(inside is where the truth lies)Why hello there. It is a very nice day out isn't it, all crisp and chill? I love days like this, days when the icebergs are as blue as the sky. Where am I from? I'm from around here, but I have traveled around the world so much that I don't really call any place home anyone. No, no, it doesn't make me sad. It quite exciting really, always moving around and meeting new people. But enough about me, I want to ask you some questions. You yourself look a little sad you see, and I was wondering....have you lost someone in your life recently? Oh I see, that's terrible….. Would you like to talk about it? Talking about these things with someone always seems to help.........Oh......Mmmmmm..........I see.....Oh....what's the matter? You stopped telling your story....Huh? You say that my eyes were just glowing white? That's impossible my friend, you must be seeing things. It must be because your upset.....You should just take the day off and lie in the sun somewhere. You feel a little better already? I'm glad to hear that, like I said talking always seems to help. No, no. There's no need to thank me, I just did what anyone would.I have been different for as long as I can remember.
When you are little though, you think that everybody is all the same. For the longest time I thought that everyone could see what I saw, and it was only after I learned how to talk that I realized something was off. Sometimes I wonder what things might have been like otherwise, but that path was never open to me.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. My name is Levie, hello nice to meet you. I’m from the Artic circle originally, and that’s where I was born and raised. It’s still probably my favorite place to be out of all the places I have been; you just can’t beat the sight of icebergs against the sky, not to mention watching the Aurora borealis at night. If I weren’t so different I probably could have lived there for the rest of my life….
It was only after I learned how to talk that I realized something was wrong. Because once I had mastered the art of speech, one of the first things I asked my mother was what They were. Where did They come from? What did They want? All of these things I asked her, for I had wondered about them long before I knew what words were. I didn’t really think much of the questions, it had seemed no different to me that if I were inquiring about the sky or the snow…….But the look that appeared on my mother’s face told me that these things were very different from the sky and the snow. I asked her again a few times when I was still around that age, but the answer my mother gave me was always the same; that the air I was pointing to was naught but empty space. And the look in her eyes was always the same too, equal parts worried and embarrassed. I became embarrassed as well over time, convinced like my mother was that there was something wrong with me, some wire in my head that was snapped somewhere.
My mother didn’t want a daughter who was different, and if she could have popped my head open and rearranged things, I know that she would have. It wasn’t that she didn’t love me, no; please don’t think that of her. She did love me and she tried really hard to be a good parent, but she just wasn’t quite up to the stress of the situation. My father died while she was pregnant you see, and as I near as I can tell he was the one who had wanted pups. It was really hard for her to take care of me by herself while she was still grieving over the loss of her mate, especially when I turned out to be so strange. I think she was hoping that I would turn out like my father, so that she would have something to remember him by. I share his name after all, despite being a daughter instead of a son. Maybe my mother would have been happier if I had turned out like my father, but I tried so hard to please her that I don’t honestly think there was anything that I could have done to fill the hole in her heart.
I spent most of my childhood in our underwater cave, or in the nearby water. My mother was always terrified that something would happen to me, or that someone would see that there was something wrong with me. I didn’t have any friends, and to occupy myself I would draw and sketch and dream. And I would try my hardest not to notice Them. I couldn’t stop myself from seeing them, but if I tried hard enough I could pretend that They didn’t exist. I so dearly wanted to be normal and to please my mother, and I got extremely good at this, at ignoring Them and faking normalcy. It got to the point where I started to believe my own lies, and that’s when They started talking to me. I could no longer deny Them their existence after that happened.
What I like to think of as the turning point was my grandmother. Her voice is sharp in my memory, and was even sharper then.
“How long are you going to stuff your ears with wax my child?”
It was just me all alone in the cave, and my mother had been gone all day. That voice hit me like an avalanche. All of a sudden those Things, those faults in my vision, They snapped into focus. Now that I was no longer ignoring Them, I saw that one Thing was right in front of me.
“W-who’s there?” I stammered out.
“Now is that any way to talk to your Grandmother? I should think that your mother has taught you better than that.”
