summer fun tag PLUS sunshine blogger tag (the second)

I've been tagged a few times recently not so recently actually because I'm terrible like that, so I'm going to combine two because I'm not sure how much you actually want to read about me??: the Summer Fun Tag, and the Sunshine Blogger Tag [#2]!

Side note: I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG, KIND PEOPLE WHO TAGGED ME. You've probably forgotten you ever did such a thing.  

And I know most of you are in autumn and heading for winter, now, but here it's HOT. And it's the first month of spring. So. Summer and sunshine it is!

- The Summer Fun Tag -

This tag was created by Mykaela, and I was tagged by Gray at Writing Is Life (thanks, Gray!)

1. What's a nickname only your family calls you?

Despite being Australian, and knowing several people with very Aussie nicknames, I actually just have a shortened version of my name? and everyone calls me that. I'm actually a bit disappointed that I never got a creative nickname. (Then again, considering the likelihood of it not being flattering, maybe I'm not sorry.)

[Pennites, consider this an invitation xD]

2. What's a weird habit of yours?

Nooo... don't have any weird habits. I'm not weird.

*coughs*

*asks family*

Brother 1: Well, he can't think of any.

Sister 1: Being negative is not a weird habit, Sister 1. It's just... a habit.

Brother 2: Wiggling my ears and "the weird eyeball thing". [I cross my eyes, look left, cross my eyes, look right, repeat. Makes it look like my eyes can point different directions.]

Sister 2: Talking to myself and pulling faces?? That's normal...

Dad: BEING ANNOYING IS NOT A WEIRD HABIT, DAD. THAT'S JUST ME.

Mum: Being negative??? And facetious??? What is this??? Where is familial loyalty when you need it???

3. Do you have any strange phobias?

Not really? I don't particularly like spiders or other creepy-crawlies when they're moving fast and erratically, but that's hardly a phobia. I'm not fond of heights either, but I manage. Nothing I've come across in my [admittedly short] life so far has caused me to completely freeze up out of fear and freak out.

4. What's a song you secretly love to blast and belt out when you're alone?

I am rarely home alone. Or in the car alone. Or alone at all, really. My family tends to travel as a pack. But the last time I was home alone, I blasted as many Owl City songs as I had. (And made myself a mug cake.)

I also love to belt out Stand by Me - it's just a really good song for belting??

5. What's one of your biggest pet peeves?

PUNCTUATION MISTAKES ON SIGNS. Like how do people get paid to produce a professional product that is full of mistakes like that?!? How do you even get "your'e"?? (as one, horrific example I saW a rEAL PICTURE OF.)

Also people who are reading the next book in a series when I want it. Or people who are reading my favourite books and don't appreciate them.

6. What's one of your nervous habits?

Talking. If I'm nervous, I'll say something to fill the silence. I think. But maybe it's actually just like regular conversation but I'm overanalysing it because I'm nervous. Ooh look. I'm babbling just thinking about it.

7. What's a YouTuber that always makes you laugh?

Studio C always made me laugh when I first started watching, but it's a bit hit-and-miss now.

I actually don't watch much on YouTube? because "internet data allowance" and "shaped plan" [go over the limit, our internet goes sLOWER THAN A- A- ... IDK BUT SOMETHING REALLY SLOW. LIKE, REALLY SLOW.] 

8. What was your first stuffed animal, and what was its name?

Technically my first stuffed animal was the calico bear that people wrote their names on when they came to meet me (and to visit my mother, I suppose??) in the maternity ward. It spent the next 10+ years of its life on top of a cupboard, as a Very Special Object, and thus never got a name.

Other than that... I was actually had a special stuffed animal. My first special doll was Pamela.

Her fingers got chewed off. I'm sorry for that now.

9. What's a drink you always order at Starbucks?

What is this thing you call... "Starbucks"??

I don't know if we even have Starbucks here in Australia?? Certainly not in my area. I don't drink coffee anyway, so...

10. Do you have any weird body skills?

See #2, weird habits, for my siblings' opinions. I can also wiggle my ears.

11. What's your favorite comfort food?

I actually really like bread?? Buns and stuff, I mean. But "comfort food" would seem to imply snacking, something my family doesn't really do.

