Truth Interview Thursday Spotlight - Duchess Disdain

Welcome to our Clan Truth Community Spotlight! This week, we are sitting down with one of the nicest admins in the world, the culinary crème de le crème, Duchess Disdain!

Hey Duchess, welcome to TITS. We’re all excited to have you here today. Let’s start out with an easy question. What do you do for work?

I'm a Senior Policy Analyst for Indeed, the job search site. Basically, what I do is research issues pertaining to job seekers' experience on our site and draft policies according to my conclusions and recommendations. My work recently has more to do with project management, international relations, and creating new enforcement mechanisms for our enforcement teams.

Aside from videogames, what hobbies or pastimes do you enjoy?

If any of you frequent the #garden_of_salivation chat, you'll know that I love food and cooking. I do a bit of baking too, but I think I'm a better cook than I am a baker. I'm also really into music - I play piano and violin and dabble in singing (gotta love someone with pipes like yours calling it “dabbling”). I also really like dance and dancing and am always down to watch awesome choreography, from ballet to contemporary to hip hop. I also really like doing my own nails and doing nail art and sculpting nail extensions. I enjoy swimming and golf and like to go on hikes with my dog, Sassy (she’s such a good girl). I'm also exploring coffee, wine, and beer.

What is a skill you have that you take pride in?

I'm not particularly proud of much that I do, like I feel pretty alright about most things, but I am really proud of my handwriting. My print is pretty nice, but I've actually won awards for my cursive (which, surprisingly, is actually a thing).

Any fun facts about yourself?

My family has really interesting roots. My ancestors on my mother's side are of a samurai lineage, and my ancestors on my father's side were a line of Japanese pirates. Apparently our family used to rule some of the smaller Southern islands in Japan. (I am visualizing you both as a Samurai and a Pirate, and both are equally adorable)

How long have you been playing video games and what are some of your earliest and/or favorite video game memories?

I'm relatively new to video games and started playing 3-4 years ago. I had always struggled to play anything on a controller so when I finally built myself a PC I tried a variety of games but the one that didn't give me motion sickness was Diablo III so that is my official first game. (heh, newb)

What are your favorite foods, music, movies, shows, etc.?

Oh lord, ok. so.

Foods: To eat? Honestly, there are way too many to choose from. It would be a never-ending list. But if I had to choose a specific cuisine, Japanese food will always be my top preference. It's definitely a biased answer, but Japanese food is home for me. It's comfort, it's a sigh of relief, it's Anton Ego traversing back through time into his mother's kiss to the forehead. It means so much to me. Favorite foods to make? Anything low and slow. The longer it takes for me to make, the more enticed I become to make it. Think braised short ribs, osso bucco, bread, ramen. (and now we’re all starving, thanks.)

Music: My favorite music changes and adds upon itself through my years. I grew up on Classical, Broadway, and Jazz, went through my punk rock princess years (FYI - they never really end) then got into House/EDM/Trance. Shamefully, one of my current favorites is K-Pop don't @ me. I've also really been into new Japanese artists and J-Pop - A lot of artists have really been finding their distinctive sound and it's been really cool!

Movies: I'm a huge fan of cool VFX and action, so the MCU fits my bill pretty well. I also love LOTR and will marathon-watch the director's cut at least twice a year. My favorite all-time movie because of childhood reasons is Castle in the Sky, a Studio Ghibli film.

Shows: I watch a ton of anime, but my favorite American show in recent years is Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. It is a decent horror story, but its storytelling, script, monologues, and cinematography is what makes me love it so much.

Is there any special story or significance behind your gamertag?

Surprisingly, yes. At work, we have a slack channel for cats and a coworker of mine asked us for pictures of our cats "screaming" (mid-yawn shots, big meows, etc.). She compiled them all and made a giant meme, and for my cat, Duchess, the tagline was "Duchess Disdain". I just really liked the ring of it and decided to use it as my gamertag. (wait, you’re not a real duchess? You told me your were nobility!)

