Life, fandom meet-up III, and yet another meme

[lunasariel]

I don't know what's been up with me for the past couple of days. Yesterday, I actually slept until my alarm woke me at 9:30, which almost never happens. After coming back from classes, I just sort of schlubbed around for the whole day; I just couldn't get motivated to do more than print out a paper (not written by me, just something that we're all supposed to read) for today's class. Today, my day has gone like this: wake up, get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, go to class, come back from class, read a few pages of Taltos, fall asleep (around 11:45), wake up (3:00), write this.

Normally I like to take my time with things, yeah, but I've just been so utterly lacking in energy/motivation. I'm actually afraid that this might be that weird thing I had around Christmas, where I slept for, like, 14 hours a day, and was still groggy. That was accompanied by a killer headache, though, which hasn't shown up here, so at least there's that.

The big event this week was trekking into the wilds of San Francisco to meet up with hamsterwoman to exchange goodies. I gave her back that Vlad Taltos anthology, and got the next two in return, the first of which I'm only 40-odd pages into by now (I blame the ennui). She also gave me the first season of Babylon Five, which I'm planning to start watching tonight. In exchange, she got the first (and only one that's out on DVD right now, sadly) season of Sherlock. I know I've been kind of freaking out about it lately, so I hope I didn't oversell it! So both of us got some fun new stuff to (hopefully) enjoy.

Basically, Tuesday night combined all of my favorite things: getting new books and DVDs, introducing someone else to something I really enjoy, excellent pub food, and hanging out with cool, geeky people. One of my professors mentioned high-context and low-context societies lately. We live in a low-context society, where if you make a reference to something, particularly a work of fiction, you'd better be ready to explain it. In a high-context society, a majority of the people are familiar with the same stories and cultures, so it's assumed that whoever you're communicating with will get pretty much whatever allusion you make. These days, American society as a whole is a fairly low-context one, as multicultural as it is. This makes high-context subcultures, such as fandoms, spring up here and there, just so that people will be able to share their specialized interests without having to always stop and explain everything. The point of all this is, I find it incredibly relaxing, not to mention just plain fun, to be able to spend an evening talking to someone about stuff that's common knowledge to us, but would probably sound fairly weird to everyone else. Case in point, we got to talking about Jaime Lannister, and how GRRM cheats a little bit in making him sympathetic by basically dropping almost all mention of his truly unpleasant past deeds. We were sitting there, talking about how this incestuous, bloodthirsty, child-crippling murderer is now everybody's favorite character, and it hit me that, to anybody sitting at the surrounding tables listening in, we must have sounded more than a bit...odd, but to us, it was a great conversation.

After dinner (topped off by a truly kickass creme brulee), during which we talked a lot about various fictional Houses and how Dragaera characters fit into them, Terry Pratchett then and now, and she made a valiant effort to explain the ever-perplexing chronology of Dragaera (and pointed out the Quenya roots of some of the characters' names, which I hadn't picked up on before, but is amazingly cool!), we went to a nearby burrito place that she had mentioned a little while ago, with an eye towards giving me something to snack on on the train(s) and/or once I'd gotten back to my dorm. Unfortunately, though, I left it either on BART or MUNI, which really bummed me out, as it smelled amazing and I was looking forward to it. Next time, Gadget... So, yeah, this was definitely the highlight of my week. It's great having a like-minded geek within travelling distance, so that get-togethers like these can happen basically whenever we both want them to!

The rest of my week hasn't been terribly exciting. M and I skipped our usual lunch-and-movie-a-thon today, as she had two essays to write before next week and I was already half-asleep on my feet. Our CS 139 professor has finally given out group projects, so I met with a few of my partners (trying to get seven undergrads to meet up at once place and one time is like herding cats, btw) to hash things out, at which point we realized that the instructions he had given us were so vague that we didn't really know what we were supposed to be giving a presentation on. Emailing him individually has proven to be unhelpful, so we're all going to go to his office hour on Tuesday and get him to lay out exactly what he expects of us. I started on Taltos, as previously mentioned, but the also aforementioned ennui has kept me from reading more than a few pages at a time. What I have read, I like, though; I needed something fun, snarkily upbeat, and swashbuckling after the fairly grim Teckla.

For this week's meme, have another randomized character one!

1. Chase Stein (Runaways)
2. Penny (The Big Bang Theory)
3. Tony “Iron Man” Stark (Avengers, mostly movieverse)
4. River Tam (Firefly)
5. Peter Guillam (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)
6. Yuuko Ichihara (Holic/Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle)
7. Dr. John Watson (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes/Sherlock)
8. Phoria (Nightrunner)
9. Cpt. Jack Aubrey (Aubreyad)
10. Rose Tyler (Doctor Who)
11. Rincewind (Discworld)
12. Ygritte (A Song of Ice and Fire)
13. Dr. Owen Harper (Torchwood)
14. Kaye Fierch (Modern Tales of Faerie)
15. Xander Harris (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

1) Who are 5 (Guillam)'s Marry-Shag-Cliff out of the other 14?
Officially, he’d choose to marry Yuuko (successful, slightly terrifying businesswoman who lives on another continent), shag Penny (good arm candy, but not too bright) and/or Rose (also good arm candy, but also a badass and used to weird situations), and push Tony (loose-canon individualist who won’t share his world-changing toys with the government) off a cliff.
Privately, though, circumstances permitting, he’d marry John (dependable, kindhearted, loyal-to-death, badass, slightly older veteran who would look good with a mustache if he doesn't have one already), shag the same (he’s the secretly romantic type), and still push Tony off a cliff (those two would hate each other).

