Author Archives: Marianya Klis

Vignette: Gardens of Elysion

AUTHOR NOTES: I wrote this back in 2003 for my original website. I am just reposting for prosperity.

GARDENS OF ELYSION

“I awoke one night and was overwhelmed by the bed of blue and lavender rosepetals that I found myself in, with him by my side. It was right then when a flash came to me… a flash from my past, not the past of now…. but the past of yesteryear. The past that I had only begun to remember…”

Strange is it not? How sometimes it is the little things that trigger the hidden memories, the ones from your past. Not the past you have lived not that long ago, but the past of another life, another time. In my case it was upon this very planet, this star planet, what was once known as the Elysion Kingdom, now known as simply Earth.

One of my earliest memories, and still is, are the times I spent with my family, my father, my mother, and my brother – Endymion. I remember when I was still so very young, my brother and I would go to a special part of the palace gardens, this was our own little ‘special area’ where we were able to roam free and enjoy that little part of our lives where we are not swept into the holds of royal duties.

Amongst the rose beds were my personal favorite blue and lavender roses. Once in a while a perfect rose would be in bloom and Endymion would go and pluck that perfect rose and tease me with it, but in the end he would decorate it in my partially pulled back hair making sure that there no thorns upon it, say how one day I would be ‘as pretty as mommy’.

Endymion and I very were close since we were so young and as we grew older we still kept that youth within us for a time. We were never afraid to act young once in a while, just as long as we would continue to be that way for years to come.

Mother was precious to me, I hardly ever saw her during the day, for it were the generals and the nursemaids that I had for company, but every night, before I would go to sleep she would come to my room and sing me a special lullaby, one that the both of us would know. Even now, I could still hear her voice, soft and gentle as the cool spring breeze, that is how I know, that even now, thousand years later she is there watching over me with a smile upon her face, the same soft smile I remember from so many years ago…

Father was the one that taught me the intricacies of the sword. He knew how I would watch the generals and my brother many times alone, and once in a while with the Lords from the Moon Kingdom, and my clear longing to train with them. Though I was happy with the element of dance, it was not the same. No clear competition, no where to go but down, for I was already at the top and showed no signs of faltering.

And so begins my life at Elysion, no knowledge of the kingdom from whence I came, for the family I was with, was my family and always will be.

‘What is a name? A Rose by any other name would smell as sweet’ – Shakespeare

So would it really matter if I were not from Elysion? I would still be same child by any other way, would I not?

Vignette: Forgotten Kingdom

AUTHOR NOTES: I wrote this back in 2003 for my original website. I am just reposting for prosperity.

FORGOTTEN KINGDOM

As I opened my eyes I soon realized that I was no longer in my bed at home asleep, instead I stood in the center of a long passageway. Everywhere I turned I saw doors to my left and right, reaching far ahead and behind of me. As I was standing there wondering what I am suppose to do, a soft voice whispered behind my ear… “Maia through all of these doors are different visions of your past, present and future as they may have been or occur. Each door will lead you to that alternate reality of your life, but you are to choose one door, and one door alone. Choose wisely my child…”, the voice disappeared as silently as it came.

One door? How could I possibly choose one door, I wanted to know more of my past life in the Silver Millennium, when I was with Endymion, Apolline and my Elysion family. I knew that those memories would someday come around eventually, so that would have been a waste.

I couldn’t very well choose the future, for that is forever in motion, ask Pluto-sama yourself she’d say the same thing, that although there is a particular way that the timeline should flow that may not always be the case.

So I set out walking down the seemingly unending corridor, various sounds from other doors tempted me to enter them, but I could not, would not. For those doors would not answer the questions I seek. What answers do I seek?

After what seem like hours I finally reached the end of the long passage, that voice from the beginning of my journey came again, “Child you have little timeleft, choose your destination and choose wisely for if you do not choose then you will never receive this chance again…” it disappeared for the lasttime.

Choose? How could I possibly choose a door when I do not even know which door leads to where. Finally I faced the door in front of me. Out of all the doors this one was the same in physical appearance, but there was a strange silvery-golden aura emanating from the door frame.

I took a deep breath and reach for the knob knowing quite well that what I do now would determine what I do and do not know after the conclusion of my journey. Opening the door, the hallway flooded with the silver-gold light… finally taking one last breath I walked into the light. Hoping that the decision that I had made was the right one.

More to come as I slowly remember the kingdom from whence I came… the Syth Kingdom.

