Weekend back home, assorted neat links, and the end of a meme

[lunasariel]

My week was...week-y. Nothing much to report, as per usual: get up, breakfast, reading, class, go home, reading, possibly dinner, bed. In fact, I think I've been rather overdoing it: I must have read 8-10 hours per day over the weekend, and woke up with a raging headache on Monday, which lasted until at least Wednesday. After working so hard all weekend, I had what can only be termed a catastrophic failure to care about my still-sizeable workload on Monday, so I stopped in Shakespeare & Co. after class got out. I was looking for an annotated Mansfield Park, where, alas, no luck yet, but I did find a copy of the Jhereg graphic novel, and...BAHAHAHAHAHA! It's honestly one of the silliest-looking things I've ever seen. hamsterwoman linked some scans a while ago, so I at least knew of its existence, but I'd forgotten how utterly atrocious it is. Like, Aliera has some sort of fauxhawk thing going on, and Morrolan's hair is blue and he has a goatee-ish beard with oddly precise right angles (so he's basically the love-child Daario Naharis and Lord Vetinari, and isn't that a terrifying thought) and everything has been fed through some sort of weird color filter so that there's no universal tint (okay, maybe everything is a little orange), but it all just looks so weird!



That was more or less the only notable thing to happen to me all week. I went home to Sebastopol over the weekend, as my uncle's play was debuting down in SoCal, and everybody else wanted to catch it. I did too, of course, and I was actually really bummed about not going, as *everybody* was going to be there, and I haven't seen a lot of them in way, way too long. I haven't talked to A since she started high school a couple of weeks ago, Aunt M and I need to squee face-to-face over ASOIAF (she's almost done with AFFC now), and I also want a chance to talk to Cousin M, who just started 4th grade, about Artemis Fowl, since I "leant" him the books when he was here during the summer, and he's been plowing right through them, which is surprising, since he hasn't been a really big reader up until now, so everybody is excited that he's finally showing the McLaughlin bibliophilia. But Uncle D's play opened at, like, 6 PM or something, so us NorCal folks had to get an early start, and I couldn't risk missing Early American Lit, since we actually, y'know, do stuff on Friday. So I ended up house-sitting while everyone else was away down South.

Digressions aside, it was overall a very nice weekend, although I hardly did any of the reading I brought with me (as usual). My dad picked me up after class on Friday, and we had a nice, long talk on the way back up. He just recently got back from another stint managing things in Australia, I got all the Aussie news (my godsister Tess is an incredible artist but also fighting with her mom, James' eye is healing well after literally getting blown out of his head last year and he's all set to marry his very pregnant girlfriend, although there are some suspicions that she got pregnant on purpose in order to "catch" him [Dad's word, not mine], and so on and so forth) and gave a rundown of my classes in return. Consequently, we spent a lot of time talking about EAL and Tolkien. It had been almost a month since I talked to him, so we had a lot of catching up to do, which made the ride go quickly, and although the traffic was awful through Marin County, we seemed to make excellent time back home. Dad was having one of his usual dinners, but I had also made plans to see C&H, so I brought them along. I was a little worried about this, as H and Stepmom have never been the best of friends, and sure enough, we were having a new sister-in-law over (the wife of one of Stepmom's siblings that I don't think I've met yet), and Stepmom introduced H thus: "This is R's friend H. She used to be quite the hellion!" with a little "saying something mean, but laughing so that it'll be taken as a joke" laugh. And I mentally facepalmed. Because, first, who calls people "hellion"s? Seriously. And, of course, this set a great tone for the evening. But C can really turn on the charm when he needs to (I mean, he's normally a pretty charming guy, but when he wants to, he can turn it up to eleven), so he and I managed to smooth things over. C and Dad talked about cooking and C's EMT work (C's boss recently bought a set of bagpipes online, and is now looking for a tutor in the area, and Dad offered his services), and since C also speaks some pretty decent Spanish, he was able to be courtly to Stepmom's mom, who was up visiting from Florida, and speaks very little English. This last one, especially, made a big impression, I think, and everybody mentioned how nice he was afterwards. Dinner was delicious, as always, and we even found some common ground to talk about, in old movies. Nancy, the new sister-in-law, turned out to be a prison psychologist at San Quentin, and could sometimes wax a little pedantic about that, but was otherwise a very nice lady. My stepsisters HR and L also dropped by for a little while, so I got the unexpected chance to say hi to them, which was awesome.

After dinner, C&H and I went back to my mom's house, where I was staying/housesitting, C went back to their place to study for an upcoming anatomy exam, while H and I watched the latest Doctor Who ("Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" - charming and childlike in its uncomplicated glee at the whole concept, and Rupert Graves [better known as Lestrade from Sherlock] was pure, hilarious gold as a snarky Victorian big game hunter) and caught up on one another's family news. It still blows both of our minds that A is in high school now, since H has known A literally since A was born. On a sadder note, though, H's Aunt C has broken up with the awesomely quirky parrot-and-baking lady after said awesome lady lost her job and didn't want to become dependent on anyone else, and we're all hoping that this is only a temporary breakup, becaues they really were a fantastic couple. When I went to take H home, there was a bit of an *erk* moment when the key wouldn't turn in the ignition, but that happens to my car once in a blue moon, so with a little determined jiggling of the key (and twisting of the steering wheel, which, for some unknown reason, seems to help), we got it going.

Saturday was basically me running around trying to accomplish all the tasks I'd been letting build up. My pre-departure doctor's visit revealed that I need some antibiotics for some minor biological grossness, but there's no Kaiser near Berkeley, so my doctor said that they would hold my prerscription at the Santa Rosa pharmacy for six months. Only when I got there (after waiting in a looooong line, due to all but two pharmacy windows being closed by construction), it turns out they only hold them for a week, so I had about half an hour to kill. I went to get some In-N-Out, which I always like to get my fill of while I can, and by the time I was done with that, my prescription was ready. When I got home, the Demons of Baking were upon me. I'd promised myself both brownies and snickerdoodles (which is an impressively embarrassing name for something so delicious, btw), so I made snickerdoodles. I'm more an enthusiastic baker than a skilled one, but there was only one major SNAFU this time: our mixer has two identical switches on opposite sides: one locks the whisk in place so it doesn't go flying off, the other one controlls the speed of the whisk. I wasn't paying attention at exactly the wrong moment, just after adding a big ol' ploof of flour, and thought I was locking the whisk into place, while I was really turning on the mixer, so I ended up with something closer to warp 5 than the slow stir one needs. So the end result was a minor flour explosion, which our dog Moocher very kindly helped me clean up. It got all over me, though, and it turns out that flour is surprisingly hard to get out of one's shoes. The weird things one learns while baking, huh? I spent Saturday night enjoying the fruits of my labors and watching RED (a *much* lighter and funnier adaption of a Warren Ellis comic; this one about various spy archetypes in their golden years. Sadly not as funny as I remember it, although I want to hit the entire casting department of Game of Thrones over the head with it, or at least whoever cast Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell. Helen Mirren is in this movie, and she's a *perfect* Olenna - she's elegant, she's poised, she's refined, and if you raise a hand to her, she will make you eat it. Possibly literally. But, once again, I digress), so that was enjoyable.

