Oh Dear!

Dear Nameless you are my progenitor, my faceless amnesia, my curse.

Dear Mochai unlucky girl, you paint rainbows on barred windows and run from thunder.

Dear Ei Vene my beautiful corpse you speak only to yourself.

Dear Varian trickster, psychopomp you slip through doors three sizes too small.

Dear Theron you are my sanity, my humanity, my ability to function in a world gone mad.

Dear Yves speak to me only in poetry, you are my ink, my blood, my raison d’etre.

Dear Nikolai you are voodoo manifest.

Dear Dread you are the darkness, the wall-crawling shadow, my rusted clockwork heart.

Dear Mollie there exists no grudge that you have not borne.

Dear Kesai you keep your fangs tucked beneath an alluring smile.

Dear Kimaxsis your tongue could slice through barbed-wire, you are my fire, my anarchistic heart.

As far as poetry goes this isn’t really but it is deeply personal. The above characters are me, every one of them. Some time ago my therapist asked me to make a list of my different “aspects” so that we could discuss them and perhaps in time reintegrate them. When the exercise was first suggested to me I was terrified. Did I really have multiple personalities? In truth I am not sure if what I have could be considered distinct personalities. They do not identify themselves by name. I do not forget my loved ones, my blog, or certain aspects of my life. I have memory gaps certainly. I have mood swings that alter my personality. I have variances in my medical results and performance/skill sets. I am inconsistent but do I really transform into someone else? For this exercise I have chosen to flesh out what are in truth rather ambiguous characters. These characters do not all manifest with the same frequency and not every trait assigned to them is always outwardly apparent. There is some wrestling/arguing that goes on between them as well.

I have used game characters to represent my internal personas in some instances because they are so closely matched. All the characters I have used come from Planescape Torment, which is why I am so drawn to the game, it is the most myself I can possibly be.

So now I will introduce you to the “aspects” in summary and expose you to my deepest weaknesses and most disturbing behaviors at the same time. Do not read further if you do not want to know because unlike me you probably can’t unknow things.

The Nameless One is an amnesiac immortal. He has literally been through hell and back. Each time he “dies” a new incarnation rises up within him. These “deaths” are gradually unraveling his mind and eventually he will lose the ability to pull himself back from the void. I think it is more than a little obvious why I relate so strongly to this character. I am this character or rather this character is a fragment of me. I have the amnesia, I have the traumatic PTSD-inducing past, I am slowly but surely losing my mind. The Nameless One draws suffering souls to him like a magnet. I draw suffering souls. He is charismatic and has a strong influence over others. I can be dangerously persuasive both intentionally and unintentionally. This aspect has a strong will and therefore prefers to keep company with strong-minded individuals who are not easily molded or broken. The Nameless One is also sarcastic, he sees the absurdity in life, and is known to play the devil’s advocate. He is physically strong and has a high threshold for pain. This is the part of me that falls down a flight of stairs, stands up bruised and bloody with no fuck’s given. This is the part of me that heals obscenely fast. This is the part of me that was physically stronger than all the other kids in school. This is the part of me that stopped bullies dead in their tracks and made them back off without so much as a word. The Nameless One marches to the beat of his own drummer.

Mochai is a weak character and represents the more pathetic aspects of my nature. Physically she has large brown, heavily-circled eyes, dresses in over-sized rags, and has thick, brown shaggy hair. She is superficial and easily influenced by other people. She is needy and suffers from two conflicting impulses to be invisible and to fit in. She has really bad luck and is regarded by most to be annoying and unlikable. She is irresponsible, dependent, lazy and mooches off of others. She complains a lot. She avoids confrontation whenever possible and has a hard time assuming responsibility for her actions. She is jealous and has serious trust and abandonment issues. She is the part of me that is terrible with math and is always getting lost and overwhelmed by the basics of daily living. She is of low intelligence. She is socially incompetent. She is the one most effected by my father’s brain-washing strategies. She has next to no confidence and lives in constant fear. She is the one who became afraid of Freddy Kruger.

Ei Vene physically: tiefling, corpse white, bony, black hair, orange sickly eyes (nearly blind), talons for fingernails. Like Mochai Ei Vene is socially incompetent and isolated but unlike Mochai she enjoys the solitude and does not seek the approval of others. In fact she is largely oblivious to other people and talks primarily to herself/inanimate objects. She is grumpy and accidentally insulting. She is also bossy. She is creepy/weird and likes scary movies. She is also the part of me that excels at medicine. Ever since I was a girl I have had an intense fascination with all things medical. She is the part of me that aced the military placement exam in medicine right out of high school.

Varian is one of the more mysterious aspects of myself, the part that leads people to think I am a ghost and/or that I have supernatural powers. Physically he is very tall, white hair, jagged teeth, one silver eye that sees into other dimensions and one gold eye that sees into the past/future, he wears a top hat, carries a cane, and has a Steampunk style of dress. Varian is very curious and inquisitive. He is peculiar and has no understanding of personal space. He can sense spirits, predict death, and helps people to crossover. He moves oddly and seems to be out of sync with the rest of time. He loves sweets and cute animals. He has excellent coordination and is very graceful and quick. He can appear out of nowhere and disappear half-way through a conversation. Varian is insanely lucky and when he wishes for something it almost always comes to pass. He has saved my life more than once. I am not really sure if he is a guardian or if he is an aspect of myself. He appeared to me in a dream once.

