Week, neat photos, and a meme

[lunasariel]

I spent most of Sunday doing exactly what, apparently, most movie directors think girls in college do - writing a paper about Ulysses in my underwear. Sad lack of vodka and attractive men in various states of undress, though, and the lack of pensive indie folk-rock ballads was frankly disappointing. As Calvin says, I gotta get my life some writers. Aside from that, though, it was just a nice night: I finished my paper in excellent time (and, considering that this is Joyce were' talking about here, I was surprised that I could come up with anything more than six pages of "hell if I know what he means") and washed it down with a chocolate/strawberry crepe, and then even got to bed at a somewhat decent hour!

I woke up on Monday feeling "ALL SHALL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR" gorgeous. The Mystery Cut on my leg had finally receded, so I was no longer limping and could sit down and wear tights and shorter skirts again, my hair was behaving for once in my life, I was wearing the cream of my recent crop o' clothes, and I felt goddamn sexy. Let me put it this way: it was the one and only time in my life I have ever been tempted to use "fetch" as an adjective. The day continued excellent, as I finally made it down to the store for a supply run deferred over the weekend due to *ouch*. I also turned in the Ulysses paper, and it felt good to get that out of the way. I thought I would *finally* find the time to start experimenting with makeup, but t'wasn't to be. This is rather vexing, as I've been looking for a good time for a couple of weeks now, but there's always something else that needs doing first. Ach, well, the time will come...

Tuesday, of course, was Election Day. I had sent in my vote-by-mail ballot a few days previously, so I didn't have to deal with the crazy lines some people reported, which, yay for that. We spent the entire class in ENGL 135AC discussing Prop 30 (which instituted a tax to avoid the 20% tuition increase that would otherwise be necessary to keep the UC system running) and the walkout planned for Thursday, which got, um, heated. It's a politically-conscious class by its very nature, but man, some people got *pissed*. It was entertaining to watch, mostly because I wasn't taking part in it directly, but it was about 90% interesting, well-reasoned, intelligent debate, and 10% screaming loonies haranguing people (hey, at least it's entertainment value). HoME was actually fairly lackluster, because the building it's held in is spitting distance from Sproul Plaza, where someone had set up a Jumbotron streaming CNN, and a LOT of people gathered to watch the election live, so we were always getting distracted by bouts of cheering or (worryingly) booing. In addition, Ben, the guy who sits two seats in front of me had CNN's feed up on his laptop (muted, of course), and everybody was always craning to see how things were going. Our instructors even had Google's coverage up, and whoever wasn't speaking at the moment (there are three of them) would refresh it every minute or so, and those of us who couldn't see Ben's laptop would take our cues from their expressions. This is a shame, because we were covering the Third Age this week, and the instructors had set up a game where the class divided into five groups, each one representing one of the Istari (I ended up on Team Saruman), and got interviewed by the Valar. I have a feeling this could have been a lot more awesome than it was, because Pallando and Alatar could pretty much make up whatever the hell they wanted, which still yielded some pretty funny answers. We only had time for two questions, "How will you deal with the Sauron problem?" and "What is your ideal date?", and I'm proud, and also a little embarrassed, to say that I provided both of Saruman's, because my love of Tolkien even rivals my worry that, in a matter of hours, a man who doesn't know why windows on an airplane don't open will have access to nuclear warheads. For posterity's sake, my answer to the Sauron problem was to build a bigger, better Ring and kick his ass with it, and my ideal date was Build-A-Ring (like Build-A-Bear, only in a forge), followed by frozen yogurt and mocking passers-by whose hair wasn't as pretty as ours.

After class, I had to elbow my way through the crowd at Sproul, which looked to be a couple thousand strong by that point (just past 8:00). I initially went home, because experience proves that me and crowds don't mix all that well, but once I was there, I decided that, dammit, I'm at Berkeley for a presidential election, so I'm going to go out and take part in it. I very rarely take the "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done" path, because I find it leads to stupid and regrettable decisions rather than fun ones, but this time, I knew I would regret *not* going out, so I did.

My memories of the 2008 election, the first one I was eligible to vote in, are very strong - I remember it was less than two weeks after I'd started working at the library, and we were tagging the Fiction section of the Rohnert Park branch. I was working the night shift then, I think it was about 9:00 or so, and our boss had brought a radio for us to listen to. Normally we just took turns picking the music, but that night, of course, we listened to the news. I remember this incredible sense of...not relief, per se, not even necessarily victory, just a huge sense of "hey, cool!" It seemed to me something that I could really be proud of, that I'd helped elect the first black President in American history. I forget whether it was part of Obama's acceptance speech or from somewhere else, but I remember reflecting on the example of a little old black lady, in her 80s or 90s, who cast her vote in Alabama, and everything she must have experienced. Like, she lived during a time when the question wasn't even "should gay people be able to get married?" but "should gay people be institutionalized?," and the idea of a black man voting, let alone becoming President, was controversial in a lot of places. And when the time for his inaugural address rolled around, I was working the morning shift by then, so we got let off early to watch that in the library's media room, which was also awesome.

Anyway, I went back to Sproul, and got there just after Obama took Ohio. I felt very 21st century: CNN (which was getting an constant feed of info from all over the country) was up on the Jumbotron, while I was texting H (who, in turn, was watching The Colbert Report) and getting news and reactions from Twitter and Facebook. And then, of course, the news came down that he'd won for sure, and I've never seen such a jubilant group of people (outside of Comic-Con, that is) in my life. I felt a little more relief this time around, because Romney genuinely scares me a little bit, but I'm generally fairly apolitical, so there was still that sense of "hey, cool!" I know it's not an instant fix, that everything isn't going to automatically be all free universal health care and gay marriage sunshine and rainbows, but there was a lot of good energy going around that night. I went home after a little while, after the actual news had stopped and it was mostly post-mortems and waiting for the results of various lesser propositions and initiatives, but I'm definitely glad I went.

Oh, and the other big news Tuesday was that H, who anyone who reads this blog has seen mentioned all over the place, joined LJ! Hi, margaretbenny! *waves* I was actually a little conflicted about this, though - I f-locked this blog to keep my LJ life and IRL life separate in the first place, primarily because this is where, among other things, I go to vent about IRL concerns. This means that RL people who come on here won't always see themselves mentioned in a positive light. This is the one place where I don't have to censor myself for fear of hurting someone's feelings, and I'm sure not going to start now; but then again, the last thing in the world I want to do is start a fight (and one thing that has me half-admiring and half-exasperated with regards to H is that she never, ever backs down from a fight). And I've discovered that, since things started getting bad, psychologically speaking, my tendency to avoid conflict has ballooned into a full-blown horror of it. I've found myself giving in instantly on things that I would have formerly stood my ground on, agreeing to/saying pretty much anything to avoid anything that could be termed an argument, and an utter inability to say "no." But just because I give in quickly doesn't mean I agree with everything, and this whole tactic of avoidance has led to resentment and passive-aggressiveness (which I'm pretty sure I listed as one of my three big flaws on my westerosorting application) building up against the people, which is no bueno. So, food for thought...

Today (well, yesterday, now), sadly, was less fun - lots of stress and general unpleasantness, and the trip I'd been planning on making to LA to see the family fell through. Sounds like my mom, our usual driver, has had a craptacular week, and so is going down with just RG. I don't want to waste the long weekend, though, so I'll be heading back up to Sebastopol to see everyone that I won't be able to see over Thanksgiving due to the *other* LA trip. The Roomie has asked me to teach her to bake, so I might bring down some basic stuff to make, like, brownies or chocolate chip cookies with, but I'll definitely have a chance to drop off a lot of superfluous stuff so that I won't have to move it all at once (*wistful sigh at enormous pile of leisure reading I brought "for when I get bored"*). And C, H, and I will have a chance to do a dry run for our Thanksgiving feast - y'know, make sure that we can actually cook and whatnot (well, we already know that C is an awesome cook in general, I make a mean pie, and H is good at the grill, and with an oven). Oh, and I'll have a chance to pick up my calligraphy stuff, if A hasn't already appropriated it, for my HoME final project.