My thoughts buzzed frantically as I struggled to process what was going on. There was a voice coming out of nowhere…….No, there was a voice coming out of one of Them…..I didn’t want to think about it, it was all too much for me. I jumped up from where I lay and raced to my nest. But even as I lay hiding from the Thing, I knew that I couldn’t change what had already happened; that I couldn’t lay the wool back over my eyes. From that day on, I was no longer able to ignore Them.
I suppose when this happened, it should have scared me more than it did. After all, here was legitimate proof that my mother was right. Who but a lunatic would see the things that I saw and hear such voices when nobody was there? Make no mistake, I was scared of what was happening, but I was also extremely curious. At first I was afraid that these Things would hurt me, but then I realized that such intentions would have been announced a long time ago. Once my initial fright was over, I simply wondered about them and tried to answer my original questions; what they were, where did they come from, and what did they want. At this point in my life I knew that I would have to find my own answers.
I guess I should explain a few things, as you are looking pretty confused. “What are They?” you must be asking yourself. “What is this crazy girl talking about?”
......If you are confused after just this one conversation my friend, then please try and imagine how confused I was when my entire life had been like this.
When I say Them, I am referring to the glowing white lights that so frequently pass through my world. Well…..lights isn’t the best description of them, They are sort of gaseous and liquid as well………….Look, I would tell you more but then that would ruin the story. You’ll just have to sit still and wait; waiting isn’t so hard when it’s not your own life in question.
So, armed with my questions, I went to my mother to see what information I could glean.
“Mom………..”
“Yes Levie?”
“Who else is part of our family?”
“It’s just you and me; we’re all that’s left.”
“But what about you’re parents? Where are they? Do I have any….grandparents?”
My mother thought about that for a moment.
“Your father’s mother lived around here, but she died of old age before you were born. I don’t know exactly what happened to my parents, but if they are still alive then they live far away from here.”
This was exactly the kind of information that I was looking for.
“Why do you need to know this?”
My mother, as always, suspected that there was something darker lurking below the surface. I could have told her then and there……but I didn’t want to confirm her suspicions.
“No reason Mom, I was just curious.”
Looking back now, I am glad that I didn’t tell her then. It would have been cruel to deny her the last few years of the choreographed production that our lives had become. Normal mother, normal daughter, everything is alright, everyone lives happily ever after, and the crowd applauds and leaves.
I waited until I had the cave to myself before taking the next step.
“Grandmother?” I asked the cold air tentatively. “Grandmother….are you there?”
All I could hear was the whispering of the waves as they danced back and forth.
“Are you there?” I asked again. “Can you hear me? ……Are you…real?”
Silence. Just silence.
But wait.
There was something glowing outside the cave…… something coming closer.
For all my hopes and wishes, a part of me wanted that Thing to go away. Even so, a bigger part of me wanted answers, and I bravely stood my ground.
The Thing swam through the water till it came to float in front of me. This Thing looked like all the Things, like light yet like gas. Well….that’s not strictly true. This Thing glowed a brighter white than all of the other Things that I usually saw swimming about.
“What am I? Am I real? Those are deep questions for one so young.”
The Thing coiled itself elegantly in the air.
“I am your Grandmother, that’s what I am. And am I real? That’s a tricky question. I feel real; but there’s more to the matter than that. I can think about all these things, so then I must be real. I think, therefore I am. Does that answer your questions my dear?”
“How can you be my grandmother? How can you be real?”
“Hmmm…..I can tell that you’ve been thinking about this a lot. Why don’t you tell me what you think?”
“I think…I think that you are a ghost.”
“That seems about right, don’t you think? I am dead after all.”
“But….is this real? Or is this happening in my head? This must be happening in my head. I mean….it’s just me…no one else can see you….”
“Maybe this is happening in your head, or maybe it isn’t. But so what if it is happening in your head? Just because it’s happening in your head dosen’t mean it’s not real.”
