![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunasarielIf I had to sum up this week in one word, it would be "ouch." The Mystery Cuts from my last post didn't do too well, to the point where sitting down became virtually impossible, I walked with a heavy limp, and I've gone through half a box of band-aids since Thursday. I'll spare y'all the biological grossness, but let's just say that I'm now seriously considering taking these puppies to the student health center, even though I have exactly zero time this week. There was also some technological ouch which started out with me changing my email password and ending up with losing most of the notes on my iPhone, some of them fairly important. And *then* there was some academic ouch-ness, as my "whee! free time!" post last time was made in ignorance of the paper on Ulysses I had due on Thursday, which caused a minor panic for most of the week, until our professor pushed it back to Monday. But I also have *another* paper for a different class due on Thursday, so we'll see how that goes. And then I'll be gone over the three-day weekend visiting family in SoCal, since I'll be with friends for Thanksgiving (which I'm actually a wee bit nervous about, since either H has lost her phone again or she's not speaking to me for some reason; hoping to get this cleared up soon) and I want to remind them what I look like every once in a while.
Halloween was only "ouch" in a thematically appropriate way, though: I didn't get to watch a movie, but I did see a lot of cool costumes. There were a Slenderman (who is apparently A Thing on other corners of the internet) and a very good Loki wandering around (he was even in-character - he responded very graciously to some guy yelling "Hail Loki, king of Asgard!"), and a zombie Belle from Beauty and the Beast and what I think was an 11th Doctor in my Early American Lit class. Our professor said that she might dress up as Ben Franklin, whose autobiography we were reading at the time, but she ended up not having time. I was thinking of going as a flapper (I already have My Hat, of course, and could borrow the beads and maybe the heels from my roomie), but when I went to try on dresses, I found that I wasn't, er, planar enough to pull off the flapper look, so I ended up going as the ever-popular English Major With A Paper Due In Two Days. Scary!
Because I can't sit, I either stand or lie on my side or my stomach. This has had both good and bad consequences. Bad, because I've been taking a lot of unscheduled naps that take up useful time, and good, because Saturday, since I couldn't make the planned errands run (I basically stopped being able to walk on Friday), I got a *lot* done. I read a sum total of about 300 pages, which knocked out a good chunk of my weekend reading, which in turn left me A) so very, very done with reading, and B) in need of something fun, so I managed to watch a few episodes of Babylon 5 (write-up of everything I've been chipping away at below). Things are better today, but I'm still not planning on moving much, since, yay productivity (and there's also the small matter of that paper due tomorrow).
HoME was quiet again this week. We covered Eärendil and Númenor and had neat philosophical discussions about whether Men rebelling was inevitable, if it was all Sauron's prodding, or, as is more likely, some mixture thereof. It's crazy to think that we've finished the Silmarillion proper, and now the Akallabêth (which I can never, ever spell or pronounce right the first time), and the entirety of LotR takes up, like, 20 pages. It really makes me wonder what a decompressed Silmarillion would look like - one main reason a lot of people give for liking LotR better is the closer look we get at the characters, and the more realistic development they get. In Sil, everybody is a larger-than-life figure like Túrin or Beren and Lúthien, but in LotR we get wizards that smoke pipeweed and hobbit gardeners. The epic, non-naturalistic style does work for the grand myth-type stories of the Sil, of course, but it would be neat to have more than the aptly-named Unfinished Tales and the longer but not necessarily more intimate Lays of Beleriand for comparison.
Pretty much my only entertainment intake this week has been snippets of the aforementioned B5, which I've been enjoying very much. It's a different flavor of space opera than the Vorkosigan Saga, let's say LotR IN SPACE to Vor's less soul-crushing ASOIAF, but it takes all kinds, and while B5 takes rather a different tone than Miles'
"Ceremonies of Light and Darkness" was overall, a good episode. The crew's new uniforms look damn spiffy (well, just about everybody looks good in silver and black, but these guys especially), and it was all kinds of awesome to see Londo using his Magnificent Bastard powers for good, or something very like good. The bit with Sheridan, Ivanova, and Garibaldi using their codenames was just hilarious - Sheridan's was Obsidian (which I vaguely recall is the name of a ship he commanded or defeated, but just sounds badass), Ivanova's was Griffin (a reference to imperial Russia? They had a griffin on their flag, right?), and Garibaldi's was...Peekaboo. Well, he was right in that nobody would ever be able to guess it. XD I'm still not terribly invested in Sheridan/Delenn, but they got some nice moments. And poor Lennier also confessed his feelings, which, awwww. I don't know how much of his whole spiel about his love being purely romantic/aesthetic and him being at peace with the knowledge that Delenn will never love him the way he loves her/is already in love with someone else is true, but it made me worry about him. He seems the type to make tragic Heroic Sacrifices for his lady love, Arthuriana-style.