Sunday has seemed very short. I made brownies, as the baking fever was still going strong, and chattered to H on the phone about cooking and Doctor Who as I did so. I ran a few leftover boxes of kitty litter to C&H's house, since Cassie died, and she was the only cat to use the litterbox (Custard and Apollo are indoor/outdoor cats, but do their business outside). I did a buttload of dishes (some of which were generated by my baking, but some of which were also "thoughtfully" left). Before I knew it, it was time for the regular Sunday dinner with my dad and stepmom, after which they were going to drive me back down to Berkeley. Dinner was delicious. I mean, it's normally damn tasty, but for some reason they really pulled out all the stops - steak (just the way I like it, too: only a little marinade, smoky, cooked rare), baked potatoes, a light summer salad (their tomatoes are coming in very nicely, btw) with homemade dressing, homemade cornbread, and I brought cookies and brownies. This was especially noteworthy because it's crush, and both of them are run off their feet this time of year. For the past few years we've all been on my dad's case to not work so hard, as he's well into his 50s now, but he still insists on doing as much cellar work/picking/general hard labor as humanely possible himself. This has been getting especially headdesk-worthy as he now has a small flock of interns/disciples/trainees/minions whose job is to pretty much be his cellar monkies. I mean, I admire his dedication to his work, and I'm glad he's not one of those snooty winemakers who thinks he's too good to touch the grapes until they've been sterilized, but even on the years when he doesn't actually injure himself, he always gets run ragged, which is no bueno. So he was drooping pretty badly all throughout dinner, although he gamely stayed awake long enough to see me off. Stepmom drove me down, and talked pretty much the entire way. At least now I'm certainly caught up on all the family news. XP But now I'm back in my dorm, I've had a shower, and all the reading I've been neglecting over the weekend is starting to sink in.



As I'm in a linktastic mood, here, have some fanart as evidence of my alarming, ever-increasing obsessions with Tragic First Lieutenants, especially of the dragon-riding, frequently-abducted variety. I love all three of his expressions here: in the first one, he's cutting himself off because she *will* repeat everything she hears, and knowing her, it'll be to Admiral Roland or someone; in the second one, he's arguing with Iskierka ("NO I WILL NOT WEAR THE COAT, DAMMIT!"); and in the third, Laurence has just seen something IMPROPER AND IMMORAL going on, and is pitching a hissy fit sotto voce, but Granby has had a long day trying to civilize his pirate of a dragon and is in a mood to find Laurence's histrionics wearing rather than endearing.



There's no special reason to include this, other than that it made me smile this week:

Dudes, it's Tolkien speaking the language he created. For all sorts of geeky reasons, this is one of the most awesome things I've heard in a long time. I know that it wasn't real to him, in that he didn't think that Frodo and Gandalf and the Valar literally existed, but I get the feeling, listening to this, that Middle-earth lived and spoke in him, just for a second, and he was not unaware of that fact. He really did sound like a native speaker, which isn't suprising, given that he, y'know, invented the language (as well as was fluent in the actual language it was based on).



Oh, speaking of awesome Tolkien-related things, Tuesday's History of Middle-Earth class was again awesome. We did a lot of family trees (wherein I got extra credit for naming all seven sons of Fëanor, and I'm pretty sure I did so in order for the first time in, like, ever. The trick is to get the three Cs in the middle straight, everything else falls into place after that) and TENGWAR! We learned to write in Tengwar! Here's a crappy picture taken on my phone, to prove that I'm getting actual, grownup college credit for learning that "Galadriel" looks really pretty in Tengwar (or it would, if I could learn to draw bows properly). Please excuse the extreme derpiness of my vowels (some of which are doubtless misplaced) and the utter confusion into which double consonants and dipthongs throw me.



Like with a few of my previous pics, 'pologies for it being sideways; it's vertical everywhere else (phone, photo album, etc.) and I'm not computer-literate enough to know what's going on here. My favorite letter so far is L (lambe) and R-without-vowel (romen) which actually came out pretty well, on the whole. Also, they're the most fun to draw. So swoopy!



Last but not least, here's the second half of that meme I started last time! Just as a reminder, our lovely and talented participants are:

1. Simon Tam (Firefly)
2. Gertrude Yorkes (Runaways)
3. Stannis Baratheon (A Song of Ice and Fire)
4. Jane Roland (Temeraire)
5. Sam Vimes (Discworld)
6. Molly Carpenter (Dresden Files)
7. Miles Vorkosigan (Vorkosigan Saga)
8. Donna Noble (Doctor Who)
9. Billy Kaplan (Young Avengers)
10. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)
11. Lennier (Babylon 5)
12. Angela Spica (The Authority)
13. Sam Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)
14. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
15. Lord Wyldon of Cavall (Protector of the Small)


29) Bodyswap time - with 9 (Billy) and 7 (Miles). How do they react and what can 13 (Sam Gamgee) do to make it better?
Miles is, of course, elated. He gets to keep his brilliance, but now he has a fully-functional (if somewhat scrawny) body, and it’s even about the same age as his old one! It takes him a while to get used to the straight spine, normal-ish height, and moving around without leg braces or the constant threat of breaking something. Oh, and now he has magic, which would initially weird him out, and the fact that he’s now literally a mutant would give him some pause, but in the Marvelverse, “mutant” = “superpowers,” so I can imagine him daydreaming about taking the X-Men back to Barrayar, waiting until someone calls Wolverine “mutie,” and then either participating in, or just sitting back and watching, the ensuing mayhem.
Billy, on the other hand, isn’t at all pleased. I mean, Miles’ one advantage is his intelligence, and while Billy isn’t dumb, he’s not a genius, either. He also wouldn’t like being called “mutie,” but now he lacks the ability to turn the offending bigot into a tapeworm. In fact, he pretty much lacks the ability to participate in any physical activity more intense than strolling.
As to what Sam does, probably go get Gandalf, who’s much better equipped to deal with these things. Gandalf sets things right, because that’s what he does, and Billy comes away with much more respect for Miles but still relieved to be back in his own body, whereas Miles is pretty depressed for a little while, having lost both the magic and the physical mobility that he’s always theoretically wanted, but now has actual experience with, making its loss all the worse.

