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Why It’s ‘Black Lives Matter’, Not ‘All Lives Matter’
Dragon Age: Meet the Advisors – Josephine
The eldest daughter of a noble Antivan family, Josephine is a rising star among diplomats, skilled at forging alliances with tact, grace, and carefully cultivated favors.
Of all the advisers in Dragon Age: Inquisition, Jospehine (AKA Scribbles) is the only without a solid history in the lore. Having spent some time as an ambassador in the courts of Thedas, she is very familiar with politics in and out of Orlais. She is the Inquisitions administrator and ambassador, working through papers and politics to get (and keep) the backing of influential figures required to secure the power of the Inquisition. She is an optimistic sort, and fully believes that the Inquisitor is the best hope to end the chaos across Thedas.
She brings about a new sort of character to the DA universe. She is not a fighter. As an Antivan noblewoman, likely nearly as familiar with the Crows as she is with the courts, she’s probably not helpless. But she is most useful staying at the keep and doing paperwork and meeting with nobles and all that stuff most people would consider boring. She is a true diplomat. Most of the prominent characters in the DA universe are fighters, and many of the diplomat types seem untrustworthy (i.e. Anora). With the Inquisition, however, Josephine isn’t trying to gain any sort of power for herself. She legitimately believes in what the Inquisition is trying to do. That will make for a nice dynamic.
Josephine is an old acquaintance of Leliana’s, and they work very well together. And, while she and Cullen respect each other, their philosophies often clash. As for the Inquisitor, Josephine is available as a romance for an Inquisitor of any race or gender.
Overall, I’m excited to see what comes out of this kind of character. While she’s not my first choice for a romance, she does sound like a great friend to have.
Dragon Age: Inquisition will be released on October 7, 2014 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Dragon Age: Meet the Advisers – Leliana
As always, Leliana will be voice by the lovely Corinne Kempa.
She is the shadow behind the Sunburst Throne—the one who watches and waits, who strikes when her mark is most vulnerable and least suspecting.
We first met Leliana in Lothering in Dragon Age: Origins. Orlesian Bard and former Lay Sister of the Chantry, she was on a mission to help The Warden complete his or her mission to end the blight. She can be romanced by either a male or female Warden, but only actively pursued a female Warden. Because of her possible involvement with the Warden, and because of slight changes in her disposition since the fifth blight, Leliana will not be romanceable for any Inquisitor.
As a major charatcer in the Dragon Age franchise, Leliana has had a lot to do with most of the major installments of the series. She notably appeared in Dragon Age II, Asunder, and The Masked Empire. For her involvement in each installment, read on.
Dragon Age 2
In DA2, Leliana is met by Hawke and Sebastian Vael in the Kirkwall Chantry. As the left hand of the Divine, she tells us that the woman is contemplating a new Exalted March. Regardless of the move the Divine makes, Grand Cleric Elthina is not safe in Kirkwall, and has been invited to seek refuge in The Grade Cathedral in Val Royeaux. She is seen again in Orlais during the Mark of the Assassin DLC.
In the Epilogue, as Cassandra leaves the Hawke estate, Leliana tells her that she has failed to locate the Warden-Commander of Amaranthine. As Cassandra has also not located Hawke, and thus they don’t have the support they were hoping for in this fledgling Inquisition, they consider whether to continue with their plans.
The Epilogue of DA2 takes place in 9.40 Dragon, and occurs prior to the events of Asunder and The Masked Empire (which happen within the same time frame).
The Masked Empire
Leliana meets with Empress Celene I at the University of Orlais to discuss the tensions between mages and templars. The Empress tells the Divine to make a statement at a ball thrown in her honor so that she can keep the nobles of the court from interfering. In return, the Divine asked that Celene end the elven revolt in Halamshiral. Leliana disagrees with the repressive tactics continually used against the elves, but knows that those in power must show strength to avoid chaos in this delicate time.
Asunder
At the ball thrown in the Divine’s honor, Leliana meets with Knight-Captain Evangeline and discusses the current unrest within the White Spire. She is called out to meet a friend from Ferelden (presumably Wynne) and ends up missing the attempt on the Divine’s life from an extremest in the Libertarian faction. She is seen again at the Divine’s side when Rhys, Adrian, Wynne, and Pharamond are granted an audience with the Divine to discuss what happened at Adamant Fortress. She keeps Lord Seeker Lambert from attacking Rhys.
