Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Cinderella Tag! Hosted By: Heidi Peterson from Along the Brandywine


Hello my stars! Instead of messing around, I'll get right to business this time. I found out about this awesome party from my fellow blogger Natalie. It's a Cinderella themed blog party hosted by Heidi Peterson from Along the Brandywine  that looked too good to pass up. This is the tag that was required and I had so much fun filling in with my answers. You should probably expect a post every day; I'll be letting out potentially two/three reviews of some type of Cinderella movie. After the party is done, I'll go back to posting every two/three/four days. 

*rubs hands* So here we go!

1. In the vast array of fairytale heroines, what particular character qualities most define Cinderella? 
I believe that her kindness defines hers. She's known for her kindness and her good spirit. And I believe that it's something to admire. True, she only needed a fairy god-mother, a grand dress, carriage, and a nice pair of glass slippers to win over the prince, but she had a hard life before that. It's nice to see that she had patience and that she kept her good spirit and remained kind even to her step-sisters and her step-mother through all of this. That takes some character, let me tell you. I don't think I could have put up with it without getting rebellious.......... or even playing a few tricks on them........

2. What are some of the deeper, big picture differences you see between retellings where both stepsisters are nasty and others where one is nasty and one is kind? How do you think the two takes differently develop/illuminate/affect Cinderella’s character and also the overarching story itself?
When I see the films and movies where both step-sisters are mean, I guess I don't question it. After all, I believe that the first Cinderella I had seen was the Disney one where both of them were mean (That was before Cinderella two and three came out). But then when I had seen some with one of her step-sisters being nice, I liked it. It almost seemed more believable. Because I believe there is such a good chance that at least one of them is bound to almost admire Cinderella for her good spirits and kind nature. And, like in Ever After, I believe that it is possible for one sister to out-shine the other, and there's a good chance that the one feels one step below her sister and one step above Cinderella, so it would be somewhere in the middle.

3. Are you an animal lover? Would you eagerly count mice, lizards, cows, and geese as friends? Dogs and cats? 
Hm..... to be honest, I'm not sure. I've had at least four rabbits, but have never grown super attached to them.... I'm allergic to cats (and I don't like them) and I've been allergic to dogs so long that even though I am not now, I still don't like them near me. I would gladly welcome geese, cows, horses (even though I'm allergic to them too), or hedgehogs..... or even turtles as friends..... So I guess I qualify under a "picky animal lover"

4. After asking question #3, I realized how remarkably many of the adaptations I’ve seen have Cinderella either horseback riding or involved with horses. Have you ever ridden? If so, have you ever ridden sidesaddle or bareback? 
Actually, I am very allergic to horses. But now that I've been getting allergy shots for some years, I have actually ridden a horse before. I didn't ride side saddle or bare-back. I would just ride the regular way, straddling the horse in the saddle.

5. Your favorite Cinderella dress/s? 
Ahhhh. I'd have to say the new dresses from the live action Cinderella and Danielle's dress from Ever After. Also Aurora's dress from La Cenerentola, but it's so unknown, that I couldn't find a full length photo and it's been taken down from Youtube.

Ah, it's so puffy!

I love this one, because it's modern and fairy-tale-ish all wrapped in one dress

Aww, she looks so happy and so beautiful...... 

This was the best photo I could find..... I love her mask as well as her dress

6. Do you ever think of Cinderella while doing your household chores? :)
Hm.... I'm sure I did once, because way back when I was writing my own country Cinderella version. But usually when I do chores now, I think of the song "It's a Hard Knock Life" from "Annie" the musical. :)

7. What major character traits do you think are essential in a faithful prince? 
Um........... I want to say honesty, but ya know, Kit didn't exactly tell the whole truth, nor did he tell a lie. Well, I'll be shallow *hides face is superb shame* and say he has to look decent (I mean who in all truth and honesty wants to marry an ugly guy?), but you know, most of all, not super judgmental, kind, respectful, he has to have a heart as wide as his kingdom is......... He must have a sense of loyalty to his subjects and to his kingdom. 

8. Your top THREE favorite fairy tales (as in the original folk tales, not adaptations). 
This is a hard question. I know for sure that Beauty and the Beast would be among them.... But I'm not sure for the rest. The Grimm version of Cinderella kind of creeps me out, with the step-sisters cutting of parts of their feet to fit into the slipper. Mulan would probably be second... And I don't know if I could name a third.

9. Your top FIVE current favorite fairy tale/legend type films (BESIDES any Cinderella adaptations). 
Fairy tales.... I would say that Beauty and the Beast. I don't know many legends..... But I love the Disney film of Hercules and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I don't know if these would count, but I'm just going to leave them. I guess I'm not a super grand fairy-tale or legend type of person. But admittedly, I have a huge interest in Greek mythology (though I don't believe in it) and deep down, I believe that Atlantis could have existed.