We talked quite a bit that day. I asked my grandmother everything that I could think of, and she answered me as best as she could. When she saw that I was getting overwhelmed by things, she turned the conversation to stories of my father, and what he had been like. She told me stories until I feel asleep from exhaustion, and not once did I feel like an embarrassment.
And just like that everything changed. Well….Not everything. It was just one change really; the loss of my role as the normal daughter. But the change was significant enough that it impacted everything else in my life. If I had been lying to myself about that, then who knows what other lies I had been telling and believing? Everything that I did and believed came under close scrutiny.
I would talk with my Grandmother frequently when I was alone. Or I would swim out in the open sea with her. I came to realize that life was for living, and not for hiding in a cave. I didn’t make any friends perchance, but I did sometimes talk to other Makos when I was out exploring. I was bad at conversation at first, I like to think that I took social awkwardness to a whole new level, but with enough experience I became a master. And I thought. I thought long and hard about everything; the things I saw, the people I met…..I thought about how I could see the Things, or the Spirits as I now thought of them, and what that meant. I thought about life, and the meaning of it. There was very little that I didn’t think about, and whenever I had a question I would confer with my grandmother. She turned out to be very wise in the ways of the world, and with her aid I too became well versed in philosophy and logical thinking.
This went on for years without my mother knowing. That was both her fault and my fault, because while I didn’t tell her of the debates I had with my dead grandmother, neither did she question the new muscles that I was developing, muscles that had no place on someone who only sat obediently in a cave. We were both too scared to break from our roles, because once the show was over who knew what would happen. But it couldn’t go on forever; nothing can ever go on forever.
“Mom…………I’ve been thinking about leaving.”
“…………………”
“It’s just that…..I’m old enough to live on my own now….And I can’t live here with you forever….And I want to see the world…”
“…………………..”
“Mom……..please say something….”
“Those don’t seem like very good reasons to me. Why do you want to leave? Haven’t you been happy here? Haven’t I been a good mother to you? You don’t have anything other than me; we don’t have anything other than each other. What can the world possibly show you out there that’s better than this?”
“I can’t live like this forever Mom…..What’s my purpose in life? Who am I? I need to figure those things out, and I can’t figure them out here.”
“You are Levie, you are my daughter, and your purpose in life is to stay here and keep this family alive. If you leave, then this family will be no more. Until you no longer hold that purpose, you will stay here in this cave and you will not disobey your mother.”
My mother was not quite ready to give up the act, but I was. I had humored her for my whole life, and while I did love her, I realized that staying with her would only cause me to loath both of us as the time passed.
“Sometimes the baby bird has to jump out of the nest on its own, otherwise it will never learn how to fly.”
My grandmother could still see and hear everything that went on around here, even though nobody else could see her.
“What exactly is a bird grandmother?”
“They are creatures like no other my dear. I cannot explain them to you, but when you leave this place, you will see them and you will later know them for what they are after you have realized that there is nothing else that they could be.”
“Grandmother……..”
“Don’t complain child. If I weren’t here to make you think then your brain would have rotted out of your head long ago.”
“What do you think I should do Grandmother?”
“My time among the living is over. This is your life, not mine, and I can’t make your decisions for you.”
“Would leaving make me a bad daughter?”
“Only leaving without a reason would make you a bad daughter. One should never act unless they are trying to do something.”
“I don’t really have a solid reason for leaving…..Mother is right about that. There’s not necessarily anything out there that is better than what I have here, not necessarily anything that will show me what my place in life is supposed to be.”
“Maybe you do have a reason for leaving my child, but you just don’t know it yet. When you don’t know what to do my child, you should always try to do something good. Because when you light the paths of others, you might end up lighting your own path as well. And even if you don’t end up lighting your own path, you have still made the world a brighter place, and that is something that is always worth doing.”
“Something good…..”
“Do you mind if I ask you a favor my child? I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while, and now I think that you are finally ready.”
“Sure Grandmother. I will never be able to repay you for all that you’ve taught me, the least I can do is this favor for you.”
“Well…it might be more than one favor, and the one favor may be harder than the other…”
“I will do all the favors Grandmother, as many as you like.”
