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lunasarielWell, I'm back. Again. For now. After only a day and a half at home last weekend, we headed off once again, this time to Orange County, from where we just got back very early Friday, so early that I still considered it Thursday, and now I'm running around like crazy trying to get ready to leave for Comic-Con on Wednesday. Yes, I'm tired.
We drove most of the day Saturday, and arrived home around 5:00-ish, where a D&D game was already in progress. There's nothing like a good RP-heavy campaign to clear my head, although it was stressful and I was already tired. It's clear that H has been putting a truly phenomenal amount of work into this campaign; everything is novel-worthy complex and obviously thought out to the nth degree. She even created a new class entirely for me, given the direction my character was heading! In less dorky terms, this is the equivalent of driving four hours to come pick me up at 6:00 AM on a Saturday morning. Big stuff. And, from what she's been able to tell me, this new class is going to kick all kinds of ass. It has everything I love in it: an Intelligence- and Wisdom-centric healer/controller hybrid with some decent armor and lots of RP-slanted neat little extras. She's officially calling it the Avatar of Ioun, but privately she and I have been referring to it as the Battle Librarian (Ioun is the patron god of knowledge and wisdom). Best. Best. Friend. Ever. Of course, it helps that all the other players are all a great bunch of people. Yeah, there are some ego problems, and tempers do tend to fray as the night wears on, but they're great RPers, and overall they make playing with them a lot of fun.
But the post-D&D high can only do so much, and I spent all of Sunday running around, frantically trying to get ready to go again on Monday. This most recent trip, to see my dad's side of the family, was draining in a way the previous week's trip to see my mom's side wasn't. With my dad's side, I have to actively remind myself to socialize, to get out there and mingle with people, which wasn't at all a problem the previous week with my mom's side. I was strongly reminded of the last La Follette (dad's side) reunion when my parents were still together, and my mom had to keep shoving me out the door to go play with my dozens of cousins (hee, alliteration!), which I strongly resisted in favor of watching Power Rangers and reading Redwall. Actually, come to think of it, things haven't changed that much; I just do my own shoving now.
In terms of actual events, it wasn't that busy. We drove all day Monday, during which L and A tag-teamed being brats, but there was only one spot of bad traffic. On Tuesday, we went out to dinner at a nice place called BJ's, where we all left nice big tips for the waiters/waitresses; I could almost see their eyes widen as all 40-odd of us trooped in. And we still had to split the family up over four different restaurants! Wednesday, the 4th of July, was the big family games day. We all trekked out to a nearby park, and competed in a series of different challenges/games/what-have-yous, in which my particular family almost invariably placed last. (Explanation: My grandfather was one of six siblings, and the biannual pan-family reunion is still organized by "clan": Clan David [us; my grandfather was named David], Clan Everett, Clan Mary Lee, Clan Oszel, Clan Garland, Clan I Forget The Other Sister Or Possibly Brother.) Luckily, it wasn't as terrifyingly hot as it has been in past years, but everyone still got all sweaty doing things like the basketball shootout, the scavenger hunt (four sets of letters which, collectively, spell "La Follette" four times over were hidden around the park, and the first clan to collect all the letters and assemble them correctly won), and the hula hoop gymnastics circle thing (really the best way I can think of to describe it). Oddly enough, we didn't go out to see any fireworks that night, although the itinerary (yes, we had an itinerary) listed several concerts, street festivals, etc. This turned out to not be the best idea, since the power at our hotel went out just as it was getting dark, around 8:45 or so. It stayed off for quite a few hours, so we all assumed that someone had gotten stupid with some fireworks and blown out a transformer or something. Luckily, one of my dad's cousins had brought along about a million glowsticks, so we sort of colonized the pool with them, had lightsaber fights, etc. Thursday was the day of the big luncheon, followed by the talent show and auction. We rented out a whole church for it, and things were still fairly cramped, even though quite a few people couldn't attend this year. A, who has developed an actually pretty amazing singing voice sang "Amazing Grace," accompanied by my dad on his practice channer (he forgot his bagpipes), and the two of them led a sing-along for the whole family, since my aunt and cousin were supposed to join in, but they both bowed out at the last second. For the auction, we walked away with a quilt that I suspect we can't really afford, and I'm fairly sure that my dad is miffed that the wine he donated, which he's very proud of being #1 in the world, only went for, like, $150 per bottle, when it usually fetches quite a bit more. As usual, I didn't really see anything I wanted. There was some homemade strawberry jam that looked tasty, but A) it had seeds, and I hate seeds, and B) I didn't want to end up paying the $35 it went for. There was also a set of jewelry that belonged to my great-great-great grandmother, but, predictably, the bidding started at $200 and only went up from there. Also, my great aunt, the original owner's great-great granddaughter (I think?), was bidding for it, and I would have felt like crap for "stealing" it from her.
Of course, this is just what we *did*. What *happened* was all the usual family reunion stuff: trying to remember people's names/professions/grades, seeing who had done what, that kind of thing. ES, one of my favorite cousins, has thankfully outgrown his emo stage, and spent most of the time playing Magic: The Gathering with P. They tried to get me into it, but I've never been much of a card games (of any kind) person, and only played once, although it was fairly easy to pick up, especially after listening to ES and P discuss it so intently all week. My stepsister and stepmom had a huge fight on the last day, when my stepsister was supposed to fly back up early, but it turned out she had forgotten her ID. She claimed that she didn't know she needed it, and that Stepmom should have reminded her. Stepmom says that she did remind her, but Stepmom is the naggy type, so I don't blame Stepsister for losing this particular reminder in the confusion of nagging. I do, however, blame Stepsister for not knowing that you need an ID to fly. I mean, she's almost 20 years old now; you would think that it would have sunk in by now. This led to much unpleasantness and bitterness all around, which I did my best to tune out.
We had initially planned to leave early Friday morning, but knowing my dad and stepmom, when they say "we're going to leave at 3:00 AM," they really mean "we're going to leave at 8 AM at the earliest," which then becomes "we're going to leave at noon," and then we finally get on the road somewhere around 1:30 or 2:00. So we decided to avoid all that, and just leave Thursday night. I was afraid that I would have to take a turn, since we were driving my dad's enormous truck, of which I am entirely justified in my terror, but, luckily, Dad and Stepmom did the whole thing themselves. We finally got back to Sebastopol around 1:30 AM, and I promptly crashed. It was about then that I really started missing Cassie, since, at that point, I'd only been home for a grand total of roughly 36 hours since learning of her death, and it finally started to sink in when there was nobody there to complain at me for waking her up and being gone so inconveniently long, grudgingly allow me to share her pillow, etc.
I guess this was a big contributing factor of the, for lack of a better word, heartsickness, that I've been feeling lately. I started to notice this during the pan-family reunion, but now that I'm back, I've had time to really notice it. My guess would be that it's a combination of sadness, travel fatigue, and PMS, but I find myself unaccountably depressed. We shove off for Comic-Con the day after tomorrow, but I'd really like to have a week or so to just recuperate. The way-too-true big joke is always that Comic-Con is about endurance and stamina more than anything else, and it's probably a bad sign that I have con fatigue before the con even begins.
As I've mentioned before, I don't usually link things for their own sakes, but y'all should really try this one out. Akinator is basically 20 Questions: Extreme Nerd Edition. It asks questions to try to zero in on the person, whether real or fictional, you're thinking of, and sometimes it's kind of scary. As in, it got Sam Gamgee in, like, eight questions and Catherine Morland in fourteen. Even better, it has everyone. It has obscure Jane Austen characters (Fanny Bennett, Isabella Thorpe), and it even knows about The Silmarillion and Temeraire! Temeraire showed up in, basically, a giant fandom meme! It never quite got Fingon, mixed up Granby and Laurence more than once, and once, hilariously, got the Dragon from Shrek when I was angling for Perscitia, but it got Iskierka and Fëanor and Lúthien, and is terribly, wonderfully addictive. I got several of my cousins and siblings hooked on it last week, so getting texted urgent questions like "Was Iron Man ever married?" and "Is Will Smith an only child?" became commonplace.