Theron is the most normal of all the mes in many respects. He is sweet, laidback, considerate. He is a good listener and tends to be on the quiet side. He is good at school including mathematics. He is very patient and contains a good percentage of my wisdom. He has recovered from my past trauma or perhaps is unaware of it I am unsure, he is like the me I might have been if I had not been traumatized. He has a quiet confidence and enjoys trying new things. He can write but does not contain my poetical muse, so he is not the me that writes poetry. He is is the me that functions as an adult, the one who got me through school, he keeps my relationships from crumbling. He is loyal and compassionate. He is passionate and generous sexually.

Yves is the writer hence her being the one who bares my pen-name. Yves loves reading, loves hearing other people’s stories, is obsessed and consumed with writing poetry. Yves is often caught up in daydreams and like Mochai tends to be avoidant (largely because she is lost in thought). She loves long walks. She is very passionate about her favorite topics but when out of her element she is easily distracted. She loses track of time and tends to run late. She is sensitive, prone to melancholy, stubborn, attractive, and prefers a Bohemian-style of dress. She is the me that as a child went around knocking on doors and asking people their stories. She sometimes forgets the aspects of daily life. She takes people’s pain into herself and feels very very deeply.

Mollie this is the aspect of myself that comes from my grandmother. As you know my grandmother raised me partially and kept a very watchful eye over me, she was in every aspect of my life. This is the part of me that has the same conversation 15 times in a row, the part of me that holds grudges, the vindictive, intense, needy, jealous, manipulative, and inappropriate part. This is the part of myself whose love looks a lot more like obsession. The part of me who is moody and tries to micromanage the lives of my family. This is the part of me that wants to know everything about what a person is doing and where they are, the paranoid and suspicious part. The part of me whose fear of men has become angry. This is also where my coldness comes from.

Dread is the aspect of myself that holds the bulk of my self-loathing. He is tortured and unstable and like Ei Vene talks to himself. He is that scary ambiguous part that contains all the traumatic things I cannot remember. Dread is the one that holds my suicidal urges and a portion of the rage that occurs with abuse. He is not a human he is more of a scarecrow hybrid (he is tall and thin, tan, weathered-abused skin, long black dreads, somewhat pointed features, and strange purple eyes). He is also a an ascetic by nature and deprives himself of those things which he needs to function/be happy.

Tiefling Kimaxsis

(She has white hair cut in punk-style, piercings, tattoos, extra appendages, fit body)

She is aware of her demonic heritage/traumatic past. She strives for independence. She is assertive and confident and though a loner is capable of socializing. She is alert and has a lot of energy she is my powerhouse when I need to get something scary/daunting done. She is not very patient and detests personal weakness and excuses. She is the driven ambitious part of me. She is tough love and no-nonsense. She is the part of me that is good at training. She is a rebel and an individual and stands up for me when peer-pressure gets too much. She does not care what others think but is not randomly violent. She is feisty and has a sense of humor (that is also the easiest way to get her to like you is to be funny/sarcastic).

Kesai Mixed Demonic

(alarmingly voluptuous, thick curly black hair, fangs, red eyes, blue/grey skin.)

Kesai is the part of myself that is in denial about our past and our unsavory genetic heritage. She is interested in dreams and tarot and various forms of mysticism. She has not followed in the foot-steps of our parents and is the one who cut ties with our dad. She is flirtatious, sociable, and charismatic. She is also the more girly side of myself, the side that likes to have pretty things. Though not conventionally beautiful her personality makes her interesting. She is a mix of vulnerability, passion, strength, and anxiety. She has a touch of naughtiness but is essentially good. She is fearful of hurting other people if her powers get out. She is the part of me that my acupuncturist declared was a succubi.

Nikolai- Human

(dark red hair, green eyes, sometimes wears a black mask over his mouth)

Nikolai is an unusual case because he actually does not share my past. He was close to his father as a small child. His father was a quiet man but never harmed him. His mother was young and disinterested in family life. When he was 8 his dad was arrested for murder. His mom abandons him because of his similarities to his father. He is tormented much of his adolescence for being the son of a murderer. He is a self-destructive boy, who does not know how to feel about his parents. He is tormented and misunderstood and outright hated for things beyond his control. He is eccentric and likes games. Despite all this though he retains some sense of hope and humor that keeps him always on the edge of sanity, just managing to eek out an existence. He is very intense and his love is obsessive but it is love. He does not ask for much, almost nothing. He does not speak ill of others either despite all they have done to him.

Now you may wonder how he fits in with the others stemming from what seems a different past

The how is very painful but here goes

My mom was young, often absent, and emotionally distant.

My dad was in jail for a very long time when he was young for attempting to murder a man by setting fire to him, another man I believe he ran over. He also nearly beat his first wife to death. As a kid the police would sometimes come looking for him or stop him for various things that I never really did understand. Let us just say they kept an eye one him.