And Now For Something Completely Different! I've been noticing a lot of incredibly awesome geeky things written on desks and bathroom walls around these here parts. I've been snapping pictures when and where I can, and I finally have enough to make a decent post!


This one was taken in a bathroom in the VLSB - that's the one with epic griffins and columns and names of disciplines written on the outside, and with a pterodactyl skeleton on the inside. Neat place.


Same time, same place, opposite wall. This is actually a fairly good pictorial representation of what it's like to go here: angry political statements, dragons, and epic fantasy, all in one:


This is another lavatorial work of art, this time from Dwinelle, colloquially known as the humanities ghetto, which I swear was designed by M.C. Escher:


Same place, same time, opposite wall. Because, sometimes, Tumblr and/or LJ invade real life, and this is the result:


Just to prove that, sometimes, paying 40 grand a pop to attend one of the top five universities in the world, doesn't mean that one can't appreciate the, er, earthier forms of humor:


I forget exactly where this one was taken - possibly Hearst Mining Building? Apparently wherever Death Eaters At Cal hold their meetings, anyway:


Simple, but effective:


This one is kinda hard to see, but it's the only Inception one I've found, and someone clearly put some work into it:



For this week's meme, it's the pairing one I deferred last time in favor of the Halloween one. Come one, come all! Multiple ships welcome!

Comment with a pairing and I’ll tell you:

Who cooks normally?:
How often do they fight?:
What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Nicknames for each other?:
Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Who steals the covers at night?:
What would they get each other for gifts?:
What crime would they commit together?:
Who made the first move?:
Who remembers things?:
Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Who swears more?:
What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
What are their bad couple habits?

Comments

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, the beginning of your post is worthy of a bona fide bestseller! *rofl* Bravo! And I can sponsor some indie music, if you'd like XD

Congratulations on being done with Ulysses! But even more that than, I'm very very happy to hear you're feeling good about yourself and hell yeah, us girls need to feel sexy at times for reassurance!

I liked reading about your first voting experience - it sounded so full of hope. Can't say I have anything of the sort to match *rueful* But to be honest a few articles on Romney I'd read on exiledonline made me pretty horrified about the dude. We had to read a lot of political stuff and translate it at uni, so once done with it I don't really read anything political on purpose (especially since i have to read a LOT of business papers for work), but what I'd seen was enough to raise my eyebrows.

As a person who has basically ALL of her friends, present and past, on LJ (not in the least because I prompted them to join it), I understand your concern and think it's really good that you treat it like a reason to bolster your position. Good luck!

Do you bake?:) What are your forte/favourite things? You mentioned pie:) I'm a moderate and lazy cook, mostly for the lack of trying and patience and loving to eat anything made by other people, but I like preparing dishes from time to time.

And now pictures! I love how the first one is a mishmash of a straightforward quote and a reference to that annoying Youtube video (when I first saw it, my head went all dizzy). Second - ASOIAF wtf!#housepride moment. Also Sher Locked:) And I was very cuted out by a list of rl/fictional ships, hehe. I like how oldschooley the chairs/tables look *nostalgic* Stuff we had at uni was office-style already. Btw, the most colorful and graffitti-ridden universities I ever saw were in Greece. I must have those pictures somewhere...

Meme,huh. Pick your favourite Temeraire ship, I'm curious to see who it is (Granby/Laurence?) Also, if you have an OT3 from any fandom I know, I'd love to see them meme-ed too :D

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

And I can sponsor some indie music, if you'd like XD
You're hired! Every good quirky indie film about humanities majors needs an appropriate music director.

But to be honest a few articles on Romney I'd read on exiledonline made me pretty horrified about the dude.
Yup. Most of the stuff I disliked about him was personal (he once drove a suspected-to-be-gay guy to suicide and tied his dog to the top of his car. Presidential material right here!), but the two big issues I was worried about this time around were same-sex marriage and reproductive health/abortion/birth control/call-it-what-you-will, and he was really aggressively against all of the above, so I do feel like we just squeaked past a major problem. (Oh, and then there's the thing where he's kind of a national embarrassment - I gather that his, er, less than informed comments about the importance of the UK made it over to you guys?)

Do you bake?:) What are your forte/favourite things?
I make a badass chocolate pie, if I do say so myself, my fruit pies ain't too bad, either (CMOT Dibbler has taught me to fear meat pies), and there are a few kinds of cookies I'm decent at. I can also grill/fry a bit, and I've found the slow cooker to be very forgiving. This is a good thing, because I usually make an average of one hilariously, cataclysmically stupid mistake each time, so forgiveness is good. :) There are a lot of really good cooks in my family, though, so I mostly just hang around them and scrounge provide helpful culinary feedback. XD

Second - ASOIAF wtf!#housepride moment
Heh, I thought of you when I took that one. ;) That dragon is just so pretty!

I like how oldschooley the chairs/tables look *nostalgic* Stuff we had at uni was office-style already.
I have a not-so-secret fondness for old-timey academic stuff - chalkboards, doors with the little windows in them, desks that get hideously uncomfortable after about an hour and never have enough space - that kind of thing. Luckily for me, Cal still retains a lot of the Trappings of Academia. :)

Btw, the most colorful and graffitti-ridden universities I ever saw were in Greece. I must have those pictures somewhere...
Ooh, sounds pretty! If you find those pics, please do post them. (Also: I didn't know you've been to Greece! Your life as an International [Wo]Man of Mystery continues.)

Granby/Laurence/Tharkay, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Re: OT3s: Temeraire is actually the one fandom I have any OT3s at all in, but this (http://archiveofourown.org/works/50623) has actually convinced me to ship Granby/Laurence/Tharkay in one capacity or another, so here’s them!

Who cooks normally?:
Tharkay, definitely. Like I said earlier, Laurence has probably never had to cook a day in his life, and while Granby might have taken his turn cooking while out on patrol or something, I can’t see him having taken the time to become particularly good at it. Tharkay is used to taking care of himself, though, and so probably introduced Laurence and Granby to Nepalese cooking, or at least colluded with Temeraire and Gong Su to make them eat anything not English.

How often do they fight?:
Not all that often. If it’s a three-way thing, Tharkay just does his disappearing act, leaving Granby and Laurence to holler at each other until they feel better, and then can go find Tharkay, who’s probably, like, up a tree or something somewhere, and give him a hug. Tharkay and Granby often present a united front against Laurence’s particularly Starky brand of stupidity, though, as do Laurence and Granby against Tharkay’s insistence that nobody loves him/he doesn’t fit in anywhere (although this usually takes the form of them getting mad at other people, not at him), and as do Laurence and Tharkay against Granby’s rather naïve expectation that just because something (say, simultaneously sleeping with one’s fellow captain and with a half-breed bastard son of a Scottish lord and a Nepalese commoner) is kosher in the Corps, it’s kosher everywhere else.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Laurence’s and Granby’s time are both taken up with managing their dragons. I’m dead convinced that Tharkay is an intelligence agent of some sort (I actually forget whether this is canon or just my headcanon), so he either does that or, like, stands out on a lonely cliff, his hair blowing in the wind, bemoaning his lonely, loveless existence or something.

Nicknames for each other?:
Tharkay enjoys giving the other two the smooshiest possible Nepalese pet names, and telling them it means something like “brother” or “honored warrior” or something, but the answers for Laurence and Granby remain unchanged – first names are intimate enough, with the occasional “sir” thrown in for spice.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Again, they probably either split the bill or take turns. But I actually can’t see this coming up much, since I don’t think restaurants were a thing back then, and two aviators and an Asian would probably get some pretty dirty looks in most taverns/inns, so they would probably avoid them when possible.

