The Sunshine Blogger Award

Oh, wooooow, both of my blogs were awarded for the Sunshine Blogger Award by thewindsorlegacy! You can check the award-post here. And the next day after that happened, The Fey of Life was also nominated by blamsart (award post), and The Chrysanthemum Tango was nominated by violincat (award post)! Thank you so much, you all. You’re amazing!

I figured that since I posted my last award-post to The Fey of Life -side of things, this time I’d put the post here for balance’s sake. Anyway, I’m so happy and honoured and I should probably see what I have to do now. Okay, here goes:

Both this award’s name and that pic inspire happy thoughts, and it feels like summer and happiness. Not sure if my stories are about summer and happiness, but I’m so glad to hear that they at least make some people happy!

What is the Sunshine Blogger Award?

Well, it is of course an award for bloggers from other bloggers. It is a beautiful way to share all the amazing things other bloggers do and write about. To recognize their efforts in inspiring others to do what they love.

The Rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 bloggers and add their links.
4. Notify the bloggers you included.
5. Keep the rules in your post.

And here are the questions I was asked by thewindsorlegacy:

1. Would you rather fight a hundred goose-sized elephants or a goose the size of an elephant?
   A goose the size of an elephant. Because a hundred anything vs. one would definitely drop my odds of winning. Though I’d rather not fight any animals.
2. Shuffle your songs on your phone/computer/whatever — what’s the first song that pops up?
   I don’t have playlists (my songs are mixed into my fiancé’s playlist), but if I did, it’s very likely that most of the songs on it would be by Porcupine Tree or Steven Wilson. So one of those, maybe.
3. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to be?
   I’m happy here, at home. Though I’d love to visit Ireland again. It’s like my other home, even though I only lived there for a five-month exchange study -period.
4. Savory or sweet?
   Savory.
5. What made you create your blog?
   My love for Sims stories and storytelling in general. And nostalgia because I have such fond memories of my TS2 -storytelling days.
6. What do you do when you want to relax?
   Go for a walk in the forest, or draw, write, read, meditate, or bike. Or just sit down with a nice cup of tea and some reading or a video I can watch. Or, of course, go to a sauna.
7. What never fails to make you laugh?
   My fiancé being silly. Also cute animals being silly.
8. Do you prefer living in a city or in a rural area? Or somewhere in-between?
   In-between. A small or medium-sized town near a rural area is nice.
9. If you could live in any fictional universe, which would you choose and why?
   This is really a tough one. I’m going to go for nostalgia and say the Disney Ducks -comics universe (as written by Carl Barks and Don Rosa – so not DuckTales). As for why, well, it’s basically like real world but with funny animals, all the myths basically true, and an awesome, rich duck from Scotland owning most of the world.
10. If you could domesticate any animal and have it (safely) be your pet, which would you choose?
    A fox or a lynx… ooh, or a dragon!
11. What is your favorite word?
    I really like most of the Finnish nature words, especially ones that describe wintry things. Out of them all I’m going to say hankiainen is probably my favourite at this moment. It means the phenomenon when the snow can hold a person’s weight (while usually still being rather fluffy underneath a layer of hard snow). In English I just realised I really liked the word serendipity. It’s cute and fancy at the same time. In Swedish I love kramsnö, which means sticky snow, but could literally be translated as “hug snow”. I could go on, but I guess those will do.

Questions from blamsart:

1. Fav song! Right now! I want to discover more
   Sooo many… but I’m gonna say Drive Home or Ancestral by Steven Wilson (and sooo many of his other songs too).
2. How’d you come up with the title/last name of your story?
   For Fey, it was a pun on “the way of life”. For Tango, it was just a random thing. Something about flowers and dancing and beds of roses. And because the word chrysanthemum just stuck somehow.
3. How much space does sims storytelling take up in your life?
   Right now quite a lot, mostly because I’m a student without a steady summer job, so I have a lot of free time. It’ll change a bit once university starts again.
4. Are you sometimes afraid your next hiatus could be your last?
   Maybe? Though I’m very stubborn to finish my stories. I think I’m more worried that I’ll eventually reach a point where I’ve written myself into a corner and just can’t figure out how to gracefully end the story.
5. Favorite type of romance to write?
   Platonic. 😀 Does that count? If it doesn’t, well, I’m not a fan of writing romance, but if I do, it’s slow-building and consists of lots of talking.
6. Any deep dark fears? Like afraid of lightning or water?
   I have mild claustrophobia. As in I feel very uncomfortable with just the thought of being stuck in a space so small that I wouldn’t have room to properly move. Also being outside during a thunderstorm makes me really uneasy.
7. Are you the type to run away from danger or towards it?
   I consider myself a reasonable person with a healthy sense of self-preservation. So I guess it depends on the danger.
8. Do you have any characters that represent who you want to be? Or wanted to be at some point?
   Any non-biological character I’ve ever written, in a way. Sometimes I’d just want to be a spirit of some kind. Or some forest-dwelling pixie-thing. Also any cat character I’ve ever written too.
9. Take one of your characters. Pick randomly! Got them? Okay drop them in a pit of snakes (venom or not? no one knows). What’s their reaction?
   I asked my fiancé to randomly pick a character, and he picked Vanja, so:
   Vanja Leifsdóttir: Oh, good, these make for excellent potions! *zap* –> Dead snakes.
10. Have you ever watched a movie and gone – “oh that gives me a really great idea for my story…”. If the answer was YES, what movie? And what idea?
    When I watched Det Sjunde Inseglet (The Seventh Seal), I was like: “Yes! I want to feature the danse macabre in Tango at some point!” And I did! I’m sure there are other moments like this too.
11. The ultimate question…Patch 1.67 or 1.69? Did you feel the disturbance?
    Yes. I feel the disturbance, but I’m also too lazy to change back to 1.67.