My dad could not pass as normal, he never fit into society, could not maintain employment, and people where scared of him wherever we went. In fact he outright repulsed everyone.

While my dad would beat an adult as soon as look at them he did not beat me, my mom was the physical enforcer of punishments. I think Nikolai might be the side that tried the hardest to understand my dad even though he never really succeeded. He was the part of me that learned to cope without a role model, without necessities like food and safety, without even basic human kindness. He learned to see the good in others, even when others could not see the good in him. He is also the one that got stuck caring for my dad and talked him down from harming others.

OctPoWriMo

Wordle #214 (Audio)

214

When will these wounds clot?

Is it from pond or sea that

The umbilicus drinks?

I have no money and no morals.

I am without friends

I cannot speak of the DNA within

For I’ve no inkling to my beginnings.

A great many things will kill a man

When conducted in excess.

(Solitude is by far the slowest way to die.)

I have only scars and they alone entice me.

I cannot involve others in my suicide

However, impervious these cells to my efforts.

With each death the madness quickens.

I have broken men apart with my bare hands,

Bones a’splinter, organs slit from their casings

I am a butcher, a man rejected by death.

Today I am lucid.

Today I seek the one

Who has condemned me.

Poor, decrepit soul that I am

Do not hamper me with signals

With teeth bared and bridges asunder

Allow me only to pass

From these multifarious skirts

Into the great, abhorrent beyond.

Witch, skull-shaker

Do not speak to me

Of your unrequited loves,

Of your suffering

For it is my soul that has been stripped

And I’ve nothing left to spare you.

*

First let me say there is something up with my microphone which has given a very strange effect to the reading. I recommend having the volume low on this one. I had thought of scrapping the audio because my microphone is not working correctly but my reading is good/vehement so I kept it. I actually find the reading with the microphone effect, content, and delivery to be scary and I read it lol This poem is based with creative license on

The Nameless One

Audio

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0xaYNHRuosB

For

https://sundaywhirl.wordpress.com/2015/09/06/wordle-215/

 

Writing Prompt #113 and Photo Challenge #69 and Wordle# 207

5 Letters

5 Letters

The door is flesh, nameless,

Scarred to parchment

Tattoos choking out

The panes like gorse

And the grains

Running contrary

Sporadic as the kisses

Of reassembled sweethearts.

The door is a werewolf

Rising with the sclera.

The great white witch

Darkly persuasive

Weaves her spells

Into the courier directly,

An efficient brand,

A cowl of blades

Shimmering but deadly.

The door is a carnival

Contrived of lanterns

And balls of rain heavy

As the glass they frame.

Blind as a doll

She hunts by ear

Poised like a scorpion

Behind the resurrection.

The door stands alone

Without the bother of insertion

The heartbreak of a Ferris wheel

Unoccupied but toiling ceaselessly

Through a patina sky

As if repetition could recall

The miracle of fullness.

*

For

208

and

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2015/07/14/photo-challenge-69-illumine-july-14-2015/

 

and

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2015/07/12/writing-prompt-115-saint-lawrence-river/

 

Tale Weaver Prompt #3 Making Sense of the Nonsense (and a note for photographers)

He called himself a Grezzle

Though no one knew

What the appellation implied.

Was it an endearment from youth?

Did it indicate his rank or station?

Was it a gang sentiment or warning?

Was it nonsense or the abbreviation

Of an equally improbable brand?

 

I could discern nothing in the vacuum

That had absolved him entirely from sight

And I suspect the nothingness

Ran deep for his smile too was empty

A basin, a scoop, queerly toothless.

Whatever may be gleaned from his omissions

He suffered no infirmary.

His thoughts were voluminous

Beyond our petty human musings.

I found myself fumbling

Within his scarred orifices

Infinite and minute

He became an object of great fascination

Like a local quarry or a derelict house.

 

I suspect he was not a man

An alien, a demon, a quasi god perhaps

But no man ever lived such as this.

A Grezzle may well have been a sentient

As of yet unrecorded.

He lived amongst us

Curiously, in his corner house

Arranged with doll-like fragility.

He never sat in those timid chairs

Or laid in his well-dressed bed

He didn’t even bother to disguise

The plastic fruit

The neat rows of unused china cups

The gape-mouthed closets

That held not a stitch.

 

I believe the only object

For which he had any use

Were the books

But he did not read them

He opened his great round mouth

And swallowed them whole.

Then to our amusement

He’d recite the entirety of them

Male or female, young or old

He could become anyone

And had he access to our diaries

He might well have taken our souls.

 

I think I may have loved him

To look into that mouth, like a universe

I felt things more immense

Than the heart set to contain them

I knew things that words cease to mention

Though not for want of trying.

His jaw and nose were perfect

The thick hair that never wholly settled

The great height and the athletic form

The patient eyelids forever pressed

And those lips behind which nothing

And everything was simultaneously glimpsed

There is no doubt that he saw me,

Every molecule

Even my nonsense must have meant

A good deal more to him than it did to me

For he always took the time unravel it.

