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lunasarielWell, I'm halfway done with my final week of classes! The rest of this week will be spent wrapping things up and writing a paper due on Friday. After that, it's off to Pajaro Dunes, where, if we're lucky, we can have a Game of Thrones marathon (there are a surprising number of fans in my family, I've discovered) after the kids go to bed. Then comes Dead Week, most of which will be taken up with studying for my ENGL 45B and CELT 129 classes, as the final for CELT 171 will consist of, hopefully, everybody bringing breakfast and all of us talking about The Once and Future King and Braveheart for three hours. There's no set final for ENGL 125A, just a paper, and I'm actually in paroxysms of geeky joy about that one. Finishing Mysteries of Udolpho turns out to have been a good move, as the professor, a Jane Austen fan herself, is allowing me to compare MoU to Northanger Abbey in terms of power structures and the development of the central figures. This is my life, and my life is wonderful.
Professor Sorensen, the Austenite who teaches ENGL 125A, pointed me in the direction of some pretty interesting criticism, as well as some of Austen's Gothic contemporaries, which have been fun. This, in turn, has lead to more work on Godzilla, which seems to be developing a deliciously melodramatic novel-within-the-novel (as Godzilla is swiftly turning out to be) for the aviators to snark at and the dragons to imitate. I'm having enormous fun with this, especially with the improbable-black-dragon-riding, maniacally-laughing villain and the oh-so-virtuous heroine, who seems to spend the majority of her screentime shrieking, fainting, getting captured, or all three at once, which, of course, gives Temeraire and his fellow matchmakers ideas. I don't want things to descend into Zany Antics; I'm trying to preserve at least a shred of historical accuracy in this fanfic about talking dragons using Gothic novels to convince two Regency gentlemen to get it on. That said, though, I really am having a ball with Gothic romance tropes and I'm having to restrain myself from just throwing in the towel and letting Temeraire, Maximus, Lily, and Iskierka have their fun (Perscitia is too rational for novels, Kulingile isn't born yet, and the other dragons are peripheral characters) and humiliating Laurence and Granby as much as possible.
Dragaera books always end up going faster than I plan. I remember going slow on the first few, getting used to the new setting, characters, etc., so maybe that's skewed my view of how long an average Dragaera "should" take, but the last few I've swallowed down in one or two huge gulps. They're quick, easy reads and, on the whole, a lot of fun, so I guess this isn't that big a surprise. It's interesting, though, as the last time this happened it was with Temeraire, and I dived headlong into the Temeraire fandom, whereas I enjoy the Dragaera books themselves, but I'm not inspired to write fanfic or anything.
Athyra, the one I just finished, was the first one not narrated by Our Dashing Hero, Vlad himself, and this decision makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Vlad spends a good deal of the book unconscious and/or disoriented, so I can see where Brust is coming from in giving the book another narrator. This worked at times, as it nicely maintained mystery and suspense, and some of Vlad's more cryptic utterances, especially while delirious/feverish, were fun to try and puzzle out. However, the tone that Savn's narration gives the story is...odd. There was this weird thing going on where he continually seemed to lack agency in his own actions. It was all "And suddenly, Savn found himself..." or "Without quite knowing why, Savn..." or "As though from a great distance, Savn watched himself..." He spends most of the novel in this weird disassociative state where not only does he lack control over his own actions, but over his own mental state. Basically, he always seems to be outside his body, looking down on it as it says, does, and thinks things more or less without any input from him. This actually reminded me really strongly of Love in Excess, an 18th century proto-novel that we read in ENGL 125A this semester. In LiE, a recurrent device was a character, usually overcome by passion, becoming passive and doll-like, lacking agency in a very similar way to Savn. The prevailing theory for LiE is that most of these characters who become passive are women, which allows the reader to take pleasure in the societal rule-breaking (usually in the form of sex) that follows, but without having to morally condemn the character, as the lack of agency removes any blame that might be placed on him/her. I didn't quite get the same sense here. I had an inkling it might be some sort of PTSD/shock making Savn step outside his own body and sort of let it run around on its own for a while, but this disassociation started well before anything that could trigger trauma. Of course, it could be a spell, similar to the one Vlad placed on Savn's parents, but somehow I don't think so. I've already started on Orca, the next book, which appears to deal with Vlad looking for a cure for Savn's zombie-like state, so I hope we'll get some kind of explanation here. But if we don't, I'm going to be a bit pissed off at Athyra, because having a character in this passive state all the time and doing things "just because" for no reason is just lazy writing when the author doesn't want to go to the trouble of making up a compelling reason for a character to act in the way necessary to advance the plot.
Of course, this wasn't helped by the fact that a lot of the plot of Athyra was taken up with, charitably, introspection, or uncharitably, navel-gazing. There was a lot less action than I'm used to from Vlad and Co., and one or two exciting scenes aside, a lot more time than I'd like was spent with Savn staring into space and wondering why he's so divorced from reality. Ironically, my favorite part, the one where Savn was running around the bowels of Loraan's manor looking for a way out and/or a way to let Vlad and Polyi in, reminded me very strongly of a similar scene in Taltos, even involving two of the same people! However, there was no Morrolan to swoop in and save the day, which just cements my theory that Vlad and Morrolan should just travel together all the time in case Vlad needs rescuing, as he so often does.
There were two framing devices for Athyra, one very fun, one not so much. Each chapter started out with a verse of a song about marriage to different kinds of people, the profession mentioned each time tied into the chapter somehow, which I found rather clever. The song itself was catchy (at least in my head), and seemed genuinely folk song-y, which definitely helped. The other framing device, Rocza's POV just generally kind of rambling about stuff didn't do as much for me. It didn't add anything to the narrative, and ends up being one of those "look what I can do!" stylistic flourishes that Brust seems fond of. Sometimes these flourishes come off as interesting, even brilliant, but this time it just seemed superfluous, and thus annoying.
This week's episode of Game of Thrones, "Garden of Bones," was rather a letdown from last week. It's certainly not bad (I seriously doubt whether D&D are capable of producing a bad episode), but there was a lot less I liked, and a lot more I disliked. Stylistically, it was rather on the choppy side, and seemed shorter because of it. Some scenes lasted as little as what seemed like 20 or 30 seconds before skipping on to the next location, which got annoying pretty quickly. Except in a couple of scenes, there wasn't time to build up any atmosphere; the actors just batted a couple of lines back and forth and then we're off!