2) 15 (Xander) and 12 (Ygritte) have a brief conversation during a round of speed dating. How would it go? And would they schedule for a longer date?
It would start out all awkward and fumbly, with Xander being more than slightly intimidated (and proportionately turned on) by Ygritte, and Ygritte being impatient with Xander’s fumbling. Once she asks about his eye-patch, though, they get to comparing scars and hit it off. They would schedule a longer date, but the first one is a disaster (Xander opts for the traditional dinner and a movie, both of which bore Ygritte to tears) until a vampire shows up, at which point they discover a mutual affinity for axes and slaying the undead. All future dates consist of Ygritte accompanying Xander on patrol, followed by takeout and sex. Their relationship is a long and (on average) happy one, but ends in death and/or someone mucking it up beyond repair.

3) If 10 (Rose), 1 (Chase), and 3 (Tony) were stranded on a deserted island, what item would each of them wish they had with them?
Rose would want either her cell phone (which can place intergalactic calls, and so should be able to summon the Doctor and/or UNIT) or the TARDIS. Of course, this is assuming that she couldn’t just wish for the Doctor himself, who, aside from being able to summon both UNIT and the TARDIS, and would be great company on a (presumably tropical) island, and would actually be annoyed at her for not calling him if bananas grew wild there.
Chase would wish for rum, the materials to make fire, and Gert, in that order. He would then demand that everybody on the island re-enact Pirates of the Caribbean, with himself as Captain Jack.
Tony would wish for the Iron Man suit, of course! Aside from the ability to fly long distances and built-in GPS/communications system, it would impress the hell out of Rose, who is hot, and Chase, who is a fanboy, and one can never have enough adoring fans.

4) 8 (Phoria) and 14 (Kaye) go on the run and are being chased by 2 (Penny). Do they get away? Do they get along? What did they steal?
Um…maybe Kaye stole one of Penny’s shirts, and then accidentally ripped it up with her wings, and Phoria just happened to be there at the time? Or maybe the two of them caused a scene of some kind (Phoria insisting on literal royal treatment, and Kaye somehow losing her glamour mid-meal) at the Cheesecake Factory? Either way, yes, they definitely get away. Phoria is an expert horsewoman and soldier, Kaye has magic and can fly, and Penny is…Penny. Yeah, no big contest here. The odds might be slightly evened if Penny let the guys in on it, because they could probably clue her in on things like true names and iron, but I don’t think they could help her with Phoria, since they definitely aren’t Nightrunner types.

5) 6 (Yuuko), 4 (River), and 7 (John) are shopping at the store. What do they want to get but can't afford?
Yuuko doesn’t actually go shopping herself all that often, so she tries to buy… a mannequin, or the cashier, or something, and is just kind of annoyed and perplexed when John tries to explain it all to her.
River is with Yuuko on the “buying weird stuff” thing, but is easily distracted by being let loose in a thrift shop, and comes back happily laden with a wide-ranging assortment of junk.
John seems to have perpetual money problems, so is probably on a tight budget. After buying groceries (which Sherlock forgot, again), he might spend a moment or two wistfully gazing at something utilitarian but classy, like a really nice leather jacket. Yuuko, of course, would notice and offer to buy it for him, but Mycroft would have already warned John about accepting presents and/or favors from her, so he politely declines.

6) Which character does 9 (Jack) have a secret crush on?
I could see him having kind of a thing for Rose, actually. She’s more than self-willed and confident enough to excite him, but she’s also a Good English Girl and would be able to take care of him when necessary, which he would find attractive in a more prosaic sense.

7) 13 (Owen) did something that surprises 11 (Rincewind). What is it?
Not instantly try to kill him or try to involve him in some sort of dangerous situation.

8) What does 6 (Yuuko) fantasize about?
If you were to ask her, she would probably say an endless supply of booze and an assistant who isn’t always screwing things up and sassing back. Truthfully, though, she would probably wish for Watanuki to decide to live in the real world, instead of tying himself to her shop for eternity, or just to not have died in the first place.

9) 14 (Kaye) and 7 (John) are arguing about something - what is it?
Under what circumstances it’s okay to use magic to control someone and/or mess with their head.

10) Does 15 (Xander) get enough sleep, and if not, why?
Oddly enough, yes. He certainly has enough to worry about to keep any normal person awake more or less permanently, but eventually he would just decide to get the hell over it. Either he’s going to get messily killed or he’s not, and being strung-out on lack of sleep certainly wouldn’t help his chances any, so he might as well be prepared for the fight when it does come.

11) 10 (Rose) asks you if you'll go out with him/her. Will you?
Sure, why not? I can’t see us lasting as a long-term couple (especially because we have the same first name, which would get confusing fast), but going out with her once or twice would promise excitement, if nothing else.

12) 11 (Rincewind) is faking their death and can only ask for help 1 (Chase) or 3 (Tony). Who do they chose and how it works out?
Tony. I’m not sure how Rincewind’s magic would interact with advanced Stark tech, but Tony probably has enough shades of Chessmaster to pull off a convincingly fake death even without his toys. He would build an indistinguishable robot duplicate of Rincewind, and then let everyone see that get killed, while simultaneously whisking the real Rincewind off to a remote safehouse somewhere. If this takes place in the Marvel universe, it would probably work just fine, but if it took place on Discworld, the tech would probably degrade to the point where nobody would mistake robot!Rincewind for real!Rincewind. Either way, I’m not sure about it working in the long term, as Rincewind seems fated to get caught up in whatever big event happens to be going on, which would almost certainly bring him back into the public eye (or at least the eye of someone who knows him) sooner or later.

13) 13 (Owen) and 5 (Guillam) are committing a crime, who do they ask to help them out – 4 (River) or 12 (Ygritte)?
River, probably. Anything that Owen and Guillam collaborate on would have to be some sort of super-duper-secret cover-up affair, and they might, regretfully, need to access River’s assassin training to perform a hit on an alien arms dealer masquerading as a high-level politician or something. Ygritte would probably be happy to help (happier than River, anyway), but would be too blunt an instrument for whatever Owen and Guillam have in mind.