When Lord Seeker Lambert prevents the vote calling for the independence of mages from the templars, all present (save for Evangeline and Wynne) are captured and taken into the dungeons. Leliana appears to help them escape, by order of the Divine. She meets Wynne, Shale, Evangeline, and Cole under the tower and takes Cole to free the mages. Like Rhys and Wynne, Leliana appears to have no trouble seeing Cole. Whether this was Cole gaining more control often his particular condition or something to do with Leliana remains unclear. She sends Cole to kill the three templars guarding the cells. After this, the two part ways as Cole half carries and injured Rhys and Leliana leads the able-bodied mages out of the tower.
Upon seeing Leliana, Lord Seeker Lambert realizes the Divine’s involvement in this ‘treason’ against the templars and decides to nullify the Nevarran Accord, thus making the Templar and Seeker order independent from Chantry law.
Leliana sings at Wynne’s funeral, and is last seen with Shale, Evangeline, and many former circle mages (now apostates) at the Adamant Fortress.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
In Inquisition, we see a Leliana who is hardened from the chaos of the world and the weight of her responsibility as a high ranking member (and one of the original founders) of the Inquisition. She is in charge of espionage and assassination for the Inquisition, and her many old friends may prove to be a big help to the organization. She is not quite the cheerful, optimistic young woman we remember. However, if you get to know her there is a chance she may let her guard down just a bit. But she is fully willing to put aside her own values for the sake of the Inquisition. She also understands that the organization cannot be divided, and this is how she tends to express her relationships with other members. She respect both Cullen and Cassandra:
It’s a little like Mom and Dad quarrelling behind closed doors, but presenting a united front to the kids.
And was responsible for bring Josephine onto the team. Her exact relationship with other members is yet to be seen, though assuming she remembers Cole she may be one of the seemingly few who accepts him without much question. Based on her history, it is also reasonable to assume she’s appreciate Vivienne’s fashion sense, Sera’s affiliation with the Friends of the Red Jenny, and Blackwall’s affiliations with the Grey Wardens.
All in all, I am very excited to see Leliana once again in the coming installment into the Dragon Age series. I hope to see romance-specific content for Leliana, as well as continued mentions of all of her ‘old friends’.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is coming out on October 7, 2014 for PS4, Xbox One, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
An Argument for the Legitimacy of Fictional Characters as Role Models
Many of us have been there. We’ve circled up for the question game, and the question has been asked: who is your hero? And around they go, the echoed presidents and athletes and artists and freedom fighters. And then they get to you and everyone is staring and you answer, “Batman.”
They laugh like you’re kidding.
You and I both know that Batman is not, strictly speaking, real. For many of the uninitiated to the world of fandoms and comics, the very notion that a fictional character could serve as a role model for anything is ridiculous.
The argument goes something like this:
Me: It’s not a joke. Batman is really my hero.
Person: But he’s not real! You can’t ask him questions, you can’t go to him when you don’t know what to do. You need someone to look up to that you can talk to.
I’d like to direct your attention to the above gif to give you an idea of my reaction. I have seen this argument many times in the dangerous world of real-life. It’s the argument for human interaction, the forefront of ‘everything that is wrong with this generation’. There is no real interaction: it’s all screens and keyboards and everything about it is terrible. But there is one crucial thing that everyone miraculously forgets: those athletes and activists, those presidents and authors:
How many conversations have you had with them?
We go around the circle: Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, Oprah, Parental Unit, Hilary Clinton, Audrey Hepburn – no one bats an eye. They smile, they nod, they ooh and they ahh as they learn the sparkling traits of your human functionality and the importance of the things you value. At the mention of someone that is ‘not real’, they laugh, they mark you as ‘the funny one’ or ask you to ‘please take the question seriously’. And when they realize you are, in fact, serious, well:
Clearly, the true reason for this trend is not that ‘you can’t really talk to them’ – though many seem to adopt this rationale. The reason for this trend is that many people do not understand the impact a fictional character can have on an individual and, subsequently, do not realize the lasting impact a fictional character can have on the world as a whole. Within these ideas are many more issues, prominently, the troublesome perception of our society that in order to be important, it has to have been important on a national or global scale. And, of course, the value we place on the idea of ‘realness’ – an idea that is, in itself, quite abstract.
So, what is real?
According the the dictionary:
actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed.