Tyrell-Baratheon fashion continues inexplicable. Seriously, how do you take a group of people renowned for their beauty, style, and impeccable taste, and turn them into a series of bad prom pictures c. 1985, while Littlefinger, known in canon for flashy and ostentatious dressing, gets a sleek, elegant, and understated outfit? I know they're trying to give the Reach a distinctive, opulent look, but Margaery's dresses went from bad to worse this week, as she now has what can best be described as a curtain wall. Aside from that, though, Team Sparkly got fair treatment this time. Neither Loras nor Brienne got a single line this time, but Renly and Mags made up for it with a couple of excellent ones. The Renly vs. Stannis meeting didn't go exactly according to canon, but I liked most of the changes, with the noticeable exception of the entire peach thing getting left out. It wasn't vital to the plot or anything, but it was a nice touch, and I wish they had left it in.
Speaking of Stannis, he once again did his job admirably, and the episode ended with Davos smuggling Melisandre into the cove to give birth to her shadow baby, and, holy shit, but that was an amazing scene. This is the first time in the show's entire history that it's actually scared me, but the way it was shot and lit, Mel's and Davos' reactions, and especially the CGI of the monster itself all contributed to a genuinely scary scene. Davos' growing horror, Melisandre's frankly terrifying expression of ecstasy, the flickering shadows, and the way the thing grew from a writhing fetus made of smoke and goo (think a post-Horcrux Voldemort, *only worse*), hunched, stood up, and grew into the shape of a man...gaaah! So bravo, GoT, on an extremely creepy job well done!
Aside from the choppiness, the main problem I had with this episode was that it deviated farther from canon than previous ones have, and not always to the betterment of the show. It looks like they're setting Robb up with an OC called Talisa, Jeyne Westerling's replacement and a Volantese (I think? whatever one calls people from Volantis, anyway) field nurse. She hates Robb pretty much on sight for the whole war thing, which she seems to think is all his fault, so I give it two episodes before Robb gives the Freys cause to invite him to dinner, if you will. We also got to see some more of Ros in another added scene where Joffrey reminds us that he's a horrific excuse for human being and deserves a painful death, in case any of us forgot. Littlefinger gets a few extra scenes of his own, which were as entertaining as always. First, he and Margaery have an interesting little conversation about marriage and exactly what "a knight's place is at his king's side" means. Here, Littlefinger rather manages to get the better of Margaery, who it seems has rather some growing to do before she becomes the Chessmistress she's going to have to be in King's Landing. Second, he and Renly snark and cryptic at each other, and Renly certainly does better than the last time he and Littlefinger traded barbs. Finally, he and Cat have their usual meeting, i.e. she threatens him (having graduated from slapping to edged weapons this time) and he makes the audience feel sorry for him for about five seconds before we go back to hating him.
TBH, Cat was one of my favorite parts of this episode. I know I'm in the minority for actually liking her, but seriously, nothin' but respect for the lady here. She was raised to look pretty, pop out babies, and manage servants, and suddenly she's brokering treaties and calling kings out on their various brands of stupidity, all while grieving for her husband and trying to recover her daughters. I especially loved her trying to get Stannis and Renly to kiss and make up, especially when she threatened to knock their heads together and lock them in a room until they could get along instead of acting like idiots. It was very clear that she was the only one who still had any kind of sense of perspective or hope of reconciliation at that scene, while Renly was busy comparing Stannis to various kinds of food and Stannis was busy being his usual charming self.
Dany has finally gotten to Qarth (and we finally have official pronunciations for both Qarth and Xaro Xhoan Daxos: Q is K and X is Z [when at the beginning of a word], but I suspect a lot of people knew this already and were just waiting for confirmation), and her characterization seemed a little...flailer than usual? More sixteen-year-old-girl and less Daenerys (apparently I've been spelling her name wrong for quite some time, as I've just found out) Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, Breaker of Chains, titles, titles. I guess I've gotten used to Dany coolyl and self-assuredly dealing with problems as they come up and letting her innate Targishness carry her through the rough spots. But in her main scene this episode, where she meets with the Thirteen outside of Qarth, she seems much more unsure of herself and, for lack of a better word, supplicative, than she's been since before Viserys' death.
King's Landing was its usual blend of Joffrey, Sansa, and Tyrion, which should give you an idea of what things were like. Joffrey was a vile little shit, Sansa was a victim and a survivor and spent a lot of time crying and/or staring into space, and Tyrion delivered a couple of well-placed one-liners and a threat or two, treated everyone decently to the shock and horror of many, and generally won his umpteenth Nice Guy Who Employs People Who Can Kick Your Ass award. He also had a truly lol-worthy scene with Lancel, who seems to be looking to take Theon's place as GoT's hapless butt monkey.
We also checked in at Harrenhal, which was appropriately haunted-looking. Tywin, the Mountain, and the Tickler, in decreasing order of magnificence, all put in their first appearances. Tywin's impatience with Polliver's and the Tickler's methods of intelligence-gathering was funnier than I remembered, as he pretty much just swept in, called them all idiots, told them to not be such bloodthirsty nutcases, and casually revealed Arya's gender and took her for his cupbearer on his way out. Charles Dance doesn't look like my mental image of Tywin, but he's got the self-possession and noble bearing down perfectly. It's clear that he knows, down to his core, that he's the smartest and the most important person in any given building, so everyone else should just shut up and do what he says, and people do. The new Gregor is...eh. I miss the old one, but it's not like Conan Stevens brought an especially nuanced or sympathetic portrayal to the role or anything. The new one is good too, I guess. Like I said last week, most of his part is comprised of grunting, gesturing, bellowing, and killing people, so the new guy should be able to pick it up pretty quickly.
And we're back to randomized character memes! Have at thee!
1. Cheery Littlebottom (Discworld)
2. Temeraire (Temeraire)
3. Delenn (Babylon 5)
4. Ianto Jones (Torchwood)
5. Andromeda Tonks (Harry Potter)
6. Mance Rayder (A Song of Ice and Fire)
7. River Tam (Firefly)
8. Michael Carpenter (Dresden Files)
9. Rebecca Kaplan (Young Avengers)
10. Tulkas the Smith (The Silmarillion)
1) Divide the list up by even and odd. Which group of five would make a better Five Man Band (like a Power Rangers team)? Who would you slot in each position: Leader, Lancer (second-in-command), Big Guy, Smart Guy, Chick? If you think the team would be improved by swapping one character between the even and odd groups, which ones would you switch?