30) The End of the World is Nigh... how do 3 (Stannis), 5 (Sam Vimes), and 15 (Wyldon) spend their last 12 hours?
If Stannis didn’t cause it in the first place (R’hllor does seem like the kind of guy to tend toward apocalypsi), he’ll be working hard to prevent it, whether with his not-inconsiderable army or with magic.
Sam, also, would spend every waking minute trying to prevent it. As soon as he knew that this was the real deal, not just Wednesday, he would go home, hug Sibyl and Young Sam, and try to get them somewhere safe, if he thought that would help. After that, though, he’ll be working ‘round the clock to prevent pretty much the biggest Disturbance of the Peace ever, and making sure that everyone else does, too.
Wyldon, like the other two, would of course try to prevent it, but his approach would be rather different. Stannis and Sam command their own military resources, and have quite a few other resources to draw from, too, and so can pretty much do whatever they think is best, whenever they think is best, but Wyldon would be firmly under his king’s command. He would let the pages go home if it’s going to be a magical apocalypse, but starts passing out weapons if military might is going to be required, although he really does hope that they won’t get called out, since a bunch of preteens/teenagers are hardly going to turn the tide of battle anyway. He might send a message to his family, but mostly he would just wait around for Jon’s orders, and then follow them.

31) A super magic/genetically engineered infant is destined to Save the World (possibly from planet-cracking Evil Space Pirates or worldwide dominion by resurrected Genghis Khan), but has been kidnapped by Foes of Peace. Will 7 (Miles), 14 (Willow), and 15 (Wyldon) be able to handle the short-term rescue of said child, and which character(s) will be forced to endure its long-term raising and education?
Actually, these three would make a pretty decent baby-rescuing team. Given some time, Miles can out-think pretty much anyone he’s set against, and he certainly has some experience with how delicate infants are. Willow would probably be their heavy, firepower speaking, but she would also be the most likely out of the three to not cringe backwards in horror when they’ve rescued the kid and now someone has to actually carry it. Wyldon would be the least useful of the three, but maybe he could be the sword to Willow’s sorcery and just generally play defense.
As to who’s going to be bringing up Superbaby, I would say Sam Vimes. Well, Sibyl would be doing most of the actual raising, but Sam would be a good choice for the job. He could certainly protect him/her from the inevitable assassination attempts, would instill it with all the proper values (especially with regards to not playing the messiah and letting people make their own choices, which would be something that needs to be said to a child with such a lofty destiny), and would be very sensible about ensuring that he/she has all the skills and tools he/she will eventually need when the hour of their ascent is nigh, which he will probably mark by grumbling about how they’re all doomed.

32) 5 (Sam Vimes) and 3 (Stannis) are asked to babysit offspring of 4 (Jane) and 1 (Simon). How do they cope? Is there a house left?
Um, sort of? Jane Roland don’t breed no softies, and any kid that grew up even tangentially acquainted with River must grow accustomed to their daily dose of weirdness, so the kid is already pretty tough. But Stannis is just about the worst person on the list to entrust with a child, and, as we saw in the previous question, Sam would depend entirely on Sibyl for anything, er, biological. So after the kid gets tired of being lectured at by Stannis, he/she goes outside to play some catch with Sam. (Of course, this is assuming that Sam can’t just pawn the kid off on Sibyl or a few of his more responsible coppers, leaving him free to settle into the shouting-match with Stannis that he’s been dying to have, only Simon specifically said “no fighting in front of [name],” but more importantly, Jane warned them about the Excidium-related consequences of political debates and/or brawling, because she does still want to have *some* furniture when she gets back.)
…and then there goes the plot bunny of “what if Emily’s father was Simon?” I have a feeling that she would react to him largely as she does to Laurence, with a kind of bemused affection, where he frets over her going into battle and traipsing all around the world, but he frets about everything, and she learned long ago that it’s useless trying to get him to calm down until he does it on his own, so she just kisses him on the forehead/cheek and does exactly what she was going to do anyway.

33) 11 (Lennier) and 12 (Angie) have to rescue 2 (Gert) from 6's (Molly’s) "fate worse than death". Do they succeed? Would 2 have preferred their fate?
Molly’s “fate worse than death” would probably be to trap Gert in some sort of never-ending nightmare, so, on their own, Lennier and Angie probably wouldn’t do too well. Angie is entirely tech-based (hell, her blood isn’t even rally blood; it’s nanites), so she would glitch all to hell once she got within a mile of Molly’s magic, and I know the Minbari have some manner of vaguely-defined quasi-mystical powers, or at least awareness, but I don’t think Lennier would be up to breaking Gert out of a magically-induced living nightmare on his own. They would have to call in the cavalry, either in the form of Vorlons (from Lennier, who generally seem to be able to deal with this kind of thing), the Doctor (from Angie, who would be able to do it easily; the problem would be him not getting stuck in the nightmare himself), or Nico (the Runaways’ own resident magic-user, who also knows a fair bit about nightmares). So, on their own, no, but if they’re allowed to call for help, then definitely yes.

34) 10 (Hermione) and 8 (Donna) break into a bank. Can 9 (Billy) apprehend them before they make their getaway?
Well, technically yes, since I’m pretty sure his magic trumps even Hermione’s, but the problem would be him actually keeping them restrained, since he would enter Ultimate Fanboy Mode at seeing one of the Power Trio and a Doctor’s Companion, and wouldn’t for a minute entertain the idea of letting them get arrested by common criminals. Their only threat from him would be that he’s too busy spazzing out to remember to let them go; otherwise he would have his geek moment and then send them on their way, and then text Teddy “OMG GUESS WHAT’S BETTER THAN GETTING TO FIGHT DOCTOR DOOM!?!?”

35) 13 (Sam Gamgee) walks in on 14 (Willow) and 1 (Simon) having sex. How does the scene play out?
Sam, being a well-brought-up young hobbit, immediately turns around and leaves, strongly hints to everyone else that that particular area of the house should be left alone for a while, and then goes and throws himself into some difficult bit of gardening in the far corner of the plot. Simon is hideously embarrassed (as usual), as is Willow, but for different reasons: Simon is hideously embarrassed because he’s Simon, and Willow is hideously embarrassed because this was her one experiment with heterosexuality, and now that’s what everyone is going to think of her as.