I do get a feeling that Delenn was rather shortchanged this epsiode, though. As the messianic figure du jour, of course she was the one to receive everybody's confessions, to provide comfort when possible and absolution when necessary. But I don't think she got to confess anything? As we see later, she's got some things preying on her mind, but this episode was very much about her listening to everyone else's problems, and solving them where possible. I did find the confession scenes powerful - the command crew turning over their uniforms was a little on-the-nose, but they symbolism was nice, nonetheless. And you could see how much it cost them all to give up the symbols of their old lives, and to confess to things like stims abuse, bisexuality, or just being terrified of one's own rage. Speaking of which, as a card-carrying Garibaldi Fan, I haven't exactly been liking the trend towards using him as a butt monkey/comic relief this season, so I was glad that this was addressed. One of the things I like about him so much is that contrast, where he's just a big pasta-making cartoon-watching doofus on the surface, but he can go really dark, and he's afraid of just what would happen if he ever really cut loose.
"Sic Transit Vir" was, duh, a Vir episode, and thus guaranteed to please. It's neat to see how, even after he's prophesied to become Emperor and running a Narn Underground Railroad, he's still adorable. Like, he's trying to find a way to tell his terrifying Axe Crazy fiancé that she's a certified psychopath, and he still tries to do so without hurting her feelings. Like, she's just revealed that she's killed hundreds of Narns, some of them in kind of alarmingly gruesome ways, considers them animals, etc., and his reaction is not to A) run screaming in the other direction (the sane reaction), B) marry her and then poison her (the Centauri reaction), or C) kill her right then and there (the Narn freedom fighter's reaction), but to politely explain to her that he doesn't think she would be very happy with him, and that they both should marry for love. I'm normally pretty down on Tullys, as one of their main characteristics seems to be a sort of hapless ineffectuality, a gullibleness brought on by misplaced trust, but Vir is my ideal of what a Tully *can* be: he's polite, he's compassionate, he's a total sweetheart, he genuinely doesn't wish harm on a single living soul, and he's still one of the most effective characters on the show, in terms of actually effecting positive change. I also liked his conversations with Ivanova on the subject of, er, personal relations, because you can just *see* the cringing horror dawning in her eyes, not only because this is Vir we're talking about, but as he gets into the details of Centauri anatomy (six?!).
"A Late Delivery from Avalon" was kind of overblown, IMHO - the actor playing "Arthur" hammed it up to the nth degree, the fight scenes were kinda stilted, and goddammit, Stephen, everyone was telling you to let things lie, but you had to keep on prodding, didn't you? He admits his self-righteousness and the fact that he doesn't, in fact, always know best, in the end, but that seems to be the end of it; all is forgiven and forgotten (see more on this below), and past experience has shown that he's just going to do the same thing again somewhere down the line, so it's not even as if he's learned anything. Feh. I also wasn't crazy about Garibaldi's continuing descent into buffoonery, which, *headdesk*. Marcus the Arthurian fanboy was ten kinds of adorkable, though - you could almost hear the "squeeeeeee" when he was actually addressing Arthur, or just passing the lore on to someone else.
"Ship of Tears" absolutely *made* G'Kar for me, the way "In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum" made Vir. I was absolutely blown away by his response to Delenn's revelation that Our Heroes are essentially responsible for the destruction of the Narn homeworld and G'Kar's public humiliation and disgrace. His reaction is one of literally indescribable grief, but delivered with a sort of grave dignity that...just, wow. Just earlier that episode, I was thinking about how far he'd come from his initial characterization as, basically, a TOS Klingon - violent, belligerent, and just not all that bright. This occurred to me when he was bugging Ivanova about getting in on Our Heroes' little cabal, and I was worried that they were taking him in the opposite direction, obsequious and cringing, which was *not* something I wanted to see happen to Mr. Proud Warrior Race Guy. But then he had that talk with Delenn, and I actually teared up a little. He didn't forgive her, and we don't know whether he ever will; just because he understands the necessity of essentially sacrificing the Narns to (hopefully) preserve everyone else doesn't mean that he's okay with the high'n'mighty Space Elves sitting around with their thumbs up their asses while millions of his people die horribly and his own reputation goes from "wise leader" to "a few pepperonis short of a pizza." And I love stories that do this, where characters don't get karmic get-out-of-jail-free cards because they feel bad about mistakes they've made or people they've screwed over - he acknowledges that Delenn feels horrible about it, and that it was a necessary thing to do, but that doesn't bring the dead back to life. He may have come an incredibly long way from the way he was in s1, but he's still very, very human (well, Narn), and the fact that he knows why all this happened doesn't make it any easier for him to swallow. There's a lot more I could say about this, and how much I now respect and admire the holy living hell out of G'Kar, but most of it would come out as incoherent keysmashing interspersed with equally-incoherent ramblings on character development and repetitions of the phrase "grave dignity" a couple dozen times, so let's just end with "me like bumpy chin man" and leave it at that.
