Why Shady?

Q: I have a question. Why Shady? You seem to be spending an awful lot of time with an outlaw.



A: I wasn't sure at first whether I would address this question. It's somewhat embarrassing to talk about a new friendship and defend it. But I have that 'ask me anything' box for a reason so I'll do my best to answer..


I consider myself blessed to have met a lot of interesting and wonderful people while in Venezuela, I count Shady among those people. I first interacted with him when I saw him sneaking a little rubber duck onto our mechanics' worktable. I admit I was suspicious at first, I picked it up, smiled at spotting the Alpha symbol on the ducky's chest and went to ask Shady about it.


The conversation was light, playful and warm. We addressed why he leaves ducks in his wake but also spoke as people and I started to get a measure of him. Most importantly he made me smile.


If you want to see light in the world then be that light. Bring it to others and they in turn will learn to light the darkness.


I try my best to be a beacon of light and hope to those that need it most. But those who gift light so freely sometimes feel themselves drained. If you're always cheering others up you sometimes find yourself taking away their sadness and onto yourself. Everyone needs to recharge sometimes and heroes are no exception.


When it comes to me I sometimes need silliness and fun, anything that help keep my smile in place so I can keep bringing it to those in need. Shady makes me smile, a lot. He's a friend I am glad I've made.


As for spending time with an outlaw - we all have friends who may have made poor decisions in the past. It's our role as good friends to help them, either by addressing those issues over time or if they are not severe setting them aside and looking forward to a better future.


I hope that's a good enough answer for you Nonny!

A New Dawn

A beautiful new dawn brings so much with it, a fresh start, a day filled with countless directions and opportunities. This morning I sat and watched the sun rise through a tori gate and felt abuzz with the excitement of what dawn is to me. It was then that my phone beeped, an email, another opportunity, the chance of something great.


I'm so excited and I'm sorry to keep you guys in the dark for now but hopefully you'll see a big announcement from me sometime in the near future!

(Picture by the awesome Shady)

Kami-sama

I've been asked often about my links to Japan and it's impact on my magic. A full explanation is likely a little complicated for a blog post, so maybe another day. But for today I'll talk about the effect Shinto has had on me. I visited Japan for the first time when I was in my teens and something just clicked. The magic I'd had all my life started to make a little more sense and it was at a Shinto shrine I met my first kitsune.

Prayers and rituals I have observed at shrines since then have played a large part in how I interact with magic and with astral rifts. I call to the astrals in the same way I would implore a powerful kami.

ひふみよ　いむなや　こともちろらね
しきる　ゆゐつわぬ　そをたはくめか
うおゑに　さりへて　のます　あせえほれけ

Prayers of purification are playing an increasing role in what I do. Above is a beginners norito that I hope to memorise over time for rituals that it works well for. You may think it strange or wrong for a westerner to adopt Shinto as a practice but the kami came to me before i even knew what they were. Spirits of that nature do not dwell solely in Japan so why should Shintoism?

Ask Kitsune #9

Q: If my peers find out about my past and who I truly am(was) I am likely to be rejected and cast out of the team that I have come to love. However keeping this information from them feels wrong.  However, I am also keeping my identity secret because if certain parties find out where to find me, I will be hunted down, as I believe will all who know who I am. What should I do?



A: First take a deep breath, center yourself and calm down, you are carrying a huge weight on your shoulders and that can't be easy. Make yourself a tea, or a hot chocolate, or whatever drink of choice helps calm you down (don't drink too much of it if it's alcoholic!), it's time for some introspection. Before you approach your peers you have some questions to ask yourself..

You are not a timelord, you cannot change the past nor can you accurately see the future. What you have is the here and now and that is what is important. You seem unsure over whether what you did in your past is who you were or who you are now. Are you simply hiding your past? Or are you hiding a part of who you are now? The former is hard but the latter - that could lead to a lot of heartbreak, you shouldn't be living a lie.

Look to your peers, your friends. You say you've come to love them, if they feel the same about you then they'll want to know more about you. maybe pick the one or two you are closest to to confide in, pick people you know to be trustworthy, who can share your secret. With each person told you'll lighten the load.

If that's too much to do right away then I'm here for you - send me an email, you can set up a burner account if you want, I don't mind. Tell me a little about your past so I can offer more personal advice away from the public eye. I want to help you. And if you have your reservations then remember that I am oathed to harm none and it sounds like sharing your secret would cause you harm, which is a sad thing to hear.

Take care of yourself Nonny, take some time to know you and to slowly reach out to others, you're not as alone as you may feel right now.

Box art!

I finally have permission from my agent to share this! In the coming weeks this is going to be distributed in Japan! How adorable is this art of me?! I am so excited!

The cereal is pretty good too, I've been drowning in free samples from the Japanese branch of Kellogg's for weeks and trying to decide which worked best to put my name to. These won out because they're not only tasty and sweet someone compared them to teeny versions of my mage light which was just too adorbs not to run with!

Ask Kitsune #8

Q: During a conversation in the bar back in Venezuela I think I may have put my foot in it somewhat, while talking about some of the risks of having powers I may have used the phrase 'normal people' intending to refer to non-costumed crime-fighting individuals, have only just now realised that one of the people at the table who seemed a bit put out by me saying this was of a mutant persuasion, while I never meant any ill-intention I realise I'm worrying my words could have caused offence, am I overthinking things or would it be safer to duct-tape my mouth shut next time?
 
A: That you're worried so much speaks well of your character, you're clearly a good person who doesn't want to cause harm with your words. I'm sure whoever you were sat with either realised this or could with time. have you spoken to them since? Did they seem to have issue with you? Maybe you are worrying a little too much, we all say things we regret sometimes but we all have the power within us to set those mistakes right.

In our society finding the correct phrasing can be hard. We don't want a division that feels like an 'us' and 'them' but sometimes powered individuals need to speak of the plight of the general populace they defend and finding the right words to ensure everyone that those with powers don't think of themselves as superior can be difficult. But we all try. And that's all a person can do try and keep trying, you won't always succeed but we all have each other for support, some may have powers, some may not, we may be of different factions or different planes/planets of birth but we're all people and for the most part we're doing our best to make this world a better place.

Ask Kitsune #7

Q: Did you run into the man claiming to be the Egyptian god Sett? Did he by change....touch you inappropriately? He kept stroking, licking and kissing my face....just want to be reassured that I wasn't the only one as nobody else in the camp got that attention from what I could see (Which wasn't much cos it was dark)
 
A: I did run into Seth/Sett/Aiden a few times during the evening but I wasn't physically touched by him. The only inappropriate touch I received was one to my mind. I was near him when confusion clouded my mind, I couldn't think straight and nothing made sense.

He did attack someone I think of as an older brother of sorts but this is the first I've heard of such.. intimate.. interactions.

I hope that by being honest in how you were treated others will come forward with their experiences to help you make more sense of what happened to you. 

I will also offer one other piece of advice to you and my readers as well should they see 'Sett' again - keep him away from Yllaneth if possible. I don't know what the situation with them is but having witnessed a standoff between them I'm sure I don't want to see them actively attacking one another!