According to philosophy:
It’s more complicated than that.
It is generally considered that fictions are inherently ‘not real’. However, the idea that something ‘not real’ can have an affect on something that is ‘real’ has become increasingly apparent in popular media, appearing in such works as The Hunger Games, Divergent, Supernatural, and Inception.
Consider for a moment a nightmare: While you are there, you can feel it. And even though it may be inconsistent with reality, with everything you know, you accept it as reality because it feels real. When you wake up, you feel scared. And this is as a direct result of the nightmare you experienced. It is something that is not technically real that felt real and created a real affect on you.
This in, in a nutshell, why we love fiction. Although it is not real in a universal sense, it is experienced as real on an individual sense. Which begs the question:
Why is the universal real more important than the individual real?
This all comes back to universal effects vs. individual effects – in order to be important, it must be important on a national or global scale. In order to have an impact on the world, you have to be famous, you have to do something big. This is no new phenomenon – we’ve had revered royalty, figureheads, nobles, philosophers – all rock stars of their time. We have have people releasing sex tapes and murdering people all in the name of getting noticed.
Fame does not serve any clear social or psychological need, so we really have no idea why we’re obsessed with it. But, for whatever reason, we are.
This strange obsession with fame is a big part of what drives the preference of the universal real over the individual real. With that in mind: when I say Batman is my hero, many people, knowing nothing about him, think I’m kidding because they do not experience Batman as a fact of reality, as having an effect on the course of real life history. It does not occur to them that I might have that experience, as their only individual experience is the one that they have experienced. And we all know that reality to one person can be vastly different than the reality of another person.
The actual point I’m getting at is this: we need to realize that the difference in experience leads to difference in perception, and difference in perception leads to difference in experience. I can’t ever talk to Batman, he can’t answer my questions or console me when I am upset – but neither can Nelson Mandela. And I may not have somebody to talk to, but I may have my own world. The place I go to figure things out, to find wisdom, and find help. The feelings I get from that are very real, and definitely effect me in my day to day life. To treat that as invalid in not okay, because it says that my experience is less important than someone else’s.
Let’s fix it.
Fictional characters make great heroes. Although they aren’t technically real, they are representative of the values of a society or of a real person, and the situations they find themselves in are analogous to real life issues and experiences. We analyze these sorts of works because they say something about us and the world that we live in, and they can reveal things about ourselves that that we can’t know in the moment of the real life situation. If we look past what is big and remember our own individual heroes – our parents, teachers, friends – then we open ourselves up to a whole new idea. It’s not weird or even particularly different – it’s something. It something that someone has decided to hold on to. It’s something that, like any real like hero, can make us go like this:
And this:
And sometimes this:
Because this is what these characters make us feel. This is the experience, the very real emotions of life we are forced to cycle through much quicker than is healthy because of the current state of our favorite character, our hero, and the best friend we’re sure we have. Because that’s what makes it real to us – that individual real. And it changes our world, and what we know, and how we experience life. We watch their lives and we we a make connection.
And this – this is very important.
Dragon Age and the People of Color ‘Debate’
The internet (namely, tumblr and twitter) have been abuzz as of late with an oddly large number of people freaking out about the ethnicity of a recently announced character for the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. Much of the fan art for the character has made him look ‘more white’ than he was intended. This, naturally, caused a sort of uproar wherein the majority of people were 100% confused, spurring such comments as:
Dude. Dorian’s got olive skin, which is the usual southern European/Mediterranean colour, and you can bet your arse that we all identify as white.
…how is Dorian NOT white. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for poc character and I got super excited when I saw vivienne because not only is she black, she HAS features common of african ethnicity and not just a white person colored black…but Dorian’s a pastry white ass guy.
While there is much there to address, if you’re unfamiliar with the Dragon Age franchise, this is the character in question:
When I first saw Dorian, I thought he was white. And this is not so much his actual appearance, but a deeper issue that this has been revealed in media: I thought Dorian was white because I expected him to be white. He has some color to his skin, he has features not commonly associated with Caucasians or white people (rather, features commonly associated with Indian or Middle Eastern heritage). In fact, he looks like me. And I am very much not white. Despite all of this, I assumed that it was just the lighting, and that he was another white character. And a lot of other people did too.
This is a problem.