Who steals the covers at night?:
Granby again – Laurence does his best corpse impression for quite a while, and Tharkay also isn’t over-used to sleeping with other people. But once everyone gets used to everyone else, it becomes a nightly three-way battle.

What would they get each other for gifts?:
The Laurence/Granby answers remain unchanged, but Laurence would get Tharkay maybe some nice jesses for his hawk or something, and Tharkay would get Laurence a book of Eastern philosophy. Granby, on the other hand, would get Tharkay a homemade gift – Granby is later revealed to be a pretty good artist, so maybe he draws the Himalayas, or Tharkay with his hawk, or just the three of them sitting around and chilling out. And Tharkay, along with Laurence, would smuggle Granby some normal clothes after Iskierka starts insisting that he wear ALL THE SHINIES!

What crime would they commit together?:
Aside from the canonical [spoiler redacted], probably espionage of some sort – Laurence would be just about the worst spy EVAR, but he knows people in high places, and at worst, he could probably provide a cover story/distraction as needed. Oh, and he now has diplomatic immunity, since he’s now technically a member of the Chinese royal family, so there’s that. Tharkay basically already is a spy, so he would know what he’s about. And the jury is out as to whether Granby is recognized as pretty in-universe, or just sort of average-looking, so he could probably blend in with a crowd pretty well. And if Laurence wasn’t providing a distraction, he and Iskierka sure could.

Granby/Laurence/Tharkay, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who made the first move?:
Granby, I would think. Laurence is way, waaaaaay too English to ever propose something like this on his own, and Tharkay seems to be suffering under a constant, deep-seated belief that everyone, especially everyone English, hates his guts. So that leaves Granby, who actually goes through a fairly similar trajectory with both Laurence and Tharkay: he starts out disliking them because they’re chilly, distant, and different than what he’s used to, but once he figures out that they’re not really colossal assholes, he softens up and likes them a lot more. And Tharkay is *clearly* pining for Laurence from a distance, so it would be up to Granby to smack their heads together until they all got over their various societal taboos and got together.

Who remembers things?:
In this case, there are different kinds of remembering: "Where did I leave my pen/coat/dragon?" (which would be Laurence, for reasons mentioned above), "Remember the first time you said you loved me/our first date/first kiss?" (which would be Tharkay, since he’s really not used to all that much affection, so instances of it would stand out all the more to him), and "Remember that guy who beat me/you up five years ago? I sure do >:D" (which would be Granby, because he tends to, um, not forget slights).

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Because this is an OT3, Laurence would be in the middle, since I’m fairly sure he’s the broadest across of the three, and thus least likely to be squished, and the other two cuddle up to either side. So I guess that would make Laurence the little spoon, and Tharkay and Granby big spoons?

Who swears more?:
Granby in English, Tharkay in a variety of other languages, including, but not limited to, Nepalese, Turkish, and Durzagh. Because I’m pretty sure that nobody on earth swears less than Laurence.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
Laurence has a tendency to charge to the rescue, regardless of personal danger, so he’s probably do that. Tharkay has conditioned himself to be closed off to his emotions most of the time, so I could see him accomplishing the set goal, or at least creating an enemy-free zone, and then freaking the hell out. And, his luck being what it is, Granby is by far the most likely one to be hurt, thus making this question a moot one, but if he’s *not* the injured one for once, he would probably go into defensive mode and either stash the injured party/parties in a safe place or just say to hell with the mission and get out of there, depending on the importance of the mission and the severity of the injuries.

What are their bad couple habits?
Tharkay just straight-up disappears, especially when he feels threatened or excluded, which isn’t exactly the best thing to do in a polyamorous relationship, Granby still quite often takes it for granted that society in general is as enlightened and accepting as the aviators, and so isn’t as careful about things like PDAs as he should be, and Laurence has a certain tendency to go “IT’S ALL MY FAULT!!!!11!!” and cut himself off from everybody else “for their own good”. And I’m not sure whether this counts as a bad couple habit or not, but Temeraire and Iskierka would still take up a huge part of their respective captains’ time and attention, which would require some working through before Tharkay accepted that this in no way reflected a slight on him or a preference for their dragons’ or fellow aviators’ company over his.

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

Why thank you! I'm not as good as Dasha by any means when the music is concerned, but this one will do its best:D

Yeah, Romney gaffes made it here alright. Do Republicans think a national embarrassment makes a good presidential candidate or something? Just sayin'.

Hanging around mean cooks is definitely a nice way to keep oneself fed and educated *nodsnods* I sort of do everything by the rule of 'my gut feelings say so', with varying success:)) If you want to share some of your mean recipes some day, I'd love to see them!

Also, <3 for remembering your faithful dragon! And your love for old-schooley academia is very befitting your panache as a kickass librarian!

And I don't live up to the title of International Woman of Mystery, I swear *laughs* I've only been to Greece and Turkey, the former thrice on summer language school. I'll link you to the pics as soon as I get my hands on my photo archive, promise! They are not pretty per se, rather very brawny-youthful and revolutionary, as Greeks prefer it XD

UPD: the task didn't prove to be diffucult, so here you go, your average Greek auditorium.
This picture says 'a constant struggle until our victory - not because we have to or can, but because we want to'

This baby has a Mao Zedong quote on the left, "Do not fear hardship"

Third one has 'We are realists, we want the impossible' in the boldest font, and in red it says 'If I don't do it, and you don't do it, we shall all turn into sheep (lit. cattle)'

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Do Republicans think a national embarrassment makes a good presidential candidate or something? Just sayin'.
Amen to that! XP

Haha, with regards to recipes, it's mostly stuff off the internet or the backs of boxes (albeit sometimes rather heavily edited). Although, hmm, making a collection of recipes (most of which take the form of free-floating bits of paper) does sound rather attractive...*thoughtful*

Heh, those pics do look rather brawny-youthful and revolutionary! I especially like the artiness of that first one - I find that, in any kind of graffiti/street art, quotes/words in general are all very well and good, but it's the artier, more pictoral ones that tend to stay with me. It must have been awesome to see them in the flesh! (Er, paint.)

Laurence/Granby, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Laurence/Granby (yes, definitely my favorite Temeraire ship) (sorry about all the redactions – the later books get really, really slashy):

Who cooks normally?:
I'm quite sure that Laurence, as an Officer and a Gentleman, doesn't have the first idea where food comes from, other than servants, so between the two of them, probably Granby - he actually worked his way up from the ranks, and so presumably has done his share of cook duty (I think there was even a scene in Black Powder War where he was supervising cooking while they were on the move?). But realistically, in later books (or it may have started already), Temeraire becomes a huge foodie, and even learns to cook himself (with Iskierka's help in the baking/broiling department), so they would probably eat either his cooking or Gong Su's.

How often do they fight?:
In the beginning, almost constantly. First, Laurence has to be broken of his chivalry and learn that, just because he and Granby are an item, it doesn't give him the right to be all "O FAIR DAMSEL I SHALL PROTECT THEE!" (I mean, Jane Roland has already started the process, but it does take some refining), and Granby has to learn that a lot of stuff that wouldn't raise any eyebrows in the Corps is heavily frowned-upon, even illegal, in the rest of society (and *especially* the Navy, where "the unnatural sin of sodomy or buggery" carries a death penalty), and so makes Laurence really, really uncomfortable. And when he gets uncomfortable, he gets all formal and icy, which we've seen only serves to piss Granby off, so these fights could go on for quite a while until one of them mans up and apologizes.
After they get all that out of their systems, though, their fights are more of the fond, exasperated, "I love you, but you can be ten kinds of thick sometimes" kind, where they try, and largely fail, to keep each other out of *excessive* danger, like Granby's shout-down of Laurence in Turkey for his insistence on personally leading the egg raid as a matter of principle.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Their jobs, mostly. It's not inconceivable that they would be stationed separately, so they could easily keep the relationship alive through letters, but they've both got their own lives to lead: Laurence has Temeraire's civil rights stuff to do - dissuading him from the more impossible goals, helping to accomplish the more likely ones - as well as the younger officers he's taken under his wing to look after, and, later on, a fair amount of political stuff to deal with. And Granby has his hands more than full with Iskierka and trying to make sure that she doesn't, like, set someone she doesn't like on fire, or steal a ship, or something.
Both spend a lot of time hanging out with their dragons, of course, but they do that when they're together, too, so idk if that counts.

