Soledad&#39;s Journal

Happy early birthday!

That cake looks delicious! :)

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It *is* delicious! There are various recipes for the filling, the most famous of them just taking a pound of butter and a pound of dark, melted chocolate and work it together in a waterdamp bath (aka stirring it over a pot with hot, boiling water until it becomes a thick creme), although Granny made it with cocoa.

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Sounds very rich! :)

*tries to think of things to start a conversation about, but fails - brain is rather dead at the moment, from watching the Doctor Who finale*

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Do you like the 11th Doctor? I haven't seen him yet at all - but I guess after 10 it could only be better.

I've purchased a few DVDs with the 4th one (Tom Baker) and the very first adventure of Jon Pertwee as the 3rd (partially with Gemma's help), and I must say I quite like the classic stuff. Even though my whole interest in the Whoniverse started with Torchwood and I prefer the 9th Doctor.

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11 is okay at times, but I find that he gets rather annoying at times - he seems much younger than either 9 or 10 and it reflects too much in some of his behaviour and story-lines. It is partly that he seems much less responsible and caring than the other doctors - he causes about Amy, Rory, and River, but it seems that he would let anyone else die in order to save them and that he has less care about the consequences of his actions. However, it is hard to tell how much I'm biased by this second half of this last series, which for the first time since I started watching has been the worst series of episodes. It has felt as if the ideas where there but not quite working - the episode specific characters are not compelling or well drawn, the pacing and suspense seem a bit off.
(I like 10 - partly because he was the doctor when I started watching, and most of my favourite episodes involve him, but I like the different versions of the doctor and watching which bits of his character change and which stay the same) :)

I'm still intermittently watch 1st doctor stories - which are really odd to watch compared with the later ones because the doctor far less heroic.

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Ten annoys the hell out of me - this overgrown child behaviour, and the idiotic crush on Rose-bloody-Tyler. Plus, I don't think that David Tennant is a very good actor. He's too hectic and overacts terribly for my taste. Of course, compared with Christopher Eccleston most people would come out wanting. I even bought the film "Elizabeth" on DVD, just to see him play in something different, despite the fact that I dislike Kate whatshisname who plays the tile role. You know, the actress who played Galadriel.

I wish I could watch more of Classic Who. The few samples I got make me wish for more. I'd be specifically interested in seeing Five in action. And more Four and Three. Unfortunately, we only got our refound at the end of our England/Wales trip, when I couldn't go into any HMV shops anymore. :(

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Yes, all the Rose bits were annoying - and got more so the further the series went along! However, I found 9 more angsty and less fun - plus him abandoning Jack Harkness because he was too concerned with rescuing Rose from the Time Vortex. Although it would have been very interesting to see how he would have interacted with any of the other companions - I may well be biased by all of his episodes involving Rose.
I still haven't seen that film - it is on my list to watch at some point, but from what I heard when it was new was that it wasn't that good.

I wish I could watch more of Classic Who. The few samples I got make me wish for more. I'd be specifically interested in seeing Five in action. And more Four and Three. Unfortunately, we only got our refound at the end of our England/Wales trip, when I couldn't go into any HMV shops anymore. :(
That's a shame. :(
Hopefully you'll get a chance to get them at some point in the future.

I've heard quite a lot about some of the later doctors (especially the 7th doctor, as he was the one in the serials that Sam watched as a child), and am considering skipping ahead, but feeling ocd-ish about watching episodes in the right order.

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Admittedly, 9 did have his annoying habits - I particularly disliked the way he treated with Mickey. But again, 4 treated Harry Sullivan like an idiot sometimes, too, and I still like them both. *g*

I think Rose was a really bad influence on both Doctors - she infected them with stupidity and the total lack of responsibility, while lecturing them about caring. Just like Gwen-bloody-Cooper, if you think about it.

But then, it's a rare case that we'd find a well-rounded female charcter in a TV-show, especially in sci-fi. Although I quite like Sarah Jane and Donna.

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I think Rose was a really bad influence on both Doctors - she infected them with stupidity and the total lack of responsibility, while lecturing them about caring. Just like Gwen-bloody-Cooper, if you think about it.
Totally agree!

But then, it's a rare case that we'd find a well-rounded female charcter in a TV-show, especially in sci-fi. Although I quite like Sarah Jane and Donna.
Very true! I like Sarah Jane in the episodes I've seem her in, as well as SJA (although I'm behind on that). Donna is quite fun and her character arc is probably the best of any of the companions and it is so heartbreaking when it is all undone.
I wish there were more interesting female characters in TV shows, but mostly even when they are set up well to start with the shows manage to screw it up.

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Very true! I so hated what happened to Delenn in B5! She started off in the pilot as this extremely powerful, enigmatic androgynous creature, was still full of strength during Season One - and then, as soon as she grew hair, she lost 99 per cent of her brains. Falling for Sheridan and vice versa, really...

I remember having read somewhere that the original concept used to be to make her a change from an androgynous creature to a female one for Sinclair! I don't know if it's true or not, but it sounds interesting.

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She is really good in s1 (she does have some moments later, but her playing second to Sheridan gets SO annoying!)

Someone told me that in the complete script books set it says that in the plan she was going to be male until her transformation, but that the voice distortion didn't work in the pilot so they aired it with her own voice and made the character female all along.

But at least in Babylon 5 there are lots of other female characters, most of whom get there moments! :)

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Agreed. I don't like either Ivanova or Lockley, but both telepath women were great. And I loved Dr Lilian Hobbs who had to keep the fort while Franklin was trying to find himself.