10. If you could play Cinderella and the story could be set in any region of the world and any time period, what would you pick? And what would your dream ‘ball gown’ for it be like? 
Ooh. I think that it would be set in France in the 1880s. And none of my dresses go with the time period, so maybe I could be the straight-forward new trend setter. ;) I am an indecisive person, and I couldn't choose between three dresses, though I'd probably go for the first........

This dress is so beautiful. I actually screen shot these when I had an Instagram account
This is just the back view
                                                   


This dress is also so beautiful. I love blue and mint/ice blue anyways, so there's a 97% chance that my dress would be a form of blue

One last choice for my dress
 11. And (purely for fun :))… what color/s do you immediately associate with Cinderella?
Hm. I associate blue, white, fucshia pink, and greenish-yellow. Blue for Cinderella's dress, fucshia pink for Anastasia, greenish-yellow for Drizella, and white for the fairy godmother.

So, here are my answers for the tag! I hope you enjoy them and be sure to tell me some of your answers or what you think of mine in the comments!

Monday, January 4, 2016

Character Interview: Alex, Ethan, and Evelyn


Hey everyone! After my Writings on the White Fence, I decided to do something that I've never done before; character interviews! Problem was, I couldn't decided which character to do. Which is why I'm going to make a "three part character interview" where I'll just interview them all at one time. That could be dangerous, though..... I'll take my chances. First of all, I'll show you what my characters look like (in my head at least):
*DISCRETION* I do not own any of the PHOTOS of my characters. I found them on Pinterest.

Alex: The Engineer
He has more brawn than brain, logic over reason, etc.
Ethan: The Hacker
He has a lot more brains than brawn, but he's okay at fighting.
Evelyn: The Navigator and Medic
A fighter in spirit but not in skill. Newest member of the Abnegation Rebels.


Me: Alright you guys, are you ready for this? 
Alex: *Peers at my laptop* What are you using? This is so outdated!!!! Ethan, look at what she's using! *smacks Ethan's shoulder*
Ethan: Hm? *Adjusts his glasses* Oh wow. That is ancient. You need some major upgrades. *Picks up my iPhone 5* Why can't I just look up a picture of food and press a button and it's there? 
Evelyn: *takes iPhone 5 out of Ethan's hand* Guys, focus. Interview going on here. 
Me: Thanks, Ev.
Evelyn: Hey, no one calls be Ev but Bennett.
Me: Sorry...... Okay, if you were to have to forfeit one of your rebels, who would you forfeit? 
Alex and Ethan: BENNETT!
Evelyn: (while Alex and Ethan yell) Charlotte!
Me: Um, okay.... Why? 
Alex: Because he's a freaking idiot, that's why.
Ethan: He thinks he knows everything, but he doesn't. We only keep him because he knows how to use a sword............ Now that I think of it, that could be a dangerous thing.......
Evelyn: Guys, there's got to be some good in Bennett.... *crickets chirp as Evelyn thinks* Nope, never mind. I don't like Charlotte; she hates me for absolutely no reason! I didn't do anything to her. And if I could forfeit another rebel, it would be Cynthia. Bye-bye to most of my troubles.Why did you even put them in this book?
Me: *Shrugs* I needed some more characters. (Lies)

Me: Okay, next question, if you were stranded alone for the rest of your life- Evelyn, you can't use your Navigation to get out of this, out of all of you, who would die first?
Ethan: *Raises his hand*
Evelyn: *Tries to put Ethan's hand down* That is so not true. I probably would. Especially without my navigation.
Alex: (Extremely confident) I wouldn't. I'd make it until the end. Either that or I'd just fall down and wait for death to relieve my pain of hunger and loneliness without Amy.
Evelyn: You're an idiot.

Me: Moving on, what would happen if the Power successfully takes over all of California's minds and starts on New York? 
Alex: This world will end, like literally. Everyone will literally be the walking dead. *Smirks* No pun of the television show way back when.
Ethan: They'll all be robots with the Power and the Pawns controlling their minds.
Evelyn: Yeah, what they said. 

Me: Who is the person you'd miss most if they were killed? 
Evelyn: Ethan. Ethan without a doubt. I think I'd curl into a ball and cry for an hour straight. *Hugs Ethan*
Ethan: *Hugs back* I'm so loved.
Alex: Wow, Evelyn. I feel the love.
Evelyn: You know I like you............ But you also know that I love Ethan way more. *Hands up in defense* Emily's cool with it.
Alex: I'd miss myself if I died.
Evelyn: *Slaps Alex upside the head* Alex!
Alex: Okay, okay. I'd miss Ethan or Amy the most.
Ethan: I'd miss Emily if she died. I don't know how I'd go on living.