“Then follow me my child.”
I had grown to love my Grandmother dearly. Sometimes I like to think that if I knew what the second favor was going to be, I wouldn’t have followed my Grandmother out of the cave. But I know that I never had any real option, that I never could have denied my Grandmother her final wishes.
“How much farther Grandmother?”
“Just a little bit farther my dear.”
“It’s getting dark out Grandmother……”
“Yes my dear, that’s what happens when the sun sets. And we are swimming deeper as well, that dosen’t help.”
“………………………….”
“Look, do you see that over there?”
“What is that Grandmother?”
“That’s a wrecked ship. We need to swim over to it.”
The ship was even bigger once we got up close to it. I couldn't help myself, I shivered. This was the farthest that I had ever been away from my cave, and this was the strangest thing that I had ever seen.
“Are you alright my dear? You don’t have to do this, do you want to go back?”
“No. I said that I would help you and I am going to help you. Besides, it would be selfish for me to turn us around just because of my own wants.”
“Right here, do you see this rock my child? Can you move this rock and then dig underneath it?”
The rock was tricky to move, and the box that I dug up underneath it was hard to pry out of the ground, but I had strong legs from all of my swimming and I never hesitated.
“There, do you think you can open that box.....There should be a catch on the front.”
My paws were big, they always had been big, but I stretched out a claw and unlatched the box.
“Open it my child, look inside and tell me what you see.”
Something gold………something pretty.
I reached my paw inside and scooped it up. I turned towards my Grandmother just in time to see her dim.
“Grandmother? What’s wrong with you?”
My Grandmother’s Spirit had always been brighter than all the other Spirits. But now she looked just as dim as they did……..
“I have tied off all the ends my dear, I have finished my business.”
“What are you talking about Grandmother?”
“When I was alive I explored the Earth from end to end. One of my favorite things to do was explore shipwrecks, and that locket that you are holding is the prize of my collection. When I found it, I knew that it wasn’t for me to wear. Something that fine can only ever be given as a gift, not taken as a prize. I swore that I would give it to my daughter. But I never got to have a daughter; I was only ever able to have my one son. Then I swore that I would give this locket to my granddaughter, but I passed away before I was ever able to see you. Even after I died I still clung to the thought, I told myself that I would not rest until I was able to meet my granddaughter and give her my locket. Though I must say, I never imagined that I would be able to talk with you…….And now it is done my dear, you have put me to rest.”
"......................”
“Put the locket on my child, the gold will go beautifully with your coat. Yes, yes, like that.”
I slipped the locket over my head. It was quite pretty. But I couldn't truly appreciate its beauty. I felt numbness after what had just happened. No.....it was worse than that. I felt understanding.
“Now that you have helped to light my path my dear, can you see your own a little more clearly?”
“You want me to Lift you, don’t you Grandmother?”
Lift? What was the word, where had it come from?
“I only want you to lift me if you feel that you are strong enough.”
I thought about my grandmother, and I thought about the long life that she had lived. How long she had waited for this moment, her whole lifetime she had waited for this moment. How weary she must feel, how badly she wanted a long sleep. And of how much she loved me and of how much she had done for me. And of how much I loved her, and how much I wanted for her to be happy.
My body started to vibrate. No….not my body. The feeling went deeper than that. It was my Spirit, my Spirit started to resonate in my bones. It was moving….it was shifting….for the first time in its life it was truly coming alive.
My path became lit, both literally and figuratively. I saw what there was, I knew what I had to do.
“You’re blossoming into a fine young Makoatl my dear; you do realize how special you are don’t you?”
“I would never, ever have known any of that if it hadn't been for you Grandmother. How can I ever repay you for all that you’ve done?"
“Light up the world my dear; for there hasn’t been someone like you in a very long time and this world has become far too dark. You are living your own life, to be sure, and don’t ever feel that you have to give it up, but take time to light the paths of others and teach them how to make the world brighter.”
