Two sortings and a getting-to-know-you meme (plus some IRL unpleasantness)

[lunasariel]

I know I've been posting a lot about having bad weeks, being stressed, etc., but I'm starting to think that it might be more than that. My family has a really, really strong history of depression - both my parents, and at least one grandparent (that I know of; my paternal grandparents were firmly in the We Do Not Talk About These Things camp, and I wasn't close enough to them to have that kind of talk anyway), and I'm starting to think that I might have gotten the bug. I was talking to my mom last week, and a lot of the symptoms I've been having are starting to sound kind of scarily like the symptoms she had before being diagnosed - the fatigue/long naps in the middle of the day even when I had a decent night's sleep, the headaches, the strange inability to just go out and get shit done, the inability to remember anything, the feeling of working and working but never accomplishing anything or getting anywhere, the thing where I beat myself up for being sad because my life is, on the whole, pretty awesome, and certainly worlds better than millions of people could ever hope to see, so what the hell to I have to complain about? I had initially thought that these were just do to stress and/or a fairly heavy workload, but things got pretty bad about midweek - I started crying because I got a B on a paper but then an hour later I was making loopy posts on Twitter about how awesome it is that elephants and celery and coral and orchids and bearded vultures and my 6th-grade science teacher and her rainbow (cotton) lab coat all started out as the same lumps of protoplasm way back when. There was also some darker stuff that I'd rather not get into here, so let's just say that talking to my mom about it, and realizing that I'm not just being an attention-seeking pansy who can't handle real life, was a really good thing. Long story short, I have an appointment with one of Cal's counselors tomorrow, even if it is only for a 15-minute "triage" phone call, and we'll see how things go from there. I tend to feel like a whiner or a hypochondriac when talking to doctors (either medical or psychiatric), and they're probably getting quite a few calls as it is (most people are just getting out of their first round of midterms and/or papers, so stress levels are probably running high all around). So I'm rather afraid of them telling me that it's just stress and I'll feel better in a week or two, because that's essentially what the Kaiser psychologist back up in Sebastopol (well, Santa Rosa; Sebastopol isn't big enough for its own Kaiser) told me, especially since the Cal mental health department is probably booked solid as it is. But like I said, I'm starting to think I may have a legitimate problem here.


Oh, and the whole mess hasn't been doing any wonders for me socially, either. I broke off the standing lunch-and-movie "yay, we survived the week!" Friday party with M, I haven't spoken to H in a couple of weeks, and I'm afraid it might have even bled over onto here. So if I've been uncharacteristically tardy and/or waspish and/or taciturn in my comments/replies, I apologize!

Aside from my various and fascinating psychological issues, what I've been doing this week is sorting. I find that I have very little energy for leisure reading or TV (which in itself is worrying), and I haven't been in quite the proper cracktastic frame of mind to finish up that character meme from forever ago, so I've been sorting the various fandoms I'm active in, or at least spend a good portion of time thinking about these days.


First, have some Babylon 5! This one ended up a bit different from the usual format, as my usual method of sorting is to first make a list of the Houses, a separate list of characters, and start from the top of the character list, erasing them as I sorted them, until the character list was empty and they were all under the headings of their various Houses. This time, however, it happened rather more organically: I just started thinking, and writing as I went, so this one ended up being organized by character, rather than by House.

John Sheridan: Starkity Starkity Stark Stark Stark. Honorable, loyal to both superiors and underlings, has a hard time rebelling but will do so if pushed to it, engenders loyalty, wants to do everything himself, occasionally has to be stopped from pulling Heroic Sacrifices, and a penchant for star-cross'd love and getting mixed up in mystical shenanigans.

Jeffrey Sinclair: Arryn. He’s more of a legend than anything else, but very fondly remembered, and well-spoken-of in his time. Now he’s rarely seen, but there’s a constant undercurrent of “I wish Sinclair were here” or “what would Sinclair do?” Also: as the head of the Old Guard, had to be got rid of so that his replacement could come in and shake things up.

Susan Ivanova: Baratheon or Greyjoy. She's secure in her image as a badass, and her first reaction to a problem usually runs along the liens of "LET'S BLOW IT UP!" And then, of course, there's her injunction to always vote for the candidate with the strongest chin (OK, the image of young!Robert as Gaston from Beauty and the Beast may be influencing my headcanon that all Baratheons have great chins), and her famous “Ivanova is God” speech is that perfect blend of cocksureness, bravado, and readiness to kick ass that could go either way. Right now, I’m seeing her as more Baratheon, since she’s cheerful (okay, somewhat blackly cheerful, but still) and jocular and plays well with others, but the way the series associates her with Death seems more sinister, i.e. Greyjoy.

Michael Garibaldi: My first thought was Tyrell, in a Garlan vein: he's more than pleased to share a bowl of popcorn and some Looney Tunes with whoever has a spare hour, and makes it his job to help out people who are unhappy or bummed about something, but he's still a dab hand with a PPG, and will cheerfully introduce your face to his fist and/or boot if you threaten the safety of his station or friends. But I generally seem to default to sorting characters I like into Tyrell, and I’m increasingly able to see him as a Lannister, albeit in a Tyrion, Kevan, or grown-up Tommen way. Like, he covers up some pretty serious mental scars with being the funny jokey guy, he has a tendency towards drinking a wee bit too much, works best as a second-in-command, and if you hurt anyone close to him, then say your goddamn prayers, but otherwise he's fairly laid-back.

Dr. Stephen Franklin. Um, Targaryen, I guess? I confess I had to peek at the sorting post for this one, because I honestly did not know where to put him – he’s a healer first and foremost, which isn’t really a vocation I associate with any House, but he holds himself to impossibly high standards (and is prone to relentless self-flagellation and self-destructive means of keeping up when he fails to meet those standards). He’s got daddy issues, but then so does everyone: the War of Five Kings was started specifically *because* Robb was going off to avenge his father, who in turn was killed because of Joffrey’s subconscious daddy issues (which stem from Cersei’s daddy issues, which stem from *Tywin’s* daddy issues…you get the picture), and so on and so forth; there really isn’t enough space to list all the daddy issues in Westeros and keep this post of a reasonable length. Like I said, I had to go to the source for this one, but I agree with various people’s reasons for him being a Targaryen: the humanistic impulses, the tendency to bear the weight of the world on his shoulders and it’s ALL HIS FAULT if anything goes wrong (as it inevitably does), the hint of unbalance that shows through in times of stress.

Marcus Cole: Night’s Watch, duh. He’s even called a Ranger! Although if I had to pick an actual House, I would put him down as a Targaryen, mysterious mournful Space Elf wannabe that he is.

Delenn: I don’t know. I really, honestly don’t. She’s the emotional and moral core of the series, so Stark is a contender. But she’s also involved in a lot of mystic stuff about prophecies and Great Destinies, which is so very Targaryen. She’s as supportive and sweet as any Tully (she certainly works hard to present herself as a gentle, peaceful Tully, anyway, at least until the gloves come off), and gracious and dangerous as any Tyrell. She doesn’t hesitate to buck authority she feels in the wrong, like any good Martell, and like a few Martells in particular she’s very much involved in playing the long game and making alliances. I even have a sneaking suspicion that she could be as ruthless as any Lannister in the defense of those she loves, if put to it. The only Houses I can’t see her as are Baratheon (she’s much to quiet and subtle, even for comparatively tricksy Renly), or Greyjoy (much, much too refined and kindhearted). I’m kind of “meh” about her being Arryn, though: she certainly has the high-minded honor, and the Minbari => Space Elves => Tolkien’s Elves => Welsh => Vale of Arryn connection isn’t *too* terribly tenuous (ain’t alliteration awesome?), but she’s definitely nothing like Lysa or Sweetrobin, and all we know about Jon Arryn is hearsay or flashbacks anyway.