Oh, and this spate has made me really, really want some sort of sci-fi pan-fandom crossover, where Babylon 5, Firefly, Star Wars (original trilogy, because A) Han Solo, B) the prequels confuse and terrify me, and C) who the hell knows what Disney is going to do with them), Doctor Who/Torchwood, the Vorkosigan Saga, and Star Trek (let's go with NuTrek, since it's shinier and has more character development) are all thrown together in some sort of fandom blender, and come up with AWESOME. I started thinking seriously about this when B5 seceded from EarthForce and the Minbari showed up for their CMOA, and how awesome would it be for, like, the Millennium Falcon and the TARDIS* and the Enterprise and the Prince Serg and the Triumph (or whatever the Dendarii flagship is at the moment) and Serenity and Galactica (hey, I've seen a few episodes, and they have a bunch of cool zippy little fighters, equally cool codenames, and Jamie Bamber) and all the various fleets these ships represent all show up to help? Granted, not all of these would be terribly useful in a pitched battle, but I'd be willing to put good money on Wash as the best pilot in the business, and the TARDIS could probably hold at least a third of B5's population if they needed to evacuate. And then there was a similar moment towards the end of The Vor Game (the title of which, btw, always reminds me of LoveGame. I'M NOT SORRY), when another Big Damn Heroes moment, as satisfying as it was on its own, could have been significantly improved by Han Solo's cowboy yell and Wash's "Now here's something you can't do" (because, by this point, "I'm a leaf on the wind" is just depressing, and one thing Big Damn Heroes moments/CMOAs should never be is depressing).
* Pedant's note: TARDIS doesn't get italicization because it's an acronym, and also because it stands for a type of vehicle, not an individual vehicle's name. Pedant note complete.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-11-04 10:11 pm (UTC)so I ended up going as the ever-popular English Major With A Paper Due In Two Days. Scary!
Pretty scary, yeah! XD Though, really, your Hat cries out to be part of a flapper costume -- maybe next year :) Also too bad the prof didn't have a chance to dress up as Ben Franklin -- that would be a pretty fun costume, especially if she attempted to stay in character.
The crew's new uniforms look damn spiffy
Heh, I think many fans actually hated the new uniforms when they first came about. They looked too Star Trek-y to me, and people complained about the "spiderweb" look. The early season ones still look more B5 to me, I must admit.
(a reference to imperial Russia? They had a griffin on their flag, right?)
Two-headed eagle, actually, but it might still be a reference.
But, yeah, Garibaldi's codename was, of course, the best :D
I'm with you in that Lennier's unrequited love for Delenn is kind of the most interesting thing about Sheridan/Delenn for me.
as he gets into the details of Centauri anatomy (six?!).
Centauri anatomy jokes never get old!
I couldn't remember at which point in season 3 G'Kar really hits the final stretch of characterization, but from your write-ups I guess it must've been "Ship of Tears". I do remember being blown away by his arc, too -- I had always loved Londo, though buffoonery and deal with the devil-ness and everything that followed, but S3 really, really sold me on G'Kar and made him one of my favorites, and Londo and G'Kar collectively my favorite set for the show. And, yeah, "grave dignity" is a really good phrase for him -- which would've been difficult to imagine previously, eh?
And just generally with you on the Garibaldi and Vir love.
And yep, I would also love some space opera-esque crossovers between B5, Firefly, NuTrek, Vorkosigan Saga, and Star Wars (and whatever else, the more the merrier!). I mean, the universes are obviously different ones, and it's easier to cross over B5, Trek, and Star Wars 'cos they have real aliens and Vorkosigan/Firefly because
Miles/Riverthey don't, but B5/Firefly would be awesome, too (Ivanova and Zoe commiserating over their commanding officers' cowboyishness! Inara and Delenn having tea in pretty surroundings! Kaylee and Garibaldi watching cartoons! Franklin and Simon talking shop! Book and Lennier (or possibly Book and G'Kar) talking religion!), and B5 and Vorkosigan Saga could be similarly awesome (I think I noticed in some crossover memes that the Centauri and the Barrayarans would understand each other pretty well, and also it would be just FUN to unleash Miles et al on a pan-galactic threat like the Shadows. Oh, and I would LOVE to see a scene between Miles and Morden for reasons that have to do with later in the Vorkosigan series.) Basically, BRING IT ON!no subject
Date: 2012-11-05 01:33 am (UTC)If I don't manage to get to the health center, that and Neosporin are pretty much my plan. *shakes fist at frail cage of flesh*
too bad the prof didn't have a chance to dress up as Ben Franklin -- that would be a pretty fun costume, especially if she attempted to stay in character.