 

We made a monument for him,

A great black obelisk

Which stood outside

The now gutted library

On the day he disappeared

(and he really did right in the middle of tea

his unfilled cup the very last implication

Of his occupancy)

Instead of flowers, sheaths of paper

Of poems and cockeyed manuscripts

From the grandest to the most feeble

Of our literary attempts

And though we never saw him again

I suspect he saw us quite clearly

For every page was seized by morning.

*

This character is influenced somewhat by a character called O in Planescape Torment but I put my own spin on it. I love creating characters and couldn’t resist using Grezzle as a name XD

For

https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2015/03/05/tale-weaver-prompt-3-making-sense-of-the-nonsense/

*

Photographers

If you are willing to share your photos for inspiration and use at my writing group Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie please  contact me either by email or in the comments below. We will give credit and link up to your site(s). If you have any additional stipulations or requests please explain in your message.

Heeding Haiku with HA: To Feel the Night

58e55847ba4cf1560364ffadd9a55c1d

Alexander Fedosov

The moon is a bier

A demented virago

Pleading in the dark

*

When I am out looking at the moon I always make up stories about her (I see the moon as female). There is a character in Planescape Torment Deionarra who even in death remains enamored and obsessed with the main character. Her appearance makes me think of the moon and so I just tied them together. The image is an artists interpretation of Deionarra.

Submission for

Heeding Haiku with HA

What’s in a name? (short story almost 500 words)

nameless_one_by_grosnus-d4xufm4

Art By: Grosnus depiction of The Nameless One

Death comes daily but without banishment. The streets are overrun with cadavers. Man has achieved immortality but it is not the blessing vacuously conceived.

*

Slayer of the Undead” “Scythe Wielder” “Mercenary of Charon” “Sweeper” Titles coined but not carried. The official name of my faction is “The Immaculate”. To join one must be alive and genetically unmodified. As the aforementioned names crudely indicate I am or at least I was a Reaper.

*

My faction refers to the Undead as “Deadseed” for their inability to reproduce viable offspring. Every child born of a Deadseed is born without sentience or the capacity for animation. Proof that their kind is not meant to exist. “Mods”  “Godseed” “Immortals” “Children of Methuselah” “Axolotl” names affectionately forged by the populace, the majority of which are genetically altered.

*

Even for the so-called Immortals a day will come when nothing savable remains of their minds. Lunatics prowl the streets feasting on offal, nameless, and abhorred. Crematoriums run nightly that bodies might be conveniently “lost”. To dispose of an Immortal one has to destroy the shell entirely. I fed the furnace with my riotousness, my grey robes reeked of soot and burnt flesh. To my faction I was a hero. To the government I was a silencer and unbeknownst to the denizens I was a truth-slayer. Most people believe the demented street-dwelling Zombies to be a different and inferior version of man. I disposed of the bodies, the government of all traceable record. Brain-washing is common practice, humanity remains largely ignorant of consequence.

*

In the beginning I killed only the deranged corpses festering in the alleys without name or consignment but that any Deadseed should exist was to me unthinkable. I began eliminating wives, husbands, brothers, sisters high-functioning members of society. I became a murderer and a messiah simultaneously. I was doing God’s work or so I believed. I drew the wrath of both the denizens and the government and drove my faction to fanaticism.

*

The day I died was the day I became a hypocrite. My body awakened of its own accord, I was not of pure blood and by my own standards no longer human. Had I truly been a messiah I would have marched my sentient carcass to the Crematorium but my brush with death had put the fear in me. I didn’t want to be erased so I hid and so I remain hiding my brethren beating down the walls of my heart. “Judas” “Blasphemer” “Abomination”. How is it that a corpse can know such pain? 

*

I wrote you a short-story influenced by Planescape Torment which I’ve been playing. Written with extreme haste in the early morning so I apologize for any mistakes!

Personality Test (with totems)

BFtzqmbCEAEDT5F.jpg largeAndrew Ferez

Today’s quiz is “What Planescape Torment Character are you” Don’t worry you don’t  need to know the game and it is essentially a personality profile. This one is quite long because you have 20 possible outcomes and I believe 13 questions. I still didn’t manage to get all the characters of interest in! I won’t be able to give you a picture for all the characters because many of them are secondary but where a picture is possible I will link it. You will naturally receive a detailed response including information on your totem =) Select all that apply. I make no distinctions between male and female so if you are male you could end up with a female character or vice versa.