Lennier: I guess I’m going to have to say Tully, given his devotion to Delenn (hell, his devotion/loyalty in general) and his dislike of fighting but willingness to cause some pretty serious damage in defense of those he loves/is sworn to. But it just doesn’t feel right, somehow. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but…there’s something a little Starkish, or Targly, about him, or even Arryn – he doesn’t seem quite of this world, even aside from the quite literal sense where he's an alien. He just seems a little more intense and, for lack of a better word, odd (with overtones of ethereality) than nice practical Tullys.

G'Kar: He started off very much Greyjoy (angry violent barbarian), but he’s definitely transcended that, and now I guess I’d put him in House Targaryen. He’s got the whole exiled leader thing going on like nobody’s business, he’s now all about the crazy mystical prophecies, clearly sees himself as some sort of divinely inspired prophet figure (which, depending one one’s definition of “divinely inspired,” he may very well be), and he does have a tendency to flip-flop between genius and madness. But at the point I’m at now (slightly over halfway through s3) he’s clearly still Going Places, and the genius looks to be well on its way to pushing the madness out entirely (unless one sees his “ok everyone, now let’s go die for the people who wouldn’t help us when our planet was getting bombed back to the Stone Age! A mystical prophecy that only I know about says so” as madness, as several members of his own faction do). Ultimately, he’s not a perfect fit – he doesn’t want to set himself up as any kind of permanent ruler, he doesn’t have that sense of otherworldliness that I associate with Targaryens, and he certainly doesn’t have what I usually think of as the Targaryen aesthetic (I’ve always thought of them as having a much more Minbari style), but it’s the closest I can come.

Londo: the very sneakiest kind of Lannister - he loves things to be beautiful and opulent, and is willing to employ whatever means may be necessary to keep himself in a position of power and luxury. But there's a Tyrion-like vibe to him, too, where he tries to avoid senseless slaughter and, despite himself, actually does possess such a thing as a conscience, as deeply buried as it is.

Vir: starts out looking like the weakest kind of Tully, or even smallfolk, but ends up wavering between Tyrell and the most badass Tully imaginable, where his loyalty is his strength, not his weakness. Right now, I'm leaning towards Tully, because he genuinely has faith in Londo, whereas a Tyrell would have contingency plans for Dealing With him.



Hornblower (A&E miniseries only, 'course)

Lannister
Major M’Lord Alexander Edrington. (I've seen him referred to as "Alexander" all over the place, but he's never called anything but various permutations of Major M'Lord Edrington on the show, so I'm not sure whether this is a fanon name, whether he appeared in the books, or what.) The fact that he's empathetically aristocratic as well as blonde and wears a lot of red, aside, so. Much. Sass! He's probably the most dryly sarcastic character in the series, and that's saying something. But the interesting thing about him is that he exhibits characteristics of all the (adult) Lannisters: there's the aforementioned Tyrion-esque sass that he doesn't hesitate to use to deflate some poor, deserving bastard's ego, but he also shows some Jamie-like eagerness for battle (and even some Jaime-like sass, as well as Tyrion-like), like Cersei he's oddly protective over those close to him and everybody else can go charge a line of French artillery, and his impatience with other people's incompetence/stupidity and willingness to let them get themselves killed via said incompetence/stupidity (as long as they don't hurt the overall goal, of course) is very Tywin.
Actually, most of the French characters can go here. The villain from “The Frogs and Lobsters” is pure crazy!aristocrat!Joffrey, complete with everybody hating his guts, eventual assholery-induced death, and bloodthirstiness, and Côtard has a way of looking down his nose and snarking that is so very Jaime. I might even put Mariette here – she knows first-hand the dangers of being a pretty woman during wartime, but she’s smart, brave, and totally willing to lend a hand in political upsets in her (or, at least, her social class’) favor.

Arryn
Captain Commodore Admiral Sir Edward Pellew. I had a really hard time placing him: he’s a master of subversive deadpan wit, and is a Reasonable Authority Figure, but is an authority figure all the same, and his job, plot-wise, is to mostly provide exposition, rescues as necessary, and instigation for action sequences. Ultimately, though, I think he fits best as an Arryn. He’s devoted to things like Honor and Duty as concepts, but is a good on-the-ground (har!) commander. He also clearly cares deeply about the young idiots under his command and frequently acts as a father-figure –doling out advice, praise, and smacks ‘round the ear as necessary.

Martell
Catherine Cobham. Definitely the least straight-laced character in the whole show, first and foremost. TBH, I expected a lot more of her platonically flirting, if that makes any sense (basically, not flirting because she actually wants to get with him, but with she finds him attractive in a puppyish sort of way and finds his reactions hilarious), with flustered!bb!Horatio. She’s also charming, resourceful, brave, devious, and more than willing to use whatever methods at her disposal of to get what she wants. She’s aware that she’s looked down upon, but the hell with them, she’s pure HBIC and anybody who disagrees can go take a long leap off a short ship. Finally, she does have a certain talent for disguise, deception, and generally appearing to be other than she is because she’s sick and tired of being treated a certain way.
Jack Simpson. This is perhaps the first dark!Martell I’ve seen, and certainly the first that comes to mind, but think about it: he gleefully disregards authority whenever he damn well pleases, he’s prone to passions and violent mood swings, and he’s certainly, if somewhat horrifically, in touch with his own sexuality. He also prefers using his strengths against an enemy’s weaknesses to a pitched battle (where he relies on his fearsome reputation and a strong start to finish the job quickly) and knows a thing or two about keeping secrets, both his and others’.

Stark
William Bush. We don't get to see as much of Bush as of his fellow Power Trio members Hornblower and Kennedy, but he was the last of the mutineers to come on board the plot (no pun intended), and has always shown a reluctance to contest others' authority. He's a good second-in-command type, and always willing to lead a probably deadly charge to distract the enemy from his friends' gambit. But he also shows some, er, Nedly qualities, such as refusing to shoot an unarmed man, even when that unarmed man had previously been wreaking untold havoc on the British war effort, deserted from the Navy, and was just generally insufferable as well as traitorous. But in general, he’s one of nature’s sidekicks: good at taking orders from whoever he happens to be serving under at the moment, but also good at running a tight ship and making sure that everyone, himself included, is doing their jobs correctly and efficiently.