Let’s talk a bit about Destiny and Clan Truth specifically. When did you first start playing Destiny, and can you tell us about what drew you to the game?

I believe I first started playing Destiny during Destiny 2: Forsaken in Season of the Forge. At that time, the only game I had really invested some time in was Diablo III and I really liked getting loot and buildcrafting so my partner at the time recommended Destiny 2. I remember being so terrified of shadow thrall when playing through the campaign on Io and was mostly carried through everything. I knew off the bat that I love how fast the movement felt and how intuitive it was, and I was pretty stoked to farm some loot.

How did you end up in Clan Truth? What are some of your favorite memories with us?

I had started watching some D2 streamers and really enjoyed watching raids. I was a mostly solo/duo player and had never raided before, but watching UhMaayyze do raid carries made me want to join a clan that could hopefully teach me and be patient with me because I was so sure that I would fall behind. I ended up coming across a Reddit post for Veiled Truth and thought y’all would be a good group to join. Some of my favorite memories include the raid marathon we did right before beyond light came out (that was a blast until you made me accidentally get my first seal), Day 1 DSC and VOG attempts, clan pvp nights, and Truthmas. (I still can't get over how cool Truthmas turned out. I wonder what surprises we'll have next...)

What is your favorite/primary class? Why?

Even though I technically have more hours on my Hunter, Warlock is hands down my favorite class. Why? Because floating-space-magic-wizard. Need I say more? (Nope, you answered the question correctly)

Who has the best jump?

Warlock. BUT that's because I've figured out ways to make it work for me. Honestly, do what works for you, boo.

If you could remove any one weapon from the game, which one and why?

To be completely honest, I don't really feel any type of way towards any weapon. I think the game is in a pretty good spot and while some weapons are stronger or more prominent in the current sandbox, I don't find that any particular weapon really grinds my gears at the moment. (the correct answer would be shotguns)

If you could design an exotic weapon or armor, what would it be?

I would want an armor piece that makes a super inherently anti-champion in some way. It would be cool if, for example, Chaos Reach could be Anti-Barrier or Anti-Overload. That way when you pop your super against a champ, it'll stun or break the bubble and continue damage.

If you could date any character(s) from Destiny, who and why?

This might be a basic answer, but I think Devrim would be lovely to date. He's a dashing dude and I feel like he'd take good care of me.

What Destiny characters would you ship together that aren’t already?

I was actually quite a fan of the Eris and Drifter dynamic during Season of Arrivals and am hoping I get to see more in the future someday.

We’ve covered the standard questions, now let’s move on to learning more about you.

If you had to fight to the death with Disco over who is the nicest admin, who would win and why? What would be your weapon of choice?

I forfeit so hard; Disco is actually the nicest admin and I could never hurt Disco with anything other than food pics are you kidding?? (did your PR team give you this answer? We all know you’ve threatened to kill him with a sharpened corn cob)

I heard this week’s interview was supposed to be Shadowshock. Why are you so selfish as to bump him back?

Sorry Shadow, it wasn't personal, I had just like, mentally prepared myself to be interviewed this week because that was the original plan and and and... (Truth is, she wanted to be interviewed this week since it coincided with her birthday yesterday, and this girl is PSL levels of basic (I’m kidding, please don’t hurt me))

Why do you torment us so much with your posts in #garden_of_salivation? How does it feel to have (temporarily) usurped Shua as the food lord of the clan?

I mean, I can stop, I guess... I never wanted to hurt anyone I promise ): Usurping Shua is merely a stepping stone. Soon everything will be mine. (Please never stop sharing food porn with us, it’s the reason some people stick around)

What’s your favorite kind of water?

Filtered water. Bottled water is overrated.

So, you abandoned the Corrupted Truth for the sake of the Ascendant Truth. What gives? Why would you do this to us? Do you feel even a little bit bad that Shua hasn’t stopped crying?