Evens: Temeraire, Ianto, Mance, Michael, Tulkas
Odds: Cheery, Delenn, Tonks, River, Rebecca
So, basically, it’s guys vs. girls. This time around, I think the Evens would make a better team, but only because the Odds lack a clear leader. I guess the Odds would go something like
Leader: Delenn (used to making big decisions, diplomatic),
Lancer: Tonks (balances out Delenn’s poise and slightly eerie calmness with some vivacity and noise),
Big Guy: River (she probably technically weighs the least out of the entire team, but she’s by far the most suited to combat, even taking into account Tonks’ magic),
Smart Guy: Cheery (kind of her position in the Watch anyway),
Chick: Rebecca (lacks any kind of fighting ability or powers, would make an excellent Team Mom, and is already used to dealing with troubled teenagers, aliens, and witches).
The Evens’ lineup would be:
Leader: Mance (charismatic, good at building teams, certainly knows how to lead),
Lancer: Michael (Mance’s plans would probably contain a certain unsavory element, which Michael would be able to nip in the bud),
Big Guy: Tulkas (kind of the ultimate Big Guy: he’s loud, jokey, and immensely strong, but also basically the deity of Big Guys),
Smart Guy: Temeraire (I don’t think he’d be thrilled with being relegated to this position, but out of the five, he is certainly the most academically knowledgeable. The fact that he’s a Celestial helps with this, but he soaks up knowledge, particularly languages, like a sponge),
Chick: Ianto (sorry, honey, but you just can’t compete with a Knight of the Cross, a twenty-ton dragon, and a literal god).
The Evens are just generally an all-around stronger team, especially with regards to their leader. Delenn always has the Council or someone to report to, whereas Mance’s claim to fame is built on him being his own master, and doing a damn good job at it. But more than that, the Evens have a lot more people who A) are used to and B) like working as part of a team. River would just kind of go off and do her own thing anyway, Rebecca is only useful in a fight if you want someone defeated via psychoanalysis (which, granted, has already happened once), and Cheery (who can fight, but would rather not) and Tonks (who’s more than willing to fight, but sometimes trips over her own feet) make up one devastatingly capable combatant between them, but have problems on their own.
As for who should switch, Temeraire and River. Temeraire would be unhappy stuck as the Smart Guy and would love the chance to be a Lancer, while River is probably uncomfortable with how often she’d be called on to kill people, and would enjoy some peace and quiet as a researcher. It’s also canon that she picks things up extremely quickly, so her having to get used to Westerosi, Dresdenverse, or the Valar’s modes of knowledge/magic/combat wouldn’t be a problem.
2) Gender-swap 2 (Temeraire), 8 (Michael), and 10 (Tulkas). Which character would have the most change in their story arc? Which the least? Would any of these characters have to have a complete personality change to be believable as the opposite sex?
Temeraire’s story probably wouldn’t change all that much. Female dragons with male captains certainly aren’t unknown, but some of her and Laurence’s conversations, especially vis a vis whores, would get a lot more interesting. Also, Arkady would probably hit on her a lot more, possibly leading to a fight, and Iskierka flat-out wouldn’t care about her, since trying to get an egg between them would lead to obvious difficulties. There might be more talk about her reproducing, but once everyone realized that she’s either infertile or genetically incompatible with British dragons, things would go back to normal. Also, she would probably get a lot angrier at the sexism of British society, as exhibited towards both human and dragon women.
Michael as a woman, though, would probably change a lot. Before the possibility of Murphy came up, I thought that Knights of the Cross could only be male, since all those we’ve seen or heard of have been guys, so, um, Michelle would probably have a wee chip on her shoulder about being a female Knight. Michael is definitely happy with marrying and having seven kids, so Michelle would probably have a lot less time to go out heroing, since she would spend a lot of time pregnant, and she would be *very* careful of her babies, both before and after birth. So she either marries a stay-at-home dad who can take care of the kids while she goes off and saves the day (basically Michael and Charity genderflipped), or finds some sort of workaround that allows her to both spend time with her children/be a good mother, and fight the Forces of Evil at the same time. Also, Harry’s interactions with her would be kind of hilarious, as he wouldn’t know quite what to do with her at first.
Tulkas is actually the one I can least see being genderflipped, but mostly for meta reasons. Tolkien, who was highly gender-normative, as well as loyal to his source material (I can’t think of any boisterous smith goddesses), wouldn’t make Tulkas female simply because it wouldn’t fit in either the cosmology that he was creating or, I suspect, his own personal beliefs.
3) Compare the matchups of 1 (Cheery)/8 (Michael) and 5 (Tonks)/9 (Rebecca). (Ignore canon sexual preferences for the moment.) Which couple would be more compatible? Which couple would be more plausible to people from either principal's home culture?
Tonks/Rebecca, I think. Michael is the white-picket-fence type at heart, and seems to thrive on a certain measure of conventionality in the middle of his extremely unconventional life, and while he and Cheery would probably make good friends, I just can’t picture him settling down with a four-foot, bearded woman. He would also remind her strongly of Carrot, which, no.
Tonks/Rebecca would also be the more plausible in situ. Rebecca already provides a home for her witchy son’s boyfriend and magic twin, so nobody at the Kaplan/Altman/Shepherd household would so much as bat an eyelash at Rebecca’s new shapeshifting, magically-inclined girlfriend. As for the wizarding world, I’m not sure what the official stance on homosexuality is, but the Order strikes me as an inclusive bunch, so there probably wouldn’t be any problems there.
4) Your team is 3 (Delenn), 4 (Ianto), and 9 (Rebecca). The mission consists of a social challenge, a mental challenge and a physical challenge. Which team member do you assign to each challenge?
Delenn gets the social challenge, obviously. It’s already kind of her job to navigate tricky diplomatic tangles, which are social by definition, and she’s damn good at it.
Ianto would probably get the physical challenge. I’m not sure how Minbari strength measures up to human, but Delenn is already spoken for, and Ianto’s life calls on for a lot more physical exertion than Rebecca’s does. Also, he has access to a lot of neat alien tech, and I’m sure that some sort of strength/speed/endurance/whatever-enhancing doodad is in there somewhere, not to mention all the weapons of various designs and functions.
This leaves Rebecca for the mental challenge, which is another good fit. Her day job is a psychologist (I’m pretty sure she’s specifically a child psychologist, although this might just be an especially pervasive bit of fanon), so she’s obviously smart, but she’s also used to thinking on her feet and picking apart thorny problems.
5) 7 (River) becomes 1 (Cheery)'s boss for a week in some plausible fashion. How's their working relationship?