36) 11 (Lennier) gets a sex change to impress and/or seduce 2 (Gert). What was his/her reasoning?
LOL, now I’m imagining the Minbari metamorphosis thing that Delenn does, which, judging by everyone else’s reactions, is just about the Minbari cultural equivalent of getting a sex change. But if he were to get an *actual* sex change, it would be so that he could understand Gert better, since there’s no evidence that she bats for the other team. Or maybe he mistook her for Karolina, who he would definitely be into, gentle glow-in-the-dark rainbow-colored hippie space princess that she is.

37) 6 (Molly), 9 (Billy), and 3 (Stannis) play football against 15 (Wyldon), 5 (Sam Vimes), and 4 (Jane). 7 (Miles) is the referee. What happens?
Heh, I’m glad Miles is the referee, because he would literally get killed if he were one of the players. The Wizards (Team Molly/Billy/Stannis) eventually lose to Team Badass (I’m sorry, there’s no other name for a team containing Wyldon, Sam, and Jane). Molly and Billy are both formidable magic-users, and Stannis has the whole flaming sword + massive army thing going on, but I have a feeling that Miles would disallow all of the above, and would even be canny enough to catch the little dabs of magic Molly and Billy would use to try and cheat –Molly would create momentary illusions to distract the other team, Billy would change the trajectory of the ball, that kind of thing. But with all their otherworldly powers taken away, The Wizards are comprised of two decidedly scrawny kids and one decently buff guy, but Team Badass has a bunch of people who make their living off of being really, really tough. Wyldon is even used to dealing with teenagers, and has spent years perfecting a bellow designed to cow them. And it wouldn’t even be much of a contest strategy-wise: Sam would be the master of tricky double-plays, Billy is a decent strategist but not used to working without superpowers, Stannis is, shall we say, not a subtle person, and Jane would take full advantage of his honorable “wouldn’t hit a lady” mentality. So, yeah, the game lasts about ten minutes.

38) 10 (Hermione) sets 8 (Donna) up on a blind date with 12 (Angie). How does that go?
Pretty well, actually! No actual sex, but they do enjoy having a girls’ night out together, geeking out about various bits of tech and the weirdoes they work with. Angie would be charmed by Donna’s no-nonsense manner and brassiness, while Donna would see a lot of the Doctor in Angie’s idealism and “OMG THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER!!!!” geekiness about life, the universe, and everything.

39) 13 (Sam Gamgee), 1 (Simon), 8 (Donna), and 3 (Stannis) go camping in the woods together. Who catches all the fish for dinner? Who sneaks off for tent-based hanky-panky? And who is most likely to be eaten by a bear?
Sam takes care of the cooking, of course. He probably sets Donna to fishing while he gives Simon a quick lesson in woodcraft and then takes him out mushrooming. Stannis, meanwhile, helps set up the tent and then, his duty to the smallfolk done, sits imperiously by the fire and waits for people to bring him things, as kings don’t lower themselves so far as to actually help prepare food. He would also harrumph at the sing-song that Donna tries to get going, but everyone is full of Sam’s cooking, so even his >:|-ness can’t dampen people’s spirits. I guess that Simon and Donna would be the candidates for hanky-panky, but this would be more of a one-night stand that turns into awkward moments and funny stories later on, especially if Sam has the bad luck to walk in on Simon doin’ it with a hot redhead again. And Simon, with his utter lack of woodland experience, would be the most likely to get eaten by a bear, although he's fast enough to make it back to camp okay.

40) 15 (Wyldon), 11 (Lennier), and 13 (Sam Gamgee) are captured by aliens and put in a zoo. How do they cope?
Wyldon begins concocting an escape attempt immediately, but, due to drastically incomplete knowledge on what he’s dealing with, doesn’t get very far.
If Lennier doesn’t know the aliens in question, and thus can’t just threaten them with the Minbari warfleet, he probably sits and thinks for a while, and then decides to help Sam with his escape attempt (see below) and steers his escape pod or whatever in the direction of Babylon 5, which can then send a rescue party.
Sam is philosophical about it, but still looks for chances to break out, and give that, as a hobbit, he’s the smallest, the quietest, and the quickest of the group, he stands a pretty good chance of doing just that. The realization that these are actual aliens, and not just a funny kind of elf, might throw him, though.

41) 2 (Gert), 14 (Willow), and 4 (Jane) rub a genie's bottle and are granted a wish each. What do they wish for?
Gert, clever thing that she is, ignores her first impulse to wish for beauty, but instead goes for something practical, like unlimited money or superpowers of her own beyond “I have a dinosaur.”
Willow wishes for Tara’s life back, of course. But if the genie is working by Buffyverse rules, this is impossible, so after raging for a little while, she would wish for the ability to use magic without the usual accompanying insanity.
Jane wishes for copies of all of Napoleon’s and Lien’s plans, or possibly for some sense for the Admiralty (the genie just sends Wellington).

42) 9 (Billy), 5 (Sam Vimes), and 6 (Molly) do a class presentation. What is it on, who's got it together, and who fucks it up?
Wow, Billy and Molly get tossed together an awful lot, don’t they? Oh, well, I guess it makes sense; potentially unstable magic-users must be drawn to one another. Their presentation would be for some sort of Magical Ethics class, and would be titled “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.” Billy would address the temptation to use magic as an equalizer against more powerful opponents, and when this is and isn’t warranted. Molly would do the same for mental magic, and spend a lot of time on the fine line between “just trying to help” and “Big Brother/Sister.” Sam, the only non-magical person of the group, would provide some context by giving a regular Joe’s perspective on what it’s like to live in a world where, not only can a guy get a car thrown at him (for being a violent bully, but still), but can be forced to feel emotions not his own, that he wouldn’t even necessarily know weren’t his own. They’ve all got it together, since they can pretty much just talk about their lives, but because they all went in so prepared, they wouldn’t have rehearsed much (read: at all), and the presentation breaks down at the end when they all get into a huge argument over the theoretical punishment for misuse of magic. Billy is dead-set against incarceration/power limiters, Molly is leery as hell over behavioral correction, and Sam just doesn’t want people slinging buildings at each other and ripping open portals to the Dungeon Dimensions every time their favorite bakery runs out of chocolate croissants.