That would have been really cool! Professors who dress up as their objects of study/lecture forever and always get my seal of approval - the professor who had us do that Mapping Middle-Earth project that resulted in my Minas Tirith sculpture had us dress up as the character/race of our choice and bring in breakfast for a final, and she came as a Hobbit. Just, y'know, if any further proof was needed that anyone who introduces LotR as an academic topic, especially for 6th graders, is automatically awesome.
Lennier's unrequited love for Delenn is kind of the most interesting thing about Sheridan/Delenn for me.
Yup, Sheridan/Delenn is just so...straightforward. There's still time for things to get ocmplicated, of course, but for now, there's really no obstacle to them getting together - they agree on everything, they work together, they have no secrets from each other, and nobody (well, nobody whose opinions they care about, anyway) is going to oppose them getting together. Poor Lennier, though. :(
Centauri anatomy jokes never get old!
It is known. (I can totally imagine the writers getting hammered just before going in to write the Centauri portion of the character bible and then doing the whole thing drunk off their asses.)
which would've been difficult to imagine previously, eh?
Exactly! I was actually a little annoyed with him at first, because he was such a stock space opera character, but then there are wham episodes like these, and OMG LAYERS!
I love all of your crossover interactions! Kaylee and Garibaldi watching cartoons would be the most adorable thing ever (and I can totally see him semi-adopting her and making the "I'm watching you" gesture at Simon), and Inara and Delenn deciding the fate of the universe over tea would be something that, were I Morden or the Alliance, would have me *very* worried, and the Book/Lennier/G'Kar roundtable discussion re: religion would certainly be enlightening.
But maybe it's just because it's freshest in my mind, but I just want to unleash Miles on the B5-verse, sit back, and enjoy the fireworks. I agree that he would enjoy sparring with the Centauri, but I also want to see the command staff's face when he starts going all IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS (and River starts going SAEDI SAEDI SAEDI right back at him). And, ooh, a scene between him and Morden would be *interesting* - I don't know whether he's smart enough to take Vir's route instead of going up thinking he can make a wish and then somehow turn it to his advantage (although, tbh, knowing him, he's probably just about the only person who could). Cordelia, of course, would love to get her hands on B5's tech to see how it works, and might even end up having an enlightening conversation with Kosh or someone. And, for some reason, I could really see Gregor getting along with Delenn - I dunno, I guess I think he would just find her restful?
Basically, BRING IT ON!
I've even got a way it could happen! During his stint as the Minbari liason, Vir could have made some interesting new friends since, if the Vorlons were to create portals to other dimensions in order to bring in additional help against the Shadows, the Minbari would definitely be the first point of contact, so, for a little while, certain areas of Minbar would just be crazy smorgasbords of sci-fi awesome. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-11-05 07:21 am (UTC)had us dress up as the character/race of our choice and bring in breakfast for a final, and she came as a Hobbit.
That is indeed very awesome! Not that I needed any furthe rconvincing on that score :) (So, what character/race did you dress up as?)
Yup, Sheridan/Delenn is just so...straightforward
Which is kind of weird, if you think about it, given that they're the Aragorn/Arwen couple and, moreover, come from different sides of a war fought in both of their memories, and given their roles. There are a few more complications in later episodes, but it's still a remarkably smooth path.
(I can totally imagine the writers getting hammered just before going in to write the Centauri portion of the character bible
LOL, that might explain that XD
and I can totally see him semi-adopting her and making the "I'm watching you" gesture at Simon
Oh, totally! :D
when he starts going all IDEAS IDEAS IDEAS (and River starts going SAEDI SAEDI SAEDI right back at him
*cracks up*
going up thinking he can make a wish and then somehow turn it to his advantage
Yeah, that, I think, is one of the places where the LotR IN SPACE parallels come in. I actually hadn't thought of that quite in so many words, but Mr Morden and his associates as the One Ring, giving you the power to accomplish your heart's desire. And Vir's rejection of the offer is much like Sam's immunity to the Ring -- he is too sensible and down-to-earth to be tempted by the sorts of things the Ring knows how to offer. (Sam, btw? I'm pretty sure he's another Tully, in the best possible way. Well, he's smallfolk, obviously, but if one were to sort him into an ASOIAF house, it would be the one with Family, Duty, Honor as words, I think.) And Miles, I think, wants so much and dreams in grandiose plans, and would thus be sorely, sorely tempted -- also because, as you point out, he would figure he could think his way out of the trap. And I think that in the B5-verse, as in LotR, it just doesn't work that way, fundamentally and philosophically.