14) Who would 8 (Phoria) choose for a one-night stand – 2 (Penny) or 9 (Jack), and why?
Ooh, tough one! Phoria really isn’t the one-night stand type, but I could see her thinking through it logically and deciding that Penny, while not pushing the “older military man” button that she apparently has like Jack would, is pretty enough, and at least neither of them could get each other pregnant, which would be a significant problem in either of their cases.

15) If 4 (River) had to persuade 13 (Owen) to adopt a child together, how would s/he do it?
I don’t think she’d “persuade” him so much as show up with the baby and a set of forged paternity papers and inform him that they’re going to be handing it off every two weeks. Owen would sputter and protest and try to get out of it, of course, but it would already be settled in River’s mind, so she would pretty much disregard him and get on with whatever she thinks the next step of preparing for a child is (baby-proofing Owen’s flat, maybe? IDK).

16) 7 (John), 10 (Rose), and 5 (Guillam) are thrown together in a zombie apocalypse. How do they react/what do they do to survive?
This team, while comprised entirely of mundanes, would actually have a pretty good chance. John and Guillam have been confirmed to be excellent shots, John and Rose are used to dealing with the weird and/or apocalyptic on a regular basis, and all three have nerves of steel and keep their heads in a crisis. Also, John is an excellent Team Dad/leader type, and so would provide psychological (as well as medical, of course) support to the other two, while Rose knows someone who actually stands a pretty good chance of being able to fix the problem, and Guillam is hardened enough to be able to kill either of the other two should they be bitten, but nice enough to not do so unless absolutely necessary.

17) 1 (Chase) and 8 (Phoria) are thrown into circumstances where they have to be roommates for a time. Do they a) become best friends, b) nearly kill each other, or c) end up sleeping together?
Oh, man, these two would HATE each other! Chase’s mess and irreverence would drive Phoria nuts, and his flirtyness/overt sexuality and jokey-ness would remind her unpleasantly of Seregil. She would consequently be cold, aloof, and condescending, treating Chase like a naughty child, which would drive him just as crazy, causing him to be even louder and more irreverent, which would cause her to sneer even more, and they would fall into this cycle until one or both of them (probably Chase) stormed out.

18) Why is 15 (Xander), 14 (Kaye), and 6 (Yuuko) the best threesome ever?
Um…Xander has a thing for supernatural women that could kick his ass and would definitely be okay with two girls at once; Kaye is at least bi-curious and likes her partners, whether male or female, snarky and damaged; and Yuuko seems to like younger, flaily, men who need taking care of, and would almost certainly be up for anything Kaye is up for.

19) What is 3 (Tony)'s favorite meal and why?
Uh, cheeseburgers or pizza something. Basically, any kind of salty, greasy, manchow that he doesn’t have to make himself and can eat one-handed in his lab.

20) If 2 (Penny) and 11 (Rincewind) were to hang out together what would they spend their time doing?
Just kind of sitting around Penny’s apartment, watching TV, doing laundry…you know, normal stuff. Rincewind would find it incredibly relaxing to be able to kick back with someone entirely normal who leads a prosaic, slightly boring life and couldn’t involve him in any life-threatening adventures even if she tried. But then Sheldon and Leonard would get home from the lab, bringing some new shenanigan with them, and Rincewind’s blood pressure would go right back up.

21) If 12 (Ygritte), 9 (Jack), 8 (Phoria), and 14 (Kaye) were in a band what instruments/vocals would they play/do?
Ygritte: drummer. Her style would be…enthusiastic. SUBTLETY? WHAT’S THAT? SORRY, I CAN’T HEAR YOU, I’M PLAYING TOO LOUD! NO, I’M NOT GOING TO TURN DOWN THE SPEAKERS! GET USED TO IT!
Jack: lead vocals. It’s canon that he can sing REALLY REALLY LOUD, if not always particularly tunefully, so he would be able to compete with Ygritte’s drumming. Secretly, though, he wants to go back to classical violin, which he played with his college roommate, Stephen, a cellist. He misses the delicacy and finesse (and Stephen, who absolutely does not fit in with the band and is in a snit because Jack more or less abandoned the violin in favor of singing), and tries to bring a little extra subtlety to his vocal performances, but ends up sacrificing delicacy for volume/passion to keep in the spirit of the band.
Phoria: base, then manager. She started out providing some good, solid underpinnings that Jack and Ygritte could anchor their flashier performances to, but this would lead to her being overlooked by a lot of fans and press. Eventually, she would leave off music altogether and re-style herself as the band’s hard-nosed manager. She would be much happier here, since she would get a lot more control, as well as a lot more notoriety for her hard work.
Kaye: groupie, then keyboard/base/backup vocals. An ascended groupie, Kaye would be able to turn her hand to just about everything. She sings counterpoint to Jack on almost all the songs, and plays base (once Phoria switches to manager), keyboard, etc. as needed. Also, her magic really comes in handy for stage shows.

22) If 4 (River) asked 6 (Yuuko) to marry him/her, how would s/he ask? Where?
The shop, obviously, since Yuuko can’t leave it. But this is another thing that I can’t really see River asking as much as…deciding. As in showing up one day and informing Yuuko that they’re going to get married, would she be okay with Shepherd Book doing the ceremony or does she want a traditional Shinto priest, that the song for their first dance can be anything but “Fruity Oaty Bars,” and that it’s going to be a June wedding even if it rains.