Let’s talk communication

  1. I am known for my witty comebacks
  2. I have a very expressive face and I am a very good-listener
  3. I do my utmost to avoid conversation and to that end I can be quite rude
  4. I talk about myself a lot. I am a terrible listener.
  5. If I don’t agree with what is being said I don’t have issues ending the conversation and/or severing the relationship altogether.
  6. I am quite the story-teller and I love nothing more than to exchange stories
  7. I like to gossip and though I don’t mean harm I often stick my foot in my mouth.
  8. I have quite the foul mouth and I can be extremely offensive
  9. I enjoy flirting and personal conversation. I am physical.
  10. I’m very passionate but I am not always good at expressing my emotions
  11. I tend to attract tortured souls. I have an unusual charisma.
  12. I am reserved and quiet but if necessity dictates I can be very thorough in my explanations. I always consider the other person’s point of view.
  13. I refer to myself in the 3rd person and my speech is rather stilted with bits of technical information strewn about.
  14. I have a very difficult time following conversations.
  15. I am charming/friendly/open an engaging conversationalist
  16. I get easily agitated with others. I’d rather focus on my interests than socialize. That said if I find someone who is talented in my area of interest I will follow them around learning as much as I possibly can from them.
  17. I speak in riddles probing unashamedly into the minds of others.
  18. I tend to talk down to others. I am arrogant and intelligent and do not suffer fools.
  19. I like intellectually stimulating conversations and debates.
  20. I am persuasive, manipulative, and given to excessive cruelty

Choose the most suitable description of your wardrobe

  1. My clothes are baggy, worn and my appearance disheveled
  2. My wardrobe is bland and practical.
  3. I’m more or less washing out the same pair of underwear everyday
  4. I wear clothes that accentuate my voluptuous figure/muscular physique
  5. I dress with elegance and taste. I believe one’s scent is just as important as one’s wardrobe.
  6. I wear a frumpy house dress or the male equivalent.
  7. I like soft fabrics and fleshy tones. Long Bohemian skirts are appealing. Males casual.
  8. I like loud colors and fun patterns.
  9. I take very little notice of my clothing
  10. I wear work attire almost exclusively.
  11. I dress so that I may pass unnoticed.
  12. I have piercings, tattoos, and a penchant for leather.
  13. I like navy blues, blacks, and grays. Sensible colors, neat, quasi professional attire
  14. I know how to make an entrance I dress quite extravagantly
  15. I like corsets and full length skirts.
  16. Athletic clothes, I want something light, breathable and easy to move in. I don’t mind exposing flesh.
  17. I am quite dapper if I do say so.
  18. I like silver, bohemian jewelry, and dress with a subtle but undeniable sensuality
  19. I dress to get noticed, makeup is a must, manicures are a must, hair is a must. I am a girly girl and I am not ashamed to admit it.
  20. My fashion sense is a little off

Choose a facial expression

  1. A look of haughty disdain
  2. A soft far-away smile
  3. A look of listlessness
  4. A deeply penetrating scowl
  5. A look of eagerness or confusion
  6. I am comically animated, generally smiling
  7. A grimace
  8. A look of impatience/annoyance
  9. A seductive wink
  10. A big contagious grin
  11. A deranged/unsettling grin/growl
  12. An evil smile or look of disapproval
  13. A look of soul-draining scrutiny
  14. A hint of melancholy
  15. Processing come back later
  16. A back off smirk
  17. An inscrutable but charismatic smile
  18. I am afraid my face shows very little in the way of expression
  19. My appearance is pretty intimidating to be honest. I have a lot of scars
  20. An unwavering stare

It’s your last meal what would you eat?

  1. So long as there’s meat and beer I’m set
  2. Candy!
  3. As if I would eat…I don’t want to look bloated in my dress!
  4. Something from my homeland
  5. Something spicy
  6. Something exotic and illegal
  7. A big elaborate parfait
  8. The heart of my enemy
  9. Something expensive and French
  10. Sushi
  11. My favorite so something like pizza or a cheeseburger
  12. Just so the wine is good and the company engaging I am set
  13. Bring out the ladies!
  14. I’d prefer to dine alone and reflect
  15. Maybe a buffet lots of food big variety
  16. I’d rather spend the night dancing/making love
  17. I’d rather tie up lose ends
  18. I have no need of food I would rather spend my last moments mentally engaged and/or meditating
  19. The soul of my beloved
  20. I’d take the risk and try something new

Can people change?

  1. Yes but it is exceedingly difficult I should know I have made some major changes in my own life
  2. I haven’t figured out who I am yet
  3. The past always catches up to you
  4. People can be broken
  5. People rarely change in my experience but sometimes they surprise you
  6. Knowing oneself is tantamount
  7. People change if they’ve got a good enough reason
  8. Change is necessary but it is also frightening
  9. We are made as we are for a reason
  10. People never change
  11. One’s true nature always shines through. Why fight it?
  12. I fight every day to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes as my parents
  13. If you have a problem with me, that’s not my problem got it? I don’t change for anyone.
  14. I am who I am take it or leave it berk
  15. Sure why not? I mean if they want it bad enough.
  16. I am not really sure if they can but no matter what I do I am always the same
  17. No they can’t so choose your friends wisely
  18. People are either worth my time or they are not. I have no interest in settling for a subpar mate.
  19. People are fickle
  20. “What can change the nature of a man?”