And I shouldn’t have to tell anyone that this is a problem for them to realize that this is, in fact, a really big problem. We live in a society where there are so many white leading men that, unless we get a character that is outwardly black or Eastern Asian, the assumption is that he is white.
Since the above comments were made, several of the writers and developers on the game have come out to address the issue. John Epler, cinematic developer for BioWare, had this to say:
When you take a character that -is – a PoC and you draw them as white, you’re sort of saying ‘don’t care about you unless you’re white’. And that’s a feeling that people will take into their real lives. ‘Unless your’e white, we don’t think you’re worthwhile’.
This speaks to a much deeper issue than let on. As previously stated, the artists that drew Dorian as white did not realize he was not meant to be white. His skin isn’t noticeably dark, therefore he has to be white. In my eyes, the problem is not that people drew Dorian white. The problem is that everyone is so sure that he is white that they’ve become outwardly opposed to any other idea.
The logic, as seen in the first anonymous comment above, is that Dorian has light skin, therefore he is white. And this speaks to an issue that has been hugely prevalent in culture throughout the last century: passing. I talk more about that idea here. Specifically in the poem Passing by Tori Derricotte:
Why presume “passing” is based on what I leave out and not what she fills in?
Too many people need to know, and too many people fill in. In the case of media, it is very important as there are not many not-white main characters. By filling in his race, too many people have made a crucial mistake. And this is something we should talk about, and this is something that we should work on.
We see race in terms of black and white, and that has never been okay.
That being said.
There is another fundamental misunderstanding that has made this conversation a hell of a lot harder to have. People keep talking about white washing, and Dorian being a Person of Color and all that. But what most have failed to talk about is what, exactly, Person of Color means. Where I come from, it means black.When we get letters that talk about ‘people of color’ from colleges and the like, many have the response ‘but I’m not black’ and others, like me, feel the term is dated and weird. In my region, the only people who call all minorities people of color are the white people of the north end. Everyone else associates the term with people who identify with the black cultural identify. This predominantly includes people with ethnic ties to Africa, Jamaica, and South America. So for someone like me, and I’m sure for many other people, to hear that Dorian is a PoC, their first response is ‘but doesn’t look black’. And ‘reasonably’ so, as there have always been differences in social structure and slang across different regions (again, assuming a cultural identity based on appearance is a tricky thing to do). But pulling this entire idea into the area of ‘PoC’, everyone has latched onto this idea of black, and thus the central issue – the fact that he is not white and the shocking issue that so many people ignored his actual appearance as so many people expected him to be white – has gone largely ignored.
This is a problem.
I do not believe that they should have has to make Dorian darker. However, I do wonder why they didn’t. I’m not sure if that’s also a problem, or if it’s just the reasonable exercising of his country of origin (Tevinter) and the fact that the only Tevinters we’ve seen so far in the series have been darker than Fereldens and Kirkwallers, but not as dark as commonly associated with East Indians. And there is also the thought that Western media tends to latch onto the darker people in the Middle East and generally ignores the diversity that exists within skin tone and appearance.
There really is a lot going on here.
What is your take on the issue? And what does PoC mean to you? Let me know in the comments below.
Review: Geography Club
Sixteen-year-old Russell is still going on dates with girls while having a secret relationship with football quarterback Kevin, who will do anything to prevent his football teammates from finding out. Min and Terese tell everyone that they’re just really good friends. And then there’s Ike, who can’t figure out who he is or who he wants to be. Finding the truth too hard to hide, they all decide to form the Geography Club, thinking nobody else in their right mind would ever want to join. However, their secrets may soon be discovered and they could have to face the choice of revealing who they really are.
Disclaimer: I’m not reviewing this as an adaptation. I have yet to read the book, so I’ll get back to you if I do. Also, as always, slight spoilers ahead.
Geography Club attempts to tackle the struggles, internal and external, that come along with coming out of the closet. It has central themes of fear clearly represented in all of the major characters, as well as the difficulties that come with deciding to be yourself within an environment that all but demands you conform. In this endeavor, it was almost successful.
From the start of the movie, I was hooked. I identified and connected with most of the main characters. I am very much a character person, willing to forgive shortcomings of a movie or book or game if it has compelling characters that I can relate to. In that effect, the movie was solid. Each character had their own story; each character was interesting in their own way.