43) 10 (Hermione) and 7 (Miles) have to look after a misplaced baby. How do they fare and what do they name it?
Um, they do okay, I guess? They’re both very much theory people, as opposed to practical people, when it comes to children, but they’re both geniuses, so I’m sure they can work something out. Their focus would be on locating said baby’s parents/guardians, of course, but in the meantime they would both draw on memories of their own childhoods and parents, since they’re both only children, and don’t have any experience with younger siblings. Hermione could probably use magic to keep it entertained, while Miles hovers ceaselessly in case it falls and hurts itself, because that’s what he remembers his parents doing.
And as to naming, this would be a very temporary measure for both of them (neither of them is really parent material until well after their time in canon), so they probably just call it The Baby or just Baby until it can be foisted off on someone else.

44) 12 (Angie) gets shitfaced and passes out naked on 9’s (Billy’s) lawn. Repercussions?
A very, very interested Tommy, but Billy takes it in stride. He leaves her in the spare room to sober up, but geeks the hell out when she emerges (wearing some of Billy’s mom’s clothes, hilariously enough), because you know he’s a huge Authority fanboy, and peppers her with a million questions about what’s Apollo’s favorite musical, and how do you arrange a superhero wedding (this one is actually a practical question, considering that he and Teddy are now officially engaged), and would you mind hanging around for ten minutes, because my friend Kate would totally love to meet you, and squeeeeee. Angie lets him run down, because it’s not like she doesn’t know what it’s like to be a superhero geek who gets a chance to actually be a superhero, and although she has to door back to her own universe eventually, she asks the Carrier to bookmark this dimension, because she and Billy would get along amazingly well.

45) 13 (Sam Gamgee) answers 8's (Donna’s) ad for a roommate on Craigslist. Does ze get the room?
Yeah, I think so. He’s quiet, polite, considerate, and most importantly, he can cook really, really well. Oh, and he wouldn't be fazed by intermittent visits from the Doctor, which would be a big selling point. In fact, Donna might just treat him as another alien.

46) 14 (Willow) and 15 (Wyldon) go out for dinner. Is it a date or what?
Very much "or what;" it's more of a minor diplomatic affair. If Tortall and the Buffyverse make contact, certain parties might think it prudent for the first interactions to be on a quiet, half-personal and half-official level, without all the pressure of a full-blown court-meets-Council affair. But I don’t know who thought these two would be good ambassadors: Willow would be okay, I guess, as long as she doesn't freak anybody out, but Wyldon has Views on women, and Views on magic, and seeing both together in the same person…the only worse person they could have sent is Buffy herself. So this will be an, er, interesting meeting. After realizing that they clash on pretty much every conceivable personal level, they stick to business: comparing governments, magic systems, weird animals, etc. This is significantly more successful.

47) 1 (Simon), 12 (Angie), and 2 (Gert) need to form a superteam. Do they succeed?
Er, kind of? As seen earlier, Simon’s biggest value to a superteam would be his medical knowledge, as he would be hopeless in hand-to-hand combat. Angie and Gert already *are* on superteams, so I guess this would be mostly a matter of restructuring for them. in fact, I can’t see this as much of an independent superteam as a sort of U.N. for the specially-talented, where each group sends a representative to conduct negotiations, form alliances, deal with mutual problems, etc. And in this sense, it would be a rousing success. Simon is good at thinking on his feet, and surprisingly good at cutting deals, Angie would bring a sort of infectious glee to the whole thing, and Gert’s snark would be highly appreciated by all. So, yes, they succeed, if somewhat unconventionally.

48) 7 (Miles), 3 (Stannis), and 10 (Hermione) go to a concert. Who loses the tickets, who do they go see, and who ends up with a backstage pass? Also, who gives the blowjob to whom?
Stannis loses the tickets, since he’s used to having servants for this kind of thing, but Miles probably has enough pull to get them in anyway. And if not, Hermione could just borrow Harry’s Invisibility Cloak/Accio the tickets/Charm the usher/etc., so they’re set either way. The concert they go to see is classical, but thundering, dramatic classical, like Beethoven, or possibly Wagner. In fact, opera would be just a good as straight-up music to them. Hermione likes the chance to learn a new language, Miles secretly likes all the High Drama and star-cross’d lovers, and Stannis likes that everybody dies at the end, because they were all unworthy and immoral anyway.
As to who ends up with the backstage pass, any of them, really. Stannis would just consider it his kingly right and sweep right on past the security, and Miles and/or Hermione would just use any of the methods mentioned above.
For the blowjob: um, Miles to Hermione, or vice-versa? Stannis is definitely out of this equation, since Hermione is much too lowborn and independent minded, and Stannis seems to have spent a good deal of time defining himself as “not Renly,” so Miles would be out, even if his lack of respect wouldn’t drive Stannis absolutely nuts, which it totally would. But I could see Hermione being drawn to Miles for that wonderful brain, outward appearances notwithstanding, and Hermione isn’t pretty enough to terrify Miles, but more than fascinating and brilliant enough to attract him.

49) 6 (Molly) and 4 (Jane) go out to get beer and fail dramatically.
If Jane, it would be something simple, like her insisting on paying with sovereigns or arriving on dragon-back, but if Molly…hoo boy. Her innate magic could cause the lights/cash register/refrigerator/entire store to short out, of course, but it’s more likely someone or something would have been following her, leading to a Coulson-esque convenience store battle. Or, worst-case scenario, she’s not 21 yet, and her mom or dad catches her using magic to bamboozle the cashier.

50) 11 (Lennier) breaks up with 5 (Sam Vimes). Why?
This must be a continuation of #13, so their drastically different personalities and expectations of what having a relationship means have caused them to split up. Pre-Sibyl Sam’s idea of a relationship seems to be modeled after the Colons, so he would be happy for Lennier to pack him lunches, and for the two of them to ignore each other otherwise. But Lennier would see this as Sam using and then ignoring him, but we’ve seen that when Lennier loves someone, he’s more than willing to fade into the background/act as a servant as long as he gets to be near them. But maybe someone else doesn’t see it that way, and Sam gets a serious talking-to from Garibaldi (who A) would know Sam the best out of the B5 crew, B) sees Lennier as a little brother [or so says my headcanon], and C) does things like this anyway) about appreciating what you’ve got while you’ve got it, so that you don’t lose it. But when he realizes that more is required of him than the occasional note, Sam’s inferiority complex would rear its ugly head, and he would split, to Lennier’s self-incriminating grief and Garibaldi’s exasperated fury.

