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Post by kevin donovan willis on Jan 23, 2011 14:51:40 GMT -5
  WALKING FOR DAYS NOW, NO WHERE TO GO. CHASING HORIZONS
EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHERE I SHOULD RUN TO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The library's warm, welcoming silence was wrapped around Kevin that morning. He sat at a study table far from the entrance with multiple piles of books stacked up on either side of him. His parchments were sorted into their own separate piles of madness, and his ink was nearly all gone. With quill in hand, Kevin hastily jotted down notes and ideas, and then rewrote them neatly and swiftly on his essay. Another morning full of homework? No this morning was different. Kevin was writing his letter to the Ministry of Magic, applying for the position of auror on their staff. He was double checking all of his grades through the years, reliving his many exams and practicals, and searching always for the best words to get his true emotion across. He had a mountain of failed attempts sitting below his chair, haphazardly thrown away. He'd clean up later, for now, he had to get it just perfect.
But what was perfect in the eyes of Kevin Willis? Certainly his parents would understand if all he did was try, but Kevin wanted something more. It wasn't just a father's push towards the career, or a desire to show off to any girl. Kevin wanted this for himself, and in doing so, perhaps he let go any chance he had of finding something more. Career driven and serious about the world he was entering into, Kevin worked hard on everything he did. Perfect meant a clear essay; a clean, well-written, above average piece of work that would show the world who he was and in doing so, guarantee his spot as one of the wizarding community's elite. Perfect meant never forgetting what you want out of this life, and going for it balls to the wall. Perfect meant no distractions, which was by he brought flowers in every day for Madam Pince so that his study table would be extra protected. And perfect meant that he didn't give up.
Kevin was nearing the end of his thirty-second attempt at this letter, and the grin dancing on his face was showing that this might be the one. He dipped his quill once more into the almost dry ink well and placed its tip to the parchment, jotting out a quick sentence perfectly formulated already. He finished the last word and the quill broke on the period. The remaining ink within it began to flow out and it quickly destroyed the entire parchment. Kevin looked on it with eyes wide and a mouth unable to even move. His hand clenched around the quill, letting it's stringy feathers bend and distort against his grasp. He couldn't have imagined it happening like this. Ink spreading across his parchment and eliminating the words as they were consumed by it. He knew no spell that would clean up that ink without also taking his words away. And so he sat, numb almost, unwilling to take out that thirty-third piece of parchment.
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FOUR NINETY FOUR WORDS
FOR MY BROTHER OF COURSE |
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Post by ryan daniel willis on Feb 18, 2011 21:57:21 GMT -5
DO WE CREATE THE MODERN MYTH?
DO WE IMAGINE HALF OF IT?
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Ryan headed towards the library not in the search of books, but for his brother Kevin Willis. Kevin had always been a hardcore studier, so he knew that Kevin would be there. He brought a few of his textbooks so it would see like studying was his propose. Anyone that knew him well would think that he was sick if that was indeed his intention. He headed into the library and looked around the area to see where Kevin was trying to drill certain things that he felt he needed into his head. Ryan never had understood why Kevin always went after perfection in everything that he did. Nothing could ever truly be perfect, and it should be left that way.
He sat down beside him once he found him, and looked over at the project of perfection he was trying to make now. Ryan shook his head a bit, seeing that it was only a simple letter to the Ministry. "How about this?" Ryan got out a piece of parchment and started to write with speed that was often unknown to Kevin. It talked about how Kevin was qualified and actually sounded pretty decent for a quick write down of something. He had added style and flow to it, and much of a voice in the paper; which, usually is thought as impossible by most perfectionists. "Now do what I did, just write. Don't let your inner-perfectionist get in the way. You can always call this your first draft and then fix it up after you are done."
Ryan started to clean up the mess he had made for his older brother and gets out a bit of parchment from his bag after that. He throws all the no good stuff according to Kevin away and starts to watch. the boy was going to make sure that he actually got this done in a timely manner so he could focus on other things, like homework. "Like I said, just write this one, then let it sit and then edit it." The boy said rather gently to him, trying to be encouraging. There was no way that he would ever let Kevin fail and something that was so important to him. It was unexpected behavior out of him, but it wasn't out of character to say the least.
"Try to be relaxed about it, the first draft doesn't have to be the perfect one." He went to one of his text books and started to read, now leaving his brother to his own devices for the moment. Ryan reads about ten or so pages of the book, taking notes on the things that he thought were important and then closed the book up. The boy got out what looked like a journal and started to write in it instead. Every stroke was natural and rushed in Ryan's typical fashion. It seemed that Ryan never did look for perfection in what he wrote, nor the first try of anything that he ever did. He only sought out perfection in the final product, since that was usually all a person ever saw. This was an easy concept for him to understand, and more often than not was what ended up giving him the best results in whatever he did.
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THE SECRET IS OUT,
THE SECRET IS OUT...
( five hundred fourty-seven words for my brother )
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Post by kevin donovan willis on Feb 20, 2011 22:01:50 GMT -5
WALKING FOR DAYS NOW, NO WHERE TO GO. CHASING HORIZONS
EVEN THOUGH I DON'T KNOW WHERE I SHOULD RUN TO
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kevin stared at his brother as he sat down across from him, talking about how to write. Kevin hadn't blinked, hadn't moved since the quill broke and burst ink over his letter. His mouth hung open, his throat dry and soar, his muscles frozen in the tiredness that overwhelmed him. When Ryan sat down, his eyes moved up from the parchment to his brother's familiar face, the features alike his own and yet so different. Kevin watched as he pulled out a parchment, jotted down some of Kevin's greatest accomplishments, his most remarkable traits, and passed it along to him saying kind words of advice. Kevin reached out forward and grabbed the parchment, bringing it closer to him, and reading it with dark, absorbent eyes.
Ryan pulled out his text and actually started studying. Kevin gave a slight chuckle from the sight, and the continued to read the letter. The scene, quiet as it was, spoke volumes to Kevin. His brother worked diligently before his eyes, noting his chapter and continuing on to his journal. Kevin set the parchment down and slowly shifted his gaze across his books and notes and past attempts at this letter. He glanced back up at the younger form before him, writing away. With a slight cough, Kevin spoke up, "You actually think I'd make a good auror?"
He dismissed the actual writing of his letter, knowing he had time to get it finished. Kevin was more interested in his brother. They passed each other in the corridors, each returning to their respective houses at the end of each day, and most of the time they only ever joked around with each other. Things were always worth a good laugh, and Kevin never missed a chance to tease Ryan. But this, this was a moment that rarely occurred. Kevin, though hard at work achieving his dreams, never had much encouragement from anyone to do so. They all seemed to assume the perfectionist would manage on his own, or that because he didn't want to be bothered at times meant he didn't want to be bothered at all. His own family, though supportive, hadn't mentioned the Ministry in a long while.
He set down his broken quill, pushing it aside and resting his arms on the table before him, his head falling down on his neck, his eyes flickering closed for a moment. Things tended to get heavy as the years rolled on, and seventh year was just about Kevin's breaking point. His traditions aside, Kevin never could let himself take the easy way out. With a hand on his chin, finger and thumb combing down his stubble, Kevin gazed up at Ryan and sighed, a deafeningly heavy sigh.
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FOUR FIFTY-THREE WORDS
FOR MY BROTHER OF COURSE |
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