It's not a cry you can hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light...

My name is Lara. I love Joy Division, which is totally the most important thing about me. You should also know I am quite sarcastic without having a firm understanding of sarcasm. True story.

I was born in Seattle, Washington, grew up in Kalispell, Montana (AKA HELL), moved to Melbourne Australia in 2003, and Christchurch New Zealand in 2010. I studied half a Bachelor of Fine Arts~Theatre Studies in University before switching to German so I could study abroad in Vienna (2001). Hence, I have studied English, German and Latin at a University level.

I am currently studying a Postgraduate Diploma of Social Work at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand while living in a flat affectionately known as the Lesbian Flat of Doom, with my friends _honeyspider and phfa and my cats, Ariadne and Echo and Alison's cat, Helios (they don't have LJs, they're not old enough yet), all of whom I love dearly.

I'll add anyone to my f-list if they ask, so feel free! I spend most of my time writing, talking about writing, or thinking about writing while watching Most Haunted or something Tim Minchin, Hugh Jackman or Dylan Moran related. Or singing. I love singing, and I'm actually good, which tends to help! I can play the flute and the piccolo, the guitar and the ukulele, and I used to play the viola but then I sold it to a 3-fingered man. True story.

( A very important thing to know, is that I ramble. So there is more under here! )

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Fell asleep at 1 pm. Slept for 4 hours. Still feel like zombie. Might nom on Leah's shoulder for awhile. She pretty :D

Or I could bring my Flynny home. That's clearly what one should be doing instead of sleeping. Writing more.

*headdesk*

I keep typing Saint George as Saint Gorgeous. STILL. And it's hilarious when it's his brother, Patrick. But even more hilarious when it's Archangel Michael. "What is wrong, Gorgeous? Your brother is safe with me, Gorgeous. I won't let him near you, Gorgeous." And despite the fact that it happens nearly every single time I type his name (it happened even when I was typing this ffffffff) it's funny every time because Michael is so serious and it's ridiculous. Oh, typing skills. I suppose I should thank you for that...

Edit: *flails* MY BOYS!

Some people I want to kick. So instead, I will meme.

Song that always makes you think of a plot- That depends. Joy Division always makes me think of Flynn because he's in a Joy Division cover band. Little House~The Fray is Deirdre. Most Dream Theater = Peter. Near to You~A Fine Frenzy is Tristan/Flynn. Breathe Me~Sia is Deirdre after Kait died. Lovecats~The Cure reminds me of Flynn/Quinn because Flynn played it and sang it to Quinn. It also makes me think of Godric because I did horrible things to him while that song played. Anything Muse is what Thomas jogs to DO NOT JUDGE ME and Lovesong~The Cure was what Eamon played to Adrina. Walking on Sunshine is Peter's ringtone because it makes me laugh. Amanda Palmer and Emilie Autumn both have songs I associate with plots but I can't remember them. And there's a VNV Nation song without words which I put on when writing Peter in World Saving Mode. Because I SUCK at action plots. Like...god yes. So I need actiony songs. VNV Nation and the song from the series finale of Buffy by Rob Duncan (which is, by the way, one of the most amazing instrumentals in the history of television, even if I generally pretend that the seventh season of Buffy does not exist)

I think the one song that I associate most with roleplay though, is See the Sky Again by Edwin McCain. And Scout will know why :D. My mobile phone STILL says that when I turn it on. And it was my ringtone for almost three years because it has heavy connections to Peter.

Favorite setting- Uhm. London? I don't know. Anywhere in London. There!

And FYI, random icon WIN

I am SO writing my essay on vicarious trauma right now! (Actually, reading the Memitim's bio on FG just actually gave me the missing start of my novel wouldn'tyouknowit, so I did that too. Essay and novel. And...this. Hush :D) I am continuing my 30 days of RP meme!

day 03 - your favorite female pb - This one is hard. I prefer to play men, and I think my male characters are always more well-rounded. My first original character I used in roleplay, however, was deirdre_ionuin my Deirdre Gallagher. She's now a rock star. When I started her in April, 2005, she was just a shy 16-year-old girl who didn't know what was going on. I stated that she was a redhead because I modeled her on my Kara Kent character from Superman (DO SHUT UP) and she had red hair. I used stock photos forever, until I saw all these lovely icons of this redheaded model on Leah's journal. And I thought...oh, I could use the photos of HER even though Deirdre is supposed to have green eyes and the model has blue eyes.