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I liked Ivanova from the start and have come to like Lockley more and more with watching Crusade - although I still haven''t got around to re-watching s5 of b5 fully. Dr Hobbs is very good and it is very sad that she doesn't get more development in the show.

Trying to think of interesting female characters is others shows is hard!
Stargate feels like there should be some, but really fails on it - loads of the characters *could* have been strong but the show shies away from it and turns them into caricatures or doesn't allow them to show their skills.

Non sci-fi shows seem to do a bit better - I've been rewatching JAG (as far as I've got s8 - although I now have dvds of s9 to watch soon :D ) and it has loads of good female characters.

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I like Sam Carter in SG-1 - IMO, Amanda Tapping does a good job to make the character interesting, despite the screenwriters' incompetence. I liked Dr. Fraiser, too. And the first Dr. Weir, the one played by Jessica Steen, was very promising. We won't even mention Atlantis in this context, though.

My main problem with both Ivanova and Lochley was the unbearably wooden acting, most of the time. I used to watch JAG occasionally, but the male lead annoyed the hell out of me, and honestly, I liked the little blonde in Season 1 a lot better than Mac. The casting wasn't very fortunate, either. If that woman was supposed to be a Marine, then I'm a ballerina in the Boshoy Theatre in Moscow.

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Sam annoys me - but that is because I hate the trope of the scientist who can do anything in any sort of science despite whatever is said about their specialism... and it is a trope that Stargate uses all the time. Dr Fraiser is good, but doesn't really get any character development or plots. Dr Weir - I agree she is good to start with, but the further along the show goes, the worse she gets as a character.

I'm very bad at judging acting.

I'm not surprised that you don't like him :)
I just ignore the casting - it is the typical thing that every female character (especially the more they are in a show) has to be good looking or better. (Even most character that are referred to within shows as ugly or whatever are far above average) /end bit of rant - I suspect that I've ranted at you about this before :)

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And if the actress happens to be plain or downright ugly, all male characters fall in love with the character anyway, and all female charcters are awed/jealous/envious/watever. Like in the case of Rose or Gwen, because honestly, who in their right mind would fall for such dumb bitches when they could have Martha or Donna or Tosh - or even Detective Swanson, who was made of awesome?

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Very true!

Although the actress playing Rose is supposed to be very good looking...

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In whose eyes? She has a face like those amateur actresses that played overworked serving wenches in old communist propaganda films, and stupidity practically radiated from her dumb facial expression.

I've just rewatched "The Stolen Earth", and the scene in which she appeared out of nowhere with that big, badass gun looked ridiculous, and she like a cheap biker whore.

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I don't remember exactly but I remember a lot of it from the reviews of Doctor Who and just general comments on tv about her - very chavvy, but it is apparently considered attractive - after she left Doctor who she was in something called Secret Diary of A Call Girl or something along those lines and there were a lot of comments about it and her.

I don't understand it either

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Some people just have a weird taste, I guess... ;)

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I suppose Rose is sexy in the eyes of many a male. But being female, I fail to see this, and I dislike what remains.

The 11th doctor didn't have a bad start, but he hardly seems to have developed since. Somehow, he lacks focus. Or maybe it's the series that has come to lack focus. It's become messy, IMO.

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The 11th doctor didn't have a bad start, but he hardly seems to have developed since. Somehow, he lacks focus. Or maybe it's the series that has come to lack focus. It's become messy, IMO.

I agree. It does seem that the show has been lacking focus and so the characters seem to change to suit the stories thus not having character development and so on.

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Ha. Comment 200!

I still have to watch last Saturday's episode, but I'm not in a hurry. That's not a goods sign, I think.

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Yay 200! comments! :D

I won't spoil you - just say it was rather disappointing.

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I watched it earlier this evening. You were right, it wasn't impressive. Though I liked the Roman charioteer stopping for a traffic light and Churchill being addressed as 'Caesar'.

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Yes, a lot of the little bits like that were cool. I also liked Amy's train. :)

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aviv-b.livejournal.com

Happy Birthday! I'll be reaching the same milestone in a few months - so let's party!

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Cheers, mate! Perhaps if I get enough comments, I'll get inspired to write some Gwen-killing for our fellow antigwennites as a Hobbit-style birthday gift. The little buggers have the custom to give presents to other people on their birthday, to make it unforgettable. (If you scroll down, you'll find your personal gift snippet on the bottom of this page. No Gwen-killing, but I hope you'll like it nonetheless.)

You weren't here last year, so FYI: the virtual birthday party has threefold goals: to get as many comments as possible, on as many pages as possible, while getting the most possible threads to collaps due to the comments to each individual thread.

Last year's yield was very high indeed, so we'll have to work hard to top that.

Edited Date: 2011-10-02 12:48 pm (UTC)

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Happy early Birthday! *huggles* I would love some cake and now, let's party!

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Hehe, thanks! I also intend to use all of my icons when replying to the comments, so that the threads would look pretty, too.

Here, have some more cake! *hugs back*

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Oooh, cake! *eats happily*

Oh yes, pretty threads for the win!

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Nice icon, too. Although my favourite still is the one according which you shouldn't drink water... and Rhade, of course.

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I couldn't resist, what with you showing off sexy Jack *grins*

Here, have some Nietzschean goodness!

More icons is the only reason I keep being tempted by a paid account

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Don't I know the feeling! Even if I have to beg my way into it, courtesy of anonymous benefactors!

But if we're having a testosterone context, I must dig out Tyr, I think. ;)

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Hmm... let's see... Tyr is hard to beat in testosterone contest terms!

Have a robot who *thinks* he is macho, anyway XD

There are far too many pretty icons. Doesn't help that I have far too many fandoms with pretty people!