I reached up and touched noses with my Grandmother. We had touched before, but she had always felt like the surrounding water, nonexistent. This time was different. This time I could feel her soft fur, even though there was none to be seen. But just touching her alone wasn’t enough; I had to give her one final push.
“Fly freely Grandmother; I love you but you are free to go.”
My Grandmother looked at me one last time, and she had an expression of peace on her face. But even still, I could still taste the love and the pride that were coming off of her in waves. Sometimes I wonder why she never said anything to me as she went, but even as I wonder that I also wonder what she could have possible said, what words could have possibly been enough to describe the moment….
I watched my Grandmother as she floated up and up and up through the water, watched her until she floated away……Cry? No…I did not cry just then. I didn’t have time for crying, I knew that there were other things that I had to do, things that I would only be able to do in the wake of this event.
I swam back to the cave. My mother could see me coming a long ways off, I was glowing white after all, but upon my arrival she still continued to play her part. She was so determined to keep her act up, that she didn’t even mention the bits of my Spirit that were swirling around my body. I was sorry to be to one who did it, but the show had to end.
“I am leaving Mother.”
“Why? Is this because of your purpose again? I already told you what your purpose is, it is to stay here and hold this family together.”
“That is not my purpose, my purpose is to light the paths of others. I am not your normal daughter Mom; I never was your normal daughter. It was selfish of you to force me into that form for so long, and it would be selfish for me to stay here so that I don’t have to feel bad about leaving you to find your own way in life. I have power, I have this power, and this power needs to be shared with the world. The picture is not just painted with one color; the picture is painted with everyone, everyone’s colors. This power is too big, this picture is too big, I have to leave and move on to larger things.”
“So you’re going to leave me……Your going to leave you’re Mother, just like that?”
“You knew that I had to leave you eventually Mom……”
“Why do you have to leave me? Why does everyone have to leave me?”
“I can’t answer that question for you Mom, but I know that when it is your turn to leave, you will understand why the leaving is done.”
“.........You really never were meant to be normal were you.....”
My mother and I were able to talk enough so that when I did leave that night, we were both at peace. I still feel a little sad about things, but I know that I was able to light her path before I went, and I know that I was able to wake her up out of her trance.
I have swum far and wide since, and in doing so I have learned about myself and about that ways of the world, and have hopefully helped to brighten it. But I’m afraid that that’s really all I can tell you, my story’s not finished yet, I’m still writing the end you see.
That’s not fair? I’m sorry my dear, but that is life. If I knew the end of my story then I wouldn’t be here now would I? Maybe we will meet up someday and I can tell you what happens next. Maybe we can meet up someday in the next life, and I can tell you how the story ends. I can’t tell you whether that is possible or not, all that I can tell you is that it will be an ending worth waiting for.
Goodbye now, I hope that I have brightened your day.Levie.
You pronounce it Lev-EE.
Sometimes I will get called Levi or Lev, so those are my two main nicknames.
Levi was my father’s name, and I was named after him.
I really love my name; I would never consider changing it. I love the way that it looks written on paper, and I love the way that it rolls off of my tongue. I love how it is not a typical girl’s name, and how it breaks tradition. I am not traditional at all; I am very different. Levie is what I am, and I am what Levie is.
My name dosen’t mean anything that I know of, but that dosen’t bother me because when I am done I will have created my own meaning for my name.I am female.
And I like being female. From what I’ve seen, men tend to be messy impulsive creatures.I don’t really feel comfortable putting a label on anything just yet.
I’m still pretty young, and I don’t really have any experience with relationships and attraction. I do notice other Makoatls who catch my eye, but it is mostly just me admiring their aesthetic qualities as opposed to being attracted to them.
I don’t actually know how I feel about relationships........I’m always on the move and I have a big responsibility to the world, so I don’t know how a relationship would be able to function.....
I would definitely enjoy companionship, I just don’t know that it would be fair to the Mako involved. I barely have time for my art as it is.......
I really really really love art.
Art turns me into a grinning babbling idiot. It’s wonderful.
I’ve been drawing ever since I was a little kid, so I guess part of it is that art makes me feel comfortable and secure. But I also love being able to portray things, because I feel that it helps me to understand them better.