Oh god. River in charge of the City Watch? That would be…interesting. And by “interesting,” I mean “terrifying and also kind of awesome.” I could see her kind of ignoring most of the day-to-day running of the Watch, which A) Carrot does anyway, and B) is probably a good thing, since the kind of reforms she would institute would be sure to piss off Vimes when he gets back. I could see her enjoying Cheery’s lab, though, as it appeals to both the scientist and the oddball in her. She would probably just hang around and make helpful comments indistinguishable from her normal ones. So, basically, business as usual for River. Cheery would definitely be a bit creeped out by the new girl who’s always looking over her shoulder and knows more about forensics than any Discworlder should. River would probably get a headache trying to explain magic in a scientifically quantifiable way, though, so all in all, they would both be happy to return to their normal situations.
6) 2 (Temeraire) finds him/her/itself inserted into 6 (Mance)'s continuity. As far as anyone other than 2 or 6 is concerned, they've always been there. What role would 2 be presumed to have had in 6's story, and could they fit in without going wonky?
This is assuming that 2 and 6 have to interact at some point, because the most obvious courses for Temeraire are that he’s one of the last dragons that Dany hatched or that his egg was a forgotten Targaryen one that got lost somewhere in King’s Landing and was hatched by one of the (by now) numerous times various portions of the city have been set on fire.
But with Temeraire’s, er, independent mindset, I could see him taking to the Wildling way of life, if the choice were presented to him. In this case, he would be very aware that, as the only dragon in Westeros (and, as far as he knows, the entire world), he pretty much counts as an army by himself, and thus throwing in his lot with Mance’s attack on the Wall. Temeraire would strongly sympathize with the Wildlings just wanting to get away from the White Walkers, and, away from Laurence’s influence, would be dead set against the more hierarchical/authoritarian organizations like the Night’s Watch and the system of noble houses.
As to whether Temeraire could fit into the AOSIAF narrative without changing things, no. Definitely not. The Battle of the Wall probably wouldn’t even have happened in the first place, as he could easily just ferry Wildlings over in big groups. But if, for some reason, the battle still happened, Temeraire would probably be enough to balance out the surprise addition of Stannis.
7) 3 (Delenn) and 5 (Tonks) get three wishes. The catch is that they have to agree on all three wishes before they get the benefits of any of them. What three wishes would they make?
First off, both of them would wish for an end to racial/sectarian hatred/prejudice/war in their universes of origin, since they’re both involved in various peace-keeping initiatives. Second, Tonks would probably wish for the casualties of both Wizarding Wars to not have happened, but her first instinct would be something like for her to be less clumsy or for Lupin to stop being an idiot about their relationship. The third wish, which would go to Delenn, would be for an unspecified favor at an also unspecified point in the future, both to be determined by her, because she’s savvy enough to know that a wish held in reserve is a powerful thing.
8) 1 (Cheery) and 2 (Temeraire) are brainwashed by a one-time artifact that works even on people immune to mind control to attack and kill 4 (Ianto). They keep their normal personality, skills and competence level, except any Code vs. Killing has been turned off. Can 4 survive? How?
Hmmm…given adequate time to prepare, Torchwood can fend off just about anything, and they’ve got enough early-warning sensors scattered around to make it work. Also, a twenty-ton dragon and a short, bearded, chainmail-wearing woman carrying an enormous axe would kind of stick out, even in a city where blowfish drive sports cars and people randomly disappear at an alarming rate. So as soon as someone sees them, Ianto could pretty much just sit in the Hub until they go away, because I’m not sure that even Temeraire could force an entry in there.
If they caught him at home or somewhere else outside the Hub, though, Ianto might be in trouble. He carries a beefed-up Taser instead of a gun, which probably wouldn’t have much of an effect on Temeraire, and he couldn’t get close enough to use it on Cheery without coming within her reach.
9) 6 (Mance), 7 (River), 9 (Rebecca) & 10 (Tulkas) must help an orphanage full of small and depressed children have a merry Christmas. Who does what, knowing that at the very least the kids will be expecting a visit from Santa?
Mance loves a good performance, so he probably brushes up on Earth Christmas carols, both contemporary and medieval (he would probably be drawn to both) and has enormous fun performing them for the kids. He would also be willing to play Santa, but would see that Tulkas is a lot better for the role once they meet.
River would helpfully inform everyone of the fallacious underpinnings of celebrating the birth of your average messianic archetype in winter, when he was clearly born in the fall, probably September. That is, if he even existed in the first place, which is highly doubtful. Anyway, the traditions of decorated coniferous trees, feasting, and gift-giving are all pre-Christian rituals related to the celebration of the winter solstice, and Santa himself is an almost purely corporate creation, a myth designed to increase commercial retail profits. She would also enjoy the cookies.
Rebecca would be in charge of the whole thing, as children, especially “small and depressed” ones are sort of her area of expertise already. Being firmly Jewish, she might need some coaching on Christmas traditions, but would set to with a will, and would incorporate various other holiday traditions as well, so the kids could take turns lighting a menorah for Hanukah, making kinaras for Kwanzaa, etc. in addition to all the usual Christmas stuff.
Tulkas, as mentioned above, would make a great Santa: he’s enormous, jovial, probably wouldn’t object to the costume, and would probably be great with kids. He also needs Christmas explained to him, and while he wouldn’t be entirely comfortable with the religious underpinnings, since they certainly don’t jive with what he knows of the divine order of things, but he would actually listen to River’s ramblings on the commercialization of religious traditions, so he would be more okay with Christmas once he figures out that it’s almost entirely secular by now.
10) 3 (Delenn) and 8 (Michael) are challenged to circumnavigate the Earth in eighty days or less, using only forms of transportation invented before 1900. Can they do it, or will they be fatally distracted by side quests or their own personality conflicts?
Their odds aren’t great. Delenn, of course, is used to spaceships, and so certainly wouldn’t know what to do with sailing ships or horses. Commercial transportation such as trains might also pose a problem, since she kind of stands out in a crowd, hair or no hair.
She would end up relying on Michael, who at first glance would seem to fare better. Magic has certainly been around since before 1900, so Harry could probably take them through the Nevernever and have them back in half an hour. However, given how
So while being distracted by side quests is a distinct possibility, personality conflicts shouldn’t be. They’re both unusually easygoing people, as well as being the voices of wisdom/calmness/morality in their respective groups, so I could see them getting along great.
11) Characters 4 (Ianto), 9 (Rebecca), & 10 (Tulkas) are at an arcade. What game do they choose to play, and who wins?