Russell and Kevin
Russell, the lead character, had an interesting conflict. At that start, he is only mostly sure he’s gay, but the thought still makes him uncomfortable. He’s nervous to explore the possibility, and won’t even consider the idea of telling anyone else about his struggle. His story arch remains quite real, and does a great job at portraying the struggles of coming out. Unlike many films on the topic, his love interest is not on the opposite side of the coin. Kevin, star quarterback of the school, was raised in an environment where it was perfectly acceptable to be gay. Despite this, he is not ready to come out. He has many reasons, the chief being he knows he will be persecuted and he doesn’t want to have to deal with it. Also, it may actually ruin his life. Both of these stories were presented with real conflict and real sympathy. Each character, gay and straight, had their own interesting story, and that made the movie worth watching.
That being said, by the end of the film I was left wanting. Not wanting more at the end, as much as wishing that there would have been more throughout the movie. It did trouble me that Min, originally written as bisexual, was made gay for the purposes of the film. Brian, while his clear abuse at home and school sat comfortable on the sidelines of the story, it was eventually used as a conflict for Russell, and resolved in a ‘no consequence’ faction. The movie had time to take that extra step, to go just a bit deeper into each of the characters and give many more shades to the central conflict of the film.
As for the ending, while I was glad the movie avoided the ‘happily ever after’ scenario, the way the ending was portrayed left me feeling a little sick to my stomach. And by that, I mean I was angry.
The last twenty minutes of the film seems to do everything it can to belittle Kevin’s conflict, almost outright stating that what he believes in and what he loves do not matter. When Russell is ready to come out, he seems to lose all sympathy for Kevin, who still isn’t ready. This is understandable, as dating someone in the closet can truthfully be compared to being back in the closet. However, Russell never even considers the idea of supporting Kevin through his struggle. He tells Kevin that ‘if he really cared about him’ he would come to the GSA meeting after school. The film does nothing to question this statement, drifting over that fact that it is unreasonably selfish. When Russell comes out, he is kicked off the football team. If Kevin comes out, the same thing will happen. Unlike Russell, who has always been very strong academically, all Kevin has is football. Not only does he love it completely, it is essentially his only hope for getting into a good college. Russell asks him to throw it all away, and the film proceeds to make Kevin out to be the bad guy when he can’t do it. There is almost a scene of redemption for the filmmakers, as we see Kevin come to the hall to attend the GSA meeting. But, as much of the football team is standing outside the door to haze the people who enter, Kevin cannot go into the room and leave. This fleeting moment of sympathy for Kevin is all the film offers.
While I enjoyed much of the movie and connected with many of the character, the film missed many key layers of what it’s like to come out, even brushing over the fact that Goodkind High School is a dramatically unsafe place for people who are different. It had character and conflict, but it lacked consequence and a sort of depth it definitely had the potential to achieve. I would recommend it for the general fan of LGBT films and conflicts, and especially for fans of Glee.
5/10
Dragon Age: Inquisition – Companions and NPCs
As of June 23rd, every companion for DA:I has been officially named, and many NPCs have been announced and/or identified as well. Here I provide all the links to the discussions of the personality, roles, and, of course, the possibility for romance of each of these characters. Simply click on their name below, and you’ll get to where you want to go!
Companions| Varric Tethras – The Storyteller ♦ Vivienne, “Lady of Iron” – The Ambition ♦ Cassandra Pentaghast – The Believer ♦ Sera – The Wildcard ♦ Blackwall – The Resolve ♦ Iron Bull – The Muscle ♦ Cole – Spirit ♦ Dorian – The Redeemer ♦ Solus – The Mind
NPCs| Coming soon!
Solas – The Mind
Solas is voiced by Gareth David-Lloyd, known for his portrayal of Ianto Jones in in Torchwood and Doctor Who. I’ve you need me I’ll be in the corner dying from joy.
He mastered his magic without the help of tutors, spending years exploring the spirit realm of the Fade and coming to an understanding of its denizens that few others could claim. He would be happiest left alone to sleep in ancient ruins, searching for memories and knowledge that has been lost for ages, but the Breach in the sky threatens all worlds.
“The Hedge Mage” – Solas is very much a free thinker. He is not Dalish, but he’s not from an alienage either. He grew up an apostate in a small village. He spent most of his time alone in the wilderness, and that is where he prefers to be. He’s self taught, and has spent a lot of time in the fade, coming to understand it as few mages do. Because of that, he can use magic in ways that most other mages wouldn’t even think of.