23) What activities 15 (Xander) and 7 (John) have in common? What would they like doing together?
They’re both supportive types who would rather help someone else achieve their full potential than stand in the spotlight themselves. They’re both badass normals among supernatural, or at least extraordinarily talented, groups. They both tend to react to threats, especially to their loved ones, snarkily and prosaically, but are still incredibly protective. They’re both ladies’ men and are good with guns.
As to what they would do together, after trading information that would be of use to the aforementioned supernatural/extraordinarily talented friends, they would probably both really enjoy the chance to just relax. Grab some beers and take-out, play video games or something, or just veg on the couch and watch stupid action movies, but they’d definitely be glad of the opportunity to unwind.

24) 12 (Ygritte) is trying to match-make 9 (Jack) and 1 (Chase), is it working?
Yes, but not in the way you’d expect. While them as a couple would be a disaster (Jack is too moral to shag a grief-crazed teenage boy and Chase’s sensibilities would be a bit too modern for Jack), they would make a really good mentor/student or big brother/little brother team. Jack could provide Chase with the roughly affectionate, supportive, non-abusive father figure that he lacks, and Chase could be Jack’s protégé in swashbuckling.

25) 2 (Penny), 10 (Rose), 5 (Peter), and 11 (Rincewind) and going on a road trip. Who remembers to bring food, how are they seated, who is driving, and who is always nagging for a toilet stop?
Peter brings exactly enough food and water for himself and no one else, and doesn’t share, although he secretly wants to. Rincewind was either Fated or dragooned into this trip anyway, so he didn’t exactly have time to pack snacks, but the Luggage somehow finds its way into the trunk and protects them from carjackers. Penny remembered to bring snacks, but A) she’s already driving, and B) she doesn’t have the money to go on a big shopping trip, so Rose ends up bringing supplies.
It’s Penny’s car, so she drives. She wants Peter, who is suave and reasonably cute, to sit next to her, so he rides shotgun (possibly literally, depending on what he had time to pack). They fiddle with the radio/CD player/etc. while in the back, Rose and Rincewind swap stories of adventures they’ve had.
Penny needs to take bathroom breaks the most, but as she’s driving, it’s not so much “nagging” as “pulling over for.” Eventually, the other passengers would mutiny and vote that Peter should drive instead. After a few minor incidents while he figures out automatic transmission and driving on the right (this takes place in America, as that’s where Penny, and thus her car, are, even though all the other characters are British or British-analogue), he gets them there in record time.

26) 3 (Tony) and 13 (Owen) are set up on a blind date. How does that go?
Snarkily and amusingly, but not particularly well, all things told. Both of them are of the “self-destructive smartass” persuasion, so they would have fun bitching about their co-workers, especially the ones they’re TOTALLY NOT ATTRACTED TO AT ALL, mysterious badass bosses, and crazy save-the-world missions, but ultimately, while talking about their multiple failed relationships, workaholism, and general loneliness, they would realize that they’re both looking into a mirror. This would get damn depressing for both of them, and although they might stay friends, they prefer to go out as part of a group of happier/more stable people than alone.

27) What would 4 (River) say if 7 (John) asked to borrow money?
On one of her good days, turn him down (she’s astute enough to know that he’s bad with money, and so would probably be unable to pay her back), but nudge him towards gambling with Jayne or something. On one of her bad days, well, she probably wouldn’t be in much of a condition to hear him in the first place, let alone offer financial advice.

28) 11 (Rincewind), 10 (Rose), 15 (Xander), and 13 (Owen) are stranded somewhere. Who has the best survival skills and who would want to go it alone?
As he’s been marooned/in peril so many times before, Rincewind has probably developed some pretty impressive survival skills. Rose and Xander are good at “surviving,” as in “not getting killed and eaten by an eldritch abomination,” but not as in “finding adequate food and shelter in the wilderness.” Owen, as a medical doctor, would definitely be able to handle that aspect of things.
As for going it alone, they’re all fairly team-oriented types. Rincewind might entertain some ideas of striking out on his own in the beginning, as larger groups attract more notice, and thus more danger, but ultimately he’d see the wisdom in sticking with the others, as they could at least provide something to hide behind.

29) Who is the ideal match for 12 (Ygritte)?
Assuming you mean someone from this list, and thus not Jon Snow, I could see either Ygritte/Tony or Ygritte/Kaye. Tony’s insane amounts of money and goods would probably be attractive to the survival-minded Ygritte, and he’d definitely be able to fight (for) her. Kaye definitely has less issues (I think Ygritte would be fairly impatient with Tony’s mommy issues anyway), but the whole “green with black eyes and wings and can’t touch iron” thing might take some getting used to.

30) 5 (Guillam), 8 (Phoria), and 6 (Yuuko) exchange roles. How do their fandoms change?
If Guillam suddenly was given charge of Skala (assuming that somehow the strict matriarchy when it comes to inheriting the throne has been overturned, or maybe everyone else is just dead), he’d probably do pretty well. He’d be smart enough to hire the Watchers back on, anyway, since he knows the value of a good spy network better than anything. Aside from that, he has little outright military experience, so he’d probably leave running the army to Klia and/or Korathan (maybe mooning over the latter a bit) and mostly hang out with Thero, Micum, Seregil, and Alec.
If Guillam were to take over Yuuko’s shop, that’d be a different story. He doesn’t do well in management situations, and while he could probably perform that twisty little mental trick that allows the shop owner to calculate relative costs and benefits of this wish or that, he probably couldn’t keep it up for any length of time, given the amount of SUPREMELY WEIRD stuff that goes on around there. So basically Watanuki would end up taking over the shop a *lot* sooner.
If Phoria became a spy in the 70s…lol, she would be just about the worst spy ever. Her idea of how to catch a mole would probably be to walk to the middle of the workroom and yell “HEY, WHOEVER’S THE MOLE, COME OUT RIGHT NOW!” and then wait for it to work. When that fails, she would decide that whoever she doesn’t like is a mole, and start firing people more or less at random, including almost all senior agents and high command. Meanwhile, Smiley is off in the corner, slowly banging his head against the wall.
Similarly, Phoria is far too direct to be able to effectively manage Yuuko’s shop. If she decided that someone deserved punishment, then she would punish them, and if she thought they deserved reward, then she would reward them, but these decisions would come from her own sense of justice, not any conception of cosmic balance.
Yuuko as a spy in the 70s, on the other hand, would be nothing short of fantastic. Even if she didn’t have access to her magic, her innate cunning and…tricksiness, for lack of a better word, would gain her a loyal following in five years, a position in senior management in ten, and the title of Control in fifteen. And she would run the Circus like a boss.
Yuuko as the Queen of Skala would be interesting, but not necessarily a good idea. She’s too subtle to be able to mange any of the grand military gestures that Skala is famous for, and far too aware of the cost of a human life to be able to condone killing of any kind, even of traitors or in war. Basically, she’s a scalpel, but what Skala needs is an axe.