Ianto opts for a shooter, although he spends most of the time muttering under his breath that the reloading mechanism is entirely unrealistic and un-augmented small-caliber handgun fire is pretty much useless against aliens anyway, and, speaking of which, who the hell drew these things? They’re obviously someone’s idea of Sontarans, but either the person describing them was high or the game designer just decided to throw in a few tentacles here and there for shits and giggles.
If Rebecca is there with her family, she signs them up for mini golf and spends most of her time trying to keep the twins from whacking each other with the clubs. If she’s just there with Ianto and Tulkas, though, she probably joins Ianto on the shooter and patiently listens to him complaining about the unrealistic aliens.
Tulkas would play Whack-A-Mole, obviously, or that “test your strength” one where you have to use a hammer to try and ring the bell, but would end up breaking both for obvious reasons. He would offer to fix them, of course, and if they let him back near them, they would end up working much better than before, with all kinds of neat little additions, and may in fact be a bit sentient.
12) Make up an e-mail address for 6 (Mance).
Hmm… fly_crow_fly@gmail.com sounds good to me. It can be read as either a threat against the Night’s Watch or a description of his own bid for freedom. The Gmail part was pretty much chosen at random; I’m sure he would never go for something so mainstream and easy to track, but my experience with email is limited to Yahoo, the aforementioned Gmail, and the Berkeley server, so I don’t really know what the independent outsider’s choice would be.
13) If 8 (Michael) had an iPod, what kind of songs would you find on it?
Left to himself, he’d have a lot of light classical music and some old-school rock, but once Harry and Molly get ahold of it (provided their magic doesn’t fry it, of course), it’ll be full of whatever they think he should listen to; mostly movie soundtracks and some harder rock from Harry, and whatever weird sub-sub-genre Molly is into at the moment. Let’s just say that Michael wouldn’t mess around with Shuffle that much.
14) What would you do if 9 (Rebecca) suddenly paid you a visit?
Probably be kind of intimidated, as she can be terrifyingly incisive, and doesn’t hesitate to psychoanalyze new acquaintances. But that’s no reason to be rude, so I would invite her in, make a cup of tea or something, and basically let her kick back and relax for a little bit.
15) Do you think 6 (Mance) and 4 (Ianto) are made for each other?
Not made for each other per se, but I think they would really get along, given enough time to get to know each other. At first, they would haaaate each other: Mance would find Ianto unbearably stuffy and servile, and Ianto would sniff at Mance, who he sees as this random smelly lunatic with delusions of grandeur (heh, see what I did there?) and in love with the sound of his own voice. But once Mance realizes that Ianto’s polished exterior is only a way to get people to shut up and leave him alone, as well as a cover for the fact that he only cares about the rules when it suits him, he would warm up considerably. Similarly, Ianto would have a lot more respect for Mance after seeing that the army he’s put together is actually a force to be reckoned with, and not just a big mob of savages. So I think they would like each other and respect each other, but they definitely weren’t made for each other.
16) 1 (Cheery) challenges 3 (Delenn) to a no-holds-barred duel. Who will win and how?
Good question! I don’t think I’ve seen Delenn in combat yet, so I can’t say what her strengths and weaknesses are. But if it’s an armed fight, she could just use a blaster (or whatever B5’s incarnation of the standard sci-fi laser gun is called) and win easily, although she had better fire before Cheery can bring her axe and probable range of acid-based potions into range. If it’s an unarmed fight, though, my money is more on Cheery. As mentioned previously, I’m not sure how strong the Minbari are, but I’d be willing to bet that dwarves are stronger. It also strikes me that Cheery would be much more used to fighting in general than Delenn, who always looks for the diplomatic solution first and foremost, which wouldn’t count for nothing.
17) 7 (River), 2 (Temeraire), and 1 (Cheery) order a pizza. What toppings do each one request and what do the others think of the choices?
As with everything else, River’s pizza topping choices are inscrutable and just plain weird. She would probably order something like goat cheese, pesto, pineapple, bell peppers, duck, and pistachios. That’s as far as the others let her get before categorically nixing everything.
Temeraire wouldn’t really see the point of pizza, unless someone could make a dragon-sized one, on which he would probably want several different kinds of peppers, a couple of different cheeses, sausage, and prosciutto. He’d be more interested in watching it be made, though, and would insist they go somewhere they can watch them twirl the dough and layer the ingredients.
Cheery’s preferred toppings would depend on who else was around. If there were other dwarves, she might order a standard meat lover’s pizza just to keep up appearances, but given her druthers, I could see her going more for something like Hawaiian. This would be the choice most likely to appeal to the others, as Temeraire would be interested in the variety of flavors and I’m not sure that River knows what she’s eating anyway.
18) What subject would 1 (Cheery) teach if he/she were a teacher/professor?
Chemistry, of course! She might offer classes on forensic chem once every few semesters (which always fill up almost immediately), but in general she’s okay with teaching Chem 101 or the equivalent. She might get some flak from her colleagues, and maybe some of her more uppity students, on her gender and/or species, but once she starts bringing her axe to class when they discuss metals, I think they would take the hint.
19) Out of all ten characters listed, which one is the most intelligent? Who is the dumbest?
Mance certainly has the least formal education (I forget whether or not he can actually read), but I wouldn’t call him the dumbest. I’m afraid that title will have to go to Rebecca, who spent about a year either stone blind or in denial as her son started disappearing for days at a time, returned with a clone, and got into firefights with alien assassins in the living room.
As for the most intelligent, I’d definitely have to say River, even if she doesn’t have access to it and/or can’t express it most of the time. Ianto was a close runner-up, though, as his ability to acquire, process, and synthesize new information is nothing short of amazing, especially for an early 21st century human with no special abilities or superpowers.
20) What is the worst crime 9 (Rebecca) has ever committed?
Probably trying to convince Billy and Teddy to join the Initiative. I mean, I can see why she did it, just wanting them to be safe, but there’s no getting around the fact that the Initiative kidnapped and tortured them both, Billy on two separate occasions. Viewed in this light, her pressuring them to join up looks either heartlessly pragmatic, or just heartless, depending on how you look at it.
21) How would 8 (Michael) court 6 (Mance)?
Since Mance isn’t much of a one for your average flowers and chocolates, I could see Michael inviting him out wight-hunting. Mance wouldn’t really see the point in that, since the two of them can’t really make a dent in the wights’ numbers by themselves, and would much rather that Michael contribute to the Wildling war effort, which Michael would be profoundly uncomfortable with. So it would end up with the two of them going back and forth, Mance trying to make a revolutionary out of Michael, and Michael trying to make a shiny hero out of Mance, and neither would really succeed.
22) In your list, who do you think is the perfect match for 3 (Delenn) and why?