Choose an animal

  1. Octopus
  2. Giraffe
  3. Snake
  4. Goat
  5. Thoroughbred
  6. Ram
  7. Pheasant
  8. Coyote
  9. Weasel
  10. Magpie
  11. Wren
  12. Shark
  13. Dove
  14. Squirrel
  15. Owl
  16. Hedgehog
  17. Lion
  18. Armadillo
  19. Humming Bird
  20. Cicada

 

Choose a fitness activity

  1. Pilates
  2. Ballet
  3. Tai Chi
  4. Weight-lifting
  5. Archery
  6. Krav Maga
  7. Swimming
  8. Yoga
  9. Gymnastics
  10. Contemporary or Modern Dance
  11. HIIT
  12. Are you kidding me? I don’t exercise!
  13. Belly Dancing, Poll Dancing something fun and a little sexy
  14. I have a high metabolism
  15. I am active but I don’t follow an exercise regime
  16. Boxing
  17. I fidget a lot does that count?
  18. I prefer something high energy and fun preferably with friends
  19. Running it’s a good way to clear my head
  20. Martial Arts

Choose a genre of music

  1. Classical
  2. Jazz
  3. J-Pop/Pop or Country
  4. R&B/Pop/Soul
  5. Industrial/Punk
  6. Alternative Rock
  7. Opera
  8. Blues
  9. I prefer live music
  10. Dubstep
  11. I listen to pretty much anything
  12. Classic Rock
  13. Creepy Instrumentals
  14. I don’t listen to music
  15. Rave/Electronica/Techno
  16. Singer/Songwriter
  17. Chant
  18. Indie
  19. Hard Rock/Metal
  20. Goth

Select all conditions that apply

  1. Schizotypal Personality Disorder
  2. ADHD
  3. Amnesia, Dementia, or Epilepsy
  4. Asperger’s Syndrome/Autism
  5. Frequent night terrors/nightmares
  6. Paranoid Personality Disorder
  7. Oppositional Defiant Disorder
  8. I have occasional bouts of Depression
  9. I am a bit of a drama queen
  10. I am a bit of a perfectionist
  11. I have sticky fingers and a bit of an attitude problem
  12. Schizoid Personality Disorder (passivity, lack of emotional expression, indifference to praise or blame)
  13. Psychopathy
  14. Narcissistic Personality Disorder
  15. I admit I’m a bit of a coward at times
  16. I prefer to be left alone if that makes me anti-social so be it
  17. I lost my way once and it resulted in some unfortunate events
  18. I sometimes run away from my problems
  19. Pyromania
  20. I prefer not to say

Are you honest?

  1. I’m a loyal companion but I’ve got a few hide-saving secrets if you get my drift
  2. I have things I’d rather not disclose about myself but I will do as duty compels.
  3. I am not good at keeping secrets mine or anybody elses.
  4. In order to survive/protect I will lie. I am slow to warm up as well.
  5. I can become extremely unstable/hostile if people probe into my mind/heart too much
  6. A person is entitled to some secrets.
  7. I am sarcastic, I like to joke around but what you see is pretty much what you get with me.
  8. There’s a man living in my closet and nobody believes me. I get confused about reality sometimes ya know?
  9. Brutally and I am not interested in other people’s opinions/beliefs.
  10. I stick to the facts. I am very literal.
  11. I am honest but I would tell a secret if it was in the someone’s best interest to do so. I would not keep a secret though cause harm.
  12. I have a pretty faulty memory.
  13. I tell white lies who doesn’t? I am faithful though.
  14. I’d say anything to get my way.
  15. I use deception as a means to get close to others and probe into their sub-conscious minds.
  16. I don’t put on airs and sometimes I am a little mean.
  17. I lie about my past because it is too painful to talk about. Other than that my lies are really pretty harmless I try not to hurt anyone.
  18. I am both open and reserved. I wouldn’t say I was a liar though.
  19. I am honest and accurate in my recall.
  20. I would appreciate if people respected my privacy. I know how to behave in public and I am private but I am not disingenuous. If I give a compliment it has been earned.

Are your attractive to the sex of your choice?

  1. Absolutely (in my imagination)
  2. I’m cute/friendly but easily embarrassed when it comes to romantic things
  3. I am exotic and passionate so of course!
  4. So much so that it sometimes creates unwanted jealousy
  5. While I am not unattractive I am asexual and therefore I would not make for a good partner.
  6. I have my share of suitors but my heart belongs to only one.
  7. I run a little hot and cold which drives some people a little wild.
  8. I am really really awkward
  9. I am focused on my career
  10. I am hideously unattractive.
  11. I take what and who I want by force. I have strong features and my appearance is a bit intimidating
  12. Very it gets tedious sometimes
  13. My personality is abrasive and my looks unorthodox but I am not unpopular
  14. I have no romantic interests
  15. I repulse some and bring others to the point of obsession
  16. I used to be beautiful
  17. Question does not compute…how is this relevant to the quiz?
  18. I am quite fetching but a little hard to get intimately close to
  19. Irresistible but I am careful who I get close to
  20. There is one person who is very taken with me

How’s your temper?