Cordelia would have a field day with all the weird aliens, the Vorlon and the Drazi and the Pak'ma'ra (whom I'm probably misspelling), and would love taling to Delenn and Lennier, too, since she's spiritual herself. And I agree that Gregor would find Delenn very pleasant to talk to. And Aral and Garibaldi would have fun hanging out, too, I think, and very carefully not drinking.
The B5 jump gates and the Vorkosiverse wormhole nexus and the whatever faster-than-light gimmick the Star Trek ships use should make it relatively easy to arrange for the crossovers -- the wormholes/jump gates get their wires crossed and dump everybody into the same universe. And one could just postulate that the Firefly universe exists in the same 'verse as B5, but separated from the known nexus, including Earth-that-was, by a collapsed wormhole, which can suddenly reopen at a convenient time. :D
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 05:39 am (UTC)A kind of half-assed Arwen - I had a black velvet cloak that I was very proud of, and a white blouse and green skirt under that (sadly, I didn't own any floaty white dresses; this was the closest I could come), and a green-and-gold necklace of flowers that I thought looked kinda Elvish. But I tried to do my hair like Arwen's, which ended up...not working, so I just kept my hood up the whole time. XD
Which is kind of weird, if you think about it, given that they're the Aragorn/Arwen couple and, moreover, come from different sides of a war fought in both of their memories, and given their roles.
Exactly! Their relationship should be fraught with trouble (secretly, I just wanted a chance to say "fraught"), but nobody really seems to have a problem with it.
Wow, I can't believe I never saw the Ring = Morden/Shadows analogy before, but there it is!
Sam, btw? I'm pretty sure he's another Tully, in the best possible way. Well, he's smallfolk, obviously, but if one were to sort him into an ASOIAF house, it would be the one with Family, Duty, Honor as words, I think.
Hmm, interesting! I've always thought that the Tyrells are an allusion to Sam (they used to be called Gardener, after all, were renowned for curly brown hair and peacefulness and only became rulers once everybody else went off and got killed), but personally, he does seem much more Tully than anything else. It's interesting that the canon Tullys are my least favorite batch of characters that aren't outright antagonists, but I find that so many of my favorite characters in other fandoms are Tullys.
And Miles, I think, wants so much and dreams in grandiose plans, and would thus be sorely, sorely tempted -- also because, as you point out, he would figure he could think his way out of the trap.
Just so. In a worst-case scenario, he's
the Ring'sMorden's perfect target - he's been able to outwit everyone he's come up against so far and assumes that he will continue to do so, and he's so very ripe for tempting into wishes. I don't think he's vain enough to wish for a straight back or strong bones, but he would totally wish for, say, peace/safety for Barrayar, the ability to remove the thread du jour, or he could just make Londo's mistake and wish for respect/acceptance, which could end all kinds of badly.And Aral and Garibaldi would have fun hanging out, too, I think, and very carefully not drinking.
Haha, perfect! Something tells me these two would really get along - aside from sharing war stories and non-alcoholic beverages, they can even compare ulcers and complain about getting old! Aral would immediately ping Garibaldi's "needs a big Italian meal and some cartoons" radar, and he would invite him and Kaylee over (which would probably mean that Cordelia, Miles, Gregor, Kou and Drou, and the Firefly crew all show up too, but w/e).
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:13 am (UTC)I can't believe I never saw the Ring = Morden/Shadows analogy before, but there it is!
I actually don't think I ever thought of it that way, either.
I've always thought that the Tyrells are an allusion to Sam (they used to be called Gardener, after all, were renowned for curly brown hair and peacefulness and only became rulers once everybody else went off and got killed
Oh, interesting! The association with growing things and curly hair is compelling! (although I think that Gardener was the line of the Kings of the Reach, to which the Tyrells serves as stewards. IIRC, they both traced their descent from Garth Greenhand, the first king of the Reach, but the Gardener line was direct and the Tyrells not so much (and apparently other houses in the Reach have better "claim" to the rulership because of more direct descent, but the Harlen Tyrell was in the right place at the right time). I had to read up on all this for the Tyrell Epic Collaboration of Epic, but am not sure I'm still keeping all this straight -- but that's what I remember.
or he could just make Londo's mistake and wish for respect/acceptance, which could end all kinds of badly.
That's kind of what I'm thinking. I think, with Morden, he would want to Rescue everybody, because he's got a saving people thing, but with the actual Ring I'm pretty sure that he would want to use it in some heroic way to finally gain acceptance at home -- and we can all guess how that would turn out.
BTW, somebody out there is writing a LotR/Vorkosigan crossover of epicness, which I can't wait to see.
aside from sharing war stories and non-alcoholic beverages, they can even compare ulcers and complain about getting old!