51) 6 (Molly) and 8 (Donna) are pussyfooting around and/or poking each other with metaphorical sticks after 12 (Angie) has stated hir interest in a relationship involving all three of them.
Hmm, they’d probably be down for it. This is totally something that Angie would suggest, too! Donna would be okay with a casual, stress-relief kind of thing where they hook up occasionally, either in pairs or all three at once, but remain friends-with-benefits. But they would have set this up either directly before or during Changes, as so to not make it creepy with no-longer-teenaged Molly, but once they realize how profoundly unstable she’s become, they end the whole thing, since she clearly can’t handle relationships of any kind anymore, let alone sex, it’s not like Angie is hurting for prospective partners, and Donna was in it mostly for the novelty, anyway.

52) 10 (Hermione) and 5 (Sam Vimes) are in a phaser fight at the edge of the universe. Are they on the same side?
Yup. Hermione would be more of a wetworks/spy/sniper type, and thus not someone Sam would be inclined to trust overmuch, but they would have a lot of mutual friends, and so would gladly join forces in a phaser fight. Neither of them exactly knows what’s going on or what these doohickeys are, but I’m sure Muggle-born Hermione saw Star Trek at some point, and so can explain to Sam that they’re basically a kind of magic wand that anyone can use. Sam, of course, would still rather have his sword and truncheon (in fact, he’d much rather not kill anyone, if given the choice), but once he figures out what’s going on, he’d happily join in on the part of whoever he considered to be in the right.

53) 13 (Sam Gamgee) and 1 (Simon) develop superpowers. What kind do they have, and what do they do with them?
Sam would basically become Klara Prast: his gentle nature prevents him from getting angry when people mock him about his superpower being the ability to talk to plants, but if his friends are threatened, holy crap, where did this enormous vine come from, and did it just punt me three city blocks? He would use his powers mostly for mundane purposes (i.e. gardening, ensuring a bountiful harvest), but would-be invaders of the Shire would quickly learn that somewhere the land itself can rise up and fight back may not be the best place to plunder.
Simon would develop healing powers, of course. I imagine they would be rather like Daine’s, where he has to consciously learn how to use them, but he already has the medical training he’d need, so that works out. And he would pretty much go on doing what he does, only River’s progress would be much faster, and Wash and/or Shepherd Book might even have survived! *sniff*

54) 15 (Wyldon) somehow ends up with a hippopotamus and is forced to have many shenanigans with it. How does 15 take this, how does the hippo take it, and what did 9 (Billy) do to engineer 15's sudden ownership of a hippo?
Billy was visiting Neal (who, of course, he would be BFFs with), and quickly form the opinion that Wyldon is far too much of a pompous ass, and conjure/teleport a hippo into Wyldon’s rooms to teach him a lesson about loosening up a little. And, LOL, I can totally imagine Wyldon trying to keep his usual poker face/scowl, but effective page-training would be somewhat hindered by the hippo frolicking around the trading yard, trying to get acquainted with the horses, etc. Some of the pages would try to ride it, if they thought they could get away with it. Eventually Daine would make Billy take it back, and blister his ear with a lecture on how animals aren’t props for practical jokes (a lecture whose impact would be somewhat lessened by the fact that the hippo would have had the time of its life) while he does so. But before that, Wyldon would have a lot to do, finding a big enough tub for it to sleep in (or does the castle have a moat? I forget), consulting Daine as to proper hippo nutrition and care, and overall trying to stop the pages snickering. This last one fails utterly, of course, but a good time is had, with the possible exception of Wyldon himself. (Although he won’t admit it to himself, even he had a little bit of fun.)

55) 7 (Miles) feuded with 2 (Gert) on Twitter. What did they feud about? What did 11 (Lennier) do to help resolve the feud?
Oh, politics, probably. Miles still has quite a bit of Vor pride, and so started going off about noblesse oblige, the duties of a lord towards his vassals and vice-versa, which would set Gert right off. Even if she’s no longer as passionate a communist/socialist as she once was (we have no canonical evidence either way, but I suspect that her shiny ideals were a bit tarnished once she got tossed out into real life), she would very much take issue with the conceit that the Vor/upper class has a duty to guide and protect the unwashed masses, even from themselves, which she would decry as hopelessly paternalistic and condescending. Miles would accuse her of armchair politics, and then it would be on.
Lennier would be a good guy to resolve this particular fight, as he seems to be a mediator by nature. He would point out the wildly differing social situations Miles and Gert are operating under. Eventually, he would get Gert to confess that an uneducated, still-superstitious peasant class would indeed be a danger (the infanticide thing would be a big issue here), and Miles to confess that Gert is arguing from a more Betan point of view, where she’s assuming a certain level of logic and education across the board. He would get both of them to agree that education and open, intelligent debate is the key to the whole issue, and they would part friends, respecting each other as debaters. Good job, Lennier!

56) 14 (Willow), 4 (Jane), and 3 (Stannis) wake up to find themselves stuck on a hotel roof. What happened the night before? Who gets the blame? And who finds them?
Jane initially assumes that she was knocked out in battle and Excidium deposited her there while he drew off pursuit and will come back for her later. But this kind of thing isn’t exactly unknown to Willow, who announces her powers and puts forward the idea that she flew them up there for whatever reason. Stannis is initially disposed to see Willow (red-haired magic-user with nice boobs) as a red priestess and Jane as some sort of insane Targaryen, but when Willow figures out who Stannis is (of course she’s an ASOIAF fan!), she would start hollering about shadowbabies and burning people alive and “he was the king that should have been,” and Jane has to restrain her from attacking him, to everybody’s disconcertion.
Eventually, Excidium or some other dragon does come looking for them, so they get off the roof that way. It turns out that they got up there in the first place via a combination of the different initial suppositions: Willow was helping the Aerial Corps out during a battle, but then the Targaryen dragons somehow got mixed in (let’s say this is the Dany vs. Stannis endgame GRRM is possibly building towards), and Stannis, who was dueling Dany aboard Drogon’s back, got knocked off and landed on Excidium. After the battle, Willow attempted to Fix Things and send everybody back to their dimension of origin, but the mindwipe/teleport kind of backfired, so here they are.

Comments

[hamsterwoman]

but I did find a copy of the Jhereg graphic novel

Ahaha, I can't believe you spotted one of these in the wild! XD did you buy it?

he's basically the love-child Daario Naharis and Lord Vetinari, and isn't that a terrifying thought

OMG, this is going definitely in "what is seen can never be unseen" category of traumatic memories XD

Sorry to hear that you missed your uncle's play (that's really cool that you have an uncle who is a... playwright? director? stage actor?)

