Kind of a Writing Adventure Notice

I have opened a very large black hole with this new project I'm working on.

It sucks up my time. And I'm not really counting that as a bad thing, but I do have some concerns.

I'm now, once again, obsessed with the character of Amanirenas. I mean, who wouldn't? She was a queen, and a damn good one at that (I think you pretty much have to be if you're defeating the Roman Army right after they took over Egypt). So, because of my obsession resurfacing, I decided I would let the cat out of the bag (only a small cat, maybe a kitten) and tell everyone some stuff about what I'm doing.

There are some conflicting ideas out there about Amanirenas. Some sources say that her husband ruled first and she took over once he died, but many others say the opposite: she was the true ruler of Kush. Because, in my opinion, it would make a better story, I'm siding with the latter, and saying she was ruler the whole time.

In every source, it is stated that she was married to Teriteqas. From what I can assume in the text (now this is a leap), Teriteqas loved her very much, and commissioned a palace to be built for her.

**interesting story alert: This palace is where Amanirenas buries the head of Augustus' statue, so that she may step on it and essentially curse him with every footstep.**

Teriteqas, unfortunately, died in the war with the Romans.

They had a son named Akinidad, who was crown prince before he also died in war. This, coupled with losing an eye in battle, must have left a hole in her heart. Some believe she and her husband also had another son, but that he was skipped over in the monarchy for some reason. There's not much evidence, so I'm not sure if adding it in there would make the story worse or better, considering I don't even have a name. I'll probably leave that stuff out.

Anyway, I'm thinking my story will start with Amanirenas on her death bed, about ten years after the end of the war (another tragedy in her life, they're not really sure what happened to her, only that she died young and roughly ten years after negotiating peace with the Romans). She will be talking to who she has chosen as a successor, and they will ask her about her experience as a queen. The rest of the story will be a flash-back in first person, starting with the day her father died and left the throne to her.

Now for personalities. From the decisions she made, I've inferred that Amanirenas was a bold and headstrong character. Though she can be stoic and reserved, she's very courageous and aggressive. But, above all else, she is a tremendous queen. She lives and dies for her people, and that's her defining character trait: her sense of purpose as a ruler. It's not that she believes Kush could not survive without her, it's that she wants them to thrive with her, which is why (I believe) she resisted the Romans so violently, even when she knew how outnumbered she was.

Teriteqas, on the other hand, seems calmer to me, so that's how I've been writing him. In my story, he and Amanirenas have known each other since birth, and they are very drawn towards one another. He balances her aggression out with a very quiet strength, and I think later in her life she will adopt these tendencies. It's obvious from the beginning they love each other, and he is very much the soldier and confidante she needs. For her, he would kill a thousand men, but if it's for any other reason he is the non-violent one.

Akinidad is very young when he dies–only fourteen– so he won't have much character development. I think the best route is to play him as a normal fourteen year old. He is a prince, and so he doesn't feel the weight of power, but he is still forced into a situation for warriors much more experienced than he. He is a lighter character, like his father, but unique in a sense that he does not fit a comforting or compassionate capacity.

So, I'll leave you all with a confession: sometimes, when it's very late at night, and I've been thinking about this stuff for a while, I think that maybe I'm her reincarnated, and that's how I'm so sure of what she felt and what happened.

Now, I don't really believe in any of that stuff, but the thought crosses my mind anyway, and wouldn't it be so cool if that were the case?

NEW CAR!!

I am the proud owner of a dark gray Kia Soul.

I named it Bruce, after Bruce Wayne aka: BATMAN!!!!!

I didn't name my car Batman because, while Batman is a badass, my car is not full on dark knight.

My car is sophisticated, and refined, and a bit mysterious (I'm still figuring out how the bluetooth works). My car is also damn sexy-fine, because you can't just use a regular word like "sexy." You must make one up. Bruce Wayne is all of these things, whereas Batman is scary, and scary, and a little bit scary.

Bruce is also adorable when he wants to be, and all the ladies want to get with him. So, there's my thought process.

(Not really. I just kind of yelled "Oh my God I'll name it Bruce!" and that was that.)

Oh man, I have a car!

Progress

I just sent my "short story" (I put it in quotations because I'm not so sure if 1,300 words counts as a story at all) A Good Time to two writing competitions.

Wow.

I am completely aware that I have a one in a million chance of winning (especially because the main character is a hooker) but still, the fact that I've finally accomplished something makes me really happy.

Something Terrible that I do

So, there's something that I do to people I'm not particularly fond of.

I lurk THE CRAP out of them on Facebook.

Also, don't even try to pretend that I'm alone in this act. I am most certainly not, because I've seen it done by others.

Sometimes, I'm ashamed of this. How is it that I can be such a terrible person as to seek out something I don't like, just to think about how much I don't like it?

Other times, I take one look at their wall, or their profile picture, or even their comments on someone else's wall, and I don't think that way at all. What I think is, how is it that they can be such terrible people as to market themselves as someone totally different than what they are?

Now I know that I just marketed myself as being a disgusting teenager with too much time on their hands. I know that anyone reading this will think less of me. 

I also know that I'm no different from most of the people I know. We are all terrible human beings, we all cut down our own kind for sport. Maybe that levels the playing field to make us all good people too, or maybe that's just where it ends.

Either way, terrible or not, I do it, along with other terrible or not so terrible things. And, at some point, so have you.