  1. Explosive/Violent
  2. I have little patience for stupidity but I know how to compose myself
  3. I am quick-tempered and expressive
  4. I am very patient and rarely lose my temper
  5. I am extremely unstable and prone to lashing out
  6. I usually combat uncomfortable situations with humor
  7. I am very erratic as for anger I take it out on myself rather than others
  8. I take my anger out on others
  9. I can spend years plotting revenge
  10. I rarely lose my temper but if I do I tend to become silent
  11. I tend to avoid confrontation it makes me very anxious
  12. I am cute when I am angry. I am not very good at standing up for myself.
  13. I am always grumpy and I am pretty free with the insults
  14. I like to be left alone when I am angry the consequences could be very severe if you push your luck
  15. I never lose my temper. I like to talk out my problems like a rational and civilized adult.
  16. I have a dark side we’ll leave it at that
  17. I get frustrated with myself and with unclear directives
  18. I pout, sulk, complain incessantly when I don’t get my way
  19. I like to have a good time and I am pretty tolerant but I can get pretty feisty when wound up
  20. It would take a good deal to make me mad as I consider myself to be a very reasonable and affable person but I would think it very unwise to try

What do you value above all?

  1. Freedom
  2. Experience
  3. Self-expression
  4. Knowledge (I like to solve puzzles)
  5. Money/Power
  6. Individuality
  7. Justice
  8. Self-knowledge
  9. A specific person
  10. Happiness
  11. Love
  12. Friendship
  13. Personal growth
  14. Magic
  15. Duty
  16. Memories/Roots
  17. Life
  18. Family
  19. Peace
  20. Stories

Philosophical Quiz

Surreal-2Sometimes life just sucks. A lot of disappointments to grieve and sort. I was unable to write today. Though it is usually my go to therapy I am feeling too vulnerable and guarded to face my thoughts/emotions on paper. So I decided to do something a little different. I’ve done a quiz at Curious Flowers and decided to do another one here. Your job is simply to answer the questions and I will calibrate the results. If you are uncomfortable posting your answers publicly you can email me. If you are uncomfortable sharing your answers with me but would still like to participate I will give you the answer key. You do not need to know anything about Planescape Torment to participate. A faction is a philosophical school and though these factions are made up they do share similarities with some real world philosophical schools. This quiz is for fun so take at your own risk haha. These philosophies, have at times, featured in my poems.

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What Planescape faction do you belong to? 15 possible outcomes, detailed descriptions provided

Choose the group of positive traits that represents you best (can choose more than one group)

  1. optimistic, hard-working, adroit
  2. avante garde, energetic, daring
  3. meticulous, studious, organized
  4. dedicated, lawful, vigilant
  5. logical, decisive, firm
  6. intuitive, active, spontaneous
  7. enthusiastic, curious, charming
  8. introspective, revolutionary, passionate
  9. persuasive, tenacious, self-assured
  10. charitable, tolerant, practical
  11. observant, articulate, self-reliant
  12. liberal, independent, strait-forward
  13. calm, prudent, frugal
  14. ambitious, resourceful, autonomous
  15. spirited, creative, versatile

Choose the group of negative traits that represents you best (can choose more than one group)

  1. impulsive, disorganized, short-tempered
  2. strict, unforgiving, judgmental
  3. inscrutable, spacy, erratic
  4. suspicious, intolerant, forceful
  5. pessimistic, defeatist, unstable
  6. creepy, unemotional, solemn
  7. perfectionistic, boring, obsessive
  8. opinionated, bitter, loud
  9. stubborn, haughty, impatient
  10. conceited, selfish, patronizing
  11. workaholic, gullible, indecisive
  12. frivolous, immature, hedonic
  13. unreliable, confused, weird
  14. greedy, manipulative, ruthless
  15. destructive, confrontational, disrespectful

What is the meaning of your life?

  1. To escape the karmic cycle of death and rebirth
  2. To discover the laws that govern the universe…knowledge
  3. To unite and move in accordance with the universe
  4. All things are bound to decay…I believe in entropy…let the world destroy itself in its sleep
  5. There is no meaning or purpose to life
  6. Life is a test and I strive that I might realize my true potential
  7. To discover the truth and to help others realize it for themselves
  8. To live life to the fullest
  9. Freedom, independence, the pursuit of self-sufficiency
  10. Clutches throat…pretends to choke…passes out
  11. Peace and the pursuit of justice
  12. Vengeance…ensuring that those who are unjust are punished to fullest extent of the law
  13. Wealth and power I want to live well while I am here
  14. To eliminate and/or reform corrupt political and bureaucratic systems
  15. I am the center of my own universe

Choose an activity (you can choose more than one)

  1. Join a gym or take up martial arts training
  2. Attend a TED talk
  3. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
  4. Travel
  5. Take or offer a self defense class
  6. Teach a class on self-empowerment
  7. Join the citizen’s watch
  8. Get an offshore bank account
  9. Build something of substantial size
  10. Publish an autobiography
  11. Try your hand at graffiti
  12. Hand out seditious literature
  13. Open your own business
  14. Reduce your possessions until only the essentials remain
  15. Play in the park like a child

What job would suit you the best?