Targaryen
Horatio Hornblower. Book!Horatio is pure Stark - he gets angry at himself for having thoughts and feelings that aren't related to his all-important Navy and is widely viewed as, er, cold-hearted (*ba-DUM-tish*), and nobody ever called him cheerful. A&E!Horatio ended up this way, too, but for the vast majority of the miniseries, he was very Targaryen. As in, he has an ironclad sense of duty in general, and doesn't hesitate to follow orders he considers to be good ones, but does have an, er, independent streak. But mostly, his hallmarks have always been his inventiveness, his mood swings, and his mercurial genius, which to me are all central Targ traits. It's been remarked upon many times that he's not only willing to throw the rulebook out the window, but write a whole new rulebook in a language of his own devising. This freaks some people out, as he does ask them to gamble their lives on a succession of his seemingly crazy schemes, but not only does he generally have some damn good ideas, but he's also charismatic (slightly scarily so, even) and a born leader. So, yup, Targ.
James Sawyer. He’s just about as Targaryen as they come: he was a legend in his day, and his name still strikes fear into the hearts of his enemies, but now it strikes fear into the hearts of his friends, too, and he’s more or less completely insane. And as we’ve seen, paranoia, power, and an increasingly fragile grip on sanity do not a good leader make. Even his decision to win a foolhardy battle even at the cost of his ship and the lives of everyone aboard is very Mad King Aerys.

Tyrell
Archie Kennedy. I had initially considered Tully for him, what with the red(dish) hair and status as sidekick/universe's punching bag, but ultimately, he comes across as more Tyrell than anything else. As in, he's genuinely a sweetheart, a good friend, etc., but he has no problem with, say, deposing an insane captain (politely if possible, but, if, y'know, not, that works too). Oh, and he presents a veneer of strength because being seen as weak is Not Allowed (like Loras, once the cracks start to show then you *know* something’s very badly wrong), given to fits of despondency, (pretty certainly) deeply closeted due to pressures of the time, and kind of startlingly good with weapons. But mostly it's his function in the narrative to facilitate people getting along, and to smack them upside the head when they're not. Like Edrington, he's an aristocrat, but unlike Edrington, not markedly so. I mean, sometimes he displays a certain "my ancestors were off on Crusades while your ancestors were looking for some lovely muck to cart about" attitude, but it's mostly an unconscious thing, and being in a position of power without rubbing it in is such a Tyrell thing to do. So he and Edrington exhibit the Lannister-Tyrell dichotomy pretty well: Archie is a pleasanter, more personable take on the same aristocratic schema that produced Edrington. He also reads like Willas, leaps to his friends’ defense like Garlan (and like Garlan, he’s especially protective of the younger members of his nakama), and loves passionately like Loras. There’s not a lot of Margaery about him, though, except maybe that he occasionally needs rescuing from creepers.

Greyjoy
James Foster. (I'm pretty sure his first name is James? It's not mentioned an awful lot.) It’s not just that he’s a sailor (if “primary occupation involves boats” was the only criterion, practically every character on this list would be here), but there’s so much about him that just screams Greyjoy: the disdain for what he sees as cowardice or reticence but is actually common sense/practicality, his willingness to destroy his own ship fighting rather than surrender, and, of course, his preference for fighting over everything else, up to and including diplomacy. Oh, and he’s been known to take what he wants, regardless of who it, if you want to get all technical, belongs to. Of course, he’s also brave and doesn’t hesitate to put himself at the forefront of the danger, so he has some positive Greyjoy traits as well.

That’s it for the main characters. The seamen are smallfolk, of course (maybe Styles is a little Lannister or Greyjoy in his prejudices and dislike of mishandled authority, and Matthews is as loyal and resourceful a Stark as one could wish, but that’s about it). Buckland (who, hilariously, the back of my DVD identifies as Butland, which I, being the mature adult I am, initially misread as Buttland) is, like, a Frey or something: he’s pleased enough to help when you’re winning, but when his back is against the wall and you’re not doing so good, he’ll sell you out in two seconds flat. I would normally consider this a dark Tyrell trait, but Tyrells are generally, um, good at things, and Buckland’s main feature post-rebellion is his inability to control the situation around him and the fact that everyone else can see this, and thus don’t really respect him. Although I’m not quite sure about that Frey categorization: which House took the words “We Fail At Life,” but later changed them to “Victory Through Backstabbing”?


I've also got a Temeraire one in the works (yes, I know jesteros did a sorting for them, too, but I'm trying to avoid it, or at least lean on it as little as possible), but A) there are substantially more Temeraire characters than I'd initially thought, and B) it's chock-full of spoilers of the highest degree by necessity, and since ikel89 is only on the first book, I think I'll hold off until I'm no longer in danger of blurting out a Big Reveal in passing.

And finally, the number of real people who actually read this blog has recently doubled (hello, two new people! XD), so I thought I'd post a new iteration of that getting-to-know-you meme from forever and a day ago.


You know how sometimes people on your friendslist post about stuff going on in their life, and all of a sudden you think "Wait a minute? Since when were they working THERE? Since when were they dating HIM/HER? Since when???" And then you wonder how you could have missed all that seemingly pretty standard information, but somehow you feel too ashamed to ask for clarification because it seems like info you should already know? It happens to all of us sometimes.

Please copy the topics below, erase my answers and put yours in their place, and then post it in your journal! Please elaborate on the questions that would benefit from elaboration. One-Word-Answers seldom help anyone out.

1. First Name:
Rose. Of course, I generally go by Lunasariel or Luna ‘round these here parts, but I don’t have anything in particular against being called by my IRL name.

2. Age:
22. My birthday is in July, which I half-love (my best friend H almost always has finals on her birthday, which is in May) and half-hate (I dislike being hot and sticky, and my birthday often clashes with some other big event, as late July always seems to be when everybody is on vacation, getting married, moving, etc.).

3. Location:
Berkeley, CA. I’m currently attending UC Berkeley, which you’ll often see referred to around here as Cal, and I love both the city and the school to pieces. I’ve always lived in or outside of small towns, so I was a bit *eyebrow* about moving to Da Big City, but I’ve found that I love it. I love all the neat little restaurants and vintage shops sprinkled around, and I love the nearness of San Francisco and the Bay, but most of all I love the convenience. The grocery store being a five-minute walk instead of a fifteen-minute drive away is beyond useful!
But, of course, I also love Cal itself. It’s a very green campus (and Berkeley in general is a very green city; one of the reasons I like it so much), with stands of redwoods, several streams meandering throughout, and more than enough little non-spider-filled and non-bug-filled little nooks and grottoes to keep me happy (I loves me some nooks and grottoes).

4. Occupation:
Student. (I’m studying British literature of the 18^th and 19^th centuries, particularly the late 18^th/early 19^th centuries, i.e. Romanticism, with a Celtic Studies minor.) And believe you me, it’s a full-time job!

5. Partner:
None, and it’s been this way for quite a while. I was in a serious relationship for a long time, but that ended around 2009 (I think?). And after that, I just haven’t been able to find anyone that suited me. Of course, this may be because I haven’t actively been looking – singlehood suits me just fine, as I have enough trouble keeping up with my regular friends, let alone a significant other. I don’t want it to be this way forever, although one thing I really want to avoid is a long-distance relationship (which is what basically spelled doom for J [the serious relationship guy mentioned above] and me), so I’ll probably wait until I settle down permanently somewhere, instead of bouncing back and forth between the dorms here in Berkeley and my hometown of Sebastopol (the teeny one in California that you’ve never heard of, not the big one in Russia that you maybe have).

