Question of the Week

Question of the Week: 11/20/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 21 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 11/13/16          Question of the Week: 11/27/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s your favorite type of flower?

Roses.  Always have been always will.

red-and-black-roses

I’m also fond of calla lilies even though I’m allergic to them, lilies that is.

calla-lillies

I suppose this is the reason I chose these two for my wedding bouquet, but the calla lilies only came about because I needed another flower besides roses.  Roses have been my favorite forever.

What’s your favorite flower?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 11/13/16          Question of the Week: 11/27/16–>

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Question of the Week: 10/30/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 27 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 10/23/16          Question of the Week: 11/6/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What paranormal experience(s) have you had?

When I was around eight or nine years old getting ready for school, I was in the bathroom looking at the mirror that was in front of our medicine cabinet, and as I looked I realized I wasn’t seeing myself.  I know…so cliched, but it was very weird.  This girl had lighter skin than me, more honey colored, and different features, yet she mimicked my movements as images are wont to do.  I remembered going back and forth out of the mirror and coming back to find the same reflection still before.  Then my mom called me, and I again looked away from the mirror to answer, but when I went back, the “honey girl,” was gone, and it was just me in the glass.

I wasn’t even frightened at the time.  I just thought it was weird or a trick of the light.  Even now I’m not sure if I was actually seeing what I was seeing, but the house I grew up in was…weird.  Looking back on it with adult eyes, it was always odd how frightened I was of the dining room and my fear of basements and subterranean spaces came about because my basement was super creepy. I always hated going down there and have nightmares about it to this day.  There was this discoloration on the wall that looked like an alien monster.  I know it was from the moisture of the hot water heater, but it was always unsettling.

I’ve had more random experiences where I’ve just had weird feelings.  live in a part of Pennsylvania that’s considered quite haunted, and I’ve been to Valley Forge Park at night.  Terrifying.  There are also these terrible tunnels that I refuse to drive through in the dark not to mention this graveyard near my college that friends have concurred with me on on the spookiness factor.  Then of course I have cats, and they’re always seeing the unseen hehe.

I don’t profess to being anything I’m not, and I take the scientific, rational, and logical side in most things, but I can’t deny I’ve had inexpiable feelings and seen some strange things.  It could just be I didn’t have the tools or means to explain them or it could be they defy our ability to explain them yet.

What ghost story and/or paranormal experiences have you had?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 10/23/16          Question of the Week: 11/6/16–>

Question of the Week: 10/16/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 26 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 10/9/16          Question of the Week: 10/23/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s your favorite Halloween/Halloween type movie?

sweeney-todd

I count this as a “Halloween type” movie.  It’s got that gothic/macabre aesthetic that fits in with this time of the year.  It’s also arguably my favorite horror movie; it’s definitely my favorite horror musical.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d definitely see the musical version of Evil Dead, but I’m more of a fan of gothic horror, no hate though!

Honorable mentions so Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Crow.

Side note:  I’m currently munching on those mellowcreme pumpkins I was raving about a week ago.  Halloween is amazing.

What’s your favorite Halloween movie?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 10/9/16          Question of the Week: 10/23/16–>

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Question of the Week: 10/2/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 24 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 9/25/16          Question of the Week: 10/9/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What are you planning for your Halloween costume?

Yes, it’s finally that time of year again.  The god awful summer heat has broken, the days are growing shorter as the night encroaches upon the afternoon.  It’s wet and rainy in my corner of the world, but I’d take this any day over oppressive humidity, and it’s time to plan my Halloween costume!

I’m probably going to do a long neglected Cosplay Confessional post to flesh out the details of this (and to also discuss the alternative option).

After I saw Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens and loved it hard, I thought about how freaking easy it would be for me to be Finn.

finn

I actually have really short hair.  *shock*  I know that silver hair is totally not mine lol.  All I really need is the jacket…which I just bought yesterday.  This is a marked difference from my Halloween costume last year, which was super elaborate and a wee bit expensive.

My alternate costume was Smokey Quartz, the newest fusion from Steven Universe.

But I’d need to find a gigantic yo-yo, buy a new wig, plus I don’t have three arms.  Granted, I’d just scrap the latter, but it would rankle me, because I’m a perfectionist.  I saw an amazing cosplay of this a few weeks ago, but I can’t find it.  Annoying.