Temeraire, I think. He would make a good political match, which would definitely be one of her major concerns. He’s enough of a politician to not make any serious missteps, but he also has the energy and combativeness that she seems to lack. And, of course, the two of them would be intellectual equals, and genuinely enjoy learning about each other’s cultures (especially literature and food).
23) 2 (Temeraire) has a dream where 10 (Tulkas) tells him/her to save 1 (Cheery), who is facing certain doom. What would 2 do?
Out of all the Valar, Tulkas is one of the less likely to deliver dire warnings via dreams, so it must be something serious. Tulkas is also basically the patron god of dwarves, which might help.
If Temeraire knows all this, he’d most likely decide to do what he can, as soon as he can. He’s not as impetuous as Certain Other Dragons Who Shall Remain Nameless, so he would stop long enough to gather some information and formulate at least something like a plan before rushing off to the rescue. That said, though, once he had a bare idea of what he’s getting into, he’d charge right into Ankh-Morpork. A bloody big black dragon rampaging around and bellowing about certain doom probably wouldn’t be all that well received, so I’m not sure how effective he would be.
Of course, this is all assuming that this is Temeraire by himself; Temeraire with Laurence and the rest of his friends to help would probably do considerably better.
24) What channel (Disney, Discovery, National Geographic, et cetera) does 5 (Tonks) watch the most often?
Assuming that Arthur Weasley teaches her how to use a Muggle TV, I could see her liking Comedy Central or similar. She might be interested in reality shows for a while, but eventually the stupid would get to her.
25) Of all the characters, who has the best hygiene?
Delenn, I think. She has the leisure and means to be able to keep up with herself, and a large part of her job is looking (and smelling) good. That aside, though, she just strikes me as the kind of person who wouldn’t be caught dead in dirty socks with a week-old carton of takeout by her bed.
26) What was 10 (Tulkas)’s favorite toy growing up?
The Valar didn’t grow up as much as just appear, but in the earliest days of his existence (after they had, y’know, formed matter and objects and whatnot), I could see him getting very attached to his first hammer, the one he used to create the Dwarves.
27) 7 (River) and 3 (Delenn) are walking down a street at night when they hear 2 (Temeraire) cry for help. What does 2 need help with, and will 7 and/or 3 help her?
Since I can’t really imagine anything or anyone that would be wandering the streets at night seriously inconveniencing Temeraire, or him calling for help even if it was, let’s say that he’s found one of his crew seriously injured, and his claws are to large and sharp to move them without doing further damage.
River and Delenn would absolutely help. River would probably go after whoever caused the injury in the first place, but she might have one of her unexpectedly knowledgeable bursts and somehow turn out to have picked up some medical knowledge either from Simon or, er, reverse-engineered from her time at the Academy. Delenn is definitely the compassionate, keeps-her-head-in-a-crisis type, to this is right up her alley (pun not intended). If she couldn’t call Babylon 5 for whatever the spaceship equivalent of an ambulance is, I’ll bet that she has enough basic medical training to, say, stop bleeding. If the whole Space Elves thing is played to the hilt, though, she’ll probably have some sort of healing powers, or at least an instinctive knack for it, so whoever’s hurt will be in good hands.
28) Does 8 (Michael) keep a clean room?
Scrupulously so. Things might fall by the wayside once in a while, what with seven kids, a busy construction business, and the fate of the world on his shoulders, but I can imagine cleanliness and neatness being very important to him. A place for everything and everything in its place, cleanliness is next to godliness, that kind of thing. Once the kids get old enough, a strict chore roster is probably established, although this was probably more Charity’s doing than his. Left on his own, though, he takes excellent care of his armor and weapons, and has mostly stopped himself wincing every time he sees the state of Harry’s apartment or Molly’s room.
29) 5 (Tonks) and 10 (Tulkas) run a country together – what state is the country in, and how is it run?
Kind of haphazardly, but in general pretty well. Tonks and Tulkas are both good-natured types, but with absolutely no organizational or leadership skills at all. At least Tonks is a good judge of character, though, so I can see her hiring a small army of lesser officials to manage the day-to-day running of the place, while Tulkas builds things to make the citizens’ lives easier and Tonks makes sure that everyone is behaving fairly. Their country is *very* well-defended, though, as they both like to blow off steam by patrolling the borders.
30) 6 (Mance) may have possibly come into contact with a deadly disease, so he’s being quarantined. They’re allowed to bring something along with them – a book or video game - to keep them entertained. What would 6 bring?
His lute, of course! He’s used to providing his own entertainment, so it could probably keep him happy for quite a while making up songs and going over his extensive repertoire. Of course, whether he understands the concept of “quarantine” as opposed to “captivity” is another question entirely, which could lead to interestingness, but that’s neither here nor there.
31) 8 (Michael) is kidnapped by 2 (Temeraire) and forced to play a game of Scrabble or die – and if 8 loses, 2 will kill him. Who is likely to win the game of Scrabble, and if 8 loses, how does 2 kill him?
Lol, I guess Temeraire finally snapped after too many instances of none of the aviators wanting to play with him and the other dragons not being able to.
Who wins would depend on the rules of the game. If languages other than English are allowed, Temeraire wins hands-down. He’s got English, Chinese, Tswana, French, Incan, Durzagh, and a smattering of Latin, Greek, Aborigine, German, and probably Turkish at his command, while Michael only has English and Latin, although he could probably get by in a variety of Romance languages. But if they play by the official rules and only allow English with no proper nouns, then victory will probably go to Michael. He’s been around longer and known a wider variety of people, allowing him to collect a wider vocabulary.
If Temeraire wins, he’s most likely to, y’know, just stomp on Michael. But slaying dragons that are trying to kill him is precisely Michael’s specialty, and he certainly wouldn’t have gone to a board-game-to-the-death unarmed, so it’s actually fairly even odds as to whether Temeraire actually succeeds.
32) What is 4 (Ianto)’s favorite time of day?
Either very early morning or early afternoon, say 1:00. In the early morning, there’s nobody but him up and about, so he has the place, and more or less the whole city, pretty much to himself. He probably likes putting on the first pot of coffee and starting the morning diagnostics and enjoying the quiet of the new day before people start banging doors, shouting at one another, setting off alarms, screaming, speaking in tongues, shooting…you know, the everyday background noise of Torchwood.
In the early afternoon, the morning rush of apocalypses (apocalypsi?) has slowed down, injuries have been dressed, structural damage shored up, bodies tagged and stored, cover stories and/or memory alterations distributed as necessary, and lunch has been eaten and cleaned up. This is the time of day people start sneaking off for a quiet nap on the couch or down in the archives, and, once again, all is quiet. For the moment, at least.