In other news, I've actually been making some progress on Godzilla. Maybe. My problem with writing has always been that I have this whole slew of awesome(-to-me) ideas, and I mash them all together and expect a coherent narrative to somehow form itself as I go. I actually went into this with more of a structured outline than I normally do, but it has turned out to not be quite as comprehensive as I'd thought and, as usual, the story has gotten away from me. At this point, I have two choices: I can stick with the original cracky premise and write a short, silly piece, concerned primarily with dragons plotting with each other and humiliating their respective captains, or I can keep going the way I have, and turn out a (possibly multi-chaptered) monster all about psychological realism, gender norms and homophobia during the Regency, and a side discussion on proto-feminism, all examined through the lens of silly novels. The former would require cutting out quite a bit, obviously, and some of it I rather like, but I am afraid of this whole thing growing too big and unwieldy, in which case the underlying humor might get lost, which I definitely don't want to happen. (Of course, this whole question was brought up when my ENGL 125A paper finally came back, and the professor wrote some very complimentary things about it [I write with "remarkable clarity and control about two books that can be difficult to navigate thematically!"], but re-reading it sparked the realization that Godzilla has rather strayed from the path I had originally envisioned for it.)
I've also finished The Warrior's Apprentice, the first Vorkosigan Saga to star the titular Miles Vorkosigan, who is, basically, Space Tyrion. He just is. Brilliant, disfigured, snarky, and shock, actually concerned with the welfare of those who serve him. He's Space Tyrion raised in a loving, supportive home, and by Ned and Cat Stark instead of Tywin Lannister, but, still, it's scary how well the everyone maps. Elena is Tywin's idealized, long-lost Tysha, Bothari is a Bronn who hasn't yet made his peace with the fact that his two favorite pastimes are murder and rape, and, as I said, his parents map exactly onto Ned and Cat. A sometimes self-destructively honor-bound nobleman, who is nevertheless willing to sacrifice his honor for his loved ones when it comes right down to it, and his savvy, red-headed (comparatively) foreigner wife, both of whom are, surprise surprise, capable parents? Sounds a little familiar.
But Miles is very much Ned and Cat's, I mean Aral and Cordelia's, son. I imagine there are things about him that make both parents grit their teeth, all the more so because they're qualities they find in each other. There's his particular brand of flying-by-the-seat-of-his-pants, making-it-up-as-he-goes heroism that's pure Cordelia, and I'm sure has been giving Aral heart attacks for the past 18 years, but there's that class-consciousness, that bone-deep devotion to what it means to be Vor, that just screams Aral, and, as far as I can tell, perplexes Cordelia as much now as it did when she first arrived on Barrayar. Happily, he inherited a double dose of the awesome gene, and, like in Barrayar, I can almost see the legends forming around him as he goes. I mean, who sets off to visit their grandmother and returns four months later at the head of an enormous mercenary fleet, having just ended a war, uncovered a military conspiracy, and even having created a secret identity? Like with the Cordelia-centric novels, Miles' awesomeness is handled very deftly. It keeps me cheering and squeeing at all the rights parts, but (almost) never edges into "oh, puh-leez" breaking of the willing suspension of disbelief. It's almost an antidote to the continual crushing depression of ASOIAF, where Tyrion, the semi-official Nicest Guy In Westeros, constantly has all his hopes and dreams, no matter how humble or noble-minded, crushed. Instead,
As for the other characters, it was a mixed bag. I really liked what I saw of Baz and Mayhew, but they rather got lost in the shuffle once the cast started mushrooming. Bel Thorne was fascinating, if only because I'm fairly sure this is the first time I've seen a trans* person appear as even a secondary character in a genre novel. It seems that LMB rather wrote herself into a corner here, since it was clear on several occasions that she struggled with pronouns for hir, but I guess the idea of gender-neutral pronouns aside from "it" hadn't really penetrated the public consciousness in the 80s, when TWA was written. I loved Elena, although I got rather tired of Miles' staggeringly obviously hopeless love for her rather quickly (although I do applaud LMB for making Miles act like an actual teenager, and not just a really, really short 30-year-old), and I hope we get to see more of her, and her inherited badassery, sometime in the future. Bothari's death really took me by surprise, and even a little while after I was half-waiting for him to pull an "I'm not dead yet!" on us. I was surprised to find out how much I missed him; he really grew on me through his devotion to the Vorkosigans and very clear acknowledgement of, and struggle to control, the, for lack of a better word, evil within himself. That said, though, I'm glad the narrative didn't force either Elena to forgive him. Elena Visconti had every right in the world, in any world, to never forgive him for what he did to her, his insanity notwithstanding, and I'm really glad LMB didn't pull her punches in this department. The knowledge that he was deeply mentally ill doesn't make what he did to her go away, and I'm glad she retained, and used, her right to be angry with him. Similarly, I thought that Elena Bothari was going to take the "he's done bad things, but he loved me and didn't know what he was doing and tried to bring me up right, so I love him regardless" route, but again, LMB pulled no punches. I guess some sort of resolution for her would have been nice, but like with her mother, she kind of has grounds to hate him now, and it was actually a little refreshing to see her exercise them instead of meekly and angelically forgive him. Finally, there's the question of "that idiot Ivan." To whom I say: hmmm...*strokes chin* In the tradition of mapping Vorkosigan characters onto ASOIAF ones, or at least sorting them into Westerosi houses, I took a long, hard look at him, and came up with Mace Tyrell. It's not that he's dumb, he's probably actually quite intelligent; it's just that he's never been called on to, y'know, think for himself. He hasn't been sharpened by the kind of adversity that people like the Vorkosigans have had to face, so he's still just kind of stumbling through life. That, combined with the Olenna Tyrell type of mother that I'm sure Alys Vorpatil developed into, leads me to decide that all he needs to become a truly interesting character is to get mixed up in one of the capital-A Adventures that seem to gravitate towards Miles to whip him into shape.
The only moment that didn't work for me was towards the end, when Vorhalas got involved in the whole plot against the Vorkosigans. (Okay, he didn't exactly get involved, but he was pushing for their destruction, all the same.) The whole thing just felt kind of...tacked on? The threat he represented was introduced (out of left field, at that), dealt with, and dismissed within, like, five or ten pages. It seems that Miles has inherited his mother's occasional god-modding powers, since he managed to placate his father's implacable enemy of nearly twenty years, who (not entirely unjustly) holds said father responsible for the deaths of his only children and who has sworn eternal vengeance for same, by one of his patented Rousing Speeches. And not even one of his best, at that. As far as I can tell, it went:
Vorhalas: At last, revenge is mine! My hated enemy is on his knees begging for his son's life the way I begged for mine, and, like him, I refused. Ah, sweet poetic justice.
Miles: Dude, don't be a dick.
Vorhalas: ...Okay. Never mind, we're cool. I still hate you and your family, though.
So that was kind of an anticlimax, especially since it felt like the novel had already ended. Threat nullified, enemy defeated, mystery solved, father's approval gained, curtain. On the other hand, that was the only moment that stuck out at me as not working; the rest of it varied from scads to tons of fun.
Finally, the rest of that meme from um, like, a month ago is done! Just as a reminder, our lovely and talented contestant are:
1. Logan/Wolverine (X-Men)
2. Molly Hooper (Sherlock)
3. Londo Mollari (Babylon 5)
4. Cordelia Vorkorsigan (Vorkorsigan Saga)
5. Eli “Patriot” Bradley (Young Avengers)
6. Aliera e’Kieron (Dragaera)
7. Rory Pond-Williams (Doctor Who)
8. Lung Tien Lien (Temeraire)
9. Owen Harper (Torchwood)
10. Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)
11. Boromir (Lord of the Rings)
12. Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)
13. Carrot Ironfoundersson (Discworld)
14. Diana Villiers (Aubrey/Maturin)
15. “Gentleman” Johnny Marcone (Dresden Files)
34) 1 (Logan) and 10 (Luna) have a good reason to get drunk together. Which reason is it? And where will they meet?