6. Kids:
Again, none. And unlike a SO, kids really aren’t in my plans. I don’t want to be a mother, and don’t think I’ll make a particularly good one. Of course, this does have to weigh against the fact that I don’t want to die alone and forgotten in a nursing home somewhere, a fact that has been coming more and more to the forefront of my mind as my grandparents get older.

7. Brothers/Sisters:
Two blood siblings (a brother and a sister, both younger than me) and three stepsiblings (a stepbrother and two stepsisters, of which only the stepbrother is older than me). You’ll probably be seeing my blood siblings, P and A, mentioned at least occasionally; the stepsiblings, not so much.
Out of all of them, I’m probably closest to P, who’s only slightly less than two years younger than me. He’s very, very smart, and a great guy, but also sometimes rather ADHD: he’s going to UC Davis right now, after a stint at a very nice private (but rather too artsy for Mr. Hard Sciences) college up in Oregon and another one at our local community college, and he must have changed his major half a dozen times by now. He’s always On about something: immortality through advances in medical nanotechnology, pro cycling, windmills, cooking, you name it. Right now he’s doing something complicated with math, and plans to do something with some obscure branch of complicated engineering after that. He’s always been the less geekily-inclined of the two of us, but I’ve managed to get him to read, or at least watch, all the important stuff, and we have some very, er, spirited debates about ASOIAF whenever we cross paths, which, given our now widely differing places of residence and schedules (Davis is on a quarter system, Cal is on a semester system), is sadly not all that often anymore.
A, my youngest sibling, just started high school about a month ago. This was an event we all used to look forward to with horror, as she used to be very much a Problem Child (the less said about *that*, the better), but she seems to have been doing okay so far. She’s pretty much a perfect Targaryen: artsy and creative, even meditative sometimes, but prone to stubbornness and sudden outbursts of intense emotion (up to and including rage). She’s also very into JUSTICE!, is a militant vegetarian, and, although these have been decreasing of late, has shown the true Targaryen spirit of “SHUT UP I’M RIGHT I AM THE BLOOD OF THE DRAGON.”

8. Pets:
A dog, two cats, and assorted birds. I miss them, and go home every month or so to get my pet fix.
Our dog is a very, very old (and now blind, deaf, and incontinent) Norwich terrier who came with the name Moocher, but he just as often goes by Granddad, Little Old Man, Boozer (given to him by my dyslexic grandfather), Rollo, Frodo, or Samwise. This last one is the most fitting, I think, because he pretty much *is* Sam – brown, fuzzy, loyal, cheerful, a preference for lying around napping but a willingness to fight in the defense of his loved ones (he’s mostly my mom’s dog, and valiantly protects her from squirrels), and a certain fondness for seven square meals a day, and the tendency towards rotund-ness that implies.
We used to have three cats, but my cat, Cassie, the oldest of the three, died last summer. She was diabetic for most of her life, and, inscrutable to the last, we’re still not sure what she died of. But for the last 10 years, she was my kitty, slept on my bed (and threw up on it, too, whenever I Displeased her), and yowled at our other cats. She also collected a variety of nicknames, including Her Majesty, Milady, and the Dowager Empress. Yup, she was that kind of cat.
Our two remaining cats are Custard, a mackerel tabby, and Apollo, a flame-point Siamese who mostly hangs out with our sort-of neighbor RG (I’ll get to him in a minute). Custard (a.k.a. Slinky Butt, Mr. McLovin, or Trouble) is charming, conniving, and splits his time pretty evenly between “stop what you’re doing right now and love meeeeeeee” and “omgwtf get away from me,” while Apollo (a.k.a. Bartholomew or ‘Pollo Pants. Can you tell that pets getting nicknames is kind of a thing?) sticks mostly with the latter unless, like I said earlier, he’s with RG.

9. List the 3-5 biggest things going on in your life:
A) School. Definitely school. My workload means that I have less time than I otherwise would for things that I ordinarily consider to be pretty basic elements of survival: reading geeky books, watching geeky TV shows, and dicking around here on LJ.
B) This time a couple of weeks ago, I would have said grad school applications (my plan was to graduate from Cal with a bachelor’s in English, and then transfer to UCLA’s School of Library & Information Science, and then get a job as a librarian somewhere [best-case scenario at a research or academic library like the one here]), but now I’m going to take an extra year and come out with a bachelor’s in English with honors, and a Celtic Studies minor. So now, this has been replaced with agonizing over the awesome-looking Jane Austen seminar I signed up for last semester, but was cancelled, and which I A) need to take to graduate, and B) really, really want to take, because it looks *awesome* - in addition to the actual novels, we’ll be reading Evelina and some Ann Radcliffe, which, since I wrote a Big Important Paper last semester that I’m extremely proud of on Northanger Abbey and how it compares and contrasts with Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho, is all kinds of neat.
C) When I do get spare time, I’ve got a big ol’ stack of leisure reading (and watching) to work through. Here’s what I’ve got going right now:
- Post-Captain, Patrick O’Brian. This is technically a re-read, since I got about halfway through the Aubrey/Maturin series in high school after seeing, and loving, the movie, but that petered out, and aside from periodic returns to Jane Austen when I was feeling blue, I left the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries alone for awhile, until hamsterwoman introduced me to Temeraire last semester (or was it the semester before?). This kind of lit a fire under me (pun not intended), and as Temeraire is rumored to have begun life as Aubrey/Maturin fanfic, I dove back into the Regency/Age of Sail (again, pun not intended. I’m truly sorry). I didn’t have access to my Aubreyad books then, but I did take up Miss Austen again, and over the summer I watched the other big non-dragon-involving Age of Sail series, Hornblower (still no intention of reading the books, though. Sorry, C.S. Forster!) and took up my big Aubreyad re-read.
- Maskerade, Terry Pratchett. I tend to re-read one plotline every semester. Last semester it was the Watch books (my favorite), this time around it’s the Witches. I’ve seen Maskerade classified as both a Witches and a Watch book, but the only Watch involvement is Nobby’s and Detritus’ attempts at going undercover, which, while hilarious, don't really constitute enough involvement for me to call this a Watch book, too. Phantom of the Opera is one of my guilty pleasures, and I do like Agnes Nitt, so I love this one on all sorts of levels.
- The Two Towers, J.R.R. Tolkien. I try to re-read LotR every year, starting on September 22 and ending May 1, but, yeah, no. So this is technically last year’s re-read continued.
- Babylon 5, season 3. I'm about halfway through, plugging away when I get a chance. It's basically Lord of the Rings IN SPACE, so I'm happy.
- Mansfield Park, Jane Austen. The last Jane Austen that I have yet to read. This is an un-annotated edition, and I like (unobtrusively) annotated editions for contemporary period books. I'm not very far, but liking what I've seen so far - I really like that Fanny isn't a Poor Oppressed Angel like so many of her Victorian descendants, but actually has, y'know, flaws, and even a personality!
- The Once and Future King, T.H. White. Started last semester for my Celtic Romanticism class. Also started when I was 12. Never finished either time. Determined to finish it this time.
- Casket of Souls, Lynn Flewelling. I used to be such a huge Lynn Flewelling fangirl, you guys don't even know. I'm less now than I was then, but I was still excited as hell to pick up her latest last summer. I also haven't gotten far in this one, which is a shame, because it's a return to my favorite sub-genre of Nightrunners (the overall series title), low fantasy. Nightrunners has elements of low, high, epic, and even dark fantasy, but, IMO, it does low fantasy (a.k.a. sword-and-sorcery-and-lockpicks) the best, and that's exactly what this one appears to be.
D) Re-girlifying myself. For several years, I’ve been on a quest for My Hat, a brown, grey, or green cloche hat (although I actually didn’t know they were called cloche hats until I found one; I’ve always thought of them as 20s hats or flapper hats), and a few weeks ago, I found it. So, yaaaaaay for that! But once I took it home, I realized that it didn’t really go with the hoodie/t-shirt/jeans/sneakers uniform that I’ve worn more or less literally every day for the past decade and some change. This led to the realization that I’m tired of having no options but the aforesaid uniform, so I’ve been slowly but surely building up other options. I now have a respectable variety of skirts, some tights/stockings, a long swishy navy-blue knitted coat, and lace-up leather half-boots of which I’m very proud indeed. I even bought makeup last weekend! I’m still largely in the experimentation phase, where I’m still messing around to see what looks good, and just generally settling into the mindset where I actually think about what I wear instead of just grabbing the t-shirt and pair of jeans on the top of their respective stacks.