Totally! (And I so keep wanting to stick Sam Vimes in there. Though he'd probably need a while to get used to Aral, who is a nob.) I think Aral would definitely appreciate Garibaldi's hearty Italian cooking, though he might be slightly O.o at the cartoons at first.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:31 am (UTC)I bow to your Tyrell knowledge! I'd forgotten about the Garth Greenhand thing - seems I was thinking of the Gardeners and the Tyrells as the same family. XD
somebody out there is writing a LotR/Vorkosigan crossover of epicness, which I can't wait to see.
Duuuuuude. They had me at The Council of Count Vorkosigan; can't wait to read this! *crosses fingers in hopes that it does, in fact, come out one of these days*
(And I so keep wanting to stick Sam Vimes in there. Though he'd probably need a while to get used to Aral, who is a nob.)
I was thinking the same thing! Once he and Aral ironed things out (probably facilitated by Cordelia and Sibyl, who would respect the hell out of one another, even if their styles are rather different), the three of them would make a hell of a team. I would totally watch a sitcom where scenes of them grumbling about Kids These Days and drinking lemonade in a bar are intercut with them kicking ass together and their various teams interacting with each other.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:54 am (UTC)Yes! I think Sybil would remind Cordelia of Alys a lot, and they seem to get along well, and the two of them would be able to respect each other and smooth things over for the mens.
I would totally watch a sitcom where scenes of them grumbling about Kids These Days and drinking lemonade in a bar are intercut with them kicking ass together
I would also totally watch this sitcom / read this fic / live in a universe that contains this :)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-05 12:15 pm (UTC)Your SCAAARY Halloween costume got me rofling (and I think anyone with a Paper Due Yesterday can relate, regardless of what they major in), but I really wish some time in the future you can get to that flapper image - sounds like just the thing to do with Edith:)
Unfortunately, can't be any helpful with Babylon5 - haven't seen any of it, but glad you have fun with it:)
Best of luck with the papers and everything! *sympathetic hug*
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 05:43 am (UTC)Huh, that's...disquieting. Do you normally get bad allergic reactions?
Is Halloween a big thing in Russia? If so, did you dress up?
Best of luck with the papers and everything! *sympathetic hug*
Thanks! :) *trudges back into paper mines*
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:00 am (UTC)Halloween is a recently a very handy occasion to partay, but so far I didn't manage to do a single dress-up. But it's kind of traditional for my household to make some pumpkin carving for sheer aesthetics of it and because Dn sort of proposed on Halloween (well, one day before Halloween because he was working on the day itself), ring inside the pumpkin and all XD
Hold on there, Rose! There ain't no mines deep enough *encouraging wink*
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:16 am (UTC)AWWW That is adorable! (I did not realize there was such personal significance to the jack-o'-lantern carving!)
(Boo to the mysterious allergic reaction, though :/ I hope it goes away soon!)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:28 am (UTC)Well, yes)) I even have that round ring-box saved somewhere (originally in the shape of a rose, I think) that he painted a scary Jack face on with a black marker and stuffed it inside the poor vegetable XDD And unlike the wedding anniversary (which is just a day before his birthday and thus gets forgotten easily), engagement anniversary has a legit reason to be celebrated stealthily (at the same time not annoying me with stupid relatives calling and wishing me all the housewifely virtues XD)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:35 am (UTC)D'awwww! That's freakin' adorable.
And, lol, I love your reasoning re: engagement anniversary vs. wedding anniversary. Backhanded compliments/well-wishes are >:/
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 08:09 am (UTC)Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2012-11-05 12:49 pm (UTC)I haven't seen B5 since it aired. But oh, your description of A Late Delivery From Avalon and Marcus-the-Arthurian-Fanboy and his squee. And oh, Vir and his anatomy. I STILL say "attributes" with the hand gesture and "So you think you've been symbolically cast... in a bad light?"
Hope you feel better soon!
ps, I wrote non-Hornblower smut. 1993 Three Musketeers Athos/d'Artagnan. Might make a good study break.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:04 am (UTC):D There's a discussion going on a few threads above that threatens to spiral out into a full-blown orgy of sci-fi awesomeness, which you're welcome to join! The more cracktasticness, the better.
I STILL say "attributes" with the hand gesture and "So you think you've been symbolically cast... in a bad light?"
My personal favorite is "Suck on these!" (again, it's the hand gestures that make it), but as
ps, I wrote non-Hornblower smut. 1993 Three Musketeers Athos/d'Artagnan. Might make a good study break.
I saw! This was actually scarily good timing because, while I haven't read The Three Musketeers for ages and ages, I've been working my way through a fantasy pastiche for quite a while (you might have seen it around here as The Phoenix Guards), and I totes ship not!Athos/not!D'Artagnan, so, yeah, your ficlet kind of came at the perfect time.