I had no idea that this was not a strange concept. It was called a played-by or PB. I thought I was being so clever to use an actual person for her photos, I am not even kidding. And the PB I found? Cintia Dicker. I think EVERY ROLEPLAY has or has had a Cintia in it. Because she is beautiful, she makes more than one face, and there are photos of her everywhere. So I thought I was being original and I was, in fact, being so unoriginal it's insane. Still, I love her. And over the past five and half years I have lived with Deirdre in my head, Cintia has become synonymous with her for me. I could never use her as anyone else, even though I can use Dylan Moran as someone other than Peter (which is mind-boggling). She's the perfect fit. Some PBs fit mostly and you just fudge the rest, but no. She is so perfect, Deirdre's eyes are now blue. Is she my favourite, however? I am not sure. I love using Emilie Autumn and Amanda Palmer as well. I just use Cintia more. And that is that!

day 04 - your favorite ship - HAH! Yeah, no contest. My Flynn myeyesarehollow and his husband, Quinn quinntaessentia. I will try to make this not so tl;dr. Flynn was in the PIRA. He met Quinn (they both had different names then but changed them for legal reasons oooOOOo) and had the hots for him. They made friends and Quinn showed Flynn violence isn't the way. Flynn's brother Frankie was angry and framed Flynn for several things including his own arrest. His parents kicked him out of home and Quinn went with him. They were homeless in Dublin and Flynn watched Quinn deteriorate. When he was sure Quinn might die, Flynn called Quinn's parents who had reported him as a runaway and he told them where Quinn was. Thus leading to six years of separation in which Quinn was loved by his family and Flynn was homeless.

Cut to three years ago when they reunited. They are, without a doubt, the sweetest thing I have ever written. And Quinn wasn't even supposed to be the random boy Flynn mentioned to his friend when talking about his past. I had created the character of Quinn a year before I made Flynn and suddenly Quinn was adamant he was this 'Ardal' Flynn kept talking about. I checked his backstory and everything he had said and it actually fit without me realising. I had no idea. I was creeped out. So I threw them together to see what would happen and holy crap, you guys. When I write them, I feel better about the world. They just love each other and I can't get enough.

Which is why I do terrible things to them sometimes, shhhh. They conquer all. Their tag is here with the oldest stuff way back, obviously. There are so many scenes there because I am insane.

OMFG I love them. Seriously. I love them waaaayyy too much.

I also love Spectre/Thomas and Aly/Peter. (And Noah/Daria YAY) They don't even come close to the love I feel for these guys though!

Oh man. History FTW. Not that it's pleasant! Today I learned about the Easter Rising and STUFF and tomorrow is the trip to Malahide Castle and the coast *unrestrained glee* And then I'm going to go BACK to Kilmainham Gaol because I gave up on it today. You can't go through without a guided tour and I didn't want to wait for the 5:30 pm one when I have the ghost bus (:D) at 8pm. Tomorrow it is not an issue. If I have time I'll go to Dublinia at Christchurch Cathedral, but I'm not fussed. It's just spend time really. I'm more interested in the gaol. I really like this city too. Not in the 'omg I have to live here' way like Vienna and London and Melbourne, but in the 'this is really a wonderful place to visit' way. It'd probably be even better if I gave a crap about stout. SO MANY PEOPLE were lined up outside the Guinness brewery. Stinky!

So now I am relaxing with coffee, listening to Amanda Palmer and Lennon, writing My Boys, and gnerally wasting time until the ghost bus tour. Speaking of My Boys Look! I SWEAR I didn't arrange them like this, I found them like that and SQUEALED and got dirty looks...

Oh god, I had the BEST lunch. This two course thing with calamari and steak for 8 euro. Freakin' awesome! And I went into St Patrick's Cathedral which was incredible and the history is amazing, but I still think the one in Melbourne is prettier. It just IS.

I'll post more after the Ghost Bus because of the writing I am wishing to be doing. Plot bunnies, you are my FRIENDS never leave me?! Oh, and Neil Gaiman is a genius and now I have mentioned both Neil and Amanda in the same post because I love them both and SQUEEE.

PS I also love Michael Collins, but I think most people knew that?