…and suddenly, Torchwood headcanon!
33) 10 (Tulkas), 9 (Rebecca), and 3 (Delenn) get snowed in while at a cabin in the mountains. They have one twin bed, two blankets, a few bottles of water, and a little bit of beef jerky. Who gets what? Who suffers the most while they wait out the storm?
Tulkas doesn’t feel either cold or hunger, of course, so he insists that the ladies take all the supplies. That said, though, this trope demands that the three of them huddle together on the bed, under the blankets, for warmth, even though Rebecca is the only one in serious danger from the cold. Surprisingly, this doesn’t lead to sex of any kind, as these three would be supremely not attracted to one another.
As to who has the worst time of it, even if Delenn the Space Elf doesn’t feel the cold so much, she’s the best candidate. She’s used to a certain standard of physical comfort and elegance, and huddled under a musty blanket, munching stale beef jerky and washing it down with flat water is hardly her usual standard of living. She wouldn’t complain, of course, but she’d still be glad to get back to her quarters on Babylon 5.
34) 1 (Cheery), 4 (Ianto), and 10 (Tulkas) are all staying the night in a haunted house. Who would be scared? Would any of them be skeptical? How does each of them sleep?
I could only see Cheery being worried if the ghost manifested enough to cause physical damage, because she sees weirder stuff than a ghost on pretty much a daily basis. I mean, she works with an Igor, a vampire, a werewolf, and a zombie, so its probably good odds that she’s at least used to the idea of ghosts. So she doesn’t sleep particularly well, but that’s only because she’s always having to yell at it to shut up and stop rattling its chains or whatever.
Ianto would probably be the worst off out of these three. He’s normally only concerned with aliens, some of which do have ghostly characteristics, but once he figures out that this is a genuine supernatural haunting, he might freak out a bit. He’s used to finding some technobabbley solution, so falling back on unscientific magic would probably disconcert him a good deal. He’ll probably end up getting less sleep than Cheery.
Tulkas would mostly just be annoyed that Mandos is slacking enough to let the souls of mortals go wandering around wherever they damn well please. He certainly wouldn’t be scared, and while he doesn’t need to sleep as we understand it, he would be perfectly comfortable spending a night in a haunted house.
35) What would be the worst possible job 1 (Cheery) could work?
Barman at a dwarf bar. She would get a lot of flak for insisting on being a bar*maid*, and a female in general, and people only ever ask for beer, so there’s not even a chance for her to mix any interesting drinks. Also, all the singing about gold would drive her nuts fairly quickly.
36) 9 (Rebecca) tries to get 5 (Tonks) to go to a strip club.
Sure, why not? Tonks has a rough enough life that she could use a girls’ night out, which Rebecca would certainly be the first to notice. I’m not sure whether there are wizarding strip clubs (I’m guessing no), but a Muggle one should do just as well. Of course, Tonks would have to watch her alcohol intake pretty closely, because a drunk, shapeshifting witch turned loose among a lot of sexy mostly-naked men after being reluctantly rejected by the man she loves is a recipe for all kinds of disaster.
37) 2 (Temeraire) and 7 (River) are making out. 10 (Tulkas) walks in. What's their reaction?
Join in on the conversation, because they would still be trying to figure out exactly how to make out when his tongue is longer than her body and she can literally fit inside his mouth. Also, I’m not entirely sure whether Temeraire-verse dragons have lips as we understand them.
38) 3 (Delenn) has to marry either 8 (Michael), 4 (Ianto), or 9 (Rebecca). Which do they choose?
Ianto, probably. Michael and Rebecca are already married, and Delenn is anything but a homewrecker. Also, neither of them have any political clout, especially after Michael gave up Amorracchius. Ianto, on the other hand, practically runs Torchwood 3, which, as a large, powerful, and extremely paranoid (not to mention well-armed) alien-hunting institution, wouldn't be something Delenn would want to be on the wrong side of. While I can’t see the two of them ever being OMG IN LUUURRRVVE (TBH, I think Ianto would get on better with Lennier), as long as they both entered the relationship with eyes open and not expecting anything other than a political alliance, they could be great allies, even friends.
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Date: 2012-04-25 03:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-25 08:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-25 04:55 pm (UTC)That, and the dragons' and aviators likely reaction to it, does sound like a ton of fun!
I don't remember how much Vlad may say about Savn in Orca vs what is implied / what I picked up on through reading meta, so I won't say anything about that for now, but I think there are at least two things contributing to Savn's weird dissociation in the narrative (or maybe it starts out as one and becomes another). But I do think part of the effect is also the switch from the usual very vibrant first person to this weird, much more nebulous third. I know when I was reading, part of my feeling of dissociation was -- Who is narrating this thing? And I still don't know... That was disorienting.
I think it was in Athyra itself that Vlad mused about Athyra being the house that treats people as objects, so I did think it was interesting to see Vlad doing just that at first (with Savn's parents, for example -- which is kind of a shocking moment; the mailing list discussion raised a good point -- does Vlad do this a lot and just doesn't mention it in his own books because he wants to come across as a dashing underdog and not someone who goes around mind-whammying people who are helpless to resist?), but also to have the book be the only one narrated by an outsider, so we get a different view of Vlad, too.
Anyway, Athyra is not one of my favorites, but Orca I found to be a lot of fun (it's back to a mystery/caper type of thing, which is why, despite the regrettable lack of Morrolan or Aliera), and the next couple are very enjoyble, too.
which just cements my theory that Vlad and Morrolan should just travel together all the time in case Vlad needs rescuing, as he so often does.
Basically this. :)
I'd actually completely forgotten about the Rocza PoV secondary framing device, so clearly it didn't do anything for me either, but I do love the song. (I'm very fond of made-up songs in second-world fantasy when they sound like they really could exist in the setting and are not just the author using an opportunity to inflict his poetry on unsuspecting readers, or because he thinks there needs to be a song 'cos it's a fantasy and Tolkien had songs in his :P)
Charles Dance doesn't look like my mental image of Tywin, but he's got the self-possession and noble bearing down perfectly. It's clear that he knows, down to his core, that he's the smartest and the most important person in any given building, so everyone else should just shut up and do what he says, and people do
Yeah. He's not my mental image of Tywin either, and some of the directorial choices around Tywin are a bit odd to me, but he definitely has that air, and that's why he works for me nevertheless.