10. Parents:
Divorced in 1998. My dad, a winemaker, re-married somewhere around 2003, which is where the aforementioned stepsiblings come from. Actually, he met Stepmom because HR (now my stepsister) were in the same combined 4^th/5^th grade combo class, and went to summer school together, and became friends there. My dad is loud and loves company, but is also kind of pensive and dreamy. He’s a great cook, and has led a capital-E Eventful life: he was an Air Force brat and thus lived in Germany shortly after the war and in Washington D.C. during the Cuban Missile Crisis, he was in the seminary, he was an AIDS researcher in San Francisco during the big epidemic in the 80s, he was a semi-Olympic cyclist (long story), he was a beekeeper in Beverley Hills, he was a ship’s piper (and still plays the bagpipes, even though he isn’t supposed to), and has won all kinds of wine awards that I’m still a little fuzzy on.
When school isn’t in session, I live with my mom (a pharmacist), P when *his* school isn’t in session, and A. We rent out our granny unit (which began life as a detached garage) to RG, a friend of my mom’s back from the dawn of time. They started officially dating this past summer, about which I’m kind of :\. My attitude towards both RG and Stepmom is thus: I like that they make [insert appropriate parent here] happy, so I give them both my official seal of approval, but outside of that, neither of them are people I particularly like. Stepmom is *insanely* overdramatic, and RG is still being supported by his parents and my mom, even though he’s well into his 50s.
Buuuut getting back on track, my mom and I are very close. We’re both kind of neurotic in our hatred of strife/contention, we’re both introverts who hate making waves, and most importantly, we’re fellow bibliophiles and share tastes in books. She first took me to see The Fellowship of the Ring when I was 11, which was quite literally one of the biggest formative moments of my life, let me read at the table, made “I’m at the good part” a perfectly legitimate equivalent to “Do Not Disturb,” and let me borrow Tolkien, Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, and smorgasbord of mythology from her bookshelves until I got my own copies. I’ve been paying her back by passing the good stuff I find along to her, much of which has taken root, and now she’s as big an ASOIAF, Sherlock, Terry Pratchett, Firefly, and Temeraire fan as I am (ok, maybe not *quite* as big a Temeraire fan, as it’s now one of my main fandoms, but still).

11. Who are some of your closest friends:
H, my best friend, and I have known each other since elementary school. Which is kind of weird, considering that our personalities are such opposites: she’s loud, aggressive, and adventurous, while I’m kind of quiet and mousy and easily embarrassed. I don't know why it works, it just does. I was the Deputy Maid of Honor a bridesmaid in her wedding just over a year ago, and we have kind of a reciprocal relationship re: entertainment: she introduces me to good shows (Doctor Who, Torchwood, Bones, and Castle), while I introduce her to good books (the Dresden Files, ASOIAF, and LotR). She’s currently at the junior college I transferred to Cal from, and she’ll be transferring to Davis herself pretty soon.
C is H’s husband, and also a very good friend of mine. He’s an EMT, and honestly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s also Mr. Prepared: if the zombie apocalypse ever happens, I want to be wherever he is, because he’s the kind of guy who always has a spare tire, a few gallons of water, a coil of rope, a multitool, a set of flares, and a professional-grade medical kit in the back of his car (and I mean all of this quite literally, as I chipped in to help buy him the medical kit as his graduation present from the Academy). Aside from that, though, he’s just generally a good person to have around: he keeps his head in a crisis, he’s good with kids and animals (hell, with people in general), and while he does have something of a temper, it’s very deeply buried, and it takes a lot to bring it out.
J is my ex, and C’s ex-best friend. It’s all very amicable, though: there are no hard feelings between him and me, and he and C just sort of drifted apart, due largely to the fact that J goes to school up in Oregon, and so can’t come down here all that often. He’s a die-hard Neil Gaiman devotee, but he’s also a Whovian, a Pratchett fan, and a fan of a variety of video games that he, C, and H love, but that fill me with a great and unholy terror (I’m kind of the luddite of our group in this regard). He’s also the one who gave me The Name of the Wind for my birthday, which I *still* haven’t had time to read, and his endorsement of it is probably the most compelling I’ve ever heard. He’s normally very empathetically aloof and laconic (his smirk, which I’m pretty sure he’s been honing for years, is now just about weapons-grade), but he was more excited about NotW than just about anything I’d ever seen.
M is probably the friend I see the most often, since she goes to Cal with me. We met last semester, in ENGL 45B, when I wore my Firefly t-shirt to class one day, which led to the revelation that we both love that, Sherlock (this was just after s2 had finished, so we were both going through Reichenbach Trauma), and are both English majors. However, I don’t think that we’ll ever be Bestest Friends Forever and Ever, because she says she doesn’t like LotR, and called it “pretentious.” Huh. Well, at least I got her into ASOIAF/GOT, where she showed excellent taste by declaring Arya and Tyrion her favorites.

Comments

[hamsterwoman]

I'm sorry to hear about the maybe-depression. I hope talking to the Cal counselor yields something useful. *hugs*

I like Arryn for Sinclair!

Still maintain Ivanova is a Stark, though. ;P Not just the "no boom today" / "winter is coming" philosophy, but I do think she's like the Arya and Lyanna Stark girls in her brand of badassity (and Brandon, at least, seems to have been plenty cocky).

I am also firmly behind my original sorting of G'Kar as Martell. I totally see your Targ argument, but for me the one thing that doesn't change about G'Kar from the rather buffoonish guy in the pilot movie (which you have not missed out on by not seeing, trust me), to the ruthless Narn freedom fighter, to the current prophet-like personality is his determination. Unbowed, unbent, unbroken pretty much summarizes him for me start to finish. I think he starts out as one of the more vengeance-driven Martells, like Oberyn, and gradually becomes someone who can see the bigger picture, like Doran, but to me that's part of the same Martell continuity.

And Delenn is super-hard, yeah XD (I kind of like Arryn for her actually, for all that we know pretty much zilch about Arryn.)

but now I’m going to take an extra year and come out with a bachelor’s in English with honors, and a Celtic Studies minor

That's decided then? Cool! I shall be very happy to have you in the neighborhood for another year :D

Wow, even with the various neat things I knew about your father already, I had no idea his background was so full of cool and mutually unrelated things!