I figured it was time to move on, find something new in life. I do feel a little bad, especially about the crying, but Shua's a big boy (is that a fat joke?) and I think he can grow from this experience, you know?

You can only drink one type of wine for the rest of your life. What type do you choose?

Oh why would you do this? If I had to choose, it would be a cabernet sauvignon. Dry red wines are my favorite. (excellent choice)

Who do you think is the sexiest admin?

You know, I think I'm on the same boat as Disco - Oblivion and his mystique is pretty sexy. He's so present and he talks so often in the server but shares so little about himself.

Oh and of course, me :P

Imagine you are hosting a dinner for the clan. What are you cooking? App, main, dessert, etc.

What a fun question! For an appetizer, I would make an ahi tuna crostini with arugula and a fresh lemon dressing. For the main course, I would make a garlic and herb-crusted prime rib. It’s a dish that really shines when there are more people to eat it. For sides I'd make some potato au gratin with gruyere and ham, and lemon parmesan roasted asparagus. For dessert, I would make either chocolate mousse with fresh berries or vanilla almond cupcakes with Belgian chocolate buttercream. The cupcakes sound simple, but they're really really good. (Anyone else here suddenly starving?)

Let’s say you defeat Disco in your death match over who is nicer. Now you’re serving on death row. What is your last meal?

Wait, so I'm screwed either way?? >:( If I have the option, I would ask for my dad's pork miso soup. It's the epitome of comfort for me.

Let’s say you got away with Disco’s murder, and you decide to feed him to the rest of the admins as a clever way to dispose of the body. How do you prepare Disco’s flesh?

.... Are y'all ok? (no) Might I suggest therapy?? (probably) Anyways, for the sake of answering... I'd probably make Japanese curry. It's kind of a cross between a curry and a rich stew, would be great at concealing... stuff.

We have all learned now that you are a very talented singer, despite your protestations to the contrary. When can we expect to hear more of your singing?

Never! Just kidding. I mean, if you want to hear something, just let me know.

If you were handed $50,000 in cash and told it had to be used in the next 7 days to take a trip worth writing a book about, where would you go? What would you do?

I would absolutely go to Paris. I would indulge in Parisian luxury, eat at fancy or cool restaurants, people watch on the Champs-Élysées, and have chance encounters and learn about their lives.

What’s your favorite number? Defend your reasoning.

3. Reasoning? Always have been partial to it for some reason, and it was my lucky number when I was competing for piano and violin for some reason.

What is the best girl scout cookie?

They're all pretty good, but I always go back to their classic shortbread. (that is literally the worst option to choose. I’m not mad though, just disappointed)

What is the worst kind of bear?

Why can't this question be the opposite? You know what, I'm going to change it. My favorite kind of bear is a panda bear because they're these giant roli-polies that do nothing but lay around and eat all day and they're super adorable in person too. (again with you picking the worst option. Pandas don’t even deserve to be called bears.)

If you had an unlimited budget for a single meal at any restaurant in the world, and you could eat as much as you want without ever feeling like you overate, where would you go and what would you have?

So, I've never eaten here but I would go to a restaurant called Yanagiya in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It's an invitation-only restaurant that specializes in cooking game meat over charcoal right in front of you in a traditional Japanese hearth. I would have their omakase (chef's pick) menu to taste the full array of what the chef has to offer. You can check out a video of this place here.

Are you actually a duchess? Maybe some other form of royalty or nobility?

Unfortunately, I am not actual royalty. But honestly, it's more about how you carry yourself, isn't it? (I have been lied to.)

What’s a skill you have that may surprise us?

I can say the Greek alphabet really fast! Thanks, pledging.

Is there anything else you would like to tell us about yourself that we haven’t covered yet?

Considering the sheer number of questions asked here, there's probably not much else you'd want to know about me, but I really enjoy getting to know people here on a personal level so shoot me a message if you ever want to chat! 

Duchess, thank you so much for your time! It was great learning more about you!

This concludes this week’s installment of the Truth Interview Thursday Spotlight!