31) 3 (Tony) and 2 (Penny) have a fight, what is it about?
Tony taking Penny’s boys on a tour of Avengers Tower and Stark Laboratories, therefore making them all even more deeply geeky fanboys, especially Sheldon, who has already blown out Penny’s wall twice while trying to reconstruct repulsors.

32) 1 (Chase) is preforming a song to 11 (Rincewind) as a Valentine's Day love declaration. What's the song?
Secretly, it would be something smooshy and romantic like “Magic” by the Cars or “Do You Believe in Magic” by The Lovin’ Spoonful, but publicly, it’d be something classic rock-y and kinda stupid like “Witchcraft” by Wolfmother or “Gimme All Your Lovin’” by ZZ Top.

33) 14 (Kaye) and 10 (Rose) exorcize a demon from 9 (Jack) but they lost their notes. Is their Latin good enough to preform without them?
I don’t know if Kaye and Rose have ten words of Latin between them, but what with Kaye’s supernatural abilities and the fact that, whenever Rose gets involved with a “possession” it almost always turns out to be an alien, and thus something she can handle, anyway, they’ve probably got it covered. But if it is an actual demon, though, they’re fairly screwed.

34) 13 (Owen) is drowning. Would 3 (Tony) jump into the water to save them?
Yes, but he’d look for some better, safer, more technological solution, like a crane or a robot or the Iron Man suit or something, before going straight to jumping in himself.

35) 12 (Ygritte) and 10 (Rose) are traveling in time. Where (and when) would they go to visit?
In Westeros history: Ygritte would probably enjoy going back to see the Andals or the First Men, or even the Children of the Forest, to get some advice on how to deal with White Walkers, if nothing else.
In Earth history: Rose has a fair amount of experience with time travel, so she would probably want to go somewhere new, but let the Doctor decide, since his ideas are generally good, or at least interesting. (Also, brb, loling that the one Companion on the list gets the time travel question.)

36) If 7 (John) suddenly developed supernatural powers, how would 15 (Xander) react?
Shrug, start cleaning up any ensuing damage, and give him Giles’ number. Friends spontaneously developing superpowers (or supernatural powers) isn’t exactly a new thing to him, but he’d secretly be a little bummed that his one normal, non-powered friend now has powers.

37) 4 (River), 9 (Jack), and 5 (Guillam) decide to have a threesome - what happens?
Essentially, nothing. Both Jack and Guillam are too upstanding to have sex with an obviously traumatized girl, although Jack would feel a little guilty about really, really wanting to. Guillam would be A-OK with just him and Jack, but, since the girl is gone, Jack wouldn’t pick up on Guillam’s hints and just declare the evening a bust, and Guillam wouldn’t push, so maybe he and Jack hang out and play cards or something, or chat about their various travels and adventures, but there would be a distinct, and rather regrettable, lack of sexytiems.

38) Which person on your list would you want to have afternoon tea with?
Ooh, tough choice! It’s split between John and Rose. They’d both have some great stories to tell, but I feel like I would feel a little less awkward around Rose (names notwithstanding), and would almost certainly get hit on less. On the other hand, I bet that John makes a fantastic cup of tea, and I might get to nose around 221B a bit while his back is turned. Of course, there’s always the chance that Sherlock and/or the Doctor might show up, which would be a remote but definite bonus. How this weights my answer would depend on what mood Sherlock was in, how recently he’d solved a case, and which Doctor.

39) 1 (Chase) and 11 (Rincewind) go into business together. Can they make the business prosper or do they end up killing each other first?
Hmmm…I could see them opening some sort of research firm to try to integrate technology and magic. Rincewind likes it because it means staying in a nice, safe lab all day, despite the not infrequent explosions that result from failed experiments. Chase would be great at getting grants and whatnot, but the constant boredom of sitting around and poking at little fiddly bits of things would eventually wear on him, he’d get frustrated, and throw in the towel. They’re both bright guys, though, so I can see it working, even though it probably wouldn’t be either of their first choices of profession.

40) 6 (Yuuko) and 2 (Penny) are zapped by an alien/magical device that makes them feel each other’s feelings (but not able to read each other’s minds). Do they kill each other? Do they go insane? Do they become best buddies? Do they fall in love?
There is no discernable change in Yuuko, since she already has extreme mood swings, has abandonment issues, drinks heavily, and is good at manipulating people.
Penny’s boys are appropriately freaked-out when she goes from “minor meddler with some manipulative tendencies” to “full-on Chessmaster.” They are also unsettled by her mysterious, and rather menacing, laughter.