I haven't left a comment, though, since I kind of tend to, um, gush embarrassingly about how much I love your writing (VIRGINAL!!! And hnnnnng D'Artagnan's pretty hair, and the blend of sexiness and sweetness, and, and, and), and didn't want to unleash the full force of my fangirliness in case you think I'm, y'know, a little nuts (which, granted, wouldn't be untrue, but I like to preserve the illusion of sanity as long as possible). XD
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:21 am (UTC)Oh, do you? ;)
This is one of those ships that I can totally see where it comes from, and I do really like the relationship between Khaavren and Aerich, but don't ship it myself, mostly because I don't like Aerich enough, I think. And, really, I'm all about Tazendra and Pel, with the four friends. (And all about assorted Dragonlords in general... :P)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:44 am (UTC)Increasingly so. There are so many instances where Tazendra and Pel and sometimes that other guy are off getting into shenanigans, and Aerich and Khaavren have their heads together and are just chatting. And, of course, they ALWAYS ride together, and their conversation outside the inn right before they meet Adron was definitely one of those moments of doubtful heterosexuality - Aerich was just so hyper-aware of Khaavren's little tics, and Khaavren was all "I trust you more than anyone, you're so smart," and there was that whole talking-without-words thing where Khaavren knew that Aerich wanted to talk... I don't get an "OTP 4EVA N EVA" vibe from them, but I can definitely see it.
I'm having such a hard time deciding between Tazendra and Aerich for my favorite! Tazendra is just FUN, and I feel that the way Aerich's backstory was presented was a little too ham-fisted for it to really be all that effective, but I do like me some tragic snarky woobies sometimes, yes I do. ;)
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:52 am (UTC)one of those moments of doubtful heterosexuality - Aerich was just so hyper-aware of Khaavren's little tics, and Khaavren was all "I trust you more than anyone, you're so smart," and there was that whole talking-without-words thing
Yeah, there's a lot of that, especially as the first book wears on. And I like you "moment of doubtful heterosexuality" terminology! I can definitely see myself adopting the term -- it's a very handy one! XD
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 08:41 am (UTC)Yowza. It really does! And I can totally see why both you and Morrolan have such crushes on him - I've only read one chapter with him in it (aside from the one where he gets kicked out of the capital), but I like what I've seen so far. He's a nice guy, and one I would like to hang out with, but just a liiiiitle bit unstable, a little impulsive, enough so that I can believe his eventual, er, not-entirely-constructive actions. XD
And I like you "moment of doubtful heterosexuality" terminology! I can definitely see myself adopting the term -- it's a very handy one!
It spreads... >:) I don't think I can take credit for this one, though - I thought I got it from you, but evidently not, so it's probably
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 05:03 pm (UTC)Heh. Yeah, at least I knew that if I decided that I liked Adron more, Morrolan would totally forgive me ;P Ultimately, the madness passed -- I got to Paarfi's Morrolan in the next book, and he was adorable, so the foundations of the world righted themselves. But it was a worrisome several days :P
And, yeah, that, I think, is Adron's charisma -- he's admirable and just a shade too intense, even for a Dragaeran/Dragonlord, which has all kind of potential for grand dramatic tragedy on a global scale.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 06:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 06:22 am (UTC)And when Athos is being all protective to a d'Artagnan who's being all hero-worshippy and saying things like "I'll never forget you," or Horatio and Archie are acting TOTALLY MARRIED, dude, these aren't slashgoggles, these are my regular glasses.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-06 06:23 am (UTC)Also, please to fangirl ANY TIME YOU WISH. That sort of fangirling is what I LIVE for. Seriously. It feeds my soul and makes me want to write more smut. AND OMG YAY YOU GOT THE VIRGINAL PUN. I sent myself into FITS of giggles with that one. Sometimes I worry that I am overly pleased with my own writing (GOD, that one was fun to write, with cynical Athos and his heart of marshmallow fluff), and hearing other people liking it reassures me.
I am doggedly trying to finish my Advent-calendar vignette, and trying to calm a certain INCREDIBLY self-indulgent plotbunny about Athos and an Author-Avatar woman playwright -- a JEWISH woman playwright at that, she lives in the Marais, I have fucking AWESOME backstory for her already -- who's his occasional lover, and a sort of refuge for him. And noticing that a) Dumas is public domain by now, and b) actually naming him as Athos drops out pretty easily, though he of course will be notably similar, and wondering if there's a market for a story about them. Just explaining the NAMES she uses fills in so much story!
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 07:54 am (UTC)I continue to approve of your taste! Clearly, you are a lady of much discernment when it comes to fantasy and/or sci-fi and/or historical fiction.
Seriously. It feeds my soul and makes me want to write more smut.