Nicknames for each other?:
They both live in an era when even using someone's first name is an intimate gesture (you may have noticed "Will" and "John" popping up at the more slashtastic moments), so there's that, but I could see "Sir" becoming something that Granby calls Laurence either when he's exasperated with him, or, occasionally, in a sexy context.
Laurence doesn't strike me as much of a one for nicknames, though - Granby cured him of the flowery endearments he felt obligated to use pretty early on, and he's formal enough that just calling him by his first name, especially in a public or semi-public setting, is a sweet gesture.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Again, Laurence had to be broken of gendered expectations of there being a "woman" who is taken out to dinner and a "man" who pays for dinner. After that, due to [spoiler redacted], Granby becomes the more able of the two to pay for stuff, but also due to [spoiler redacted] he doesn't want to flash his money around, and Laurence doesn't particularly want him to, nor does he ever want to feel dependent. So, yeah, they mostly either go dutch or trade off. That is, when they're not eating at the covert, or in the field, where it's pretty much a moot point anyway.

Laurence/Granby, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who steals the covers at night?:
Granby is a champion cover-stealer. Laurence has been sleeping in hammocks, sometimes jammed cheek-by-jowl in with a bunch of other guys, for most of his life, so he has a tendency to sleep kinda like he's in a coffin, but I can totally imagine Granby sprawling all over the place. And he's gangly as hell, too, so, as he's quick to point out, he needs those covers for extra warmth! (The alternative, as he's equally quick to point out, is sharing body heat. ;) )

What would they get each other for gifts?:
Because of [spoiler redacted], Laurence very carefully avoids getting anything showy or ostentatious for Granby, so he mostly ends up with useful stuff like coats that fit, warm socks, and nice new sketchbooks. Granby mostly gets Laurence books - memoirs and histories of the Aerial Corps to help him fit in better, as well as philosophy and mathematics and languages (these ones are mostly for Temeraire).

What crime would they commit together?:
[Spoiler redacted], [spoiler redacted], and [spoiler really, really redacted]. (All shall become clear in time... >:D)

Who made the first move?:
OMG, I have way, way, *way* too much headcanon about this. The way I read it, Laurence starts becoming uncomfortably aware of his attraction somewhere in China or on their way back, but just fulfills that Kate Beaton panel (http://www.google.com/imgres?q=i+shall+sit+here+consumed+with+lust+kate+beaton&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&tbo=d&authuser=0&biw=992&bih=664&tbm=isch&tbnid=p03UuaZTsB9kuM:&imgrefurl=http://fuckyeahreactions.tumblr.com/post/5758767656&docid=EMS57K8Pb9Vo8M&imgurl=http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llmteqHx0A1qafrh6.png&w=213&h=291&ei=n4ecUOz0KMmLyAHinYDIBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=684&sig=107442253054068636850&page=1&tbnh=155&tbnw=113&start=0&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:74&tx=80&ty=33) for a while, because A) THAT WOULD BE IMMORAL AND WRONG, and B) relationships between captains and officers were especially frowned-upon in the Navy, due to the bad feelings that favoritism could foster, and he would want to avoid a similar situation. Granby, on the other hand, has been crushing on Laurence ever since the whole "Call me Sir!" thing, at first in a FoeYay kind of way, but later pretty straightforwardly, once he figures out that Laurence is actually a decent guy, even if he does need someone to remove that stick up his ass for him. So he smooches Laurence either in Turkey or somewhere during the whole Prussia debacle, but by that point, it's becoming clear that Laurence will have to decide between running hell for leather for England before the Kazilik egg hatches or staying and helping the Prussians, in which case the egg will almost certainly hatch before they can get back. In the latter situation, if it ever came out that he and the lieutenant who stood to gain an unimaginably rare and powerful dragon were lovers at the time, it would look really, really bad, so he acknowledges the attraction, but pleads pragmatism and his prior relationship with Jane Roland against acting on it. A little later on, though, circumstances conspire to leave him romantically available, and Granby makes a successful case that said circumstances don't mean that they can't have a thing goin’ on, which is where their relationship actually begins (whereas before, it was just an UST-laden friendship where both were aware of the mutual attraction).

Laurence/Granby, part 3

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who remembers things?:
Laurence, mostly. He's been in a command position for so long, both in the Navy and in the Corps, that he's used to juggling a whole bunch of things at once, metaphorically speaking.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Normally Granby, since he's A) a fair amount taller, and B) inclined to be snuggly, but Laurence takes a while to get used to this. But if it's after one of Granby's many near brushes with death, Laurence gets all protective and is the big spoon.

Who swears more?:
Granby, for sure. At first Laurence is SHOCKED AND APALLED at the fairly casual way aviators swear all the time, but, like being the little spoon, he gets used to it, although unlike being the little spoon, it's never something he picks up himself.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
There's probably not an awful lot they *can* do, since this is assuming that they're on their separate dragons, in which case they would trust to their crews and their dragons FREAKING THE HELL OUT, as they tend to do when their captain is injured, to take care of things. They probably spend a fair amount of time sitting up with the injured party during recuperation, though, keeping them from getting out of bed before they're 100% better.

What are their bad couple habits?
Granby takes things for granted and sometimes isn't as aware of Laurence's boundaries as he could be, and Laurence can clam up like nobody's business. They both develop a tendency to fall into black moods where they push the other away because of their own failings, real or perceived, but that's what their friends are for, when they need a good smack 'round the head.

[hamsterwoman]

I spent most of Sunday doing exactly what, apparently, most movie directors think girls in college do - writing a paper about Ulysses in my underwear. Sad lack of vodka and attractive men in various states of undress, though, and the lack of pensive indie folk-rock ballads was frankly disappointing.

Best way to start a post, really XD It feels like it should be the beginning of a quirky novel :)

Congratulations on a fetching day, and on being rid of your Ulysses paper :)

my answer to the Sauron problem was to build a bigger, better Ring and kick his ass with it, and my ideal date was Build-A-Ring (like Build-A-Bear, only in a forge), followed by frozen yogurt and mocking passers-by whose hair wasn't as pretty as ours

These both sound like good ideas to me! ;P (Also, totally jealous that you got to be on Team Saruman, lol)

I used to really love reading the grafitti in the bathrooms of the various Berkeley buildings. There was this one stall in, I think, LeConte that had an in-depth sociological discussion going on over the course of weeks, spanning paragraphs, and including multiple people (judging by the handwritings). I don't think I ever saw a LotR quote, though -- that's awesome! (of course, my Cal days were pre-movies, so even the bastion of hippieness probably had fewer fans around in those days... Or at least maybe the Venn diagram intersection between LotR fans and those likely to write on bathroom walls was vanishingly small :P)

First thought upon seeing the affirmative action/dragon one is that Dany probably would be *for* Affirmative Action, actually.