Of course, you already know I agree with you re: RED and it's applicability to GoT casting for Olenna :) (Helen Mirren was my dream cast for the role even before, but RED totally sealed it.)

Ooh, thank you for linking to the Tolkien recording! I've never heard him speak Elven before, and it's so awesome that this exists!

I know that it wasn't real to him, in that he didn't think that Frodo and Gandalf and the Valar literally existed, but I get the feeling, listening to this, that Middle-earth lived and spoke in him,

I certainly don't think he believed in the reality of Middle-Earth, but the concept of sub-creation as he wrote about it makes me think that he didn't feel it was just something he made up, either -- I think it was deeper and more numinous than that for him.

I was just going to ask you for more play-by-play from your HoME class. Still incredibly jealous!

And the Granby fanart is very fun, too. (His expressions are certainly justified XD)

waiting until someone calls Wolverine “mutie,”

XD! Yet another crossover that needs to exist, preferrably in some highly visual medium: X-Men on Barrayar!

After that, though, he’ll be working ‘round the clock to prevent pretty much the biggest Disturbance of the Peace ever

This is totally giving me an image of Vimes arresting the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for Disturbing the Peace. (He'd succeed at it, too, being Vimes!) And agreed that he would be an excellent choice for raising kid!Messiah.

which, judging by everyone else’s reactions, is just about the Minbari cultural equivalent of getting a sex change

I don't know whether this is true or apocryphal, but pre-Crysalis Delenn was apparently supposed to be male at some point, until Mira Furlan threw a fit when it turned out that not only would she have to be completely obscured by prosthetics, but she was also going to be voiced by some random dude. This is what Wikipedia has to say:

Delenn was originally conceived as being a male character (eventually destined to change into a female one) but played by a female actor, in order to give the character feminine mannerisms and therefore make him more "alien". The Babylon 5 pilot TV movie The Gathering was filmed with this in mind, but the computer alteration to Mira Furlan's voice to make it sound masculine wasn't convincing, so the idea was dropped and Delenn changed to being a female.[citation needed] The Minbari makeup used from then on gave Delenn a much more feminine appearance. In the pilot, Delenn's overall appearance is harsher, her voice is slightly lower, and her chin is noticeably sharper. This leads to a minor continuity error in the B5 film In the Beginning, in that Delenn's appearance in overall series continuity begins feminine in this prequel, becomes masculine in the pilot, and returns to feminine in the series

(although the version I read, from the guy who was doing the Minbari prosthetics, I think, was a tiny bit different.)

Loved the description of the Team Wizard vs Team Badass football game (and, yeah, good thing Miles wasn't one of the players!)

Jane wishes for copies of all of Napoleon’s and Lien’s plans, or possibly for some sense for the Admiralty (the genie just sends Wellington).

Ahaha <3!

Miles and Hermione ended up together a lot in this meme! And they have a tendency to do that in mine, too. I suspect the random character memes are trying to tell us something ;) (But Miles/River is still where it's at!)

The hippo shenanigans scenario worked our really, really well, especially with the addition of Daine into the mix XD

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I can't believe you spotted one of these in the wild! XD did you buy it?
Neither could I! I can't believe the print run was very large, and it looks to have been a while ago, so this definitely counts as my Secondhand Bookshop Find of the Year. And mmmmaaaayybeee yes.

OMG, this is going definitely in "what is seen can never be unseen" category of traumatic memories
BWAHAHA! They would be an absolutely *terrible* couple, but ya gotta admit that there's really nothing they couldn't accomplish together, if they really put their minds to it... *shot*

an uncle who is a... playwright? director? stage actor?
A little of all of the above, and a librarian during the day! He's a busy, and very cool, guy.

Helen Mirren was my dream cast for the role even before, but RED totally sealed it.
+1 this! I don't know of any other actresses in the proper age bracket who can convey scorn, affection, murderous intent, and good breeding in a single glance beside Maggie Smith, who's otherwise occupied.

the concept of sub-creation as he wrote about it makes me think that he didn't feel it was just something he made up, either -- I think it was deeper and more numinous than that for him.
Exactly. You can tell that he's not just making pretty noises here, or even reciting something in a foreign language that he doesn't know, but it clearly holds meaning for him, and in more ways than just "I know what all the words mean." Also, "numinous" is just about the Tolkien-y-est word, non-Tolkien-invented word there is.

His expressions are certainly justified XD
They really, really are. Now I can't un-see the one on the bottom left as his face when Laurence proposes his Big Damn Heroes plan to raid the Turkish hatchery in BPW. XD

Yet another crossover that needs to exist, preferrably in some highly visual medium: X-Men on Barrayar!
Ooh, so much this. And the X-Men have so many members that your average Barrayaran would either discount (disabled, female, etc.), or just get freaked out by (various non-standard skin colors, glowing eyes, tails, etc.), which would make it extra-fun, at least for whichever of the X-Men have been spoiling for a good fight. (Cordelia, of course, would take the whole thing in stride and basically haunt Professor X's or Beast's lab until she gets this new branch of genetics all figured out.)

This is totally giving me an image of Vimes arresting the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for Disturbing the Peace.
Heh, he would, too. And this meme has taught me that Sam Vimes + child = hilarious, especially when he doesn't have Sibyl around to take care of it for him.

Delenn was originally conceived as being a male character (eventually destined to change into a female one)
Interesting! I can see why they just decided to have Mira do her own voicing (or, alternately, why she was so insistent on doing her own): everybody is pretty much unrecognizable under the prosthetics anyway, so all she would have had to do was basically stand there, move her lips, and gesture once in a while. I like things as they are, but it would have been interesting to see if there was some test footage or deleted scenes or something of VO!masculine!Delenn.

(and, yeah, good thing Miles wasn't one of the players!)
Yep. I'm sure everyone else would have tried to be careful of him, but A) that would be humiliating for him, and B) someone would accidentally knock him over/fall on him sooner or later. This was one of my favorite scenarios for sheer lol value, especially since Stannis would be the sorest loser *ever*, and Jane would probably enjoy the hell out of herself and resolve to introduce it back at the covert as a means of keeping people out of trouble.

Miles and Hermione ended up together a lot in this meme! And they have a tendency to do that in mine, too. I suspect the random character memes are trying to tell us something ;)
These two would make an interesting pair! As comes up here, I think they would work very well together, but better as a Hero/Lancer team than a romantic couple. But it would certainly be fun to watch them raise a little hell together. XD

[hamsterwoman]

And mmmmaaaayybeee yes

Ahaha, OMG, you must bring it to our next dinner. I want to gaze upon it in all its glory horribleness glory. (Still can't believe this is a thing you can actually find in a store XD That is amazing.)