What are you planning to be for Halloween?  Is it the typical “spooky” fare (e.g. witch, ghost, vampire, etc.) or is it a character/cosplay?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 9/25/16          Question of the Week: 10/9/16–>

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Question of the Week: 9/25/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 35 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 9/18/16          Question of the Week: 10/2/16–.>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s your favorite type of pie?

I had the “What’s your favorite type of cake?” question back in July, and I just recently had ice cream cake since last Friday was a coworkers last day, and my job is keen on having good send offs.  Not everyone likes traditional cake (case in point the now former coworker in question), which is why why went with ice cream.  Pie is more associated with autumn whose equinox has just passed so I thought this an appropriate question.

My favorite type is simple “all American” apple, quotes because apple pie actually predates America despite the popular saying.

Yassss. Get in my mouth.

Yassss. Get in my mouth.

I’m especially partial to the crumble variety, but there’s a French version called tarte aux pommes that I’d love to try one day.

Look at this beautiful thing.

Look at this beautiful thing.

Unfortunately, my preliminary search only locates recipes in French, but I’m sure if I’d be able to find one or an adequate translation of the same.

I also enjoy cherry, peach, lemon (not so much meringue), and other fruit pies.  I didn’t have pumpkin pie until I was well into my twenties, but grew up eating my grandmother’s sweet potato pie, though I’ve never been overly fond of that either.  Pumpkin pie is a less sweet version of sweet potato to my taste buds, and to be honest, neither one is my favorite.  I much prefer fruit pies, and apple is at the top of my list.

What’s your favorite type of pie?  Is it a fruit pie or more savory?  Do you prefer non-dessert pies e.g. chicken pot or mincemeat?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 9/18/16          Question of the Week: 10/2/16–.>

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Question of the Week: 9/18/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 15 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 9/11/16          Question of the Week: 9/25/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What’s your favorite accent?

Unsurprising to no one who’s followed this blog for five seconds, my favorite accent is the English one, but saying something like that without qualifications is akin to saying “My favorite accent is the American one.”  There are numerous English accents.  I recently located a video that explained all of the different ones, which was invaluable to someone who was currently using British and English interchangeably. in all areas.

One day I’ll edit my videos or more like upgrade my blog so I can use audio, and you’ll all hear my “video recording” accent.  Since I’m from and live on the US east coast and Pennsylvania specifically, we have some very nasal vowels that are entirely not conducive to singing, which I used to do much more religiously until a little bit after college.  We were taught to round out our vowels and make them sound more Latin, but I discovered it was just much easier to sing with an English inflection.  There’s apparently a connection between musical inclination and the ability to emulate accents.  I think I’m okay at it, and unlike many people I actually like my speaking/recorded voice, which makes me worried I sound like a big snob or (wait for it) narcissist.

If I had to specify my favorite British accent, I think it would have to be Received Pronunciation.  During a wiki walk a while ago I stumbled upon the concept of the rhotic R, and everything about English accents just came together for me.  Knowing about that, I could also attempt to hone my emulation.

If anyone from the UK is reading this, please know I’m a total anglophile, and mimicry can be considered the sincerest form of flattery.  I don’t attempt this for mockery or the like, especially since I’ve experienced bullying and detest cruelty in all it’s forms.  I do love talking about accents though and what defines/differentiates them.

What’s your favorite accent?  It can be your own (no shame in liking who you are!).  What draws you to the accent?  Can you emulate it?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 9/11/16          Question of the Week: 9/25/16–>

Question of the Week: 8/28/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 15 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 8/21/16          Question of the Week: 9/4/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

Who is your favorite non-villain character?

I had to give the caveat of “non-villain” character as opposed to just saying “favorite superhero,” because my favorite character is a villain, my favorite superhero is a captain, but my favorite non-villain character without question or argument (whom I like better than the favorite superhero) is Captain Picard.