41) 14 (Kaye) and 8 (Phoria) are the subject of a prophecy which only 1 (Chase) and 9 (Jack) know the contents of. What is the prophecy? Does 1 wish to aid the prophecy or thwart it? What about 9? What happens?
Kaye is fated to either save Skala or destroy it with her faerie powers, and Phoria’s actions will push her one way or the other. Chase knows about the prophecy because all the female Runaways are huge Nightrunner fans, and one of them realizes that the mysterious green-skinned, black-eyed, winged girl mentioned once in some obscure prophecy is Kaye. Jack knows because…um, the Surprise has been ordered to bring Kaye to the space/time rip to Skala that, for some reason, appeared in the middle of the ocean 200 years before Kaye was born?
Chase wants Kaye to save Skala, of course, if only because the girls will chew him out if he doesn’t at least try. So he tries to talk to Phoria about respecting differences, outcasts with wildly divergent talents banding together for the greater good even when they may not like each other personally, etc. However, given Chase’s general mode of address (wildly irreverent) and choice of subject matter (Phoria mistakes it for him berating her about disbanding the Watchers), this backfires and makes Phoria more suspicious than ever.
Jack, oddly enough, fares a lot better. As a fellow authority figure, Phoria is predisposed to take him a lot more seriously, and once he figures out to address her as a fellow military commander and a monarch, not a lady, they get on fairly well. Jack brings up the example of himself, your typical straight-laced, duty-bound “for king and country” type, and Stephen, a biracial, half-Irish/half-Catalan, Catholic, proto-Darwinist revolutionary, who have successfully saved the world together several times, as an example of diverse strengths combining to form a stronger whole. After figuring out that Jack genuinely respects her intelligence, tactical skill, and martial ability, and is trying to offer information that she, through no fault of her own, didn’t have before in order to help her make a fully informed decision, she allows Kaye in to save Skala however she was planning to.

42) 14 (Kaye) turns out to be an alien or magical creature in disguise. 7 (John) feels betrayed by this revelation. Can 12 (Ygritte) reconcile them?
Well, Kaye is already a magical creature (who, in certain lights, could definitely be mistaken for an alien) in disguise. So she probably just didn’t tell John about it, which mucked up one of Sherlock’s investigations. John, on the surface, is just about the most prosaic, workaday, “I don’t believe in faeries” type possible, so I can see why Kaye wouldn’t trust him.
Ygritte first tries to reconcile them by getting them to sleep together, on the theory that this would remove their tension and release stress. When this fails right out of the gate, Ygritte hits on the much more practical idea of loading John up with iron and having Kaye let him see some of the more palatable areas of the faerie mound, once there, the general weirdness and distrust/disdain for most of human society reminds him strongly of Sherlock, and he realizes that they actually have a really good reason to stay hidden and leaves them in peace.

43) A dinner party with 3 (Tony), 11 (Rincewind), 13 (Owen), and 10 (Rose). Who cooks the dinner? What is on the menu? Who takes the last serve of dessert? What is the main topic of dinner conversation?
None of them can cook in the least, so to avoid having a dinner of burnt scrambled eggs and underdone spaghetti, Tony and Owen call the people who run their respective lives for them (Pepper and Ianto), who in turn produce takeout. And I mean nice takeout, only one step down from catering, not a couple of take-n-bake pizzas. As to what they have, um, Italian food, maybe? They’ve all sampled various cuisines from around the world (universe, in Rose’s case), but in Rincewind’s case, the chefs were almost always trying to kill (and occasionally trying to eat) him, so nothing that can be identified with a particular Discworld culture.
Everybody wants the last share of dessert, but this dinner party consists of three brilliant-but-socially-derpy misanthropes and one nice, normal girl, so while Tony, Rincewind, and Owen all try to sabotage each other and get in each other’s way, Rose takes it when none of them are looking. She just grins at them when they realized that Iron Man, a “wizzard” and a combat medic who works for a clandestine paramilitary group realize that they’ve been beaten by a 19-year-old shop assistant in a pink t-shirt with a lacy heart on it.
As for what the main topic of conversation is, probably technology vs. magic. Tony would come down pretty hard on the tech side, for obvious reasons, especially because he’s sick of the static generated by magic screwing up his Iron Man suit. Owen would also support tech over magic, and he would point out that healing magic seems to be incredibly rare on the Disc, and that having doctors who don’t make most of their money as barbers and know how to do more than pour boiling tar on a wound and, if all else fails, amputate a limb (any limb) is a definite plus. Rincewind, once technology is explained to him, is uncomfortable that anyone can, say, crash a car, or launch a nuclear missile with the push of a button, whereas on the Disc, magic is kept in the hands of those who (presumably) know how to use it, and more importantly, how not to use it. On the whole, the entire system would seem horribly out of control and easy to misuse. Magic, on the other hand, he would argue, has the failsafe of human oversight, so even if terrifying creatures from the Dungeon Dimensions do break through, everybody knows who did it (and thus who to whack on the head with a halfbrick in a sock), and there’s a small (and thus self-regulating) body of trained specialists to handle the situation. Since the TARDIS claims to be hard science, but in reality is some blend of technology and magic (not unlike the Doctor himself), Rose would come down somewhere in the middle and spend most of the evening playing devil’s advocate and/or running interference.
Everybody eventually drinks too much, and Rose leaves in a huff after Tony and Owen get a little too handsy, although Tony does find her number written on a napkin under his plate later. (This whole thing takes place at Tony’s, who is the only one with a house big enough to fit everyone plus the food). Owen and Rincewind get talking about the medical applications of magic, but when Owen decides to get Rincewind back to Torchwood’s Hub for testing, the Luggage eventually starts growling at him. Unnerved by this, Owen beats a hasty retreat and tries to add “mad wizard w/ psychotic suitcase” to Torchwood’s blacklist, but everyone can see that he’s been drinking, and no one believes him. Rincewind crashes on Tony’s couch, and Tony eventually goes to bed too, leaving the mess for Pepper and/or Jarvis to clean up in the morning.