12. What is a phrase or exclamation you always say?

I realised a while ago that I use "big on" a lot? I'm "big on" chocolate, "not big on" boys who are full of themselves, "big on" notebook collections. It's weird and now whenever I say it I'm self-conscious.

13. What did you use to wear that you would never wear now?

Teeny-tiny dresses.

I'm not saying I was immodest, I'm saying they were made (handmade, some of them - there were some lovely ones with smocking) to fit a five-year-old. I would still wear them now if they fit me. They were so cute. Why do teenage girls not get really cute/sweet dresses??

14. What did you want to be when you were younger?

Career-wise, I don't even know, although I went through a period of planning on running a stable with my best friend (before eventually maturing and realising that I just wanted to be horse-mad but I wasn't actually - nor did I know much about horses anyway).

My mother does tell me I wanted to be married to my brother. When told I couldn't, I wanted to marry my cousin. I got very upset when told neither of them were an option, because "I didn't know any other boys, how was I supposed to get married??"

Calm down, smol me. Seriously, kid. There is plenty of time yet.

Current almost-not-a-teenager me is taking that advice to heart as well, having realised she does not want the responsibilities of marriage just yet. Why choose to be the mother when you can stick with your own.

15. How tall are you?

1.65m, I think? 1.75 DON'T YOU EVEN KNOW YOURSELF UGH

16. What are five ways to win your heart/become a great friend?

1. Books. Share them. Love the ones I love (or say you do and make me believe it). Give me books. Receive books I give you with enthusiasm.
2. Food (none of this carrot-sticks or paleo "dessert" nonsense either). I need either sugar, salt,  or carbs (technically sugar = carbs [but not the other way around], but never mind - bread or pasta, basically). Other foods will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. ("Desserts" containing coconut milk, grated almond, carob, and/or no wheat flour will likely go badly.)
3. Do not suggest we "go to the shops and hang out". This is a sure-fire stress inducer. How does one "hang out"? At the shops?? Is spending of money required? Will we be eating, and thus, will I be required to buy food? (is bringing a sandwich in gladwrap okay)
4. Fangirl with me. Fairly simple.
5. Take the first step. I will not speak to you first (well, I'm working on that, but it's unreliable). Neither will I try to make you a close friend once we're acquainted, being concerned that I might smother you and that you'd rather spend your time with someone else (I'm sure you already have friends, after all). I will reciprocate your friendship to the level you offer it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be friends.

Ooo-kay. *cough* That's way too deep. Moving ON, people. We now have:

- The Sunshine Blogger Tag -

I was tagged by Lisa at Inkwell; this is actually the second time I've done this tag, but the questions change every time, and these ones look fascinating. :) Thanks, Lisa!

1. Do you have favorite fictional families/siblings and who are they?

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any amazing families or siblings in fiction.

THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT GOOD.

...After scanning my shelf, I have selected:
Butler and Juliet, from the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer.
Aiden and Meg, from the On the Run series by Gordon Korman.

The March sisters, from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
The Carr family, from What Katy Did by Susan Coolidge.
The Woolcot family, from Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner.

Looking over these lists, there seems a bit of a pattern: contemporary/action books get older brother/younger sister siblings, while classic children's novels get large families. Of course there'd need to be more research into this before any sort of generalisation could be formed; please feel free to give me examples of books that prove/disprove this apparent pattern!

2. If you could reform one villain (book or movie) who would it be?

Loki. Eheheh.

3. If you could work with/be the apprentice of/learn from one historical figure (hero or not) who would it be?

When I saw "apprentice", I thought "HALT". But he's fictional, not historical. Besides, I'd likely die.

Okay. Um. Jesus? Being a disciple of Jesus in the flesh could only help my relationship with him, right?

(And maybe Tolkien, for writing/worldbuilding. I imagine he'd be great at worldbuilding...)

4. Have you ever dreamed (when you were asleep, of course) that you were in a book or movie? If so, which ones?

Not that I can recall? But I'm sure I have... I just can't remember. (I think it's a pretty safe bet to say that at some point I would have dreamed I was in the MCU.)