Me: If you could successfully overtake the Power, what would you do for the people?
Alex: Uh, what we're trying to do now. First, we'd round up everyone and give them our pill, and then we'd work on getting life back to the way it should be.
Evelyn: What about the rest of the world?
Alex: We're only responsible for California. Not New York, not Great Britain, not China, just California. They can deal with their own problems.
Me: Ethan, you have anything to say?
Ethan: Hm? I'm communicating with Emily. 
Me: *Sighs*

Me: If you end up getting caught by the Power, what will you do?
Alex: *Fold arms across chest* I'm not even going to think about that, because I'm not going to get caught.
Ethan: I guess I'll just die......
Evelyn: *Shrugs* Probably just get tortured until they kill me.
Me: You guys are such an optimistic, happy bunch.... *growls and rips up list of questions*
Alex: Hey, mine was optimistic.
Evelyn: Oh Anna, you know I strive to be optimistic. Not.

Me: Ugh. Okay, if there's one thing that you could go back and change, what would it be?
*All three are silent*
Ethan: I'd probably go back to save my mom from that house fire. I could have done something, you know?
Evelyn: I have too many to list..... I'm not answering this, because it's my personal business.
Alex: I'd probably go back and grab my little brother to take with me here. I left him behind..... And I still regret it to this day. Either that or I would have run away sooner.

Me: Okay, let's get on a happier note. Um, if you had to switch rings for one day, what would you switch to?
Evelyn: Hm.... Okay, I'm a Navigator. I'd be a terrible Engineer, a terrible Swordsman, an okay Hacker, and an okay Survivalist. I'd probably be an Archer.
Alex: I like being an Engineer...... I'd probably switch to being a Hacker.
Ethan: I'm a Hacker, but I think that I'd want to switch to be an Engineer.

What's the worst ring you could wear?
Alex: Archer.
Ethan: Survivalist or Swordsman.
Evelyn: Swordsman.

Me: If you came face to face with the Power what would you say to him?
Alex: *Scoffs* Nothing that I can say on your clean, Christian blog.
Me: O-okay then...
Ethan: Same
Evelyn: I guess I would just ask him one question.
Me: Which would be?
Evelyn: (Quietly) Why? Why would you do this to us?

Me: Okay, let's just go basic now. What's your favourite season and why?
Alex: Spring. New grass, new buds, grrrreeeeat fighting weather.
Ethan: Proabably the autumn. I get to wear my jeans and plaid button-ups. 
Evelyn: Fall or winter. I have too many allergies in the spring. 

Me: If you hate Bennett so much, than why is he still here in the Abnegation Rebels?
Alex: I-He-We- ugh. If you ever tell Bennett I said this, I'll will literally beat you up, Evelyn.
Evelyn: Ooh. I have bullets against you. Alright, I won't tell.
Alex: We need him. He's our best swordsman and our best swordsman teacher. That's the only reason we keep him around. 
Ethan: Yeah. I mean, he's pretty mediocre in everything else. I mean, even Evelyn does way better than him.
Evelyn: Hey! I'm pretty okay. Bennett, he- well-
Alex: Evelyn, you need to get over him.
Evelyn: I am over him!
Alex: It doesn't sound like it. You still write about him, you still think about him, you need to let him go. He's an idiot and you don't deserve that.
Evelyn: Agh.
Ethan: Yeah, Evelyn, you could do so much better. 

Me: Okay, let's wrap this up. One more question.. What is your plan for defeated the Power?
Alex: Divide
Evelyn and Ethan: and Conquer.

I hope that everyone liked the interview, and hopefully Alex, Ethan, and Evelyn didn't argue too much for you guys! 

Friday, January 1, 2016

Happy New Year's Day! Welcome 2016!


Ahh, it's finally here! As I'm writing this some days early, but the time it's published, it will be on New Year's Day. Another year has gone by. It seems that not too long ago I was sick and going to be at 7 at night. Well, I guess not too much has changed... I'm still getting over the little case of the sickness that I've had since the last Friday of school before winter break.

I've been looking back on 2015, which has been for sure, one year that I don't think I'll ever forget and I guess I'll be making a "little things" list of everything that's happened in 2015 or just things that I've learned to appreciate even more.

~new beginnings~
~new music~
~new rabbits~
~blog reappearance~
~Anne of Green Gables~
~Newbie Techies~
~Christmas Spec~
~Fall choral concert~
~Visit to a nearby college for girl's choir (THEY HAD AWESOME FOOD ON CAMPUS)~
~U.S. History~
~School's Marching Band won as State Champions~
~Mary Poppins soon to come at our school~
~North and South~
~Abnegation Rebels~
~Dad's laptop that became me and my sister's~
~cookies and Christmas goodies~
~creative writing class~
~Pinterest~
~poetry~


I'm sure there's more but I just can't remember right now. I hope you all have a great day celebrating the first day of the new year!

Here's to another good year!