I have a sketchbook that I carry around with me, it's tied to my tail for easy access. It’s a very special sketchbook; I found it in a sunken ship one day. Its made out of waterproof paper, which is very good because an ordinary sketchbook wouldn't last long underwater. Due to the paper, I can only draw in it with ink, but that’s fine with me because ink is my favorite thing to draw with.
Another reason why I love art so much is because it brings joy to people. I love to draw things for people because it makes them so happy, and when they are happy I become happy too. And I love to receive art as well! If everyone drew art for everyone else, then I think that this world would be a much brighter place. Or maybe if I just draw everyone art…………
I’m actually doing a project based on that theory, and you are welcome to check it out.
(click on the picture to go to my art trading thread ^^)
So far I would call it a success; everyone is having fun and I know that I have helped to brighten people’s lives.I am an atheist.
People are always really surprised when I tell them this. ‘You see Spirits’ They tell me. ‘How can you not believe in a next life?’
It’s not so much that I don’t believe in the possibility of a next life, it’s just that I think the lives we are in now are too important for us to waste even one moment worrying about things like heaven. If we spent too much time worrying about the next life and what happens when we die, then we might accidentally waste our present lives, and quite frankly that scares me more than death does.
Because if there is no such thing as life after death, then that only makes the lives we are living now more special.
I understand that some people need religion in their lives though, and I respect that. There are quite a few religions that I find fascinating, Shintoism and Buddhism are my two favorites, however I don’t practice any parts of any of them.Everyone is always dying to learn about my power…..but the truth is that I don’t know a whole lot about it. They don't write books on people like me you see……I have mostly had to learn through experience, so most of what I know isn’t proven, but all the same I can share my limited knowledge with you if you like......
Wherever my power came from is a total mystery to me. As far as I known, nobody else in my family line was born with this power, and I have yet to meet another Makoatl who shares my fate. Maybe there was some long dormant gene that finally announced itself in my body?.......Or maybe I'm just a mutation, a freak of nature. There are quite a few maybes, and the whole thing is rather pointless as there is no way that I can ever know for sure and it doesn't really matter anyways.
I possess the power to See and Lift the Spirits that are trapped in this world and push them on towards whatever happens next. Spirits that are brighter are those who still carry tasks, who need to finish things before they can fly away. Spirits can fly away on their own if they don’t have any unfinished business and are given enough time, but some of them are like my Grandmother and are tired of waiting. Those Spirits talk to me and I Lift them out of this life.
There are also Attached Spirits. These are Spirits who get confused and latch themselves on to those who loved them in life. Or perhaps it is those people who refuse to let go of the spirits…..I’m not sure. Either way, it is a bad thing because it causes the Spirit’s host to suffer from depression and anxiety. Whenever I see an Attached Spirit I will always Remove it. Removing isn't the same thing as Lifting, when I Remove a Spirit I am not sending it on its way but rather untangling it from the still living spirit of its host. Attached Spirits usually happen after someone’s death, I don’t ever think I've found a case of them occurring spontaneously. As far as I know they are able to go away on their own, but I still Remove them because there is no reason to subject people to suffering when I have the means to help them.
However the most important thing that I've learned is that I am not all powerful. Many people like to think that after I tell them what I can do, and even I used to once be so naive to think that as well. I learned my lesson though…..
My power is great, and it can do wonderful things, but it definitely has its limits.....
There are some people that I can’t fix.
(click on the picture to get taken to a comic)My favorite colors are white, gold, red, and black. I like them because they are all bold strong colors, they aren't afraid to make themselves known and nor do they feel ashamed of being what they are.
I like all different types of music, but I really only have strong feelings about particular songs. Some people can just turn on the radio and be fine, but I usually have very particular music needs that can only be satisfied by that one song.
If you want to, you can listen to my absolute favorite song here.
You can't help but be touched by the beauty of that song as you listen to it, and because of that I like to think of it as my theme song. I too try my hardest to reach out to others in order to make their lives more beautiful.