Well, Logan already seems to be drunk a good percentage of the time, and Luna in and of herself would constitute a pretty good reason, if he needed one. Luna would follow him out of curiosity and/or to introduce him to firewhiskey, which, of course, he would never have had before. Only Wizarding pubs would carry it, though, so that rather limits the choice of venues. The Hog’s Head is just about Logan’s usual speed, but Luna, of course, would steer him towards the Three Broomsticks instead. A Muggle with a metal skeleton and knives coming out of his hands might excite some comment there, but mostly of the “ooooh!” variety, especially if Hagrid is there.
35) 5 (Eli), 9 (Owen), and 8 (Lien) confess to each other the worst thing they have ever done. What is it? How do they react?
Eli has to take a minute to put himself up to it, but eventually he confesses. As to what, though, it depends. The objectively worst thing he’s ever done is shooting the Scarlet Witch just as she, Wiccan, and Doctor Doom were about to re-channel the Lifeforce into a spell re-powering all the mutants lost on M-Day. But there were a lot of mitigating factors there, most importantly that Eli’s reasons for shooting her were perfectly legitimate at the time (or, at least, they seemed so to him), so he probably wouldn’t list this as the worst thing he’s done. No, that would probably be him lying about the source of his superpowers being a legitimate blood transfusion, while he was really getting them from MGH that he was stealing off the drug dealers he and the other Young Avengers busted.
Owen tries to put everyone off with a jokey confession, like spitting in Ianto’s coffee or something, but after a little prodding from Eli, would confess to the space whale thing. Which, granted, was the morally right thing to do, since it was suffering horribly and all, but killing it flew in the face of not only his Hippocratic oath, but every reason he wanted to be a doctor in the first place.
Lien, of course, has never, ever done anything that wasn’t perfectly reasoned-out and didn’t turn out well. /sarcasm She almost certainly feels bad about Yongxing’s death, but A) she seems to blame Laurence and Temeraire for causing it more than herself for failing to prevent it, and B) she’s certainly not about to tell a couple of Western humans, one of them British at that, about the whole mess.
36) 1 (Logan) has to get a new job, what job do they apply for, do they get it, are they any good at it?
By “new” I assume this means “one he hasn’t had before,” since otherwise he could just go back to being a lumberjack or government operative or whatever. He probably applies as an Army Ranger or similar, at which I’m sure he’d do very well, but I actually think he would do really well as a social worker/life coach. He’s proven himself to be a great mentor, even if said mentoring does include a lot of swearing and yelling, he can smell lies (well, in some continuities, anyway), and her certainly wouldn’t stand by and allow children to be mistreated. That last one would probably be the end of his career, since he wouldn’t have the slightest problem with putting an abusive parent or guardian through a wall and taking the kid(s) home with him until more suitable accommodations can be found, but whatever branch of the government funds social workers might have kind of a problem with that.
37) 7 (Rory) is secretly related to any other character on the list (that isn't in their same canon, i.e. - TV show, book, etc.) - who is it, what's their relationship, and how would they get along?\
I guess it would be Carrot, since they’re both gingers. In fact, given the Discworld’s propensity for creating recognizable-but-not-exact copies of famous people/characters, Carrot could very well be the Discworld version of Rory: they’re both the quiet, earnest type, they both try to get along with everybody, they’re both dating fiery women with unusual powers, and they can both be pushed out of their default amiability into Determinator levels of badassery when threatened.
Their relationship is amicable, since they’re both easygoing guys. They’re both also fairly busy, what with saving the world and all, so after discovering the connection, I could see them having a few “getting to know you” meetings where they show each other around their cities and introduce each other to their families and friends, but only getting together sporadically after that, whenever the TARDIS happens to be in the neighborhood of Ankh-Morpork.
38) 4 (Cordelia) and 13 (Carrot) get their clothes swapped, what happens?
Cordelia finds the metal breastplate, helmet, and fringy skirt (I think? Are those skirt things still a part of the Watch uniform?) drastically impractical for the kind of combat situation she’s used to, but she does have to admit that they’re kind of neat, especially from a historical/anthropological standpoint. Once the breastplate gets re-sized so it actually fits her, Aral agrees. Enthusiastically. (Or, at least, that’s his story. ;) )
After ripping half a dozen seams the first time he takes a deep breath, Carrot gets it altered so that he can actually move in it. He finds her Betan Survey uniform interesting, and full of useful little pockets, but hardly of use against knives and troll fists. He’s initially bemused by the dress, but eventually comes to appreciate all the extra storage space, and shrugs off his fellow Watchmen’s teasing with typical good humor. Angua fervently hopes that no iconographs of the whole thing get back to her family, which proves to be vain, since a 6’6”, orange-haired Watchman kicking ass and taking names in a floor-length green gown with floral accents is sure to excite some comment, even in Ankh-Morpork.
39) 11 (Boromir) and 5 (Eli) sing a karaoke duet. What do they sing? How drunk did 3 (Londo) have to get them to convince them to do karaoke?
Heh, getting people drunk and then suggesting that they do karaoke is such a Londo thing to do. And he had to get them both very drunk, since Eli isn’t at all a karaoke person, and while Boromir might be okay with singing in a pub, it would most likely be some sort of military song. However, once sufficiently wasted, I could see them both rocking out to some Iron Maiden or AC/DC. Something where half the lyrics can be shouted and that involves a lot of headbanging, anyway.
40) Would 5 (Eli) look good in 2 (Molly)'s outfit? In 8 (Lien)'s?
Tommy would look hilarious in Molly’s outfit (if it were sized up so that he could actually fit into it, of course), especially considering that her trademark article of clothing is a seemingly endless series of silly hats, including a frog beanie with elbow-length earflaps and googly eyes.
And Lien doesn’t wear clothes, so, yes; Eli would look great in her outfit! ;)
41) Which of your characters would be more likely to end up in bed with 14 (Diana)? And with 15 (Marcone)?
Actually, I can see them sleeping with each other. Diana is known for attaching herself to rich and powerful men for political protection, so, out of the list, Marcone would be her first choice (Boromir would be interested but too honorable, Londo is in too much trouble to make an attractive target, and she and Cersei would just cancel each other out). Marcone would be aware of this, of course, but Diana is a beautiful, brilliant, ruthless woman, and not without some subterfuge/espionage talents of her own, so, once she was brought up to speed on modern technology and magic, Marcone would see her as a great asset, as well as someone to look pretty on his arm when he has to appear in public, which she would be totally okay with.
42) 9 (Owen) and 3 (Londo) meet 6 (Aliera) at a bar; do they take him/her home with them?
Maybe. Aliera is probably either wreaking havoc or sitting quietly and sipping something very expensive. In the first case, Owen quite sensibly decides that Torchwood isn’t equipped to deal with someone like her, but Londo is fascinated, and strikes up a conversation once she calms down. In the second case, they sure try. She’s a beautiful, obviously wealthy, and obviously otherworldly woman, and both Owen and Londo are red-blooded men (or at least Owen is; I’m not sure what color Centauri blood is). I’m not sure this would end at all well, and Aliera certainly wouldn’t go home with a scruffy little Easterner like Owen, but she might find Londo intriguing enough to grant him some of her time.
43) 11 (Boromir) and 7 (Rory) wind up stuck in a ski-hill cabin with nothing to do. What ensues?