Hee at the Sherlock quotes, too, and LOL at Team Voldemort XD (It would not surprise me if they did hang out in the Mining Circle building XD)

Meme -- feel free to pick however many or few of these as you'd like :)

- Loras/Renly (ASOIAF), of course
- Zoe/Wash (Firefly)
- I dithered over whom to ask from Discworld, considering Sam/Sybil and Moist/Adora Belle, and ultimately Carrot/Angua (for the comedic value Carrot brings to most memes) -- but, really, whichever one of those three you prefer. Or, ooh, Esme Weatherwax/Mustrum Ridcully (in an AU where they got together, or post-current-timeline, or whichever....)
- Sherlock/John (Sherlock)
- I don't know if you have anyone you actually ship in the B5-verse, or if you feel comfortable answering for a canon you're still going through, but if there is someone? (I don't ship anyone in this canon, but for sheer fun, I'd suggest Ivanova/Garibaldi :)

And I think I'll reserve asking for Khaavren/Aerich until a later meme ;)

Loras/Renly, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

It feels like it should be the beginning of a quirky novel :)
Haha, thanks! "And that's when the covert ops team burst through the window." (OK, not exactly quirky, but still would be fairly awesome, and still a start for a novel that I would totally read.)

(Also, totally jealous that you got to be on Team Saruman, lol)
Not gonna lie, I tried to channel you a bit while attempting to think up appropriately Saruman-y answers. ;)

There was this one stall in, I think, LeConte that had an in-depth sociological discussion going on over the course of weeks, spanning paragraphs, and including multiple people (judging by the handwritings).
I've seen a couple of those, too. LOL, reason #57 to love Cal: the bathroom graffiti references Tolkien and/or acts as a venue for social justice debates. XD

First thought upon seeing the affirmative action/dragon one is that Dany probably would be *for* Affirmative Action, actually.
That was my first thought, too. Although, upon a second look, the fire itself may be affirmative action. *shrug*

Loras/Renly

Who cooks normally?:
Objectively speaking, I'm fairly certain none of them have ever had anything whatsoever to do with food preparation in their lives (unless hunting counts), but if they were out roughing it, then Loras would be the more likely to; first because it was his job as Renly's squire, and then later because he would consider it shameful to allow Renly to lower himself to that level. But I also see Loras as the more finicky eater - I forget whether it's canon or fanon that he hates spicy Dornish food, and growing up at Highgarden would have mean that he never had anything less than the very best of everything, whereas Renly, who lived through the siege of Dragonstone, certainly appreciates fine food, but is okay with the occasional instance of quality over quantity.

How often do they fight?:
Aside from sparring (and even that would happen less and less frequently after Loras was knighted, or even before that, when it became apparent that he was kind of in a class of his own, swordsmanship-wise), very rarely. Loras has a tendency to just shut up and agree with Renly (another one of those "fanon or canon?" moments is Olenna grousing about Loras believing that Butterbumps is the Prince Who Was Promised if Renly told him so), so I can only see arguments coming up when either of them feels neglected or slighted, which would work out to a couple of days of keeping their noses in the air and pointedly Not Speaking before making up. And then make-up sex.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Actually, have they ever spent any significant time apart? I think Loras became Renly's squire when he was about nine (which would make Renly somewhere in the neighborhood of fifteen, if we accept that he was twenty-two when Loras was sixteen), and knighted when he was fifteen or sixteen. He was sixteen when we meet him in AGOT, so that's seven years we know they spent basically living in each other's pockets. I mean, Loras certainly went back to visit his family every so often, but I imagine that Renly went with them, given how easily Mace Tyrell backed his bid for the throne.
But when they're not physically in the same room, I imagine that Loras either does the Tyrell PR thing or basically lives in the training yards, and Renly alleviates the stupendous boredom of accompanying Robert on some of his hunting/whoring/drinking trips by snarking at the Lannisters (and everybody else, really) with Littlefinger.

Nicknames for each other?:
If you'll pardon the rather extreme schmoopyness, I've always seen Renly as the one for half-ironic, secretly-not-at-all-ironic pet names in private, especially things like "my treasure" or "my heart." (See what I meant about the schmoopyness? XD) I actually can't imagine Loras using any nicknames, though, I don't know why (OK, maybe it's because the only nickname for "Renly" I can think of is "Renny," which...no. Just no) - he might use titles like my lord or Your Grace, but those are generally indicators that he's pissed off more than anything else.

Loras/Renly, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Loras, because he likes flashing that Tyrell gold around, especially if Renly has recently made any comments about how fabulously wealthy the Lannisters are. ;P (Although I can't really think of any situations where they would have had to pay for food, since they both have servants to cook for them, and even when they're on the road, I'm pretty sure they bring cooks with them.)

Who steals the covers at night?:
Loras. Because the Reach is totally California, and as a Californian, I feel bad for complaining about any weather that isn't perfect, but dammit, I get cold easily, and so to Loras, I imagine that any weather that dips below, say, 60º is grounds for all-out blanket warfare.

What would they get each other for gifts?:
Renly would definitely get Loras a whole bunch of fancypants weapons, armor, and general jousting gear (maybe the Onion Helm that HBO!Loras wore in the Tourney of the Hand was Renly's idea?), and Loras, who isn't exactly Ser Subtle, would probably get Renly a bunch of shiny golden things, like goblets or jewelry or whatever, and would have to be dissuaded from getting them with a rose motif.

What crime would they commit together?:
High treason and/or regicide, duh. (Not sure whether the anti-gay thing in Westeros is just a cultural taboo or an actual law.)

Who made the first move?:
Loras, I imagine. I have all this headcanon about him basically flinging himself at Renly, but then Renly, although horribly tempted, puts him off so that nobody can say he earned his knighthood by means other than being really good at hitting people with a variety of heavy objects so that they stay hit, and then them going at it like monkeys once Loras is knighted, but I'm not sure Renly is that moral of a person. The point that Loras would have made the first move (or at least mooned after Renly so blatantly that Renly couldn't help but react) remains, though.

Who remembers things?:
Renly. I mean, Master of Laws is a fairly useless job when trials mostly seem to consist of threats delivered by intermediaries and due process doesn't seem to have been invented yet, but he must have learned a *few* things.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Loras, who I imagine likes to be snuggled. (I think this came up in another recent meme?)

Who swears more?:
I think this would be about equal for them, and would depend largely on the situation. Like, Renly would probably adapt to Robert's coarser speech patterns when in his company in order to suck up to him, and I'm fairly certain that all three Tyrell brothers would rather lose a limb than swear in front of Margaery or Olenna. On their own, though, I imagine they would swear infrequently, but casually.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
Well, we've seen what Loras would do, which involves a berserker rage and killing anyone who gets close, but I imagine Renly would take it fairly hard, too, although probably not to that degree.

What are their bad couple habits?
Loras agrees with Renly far too much and doesn't call him on his occasional instances of bullshit, and Renly has a tendency to sink into sleaze without someone to straighten his backbone for him on occasion.

Re: Loras/Renly, part 2

[hamsterwoman]

Not gonna lie, I tried to channel you a bit while attempting to think up appropriately Saruman-y answers. ;)

I'm totally flattered and touched! :D (More than I should be, probably, considering it's Saruman XP)

That was my first thought, too. Although, upon a second look, the fire itself may be affirmative action. *shrug*

Yeah, I did consider that too, after a second look. I guess it is true art, as it is open to interpretation :) And either way, the dragon drawing and the ASOIAF quote are way cool regardless of political platform :)

Loras has a tendency to just shut up and agree with Renly [...] so I can only see arguments coming up when either of them feels neglected or slighted, which would work out to a couple of days of keeping their noses in the air and pointedly Not Speaking before making up. And then make-up sex.

This sounds entirely true to me!

I've always seen Renly as the one for half-ironic, secretly-not-at-all-ironic pet names in private, especially things like "my treasure" or "my heart."

Oh, that sounds perfect for him! Headcanon accepted.

And, hmm, I could see "Your Grace" as a sort of sly term of endearment from Loras to Renly, too.

especially if Renly has recently made any comments about how fabulously wealthy the Lannisters are. ;P

Haha, excellent point!