Vignette: The Story

Originally I created the below series of vignettes as a way to create the world that “Marianya” knew. Building up her background and past life as you will and bringing her into the modern world. So below is a series of vignettes that gave snapshots of what “Marianya” the character knew.

AUTHOR NOTES: I wrote this back in 2003 for my original website. I am just reposting for prosperity.

THE STORY
I remember… I remember the sunbeams flying from the ground tickling my skin as I sit upon mother’s lap. I remember… the golden rays of light that disappeared as war ravaged through the Forgotten Kingdom.

I remember… the greens and blues of the marble Elysion, the kingdom I would call home… and the one place that I would seek sanctuary deep within the Gardens of Elysion.

However those times of pease have long since disappeared, forgotten within the rubble of Mare Serenitatis upon the Moon Kingdom, while all that fought in the epic battle were reincarnated, and later reawakened upon the soft meadows of the future Elysion – Earth.

Through these past many years, those of us from the legendary ~ Silver Millennium ~ were plagued with mystical visions. Visions that could open the doors to our pasts, presents and futures upon this blue-green planet.

Would this golden age of Crystal Tokyo come to pass… or would our more realistic dreams take over our mind and blind us from out true destiny?

You have read the story of Sailor Moon and her friends. You have read how Endymion and Serenity found that love can overcome all barriers including time. Now read another legend, the legend of Maia as she escapes from her birthright, and finds sanctuary in the world of Elysion.

Poetry: Gardens of Eden

From my original website, I had a short poem that was supposed to be constantly evolving as life changed. Within the poem there were going to be key words that led to other pages on the website. Obviously that changed, but here is that poem, the “key words” would be in bold. Over time I’ll connect the “key words” to the various pages as appropriate.

AUTHOR NOTES: I wrote this back in 2003 for my original website. I am just reposting for prosperity.

GARDENS OF EDEN
Sunbeams dance upon the sky
fragrances tickle my senses
as reality disappears into fantasy
the Gardens of Eden

Home to a prince and princess,
she – who am I
dreams of a knight
to fill her desires with passion

Slow as the passing tide
fast as the changing seasons,
memories of childhood dissolve
as the age of womanhood beckons

With the Gates of the Gardens beckoning to me
I follow the path to forge a future
where my fantasies become reality

This is what I hope
This is what I dream
This is what I see

UPDATES: Website Pages Added

So I’ve been busy, putting down a little of my history, interests, etc.

Although I haven’t really updated the blog contents persay, I have been adding pages that can be found in the upper right hand corner of the weblog. Below is a breakdown of the pages:
BIOGRAPHY
Information about my background in writing, theatre, web designing: basically anything and everything artistically related.

BLOGGING
A lot of the work I do at PureDWTS, PureSYTYCD, PureAmericasGotTalent and PureTVNet sometimes would require references and background work… so I will posting a lot of the background information here. Though some of the pages can be found over at the various blogs as well.

BREAKDOWN
A quick cheat sheet of the breakdown of the various posts on the website

ENTERTAINMENT
Anything and everything that I find entertaining from books to music to comics, etc.

FAQ
General information about specific projects that I have been working on.

BEYOND THE ABYSS
I’ve been going through my old website design and posting the various vignettes and stories that are officially shelves in some capacity or I took the time to complete real quickly just to complete the series. Since they are more fiction related that is why they are in “Beyond the Abyss” as opposed to here on the primary blog.

Reflection: Paul Wesselmann and The Ripples Project #681

Weekly I get an email from the “The Ripples Project“, an online project whose purpose is:

helping others get excited about work and school and life; […] and challeng[ing] people to explore their potential

Below is an example of a newsletter that I received this week. The Ripples was titled: Dancing with the Universe whileas the title of my website/blog is Dancing Through the Universe. So why not?

PEBBLE
You can dance with the Universe,
but you don’t get to lead.
-written and submitted by Catherine Julian in Olympia, WA

BOULDER
Cinderella may have been given
the dress, the shoes and the ride,
but she was the one who made
the choice to go to the ball.
You are given opportunities every day,
make your choice to do something with them.
-written and submitted by Jennifer from Cal Poly-SLO

PONDER
Plenty of teeny and huge stuff happens over which we have little or no control; unfortunately we are sometimes so busy fretting over these unscheduled interruptions that we ignore the choices we still have, the options that are still available to us. Just because we cannot control everything doesn’t mean we have to throw up our hands and fail to get busy on the things we CAN control.

So if you’re feeling stuck this week, I invite you look between the lines of the STUFF you are facing and seek the choices and options you still have. And then find a way to dance with them!