44) 15 (Xander) inherits a house under the condition of having to stay in it for one whole night, but the ghost of 5 (Guillam) is haunting it! Can 15 make it through the night?
Of course! A mere ghost would be small potatoes for a guy who’s used to taking on master vampires and hell-goddesses, not to mention all manner of demons, on a daily basis. In fact, the fact that the ghost is that of a suave British spy who Xander is secretly convinced is James Bond might actually be a plus.
Of course, Guillam’s ghost is probably here because this is the place where one of his many enemies finally got him, so he might still be pissed about that. Utilizing typical ghostly logic, he might think that Xander is one of the assassins and try to kill him right back, but once Xander manages to talk him down and prove that he’s just there for the house, Guillam would realize that Richard, Smiley, and everyone else he ever knew is almost certainly dead, so moves on to be with them.
This is, of course, assuming that Xander went alone. If he were allowed to bring Buffy and the Scoobies, of course, there wouldn’t even be a contest.

45) 6 (Yuuko) asks you on a date for Friday night, but so do 2 (Penny) and 4 (River)! Which do you choose (if either) and why?
Hmm…none of them would be exactly my first choice, but I’d probably go with River. Yuuko is just flat-out scary, and we wouldn’t be able to go anywhere but her shop anyway. Penny and I would have absolutely nothing to talk abut, and I’m close enough to the kind of nerd she hangs out with on a regular basis that neither of us would really have any fun. River at least would be an interesting conversationalist, and is easy on the eyes. Of course, I would have to promise a lot of scowling and heavily-armed space pirates (and Simon) to keep my hands to myself and have her back by ten, but we could do something non-conventional and awesome, like eat crepes and go to the zoo or something.

46) If you were a spaceship captain and 8 (Phoria), 15 (Xander), and 1 (Chase) were your crewmembers, how would that go? What jobs would you give them?
Phoria would be loudly snippy that I get to be captain while she has to settle for first officer, but would secretly be relieved that someone else is making the unpopular, tough calls.
Chase would be the engineer, duh. After an initial and extremely worrying period, during which the lights would go off a lot and small explosions would occasionally issue from the engine room, he would get his feet under him, and eventually he’d be able to get more speed and fuel efficiency out of the ship than the designers thought possible.
Xander would be…um…ship’s cook? Psychologist/relationship counselor? There’s not much need for a carpenter in space, but he would definitely be the glue that holds the group together, one way or another.

47) What would be a good Xmas gift for 14 (Kaye)?
Nothing with metal components, obviously. Maybe some old CDs/tapes/records that she was missing from her collection? Or maybe a copy of The Prince or The Art of War, which would definitely come in handy dealing with sneaky Unseelie. Or maybe a gift certificate to a vintage shop or thrift store, since she’s had to replace so much of her wardrobe.

48) What would 5 (Guillam) put on 12 (Ygritte)'s tombstone?
“This is what happens when you cross the Circus”?
“Fought for freedom, died for love”?
I guess it depends on whether or not he put her in the ground in the first place, or at least ordered her put there, and how much he knew about her and Jon Snow.

49) 6 (Yuuko) and 9 (Jack) end up in a fuck or die situation. How does it go?
Yuuko would have no scruples about getting right down to business. Jack would initially protest, because that’s what an officer and a gentleman does, but upon seeing that she genuinely had no problem with it, he’d set to with enthusiasm. In fact, he might be a little smitten with her (*extremely* low-cut dresses, dark hair, and an aura of mystery are things he’s canonically attracted to) and moon over her for a little while, although she would probably get impatient with his 19^th century morals, loose as they are for his time.

50) What would 8 (Phoria)'s dæmon be?
An ox, bull, or rhinoceros, I think. They’re all herbivores that just want to be left alone to chew their cud and are useful for productive, peaceful farm work, but once they’ve been roused, holy shit, run, because they’re more or less unstoppable and sure to leave a wide path of destruction in their wake.

51) Which house would 4 (River), 2 (Penny), and 13 (Tony) be sorted into?
Hogwarts Houses:
- River is pure, undiluted Ravenclaw. Before the Alliance got to her, she was the dreamy, happy, “life is wonderful and knowledge is wonderful and you’re wonderful and I’m wonderful!” type, but after Simon breaks her out, we start to see the darker side of Ravenclaw as her intellect becomes a burden.
- Penny is a Hufflepuff, although not without some Gryffindor tendencies. She’s always there to lend a hand, even to those who have hurt her in the past, and is always willing to kiss and make up with an enemy, but has that aggressive, slightly overbearing bonhomie that I associate with Gryffindors, and is definitely willing to mix it up on occasion.
- Tony is…odd. He makes snap decisions and is fiercely, sometimes insanely loyal like a Gryffindor. His intelligence and “shut up and do what I say because I’m the smartest person ever”-ness are definitely Ravenclaw. He’s sneaky and conceited, but suave and efficient, like a Slytherin. I can even see some Hufflepuff in the fact that he does not do well on his own and needs to be part of a team to function properly. All in all, though, (and yes, the coloring of the Iron Man suit did factor into this XD) I’m going to call him a Gryffindor with strong Ravenclaw tendencies.
Westeros Houses:
- River is a Targaryen. She can be a bloodthirsty lunatic, but that’s mostly the product of her surroundings. Left to her own devices, she’s still clearly marching to the beat of a different drummer, but is actually rather sweet. Also, she has that “tragically melancholy” look that many of the Targs seem to cultivate.
- Penny is a Tully, I think. She rarely instigates shenanigans herself, but rather is dragged into them by a desire to help her friends, although she often ends up paying the price for them. Also, she’s a sweetheart, and considered attractive, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer, if you know what I mean.
- Tony is so very definitely a Martell. He enjoys the finer things in life and will sleep with anything that will hold still long enough, but he’s far from stupid and somewhat prone to crazy vengeance quests.