Loras definitely made the first move in my headcanon, too (because the power imbalance would make the reverse a bit creepy otherwise. And I do like dark!Renly/Loras fic just fine, too, but my headcanon is a lot sparklier and fluffier than that.)

and I'm fairly certain that all three Tyrell brothers would rather lose a limb than swear in front of Margaery or Olenna

Aww, I love the image of Garlan, Willas, and Loras being all "Fu-ireworks. Yes, fireworks." as soon as Margaery and Olenna come into view :D

Re: Loras/Renly, part 2

[ikel89.livejournal.com]

Aww you have the most adorable Loras/Renly headcanon! Also, I don't remember if you mentioned it, are you team Still Pretty re:Loras?

straighten his backbone for him - yuuuus *lolnods*

Zoë/Wash, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Zoë/Wash

Who cooks normally?:
Although the only instance of either of them cooking on the show we get is Zoë making wife soup for Wash, and I’m fairly certain that Serenity has some sort of chore roster, I have a feeling that Wash cooks more often, or at least enjoys it more. He would have more time than Zoë, since she’s often out on jobs with Mal and Jayne, and he can put the ship on autopilot for the more boring stretches, but I could also totally see him enjoying it more – dinosaur-shaped pancakes, having splash fights with Kaylee during cleanup, and just generally doing something homey and hopefully non-lethal.

How often do they fight?:
Not often, but when they fight, they really FIGHT. Like, not only does everybody on the ship know about it, but everybody on the ship can usually hear it, too. Wash is an easygoing guy, but of the slow-to-anger kind where he simmers and tries to make a joke out of it until he explodes out of nowhere. During the early days of their marriage, I imagine these outbursts would surprise Zoë, making her lash out in response, and things escalate until one of them makes a big dramatic gesture (like, say, getting captured and tortured by the enemy), which ends up being cathartic, and then the issues is resolved and they’re cool again.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
As Wash has said, he spends most of his time when Zoë is out on a job worrying. And if Wash ever had to stay off the ship for some period of time, Zoë would certainly have more than enough to keep her busy (keeping Mal out of trouble is a full-time, and usually ultimately fruitless, job), but she would end up missing his background chatter.

Nicknames for each other?:
I dunno, I kinda like “lamby-toes” for her and, like, “jellybean” or “honeybunch” for him. This is putting aside the fact that Wash is actually a nickname, anyway (I could totally see her snickering at their wedding when the shepherd says, “Do you, Hoban Washburne, take Zoë Alleyne…” because, Hoban Washburne), and there are probably a bunch of appropriate Chinese endearments that I’m missing.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
On the rare occasion that either of them have any money, they would go dutch. I really can’t see Zoë enjoying being wined and dined, nor Wash being seriously interested in a woman who is. OK, now I’ve got all this headcanon about their first date, where Wash tries to do the whole standard dinner and a show thing, and she just Stares at him until he stops trying to pay for everything himself.

Who steals the covers at night?:
Both of them. They run through blankets twice as fast as the rest of the crew, and are not at all above using sneaky tactics like tickling or pillow fights to secure victory.

What would they get each other for gifts?:
Wash would try to get her useful things, like a shiny new gun or holster, but after the first few disastrous attempts, he makes sure to take Mal along to consult with, which usually ends up in Zoë finding out what she’s getting ages in advance, but neither of them really mind. Oh, and then he also gets her the occasional sexy present, like black lace lingerie or chocolate-caramel body butter or something, initially as gag gifts, but later on just ‘cause.
Zoë would initially get him things like more hilarious Hawaiian shirts or a mustache trimmer (hint, hint), but as she gets to know his sense of humor, she starts keeping an eye out at random little tourist traps for the cheesy crap that she knows he loves.

What crime would they commit together?:
Well, their collective job is literally to commit whatever crime they can get paid for and think they can get away with, but if it was just the two of them, probably small-time robberies – Wash would buddy up to, say, the pilot of a courier known to carry Alliance payrolls and get the information, Zoë would do the actual robbing, and Wash, of course, would be the getaway driver.

Who made the first move?:
Wash, I think, in his own adorkable, awkwardly sweet way. And his first attempt would almost certainly be shot down, but he’s the persistent type, so he would win out eventually.

Zoë/Wash, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who remembers things?:
Zoë, mostly. Wash’s job means that he probably has a better technical memory, but he strikes me as a little absent-minded otherwise, whereas Zoë has always had to be on the ball.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
About 50/50, I think. There’s definitely a lot of cuddling going on, but I can’t really see them having any set roles on who’s the cuddler and who’s the cuddlee.

Who swears more?:
Zoë, probably, given her army background.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
Wash would surprise everybody (who didn’t know him, at least) by transforming into a raging ball of berserker fury and generally freaking the hell out. Zoë has had a lot more experience, so while a Roaring Rampage of Revenge would definitely sound good to her, she would retain the presence of mind to drag him to safety, stabilize him if she could, and call for a medic before doing so.

What are their bad couple habits?
We’ve seen that Wash still carries some jealousy vis á vis Mal and Zoë’s past, but that gets taken care of in “War Stories.” The general culture still seems to be fairly macho, so he might have a lingering inadequacy issue or two, but that’s mostly his problem with other people’s perception of their relationship, not with the relationship itself. And as for Zoë, she’s still very much a soldier, and thus probably not always huge on things like talking about problems and/or her feelings.

Re: Zoë/Wash, part 2

[hamsterwoman]

dinosaur-shaped pancakes

!!! That is so a Wash thing to do! XD

Your description of the Wash-Zoe fights makes perfect sense to me, too, especially Wash's explosions surprising Zoe early on. As does Mal spilling and presents surprises that Wash lets him in on.

Zoë would initially get him things like more hilarious Hawaiian shirts or a mustache trimmer (hint, hint), but as she gets to know his sense of humor, she starts keeping an eye out at random little tourist traps for the cheesy crap that she knows he loves.

LOL at the mustache trimmer, but, yeah, totally all of that. And Wash would be so fun to shop for! Because the kitschier and more random the crap, the better.

Man, I would love to see flashback (or fic) of Wash attempting to court Zoe, and striking out the first... oh, half a gazillion times. But you are right, of course, he is persistent, and eventually she'd probably agree to go on a date with him out of sheer self-defense, and find herself pleasantly surprised to be having a great time on it.

It would also be awesome to see berserker!Wash if Zoe got hurt -- I'd never considered that, but it's a very intriguing thought!

And as for Zoë, she’s still very much a soldier, and thus probably not always huge on things like talking about problems and/or her feelings

That makes a lot of sense, too.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Esme Weatherwax/Mustrum Ridcully (which would indeed be a spectacular and terrifying sight to behold)

Who cooks normally?:
Either Granny or servants at the University. Because Granny can cook just fine for herself (and indeed is somewhat suspicious of food prepared by unknown persons, which is therefore always of dubious quality), and Ridcully probably did enjoy her cooking while he lived in Lancre, but she refuses to make wizard-sized portions, which he considers a great affront, however tasty the smaller portions may be.

How often do they fight?:
They’ve been in a state of constant, low-level bickering for 50 years, but actual fights are rare – he now knows much better than to assert that wizardry is better and/or more difficult than witchcraft (he’s had the bees set on him one too many times for that), and, after meeting the Librarian, she acknowledges that books may be good for more than stocking the privy with.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Pretty much what they do when they’re together – he bellows, she snaps, and they save the world and beat the next generation of witches and wizards into something that may one day approach acceptable shape.

Nicknames for each other?:
She would totally call him “you old goat” at every possible opportunity, but I can see just “Esme” being enough for him, “Esmeralda” being reserved for special occasions.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Oh, he is, definitely. Granny knows better than to turn down a free meal, and Ridcully will be eating most of it anyway.