Not that your reading/watching list isn't long enough as is, but you should totally read Name of the Wind, so (hopefully) you like it and can get to the sequel, which was just chock-full of geeky fun for me. Also, curious, because I didn't see it on your "in progress" list -- did you finish The Vor Game and haven't had a chance to post about it/I missed your post? Or is it backburnered in favor of B5 because there's only so much space opera one needs as part of one's balanced diet? ;) (*totally not nagging, just curious*)

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I hope talking to the Cal counselor yields something useful. *hugs*
Thanks! Both good wishes and hugs are very much appreciated. :) And, yes, always yay for usefulness.

I do think she's like the Arya and Lyanna Stark girls in her brand of badassity (and Brandon, at least, seems to have been plenty cocky).
Hmm, I think I can see that - she would certainly be with Arya on the whole "if I can't fight people bigger than me, then I couldn't fight anyone" thing. XD But I generally see the Starks as more sober, or at least more thoughtful (*shiftyeyes* at Robb and Ned), and Ivanova does seem more eager for a fight than otherwise. I mean, she is a tough, diminutive, fatalistic Northern woman, if nothing else...

In related news: Ivanova and Arya would make the best ever mentor/mentee pair, Y/N? If there were some sort of, like Junior EarthForce (this would be pre-rebellion, obviously) program where kids got to go up and see how B5 was run, then I'm sure Arya would take great pleasure in watching Ivanova kick ass and take names.

Unbowed, unbent, unbroken pretty much summarizes him for me start to finish.
Yeah, I'm getting the idea that G'Kar is very much in flux. I'll probably have to do a re-sort when I'm done with the show, because Characterization Marches On, but right now he's kind of in Unstable Crazypants Land, or at least only lately emerged from same.

I shall be very happy to have you in the neighborhood for another year :D
And I'll be very happy to stick around and keep mooching off of borrowing your books! ^.^

Also, curious, because I didn't see it on your "in progress" list -- did you finish The Vor Game and haven't had a chance to post about it/I missed your post?
Oops, I missed both The Vor Game and The Phoenix Guards, both of which I'm very much enjoying! I compiled the list from the stack o' books where I try to keep everything I'm currently reading, but Vor and Phoenix had migrated away from the pile and gotten partially consumed by various piles of officially-mandated reading. But, yes, very much still reading both! I'm hoping to be able to give you back that Miles anthology, Phoenix, and B5 s3 next time I see you, so I've been trying to give them all equal time. I'm finding that Phoenix Guards is going especially quickly, though. I can see a lot of what you said about him clearly not putting an overabundance of effort into it/writing it mostly for fun, but the language is just so much fun! I'm at the part where they all just happened to have killed their patrolling partners (random thought: Sam Vimes would never have stood for this from any of *his* new recruits), which, oops. XD I'm guessing revivification isn't a thing yet...

[hamsterwoman]

I mean, she is a tough, diminutive, fatalistic Northern woman, if nothing else...

Oh, duh! She's a Mormont! Russia = bears = Bear Island, even. And I could definitely see her with a "Here We Stand" sort of philosophy -- while she never backs down from a fight, her fights tend to be defensive rather than just destructive for the hell of it, like the Baratheon/Greyjoy philosophy.

Ivanova and Arya would make the best ever mentor/mentee pair, Y/N?

Yes! They would be rather great. Ivanova could provide Arya some structure (less creepily than the Many-Faced God folks), and she could also, I think, appreciate where Arya was coming from, because her family life has not been easy either.

I'm finding that Phoenix Guards is going especially quickly, though. I can see a lot of what you said about him clearly not putting an overabundance of effort into it/writing it mostly for fun, but the language is just so much fun!

I'm glad you're enjoying it! To me the language is something I mostly put up with to get at the story/characters, but I know other people find it delightful, and I'm glad you're in that category! I basically read The Phoenix Guards for Tazendra (and a little bit for Pel, and then a bit for a character who shows up much later), but if you're enjoying the style, I think you will like it more than I did. And then the other books keep the same style but add actual plot and character development and themes and stuff that non-lark-written books are supposed to have, so I think the series only improves from there.

which, oops. XD I'm guessing revivification isn't a thing yet...

Nope, no revivification yet (and in general I think you'll not sorcery is much less advanced/powerful in the Paarfi books, which is explained/justified eventually).

And, yes, the idea of Vimes's Watch and the Phoenix Guards meeting up for mutual professional development or something would definitely not go over well, haha XD

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Oh, duh! She's a Mormont!
Ah, there we go! "Here We Stand" are even perfect House words for her - slightly fatalistic, but determined as hell, and not at all unwilling to fight, but tends much more towards defense than offense. And she lacks the Baratheon/Greyjoy craving for power, but is sneakier/more cynical than the Starks. Ivanova Mormont it is!

All very good points re: Arya & Susan. She would definitely have some choice words to say about the Faceless Men in general, and they sure could commisserate over distant/ineffective but secretly loving fathers, deaths in the family, etc.

I basically read The Phoenix Guards for Tazendra
Tazendra and Aerich are tied for my favorite right now - I always did like Athos best, but Tazendra is just so much fun!

[hamsterwoman]

"Here We Stand" are even perfect House words for her - slightly fatalistic,

Yes! I hadn't thought about the fatalism in the motto, but it actually totally works for her. Settled!

Tazendra and Aerich are tied for my favorite right now - I always did like Athos best, but Tazendra is just so much fun!

It's funny, Athos was always my favorite, since childhood, but Aerich is actually my least favorite of the bunch. I think as a Lyorn he's missing that touch of darkness in his mystery, which apparently must've been a large part of what I find attractive about Athos. But lots of Paarfi fans like him very much (and Paarfi certainly does, heh), so I'm glad you're enjoying him! :)

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

I really, really hope that the doctors help you resolve the problem! I have to practicaly advice on the matter, but I'll be cheering on you *hug*

I'm really touched that you decided to hold back posting your Temeraire sorting on my behalf. I've just finished the first book and am on the second atm, and will try to read them asap so I can enjoy discussing your and jesteros's sortings:) Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with the shows that's been sorted - but I liked you playing with their houses' colors on the names!XD

Thank you for the introductory meme!
Heeh, that summer birthday sentiments seem pretty familiar - my younger brother's been born in August and has forever complained that no one is ever there to celebrate it with him.

Your family and friends sound really nice! You have a knack for describing people that just makes them so real (especially what you said about your mom, P, A and J). And your pers omg:3 Gotta love those nicknames! What kind of birds do you keep as pets?

I'm a bit confused as to how this graduation thing works - in Russia, graduation with honors only means you have over 75% of As and stuff and does not reflect on your further career much. I also like your majors-minors verreh much! I didn't realize being a librarian is so much work (it would have been my dream job if Russian librarians had a remuneration that could cover at least half of the cost of living, poor people)

Maskerade! I just love it! The Witches books have been my favourite from the start (my first book was Wyrd Sisters), which got replaced by Watch and Tiffany later. I haven't reread JRRT in a long time, though (gotta admit I love Hobbit best=P)

I had to google cloche hats, but they look very classy - is there going to be a picture of yours?:) Best of luck with your girlifying project!