Questions by violincat:

1. Do you have any favorite characters in your own stories? Who?
   I love all of my characters in some ways, but I have to say that Tad has an extra special place in my heart. He’s usually very easy to write, and sometimes he helps me think about things in new perspectives.
2. What are your favorite genres to read or watch?
   Fantasy, especially urban fantasy. Murder mysteries. Dark comedy. Scifi.
3. Which fictional character do you wish you could be real life friends with?
   Death from Discworld. Also Nick Valentine from Fallout 4.
4. Would you rather land the perfect job or find true love?
   Well, right now I’m very happy with the person I’m sharing my life with, so I’m gonna say perfect job.
5. Do you cook or bake? If not, would you want to learn how to?
   I cook and bake. Sometimes it’s fun, and sometimes it’s a chore. Thankfully my fiancé also cooks and bakes so we take turns.
6. What is your dream career?
   Teaching art to kids (not in school) and doing my own creative work on the side.
7. What is the one thing you absolutely can’t live without?
   Food. Water. Oxygen… Okay, but less obviously, art (be it visual arts, writing or whatever).
8. Which country do you most want to visit?
   Right now I really want to go back to Ireland at least for a short visit. I’d also really like to visit Iceland. And Australia and USA would be interesting too.
9. Are you a day or a night person?
   I like evenings the most.
10. Would you want to become famous?
    No. I wouldn’t mind getting a book published or some art into an exhibition or a gallery someday, but I’d rather not become famous.
11. What do you like the most about gaming?
    The interactivity and the extra dimension of immersion it can bring. Also good stories and characters, but I like those in any medium.

And then to the next part… uh… So right now I really have to say that there aren’t enough blogs that I’m following here that I wouldn’t have already nominated on my other two award-posts, so uh… maybe go check them out? I mean, I think the blogs I’ve nominated before are so awesome and great that they deserve heaps of awards! So here’s my Liebster Award -post and my Animal Award -post, where I say nice things about the blogs I’d nominate all over again!

AND I do have a few new finds for awesome reads that I’d like to nominate right now (in alphabetical order):

The Chains of Lyra by Trip – This story is a pretty new one, but it’s already very intriguing with its scifi-premise, with its connection to Trip’s other awesome story Eight Cicadas, and with Trip’s great writing.

The Last 100 Years by JLBDreams16 – Another new story, but it’s also already looking so promising. It has a Korean mythology -inspired setting that had me hooked from the start, and a very nice theme of balancing between past and the present, tradition and change, and experiencing new cultures and also holding onto one’s roots.

The Racket-Rotter Chronicles by Senna – This is a dark, delightfully twisted story set in the Sims 3 world. Great characters, humorous moments, and a good heap of heartwarming blended together with the dark, intense themes and events into a truly great mix. Note: This story is definitely intended for mature audiences.

And here are some questions anyone who feels like answering can answer:

1. What are your greatest blogging-related moments or memories?
2. What is the nicest place you have ever visited?
3. What are your greatest positive qualities?
4. Why do you write? What are the things you like the most about writing?
5. What do you do when it’s raining outside?
6. Favourite drink?
7. Pet peeves?
8. Which superpower would you like to have?
9. Which foreign language sounds especially nice in your opinion?
10. Do any of the characters you write have a specific voice that you hear whenever you write their lines?
11. What are some of the little things in life that make you happy?

Have a lovely day, everyone!