Solas found the Fade on his own, he went in without preconceptions, letting him explore the area and befriend spirits without the black-and-white mentality that holds back mages trained in the Circle.
Solas is a new kind of character to appear in the Dragon Age universe. We have had several kinds of mages, and several kinds of elves, all of them breaking the rules to some effect. All of them have viewed the Fade with the same sort of caution. The Keeper even has taught Merrill repeatedly that she cannot trust anything inside the Fade. Yet, Solas will explore the land of dreams, and even befriend spirits he meets there. To him, it’s not a black and white issue at all. This is good, this is bad, this versus that, us and them – to Solas, there’s always a bigger story. There is always more to it. As Solas would put it, “It’s more complicated than that.”
I am, at this point, 100% convinced that Solas is a romance option for the Inquisitor. And I really do intend on taking it. As a side bar – I can always tell who my favorite characters will be (Cole, Solas) and, so far, my favorite romance has always been the elf (Zevran, Fenris). I have a problem, you see.
Anyway. As for the rest of the Inquisition, Solas does not get along with Vivienne. She is cold toward him as only Vivienne is capable. She is very much pro-circle, and holds all the same views as the circle in regards to the fade. So, naturally, he thinks she’s close minded and she thinks he doesn’t know what he talking about. While I think he’ll generally get along with Bull, they will also get into disagreements over the freedom of thought and other things about Qunari beliefs. I have complete certainty that Solas and Cole will get along swimmingly. Solas being a lover of the fade, and Cole being a type of spirit demon guy. I’m looking forward to that.
I am extremely excited to see get to know Solas. How about you? What do you think of the newest (and final) companion of the Inquisitor? Let me know in the comments below!
The Liebster Award
I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Jessica at Mind Of A Mermaid. The award is to recognize and welcome new bloggers, as well as encourage them to meet other bloggers.
The Rules
1. Thank the person who nominated you and post a link to their blog on your blog.
2. Display the award on your blog
3. Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
4. Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
5. Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers.
6. Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.
7. List these rules in your post
8. Inform the blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster Award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it
I was never actually huge on those Myspace and Facebook surveys of Middle School. But, alas, a blogging moment tis a blogging moment and I will see it through.
Questions from Jessica
1. If you could choose a character from a book to be your best friend, who would it be and why?
I’m torn. Between Jacob from North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley and Fermin Romero de Torres from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I agree so fervently with both of their outlooks on life. They’re both the personification of the funny-yet-oddly-wise character and I’m very much about that life. Some quotes:
“Destiny is usually just around the corner. Like a thief, a hooker, or a lottery vendor: its three most common personifications. But what destiny does not do is home visits. You have to go for it.” – Fermin
“So I figured if people were going to stare at me anyway, then I would choose the term of their staring. I can dictate what they see.” – Jacob
And a special shout out to Manchee the dog from The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness for one of the best opening scenes I’ve experienced in a novel.
“Need a poo, Todd.” – Manchee
2. What is your favorite breakfast food?
Grits. With butter, pepper, sausage, and egg mixed it. The sausage is required. And I always finish off the meal with some raspberry iced tea because that’s how I do.
3. What’s your favorite cheesy romantic comedy?
Define “cheesy”. My favorite romantic comedies are probably Love Actually and About Time. They were made by the same people, and they’re both wonderful. The second one’s a romcom about time travel. So. I dig that.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
In apartment in New York. If we’re meant to be specific here, on June 29th, 2024, I’ll probably be sitting on the couch in my apartment yelling at my computer because I still haven’t finished my manuscript. It certainly isn’t my computer’s fault, but I image I’ll be living alone and I doubt my neighbors will appreciate my knocking on their door to yell at them because I still haven’t finished my manuscript.
5. Favorite smell?
See, what’s weird is I was recently just asked this question. My answer was one of those iffy on the fly things you’re mad you said because you think of ten better things to say later. The answer I received was fabulous, but I don’t think I could quite capture it’s glory from memory.
My favorite smell is actually what happens when I’m in a big book store surrounded by books, but I also have two day old movie theater popcorn and a bottle of raspberry iced tea with me. And my blanket. And my Pooh. And the bookstore is actually in my house so someone is in the kitchen making meat loaf and mashed potatoes. Oh yes.