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I see your robot and raise with Buliwyf! (aka Vladimir Kulich)

What can I say, I like my (imaginary) men strong and virile. While I'm pretty content not to have any in real life. Peace and quiet and having the bed all for myself is such a nice thing...

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Yeah, quite a few of them would be too high-maintenance for real life anyway! Especially the sexy villains and semi-villains!

I'll raise you another robot. I don't know if he's virile, but he's sure strong!

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And I give you Sir Leon, the fire-proof, who survived the dragon's attack!

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That's hard to beat, so I'm forced to cheat and send two into the race

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Okay, I can't let the ball in your court and counter your double attack with one of my own: manliness compared with extreme</iy cuteness, aka: Sir Lancelot.

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Hmm... I don't think I can beat that! Except... pirates beat ninja, do they beat knights, too?

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I'm not sure. But I bet dragons beat all... don't they?

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Hm... foiled again! Arthur (that Arthur, not Merlin's) only masters fairies and unicorns, no dragons.

Buuuut... water beats dragon's fire, doesn't it?

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Hehe... no idea, honestly.

But I put up a Merlin snippet for you, just for fun. Roll down and find it. ;)

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Damn, Merlin? Now that's a super weapon that's hard to beat! He's just too cute. So I'm cheating and getting out my other account cuz there's no way to match cute other than with cute

And the snippet, yaaaaay!

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Oooh, very cute indeed! Who is he? Is he a he at all?

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Yep, he's male, though the icon doesn't show it well. Feliciano's a real sweetheart, but sometimes isn't the brightest light bulb and very clutzy - a bit like adorable Merlin on your icon, I guess!

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Very cute indeed.

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Yippi! Party-time! Happy, happy time of year; you throw the best virtual parties ever. The cake looks delicious. *points to icon* I brought chocolates to share.

I am preparing for my first undergraduate lecture course which starts on the 12, as well as having tutees for the first time ever from Monday, so I don't think I will be able to spend as much time at this party as I would like. I hope to be able to pop in now and again though.<\small>

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Yay! Chocolates are yummy! Work, OTOH, is evil. Always getting in the way of fun and the likes. But even so, it's such a wonderful difference to be able to put a face behind the comments. :)

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I too really enjoyed meeting you and having a face -- and a voice! -- to match to your writings.

Part of me is really looking forward to doing some 'proper' teaching, and another very large part of me is terrified: the lecture course I am doing is brand new, so I get to decide what the students should be taught, beyond a cursory naming of four different materials characterisation techniques to cover. This also means that there aren't any notes from previous years to check to see what I should be lecturing on, which is both a blessing -- I like the opportunity to really make this my course -- and a curse -- I have to make work out everything about how to present the course materials to the students myself. And let's not even get started on how inadequately prepared I feel for imparting knowledge to impressionable young minds! On top of this I am also expected to keep up research, so busy, busy, busy.

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Oh, no worries about teaching! It's only terrifying in the first couple of decades - then you become immune against the horrors. ;) Voice of experience speaking here - although I still seem to be in those first couple of decades...

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So you are saying that by the time I retire I might be getting towards not quaking in my boots at the thought of doing my job? *grin* Except of course, with the way they keep planning to increase the retirement age in this country I might never make it there...

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It's the same problem over here... :( But you can always join me in virtual retirement, as soon as you hit 55.

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I am preparing for my first undergraduate lecture course which starts on the 12, as well as having tutees for the first time ever from Monday
Good luck! :)
Its sad that you won't be around so much.

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Yeah, it was great with her last year, wasn't it?

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yes - loads of fun!

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Oooh, more coffee! You've got the loveliest coffee icons!

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They are very good coffee icons! :)

I really need to find a tea one as well at some point.

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Heretic! *g*

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:P

I'm one of these who fall in the middle - tea and coffee are both wonderful - so is chocolate :)

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Me, I must be very sick to even consider drinking tea - but I'm with you on the chocolate.

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Good luck! :)
Thank you! I feel luck is very much needed, along with some hard work on my part. The department doesn't completely leave me on my own to work out how to do this teaching malarkey -- thankfully! -- so I have a meeting with my academic mentor on Tuesday, which he initiated to work out what help I need from him. I am hoping to have my first set of lecture slides ready by the meeting to show to him to get some feed-back on them. The students get to 'score' their lecturers and this is take seriously by the university. However, this is only done once the course is over, so it doesn't give room for improving during the course.

I am hoping to be able to pop in now and then, thinking I might consider it a reward for getting jobs like writing sets of lecture notes done. :-) They do tell us we should try and encourage our students by giving them carrots, so I should be practising that, right? ;-)

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I'll have to ask Merlin to conjure up another virtual cake then...

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Sounds like a lot of work, but like you have a lot of support - and if they take teaching that seriously it should mean that they think you are ready to deal with it. :)

I am hoping to be able to pop in now and then, thinking I might consider it a reward for getting jobs like writing sets of lecture notes done. :-) They do tell us we should try and encourage our students by giving them carrots, so I should be practising that, right? ;-)
Sounds like a very good plan. :)

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Yep, it does. :)

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Oh, best of luck with the course, and I'm glad to hear your department has a good support and mentoring structure in place.

Dropping past here is going to be my reward for finishing various pieces of marking and seminar preparation, so I'm right with you!

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I was wondering if you had heard any of the news about this, and what you think they will screw up (or change) this time? :)

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I'm not happy about all the additional stuff they supposedly cram into the film. As we've recently discussed with

ithilwen, "The Hobbit" is a perfectly rounded adventure, focusing on Bilbo and the Dwarves, and doesn't need anything in addition.