5. What are you favorite kinds of book titles (e.g. one word, a reference, symbolism, with a certain word in them...)?

I've never thought about this?

*scans nearby/recent books*

Ally Carter's Embassy Row trilogy uses lines from nursery rhymes as titles, e.g. the one currently by my foot is See How They Run. (Though the third book is Take the Key and Lock Her Up, which isn't any nursery rhyme I've heard of.) Still, that's a pretty cool idea.

I've just listened to Marissa Meyer's Cinder, and I like how her four-book series takes its titles from the MCs. Mostly because that's how I get my working titles.

The Wrath and the Dawn (Renee Ahdieh) is a nice fantasy title with an Arab feel, and The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern) just sounds like a historical/fantasy. On the other hand, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne M Valente) (my fingers are tired now) gives off a pleasant sense of self-awareness that I'm rather fond of.


So overall I don't think I have a defined preference? but this is very interesting and now I'll be analysing my reading choices and their titles.

6. If you could be the "sidekick" of one fictional character, who would it be?

Since you said 'sidekick', I have to go superheroes here.

Um... Marvel doesn't really go for sidekicks much, does it? I mean, I can't think of many. Bucky is/was Cap's sidekick... Kate Bishop would shoot you if you called her Clint Barton's sidekick... I guess the Warriors Three and Lady Sif could be considered Thor's sidekicks, but I suspect they'd do to you what Kate Bishop did, only worse. [Any further suggestions?]

But if we go DC, there's a whollle range of possibilities. E.g. bunch a heap of sidekicks together with a few other kids: now you have the Teen Titans! And I would definitely choose to be Batman's sidekick.

(Sorry, Marvel... I'd rather be in the Marvel [Cinematic??] Universe, but circumstances were unfortunately against me.) 

Because not only is Batman super-cool, but Bat-"I-work-alone"-man has so many sidekicks:

Dick Grayson | Barbara Gordon | Jason Todd | Tim Drake | Stephanie Brown | Cassandra Cain | Damian Wayne

...those are just Robins/Batgirls. And only the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more of them.

 haha nope you don't

Basically, I'd be in pretty cool company.

Plus, Batman.

(The downside would, of course, be that Batman goes through a lot of sidekicks:)

Again, off the top of my head [and this is just specific incidences/references I know of]:
Dick 'dies' (it was a set-up, and he joined a spy group [which turned out to be controlled by bad guys]).
Barbara gets paralysed from the waist down when the Joker shoots her in the spine (not because she's Batgirl, but to send a message to her father, the Commissioner).
Jason - well, Jason. Jason gets beaten to death with a crowbar (the Joker, obviously). How he gets back from being dead, I have no idea... but he becomes Red Hood and kills bad guys (Batman doesn't associate much with him after that).
Tim fights a million killer robots to save his Batfamily, but dies in the process. (Except he was apparently actually transported to another planet?? maybe molecule by molecule, idk.)
Stephanie is so distressed by this ^ that she stops being Batgirl and starts getting in Batman's way in any way possible.
Cassandra - it isn't Batman's fault at all, but she was raised with violence as her literal only language; she couldn't talk, but she could read body language like an actual language. This was before she was Batman's sidekick, though, and I actually haven't read anything that indicates she stopped hanging out with him. She's actually pretty cool.
Lastly, Damian. Ah, Damian. It's messy [as is what he'd would do to bad guys if it wasn't for Batman's influence]. He's the current Robin, and Batman's son, but he's really Batman's sidekick on an on-again-off-again basis, due to extreme arrogance and despising of rules. He's, like, ten. Loves murder.

Annnyway. I'm sure you're all screaming by now. I'm not a Marvel traitor! I promise! I just... like DC too. Just the comics... it's not that bad, guys...

Or... were you screaming "WE DON'T NEED TO KNOW THIS GET ON WITH THE ACTUAL STUFF OR I'M LEAVING"?

That works too. Next question!

[Hang on. I could be Sherlock Holmes' sidekick! I mean, Watson got married and left... there's a vacancy there! Even though Watson would also deny being a sidekick!]

[Sorry, yes. We were moving on.]