I can’t believe I’ve had this blog for nearly two years, and I haven’t yet gushed about my love for Captain Picard.  TNG was my introduction into the Star Trek universe though I had seen episodes of TOS when I was younger.  At the risk of inciting any flame wars for Kirk fans, I’m just going to say that Picard is not only my favorite captain, but I think he’s one of the best.  He’s the most noble person to ever exist, and while we can argue to the Delta Quadrant and back over who broke the Prime Directive more, Picard always did it with only the best intentions in mind (as in the episode “Pen Pals,” which always makes me cry) or when there was no other choice and/or to better a worsening situation (as in the episode “Who Watches the Watchers“).  Additionally, his philosophy and speeches should be studied and noted by anyone seeking a position of leadership and power, nor was he ever afraid to defy those in higher positions to protect the rights of others.

While Picard could be harsh, he was always fair, erred on the side of both logic and reason, but also compassion and doing what’s right   I cannot watch the episode “The Inner Light” without a week’s preparation, and I know I’m always going to cry, because anything about memory and loss pierce me to the core.

I can’t talk about Captain Picard without lauding the magnificent actor who plays him, Patrick Stewart, who is totally and literally a sir (yassss Sir Patrick!).  Similar to the character he plays, he believes in fairness and equality, and due to early exposure of domestic violence, he does work with Amnesty International.

Also his bromance with equally magnificent Sir Ian McKellan is delightful.

I want them on my team for the apocalypse

Who is your favorite non-villain character?  The can be a superhero; I just made that caveat just in case they aren’t.

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 8/21/16          Question of the Week: 9/4/16–>

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Question of the Week: 8/21/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 39 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 8/7/16          Question of the Week: 8/28/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

Would you live in the world of your favorite fandom?

My favorite fandom is Final Fantasy VII, and my answer is a resounding, “Hell no.”  What’s ironic is that one of FFVII’s major draws for me what that despite it being a World Half Empty (due to humanity’s machinations) at least you knew what would happen after you died.  Now granted going back to those parenthetical machinations of humanity, even your afterlife might be cut short since the world’s souls are being used to fuel a greedy empire/corporation.  This is the fodder of High Octane Nightmare Fuel on many levels.  So even though FFVII is my favorite, even though I love writing about it, and even though Aeriseph is my OTP,, I’d have to take a rain (or a Mako) check on living in that universe.

If I did have to choose a Final Fantasy world and locale in which to reside, I’d have to go with FFIX and the Lindblum Theater District.

Look how quaint

Oh who are we kidding?  It may be shameful, but I’m still a narcissist.  I’d take up residence in the Grand Castle, but maintain a place near the theatre so I could leisurely catch a show.

It should be noted that I’d also never inhabit the world of my second favorite fandom ASOIAF.  It’s not even my hundredth choice, and I’d take VII over it any day.

Warning: Graphic picture below.

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Gee I wonder why?

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At least FFVII has an afterlife.  With Song your only real chance is to be resurrected by a follower of R’hllor.  Otherwise you just die or become a wight aka glowing blue eyed slave for a nefarious and hive minded entity seething in the north.

…okay so it is like VII.

Would you inhabit your favorite fandom’s world?  Why or why not?  What factors would dissuade you from or encourage you to do so?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 8/7/16          Question of the Week: 8/28/16–>

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Question of the Week: 8/14/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 17 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 8/7/16          Question of the Week: 8/21/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What genre would you like to write in that you don’t write already?

I currently write paranormal romance in dark fantasy worlds or with heavy dark fantasy influence.  This is weird for me to say since I initially thought I wrote dark fantasy, but since my concentration is mostly on paired characters, calling it para-romance makes much more sense.  I want to go farther down the dark ladder and work in the horror genre, specifically cosmic horror a la Lovecraft (though HP is one of my more problematic faves ugh).  Dark fantasy has touches of horror, broaching the subject of the abyss without going all the way inside.  It often suggests the greater darkness or lays the path to it for the reader, watcher, or player to find if they poke hard enough to shake the deep ones.

Mystery is another genre I want to explore though arguably every story is a mystery.  If they weren’t then we wouldn’t have spoilers :p  At the risk of sounding trite, though, I would like to pen something where the main character is a detective or PI especially since I have an idea for an MC in mind who is (hopefully) not cliched.  I should get bonus points since one of my planned mysteries is also a cosmic horror story.  I just don’t know what the mind melting reveal will be…yet.