Who steals the covers at night?:
Oh, they both do, but Granny is willing to fight much, much dirtier (up in Lancre, it’s rather a matter or survival), and Ridcully still has some vestigial notions of chivalry, so she ends up winning most of the time. Which, of course, gives him just the opportunity he needs to cuddle up, so he doesn’t complain all that much. ;)

What would they get each other for gifts?:
Granny very pointedly never, ever gets him books. She either sends him honey (which may or may not be an ingredient in wow-wow sauce), bargains with the mountain dwarves on his behalf, or just sends him spell components unavailable from Lancre in Ankh-Morpork.
Ridcully knows Granny’s secret fondness for dramatic clothes, and makes sure that she’s always got at least one dramatic swishy red-and-black cloak, and at least one black silk gown (which, she is quick to point out, is ridiculously impractical, loud in moving, and snags on everything, but still doesn’t send it back).

What crime would they commit together?:
I’m not really sure that, between the two of them, they *can* commit a crime – so much of the time, it’s assumed that she’s a witch and he’s a wizard, so whatever they’re doing must be of the greatest importance to holding back eldritch abominations, ensuring the proper rotation of the seasons, etc., and so is excusable.

Who made the first move?:
Mustrum, of course! That’s not to say that Esme was immediately receptive, though – he would have had to work for it, and work hard, but once he’d stopped with the flowers and atrocious poetry and started with the thaumaturgical debates and offering to fix her broom, he finally made some headway.

Who remembers things?:
Granny, definitely. I mean, Ridcully isn’t stupid (contrary to all appearances), but he has Ponder Stibbons for things like this. And while Granny has apprentices of her own, her lack of belief in book-learning means that she keeps *everything* she could ever possibly need in her head.

Granny Weatherwax/Archchancellor Ridcully

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
It takes some doing to imagine Granny Weatherwax cuddling anyone, but, after some work, I think I can see her as a big spoon type.

Who swears more?:
Oh, Ridcully, definitely. I forget whether or not Granny *does* swear, but I just generally see her expressing her displeasure in other ways.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
They would both defeat the enemy at hand (if there is one) and then see to the treatment of the injured party, but go about it rather differently – Ridcully would go to town with his staff, possibly slightly more than necessary, and depend on doctors or other witches for the treatment side of things, whereas Granny would be a bit cooler about the whole thing, basically glare the enemies into submission, and then see to the treatment herself.

What are their bad couple habits?
Well, we know that Granny can be icy as hell (or rather, Hel *ba-DUM-tish*), kind of remote and terrifying because of this, and often isn’t much of a one for sharing her troubles, whereas Ridcully can be ten kinds of dense.

Sherlock/John, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Sherlock/John

Who cooks normally?:
Either Mrs. Hudson (grudgingly) or various takeout places (frequently). When one of them has to, it’s invariably John, though – after the past few incidents, Sherlock isn’t allowed to prepare anything more complicated than tea (and even that needs supervising), and the fridge is firmly divided into Sherlock’s Side (various body parts, both human and non-human; all clearly labeled) and John’s Side (food).

How often do they fight?:
Pretty often, although instances decrease over time. Sherlock has never been and will never be the easiest guy to live with, and John is only accepting up to a point, but the institution of a long list of Flat Rules (#1. No experiments, psychological, chemical, or otherwise, are to be performed on The Boyfriend without his complete knowledge and express permission) helps matters immensely.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Sherlock mostly goes kinda stir-crazy, since John isn’t around for him to pester or to provide support, so he mostly ends up talking to his skull again. Aside from that, though, his behavior doesn’t change all that much – he hunts for and/or works on cases whether or not John is there, it just tends to go better when he is.
John would initially look forward to solo vacations, since they would offer a chance to relax and hopefully not come into contact with any dismembered body parts, but he ends up not doing so hot, either. Even when Sherlock doesn’t pop up wherever he is, he needs Sherlock in much the same weird, slightly dysfunctional way that Sherlock needs him, and actually finds himself terribly bored and waiting to get back to Baker Street.

Nicknames for each other?:
None, normally. Sherlock just plain doesn’t give enough thought to human interaction to come up with nicknames. John might have tried out “Sherly”/”Shirley,” but Sherlock almost certainly hasn’t seen Airplane!, so the joke is kind of lost. I could see them addressing each other as “Oi, you,” quite a bit, but nothing like actual nicknames.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Sherlock, since he’s generally the one with actual money. But John probably isn’t 100% okay with this state of affairs, and insists on paying when he can, which Sherlock doesn’t really get, but whatever.

Who steals the covers at night?:
Sherlock. Definitely Sherlock. When he sleeps at all, either he’s corpse-still and corpse-stiff or he flails all over the place and wraps himself up in every blanket on the bed. Come to think of it, he has a habit of collecting blankets (or at least sheets) even when he’s *not* asleep.

What would they get each other for gifts?:
Sherlock normally doesn’t do gifts, but when Mycroft starts badgering him around Christmas (Mycroft totally ships Sherlock/John, when he sees that John can actually stabilize him to some degree), he just gets Anthea to pick out a nice bottle of wine or a leather jacket or something.
John gave up on all the traditional couple-y gifts pretty quickly, and now just asks Sherlock what he wants, vetoes anything actually illegal or that sounds more dangerous than usual, and sees what he can do about the rest.

What crime would they commit together?:
Pretty much anything up to and including murder (that is, if the murderee is Moriarty) – taken together, they’ve committed murder, burglary, assault & battery, breaking & entering, impersonating a police officer, *stealing* from a police officer, interfering with about a zillion police investigations, probably possessing controlled substances, and whichever law states that you can’t keep human body parts in a home fridge.

Who made the first move?:
Sherlock, in his usual, er, straightforward way. My headcanon is that he’s not asexual, just very, very demisexual (his brain keeps cockblocking him) – he only feels the need to have sex once every few years, and then once that’s taken care of, he’s good for awhile. But, to his great surprise, he doesn’t stop being attracted to John once they’ve slept together, although it does take him a little bit to convince John that he (John) is, in fact, bisexual and deeply in the closet.

Sherlock/John, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Who remembers things?:
Well, Sherlock remembers absolutely EVERYTHING…when he can be bothered to remember anything. If he doesn’t think it’s important and/or worth knowing, he just erases it from his mind palace. Eventually they get to the point where John knows what Sherlock will and won’t remember, and picks up the slack (which mostly consists of non-case-useful personal details about the people they work with).

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Sherlock, big secretly-touch-starved control-freak lug that he is, would definitely be the big spoon. Actually, I could see this being a conversation they would explicitly have – Sherlock would have a battery of well-ordered reasons, like body mass ratios, average core temperatures, and frequency of nocturnal movement, to prove that he should be the big spoon. John honestly wouldn’t have thought about it that much, and so would just sort of shrug and agree (besides, it is kind of nice to have someone to stop him falling off the bed when he has nightmares).

Who swears more?:
John. Aside from being A) in the Army and B) a doctor (in my experience, medical-type folks swear A LOT when they’re still in work mode but not actually around patients), I just can’t see Sherlock paying enough attention to swear. He might do so when playing a part, or when he wants people to go away and leave him alone, but generally, he has plenty of other ways to offend people.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
Sherlock would be quite disconcerted at the strength of his own emotional reaction – he’s usually, er, on the other end of injuries and/or dead bodies, so he would pretty much follow John’s instructions re: stabilizing the wound and then holding down the fort until help arrives.
John, on the other hand, is expressly trained for exactly this sort of situation, so he would, by and large, keep cool about it. Dispatch and/or chase off any remaining enemies, stop bleeding, set broken bones, etc.; unless something was very wrong, he’d easily have it under control.
‘Course, this is for actual physical injuries. If John found Sherlock OD’d, then there might be significantly more freaking out, because there would be some sort of trigger to deal with, and I’m fairly sure detox isn’t John’s area of expertise. (And all this would be putting aside the fact that Sherlock definitely wouldn’t be in the best state of mind at the time, and so his famous brain would likely be much more of a liability than an asset).