You intro meme was very handy - and I've been thinking I need to make an intro post myself, but I'm always babbling about stuff on my and other people's journals so much that I think it's already unnecessary to make a separate post, but it seems pretty discourteous to people who have no idea who I am yet. I'll try to make up for it soon, I promise:) But for your convenience the basics are these. Full name's Kamilya (Kay for the convenience of the English speakers, since I never felt comfortable going by a better approximation of Camilla), 23, six years of international relations behind my back (focus on European studies and Greece). I live in Moscow and work in advisory, forensics (and sort of gag on my job most days). Extravert, Aries, Targaryen:)

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I have to practicaly advice on the matter, but I'll be cheering on you *hug*
Thanks! ^.^ Cheering-on is much appreciated.

I've just finished the first book and am on the second atm, and will try to read them asap so I can enjoy discussing your and jesteros's sortings:)
*happy flail* Hope you enjoyed the first one, and are continuing to enjoy the second!

And, thanks about the colors - they play merry hell with fonts, for some reason (do those sections turn up in a weird font for you?), but they're so much fun to do!

What kind of birds do you keep as pets?
Chickens (Belligerenty, recently renamed Brave for surviving three fox attacks [and because my sister had just seen the movie], and Sunshine, recently renamed Buffy, because A) she's buff-colored, and B) we now have a chicken named Buffy) and a parakeet (Sunshine; her mate Lil' Handsome died a few months ago). Can you tell that their names were a group effort? XD We also have a bird feeder that attracts hummingbirds, blue jays, chickadees, and some unidentified hoppy little brown birds.

in Russia, graduation with honors only means you have over 75% of As and stuff and does not reflect on your further career much.
I can't speak for everyone, as I've heard it described slightly differently for different institutions, but for the California public education system, graduating with honors means that you take a year-long Honors course (which produces a heavy-duty, highly polished 20-25 page research paper, very useful for grad schools that ask for writing samples). And it doesn't have much effect on one's job per se, but it does look great on resumés, grad school applications, etc., which, given that the grad school I'm hoping to get into is super-duper competitive, may give me a very necessary boost.

Sorry to hear about Russian librarians' salaries - librarian is absolutely my dream job, and while it's not exactly going to make me rich, it's at least a living.

Maskerade! I just love it! The Witches books have been my favourite from the start (my first book was Wyrd Sisters)
Maskerade is DA BOMB. Granny as Lady Esemerelda, here as well as in Witches Abroad, is especially awesome! My first was Monstrous Regiment, which oddly enough, I ended up not liking all that much, but then I read the rest of the Watch books, followed by everything else in chronological order, and was hooked.

And, yay for The Hobbit! It's my go-to comfort food book.

is there going to be a picture of yours?:)
Here's one (http://lunasariel.livejournal.com/100652.html) (towards the bottom of the post) from when My Hat was fresh out of the box (the one you see in the picture is the one I still have, despite what I say in the post - I named my hat Edith, and then couldn't really give her up), but I'm considering posting a few pics to prove the success of my re-girlification process when I emerge from the chrysalis (read: figure out what the hell I'm doing with makeup).

Thanks for your mini intro post! All very useful stuff to know. :) Kamilya is a really pretty name, so hope you don't mind if I use it from time to time. And international relations, advisory, and forensics all sounds very glamorous and superspy-like, but from your description, I would guess that it's...not. And, heh, I had kind of an inkling about the Targaryen bit...*eyes icon(s)*

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

Yup, I'm enjoying the gratuitous dragon-cuddling fest that is Temeraire alright! I mean, it's so mushy I cannot even be cynical at all:) I have some complaints, but I think I'll set them out properly when I get to write my October reading roundup (which has like three - four if I finish ToJ by November - items thing months? Disgrace to my geekiness XD)

The colors show up alright, no worries:) And bird's nicknames are much love *cuted out*

I'm very happy for you (and slightly envious too=P) that you have such a clear-cut idea of what you want to do in life, and have done so much to achieve it. Best of luck with your super-duper grad school!

Granny is kickass! She was totally my favourite witch ever, but I'm so much of a Nanny myself that I never even hoped to grow up like a 'Lady Esmerelda' XD And Monstrous Regiment I read after almost everything else, and it was a good thing too - I just loved it (it glorifies Sweet Polly Oliver TP-style, how could I not:) But I love Maskerade most of all for the Phantom meta and Agnes.

YOU PICTURE IS ADORABLE! My first reaction was omg cuuute *not referring to hat* and wow, classy *referring to hat*. You have a very clear-eyed look about you, which is lovely imo:) I'm always forever figdety and mimicky myself, so naturally the opposites get my admiration:) Edith is a very fitting name for the hat, and I'll be looking forward to the pictures when you emerge a dolled-up butterfly!:) #geekscanhavebimbohobbiestoo

I ended up writing that intro post in full too (I guess you'll see it in your f-list), because your example of a proper host behavior was just the inspiration I needed:) So thank you. And you are totally free to use my full name (few people call me by my name at alll tbh so I'm gratified like you wouldn't believe it when someone feels like using it yes yes I am a kamidere at heart sorreeeh <3)The stress goes to the last syllable, if you're interested:) The glamorous bit is indeed curious like that - somehow my career/occupations lead me to all the posh places but I totally end up chipping the glamour off by making fun of it (and there is a lot to make fun of, trust me). Targaryen identity is something I'm absurdly enjoying too much (must be all the free license to maniacal laughter), but to be fair I was tied for Targ/Martell with one vote difference.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Granny is kickass! She was totally my favourite witch ever, but I'm so much of a Nanny myself that I never even hoped to grow up like a 'Lady Esmerelda'
That's one of my favorite things about the Granny&Nanny team - there are some times when Nanny needs Granny to be all hard and cold and make the heart-wrenching decision, but there are also so many places that Granny just doesn't know what she's doing (Maskerade case in point), and the ubiquitous little old lady comes in really handy. But just in general, I loves me some kickass witches!

And Agnes is one of those characters who kind of uncomfortably reminds me of myself at my most lugubrious.

You have a very clear-eyed look about you, which is lovely imo:)
*blushes* Thanks! One thing I love about Edith is that she gives me exactly that clear-eyed look you mention. I normally look kind of vague, but Edith makes me look awesome. *preen* And hells yeah, #geekscanhavebimbohobbiestoo!

The stress goes to the last syllable, if you're interested:)
Good to know; I've been mentally pronouncing it "Kam-IL-ya." XD

somehow my career/occupations lead me to all the posh places but I totally end up chipping the glamour off by making fun of it (and there is a lot to make fun of, trust me).
Haha, the Targ/Martell split totally makes sense, because this is such a Martell thing to do!

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

Granny and Nanny are very much a red oni blue oni team:) And I think every fangirl can empathize with Agnes to some extend! I was happy she showed up in Carpe Jugulum too, but Maskerade as her spotlight book is unsurpassable)
Looking vague is a funny term, I like it:) Reminded me of a Gaussian girl trope - it's not the same at all meaning-wise, but still funny.
Yup, I know about that stress thing - most people get it wrong. The male - the original - variant of the name is Kamil, and names like that have the stress fall on the last syllable, so confusion ahoy:)

[brit-columbia.livejournal.com]

I'm quite concerned about your emotional state and hope you find a way to get back on your usual even keel soon. I'm glad you spoke up about it and are actively looking for solutions.