Boromir is all for just bulling their way out, of course, since he does have experience with this kind of thing. Rory, on the other hand, as long as there’s no pressing reason for them to leave right this minute, advocates sitting tight until the Doctor shows up to rescue them, as he invariably does. Boromir eventually agrees, again, if they’re not in immediate danger and they’re not needed elsewhere, and the two of them end up regaling each other with tales of their various adventures. Or, rather, Boromir does most of the regaling; Rory contents himself with mostly listening, since he started out with the “that time I was erased from history, brought back as a plastic Roman assassin, killed my fiancé, guarded her tomb for a thousand years, brought her back to life, and rebooted the universe” one, and Boromir didn’t believe half of it, and didn’t understand the other half.
44) How does 1 (Logan) find out that 13 (Carrot) likes getting bitten THERE?
Wow, the idea of a kinky Carrot kind of breaks my brain, since I’ve always assumed that he’s the “socks on, lights off” type. Hmm…maybe Angua and Cheery get drunk and start talking about how dwarves are grossly misrepresented in terms of kinks, and how it’s not all about the chainmail bikinis, how Carrot likes getting bitten, but, what with dating a werewolf and all, they can’t exactly indulge in that particular kink. Logan is getting drunk nearby (are X-Men or Avengers close enough to coppers to be accepted at the Mended Drum?), and really, really wishes he couldn’t hear what they’re talking about.
45) 5 (Eli)'s gotten together with 8 (Lien). What was their first time like; and is that jealousy 12 (Cersei) is feeling?
Their first time was, um, eye-opening, since Eli would have had to ask Billy for a shapeshifting spell in order to be a compatible size/species with Lien, and once it got out that Eli has a thing for evil, or at least deeply morally ambiguous, Chinese dragon princesses, the rest of his friends, especially Tommy, never let him forget it. Ever.
But I can actually see Lien being kind of okay with Eli, since his draconic form would at least be an Imperial, and he’s certainly from a distinguished lineage. I mean, she would only have sex with him to produce an egg and/or to secure some sort of political alliance, but it wouldn’t be too onerous a duty.
And, yes, that is jealousy Cersei is feeling, but only because Lien is stealing all her best moves re: seduction, and she had hoped to bag an Avenger of any stripe herself. She also might be a little jealous of Lien herself, who is nothing if not powerful and in control.
46) What annoys 11 (Boromir) most about 9 (Owen)?
His irreverence and/or his randiness. The irreverence might be kind of endearing, in a Hobbit-like way, at first, but when Owen starts making jokes at Boromir’s expense at every possible opportunity, hits on some high Gondorian lady, or tells, like, Aragorn or someone to shove it up their ass, Boromir might get a bit fed up.
47) 2 (Molly) has been murdered; 14 (Diana), 12 (Cersei) and 6 (Aliera) are rival detectives. Who solves the mystery first, and how -- and which of the remaining 15 is the murderer?
LOL, these three, with the possible exception of Diana, would make the worst detectives ever. Aliera would either hire Vlad to solve it, or just get bored, decide that whoever she doesn’t like did it, and head out to whoop their ass. Similarly, Cersei would have some serious trouble with the concept of actually doing work herself. Out of the people she knows, Tyrion would be most likely to be able to solve the case, but her asking him for help? Yeah, no. She either flat-out doesn’t care about the case and forgets about it, or starts ordering executions more or less at random. Diana would probably tag-team with Stephen, who has actual espionage/crime-solving experience, and so would at least have some idea what she’s about. She wouldn’t have a clue what to do with all the modern tech Molly worked with, and so would be a huge part of the case, but she would at least try.
So it’s down to a race between Vlad-hired-by-Aliera and Stephen-hired-by-Diana, and I think the prize would go to Vlad. Assuming magic still works on Earth, he has so many resources and talents that Stephen wouldn’t, and certainly could look at Molly’s murder from, er, the other side.
As to who is the murderer, my money would be on Marcone. As I’ve mentioned before, he and Moriarty probably operate in at least some of the same circles, so either Marcone was thinking of expanding into England and Sherlock, and thus Molly, were onto him, or taking her out was part of some sort of deal with Moriarty. Vlad would come in especially handy here, since it’s pretty good odds that Marcone would contract a magical assassin of some sort, to avoid Sherlock deducing what was going on too early, John going into hyper-protective mode, etc.
48) 1 (Logan), 15 (Marcone), 10 (Luna), and 3 (Londo) are stranded on a hospitable but uninhabited planet. What is their situation a year later?
Actually pretty good. Logan, as has come up in this meme before, is pretty much set for any wilderness survival situation you’d care to name, Luna has her magic, and Marcone, while not exactly Grizzly Adams, is at least willing to work hard. I could see them getting cataclysmically annoyed with Londo, who would A) refuse to do any manual labor and B) insist on being in charge of everything, so they might have driven away and/or killed him by this point, but the other three would do just fine.
49) 2 (Molly) challenges 8 (Lien) to a duel. What happens, and why did they challenge?
It probably takes the form of a poetry competition or something, since Molly is way too smart to challenge a 20-ton dragon to a physical fight. A duel to the death isn’t either of their styles, anyway; Molly is (probably) a pacifist, and Lien would consider brawling beneath her (literally, in Molly’s case, heh).
Lien still probably wins the poem-off, even if she’s restricted to English, as Molly would insist. I mean, Chinese poetry in English is still beautiful, and Molly strikes me as more of the “four stanzas of ABAB about her cat” type, although, upon further thought, she might produce something quite powerful on the them of unrequited love. So maybe Lien doesn’t win after all…
And as to why Molly challenged Lien in the first place, so many reasons. It could be something active, like Lien getting snippy about English barbarians, or maybe Molly just got fed up with being yet another uppity clever type’s butt monkey.
50) (Carrot) is turned into a werewolf. How do they deal? Will 9 (Owen) be able to provide any comfort?
First, may I just say BAHAHAHA Carrot got the werewolf question! Who turned him is obvious; as to how, maybe he convinced Angua to go through with the biting thing from #44. Or, hell, maybe a member of Angua’s family did it just to spite her.
As always, Carrot would deal very well. It’s sort of the basis of his character that he doesn’t get fussed over things, especially things he can’t change, so he might take a day or two off to get used to the heightened senses, but after that it would be business as usual, only, as he would point out, he and Angua would now be able to go out running together regardless of shape.
Owen’s idea of comfort would probably take the form of medical fanyboying, I mean intensive study, since Carrot, an exceptionally perfect human raised by dwarves, is now also a werewolf. But if anyone was to develop a cure for lycanthropy, Torchwood would be a pretty good contender, and as pretty much the only medic Torchwood has left (well, except for Martha, but she’s technically a U.N.I.T. medic who occasionally gives Torchwood a hand), if anyone could do it, it would be him.
51) IT'S THE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. 6 (Aliera), 7 (Rory), and 13 (Carrot) are trapped in a house together. Who dies first and how does it all shake down?
Rory dies first, because that’s what he does. But he also comes back every time (*knock on wood for season 7*), so maybe the Doctor whisks him away and freezes him until an appropriate cure can be found, or maybe Rory was working on a cure himself, and Carrot and Aliera use it on him.
Carrot also probably dies, eventually and heroically, since protecting the populace at a time like this is the very essence of his job. Aliera, though, almost certainly survives. If she can’t just teleport out at the very beginning, then Pathfinder (especially when combined with her magic) would be the perfect zombie-fighting tool, she’s used to taking out large number of enemies at once, and I’m not even sure if the zombie virus would work on Dragaerans, anyway.
52) 11 (Boromir) and 3 (Londo) discover a potion with unknown effects. How do they test it?
Londo volunteers Vir to drink it and see what happens, but, luckily, Boromir calls in Gandalf before that can happen, and if Gandalf didn’t make it himself, he would almost certainly know who did and what it does. But, for some reason, I associate potions in Middle-earth with Saruman, so it’s probably not something anyone who isn’t an Uruk-Hai would want to consume in the first place.
53) UH OH. 6 (Aliera) just rear-ended 15 (Marcone)'s car. How do they react?