53) 7 (John) and 3 (Tony) are handcuffed to each other and on the run from the police. What happens?
John actually has some experience with this, and so naturally takes the lead. He’s less pleased to be cuffed to Tony than Sherlock, although another version of Sherlock and Tony are suspiciously similar in appearance.
What happens next depends on where they are. If they’re at John’s place in London, they hide out until Mycroft sends Anthea or someone to pick them up, and then let him smooth things out, although Tony finds himself oddly disconcerted that Mycroft doesn’t look like Stephen Fry.
If they’re at Tony’s place in New York, however, they go looking for the Avengers, Spiderman, Daredevil, or any of the other superheroes who would believe Tony when he said that he and this random English guy were framed for whatever it was they were arrested for. From there, it would depend on who they went to. Daredevil would try to prove their innocence in court, which he probably could, although it would probably take a while. Spiderman would choose the route of the press, and try to get the Daily Bugle to run an exposé on who framed him and why, but given the Bugle’s anti-super attitude and the fact that the impostor would probably have gotten there first, that probably wouldn’t work. The Avengers would opt to locate the fake Tony and John, and then beat the crap out of them until they revealed what the deal really was. (Of course, they wouldn't tell Captain America what they were really doing, and instead have him wait with and protect Tony and John, who can’t leave Avengers Tower until the police are called off).

Comments

[hamsterwoman]

This makes high-context subcultures, such as fandoms, spring up here and there, just so that people will be able to share their specialized interests without having to always stop and explain everything.

This is very interesting! I'd never heard it put in those terms, but it makes a lot of sense.

And, of course, I had a ton of fun for all the same reasons! :D

Glad you're enjoying the beginning of Taltos and looking forward to hearing what you think of B5, too (remember, don't judge it by the pilot! XD). I'm hoping to watch some Sherlock this weekend, too :) (I don't suppose it's something I should watch with the kids, eh?)

Sadly, I wasn't fully able to appreciate this round of the meme because I knew too few of the characters, but I did love Ygritte's solutions to reconciling Kaye and John (and the fact that Kaye ended up in the "magical creature in disguise" question). And your hypothetical date with River sounds sweet! :)

and that having doctors who don’t make most of their money as barbers and know how to do more than pour boiling tar on a wound and, if all else fails, amputate a limb (any limb) is a definite plus

But the Disc has Igors for that! (Although I forget if Rincewind has had enough hanging about with Igors (which I keep trying to write as Igorth, lol) to point that out).

I think I remember arguing with someone over what Houses Tony belonged in. I think we concluded Gryffindor, but I kind of thought Lannister for the ASOIAF ones. River, of course, is obviously both a Ravenclaw and a Targ.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I don't suppose it's something I should watch with the kids, eh?
Proooobably not. Most of it is relatively okay (the majority of the deaths are actually offscreen), but there are a few scenes that are definitely not kid-friendly.

Although I forget if Rincewind has had enough hanging about with Igors (which I keep trying to write as Igorth, lol) to point that out
Of courth Igorth thould be written ath Igorth! XD And given that he spends his time either at the University or running all around the Disc, I don't know whether Rincewind would have actually met any Igors Igorth. Actually, what happened to Rincewind, anyway? I think the last book he was in was The Last Continent!

I think I remember arguing with someone over what Houses Tony belonged in. I think we concluded Gryffindor, but I kind of thought Lannister for the ASOIAF ones.
Oooh, I'd forgotten about the sorting posts on Jesteros! *checks* Yup, they've got him as a Lannister, which I can also really see! Martell/Lannister, hybrid, then?

[hamsterwoman]

but there are a few scenes that are definitely not kid-friendly.

Alas. I figured as much, and passed the time with the rodents watching the first two eps of B5 instead, to refresh my own memories of it. BTW, apparently the discs don't start with the pilot movie (in fact, I guess it's not on the discs at all?) Rest assured you are not missing anything, and the first ep ("Midnight on the Firing Line") is much more representative of the show as a whole.

Actually, what happened to Rincewind, anyway?

I think he showed up in Unseen Academicals for a bit? Like, he was good at football because he had a lot of practice running or something? (I confess, I don't pay much attention to Rincewind.)

I'd actually forgotten about the superhero sorting on jesteros, too, and just remembered bits of the discussion. But I guess I remembered the Lannister consensus on Tony anyway XD I can see the Martell in him, too -- he can be fairly Oberyn-like.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

in fact, I guess it's not on the discs at all?
Nope, not that I've found (admittedly, I've only finished Disc 1). I did a little wiki-research beforehand, and I missed the title card of "Midnight on the Firing Line," so I spent probably longer than I should have trying to reconcile it to the (non-spoilery!) blurb I read of the movie. But when I got to the second episode, and it was a lot like the first, I figured it out. XD That aside, though, I'm really enjoying it!

I think he showed up in Unseen Academicals for a bit?
Oh, yeah, I guess he did. I bet he wishes he was as easy to forget about in canon as he is IRL! XD

Oh, and thanks for the Temeraire-like dragon! LOL, the head fan and black scales (and, TBH, the expression) are very him! :)

[hamsterwoman]

Heh, sorry for accidentally misleading you with that. I actually applaud the decision to exclude "The Gathering" from the disc, because I really don't think it adds much and is more confusing that not with the character changes. Anyway, glad you are enjoying the show so far!

And you are welcome for the little dragon! :)