PPS Do you think my singing is disturbing other guests?! Not that I care, they're getting a free concert. Because I'm a freaking diva. (That was partial sarcasm...)

PPPS Scout, there's a Fitzwilliam square here and I tried to find it for you and FAILED! But I'll try again tomorrow!! Let's see if my lame map-reading skills can help me out here...

Photos! I added descriptions to the ones yesterday because I found out what they are ;)

I am freaking moving to London. Just so you know you're relocating, Baby :D Dear LORD I love it. I love it so much, I hate that I have to go tomorrow DESPITE THE FACT that I have wanted to visit Ireland since I was BORN. Not that I am not excited, by the way, because OMG Ireland omg. But really, I have had the BEST time. I adored seeing Clare, Lisa, Jess and Muz, and I got to do so many awesome things! Clare is a blast and I am keeping her so :P

Today we went to the Globe theatre where Peter got married! He didn't get married IN the theatre, there are rooms in the complex you can rent and he got married in one of them. See, I didn't make it up! That was the room he got married in and, CLARE! I found out it IS the room with the tree! So we DID go there! MUahahahaaaa tree (which you can see in the side of the picture on the site I linked! ...and you can see the prop room we saw. Hot). That's why it has a stage, which was where they would have gotten married omg yay! (Yes, they are fake. Shut up, so is Sherlock Holmes and I took a picture of 'his' toilet :D)

The stage was awesome, and the tour guide was HILARIOUS. She said things like "they would come and have their beer and that's why the stage is so high. You can imagine what it might have been like. One of the crowd gets staggering drunk and he decides he should give Hamlet a hug because he hasn't been having a very nice time, the actors could just kick them back down again". She was AWESOME. Fabulously entertaining. I loved seeing the place AND I bought two shirts, one with Ophelia's crazy song, and one that says 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' :D I love Shakespeare...hardcore.

After that, we took a riverboat cruise with a 'tour guide' who wasn't actually a tour guide, but HE was hilarious too "From here you can see Shakespeare's Globe where you can see Romeo and Juliet and...and...and...one of the other ones". From Westminster where the boat dropped us off, we went to see Westminster Abbey, which is incredible, and then I wanted a picture of the guards with the fuzzy hats. Which saw us heading to Buckingham Palace and then me choosing a way to go which was WRONG and we walked ALL THE WAY around Hyde or Green park (one of them) before ending up about 200 metres from where we started and there the guards were. Ooops. My bad... But I got the pictures! And Clare didn't kick me, YAY!

From there we headed to Covent Garden and had the MOST AMAZING COOKIES and saw the opera house where the Royal Ballet Company performs and I squealed, and then we headed to a cafe to drink more drinks (I love pineapple juice). And when Muz joined us, we went for Mexican food! LOVE! And then I had to say goodbye! I am totally bummed because I already miss Clare and I LOVE it here. I didn't expect to find a place I love as much as Vienna, but there you go! I did. And it has nothing to do with Darker London, either, because I can write about a place and not love it. I just love being here. I love the feel of it. I love the city and the history. It's amazing. Oh, and I got a sunburn. Stupid Irish skin.

Which brings me to Ireland. Tomorrow I head to Dublin and I finally get to set foot in Ireland and I am SO excited. London was about Peter, Darker London wise, and Dublin is about Flynn and Quinn. Well, and Deirdre since she is actually FROM there, but pffft, my boys are way more important (if you know her, you cannot imagine the sound she just made ahahhaa). It's going to be amazing, I know it. I can't say goodbye to London yet, though. In the morning, I'm going for a last walk in Regents Park. I'm getting up early to do it. It's just something that has to be done.

:D New photos start here

I’m on a train! I’m headed for London, which is very exciting and I can see the ocean which makes me very, very happy! The ocean is Lara’s favourite :D Apparently I'm in Somewhere-on-Tweed. It's pretty! And I cannot express how pleased I am to be leaving Edinburgh.

Now that I think about it, Edinburgh or where ever I happened to go after Vienna, was always going to suffer from a case of the Not-Viennas. I really wanted to love it, but I just didn't. That isn't to say I hated it, with the exception of the TERRIBLE hotel I was staying in. Dear Lord, never again. It was called the Herald House Hotel, but I have another, more colourful name for it which rhymes with (Don't look, Mommy!) Schmidthouse. I couldn't shower, the thingy was so small (though I gave it a go!). Ridiculous. And I think there was mould on the ceiling. But as I didn't know the festival was on when I booked, I didn't know to try to book accommodation in advance. Ah well.