Aliera pulls around him and speeds away, maybe hollering something out the window as she does, since she only rear-ended him in the first place because he was going too slow and wouldn’t pull over to let her pass. Marcone is above road rage, of course, so he calmly waits for Hendricks to drive them back home, at which point he sends somebody to get locate and get revenge (of an unspecified type) on Aliera. Hell, he might even ask Harry to do it, since his magic would be perfect for screwing with cars, and doing so in revenge for a rear-ender would definitely appeal to his sense of humor.
54) 5 (Eli), 14 (Diana), and 7 (Rory) are 1920s bootleggers!
Diana presents herself as just somebody’s moll, but is really running the whole operation, and does so ruthlessly and efficiently. Eli is an angry, by-the-book Fed sent to shut down her outfit, and encounters a buttload of period-appropriate racism along the way. Rory is the town doctor who wants no part in the whole mess, but when Diana finds out what a softie he is, she keeps dumping her wounded men on his doorstep, figuratively and literally speaking, and he just can’t turn them away. Eli gets shot while in hot pursuit, and goes to the doc for some patching-up, where he recognizes some of his other patients. Rory refuses to allow Eli to arrest them while they’re healing up, what with his Hippocratic Oath and all, but does circumspectly tip Eli off to what he knows, since not only does he want the whole mess out of his hair, but Diana scares him more than a little (not to mention all the times she’s used her powers of sexy on him to get him to do this or that).
55) 2 (Molly) is a serial killer. The rest of the list are his/her victims - what's the connection between all of them that has 2 after them all?
Er, they were close to finding her out and/or in her way? I was initially going to say that they all made fun of her, purposefully or not, at one time or another, but I really cannot see people like Carrot or Logan mocking her, even accidentally, for her social awkwardness, strange taste in men, and love blinders. Londo, Cersei, Marcone, and maybe Aliera wouldn’t be contractually/morally opposed to her killing people the way everyone else on the list would, but they’re all powerful people, and so still represent threats to her one way or another.
56) 6 (Aliera), 7 (Rory), and 8 (Lien) are PIRATES. IN SPACE.
Yay Firefly! Actually, these guys map pretty well: Aliera is a smaller, prettier version of Jayne, Rory *is* Simon, complete with inferiority complex and tendency to get into trouble, and Lien is…Serenity herself? The Operative? She’s not outright evil enough to be the Hands of Blue, and much too dignified to be Badger, but she is eerie and willing to do terrible things for what she considers to be good reasons.
57) 4 (Cordelia), 12 (Cersei), and 10 (Luna) are at the same high school. Are they in the same clique? Are they even friends? Do they hate each other? Would one of them ask another to prom?
No, they are definitely not in the same clique. Cersei would be, like, a cheerleader or something in a typical high school AU, but based off of my own experiences, she would be one of the rich kids who does well enough in class to keep the teachers from caring that she spends most of her time getting wasted and having huge parties at her dad’s house. Cordelia would definitely be and honors student and one of the math/science nerds, but would also be on the lacrosse team or something. Luna would be…Luna. Since she already goes to, basically, magic high school, her situation actually wouldn’t change all that much, she would just have to find new weird things to be interested in, but she would keep the bottlecap necklace and still stick her
Cersei would loathe the other two, and Luna probably wouldn’t go out of her way to make friends, but I can see Cordelia becoming interested in Luna, first in an intellectual way, and then in a “hey, you’re really interesting!” kind of way. If they had to collaborate on a project of some kind, they might continue to hang out afterwards, and Cordelia could hit all of Luna’s bullies with her lacrosse stick, while Luna would be the only one brave enough to talk to the hot new transfer student who gets in fights and scowls all the time, and then blithely introduce him to Cordelia, and declare that they are now a couple.
58) 11 (Boromir) and 2 (Molly) are trapped in an elevator together. What happens next? Which of them freaks out first? Who panics the most when the lights go out?
Molly would freak out first, but then would regain her head after a minute. Boromir might actually get freaked out more in the long run, since it’s a small, enclosed space somewhere he doesn’t know, he’s unfamiliar with the technology and how it works, and now the lights have gone out and the girl in the weird white robes won’t let him light a torch. Molly’s attempts to explain that they’re essentially trapped in a small metal box suspended by comparatively thin wires and cables several dozen feet above the ground probably wouldn’t help.
59) What kind of a pet would 14 (Diana) have?
A white cat, I think. My first instinct was to say a white ferret, but ladies of her station probably didn’t have ferrets, and a cat is the next best thing. Maybe she even has several, of different colors, so their hair wouldn’t show up on her gorgeous clothes. She would most certainly be a cat person, anyway.
60) 8 (Lien), 14 (Diana), 9 (Owen), and 6 (Aliera) fall through a dimensional portal leading to the Star Wars universe. What will they do until they get back home? Also, will they work as a team or will they try to kill each other?
Disclaimer: pretty much the sum total of my Star Wars knowledge comes from watching the original trilogy. I’ve only seen Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones a few times, and Revenge of the Sith never.
I’m on the fence whether Lien actually joins the Sith, or is just a malevolent free agent. I have a feeling that she would find the heavy-handed tactics of the Empire barbaric, but I can see the elegance of the Sith being attractive to her.
That said, Diana most likely joins the Alliance as a scout/spy, but earns a tidy sum on the side smuggling, buying and selling information as much as she thinks she can get away with, etc. Her usual method of attaching herself to rich and/or powerful men wouldn't work as well here as in her own time, so she would have to strike out on her own, which would suit her just fine. In fact, she would probably be happier calling her own shots in a world were women have equal rights.
Owen would do his best to just stay under the radar, since he knows a thing or two about aliens, but his medical knowledge, or thirst for same, might eventually get him mixed up with the Rebel Alliance, where he would make an effective, if constantly wondering why he puts himself through this when he could open up a nice little practice of his own on some backwater plant and wait for the Doctor and/or Jack to come get him, battlefield medic.
Aliera…would probably support the Alliance, but not actually work with them. She’s not stupid, so the Sith are out, but a protracted gruella war is hardly going to be attractive to her, either. I guess I could see her as a mercenary of some sort, since being paid to fight would probably sound pretty good to her.
As to whether they would work together…probably not. There are a lot of big egos in this group, and I’m not at all sure they could all coexist peacefully. Like, Aliera and Lien would have similar goals, but Aliera would think that Lien is awfully uppity for someone who doesn’t even have any magic, even if she is a dragon, and would also remind Lien unpleasantly of Iskierka (now *there’s* a disaster waiting to happen!). Owen just wants to be left alone, so everyone else’s empire-building would drive him away fairly quickly, and Diana just can’t be ‘aving with any of them.
61) How might 10 (Luna) manage to badly offend 1 (Logan) and what would 1 do about it?
Logan is a pretty easily offended guy, so it wouldn’t take much. Luna was probably just being her usual odd self, inadvertently referenced one of the many, many painful episodes in Logan’s past, and accidentally spread it around, since she didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret in the first place. But Logan has a well-known Papa Wolf-like soft spot for young girls, especially damaged ones, so he probably wouldn't take it too personal. (Actually, I can see him and Luna getting along pretty well, Luna’s loopiness and Logan’s occasional terrifyingness aside.)
62) Due to some plot device, 4 (Cordelia) and 12 (Cersei) end up in charge of a baby they're supposed to be jointly responsible for. How do they manage?
Surprisingly well. Pretty much Cersei’s only positive quality is that she’s a good mother, or at least loves her children. However, the baby in question probably isn’t one of hers, so I could see her caring less about what happens to it, and just leaving it somewhere, or at least passing it off to her handmaidens to deal with.
Cordelia is pretty much the direct opposite. She’s not a very motherly person, but she’s good at it, if that makes any sense. Once Cersei started ignoring the baby, Cordelia would take it on herself to feed it, change it, stop it from crying, etc.
So, between the two of them, things work out okay. They might even get a chance to swap baby stories of their own children, which is pretty much the only point that would allow the two of them to bond over anything.