What genre would you love to attempt that you don’t already write in?  How challenging do you think it would be for you?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 8/7/16          Question of the Week: 8/21/16–>

Question of the Week: 8/7/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 19 Comments

<–Question of the Week: 7/31/16          Question of the Week: 8/14/16–>

The Question of the Week is posted every Sunday and will consist of a question followed by my answer and explanation to the same.  Some questions will only require a simple answer that could potentially be followed by an explanation.  Many questions will be writer oriented, but not all.  Everyone is encouraged to answer in the comments and discussions/follow up questions are more than welcome!

What game scared/scares you and/or what’s the most frightening thing you’ve even seen in a video game?

I held off a bit on the video game questions because one of my favorite retro gaming blogs The Well-Red Mage (with accompanying mages) was doing a month long mage challenge in July, which I highly recommend you check out if you are of the gaming variety (the link goes to the first question), and I didn’t want to replicate any questions that might show up on that locale and/or be redundant here.  Plus I figured once July was done, I could tag an awesome blog in my next video game related question.  I’m sure people are still answering the older questions, and discourse is never wasted.

Then today while perusing my WordPress reader I came across a post by another of my beloved retro gaming blogs I ♥ Old Games about Metroid since the game’s birthday was yesterday, and I thought that was as good a sign as any.

Mother Brain in the Metroid series was probably the first thing I ever saw in a video game that scared me shitless.  I was always creeped out by brains and skulls (ironically I went to school for psychology much later) and to have an antagonist that was essentially an evil brain in the jar was too much for my fragile sensibilities to handle.  Fast forward to Super Metroid where “she” has that horrifying form and I was so terrified I couldn’t even close my eyes to blink.  Seriously guys, I had to avoid the commercials for that game because they’d show a clip of the fight, and you just see this shambling, one eyed horror coming towards you.  I won’t even post a picture of it here, because it still scares me that much.  You can easily find it if you google “mother brain.”  The thought that in this endless universe that kind of abomination could exist throws me into my own existential horror.  Lovecraft has nothing on Nintendo in this regard.

Fast forward (I think) a few years to the game Life Force where you literally fight an alien from the inside (apparently the game was called Life Force only in Japan, but I recall that was the version I saw).

The final boss of the game is the alien’s heart similar to what you have to fight in one of the Contra.  I think it’s the combination of destroying a heart and the alien thing that made me want to hide under my covers forever.  It should also be noted that the Heart exhibit at The Franklin Institute scared the crap out of me, too.  Ah that incessant beating D:  I would take to going upstairs to my room whenever my brother and/or cousin would play these games and of course any of the Metroids.

Fast forward again to 1997 and Final Fantasy VII, my favorite game.  Now if you’d told me twenty years prior that I’d fall in love with a game that featured alien mental manipulation and an eldritch abomination trapped in a “jar” with brain matter branching out, I would’ve laughed in your face then hid under the covers.  I love FFVII passionately, but Jenova freaks me the fuck out.  When you get deep into it, it’s arguably the most terrifying antagonist ever (or at least up there with Mother Brain…OH DEAR GOD), because like The Thing it was certainly inspired by, it could look like anyone.

Jenova in Crisis Core

It has the disembodied, beating heart motif, too.  It’s what you hear in the beginning of Advent’s “Beyond the Wasteland,” or at the very least the song is conjuring echoes of that horror.  The drums and the bells of “Those Chosen by the Planet” pierce the very heart of this paradigm.

Finally there’s Dead Space.  I watched enough of this game to give myself nightmares where I’d be chased by disembodied body parts and floating fetuses *shudders*  But they don’t even hold a candle to the Brethren Moons.

I would cry, but my tears would do nothing to forestall the inevitable.

An honorable mention goes to Earthbound and Giygas whom many believe is the paragon of the Fetus Terrible.

When your enemy is so horrifying you can only defeat him by going back in time to fight him before he’s born and it’s still a brutal battle where prayer is necessary to win, more than heaven help you.

I believe the binding tie with all of these is the Body Horror trope, which fits within or aligns with the idea of the Uncanny Valley.  There’s something not right about seeing interior parts either outside or for the protagonist to be forced within in order to deal with these sentient, dangerous, and horrifying viscera.

What video game or aspect of one terrified you as a child and/or terrifies you now?  Is it a game that’s classified as horror or is it a dark part of an otherwise non-horror based game?

I look forward to your answers in the comments!

<–Question of the Week: 7/31/16          Question of the Week: 8/14/16–>

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