(we can't tell you what lies inside)
Name:
Levie.
Levie is a Norwegian female name. It is the female form of the male name Levi.
The male name Levi is Hebrew and means “joined in harmony”. In the Old Testament, Levi was the son of Jacob and Leah.
It is unknown if the name Levie should have the same meaning as the name Levi.
Description:
Levie is a female Makoatl around 17 years of age. She has a dark brown coat with bright white spots, accents, and horns. Levie’s eyes are gold, and she is very frequently seen in the presence of a golden locket and a purple sketchbook.
Levie claims to be able to see the spirits of the dead, but that claim is very unlikely. Nobody else can see the things that Levie says she sees, and she has no way of proving herself right. While it is true that Levie can make parts of herself glow on command; bioluminescence is not unheard of in Makoatls. The most likely scenario is that Levie’s spirits exist only inside of her head. Levie’s delusion is fairly harmless though, and it in fact inspires her to do good things; so most are content to pretend along with her. She refers to her bioluminescence as “Channeler Mode.”
Personality:
Levie is very cheerful and determined to do good things. She does have her moments of melancholy, and is prone to deep thinking no matter what, but most of the time she can be seen with a bright smile on her face. It is unknown how much effort is needed to maintain that smile, but since Levie usually acts in an according manner, one can usually assume that her smile is genuine.
However despite that, Levie's most prominent trait is her selflessness. She throws herself into the troubles of others, believing that it is her duty to fix the world. Her aid is never refused to anyone, no matter how big their problems may be. She will gladly put her own happiness and well being on the line for the sake of helping others, and has yet to be seriously injured by that.
Strangely enough, even though Levie prides herself on being philosophical and logical, she is often very emotional as well. Many historical philosophers practiced stoicism, complete control over their own emotions. Levie practices no such thing, and she exists as a strange combination of reason and emotion. When she is in her "Normal Mode" she tends to be more emotional and conflicted between the two sides, but however when she enters her "Channeler Mode" her thinking becomes very calm and clear, if not a bit detached. Perhaps it takes strong focus for Levie to activate and maintain her bioluminescence?
Social Life:
Levie acts very comfortable in social enviroments. She doesn't have any close friends, and she travels around a lot, but yet she will never hesitate to stop and make conversation with strangers. And even though these strangers have never met her before, she is usually successful in getting them to open up and put their trust in her. Other Makos just seem to automatically enjoy being around her, some even confess that they felt better after talking with her. Levie has never been seen to take advantage of this trust and ease, but one still can't help but wonder if she has ulterior, albeit positive, motives.
A Random Encounter:
I met this weird girl on a train once. I never saw here again but I still haven't been able to forget about her.
She was sitting all off by herself, and she looked very blank. Not a calm kind of blank, but a defeated blank.
I decided to go see what was wrong, partly because she was worrying me, and also partly because she looked pretty cute.
I remember how her she perked up when I approached her, as if to hide her fatigue. I told her that she looked sad, and I asked if there was anything that I could do for her. I hoped to start a conversation with her that way, but instead she asked me if she could borrow my phone, I guess maybe she had seen when I was listening to music before.
I don't normally let strangers use my phone, but this girl turned out to be very cute close up, with dark brown hair and sparkly gold eyes. And also she did look really sad even though she was trying her best to hide it.
When I gave her my phone, she put in my earphones and then turned away so that the screen was facing her. I've long since looked at my browsing history, and the video that she searched for was this one.
Caution: Video swears
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LezpDgtGLo
First her face grew tight, and then it grew sharp, and then she began to cry. Part of me wanted to comfort her, but I was transfixed by the emotion on her face.
It was all over in a couple of minutes, and the first thing that she did was give me back my phone with a shaky smile.
Are you alright, I remembered asking her. Why are you crying? What's wrong?
I'm better now, she told me in a quiet voice. I was questioning my faith in the world before, but now I have it back. I remembered that these times of sadness are just as beautiful as the times of happiness. Without sadness we wouldn't be able to understand happiness.
