” the Fright Knight whispered, his baritone voice so soft that Phantom hardly caught the words, despite his heightened senses.

“Pariah wishes for me to serve him as his general?” Phantom questioned, not bothering to hide his incredulity. “And where does that leave you?”

“As your liegeman,” the midian replied stiffly, as though uttering the mere words was torture. “Pariah has charged me to serve you as you see fit, seeing as I have fallen from grace in his eyes.”

“I had no idea that the ghost king was this trusting,” the slighter ghost commented dryly. “I would've thought that demanding the services of a blood traitor to lead his armies would be beyond him.”

“I have warned him that you are not to be trusted,” the Fright Knight's deep voice held nothing but bitterness. “But the king is eager to make use of your abilities, certain that he will be capable of compelling you to remain loyal to us. If you betray the empire, my lord will not hesitate to strike you down, no matter how powerful you think you are.”

“And if I give my word, the empire vows never to lay a finger on Ember Mclain?” Phantom questioned sharply, his eyes narrowing to burnished green slits. “Our previous truce has left me with little faith in Pariah's ability to keep his promises.”

“The ghost king gives his word,” the former general conceded reluctantly, after a period of augmented hesitation on his part.

“Very well,” Phantom conceded grimly, as his fingers furled into twin fists, fervently hoping that Sam would understand when she inevitably learned of his fresh affiliations. “Tell your liege that I accept.”

Went shopping with the mother today, and got some bonding time in with her before I leave tomorrow. Although leaving will probably mean the end of fic updates for me until I settle back in school, I actually can't wait to be back in England. I've missed it. Although I promise that updates won't dry up completely. And if they do, you're allowed to maim me.

But I digress. 

As I was saying, went shopping with the mother, when I saw the most amazing couch I had ever seen in my entire life. I usually don't give a rat's arse what furniture looks like, but I swear I actually fell in love with it. It was black velvet, with a ridiculously high back that I reckon was probably past two metres tall, with black leather and metal studded trimmings. It was just incredible. The black velvet cushion that spelled out ROCKWHORE with faux diamonds probably helped. And it wasn't this rectangular, shapeless thing, either. It was kinda shaped like edwardian furniture, which made it really elegant. 

God that piece of furniture rocked hard. One look at the price tag, and I'm not surprised my mom said no. Which is a shame really. I couldn't think of a more appropriate piece of furniture to have my way with Ryan Ross on, nevermind that it's black velvet, or that I'm obviously delirious from lack of sleep since that'll never happen. Forgive the mental scarring. It's just that hot a couch.

I'm going to work hard, get a good job when I grow up, just so that I can buy it to cherish for ever and ever. In all future fics, Sam is having that couch.

Am now sixteen. It's a shame I don't feel any different. 

I don't see why people celebrate their birthdays. I mean yeah, you came into the world and all, but how about the abominable pain you put your mother through? Today should be about my mother, whose pelvis I bulldozed through and probably hasn't been the same since then. Bless her for getting me a cake.

I'm currently being spoiled rotten with the blurbs of Chaos Dragon's new plot bunnies. They're great, and I really look forward to reading them in their entirety. It's times like this I really wish that I could churn out stuff half as fast as she can.

As for Metanoia, I'm stuck. The initial grand plan was to get the entire fic done before the end of summer. My efforts have amounted to the impressive total of one and a half chapters. The fic's been dragging on a year and a bit now, and I'm desperate to finish it before I get bored of it. Because frankly, I don't find writing it half as interesting as I used to. Danny Fenton, CIA superspy. Hah.

I'm hoping it's because I've grown as a writer and now find the stuff I wrote when I was fourteen/fifteen juvenille. But I don't think I've ever completed anything in my entire life, and I think that's probably the truth of the matter. It's phenomenal I even managed the fifteen chapters I've posted. Plus, I don't think I've written quite enough to be claiming any form of improvement just yet. Apart from the fact that Chaos has patiently explained to me just how you work the punctuation in dialogue...XD

I really hope that Anathema's Abode doesn't fizzle to nothing either, when school starts. Because I've actually found something I like writing, although I've got a long way to go before I'm anywhere near where I want to be. Am finding it slightly boring at the moment, because I'm still trying to remember to introduce all the characters I'll need later on and try and get everything in place that I'll need for the plot. Not that there's any at the moment. I suppose that's incentive to keep writing. If I want to have Phantom and Sam squabbling over her using the ring of rage the night of Pariah's siege, or him proposing to her, Phantom's DMC with Clockwork, Maddie finding out Phantom's her son, Sam being held ransom by the empire in exchange for Pandora's death, or Phantom's bloody confrontation with Pariah, I'd better get my arse into gear and at least pretend to get a move on. Not to mention the Danny + Jack fudge bonding scene. Clearly that's the highlight of AA. 

Off to walk the dog. Won't see the fatty for another six months at least, once I get back to boarding school.

It was over.

Stunned silence ensued, as Phantom finally allowed his beaten form to relax, swaying slightly in mid air as he lowered himself to the ground. Abruptly, the applause followed, almost as if the humans had suddenly escaped from their astonished stupor, as citizens and members of the brotherhood alike were brimming with acclamation for their savior, their cheers and whistles a resounding sound that echoed like thunder across Amity Park.

The same people, Sam thought wryly, who would have shrunk back in fear more than a year ago if he even looked in their direction now swarmed around him to offer him their congratulations with superfluous words and unwanted pats to his back that she knew her lover was enduring purely out of politeness' sake.

Phantom straightened his battered form, wordlessly parting the crowd with a single look as he staggered towards her, determined to stand tall despite the severity of his injuries.

She couldn't believe that he had survived. Despite their victory, Sam somehow couldn't bring herself to feel happy. Joy, contentment, and other emotions one would normally associate with being liberated from centuries of ghostly rule seemed to elude her. Instead, all she could manage was heart wrenching relief that despite the odds, Phantom had kept his promise to return to her safely.

“Samantha Manson of the brotherhood,” Phantom uttered, his voice so soft that the ghost hunter knew that their onlookers had to strain to catch his every word as their murmuring dissolved into whispers. The ghost hunter felt her mouth go dry, his actions seeming almost surreal to Sam as he lowered himself onto one knee before her, crowd gasping exclamations of disbelief as he proffered the now useless ring of rage in the palm of his hand. “Will you marry me?”

The excitement. Now all I really need to do is to figure out how this thing works. 

If you haven't heard, Chaos Dragon is organising the DP Fanfic Awards, which can be found at http://dpfanficawards.livejournal.com/. I'm so unbelievably excited already.