Other than that, I only saw pictures of the Dwarves. Most of them are old and ugly, although Richard Armitage looks impressive as Thorin. Fíli and Kíli, although expressly described to have yellow beards, both of them, are dark-haired and blond, respectively (although at least young and hot). And Balin doesn't look suitably older than the rest, although he should.

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I'm not happy about all the additional stuff they supposedly cram into the film. As we've recently discussed with [info]ithilwen, "The Hobbit" is a perfectly rounded adventure, focusing on Bilbo and the Dwarves, and doesn't need anything in addition.
I don't think I was in that discussion, but I agree with the conclusion you've stated. It keeps bemusing me to hear casting spoilers for characters that aren't in the book and which they must be going to add a lot to make fit into the story (Galadriel, Saruman, etc) and I worry that they are going to be focusing on big battle scenes like the last two Lord of the Rings films.

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No, you weren't in that discussion - Ithilwen and I talked about it when she was here last week. But yeah, I think the Battle of Five Armies will fill 90 per cent of the film, and the Dwarves will be bumbling idiots.

I'm not looking forward to see that horrible movie!Elrond again! And I live in fear about what will happen to poor Thranduil... if he'll be in the film at all.

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No, you weren't in that discussion - Ithilwen and I talked about it when she was here last week. But yeah, I think the Battle of Five Armies will fill 90 per cent of the film, and the Dwarves will be bumbling idiots.
Sorry - lack of brain, partly due to lack of sleep and it being late here. :)

Too true, given what they did with Gimli.

They have cast someone as Thranduil - but somehow I expect that he will be portrayed as evil, although it depends if they want him to be involved in whatever the battle with the Necromancer turns out to be... although if they need someone for that I expect it is more likely to be Legolas. :(

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Weeell, they can't turn him evil without antagonizing the Leggy fangirls (although those probably have long wandered off to other fandoms). But since Orli has supposedly been cast, it can be that he'll be the hero as opposed to his evil father - who knows?

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Indeed, although I suppose some of them will probably wander back when the film comes out... :S

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Producing tons of *really* bad fanfic...

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Yes, but it will also hopefully attract or attract back some good writers as well :)

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Well, it inspired me to pick up my "Balin-tries-to-retake-Moria" fic again, if I may be so immodest to say. I'll post a snippet as your personal Hobbity present in a minute!

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Yay! :)
I noticed the posts you made to SH - but hadn't got as far as reading the snippets and replying - the last few weeks have been quite crazy, but things seem to be settling down and I'm digging back through emails slowly (but there are always new ones).

This reminds me - I found a file from 2004 with a page of story about Firiel that I don't remember writing at all. It is very rough and, well, I feel that my writing has improved a lot since then, but if you like I could try and tidy it up and post it as a birthday present for you. :)

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Oh, don't worry! They'll be posted anyway, once they're properly written, and I'll post update alerts to SH, so you haven't missed anything.

But the Firiel story would be nice. You could post it to

edhellondawards, so that people would have something else than just my stuff to read. ;)

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I enjoy reading the snippets :)

Cool! I'll try and get it edited into postable form this week. :)

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I'll go and see it in hope. Main hope: that someone with an ear for dialogue and a sense of story is handling the script. I'm sure the visuals will be amazing.

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I'm afraid that my beloved Dwarves will turn out as caricatures again; and I don't even dare to think of Thranduil... :(

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Yeah, we can definitely do without any more Dwarf-tossing.

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And without any more wanking about how weak Men are and how they don't want to become King.

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Yes, I can do without all that too.

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I'm hoping it will be reasonably good - after all the are sequences that could be amazing on film.

Certainly the visuals were the high point of the LftR films :)

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Most definitely! Though I loved the music too. (But the music from the BBC radio adaptation lodged itself into my brain at too early an age.)

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It is good.

The bbc radio series is amazing! I remember hearing it for the first time when it was repeated on radio4 just before the first film came out - listening to it made me a fan (I had read the books as a teenager, but was really too young to enjoy them properly - too scary)

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I remember listening to it in 1980 when I was eight years old, every Sunday afternoon with my dad and my brother! My brother taped (nearly) every episode onto old-fashioned cassette tapes. I played the life out of them until I got the set on CD for passing my A-levels :-)

Can't think of Denethor without Peter Vaughan's voice.

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LADIES AND ANY POSSIBLE GENTLEMEN WHO MIGHT JOIN THE FUN LATER, WE'VE JUST COLLAPSED THE FIRST COUPLE OF THREADS! Yay! Now for new threads, so that we can make to the next page ASAP!

*does the happy dance*

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Yay! \o/

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jilba.livejournal.com

Mmm...that cake does look good! Happy Birthday!

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It's very tasty indeed. Good to have you back on board, Jillian, I was starting to get worried. What have been up to in the last six or eight months or so? Is everything all right on your end of the conection?

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elmey.livejournal.com

Happy first day of Birthday Party! Mmm I love Dobos Torte but could never make it myself. It's meant to be eaten at an old fashioned cafe :)

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Yeah, it is - unfortunately, they no longer get it right. They use common biscuit for it, and it simply isn't the same if not done the right way.

Thanks for dropping in. The more, the merrier. How's your writing going? Anything on your plate before the November turn of

picowrimo?

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elmey.livejournal.com

Surely we can get the real thing somewhere still--Vienna perhaps? Road trip?

I'm still working on the story I was writing during picowrimo July, I've been a bit swamped the last two months and haven't progressed as far as I wanted to. I'd like to work on it for November picowrimo I think. In the meantime, I've gotten my assignment for the MFU fandom's Xmas story exchange so I've started fiddling with that a bit as well.

Are you going to be taking another stab at Windswept during picowrimo?