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Date: 2012-04-25 04:56 pm (UTC)XD Very true! And I completely agree with your Five Man Band designation, and that the guys would make a stronger team. I actually think Delenn of the later seasons would make a leader good enough to rival Mance, but the rest of the team is better suited to their roles and just more badass on average.
He would also remind her strongly of Carrot, which, no.
Well, Cheery has a crush on Carrot (revealed in Snuff), right? But him being a Dwarf is the key in that, so I don't see the crush translating to Michael despite his relative Carrot-ness.
River would helpfully inform everyone of the fallacious underpinnings of celebrating the birth of your average messianic archetype in winter, [...] She would also enjoy the cookies.
XD River's contribution to Christmas is priceless
Tulkas would play Whack-A-Mole, obviously
Heh at this and the rest of the Tulkas-at-the-arcade answer.
Delenn and Temeraire would get along splendidly! (And, well, the cross-species thing doesn't seem to bother her, at least.)
Lol, I guess Temeraire finally snapped after too many instances of none of the aviators wanting to play with him and the other dragons not being able to.
Ahaha! I do think Michael would have the advantage in English-only Scrabble because so many new words have come about since the Napoleonic Wars, so he would have a considerable advantage there.
Join in on the conversation, because they would still be trying to figure out exactly how to make out when his tongue is longer than her body and she can literally fit inside his mouth
XD That is... a priceless mental image XD XD XD
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Date: 2012-04-25 08:57 pm (UTC)It was, and I was wondering the same thing about him controlling people and just not mentioning it. My initial thought was that his two(?) years away had Changed Him and made him more open to things like mind-whammying now that he doesn't rely on his assassin's tricks as much; I hadn't considered the unreliable narrator thing, which is something I really should pay more attention to in general. As in, half these things would probably fly right over my head if I didn't have a fandom guide to point them out to me. XD
it's back to a mystery/caper type of thing, which is why, despite the regrettable lack of Morrolan or Aliera
Huzzahs are in order! :( at the lack of Morrolan and Aliera, but I do like Kiera, so it's good to see her injecting some fun back into the series, even if Vlad is still a little on the glum side.
I'm very fond of made-up songs in second-world fantasy when they sound like they really could exist in the setting and are not just the author using an opportunity to inflict his poetry on unsuspecting readers, or because he thinks there needs to be a song 'cos it's a fantasy and Tolkien had songs in his
Exactly! I adored Brian Jacques' Redwall novels as a kid, but I quickly reached the "oh god, not another song!" point, mostly because, as you say, I had a feeling that he was including them because it's a genre requirement. To me, songs are like non-standard narration, riddles, cliffhangers, or any other writerly devices: if they actually serve a purpose to the plot, atmosphere, etc., then I generally like them, but if they're there just becaues the author thinks they're supposed to be or wants to show off, then, no. I guess this was why I liked the "I Will Not Marry" song and didn't like the Rocza thing.
Well, Cheery has a crush on Carrot (revealed in Snuff), right?
Oops, I'd entirely forgotten about that! Yeah, that kind of changes things on her end, but I still can't see it working between them.
Heh at this and the rest of the Tulkas-at-the-arcade answer.
I'm really glad I got him for this question, because he would either break everything or fix it a litttle too well. Either way, the results are interesting.
That is... a priceless mental image
IKR? I mean, I can see her crawling inside his mouth, but out of curiosity, not out of amourousness, which I'm fairly certain wouldn't occur to either of them.
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Date: 2012-04-26 01:21 am (UTC)That could definitely be, too. My impression from later books is that Vlad has actually mellowed and become a more, mmm, empathetic (?) person over the years, BUT the whole Savn interlude was probably a big part of why. And where Athyra is in the chronology, I could actually see Vlad being at a particularly tough point in his life. The timeline pegs Phoenix at year 243-244 post-Interregnum with Athyra happening in 246, so, yeah, about two years. It's also two years after Jhegaala, which was actually longer than I thought when I was guessing he might've still been rattled from the events in Jhegaala at the time of Athyra and thus kind of trigger-happy, but that doesn't seem as likely if two years had passed. But there's still a large gap of time between Jhegaala and Athyra, so other stuff might've happened that we don't know about to cause him to be so.
As in, half these things would probably fly right over my head if I didn't have a fandom guide to point them out to me. XD
Almost all of them did fly over my head on my first couple of reads, and some of them until after I read the fandom meta. This is definitely a fandom where reference material is invaluable! Even after multiple rereads I still find stuff I never would've caught in the timeline.
I do like Kiera, so it's good to see her injecting some fun back into the series, even if Vlad is still a little on the glum side.
I'm fairly indifferent to Kiera as a character (or Sethra, for that matter; she is just such an NPC, you know? :P), but I did enjoy her narration in Orca, and also yet another outside view of Vlad, even though she's a close friend and not a stranger like Savn.
Anyway, glad you're enjoying Orca so far! (And Aliera and Morrolan do reappear in Dragon and Issola.)
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Date: 2012-04-26 05:52 am (UTC)Thanks for the link! I have a niggling feeling you sent it to me before, but I forget where, so at least now I know where it is. I've been poking around there, trying to avoid spoilers as much as possible, and I'm considering just having this open so I can reference it as I go through Orca. XD
I'm fairly indifferent to Kiera as a character (or Sethra, for that matter; she is just such an NPC, you know? :P
I'm very much :P on Sethra, who really does seem to be just a questgiver, and definitely lacks the strong personality the other characters have, but Kiera actually has something of a personality, even if it is kind of a stock one. This is why I was so O.o -> >XP on finding out about Kiera being Sethra in disguise, because I rather like the one, but could take or leave the other.
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Date: 2012-04-26 06:05 am (UTC)I... may or may not reread the appropriate bits of the timeline after I finish a book (new or reread) and go "Oh!" at all the parts that suddenly make sense. >.> I think he does try to be somewhat spoiler-oblique, too, but that's really hard with how convoluted the timelines are between books. So, yeah.
I'm very much :P on Sethra, who really does seem to be just a questgiver, and definitely lacks the strong personality the other characters have, but Kiera actually has something of a personality, even if it is kind of a stock one
True. And I think it even makes sense in context because -- well, I won't spoil it further, but Sethra basically doesn't mean Kiera to be just a disguise, so it makes sense that she would have a personality of her own.
After you're done with Orca, you may be interested in this fic about Kiera and young Vlad, told from Kiera's POV. It's actually not spoilery for Orca, just for Sethra-is-Kiera, you just may want to read it after Orca because that's the book with the most canon interaction between Kiera and Vlad, so.