6. What do you do when you need to relax? Creative outlets?
When I need to relax, I will either a.) Curl up alone and watch a really great movie, b.) Curl up alone and mindlessly scroll through the internet, or c.) Curl up alone and listen to the Shostakovich 8 on repeat. There are a few other things I suppose I could do, but I think I’ve expressed that it universally involves curling up alone and doing absolutely nothing. As for creative outlets, I love to write. I wrote a book once, but it’s terrible. I’ve started and never explored six different screen plays. I have thousands of pages of lore, ideas, and random scenes that will never make it into any of my stories. This actually kind of stresses me out, which then causes me to write more. I also play instruments. Piano and viola are my favorites, I thinks. And I draw. And sing. And dance. Just not all at once.
7. What would your super power be?
I have sat for hours considering this. I’ve always thought that I would need to consider the power I’d really like, and the power I’d actually have. I’d really like to fly. But, I’d actually be able to get into people’s heads and do whatever I want. Some would consider this an improvement. But I’m probably certifiable, so I’d definitely be a danger to myself and everyone around me. And I wouldn’t be a super hero. At least, not on purpose. I’d honestly just use it to mess with people.
8. What is your definition of love.
Romantic Love is a a chemical reaction within the brain that makes you temporarily incapable of logical reasoning.
I haven’t felt that kind, but I’ve have maternal love and sibling love and friendship love. And all that is basically the thing that people need to have to keep from killing each other. It’s kind of beautiful.
9. What song do you listen to to pump yourself up?
Well, I am quite fond of the Shostakovich 8. But that’s to find my zen. If I need to get something done, I listen to The Killers. Specifically, the album Day and Age on repeat. Some honorable mentions include A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars, Riot by Three Days Grace, and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.
10. What would you do different if you lived without the fear of being judged?
And people think I’m blunt now.
Really, though, I don’t really fear being judged. I fear being alone forever. There is a distinct difference, you see.
11. What was the last thing that made you laugh?
I recently realized that my sister’s life is like an infomercial. I will never stop laughing.
11 Random Facts
And, because this blog post still isn’t long enough, I have to give you eleven random facts about myself that otherwise are not likely to appear on this blog.
1. I have stacks of notebooks hidden away in my house filled with insane ramblings going back to the sixth grade.
2. I will not tolerate watermelon. Or any type of melon for that matter.
3. That being said, honeydew is my absolute favorite smell.
4. I hate flowers. I don’t know why, but looking at them kind of makes me angry.
5. Bake me snickerdoodles, bring me some caramel and milk chocolate lindor truffles, let me talk at you for an undefined period of time without interrupting, and I’ll probably do whatever you want.
6. When I can’t write, I lose all functionality in life. I’ve missed a month of school because I had writer’s block.
7. I do not, nor will I ever, understand flirting.
8. I often argue for a side I disagree with just for the sake of arguing. I really like arguing. Debating. Whatever.
9. You probably have noticed, but I have a truly unhealthy obsession with the video game world of Dragon Age. I know a lot of random lore just off the top of my head. The reason for this is because I can obsess better than anyone I know. The reason for this is because I have a disorder. Several, in fact. I like to think I’m quirky.
10. Gender and sexuality are weird. I don’t believe everyone has a binary. Binary is weird.
11. I went to China once and met a two year old named Christopher. He got adopted, so his name is Nate now. I still miss him, and thinking about him makes me extensively slightly depressed.
My Nominations and Questions
Spilled Ink
my mind reels through film
Tunnel Songs
Write and Day
The Owl
It did occur to me that I don’t actually follow many new bloggers, and I began to fully understand the point of this award. See how that works?
Now, your task, should you choose to accept it, is to answer the questions I am about to list out for you, and then proceed to do all of the other said listed in the rules above. Yeah? Yeah. The questions are as follows:
1. If you could choose any three fictional character to simultaneously hang out with, who would you choose and why?
2. If you could teleport, where if the first place you would go?
3. If you could go through time to witness any event in history, what would it be?
4. What is your favorite blog post you’ve ever written?
5. What if your favorite blog post someone else has written?
6. What is your favorite website other than wordpress?
7. What is your quest?
8. What is your favorite color?
9. What’s in the box?
10. Is there is a single movie, television, gaming, book (etc.) reference you make constantly?
11. Why do you blog?
Have a lovely day. And feel free to answer any of these questions in the comments below.
The Paradoxical Paradigm 