63) 5 (Eli) asks for 14 (Diana)'s hand in marriage. How does 14 react? And what possessed 5, anyway?
Heh, maybe this is from the bootlegger!AU from earlier. Diana is certainly not above using Wiles on Eli to keep him off her scent, and, before he figured out who she really was, I could see Eli falling for her, and hard. She’s exactly his type: a no-nonsense, kickass, dark-haired woman passionately opposed to injustice (as it applies to her, anyway), and fond of sexy clothes. He’s not rich or powerful enough to make attractive husband material for her, but she would be surprised and gratified that he likes her for her mind and ability to shoot the pips out of a playing card than her boobs (although, yes, the boobs definitely help). But she needed government information or something, and slept with him to get it. After this, Eli considers them, for all intents and purposes, engaged, and so is incredibly hurt when she basically disappears. Later, he gets married to another dark-haired femme fatale (why, yes, I do ship Eli/Kate!), and rises to a position of prominence in the government. In the back of her mind, Diana will always regret not snapping him up when she had the chance.
64) 10 (Luna) and 15 (Marcone) get married and move in together. What kind of home would they live in? Who will decorate the house and would either of them be tempted to have an affair with 4 (Cordelia)?
They would probably live at Marcone’s place in Chicago, since Luna can just Apparate or Portkey back to the UK. I could see Marcone having an elegant, tastefully appointed, understated, bachelor pad, which Luna would turn upside-down pretty much upon arrival. It would still probably look good (to her, anyway), or at least interesting, but any visitors would get the immediate impression that a flock of very large birds had recently thrown some sort of party in a fancy apartment, and had now taken up permanent residence.
As to the affair, definitely Marcone. Not only would it not occur to Luna, but she and Marcone are such complete opposites that he would be looking for someone else as soon as she filled their closet with old issues of The Quibbler and started Nargle-proofing the kitchen. And while Cordelia would be supremely unimpressed with him and lecture him about why what he’s doing is stupid and/or wrong, at least she’s coherent most of the time. Also, it would bug him that Luna would spend almost all her time hanging out with Team Dresden.
65) 11 (Boromir), 13 (Carrot), 3 (Londo), 12 (Cersei), 9 (Owen), and 6 (Aliera) meet in an art class. What is the specific art, and why have they signed up for it? Which of the remaining characters is teaching it?
Calligraphy, I think. I can’t think of many artsy things Boromir would find acceptable, but calligraphy strikes me as a traditional pastime for the Gondorian nobility. Sethra and/or Morrolan are probably making Aliera do it, hoping that it will calm her down a little. Owen is sick of spending all his time elbow-deep in alien and/or teammate guts, and is looking for a nice, semi-classy way to unwind. Londo and Cersei think it makes them look elegant and cultured, since both their reputations could use a boost right about now. And Carrot is taking it because he’s Carrot, and he’s looking into new things to do with the disadvantaged urban youths he’s been cultivating for a while now.
The teacher is Lien, of course. She’s not exactly patient, but she does produce results, and, of course, her own work is gorgeous.
66) 15 (Marcone) and 4 (Cordelia) are getting into politics together. How might they achieve their goals through a democratic forum?
If Marcone is involved, it’s going to be “democratic,” not actually democratic. If he were so inclined, he could probably officially run Chicago, not just unofficially. If the economic/social pressure he already exerts wouldn’t be enough, he could easily contract someone to put the mind-whammy on his opponents.
For Cordelia, though, it actually would be democratic. As a dyed-in-the-wool Betan, and thus so democratic it almost hurts, there really wouldn’t be another process she would voluntarily use. I mean, she integrated into the Barrayaran feudal system okay, but even 17 years later, she’s still not entirely happy with it.
Given all this, a political alliance between Marcone and Cordelia would be difficult, but workable. Marcone would have to keep his more underhand dealings a secret, and would quite quickly get frustrated with her insistence on abiding by the will of the people, not rigging any votes, may the best person win, etc. But once they found a good balance that they’re both at least marginally comfortable with, they would clean up. They’re both forces to reckon with on their own, and once they start working together, they would be more or less unstoppable.
67) 6 (Aliera) and 10 (Luna) are dating. How did they meet? What's their relationship like?
They met when Aliera was messing around with Morrolan’s dimension-travelling window and somehow ended up in the Potterverse. Luna was the only one to believe her when she went around declaring her true identity and demanding a ride back to Dragaera, which endeared her to Aliera somewhat.
It’s very much a casual/physical thing, at least on Aliera’s end. Easterners might be good shags now and again, but they’re nowhere near good enough to bring home, so Aliera would continue using the window to pop in every week or two, but would eventually get bored and stop visiting. Luna is secretly very hurt by this, since she thought that Aliera was fascinating and, more importantly, she didn’t call her crazy.
68) 14 (Diana), 11 (Boromir), 13 (Carrot), 7 (Rory), and 2 (Molly) are reality show contestants. What kind of reality show is it? Who gets sent home first? Who wins? Who embarrasses themselves tremendously on national television? Who parlays their 15 minutes of fame into some kind of career in the spotlight?
Heh, I could see them on an American Idol-like singing competition. Singing was part of a lady’s standard education in Diana’s day, so a lot of the “easy” stuff she’s heartily bored of would sound like difficult operatic pieces today, since being, basically, a trained opera singer is no longer considered a basic skill. After figuring this out, she has absolutely no qualms about extending her stint on American Idol/X-Factor/Britain’s Got Talent/whatever into a decent, if not terribly long-lived, solo career.
Like calligraphy, I imagine that singing would be something that Boromir would be expected to be at least decent at. If he still remembers any songs in Elvish, he could pass them off as Welsh, but I would think that marching songs or historical ballads would be more his speed. Faramir was always the singer of the family, but the Boromir in my head has a pleasing and sonorous, if not always perfectly melodious, voice.
Carrot’s singing bears a certain resemblance to his writing: he charges at it straight on, and carries on mainly via force until it’s done with. I’m pretty sure that all the songs he knows are Dwarven songs, and thus all variants on “Gold, Gold, Gold,” so he’s probably the first one booted off. Also, he probably wouldn’t be able to carry a tune in a bucket, which wouldn't help.
Rory would be one of only two contestants to know any songs the judges would be familiar with, and Rory’s taste would run more towards weird, eclectic stuff anyway. I could see him knowing lots of geeky/nerdy songs, interspersed with some Scottish Borders ballads for Amy, a Peruvian folk song as an in-joke, and maybe even some Gallifreyan music, if he can convince the Doctor to teach him, which would be a bittersweet experience on both sides.
Molly probably watches these kinds of shows religiously, so she probably ends up winning. In fact, I can see her as a sort of Susan Boyle figure, who pours all of her unhappiness with her life, Sherlock ignoring her, constantly being manipulated/used, etc., into a lot of pop ballads, performed chock-full of emotion. Also, she’s cute as a button and a fangirl herself, so the deck is kind of already stacked in her favor.
69) 4 (Cordelia) and 6 (Aliera) get dosed with truth (or maybe brutal honesty?) serum.
No noticeable chance for either of them. Aliera isn’t big on the whole self-censorship thing, although maybe she gets a little more affectionate towards Vlad and Morrolan, as I get the feeling a good deal of her meanness/bickering towards both of them is self-imposed out of some sense of maintaining an image or something.
For Cordelia, there would be slightly more shocked and outraged Vor lords, and someone might get cussed out for haranguing Aral and/or Miles, and everybody would certainly be treated to a lecture or two on politics and/or mental health, but that’s not really anything new. Like Aliera, she has a habit of saying what’s on her mind anyway.
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you may surmise from the length of this comment that I'm back at home ;)
Date: 2012-07-10 05:27 pm (UTC)I'm sorry to hear you're feeling heartsick :( Just from your trip accounts, you've had a very intense month, and then there's Cassie, and it sounds like this latest trip involved quite a bit of "forced socialization", which I, personally, find very draining as an introvert. So, yeah, it makes total sense that you would be feeling sad and "off" after all of that.