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Perhaps, I'm not sure. There's the Merlin epos that promises some good headway, plus Tolkien's Dwarves... but yeah, should the inspiration hit, I'll give it a try. You must write when you feel like writing, otherwise it's no fun at all.

I'm not sure they make Dobos Cake in Vienna, but I'll look it up for you when I get there with the 8th term group around the end of November. Suicidal me have volunteered to make a guided tour with them - must have been addled in the brain at that moment or whatnot.

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Happy early birthday then.

You do realize of course that time differences mean Oct 9 midnight sharp doesn't quite have the same meaning as before thanks to the internet. And wouldn't it technically be closed Oct 10?

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Yeah, I know, but does it truly matter? It's my party, my time zone - and if someone is behind me a couple of hours, they still can post until it's midnight in theirs. *g*

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:D That works.

I'm so jealous you were able to meet up with Ithilwen! I met her recently and it was fun, but we didn't have all that much time together. Have I missed the summary of your time together? I assume she's still traveling since we haven't had a picspam yet.

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It was really nice. I haven't got a time to put together a summary, but we had two afternoons and a whole day, so we went to a lot of places. She went on to Vienna on Monday and somewhere in Germany, too, so she might be still travelling.

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well, I look forward to the update then! Maybe you can sneak bits of it into your party. ;) Give us an advanced preview.

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I'll try, although now that school starts again, I can't promise anything until the next weekend. :(

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Alas, school can do that to a person. I suppose at least it gives you a chance to see the kids. Most of them are annoying, but there are always the occasional gems.

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I'lll keep that in mind. be one of those late night party crashers. :p

Merlin started up again. :) I haven't seen it yet, but I hear it shows promise. I hear one of the funny parts is when Morgana is told that she has to be careful of a man named Emerys and she starts freaking out. Who is this Emerys?!

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Emrys is what the Druids call Merlin - which Morgana might know from Mordred.

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She hasn't figured it out yet. :p Freaks her out. I suppose it'll come up eventually. and sooner or later Arthur has got to get a clue. -_- Ah well. I suppose it can't b ee that easy since it's an ongoing joke now. I hear in "How I met your mother" they still don't know who the mother is.

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Arthur is very good at missing the clue bus. Even if the evidence hits him upside the head.

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He really is! I just wonder how shocked he is going to be when he finds out the truth!

Morgana also saw a vision (or dream I don't recall) with an old Merlin - who looked just like he did in the episode when he got aged up... sooner or later she is going to work it out!

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They're both pretty dense when it comes to spotting the obvious, aren't they? Must come from Uther's side of the family, given that that's the line they share...

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Certainly - together with a lack of common sense, or any sense really...
it seems that their main talent is fighting

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Like two kids in a sandbox.
I must say, I hated the way they turned Morgana evil so quickly. It was unconvincing. More time and subtlety would have helped the case.

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Maybe that's why Lancelot can sometimes seem like the better person

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Yeah, he got the clue at first sight, didn't he? But again, as soon as Arthur realizes what's going on, the PTB will have to think of another source of tension, and I'm not sure they can come up with that. *is deeply mistrustful*

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Possibly Arthur will realise (somehow) that Merlin has magic and will then decide that he is obviously in league with Morgana... or the druids... or something

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And then Merlin has to save that ungrateful ass of his again, while getting verbally abused as usual, since the PTB simply hit the Reset button at the beginning of each season again where the Arthur-Merlin dynamic is concerned.

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yes. I'd hoped that they wouldn't this time but they do seem to have. I really don't know why as they seem happy for other things to change...

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I guess this is the only way they think they can keep Arthur from discovering Merlin's magic, but it's still annoying.

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Yes. I just wish they would let Arthur discover it and move on - surely they don't think that that is the only thing keeping people watching the show. Or maybe they do - but that would seem silly even for the logic of tv shows.

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There's logic? Do tell me! Merlin has tried to scry for it with powerful spells but failed, so far. (Which doesn't mean I wouldn't still love the show to pieces. I'm a loyal viewer - not a stupid one, though.)

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Possibly logic is the wrong word - whatever it is that all the show makers believe that it is needed to make the show succeed

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You mean the thing you and I would simply call stupidity? ;)

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yes! ;)

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Means there's someone to help look after Merlin. :) Someone who realizes they're all screwed if they lose their mage. Maybe they can think of another source of tension if they put their mind to it.

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Unless he's too busy moaning about Gwen luvin' Artie... why all men seem to fall for the dumb little tramp is beyond me. Aside from the Mary Sue effect, that is.

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No kidding. I do think it's just Mary Suism. Yeah, it's nice for guys to like a simple girl instead of a beautiful bitch, but it is a bit over the top.

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I have no problem with the idea itself - just with the realization. That sucked, big time.

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Apparently, in this newest episode, all the women fawn over Lancelot. I haven't seen it, but he's fawn-worthy at least. I guess that's the thing. I don't really think Guinevere is worth it.

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Me neither - and not only in the series. She isn't a likeable charcter in the legends, either. I guess there's a reason why people say that love is blind. ;)

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Since I look like a Hobbit anyway, I thought I'd follow their custom and give away birthday presents to my party guests. The first one is for

stevie_carroll: a snippet from the introduction to my original sci-fi verse Windswept. Stevie, I hope you like the new version better!

Excerpt:
Dr. Paul Avakum, the most gifted engineer of his generation, not only on Earth alone but on all the human colonies, stood brooding on the observations deck of Skylab 273, a small communications satellite in stationary orbit above the domed city of Utopia Planitia, one of the semi-independent Mars Colonies. He looked out to the ceaseless activity at Orbital Station Ares: the oldest, biggest, most sophisticated shipyard in the entire solar system.