I got quite a kick out of your descriptions of your parents respective significant others! My mom has been gone for 7 years, but my dad's gf causes all kinds of mixed feelings (but more often negative ones) within me which I alternate between feeling slightly guilty about and justified in.

Good luck with the re-girlifying! I kind of sensed that was coming, ever since the Moonstone jewelery and Your Hat became a part of your life. Heck, I'd say it even goes back to the green skirt mention! I'm very interested in further developments on this front. I bought a lovely soft, brown hat recently and, honestly, I think of you every time I put it on.

Keep your spirits up as best you may, and keep us posted! *Tight hug*

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you spoke up about it and are actively looking for solutions.
Thanks very much for your concern; always nice to know that one is being thought of and sympathized with! This is especially meaningful coming from you, since you know a thing or two about battling depression yourself. So *tight hug* right back atcha.

my dad's gf causes all kinds of mixed feelings (but more often negative ones) within me which I alternate between feeling slightly guilty about and justified in.
I know the feeling! Like, there's nothing wrong with them per se, I just can't make myself really like them.

I'm sorry about your mom; I don't think I knew that. :(

I bought a lovely soft, brown hat recently and, honestly, I think of you every time I put it on.
Haha, I actually do own a soft brown hat (My Hat v.0.5) - your psychic powers are increasing!

[mauvais-pli.livejournal.com]

Your intro is an interesting read AND I also have a Hat in my own intro post, so I heartily congratulate you on yours! Not to mention, lace-up boots of the proper steampunky/romantic feel are a dream, but I still haven't found mine, so I settled for some regular stompy half-boots with lots of studs for the meantime.

I admit I am insanely interested in what J had to say about The Name of the Wind, because, so far, I've met one Kvothe stan, and that's me. I mean, Anna likes it too, but I think I can claim a higher level of stanning on the basis that I have waxed poetic about Who Kvothe Is and why his story is a good one, or, well, why I HOPE his story turns out to be worth its salt, since we're still to see if it delivers.

Fun fact, my dad also used to be some sort of pro-class cyclist, as a junior still, though, I believe.

She first took me to see The Fellowship of the Ring when I was 11, which was quite literally one of the biggest formative moments of my life, let me read at the table..
Wait, there are households where reading at the table is forbidden?! To be fair, we haven't had proper 'family table time' since my grandma passed away and it's been just me and Mum -- but all space is free reading space, it is known. Also, I think I went to either FotR or TTT with my mother, too. Ah, good times. My standing dream right now is assemble fourteen people to go see Hobbit -- but the sad truth is I don't know fourteen people I could rope into doing anything. Maybe I should set Kay on it...

However, I don’t think that we’ll ever be Bestest Friends Forever and Ever, because she says she doesn’t like LotR, and called it “pretentious.” Huh.
Hehe, I cannot now remember precisely, but I'm sure I've had similar feelings about more than one person.

What does your Firely t-shirt look like? (I just finished watching it for the first time, I'm on a high :P)

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

some regular stompy half-boots with lots of studs
Ooh, sounds like my kind of footwear! Good luck on your boot quest, though - I've been looking for mine for YEARS, and had several false leads along the way. Someday, your boots will come!

I am insanely interested in what J had to say about The Name of the Wind
Actually, after all this time, I don't remember the particulars. XD I do recall that he recommended it on the strength that he brought it along on a family vacation to Hawaii for something to do while tanning, and basically holed himself up in their hotel room and swallowed it in three days, though. I'm fairly sure he avoided any particulars - he's the most spoiler-phobic spoiler-vigilant person I've ever met (and with good reason, too - I'm HORRIBLE with spoilers, so I'm pretty sure he developed his hyper-awareness as some sort of defense mechanism XD), so I'm hoping to get some more particulars from him once I've actually read the book.

I have waxed poetic about Who Kvothe Is and why his story is a good one, or, well, why I HOPE his story turns out to be worth its salt, since we're still to see if it delivers.
I admit I didn't read too far in your poetix waxings, since I'm literally still on the first page and trying to avoid spoilers, but I liked what I read in the first few paragraphs! XD

my dad also used to be some sort of pro-class cyclist
Oh, cool! Actually, reading your intro post, our dads sound very similar - dreamy types who quit their day jobs to Follow Their Dreams, which we're indulgent-but-not-enthusiastic about.

all space is free reading space, it is known.
It is known! Actually, one of the reasons I'm not a huge fan of my stepmom is that she doesn't allow reading at the table. XD

Hope you reach your (highly admirable) goal of a full compliment for Hobbit! I'll be there in spirit, if it helps...

What does your Firely t-shirt look like?
I actually have two, hopeless nerd that I am - the one that's too ratty to wear outside the house anymore is a Kaylee's Spaceship Repair Shop one (sadly, looks like the design is no longer) with Serenity in silhouette and a bunch of cute little butterflies (and the best tagline ever: If we mess up it's not like you'll be able to yell at us), and the still-wearable one is a Stegosaurus and a T-Rex having the "sudden but inevitable betrayal" conversation (http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/zoom/baf9_inevitable_betrayal.jpg).

Oh, and I just finished watching it for the first time, I'm on a high :P: squeeeeee! JSYK, I'm completely and utterly okay with reading the results of your high. ;)

[mauvais-pli.livejournal.com]

Good luck on your boot quest, though
Thank you! XD I'm a, um - prolific walker comes to mind - and I managed to kill a pair of Converse in a matter of months, but I don't despair one day I'll find a pair of boots made for walking and kicking ass :P

I completely understand re: spoilers! Kay is like you, I suppose, spoilers just stick to her like she's covered in some special spoiler-attractive glue. I try to walk a middle road, but I am often quite careless when I'm agitated. I try to give a fair warning, though.

Actually, reading your intro post, our dads sound very similar - dreamy types who quit their day jobs to Follow Their Dreams
They do! Because I keep butting my head against the establishment mine believes I'm destined to repeat his history -- though he came from a line of military men, so it was much easier for him until he broke away. Then again, he was way more proactive about 'following his dream' than I am. Le sigh.

the one that's too ratty to wear outside the house anymore is a Kaylee's Spaceship Repair Shop one
That sounds like the most awesome t-shirt to ever t-shirt XD The fact that it's worn down should add to its charm, heh. The dinosaurs are great, too! I made all sorts of noises when I finally heard that line 'in the flesh' or 'live', so to say -- though that is true of many quote from Firefly that are imbedded in the geek culture.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Kay is like you, I suppose, spoilers just stick to her like she's covered in some special spoiler-attractive glue.
Yep, that's me. XP I once actually spoiled Ned Stark's death for an IRL friend of mine, and felt HORRIBLE about it (I swear I thought he was past that part!), so pretty much ever since I've been on Spoiler Defcon 1.

I made all sorts of noises when I finally heard that line 'in the flesh' or 'live', so to say -- though that is true of many quote from Firefly that are imbedded in the geek culture.
Or even in regular culture! I swear I've heard "shiny" from people I'm pretty certain aren't Firefly fans, or even geeks of any stripe.