On a happier note, Battle Librarian, hee!
Also, holy wow, your father's side of the family takes its reunions seriously! I've never heard of one that was so elaborate! (Also, I don't think I knew your dad played the bagpipes -- that's really cool!)
Hee, the Akinator is like the best time-wasting thing ever! I discovered it originally a couple of years ago when Neil Gaiman (of all people XD) linked to it, and have been reminded of it periodically by other people linking to it a couple of times since then and getting sucked in every time. It's really amazing how quickly it can guess characters and even distinguish between characters that are quite similar (though LOL at it calling Perscitia Shrek's Dragon XD). It's also been neat to see that it really improves over time. The first time I tried Temeraire characters in it, it was hopeless, I think, and didn't know anyone from Dragaera except Vlad, and over the following years it got a lot better, though still not great, at guessing them.
who is, basically, Space Tyrion
Yep. (Although I do think Miles is a Targaryen rather than a Lannister if one were to sort him.) My reading timeline vis a vis Vorkosiverse and ASOIAF went like this -- I read the first two books of ASOIAF, then like five years later I started the Vorkosigan books, then five years after that I went back to ASOIAF (but took a long break from Vorkosigan, because no new books were coming out for awhile, while LMB was writing her fantasy series -- and I do highly recommend Curse of Chalion and sequels, btw), so it was only fairly recently that I stopped to consider ASOIAF and Vorkosiverse together, and was like, "Miles is Tyrion! IN SPACE!", and my friend
I mean, who sets off to visit their grandmother and returns four months later at the head of an enormous mercenary fleet, having just ended a war, uncovered a military conspiracy, and even having created a secret identity?
This made me laugh, 'cos it's so true XD
I imagined Miles as an orchestra conductor, leading the last, triumphant note with a flourish, and then dropping his arms suddenly as the piece ends
And this is a great image! Although it'd have to be a conductor who is also making up the score as he goes along :)
As for the side characters -- my favorites come in or come into their own in later books, but I did like Baz, and I like the relationship between Miles and Elena, and I like Bel, too (though the choice of "it" and "its" feels rather weird in these modern times, I agree.)
I also really like the way Bothari's death was handled, with respect to the Elenas. TWA is such a fun romp, and then there are moments like Bothari's death in it (another one for me is when Miles realizes his orders have resulted in, essentially, the captured pilot to be tortured to death).
part 2
Date: 2012-07-10 05:27 pm (UTC)Ivan... Ivan is a very interesting character to me, and IMO your reading of him is very astute! It's funny that you mapped him onto Mace Tyrell, because it took me awhile but I've come to the firm belief that he is one of the most Tyrell characters I've met outside of ASOIAF, but in a muted kind of way, not Loras or Olenna but very different. I think Ivan is one of those characters who grows a lot in the series, not just via his own character growth but with the reader (and Miles) getting to see him in other situations. And the next book that's coming out in the series is an Ivan-centric book, which I'm eagerly awaiting (and may actually spring for an eARC of, because, instant gratification!) (Also, Russian fairytales have this tradition of having their heroes be Ivan-the-idiot, a hapless but lucky fellow who wins out in the end. I don't know if LMB was knowingly playing with that tradition or if it's just a coincidence, and Ivan is not at all the hero of this story, of course, but that's been a fun thing for me to consider).
I would need to reread the Vorhalas scene starting with Miles's entrance to remind myself what I think of it... For me, the crux of that whole complication is when Aral begs Vorhalas for Miles's life without the least hesitation (that Ned parallel, as I mentioned), and also less about Miles solving stuff than about what the fact that the charges ever came up mean about the relationship between Gregor and Aral and Gregor and Miles. I'm not saying that's what the scene *should* be about -- just, those were the things I was paying the most attention to, so I don't really remember how I feel about Miles saving the day with a rousing speech :)
Once the breastplate gets re-sized so it actually fits her, Aral agrees. Enthusiastically.
Heh! Most definitely! :)
Heh, getting people drunk and then suggesting that they do karaoke is such a Londo thing to do.
Yep, I could totally see it!
44) How does 1 (Logan) find out that 13 (Carrot) likes getting bitten THERE?
Ahaha, the fact that you got Carrot, of all people, for this question! XD XD XD (Also, the werewolf question, OMG! XD)
Molly strikes me as more of the “four stanzas of ABAB about her cat” type,
*snerk*
52) 11 (Boromir) and 3 (Londo) discover a potion with unknown effects. How do they test it?
Londo volunteers Vir to drink it and see what happens
Pretty much! XD
Clearly the "Molly is a serial killer" question wandered in from the woulda-been-awesome fanon AU where Molly = Moriarty :)
Aliera is a smaller, prettier version of Jayne
Ahaha XD She kinda is... although I've come to the conclusion that Jayne is sort of the ultimate Orca. I think I've mentioned to you before that Brust is not only a huge Firefy fan, he wrote a fanfic novel of Firefly. Of course I had to read it, and I liked it OK, though not nearly as much as Firefly or Brust's real books, but one of the things that felt the most "off" to me was Brust's Jayne, who felt a lot dumber and less interesting than in the series (which I was probably more sensitive to because he ended up being my favorite character). It just kind of annoyed me at the time, but in retrospect, I think Brust just wrote him as an Orca, and Orca is the one Dragaeran house that both feels the least nuanced and he has himself confessed he didn't get any deeper feelings for while writing the titular book, so I think it all fits.
I loved the Cordelia, Cersei, and Luna go to highschool question! What a perfect combination -- I would TOTALLY watch this movie and/or sitcom XD
Faramir was always the singer of the family, but the Boromir in my head has a pleasing and sonorous, if not always perfectly melodious, voice.
That's my headcanon, too. And I could see him liking the historical ballads and stuff, yeah. (Also, LOL at the comment about passing Elvish off as Welsh :)
And, yeah, Carrot's singing would be hilarious. He'd be one of thos auditions they show for the lulz in between the "You're going to Hollywood!" numbers :)
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-10 10:05 pm (UTC)Yup. I'm about to start packing for Round #3, and I am officially tired of the packing, the I-5, the constantly having to be in motion...I need a vacation from my vacations. XP
this latest trip involved quite a bit of "forced socialization", which I, personally, find very draining as an introvert.
Exactly! This seems to be a difficult thing for non-introverts to grasp, but there's a huge difference between forced and voluntary socialization. The first is just all-around draining/tiring, but the second one can be fun, even revitalizing.
I've never heard of one that was so elaborate!
Yup, ours gets pretty crazy. Themes, t-shirts, goodie bags, two auctions (I didn't go to the children's auction), an honest-to-god trophy for the winner of the games, the whole shebang. My dad started talking about us hosting the next one up here in NorCal, and...yeah, no. So very much no. *quiver*
It's really amazing how quickly it can guess characters and even distinguish between characters that are quite similar
It really, really is! Sometimes I swear it could hear us. It's so addictive that it's actually been eating into my meme/reading time. It's like TVTropes: I always think "just one more," and before I know it, an hour has passed while I try to get it to guess Rankin.
Cordelia is way more awesome than Catelyn (possibly due to the fact that Catelyn is much more realistic and makes mistakes while Cordelia is Pure Awesome, but, well :)
I have come to the conclusion that the Vorkosigan Saga is the mirrorverse of ASOIAF: Tyrion was raised by two loving parents, Ned's sacrifice actually worked out okay, Cat is a memetic badass, Tysha can beat seven kinds of crap out of anyone who tries to rape her...I guess this is where all the happy endings of Westeros ended up. XD
the scene at the end of Warrior's Apprentice reminds me very much of Ned's forced confession for the sake of his family, yep.
Oddly enough, I hadn't thought of that until now. I guess it was in the back of my mind, but now that you mention it, it maps perfectly, right down to the Hope Spot and the enemy revoking mercy at the last second.