That was the place where the future of mankind began. Where the great colony ship Windswept, the cradle of a new world was being built. Dr. Avakum had been one of the initiatiors of this ambitious programme. He had been one of the creators of the new engines, made for endurance rather than for advanced speed – as time played only a minor role in this endeavour – and had followed the construction of the ship for the last eight years.

It was slow, patient work that required great attention to each and every minute detail; even with he current level of technology, the smallest mistake could have caused the complete failure of the project. Dr. Avakum bore the responsibility that no such mistakes happened – not alone, of course, but ultimately, he was the one overlooking everything – and the ship could leave the solar system on schedule.

This was the height of mankind’s expansion period, during which he nations of Earth had learned to unite their resources for grand, shared goals. The solar system was already populated to its limits, and humanity was about to make their first brave steps towards the conquering of nearby stars.

But none of those plans was braver, more determined than the one Dr. Avakum and his co-workers had conceived and set on its way. A dream, seemingly too far-fetched to become reality, had taken shape decades before the actual construction would have begun First they had needed to find the right destination, and that alone had taken many years of preparation.

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Very interesting!

I like the character and the background (or so I assume :) ) to some of the other bits that you've posted.

Your worldbuilding in this is really interesting.

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Thanks. :) The funny thing is, I've just recently found an old concept to the Windswept universe, with somewhat different settings, and I'm now hesitating which one would be better.

Your own birthday gift is coming up!

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Backstory! Delicious backstory! *purrs*

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*patpat* Don't get too excited, dear. The story isn't written yet. ;)

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I know, but backstory's nice, too!

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stevie-carroll.livejournal.com

Happy Birthday! And thank you! There's a lot of potential in your world building there.

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Thanks. I'm glad you like it. :)

So, do you think it's better this way? The original version started with the descriptions in the middle and totally lacked any protagonists. Was this what you thought when you suggested to turn it around?

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stevie-carroll.livejournal.com

Yes, it definitely works better this way. I'd like to see more so I can compare properly, but it's off to a good start.

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As soon as I actually have written more, you'll see more, promise. ;)

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This one is for my dear friend

jenn_calaelen - just a snippet from my rediscovered Tolkienfic, "The Mazarbul Chronicles", which is supposed to describe Balin's failed attempt to retake Moria.

Excerpt:>

Náli reached the Forsaken Inn almost a day before Rei’s arrival, but that was not surprising. Rei had to return to Bree first, to brig back Master Butterbur’s pony and to pick up her and her foster father’s belongings, while Náli himself could take the direct way. Moreover, as he was still riding Rei’s sturdy and resilient hill pony, he could cover some twenty to twenty-five miles a day easily.

He crossed the Greenway right above the defile of Andrath – a broad ridge of downlands, an eastern outlier of the Barrow-downs, south from the Bree-land – and rode in a more or less straight line eastwards, until he hit the Great East Road again. From there, he simply had to follow the Road itself, until he caught sight of the Inn. That was familiar territory already, as he was basically backtracking the same way he had come with the FireBeard merchant caravan only a few weeks earlier.

The Forsaken Inn – in truth barely more than an ale-house with only a handful of chambers for guests passing by who wanted to spend the night under a solid roof – was a relic from the old days of Eriador, when the roads of the North-kingdom had been much travelled and well watched, and trade had been flourishing. One look at the building revealed that its better days were long gone, but at least it still had a roof, even though a damaged one, and it still could be used as a resting place.

Built on a small, flat hillock overlooking the Road, it was a moderate, two-storey building, made of whitewash and sturdy oak beams, with a few trees on one side, weatherworn to the point of slowly falling apart, and clearly in desperate need of a new roof. But one could still sleep in what once had been the common room without getting drenched, should a quick shower of rain sweep over the Road.

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Thank you very much for the present! :D

Ooh, very interesting!
Now I'm really intrigued as to why it is known as the fForsaken Inn - it seems to be an odd name to give a place.
I love the way that you show so much and hint at all the history and other stories around the edge. Plus what has happened before to the characters and what is going to happen afterwards (although the final end is inevitable)

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It's a canon name. Apparently, this was the last known place on the East Road during the time of the Ring War - beyond it, the maps became extremely vague. It isn't expressly stated that it was abandoned and derelict, that's my invention. I thought it would be so, since who would risk running an inn out there, in the wilderness.

This is an additional chapter I'm going to insert between the already posted Chapters 3 and 4 because I felt that the speed was too rushed and too many things were unexplained, so I decided to add a chapter and hopefully iron out the unevenness of the story.

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Very interesting. It certainly makes sense that it would be abandoned - after all there doesn't seem to be many people living anywhere near it, or travelling. :)

I should read or reread the chapters you ave posted - I can't remember whether I have read them in the past (brain is been very fuzzy about thinks atm)

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I'd suggest to wait until I've finished this filler chapter - the whole thing would make so much more sense that way. But it's up to you, of course. :)

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Makes sense - especially as I have loads of stories to read - I never seem to catch up! :D

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I know the feeling... *sighs*

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The Forsaken Inn! I don't think I've ever come across a piece about that before, and it is such an intriguing name. A marvel that it keeps going. I wonder what the War of the Ring was like there - must have been terrifying.

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I always found the name very mysterious, but didn't find the right story in which to put it. Not much keeps going, though. In my imagination, it's just a half-ruined relic now.

Too bad Náli canonically died in Moria. A Dwarven innkeeper would be a compeltely new thing in Middle-earth.