  1. A police officer or detective
  2. An accountant
  3. An actor/actress, artist, poet or musician
  4. A mortician or coroner (I am not good with living people)
  5. A scholar or scientist
  6. A judge or warden
  7. A merchant
  8. Unemployment (I’m more the starving artist type)
  9. Journalist and/or activist
  10. I’m a Jack of all Trades
  11. Carpenter, blacksmith construction worker
  12. A teacher or orator
  13. A politician or surgeon
  14. A criminal
  15. A custodian or nurse

Do you believe in a Creator (mark all that apply)

  1. Yes and I believe that I have been provided with everything essential for my success
  2. Religion is a hoax to make money…there is no God
  3. I believe everyone has their own truth…the majority is always wrong
  4. The only constant is change
  5. We are all sinners every one of us…the human race has gone to hell
  6. The universe is governed by laws even if those laws are not readily apparent. I am on the side of science. There is insufficient evidence to prove or disprove the existence of a Creator
  7. I believe there is a common heartbeat…an innate natural wisdom something along the lines of the Tao…
  8. Yes and I’m it berk
  9. There is no hidden meaning or purpose behind life..it is what it is
  10. Religion is an effective method to earn money and obtain power…survival of the fittest
  11. I am devout perhaps even fanatical in my beliefs
  12. I consider myself to be a very open-minded person but I don’t presume to know all the answers!
  13. Life is suffering
  14. Claps hands together excitedly…question…question
  15. I believe in entropy…in decay…if there ever was a Creator they appear to have given up on us a long time ago

Pick a symbol

  1. A mirrored N (used to represent Nihilism)
  2. The atomic symbol (used by Atheists)
  3. Yin/Yang symbol
  4. A circle with giant A (Anarchy)
  5. A heart
  6. A dollar sign
  7. A self portrait
  8. Scales (used to represent justice)
  9. An anvil
  10. An ankh with wings (battered but still standing)
  11. The bio-hazard symbol
  12. Omnidirectional arrows with a center circle (used to represent chaos)
  13. A quill
  14. A guillotine
  15. A vulture

Do you keep your word?

  1. I would say anything to get ahead
  2. I swear allegiance to no one
  3. I am efficient I speak when necessary and I do what needs to be done
  4. You can’t trust anyone
  5. I will expose the truth
  6. If you lie to me there will be a price to pay mark my words
  7. An eye for an eye
  8. I prefer signed agreements
  9. If I’ve promised you anything chances are I’ve forgotten
  10. I prefer formulas…people are difficult to predict
  11. I don’t exactly abide by the laws if you get my meaning…
  12. Not always
  13. I fulfill my contracts to the best of my ability
  14. The only word I value is my own
  15. Barring a mental breakdown or extenuating circumstances yeah

Pick the quotes or sayings that coincide with your thinking

  1. “Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.”
  2. “Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water.“ Bruce Lee
  3. “None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.” Goethe
  4. “What’s mine is mine. What’s yours is mine, unless you take proper precautions.”
  5. “Watch me, Hear me, Smell me, Touch me, Taste me … Know me”
  6. “If you were a dog, what kind of shoes do you think I should wear? Well?!”
  7. “I think, therefore I am…dangerous”
  8. “To Err is Human, to Punish is Divine”
  9. “If everyone is dead then why don’t I remember dying?” “If we’re all alive then why don’t I remember being born?”
  10. “Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who has said it, not even if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.” Buddha
  11. “Singing pounded me in the ocean waves. Without sight, without hearing, I perceived the radiance and the music such was my Source, the origin from which all lives spring.”
  12. “Don’t count your chickens before they’ve hatched”
  13. “One hundred kips all lined in a row, take an axe, some oil and a match, ninety nine kips lined in a row”
  14. The world I desire

    Is the one wrought

    With my own hands

    Is it Narcissism that

    Levitates my pulse?

    Or masochism?

    To shout savagely

    Into a backhanded wind

    That I belong

    Only to myself  (I wrote this one)

  15. Justice is a knee in the gut from the floor on the chin at night sneaky with a knife brought up down on the magazine of a battleship sandbagged underhanded in the dark without a word of warning. Garroting. That’s what justice is.” Joseph Heller

Prompt 38 Tender Love

manequinportraitThis week’s prompt is “Tender Love” which I don’t think requires an extensive explanation.

Here some examples if you need a little direction or clarification (you are not limited to these examples)

Intimacy and disclosure in romantic relationships

Making love for the first time

Kissing

Sympathizing

Parental love (that beautiful moment when you meet your baby for the first time is the best example I can think of)

Caring for animals, children, the elderly, the infirm, the severely disabled

Gardening

Creating delicate art

Prompt 37 Unavoidable Pain

unavoidableThis week’s prompt is one of a series I have planned but no worries I will not be asking you to produce a cohesive story/novel utilizing the prompts. If, however, you would like to use the prompts to create a story please feel free to do so. There will be 20 prompts in this series (including this one). As always I accept all forms of self-expression (photographs, stories, poetry, artwork, videos, music etc.). There is no length restriction on your entries and no need to censor on my account (provide warnings at your own discretion).

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Some examples of unavoidable pain which you are absolutely free to use

Taking up exercise

Medical procedures

Medication

Rescue efforts (ever hurled yourself in the path of a moving object to save someone?)

Job interviews

Raising children

Finding love

Pursuing dreams