What are their bad couple habits?
Sherlock just straight-up ignores John a good deal of the time, and can be kind of alarmingly insensitive the rest of the time (although I see this as something that gets better over time, as he actually starts putting some effort into the relationship), even when he’s not, y’know, using him as unwitting guinea pig. And even John, as preternaturally good-natured as he is, has his breaking point, past which he gets all ranty and leaves. He also has a fair amount of pride, which, while luckily not all that easily nettled by Sherlock’s arrogance, can be set off by things like his physical disability or lack of money. Oh, and both of them are codependent like whoa, which is, in a weird kind of way, why they work, but also why they don’t do so hot apart from each other.

Ivanova/Garibaldi, part 1

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Susan Ivanova/Michael Garibaldi

Who cooks normally?:
Garibaldi, of course! I imagine that Ivanova *can* cook, if called upon to do so, but, being a career military girl, her cooking would be more…functional than tasty, whereas Garibaldi loves to cook, and does so often and well. (In fact, I have a bit of headcanon where Garibaldi becomes a roly-poly Italian grandpa after he retires, since he would be constantly cooking for his kids, grandkids, and whoever else stops by.)

How often do they fight?:
Bickering and other assorted arguments would occur fairly often, but true fights are rare. They both like to yell, and they work together and so can’t really get away from one another, but I imagine after the first few times, Sheridan would get a sense of when things are bad and assign them tasks in different sectors of the station for a little while. But I see their fights as being kind of like fireworks: loud, impressive, and with the possibility of blowing something up, but over quickly. Normally, though, they would get along just fine – Susan wouldn’t put up with any nonsense about keeping her out of danger, and Michael has already learned to deal with his anger in constructive (or, at least, only destructive to people he doesn’t like) ways.

What do they do when they’re away from each other?:
Garibaldi is the type to pine, so I guess he would mope around for a while. But then something important would blow up or someone important would get assassinated, and then he wouldn’t really have any time to be sad.
Ivanova, on the other hand, tends to keep busy on the surface while internally troubled, and her job doesn’t involve nearly as much running around and punching things as his does, so she might have time to settle into those brooding sessions she gets into, where she tamps everything down and pretends that everything’s fine, while secretly being drastically lonely. Her job would also be a consolation to her, but it’s less able to take her mind off of things, if you know what I mean.

Nicknames for each other?:
At first, Garibaldi would love to tease Ivanova by calling her “fluffykins” or something. A few of these might even stick around – she might even be secretly tickled by ones like “my little latke” (because of course a bunch of them would be food-related). And, of course, once she gets promoted, I could see calling her “Commander” becoming a thing, because A) it’s something she’s proud of, and B) she just looks like a Commander.
Ivanova would probably saddle him with a Russian pet name or two (hamsterwoman, ikel89, help me out here?), and of course Mike.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?:
Well, Garibaldi, mostly, in that he buys the ingredients and then assembles them. But if they go out, I could see Ivanova insisting that they trade off, since she’s not defensive enough to insist that she pay her own way each and every time, but not so devoted to ideals that she wants to foot the bill every time they go out to eat.

Who steals the covers at night?:
Michael at first, but as Susan relaxes more around him, she gets in on it, too. He would insist that she’s Russian and so should be used to the cold, and she would insist that he’s a big, tough Security Chief and to not be such a blanket hog.

Ivanova/Garibaldi, part 2

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

What would they get each other for gifts?:
She would give him coffee beans from her secret plantation, of course, which is reason enough to date her right there. But she probably knows about his Earth nostalgia thing, and so maybe surprises him with, like, a model plane or a book on the making of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (because *of course* he already has the movie) or something
He would give her anything he thinks would make her laugh – weirdo alien tchotchkes (which I spelled right on the first try! Go me!), or 200th Anniversary Looney Tunes boxed sets (hint, hint), or a collection of vintage pinup girl prints (which, as he cheerfully points out, they can both enjoy, and the best gifts are those that allow the couple to do things together.)

What crime would they commit together?:
You mean aside from high treason? ;P I’m sure neither of them would be adverse to appropriating some government property or interfering in the investigation of a government agent, if it’s for a good cause or it’s Bester (or any other PsiCop, really).

Who made the first move?:
Garibaldi, probably. I could see him doing something elaborate – secret admirer notes, flowers left at her station, sending her chocolates, that kind of thing. He would eventually slip up accidentally on purpose and allow her to discover who he is, by which point she would be mildly annoyed, but still charmed (a state in which she will continue to exist for the duration of their relationship).
Of course, either of them could just do the traditional pre- or mid-firefight “Hey, if we don’t die in the next ten minutes, wanna grab coffee sometime?” thing, which is much more Ivanova’s style.

Who remembers things?:
Ivanova, I would think. She’s got it together, and doesn’t strike me as the type to forget things easily.

Who is the big spoon/little spoon?:
Garibaldi would be the big spoon merely by dint of being taller, but he’s also the more likely of the two to want to cuddle up, while Ivanova, who’s accustomed to sleeping alone, doesn’t really have that instinct.

Who swears more?:
Ivanova, oddly enough. This continually surprises everybody, that the pretty, petite little Russian Jewish lady can and does swear like a sailor while the big rough’n’tough, head-bustin’, ass-kickin’ Bronx Italian Security Chief tends to keep more of a lid on it.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?:
Garibaldi is definitely the Roaring Rampage of Revenge type – love is definitely his Berserk Button, and seeing his girlfriend go down would be an excellent way to set him off.
I could also see Ivanova losing her cool, but in her usual “keep calm until the situation is under control and then go have a nice quiet aneurism in the corner” way.

What are their bad couple habits?:
Well, Garibaldi can’t drink ever, although he’s probably tempted quite a bit, and Ivanova has a tendency to shut herself off from her emotions, which isn’t good for either of them.

[brit-columbia.livejournal.com]

I'm going to come back and read this later, since I'm still slogging away at work right now, but I just wanted to quickly say, re make-up, have you ever thought of going to a department store make up counter and asking if it's possible to get some advice re products and application? You'll probably get some bored girl who would like nothing more than to sit you down on a stool and start applying eyeshadow to you. She will be doing her good deed for the make-up line she represents; indeed, the entire make-up industry, by turning you into a future make-up customer. Of course, she will probably be duty-bound to sell you a whole bunch of expensive products, but you can explain that you are a student on a budget and you're not ready to start wearing a lot of make-up. Then you can buy, like, a lipstick or something, and leave with promises to come back and buy more next time.

There are all kinds of youtube videos about make up application, too. I admit to watching them sometimes when I'm goofing off at work. I'm even on a youtube subscription for a couple of UK-based sisters that call themselves pixiewoo.

I've been a minimalist make-up wearer for years, but in the last two or three months, I've gotten much more into it and have started buying more stuff. Two days ago I bought a nice new eyeshadow palette that I've been experimenting with.

Anyway, have fun with it! I'll be back later.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

Hope your work slogging went well! :)

have you ever thought of going to a department store make up counter and asking if it's possible to get some advice re products and application?
Yup, I have! But, sadly, I don't think I've ever seen one of those department store makeup girls in person - I see them on TV and whatnot all the time, and I even see the counters (unmanned) sometimes, but apparently makeup counter girls are all hiding from me or something...

Thanks for the pixiewoo recommendation! ikel89 recommended Makeup Geek to me, and my friend's sister, who is an ace at all of these kinds of things, showed me Michelle Phan this past weekend - all these tutorials are great, and I'm learning so much! For example, I actually didn't know that one can wear more than one shade of eyeshadow at a time. XD

I've been a minimalist make-up wearer for years, but in the last two or three months, I've gotten much more into it and have started buying more stuff.
My thoughts exactly! For years and years I haven't wanted to bother with anything more complex than concealer, but all of a sudden I want to look pretty, dammit!

Two days ago I bought a nice new eyeshadow palette that I've been experimenting with.
Ooh, sounds fun! Any chance we'll be getting pictures?