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A Dwarven innkeeper would be a compeltely new thing in Middle-earth.
That could be very interesting! a pity it doesn't fit there.
I can imagine how all the different travellers would react when confronted with one.
Bemusement from those who only know a little about dwarves.
I wonder what their relatives would think - it would be outside traditional Dwarven roles, but possibly not doing anything actually forbidden... although I vaguely recall stuff from The Hobbit about them not liking to work for other people - but I can't recall the details, I really should reread :)

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Well, in my intepretation not all Dwarves were master artisans or warriors. The lesser clans, the StiffBeards, for example, performed more menial tasks, and were accordingly looked down at. I could imagine one of them actually operating an inn, after the Ring War, when traffic and trade became vivid once again between the two kingdoms.

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Makes a lot of sense - and they are probably still trained in weapons enough to protect themselves from anyone who thinks that they would be a target by being in the middle of nowhere.

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There's no such thing as a helpless Dwarf. *nodnod* That's not how Aule made them.

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I found a couple of pieces of art online:
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/The_Forsaken_Inn

I wonder if Gandalf passed that way between Bree and Weathertop. I guess Bilbo knew it well.

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Looks very nice.

I expect Gandalf would have - after all it could be somewhere that he hoped to get news of the Hobbits. I wonder whether Aragorn intended them to go there from Bree, but didn't dare after how narrowly they escaped the Black Riders.

Bilbo could have stayed there on the way back from his first adventures...

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The artist at the top has a nice gallery with pictures of several unusual places in Arda.

I wonder if Aragorn hoped to stay there too. Poor Pippin and Sam, missing out on even more beer.

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Lovely!
and talking about auturm colours

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Lovely!
and talking about auturm colours
<a href<="http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/File:Mat%C4%9Bj_%C4%8Cadil_-_Green_Hill_Country.jpg">http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/File:Mat%C4%9Bj_%C4%8Cadil_-_Green_Hill_Country.jpg</a>

Probably better for them - less opportunities to get into trouble...

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http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/File:Mat%C4%9Bj_%C4%8Cadil_-_Green_Hill_Country.jpg
Hopefully right this time!

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Ah, beautiful!

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I don't have the time to take a closer look - some border decoration overlaps the picture within seconds! :(

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http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/File:Mat%C4%9Bj_%C4%8Cadil_-_The_Forsaken_Inn.jpg
Might be better...

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Yes, thanks.
It looks great indeed - although I imagined it a bit more ruined.

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*g*
But that can be a picture before it was ruined...after all it won't have started out ruined. :D

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True, true.

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A short snippet from the Epic Merlin Fic (TM) for my good friend,

artemis10002000. Enjoy!

Excerpt:>

Lancelot had ridden all morning as hard as he could while having to keep two horses – one of them without a rider – under control, to catch up with Princess Elena’s party in time. He knew not what kind of danger he was supposed to save her from, but since she was a Princess and the daughter of a wealthy lord, he assumed that somebody was panning to abduct her. Either a scorned suitor, wanting to force her into marriage, or an adversary who wanted to lay hands on Lord Godwyn’s realm without having to go to war – or simply a bandit chief who was hoping to get a lot of gold for giving her back to her grieving father.

Whichever the case might be, the Druids clearly believed that she was in peril and needed rescuing. And while Lancelot did not intend to court her afterwards, despite the vague hints given by the same Druids, he was a knight, devoted to the values that were supposed to direct a knightly life; including the rescuing of a damsel in distress. So he rode on, determined to do his duty.

Fortunately, he did not need to waste any time on tracking. The Princess and her party followed a well-travelled path that led from the Holy Well directly to the Castle of Gawant, with widely-known resting places at springs or wells along the way. Therefore, it only took him about an hour and a half to catch up with them, although they had left the Well a great deal earlier than him.

They must have travelled at a slow pace, as they were still at the first of the resting places; but again, what need could they possibly have to hurry? They were in the heart of Lord Godwin’s realm, not very far from his castle, after all. Why would they count on an attack?

There they were also, the six lightly-armed men-at-arms and one young groom, forming a protective shield-wall around their Princess, surrounded by at least two dozen men, wearing mail shirts and helmets, armed to the teeth. Only their leader, clearly a knight of some importance, was bare-headed; and he was currently having an argument with the Princess.

Lancelot had never actually seen the Lady Elena; had barely caught a glimpse of her from afar, upon his arrival at the Holy Well. She was younger than he had imagined, sweet-faced, with a great tangle of ash blonde hair and wearing a yellow gown of heavy brocade. Surprisingly enough, though, she did not seem particularly frightened, facing her would-be abductor, and Lancelot asked himself how that could be. Did she count on help arriving soon – one of the men was carrying a horn and Lancelot remembered having head its call a short time ago – or had the Druids told her to wait for rescue?

Whatever the truth might be, she was glaring at the knight with angry blue eyes, showing no sign of fear.

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ooh, very interesting. I wonder what she is up to!
This leaves so many questions about how the characters ended up here and what is going to happen. All the details make it seem really anchored into the historical period (so much more than the actual show ;) )

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Elena can be tentatively identified with Elaine de Corbenic, and since this is a very well-known part of the legends, I won't spoil anyone's fun if I tell you that she was told she would have a very special child from Lancelot. That would be Galahad. Of course, Lancelot was already besotted with Guinevere, she and her lady-in-waiting, who was a powerful sorceress, had to use... erm... slightly illegal methods to make the prophecy true.... *g*

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Very interesting - with all the magic that we've seen in the show it seems that making people fall in love (or lust) or controlling them is very common. It will be interesting to see how you tell this story line.
Plus much kudos for bringing in bits from the traditional mythology and making them work in the context of the show. :D

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I always loved the Arthurian legends. Strangely enough, the fact that they're so twisted out of recognition in the show doesn't bother me too much. Perhaps because Arthur and Merlin are so cute. *g*

As for magic being used to control people - in the end it all comes down to power, doesn't it? This is just a different kind of it.