7. If you were a superhero, what would be your power?

OH HAHA LOOK.

More superhero stuff.

IT ISN'T MY FAULT. I'M JUST ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS, OKAY??

I think this maybe might mean 'what power would most suit your personality', but I'm going to ignore that anyway. I've created a few superhero characters, and I'm going to pick one of the powers I gave them.

It actually started as a fantasy ability from a different story - an ability held by Rumpelstiltskin. Straw to gold? Fine. Stone to carbon dioxide? Can do. Person to marble? Doable.

Changing it to a superpower put a bit more chemistry into it: the character [haha yep I've switched back to the character] has to know the chemical structure of the state she wants to turn it into. Wood to stone? Fine - the molecular structure she chooses will define the type of stone. Stone to wood? She'd have to be touching wood and 'copy' the molecular structure, because wood is an organic compound and therefore seriously complicated. Marble statue to person? Are you kidding do you know how complex the human body is at a molecular level?!? But she can make things vanish into thin air (i.e. turn them into carbon dioxide or nitrogen or a combination of regular air gases), which is probably what she uses it for most - it's a great defense.

Anyway. Not sure as to her 'kryptonite' yet... but it sounds like a great superpower to have. ;P

8. If you entered a fictional world, what is the worst thing that could happen to you?

Die.

Obviously.

Actually, being forced/manipulated to cause another person's death would be way worse. Or not saving someone I was responsible for. 

9. What kinds of book covers don't you like?

Ones that look like contemporary YA romances. Know what I mean? I can't really describe it, but there's this... fluffy angsty sort of look about them??

Ones with people whose heads are cut off.
...by the edge of the cover, I feel I need to specify. Not actually cut off.

Also ones that dON'T MATCH THE REST OF THE BOOKS IN THE SERIES.

10. Which fictional character would you want as your sidekick?

Considering the depth of my answer to #6, a Robin is a pretty good choice. (Except when they keep dying.) Probably Tim.

But, you know, I reckon Hawkeye would make a great sidekick. xD

No, wait. Bucky.

I DON'T KNOW.

11. What fictional character would you want as your arch-nemesis?

Someone really lame...

i.e. NOT Moriarty, Loki, Artemis Fowl, and all the rest of those mentally/morally unstable geniuses. (Genii??)

But now I think about it, this is an interesting question. We think of "arch-nemesis" as "worst enemy", but it actually isn't. "Nemesis" means "the inescapable agent of someone's or something's downfall" [according to my helpful Professor Google]. And "arch-" is "from Greek 'arkhos' meaning 'most important'". So I guess arch-nemesis means approximately "person who will inescapably do most of the causing of your downfall". They don't even have to hate you, I'm pretty sure?

So I think I'd want someone morally good causing my inescapable downfall. (I don't know... is that possible? I just don't want my legacy to be "Overthrown by villain; evil wins again".) And smart (it would be embarrassing if they bumbled their way into causing my downfall ;P). But I'm having trouble thinking of a specific character, because I need to know where I'm [down]falling from. Am I a genius? Am I a superhero? Supervillain? Am I... me? I don't have enough data to answer this question. ;P

And those are my answers to the questions! 

 

*everyone breaths a sigh of relief*

I don't know where the rules to this tag are (I think I lost them) but I believe they are:

- Answer 11 questions,
- Tag 11 bloggers, and
- Ask them 11 questions.

(Just as a side note, why is it that many tags seem so taken with Eleven?)

...

...(Fair point.)

Anyway, now I've found/made up the rules, I'm going to ignore them! Again! Because I DO WHAT I WANT. Still, I'd like to see Mary Katherine answer Lisa's marvelous questions for the Sunshine Blogger tag, so I'm not going to ask new ones. And you know I never tag 11 people. Because Maths.

But if you like these questions, steal the tag! And I'll come over and read your answers. :)

-------

Sorry for putting you through that! Whose sidekick would you like to be? Who would you want for a sidekick if you were a superhero? Did I go on about superheroes for way too long? Can you wiggle your ears? Would you like to be Halt's apprentice? [Ranger's Apprentice series, if you don't know.] Talk to me about families in contemporary fiction! Tell me all the things!!