The town itself is beautiful. My tours were incredibly enjoyable as was the visit to the castle. I will NEVER, and I say EVER return to Edinburgh during August again, however. The festival was impressive (I got chewed on by a zombie!), but there were people everywhere and they were all around me and shoving flyers in my face (Eventually I yelled 'JUST LEAVE ME ALONE' to one because I waved him away and he persisted by saying "oh, you'll love it" and then felt bad because he looked horrified...) and ARGH I couldn't take it. It was hard to find a place to eat or sit because of all the people. Never again. Though I did see the lovely Wes Snelling!! It was strange to run in to someone from Melbourne, even though I knew he would be there. I don't think an arts festival would be complete without the Wes. He yelled "LARA MOSES" and blew me a kiss because I was on a tour and therefore couldn't stop to chat :D

I walked down the Royal Mile from the Castle to Holyrood Palace and abbey (OMG Mary Stuart) but by the time I got there I couldn't be arsed to go in. So I took two photos through the gate and then sat outside and had Devonshire tea and figured the world could go screw itself! The scones were wonderful though, and I found a bus which took me to the Edinburgh dungeon which was GREAT fun! And then I found a pub and tried haggis, despite saying I wouldn't. It was actually good, though I wouldn't go out of my way to have it again. THEN I needed to find a place to hang until my next tour so I found a place advertising desserts and asked for the dessert menu only to be told 'this is a restaurant, get out'. Ooookay! Bastards. So I went to Starbucks, TAKE THAT! I guess they were worried I would take a table away from them where they could be selling a dinner, but it was 8:30 PM AND several people heard as they were coming in and they turned and walked away. MUAHAHHAHAH Jerks. I am not riffraff, and I don't think I look like it... So weird and RUDE.

The second tour was creepy and I can't imagine ever spending more than 20 minutes in the Blair Street vaults. Doors opened and closed (there really was no one there, we were STANDING RIGHT THERE) and we heard shuffling and screams. And I got locked in when I was on my way out all by myself, but I REALLY don't want to talk about THAT. So freaking scary... Then I returned to my hotel by walking uphill at night, by myself, because I couldn't find a taxi. TOO MANY PEOPLE. Oh and then this morning, my suitcase BROKE. So I taped it with crappy tape I bought from random-cheap-shop-owner-man, and the tape doesn't stick and it looks ridiculous and just maybe I want to scream but in a few hours I'll be in London, so what can you do, right? (STUPID SUITCASE, I HATE YOU AND YOUR STUPID FAULTY ZIPPER) I guess this means "I think I want to buy a new suitcase in the US" just became "I have to buy a new suitcase in the US if not before..."

All in all, I know the experience was not the place, so I won't hold it against Edinburgh, which really is an amazing city full of mostly friendly people. I do want to come back when the festival isn't on sometime. I think the owner of the Mexican restaurant said it best though, when I was trying not to sob into my mariachi burger. "You're not really here, are you?" I replied, "no, I'm in Vienna". It really wasn't all bad by any stretch of the imagination, I'm just grumpy from being woken up at 6 am by the Scottish workmen rebuilding the next door building and yelling. The hotel had NO sound proofing OR air conditioning OR fans to drown out sound...yeah. The hotel did a lot to taint what could have been a lovely experience. I still remain glad I went because it was worth it to see the old town AND to go down in the vaults even if it was scary!!

Oh and I bought a teddy bear with a kilt, and I am totally in love with him. His name is Quinn (despite Quinn not being Scottish. His Uncle/adoptive daddy is) and I want to buy an Irish bear in Dublin now, to name Flynn, (despite Dublin not being in Northern Ireland where Flynn is from) so they can be fuzzy gay teddy bear lovers.

Wow, there are a lot of sheep. (I am obviously no longer by the ocean...) Bring on London and Clare and Lisa and Jess and a NICE hotel. *deep breath* I'll upload photos when I'm not on a train ;)

Oh, and I didn't see Dylan (he lives in Edinburgh), but I'd like to think it wasn't because I didn't try... :D I'm going to go back to listening to Amanda Palmer and writing because that makes me happy.