If you want, I can bring my The Hobbit graphic novel for show-and-tell (but it's a lot less traumatic).

there's really nothing they couldn't accomplish together, if they really put their minds to it...

Well... well... Daario likes the powerful type historically, and... yeah, I've got nothing XP

A little of all of the above, and a librarian during the day! He's a busy, and very cool, guy.

Very neat! You have some very cool relatives!

Also, "numinous" is just about the Tolkien-y-est word, non-Tolkien-invented word there is.

It really is, which is probably why I tend towards abusing it so :P

Cordelia, of course, would take the whole thing in stride and basically haunt Professor X's or Beast's lab until she gets this new branch of genetics all figured out

Yep! Betans are no strangers to intentionally induced mutations, even, like the Betan hermaphrodites, so she'd be very interested to study gene X and whatever else.

OK, I actually found the really neat article I read on Delenn's planned gender, which is actually more convoluted that that, at least in terms of background logistics: It's pretty cool!

but better as a Hero/Lancer team than a romantic couple

I would agree. Hermione is too generally rule-abiding to be someone who could spend 24x7 with Miles without getting exasperated with him, and that would make for a better working partnership than romance.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

you must bring it to our next dinner.
I definitely will! Actually, I was thinking you might add it to your Dragaera collection since you, y'know, actually have the books, so it would be in good company.

For added lulz: the blurb on the back cover features this gem, splashed right across the top, a propos of nothing: "TIGHTROPE OF BRUTALITY" (yes, all in caps). I...just...

Ooh, you should definitely bring the Hobbit graphic novel! If it's the kind of painting-looking one with Gandalf (whose clothes look more blue than grey), Bilbo, and Gollum on the cover, I think I've seen it around, but graphic novel show-and-tell needs to happen.

Betans are no strangers to intentionally induced mutations, even, like the Betan hermaphrodites
Ah, I was wondering about that! I assumed that, Betan medicine being what it is, they should be able to pick and choose a baby's gender, but I had wondered whether the hermaphrodite thing was just the way Betans had evolved, both physically and socially, or if they could actually induce it the way they could for monogender (if that's the right word) children.

It's pretty cool!
Indeed it is! LOL, I can imagine Mira Fullen getting all shouty at the suits, too. It's cool how much of B5 was shaped by stuff like this: Delenn's skin color being the result of an executive decree and her sex being the result of the acturess putting her foot down, the Centauri hair being the result of somebody putting the wig on wrong the first time...neat stuff!

Hermione is too generally rule-abiding to be someone who could spend 24x7 with Miles without getting exasperated with him
Yup, he would definitely give her a heart attack sooner or later if they were an actual couple. XD

[hamsterwoman]

Actually, I was thinking you might add it to your Dragaera collection since you, y'know, actually have the books, so it would be in good company.

Oh wow! I am not worthy, but would be honored to be its keeper if you really want to part with this wonder XD

("TIGHTROPE OF BRUTALITY" lolwut XD What does that even mean?)

Apparently I actually have *two* Hobbit GNs, or, rather, one and a half, as the first breaks off with a "to be continued..." just before the riddle game. One has this cover and the other has this one, but they're both the same comic, illustrated by David Wenzel.

I'm not sure I remember the full story of Betan hermaphrodites accurately, or even if the following is canon, fanon, or extra-canonical Word of God, or a mix of all three, but I think they were kind of a social experiment -- some idealistic folks thought that hermaphrodites would combine the best feminine and masculine traits and be sort of super-humans, socially, and everybody would want their children to be herms and so on. The experiment didn't really take off, in that humanity didn't convert over to it wholesale, but by then Betan herms were a legitimate minority group, some of whom chose to reproduce (I think only possible with another herm + uterine replicator), so they've sort of been perpetuating themselves since then even though the original experiment has long since been abandoned.

the Centauri hair being the result of somebody putting the wig on wrong the first time

That is indeed a hilarious detail XD (but probably explains a lot XD)

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

would be honored to be its keeper if you really want to part with this wonder
But of course! You're definitely the best-equipped to handle it's, er, unique charm, and it deserves the company of other Vlad Taltos books.

("TIGHTROPE OF BRUTALITY" lolwut XD What does that even mean?)
I'm pulling for some sort of circus AU, or a Hunger Games-like reality show o' death in which the various Houses compete against each other. Either way, a "TIGHTROPE OF BRUTALITY" would be interesting to see.

One has this cover and the other has this one, but they're both the same comic, illustrated by David Wenzel.
Ah, then I haven't seen that one! This (http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Illustrated-Fantasy-Classic/dp/1435242726/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348096855&sr=1-6&keywords=the+hobbit+graphic+novel) is the one I was thinking of, so I'd love to see yours.

some idealistic folks thought that hermaphrodites would combine the best feminine and masculine traits and be sort of super-humans, socially, and everybody would want their children to be herms and so on.
Heh, that sounds very Betan.

[hamsterwoman]

Well, thank you in advance, then! I shall strive to live up to the honor :) (I be the other Vlad books will snark mercilessly at it, though, when my back is turned :P)

a Hunger Games-like reality show o' death in which the various Houses compete against each other

Haha, that is the most reasonable explanation for "TIGHTROPE OF BRUTALITY". (For the lulz, I googled that phrase, and that book is the only result. Which is heartening, really.)

P.S. Also for the lulz, I looked up this thing on Amazon, and the first customer review is kinda hilarious. XD

Hmm, I wonder how the two Hobbit GNs are different! The illustrator and one of the adaptors are the same as my edition, but the cover looks very, very different, a completely different style. Huh.

[lunasariel.livejournal.com]

I be the other Vlad books will snark mercilessly at it, though, when my back is turned :P
As is right and proper!

Also for the lulz, I looked up this thing on Amazon, and the first customer review is kinda hilarious.
LOL, it really is! Snark at its finest. I especially love "Breasts and nudity are not uncommon, but fail to be as titillating or well-drawn as that of elementary-school graffiti." Burn!

The illustrator and one of the adaptors are the same as my edition, but the cover looks very, very different, a completely different style.
Haha, I completely missed that they both had David Wenzel on them. Maybe they're different editions? Or maybe David Wenzel is just, like, the John Howe of the Hobbit graphic novel community? XD