*Well* then... :D I think I've already commented on just why I love the virginal pun elsewhere, but D'Artagnan is just the most adorkable awkward eager puppy (although, as you point out, a quick study ;D ), and, yes, crunchy-on-the-outside-with-a-gooey-marshmallow-center Athos is just the best. I especially liked Athos' long-suffering bit about not wanting to duel *again* - you can just hear the sigh and eyeroll!
Have you thought about posting your fic to your personal LJ, though? Tumblr hates me, and I hate it right back, but I'd love to be able to give your fic the attention it deserves!
a JEWISH woman playwright at that, she lives in the Marais, I have fucking AWESOME backstory for her already -- who's his occasional lover, and a sort of refuge for him.
Dude, I would read this in a heartbeat! Athos would totally be the type to have a ladyfriend like this, and one can only imagine the dry wit of their conversations.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-07 11:41 am (UTC)I did put it under friendslock -- if I don't have you friended, I'll fix that, but try AO3 for now. Oh, I'm glad you liked the "again." It's easy to keep Kiefer Sutherland's Athos-voice in my head, and that's just how he is -- "This WAS Musketeer headquarters. Feel free to poke around for souvenirs." *smish*
As for Phoenix Guards... in a way, it's entirely Steven Brust's fault that I'm the Hornblower fan I am. Because around 1997, when he was GoH at a con, he told me about Patrick O'Brian, recommending him with the immortal line, "Jack! You have debauched my sloth!" and if I hadn't been an O'Brian fan, I wouldn't have glomped onto the Hornblower movies so hard, and, well.
The current conversation I'm hearing between him and Mimi is not so much witty as cautious, though. Because for all that they've been a couple, in their way, for some years now, he doesn't know all her backstory, and she's never felt the need to tell him -- until now, when he's said "if I got my title back, and my lands, would you marry me?" She has some very good reasons to be wary about that.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 06:29 am (UTC)Ah, there it is! I don't think I could really say anything on there that I haven't already said here or over on your journal, but it's nice to be able to have it for future reference whenever I need a pick-me-up.
It's easy to keep Kiefer Sutherland's Athos-voice in my head, and that's just how he is -- "This WAS Musketeer headquarters. Feel free to poke around for souvenirs." *smish*
You're making me want to watch the movie! The last time I saw a Three Musketeers adaptation onscreen, Mickey Mouse was involved, but the by-all-accounts gloriously stupid version from last year tempted me, and now this...*thoughtful*
I didn't know Steven Brust was an Aubreyad fan; how cool! Although it seems like the kind of thing I would zero in on, so maybe I glanced over and then forgot it. *shrug* In any case, it seems that I have him to thank for your glorious, glorious LKU; it's funny how things work out sometimes.
LOL, whenever I'm recommending the Aubreyad to people, I use either the debauched sloth thing, the wombat, the camel, the "bear," or the Garment (in addition, of course, to the whole ADVENTURE ON THE HIGH SEAS! thing, "what if James Bond and Q and Charles Darwin and Louis Pasteur were all the same person," and the Port Mahon rescue, which is legit my favorite scene from the whole series).
he doesn't know all her backstory, and she's never felt the need to tell him -- until now, when he's said "if I got my title back, and my lands, would you marry me?"
That makes sense - one's tragic backstory is hardly something one brings up over coffee (or whatever the appropriate light social beverage of the era is, if coffee isn't a thing yet).
no subject
Date: 2012-11-08 06:44 am (UTC)It's kind of a stupid movie itself, but it has a fair amount of snappy dialogue, and, dude, TIM CURRY as Cardinal Richlieu, camping it up like nobody's business.
IDK if Brust makes a thing of being an O'Brian fan in writings, but he brought it up over dinner. So yup, thank him. :)
Depending on how much time I have, I go with the sloth, the wombat, or the brass cannon on the Indiaman. "They say their prayers to it, poor devils, because it reminds them of... I hardly like to say what it reminds them of." Dick jokes, your guide to quality literature! (Another reason i was so proud of my "virginal" pun.)
Coffee was just starting to be a thing, but their light social beverage would have been wine. It was safer than the water!
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 02:00 am (UTC)DUDE. Sold. *checks Netflix* I should have known it has Paul McGann, since you're reccing it, but also Charlie Sheen. Looks like Netflix doesn't have it on Instant, though, and my library, discgracefully, doesn't have it...do you happen to know anywhere I can watch it?
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 02:09 am (UTC)If you give me a time, I could totally livestream it for you. http://www.livestream.com/auntiehornblower I don't set it to record my streams by default, or it'd just be there, but lmk and I'll fire up VLC and Procaster.
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 08:14 am (UTC)And, sorry, but Lesbian Killer Vampires wins on its title alone. XD Was it as gloriously stupid as it sounds?
no subject
Date: 2012-11-09 12:36 pm (UTC)And yes, it was very much that stupid. The actor who played Craig-Stormageddon's-father also had a lead role.