Tag: The Mystery Blogger Award

Whew, it's been a while since I did a tag! And thus, I have quite the backlog...including three tags of the Mystery Blogger Award (thank you so much to everyone who tagged me!), so that's what I'm doing today!

(Also, and I wouldn't usually interrupt a post to give a life update, but this seems notable: as of the day this post is published, I'm leaving to drive to college with my mom the day after tomorrow. And I am a complete mess. Emotionally, I mean. I'm very organized, physically. Of course. So, I'd appreciate prayers, if you have some to spare. :))

Anyhow, with that totally awkward intro done with...on to the tag!

Praecepta: 
Display the award logo on your blog.
Mention Okoto Enigma, the creator.
Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog. (Thanks Jan, Elizabeth, and Havalah!)
Answer 5 questions from the blogger who nominated you.
Tell your readers 3 things about yourself. (I guess that means...nine? XD)
Share links to your best posts. 
Nominate 10-20 bloggers for the tag. (WHAT)
Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice—including one weird or funny question.
Continue the chain.

(I have too little energy to find a picture or gif for every question, so here, have some header pictures for each section. XD)

Jan's Questions:

Would you rather explore the ocean depths or explore space?
Both of those sound terrifying. Both of them carry the hazard of dying from not being able to breathe if equipment malfunctions. And I don't like that. Not a bit. 
But honestly, there's probably more to discover in the ocean than in space--most of the exploring of space is done by telescopes, not people.
So, ocean. 

If you could talk with an author for a day, who would you choose?
Argh, you need to be specific with this question! Am I allowed to choose a dead author? Or are only living ones fair game?? Because that makes a difference. 
If I'm allowed to choose a dead author, I'm going with Tolkien 100%. (Although there's a tiny part of me that wants to say Lewis or Chesterton or L'Engle, not gonna lie. But it's definitely Tolkien.) 
But if I'm not allowed to choose a dead author, I think it would probably be Nadine Brandes. She's just so lovely and generous with her time, and an amazing writer, and very open about her process, and good at encouraging young writers...yeah. I honestly have recurring dreams where I get to talk to her, and I'm always sad when I wake up.

What’s a food you never get tired of eating?
Tomatoes! I could eat tomatoes all day and night, and I would never get tired of them.
Also raspberries, but you all know about my love of raspberries already, so I thought I'd go with something new.

If you were a book character archetype, what would you be?
Good question! What counts as a character archetype? *one internet search later* Okay, I'm not going to try to find a standard list of character archetypes. Nothing Doing. There are far too many. 
I'd say that I'm the classic If No One Else Is Going To Lead I'll Do It character, or perhaps the Reluctant Hero. Or the Naggy Older Sister. 

Are you scared of bugs?
"Bugs" is an awfully broad term...define your terms, guys! ;) But overall, no, I'm not scared of bugs. Sometimes I get startled by them, but I'm generally not scared of them.
Examples:
-I'm a beekeeper, and love it.
-I let a spider have a web on my desk for a week, because it wanted to be there, and there wasn't any reason for it not to be.
-I was cleaning out some old hive boxes last week, and there were three inch-long spiders involved, plus a possible black widow, and I did not scream even once, I don't think.
-I actually really like earwigs, snails, and pillbugs. They're nostalgic for me.

Elizabeth's Questions:

What is the first pairing you remember shipping?
Good question! To which I have no answer. 
Is this, like, first ship ever? First couple I wanted to get married? First couple I hardcore shipped? Very ambiguous. 
Probably the first couple I really shipped was Eilonwy and Taran in The Book of Three series, although it wasn't super hardcore...in the books I read as a kid, everyone always got married to the person they were supposed to, and so none of my shipping was especially hardcore?
My first hardcore ship was probably Will and Alyss in Ranger's Apprentice...

What is the weirdest, most unusual, or one-of-a-kind thing you own?
Well, I own several strange, unusual, and one-of-a-kind things, but one of my favorites is definitely the list I have that my mom & dad made of the names they were considering for me, if I was a boy or a girl. Which is really cool! It's kind of like looking at a bunch of alternate selves. :) Fun fact: if I was a boy, they were going to name me Dominic...and that was their boy's name for both my sisters, too. But neither of my brothers is named Dominic. :) Also, I was quite close to being named Chiara, but they thought people wouldn't be able to pronounce it properly. 

If you had a surprise birthday being thrown for you, what are 3 fictional characters you would want to be there and why? or (What fictional character would you pull a prank on someone with?)
Hm. As Miss Megan observed, it would be a little weird to have fictional characters showing up at a surprise birthday party, because the adoration would be so one-sided.
However, that aside, I think I'd want:
-Sam Gamgee, because he seems like he would be good at a party, and would probably bring something delicious to eat.
-Kyle from the I Am Margaret series, because he is my boi, and every good party includes a priest, right? Right? Or is that just my family's parties? XD 
-Eddis, from the Queen's Thief series, because I want someone from that world, and she seems like the least stabby one, at least in a party scenario. (Sophos would also be a possibility.)
Now, a prank...I would definitely want to pull with Gen. That would be epic. 