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Fleeting: 2012 Tonys (Once and Newsies)

The 2012 Tony Awards aired… I was excited this time around because two of the shows with a lot of buzz were coming in with quite a few nominations: Once and Newsies, both of which I saw on my last trip to NYC. The only major similarity is that both are based off of movies of the same name, both are special in different ways.

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Entertainment: Disney Stained Glass

I just loved this so much that I HAD to share via the blog: The Mary Sue


Have fun trying to figure out who is who (though most would be pretty obvious).

Literary Review: Blameless by Gail Carriger

Title: Blameless
Author: Gail Carriger
Series: Book Three
Format: Audiobook

Technically, I listened to this audiobook a few weeks ago, I have just been so damn busy lately with theatre that I haven’t had the chance to write my thoughts about this particular book in the series. Ah well, better late than never. 🙂

If you’re curious, this is the third in the five book series:
Book 1: Soulless
Book 2: Changeless
Book 3: Blameless
Book 4: Heartless
Book 5: Timeless
In any case, I found myself rather intrigued with the third book of the Parasol Protectorate series.

Let me get this out in the open and out of the way, as much as I understand Lord Maccon’s emotions and reasoning for doing what he did, that doesn’t excuse his behavior at all. I am really ticked off with him, the way he treated Alexia and his lack of desire to understand her point of view until his Beta verbally whacks him over the head and even then. *SIGHS* Except I know of a few guys that would react the same way, and it still ticked me off. In fact I was so upset with Lord Maccon’s conduct that even though I knew what he did over the course of the book and how he was somewhat regretful of his actions, I found myself wanting to scream at him over and over again. Granted reading about Lord Maccon’s inebriation was rather comedic at times and when his Gamma disappeared I knew almost instantly why, but seriously if it were me I would have made it hard for Lord Maccon to get back into my good graces. But then being a woman that was once in love, it wouldn’t take much more than Alexia because dammit, I’d still love him too, it is infinitely easier to forgive someone that you are in love with, because you can’t help but think nothing but the best of them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lady Maccon had actually forgiven him while they were still apart and she knew that he wanted her. *sighs* In fact, this is best summed up by Lady Maccon herself:

You mean while I’ve been running across Europe pregnant, escaping ladybugs, flying in onithopters, landing in mud, and drinking coffee, you have been inebriated?

Anyway, I digress…
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Visual Art Commission: Carla Wyzgala’s “Sailor Pluto”

W00t! It is done! The second of three commissions of the “Sailor Moon” series… “Sailor Pluto”! I love Sailor Pluto, the most enigmatic of the Sailor Senshi.

As much as I love the elegance and beauty of Sailor Neptune, I love the elegance and distance of Sailor Pluto. Of all the Sailor Senshi I feel like I relate the most with these two. Them and Mamoru Chiba aka Tuxedo Kamen.

Just a quick recap of the inspiration of the series:

Earlier this year (2012) I went to the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo aka C2E2. After a quick glance through the Artist Alley I saw a watercolor painting of Sailor Moon in her Sailor Senshi uniform. So since I was set on the artist of the watercolor painting the artist and I agreed to swap emails in hopes to find a style that I would be interested in.

After a series of emails, we agreed that she’d work on the Sailor Senshi starting with my favorites: Sailor Neptune and Sailor Pluto. In time she started to love the series and decided to complete the series on her own if I did not wish to have any more than what I really would like. Eventually I asked her to work on a piece involving Tuxedo Kamen, aka Chiba Mamoru (or Mamoru Chiba according to the western context of naming schemes). In response she did a quick series of pencil sketches for all the senshi in their “princess forms” and is just as excited as I am in completing the series for her portfolio.

Eventually I’ll post the original sketches that she sent me weeks ago. 🙂 I’m excited.

Entertainment Email: To Do List

Shamelessly stolen from George Takei’s Facebook Page

1: Make vanilla pudding. Put in mayo jar. Eat in public.
This is way too tempting. I may actually do it one day just for kicks. Kind of like when I had a glass bottle that I put honeyed tea into it, so when I’m drinking it looks like I’m drinking alcohol on the job. Oh the joy.

2: Hire two private inverstigators. Get them to follow each other.
Sounds like fun, don’t know if I would do it though, too expensive.

3: Wear shirt that says “Life.” Hand out lemons on street corner
ROFL… This gets better… I wonder where I could find a shirt like that?

4: Get into a crowded elevator and say “I bet you’re all wondering why I gathered you here today.”
Yeeeaaaah, no… won’t do. No way.

5: Major in philosophy. Ask people WHY they would like fries with that.
Tee hee hee. I think someone I knew in class did this. Just for kicks.