Although it'd have to be a conductor who is also making up the score as he goes along :)
Heh, in a band!AU, Miles would totally be the conductor/composer (in secret of course), as well as a virtuoso violinist, after starting out as an usher.
(another one for me is when Miles realizes his orders have resulted in, essentially, the captured pilot to be tortured to death)
Oooh, I forgot about that one! I'm actually glad that the CMoAs are leavened with heavier stuff like this, since nothing but an unbroken string of brilliant victories and all-around triumph would start to get a little old and, perversely, it's kinda nice to see that, sometimes, actions do have nasty consequences, intended or not, and they can't always be escaped.
Also, Russian fairytales have this tradition of having their heroes be Ivan-the-idiot, a hapless but lucky fellow who wins out in the end. I don't know if LMB was knowingly playing with that tradition
This wouldn't surprise me at all! The baba thing which became so prominent in TWA, combined with the names and just the general feel of Barrayar, all seems very Russian to me. Speaking of which, how are Russian fairytales on tricksters? Becaues, to me at least, Miles is nothing if not a trickster.
less about Miles solving stuff than about what the fact that the charges ever came up mean about the relationship between Gregor and Aral and Gregor and Miles.
Maybe that was my problem: the whole book has been Miles snatching victory from the jaws of defeat time after time, culminating in the perfect way he reavealed/wrapped up the whole conspiracy, and I kinda wanted Aral to have a chance to prove that badassery isn't only matrilineal.
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-10 10:05 pm (UTC)IKR? Carrot was priceless in this meme! He sings, he gets turned into a werewolf, he is reavealed to be kinky, he runs around in Cordelia's green dress, he sings, he takes a calligraphy class (a disaster in the making, I'm sure)... I guess everybody has to be the butt monkey sometime!
Clearly the "Molly is a serial killer" question wandered in from the woulda-been-awesome fanon AU where Molly = Moriarty :)
Molly = Moriarty, or just her being in on the whole thing, would indeed have been awesome! Especially because, given how she's treated on the show, I can't help thinking "it's always the quiet ones..."
Of course I had to read it, and I liked it OK, though not nearly as much as Firefly or Brust's real books,
I didn't know there were Firefly fanfic novels! I imagine it would be tough to hold up to the originals; are any of them good?
I loved the Cordelia, Cersei, and Luna go to highschool question!
Me too! I'm normally not a big fan of high school AUs, but I always love the cracktastic ones these memes dole out. And, yes, anything starring these three in high school would be awesome and hilarious and perfect!
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-11 12:58 am (UTC)LOL! I approve of this theory! (Heavy stuff does happen in the Vorkosiverse, actions have real consequences, bad things can happen to major characters -- but I do think the overall tone is towards happy endings, even after the heavy stuff has been dealt with, so.)
But, yeah, as you said later, I think the CMoAs and CMoFs are leavened by things like this, and it is the interplay of both that makes me love the series so much (and also the aspect of it that I think most reminds me of Firefly, besides the fun ensemble cast and quotable one-liners, that is :)
Miles would totally be the conductor/composer (in secret of course), as well as a virtuoso violinist, after starting out as an usher.
*sporfle* So very true! Now I kind of want to see this written XD
all seems very Russian to me. Speaking of which, how are Russian fairytales on tricksters?
The way LMB injects Russianness into Barrayar is one of my favorite minor things about the series (I have a lot of favorite things about this series, ok >.>). It's sufficiently in the background, and sufficiently mixed with other influences, that I never get the "ur doin it rong" feeling I get from a lot of non-Russian writers trying to write about Russia (including Russian-set SFF), but the little details are really great. And I know the series has a lot of Russian fans, so I think I'm not alone in finding that aspect of it well done.
Russian fairytales with tricksters tend to be animal ones -- the fox is the (pretty much always female) trickster figure. I can't think of any human examples... The typical heroic staples are a straightforward hero/bogatyr (mighty man) and Ivan-the-idiot (who is more Carrot-like than actually stupid), and you have the Cinderella-type girls and wise women as heroines, but I can't think of any human trickster types...
Totally agreed that Miles is a trickster archetype, yep.
Maybe that was my problem: the whole book has been Miles snatching victory from the jaws of defeat time after time, culminating in the perfect way he reavealed/wrapped up the whole conspiracy, and I kinda wanted Aral to have a chance to prove that badassery isn't only matrilineal.
Yes, I think it would've worked better as an Aral victory, tbh. I find that I tend to forget that it *wasn't* -- rather, I clearly remember the Ned-like scene, and I know it doesn't work, but I kind of forget/gloss over what it is that does solve the problem, I just remember that Gregor signs on the Dendarii Mercenaries to be nominally under his control, but not so much how that comes about.
Carrot was priceless in this meme!
He really was!
I didn't know there were Firefly fanfic novels! I imagine it would be tough to hold up to the originals; are any of them good?
Brust's is the only one I know of. It's here if you're curious to take a look. It's very Brustian (17 chapters, clever chapter titles), and I think part of the oddity for me was the transition between two media types.
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-11 12:41 pm (UTC)Very well-put! I don't think I could love it if it was just a bunch of insubstantial fluff pieces, or an unrelenting angst-fest, but it strikes a good balance where I haven't totally given up on the characters leading good lives, but they have to earn them, if that makes any sense. (And, yes, fun ensembles and quotableness FTW!)
the fox is the (pretty much always female) trickster figure.
Interesting! All the other trickster archetyes I can think of (Loki, Kokopelli, Ananzi, Coyote, Hermes[?]) are male, so it's kinda refreshing to see a female one thrown into the mix. Also, it wouldn't at all surprise me if LMB is/was consciously keeping the Russian-ness of Barrayar in the background, to avoid any glaring errors, since her style, from what I've seen so far, is to throw little tidbits in here and there, but not have it be the focus of the story.
I find that I tend to forget that it *wasn't* -- rather, I clearly remember the Ned-like scene, and I know it doesn't work, but I kind of forget/gloss over what it is that does solve the problem
Exactly! Aral's Ned-like scene was a powerful one (and hopefully not just for the ASOIAF parallel), but then Miles just solves everything effortlessly, more of less with a wave of his hand, after his father has just made this huge and, apparently, meaningless sacrifice...okay, I'll stop bitching about it now. XD
Brust's is the only one I know of. It's here if you're curious to take a look.
Oooh, definitely snagging this! I don't know if I'll have time to read it during the upcoming Week of
DoomComic-Con, but at least I'll have it with me, just in case. Thanks for the link! :)Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-11 03:43 pm (UTC)but then Miles just solves everything effortlessly, more of less with a wave of his hand, after his father has just made this huge and, apparently, meaningless sacrifice...
Yeah, basically this. I need to remember where I read the fic that showed that scene from Gregor's POV. I don't think it has any actual spoilers beyond that point, but I do think it's probably better to read it after The Vor Game, where the reader actually gets to know Gregor some.
Will be curious to see what you think of "My Own Kind of Freedom". TBH I don't remember much from it myself, but it was definitely a very interesting experience to read fanfic from a favorite pro author.
Have a safe and not-too-tiring trip to Comic-Con and a great time there! Looking forward to reading about your adventures there!
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-19 02:05 am (UTC)Loki is an interesting case for the whole male/female trickster thing. I know that a hallmark of the trickster archetype is the ability to genderbend and/or an inclination for crossdressing, but Loki is the only one I can think of, off the top of my head, to actually have gotten pregnant and given birth. And, yes, the entire Norse pantheon is basically one big bunch of jerks of varying intensity. (Come to think of it, the same can be said for most pantheons, especially the Greek. Wow, being an ancient Greek/Roman/Viking/etc. must have been discomfiting!)
Re: part 2
Date: 2012-07-19 07:04 am (UTC)And, yeah, I can't say the Greek gods were much better than the Aesir, in the not being jerks department... :P