That doesn't make any sense, I had told her. Sadness and happiness are nothing alike.
I've since watched the video myself, and while I will admit that it is sad, I'm not really the kind to cry at things like that. Or at least not one to admit to it.
But what I don't understand is how someone could feel better after watching a video like that.......I mean it's just so sad.......how could anything like that possibly be connected to the idea of happiness?
I don't know....maybe it's not for me to understand.
I talked for a little bit with the girl, but she never would tell me about herself, always steering the conversation to me and my problems. I will admit that I did feel better after I was done talking to her.
Thank you for helping my brighten my world. That was the last thing she said to me before she got off at her stop. Such a strange girl- I never even got her name.
I haven't seen her since that day, but I still can't help but wonder where she is now.
(who created the inside?)
When I first entered this contest, I did so because I liked the design of the Mako. There was no instant connection or anything of the sort, I was just in it for the looks. I was planning to make #50 a pretty boy, and I toyed with giving him interesting powers related to the ice and to the stars. I knew that I was going to make another strange character, because they're really all that I know how to make.
I was right about that part, but not in the way that I imagined. When I was finally done with fleshing out Levie, it became clear that she was the strangest character that I had ever made, due to the fact that I have absolutely no idea where she came from or how I had managed to get so involved with her. Usually I can trace my characters to a specific sources, an aspect of my personality or a story that I read recently.
Levie first truly appeared after I wrote her story. The only things that I knew about her before that point was a name that sounded cool, that her magic would be white, and that she would see ghosts.
I have no idea where her story came from, so I can't explain that.
But I will explain what little that I do know.
White. Her magic is white. I hope that you don't find that boring, but I just couldn't imagine any other color that would work with her beautiful design. The contrast of the white against the brown was just too good to mess with.
Spirits. I first got this idea when I decided to keep her magic as white. But then when I explored the concept, I realized how much potential there was for an interesting character.
Levie. I had originally meant to find a name for her that had a meaning, and since I had already decided that she would be from the north, I scoured the Internet for Nordic names. However when I found the name Levie, it just sounded and felt too perfect, and I knew that I had to use it regardless of its absent meaning.
Another thing that I knew when I entered this contest was that I was going to have to get and draw a lot of art. At first I tried to buy and barter for all of that art, but then I came up with a better idea, inspired by my occasional problems with the CS art community and the values of the character that I had created. Levie is an artist after all, and she strives to bring happiness to others, so would she approve of how art on CS tends to get treated like currency and currency alone? Usually just seen as the means for achieving an end, so nothing less than the very best from the most popular artist is desired... I don't think that Levie would agree with that situation at all, so I instead combined those aspects of her and created the project known as "Levie's Art Trades". A large portion of the art for Levie's form came from a project aimed at creating happiness, and when I did get around to acquiring art of Levie the old fashioned way, I stayed true to Levie's beliefs and made an effort to accept offers from everyone who responded to my art buying thread, regardless of their quality and skill levels; so that no one who applied would be left feeling worthless or unwanted because they weren't "good enough."
I didn't actually get to draw a whole lot of art of Levie myself, because wow I was doing a 43 page comic. I know that I put most of my eggs in one basket with that choice, but I have no regrets whatsoever. I don't comic often, because it takes up so much time, but when I do comic, I really do enjoy the process. I never thought that it would end up being so long though, or how hard it would be to finish the darn thing, or how it would finally end up giving me a couple of panic attacks when I was trying to sleep, but yet how I somehow wished that I could have made it longer. It's the first comic I've ever made where I religiously story-boarded and paneled everything out in advance; so please know that I did totally go hardcore mode for this comic even though it may not appear so.
That's about the extent of my knowledge though. I hope that you enjoy this form as much as I do, complete with the sense of wonder and astonishment.
note; the other posts in this thread are also part of my form
sources;
That one quote in the beginning is a modified version of something that Dumbledore says in the last Harry Potter book
Levie's name was found here: http://www.nordicnames.de/wiki/Levie
Levi name meaning found here: http://www.behindthename.com/name/levi
i lived.