6: Run into a store, ask what year it is. When someone answers, yell “It worked!” and run out cheering.
Umm… ooook.

7: Become a doctor. Change last name to Acula.
Dr. Acula, so tempting. Actually, I can’t stand anymore education, so I’m not likely going to go down the medical route any time soon. If I was meant for that I would have been on there already and I already know too many doctors.

8: Change name to Simon. Speak in third person.
Simon Says!

9: Buy a parrot. Teach the parrot to say “Help! I’ve been turned into a parrot.”
Ha ha ha ha ha ha.

10: Follow joggers around in your car blasting “Eye of the Tiger” for encouragement.
Why is it that every time I hear “Eye of the Tiger” I always see this:

Ooo Jensen Ackles… an early celebrity crush starting from the Days of Our Lives and now on Supernatural.

Fleeting: Kids These Days

Earlier today I overheard a bunch of kids (and when I say “kids” I mean people in their twenties or younger) discussing the pros and cons of working at a utility company versus a contractor or consulting firm. They looked rather new and probably were interns… I couldn’t help but laugh / chuckle at their conversation.

Why? Because they were comparing the pros and cons of the benefits and monetary compensation offered between various companies. I’m not saying that the benefits offered or the monetary compensation isn’t important… but I guess I just never saw that as a deciding factor in where I would work.

I understand the desire to obtain material wealth or be financially free so there are minimal worries or cares, but at the same time… money can also be argued to be the basis for greed, power, lust, etc. I don’t know, I guess that’s just me.

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The Disney Hunger Games

So I finally read – or more accurately, listened – to the Hunger Games and while I gather my thoughts on the first book of the series here is a little gem for the Disney fans out there:

I take no claim in creating this…

In any case… the creator of this little gem provided their reasoning as to why they chose the set up that they did… But like everyone else out there, I have a tendency to pick it apart and analyze the work. So here are my thoughts (if I disagree) with the creator’s original thought processes:

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Reflection: Fighting Exhaustion

I like to keep busy, like really really busy. Like so busy to the point that the only time I am ever home is to sleep and even that’s only a few hours a day. But when exhaustion hits, what do you do?

When I was in high school I remember waking up at six in the morning and heading to school by seven, then I’m in classes til four to which I headed to my after school job at the local mall where I start work around five until closing which was nine. Then it was home and staying up til midnight working on homework. I also did my homework during classes and my lunch hour. Weekends weren’t much better, I was working for morning til early evening then it was homework.

There were summers during those years where I would work up to seventy (70) hours a week. Which, when you look at numbers doesn’t really seem like much, until you add in chores, homework, etc. I was always busy.

College wasn’t much better, beyond the full class load (or since it was me definitely more than the minimum full class load), and homework and studying (mind you I majored in electrical engineering), I was also holding down two part time jobs at twenty (20) hours per week per job, AND tutoring kids in high school and college out in the western suburbs… kids as in plural as in up to four kids per semester at up to two hours per kid. I don’t really know the meaning of rest.

Adulthood I work like crazy, but I also have hobbies like crazy… to give you an idea of what I do for fun, just take a look at my “original bucket list” post.

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Fleeting: Poking fun at Ignorance

Below are a few stories I have that have some interconnection:

THE NGUYEN DYNASTY
Before I begin let me show you an image and news article that made me chuckle a bit a while back:

Now in case you are wondering… if you were to read the words underneath those eight student’s pictures it would have read:

We know … what … you’re … thinking … and … no, … we’re … not related.

For a bit of a history lesson, the very last monarchy to rule in Viet Nam was the Nguyen dynasty (closest English pronunciation would be wynn or win). When the Nguyen dynasty came into power in the early 1800s many of the populace promptly changed their surnames (or family names as it is more widely known at the time) to Nguyen as a way to curry favor with the monarchy or to avoid persecution.

When the last monarch of the Nguyen dynasty abdicated his seat and transferred power to the State of Viet Nam, a fair number of the population stuck with the last name of Nguyen.

I suppose the English/American equivalent to Viet Nam’s “Nguyen” would be “Smith”. If you’re still kind of confused.

What annoys me (and many others in similar situations) is the common, “oh you have this last name then you must be related to…” No, not always. So the eight girls decided to really to poke fun at the average person’s ignorance and pull a prank on their yearbook quote… and honestly I found it funny even if others might not. 🙂

Anyway, seeing the above image and reading the corresponding article(s) is what drove me to write this particular post with a little of my own experiences with racial ignorances:

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