If you could steal a costume or an outfit from a show/movie, which one would you take?
I've not given this one much thought, ever. So, good question! I think I'd take Jasmine's dress from the first scene with her in it in the live action Aladdin. I've honestly thought seriously about trying to recreate it, I like it so much.

What was the last line in a book, line in a movie, or lyric in a song that hit you hard?
What exactly does "hit you hard" mean? (*whispers* define your terms, this is your last warning). In any case. 
I think it might be a line in The Power and the Glory, which is minor spoilers, so please avert your gaze if you haven't read it! 

"He felt only an immense disappointment because he had to go to God empty-handed, with nothing done at all. It seemed to him, at that moment, that it would have been quite easy to have been a saint. It would only have needed a little self-restraint and courage." 

But also, I just read Piranesi last week, and I loved the line "I am a Beloved Child of the House." 

Havalah's Questions:

Which fictional food would you love to try?
November Cakes. I mean, I've made them before, but a) they were gluten-free egg-free, which is quite different from the original, I imagine, and b) I don't think that even the gluten-full egg-full version would live up to the book.

If you could force a fictional antagonist to read a book of your choosing, who would it be, and which book would you choose?
Hm. I have never thought of doing anything remotely like this. I don't know yet who I'd make read something, but I do know what I'd make them read--Orthodoxy, by G. K. Chesterton. Most definitely. That covers a lot of ground, and I think it'd be relevant to many villains. 
Come to think of it, I think I might make Ultron read it. 
It does, after all, describe him very well in the chapter titled "The Madman", I think. 
That might wake him up. 

What’s a movie that you thought was actually superior to the book?
The Princess Diaries. Those books were trash, and that movie is one of the few that I've watched more than twice. 

Under what circumstances would you consent to burning your entire book collection? (*cackles*)
None?? No circumstances? Probably? Maybe if you were going to kill everyone I love otherwise? Or even one person I love otherwise, really. Because people are more valuable than books. But I don't think I'd otherwise burn them, even if you offered me a million dollars...some of my books have sentimental value to me that I couldn't get back for money. 

What’s a ship that you hate but it seems like everyone else loves?
Well...hm. I don't know that there are many ships that I hate vehemently against the world, but I suppose I dislike the whole "*spoiler*tasha" thing in Age of Ultron (ironic, isn't it, given that that's my favorite Marvel movie? That that's the one where one of my favorite characters is in a ship that I REALLY don't ship?) 
Also, I don't ship Peeta & Katniss. Like, at all. So there's that. ;) (I also could not really care less about the whole series, so.) 

Some of my Best Posts (I honestly don't know if these are the best, just some of my recent favorites):
Review: "The Power and the Glory" by Graham Greene
Lewisian Musings: Oppositional Friendship
Shadows
Women and Action Movies

Nine Things About Me (which are going to be related to my answers to the questions, because that's fun):
1. I honestly find the chapter "The Madman" in Orthodoxy quite scary, simply because there's too much of me in it. When I told my spiritual director this, he laughed. Quite possibly because he knew I wasn't wrong.
2. One time, I asked a question at a webinar with Megan Whalen Turner, and she answered my question. (Yes, I was on a high for like, days.)
3. I actually have burned books before. 
4. The Book of Three series is the first series I remember reading on my own (besides Magic Treehouse, which doesn't count because I didn't read all of them.)
5. I love inspecting my bees, even though I always get really sweaty, stress out about squishing the queen, and end up smelling like smoke. (Actually, I love smelling like smoke, so that isn't really a detraction. XD)
6. One year, my mom got exactly zero tomatoes because I ate all of them right before they were ripe because I have the patience of a neurotic squirrel where tomatoes are concerned.
7. My middle name is the name of the saint whose feast is on my parents' anniversary. 
8. The way I'd least like to die is by drowning or suffocating. 
9. I squished a wasp with my hand the other day. (My hand was enclosed in a glove at the time. But it was still intimidating.) 

My Questions:
1. What would be your ideal death? Or to ask it another way, how would you like to die? (I know we don't have a choice in it, but it's an interesting question.)
2. What's the first book series you remember reading all the way through? 
3. What's the best non-fiction book you've ever read?
4. If you could only read books from one country for the rest of your life, what country would it be? 
5. What is something that you've seen, read, heard, or felt recently that made you catch your breath and perhaps gaze/listen with wonder? 

And finally, I tag:
There's no way I could possibly tag ten people (at least, there's no way to possibly tag ten people at the level of tired and overwhelmed I am right now), and since I know a bunch of people have been tagged already, I shall just tag anyone who wants to answer the questions, either on your blog or in the comments! (This is very out-of-character for me. I must be really tired. XD)

Have you ever killed a wasp? Do you have any idea what alternate names your parents had in mind for you? What's your favorite thing to smell like? (Okay, that was a weird one.)