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It doesn't exactly bother me - I enjoy the show, but it is really interesting to see people trying to fit bits of mythology to the show's versions of the characters.
But then, I love different versions of the stories and all the different retellings and the so forth. I've got loads of books and dvds of different versions - after all it is really all just like fanfic, but legal ;)

Have you seen any of the new(ish) Camelot series? Or heard anything about it? I've seen the first ?half of the series (it got cancelled at the end of the first series).

As for magic being used to control people - in the end it all comes down to power, doesn't it?
Very true.

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No, I haven't seen any of Camelot yet. The first series, or what's there of it, was on sale as a boxed edition when I went to England, but I didn't know whether my cash would be enough, as it was at the very beginning of the trip, so I didn't dare to buy it.

I read a lot of derogative comments, including the one that the only highlight were the nekkid sex scenes, especially the ones with Eva Green, so I'm actually glad I haven't wasted my money on it. Still, I'd like to watch it, as Sean Pertwee and Clive Standen are in it, and I like them both.

Perhaps German TV will bring it one day...

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From what I've seen it isn't too bad - but then I like the fact that it is anchored in an earlier historical period and actually deals with the issues of Arthur trying to establish himself as king - there is a sword in the stone, but it doesn't make everyone accept him as king and start being civilised...

However, not sure if it worth spending much money on - I really should watch the rest of the episodes and see where they go...

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It's quite different from the BBC series, where Arthur is already crowned as the Crown Prince, I guess. As I said, I'd like to watch it, even if it's bad, because I'm curious, but not badly enough to spend money on it, unless it's a sale. The guy who plays Sir Kay looks awfully cute, though.

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It's your birthday and I get presents? Oh well, this is why I love hobbits! ;)

No, seriously, thank you very much, you're so sweet! *hugs*

The snippet is utterly adorable, too, Lancelot is so Lancelot, all earnest and chivalrous, I really look forward to when the mood strikes you to continue this story. I already get the feeling that Lancelot and Elena will be hilarious and adorable together!

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Actually, I am currently working on this story. I just had to sit down, read through the existing nine chapters and makes notices about the changes I've made as opposed to both the series and the legends. I was getting to mix up the numerous characters and what's already been said and done so far. Spotted quite a few continuity errors, too - hopefully nothing I won't be able to iron out afterwards.

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I'm not surprised, the cast is huge! I'm happy to hear you're still working on it, though, I thought you'd shelved it while you're more in the mood to write Torchwood and LotR.

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Multitasking is the word. ;)
That, and having a split personality might be useful in this case. But I manage without it. I'm gifted that way.

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Let's leave the split personality for the huge LotR epics :P

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Wow, my first chance to comment, and you're already a tenth of the way there! A happy early birthday to you! I come bearing chocolate cake. Do I see the posting of fiction snippets?

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You do indeed. Interested on a gift snippet of your own? ;)

I'm lucky that this year October 9 falls on a Sunday, so I could start a good week earlier, on Saturday - meaning, I'll actually have the time to reply to the comments immediately, instead of days later.

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Yes please!

I'll try to post on my journal about the party and ask people to come your way.

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Here comes a snippet from the Umbar fic, that will eventually center around Imrahil's oldest sister. You might find a hint to a shared OC in it, too, although he won't actually appear. Five bonus points if you guess who it is.

Excerpt:

‘Twas the year 2968, in the Third Age of Arda, and – save from the occasional Corsair raid along Gondor’s coasts – Umbar had known relative peace for more than eighty years. At least where Gondor was considered. It had been less than fifteen years since the inland areas have been severely raided by the forces of Bakshir. The second-largest Haradric realm had even besieged Umbarlond itself, and it had taken First Consul Herucalmo great personal sacrifices – namely to send his own daughter to the kha-kan’s bed as a concubine – to placate the enraged Haradric warlord and persuade him to take his booty and go home.

That had led to a lasting peace between the two realms… at least until lately. For rumours had reached Lord Herucalmo that Kha-kan Isfhandijár had died in the previous year and his legitimate sons had driven out and killed all his concubines and their children. Which meant that Rothinzil was most likely dead, and they no longer had a supporter in the kha-kan’s house – whoever might be filling that particular office right now. That also meant that Umbar as a whole and Lord Herucalmo himself needed another strong ally to better their chances against their Haradric overlords.

******************
Lord Herucalmo was the one responsible for defences and warfare, while Second Consul Manwendil was supposed to care for trade negotiations and civilian affairs. It had been time-honoured tradition since the days of the Ancient Realm that Umbar would be ruled by a pair of consuls; mostly, yet not exclusively men of high birth and standing, as Ancient Númenórean right allowed a female child to follow her father in power if she was the firstborn.

These nobly-born rulers counted back their ancestry to the King’s Men of the Second Age, the ones called the Black Númenóreans by their Gondorian cousins. Never had one of them proclaimed him- or herself as the King or the Queen of Umbar, even though they’d considered themselves the true representatives of the last legal King of Númenor, regarding the Heirs of Nimruzîr (Elendil) as usurpers. Legend even spoke of some surviving relatives of the Line of Elros (or Ar-Gimilzôr, as they preferred to mention their ancestor) among the local nobles who claimed the governship.

Whether that had been true or not, no-one could tell all those millennia later. In any case, the overlords of the Haven had created a system that of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor not unlike, claiming to rule “in the King's absence”. By the King they meant Ar-Pharazôn the Golden, of course, whose rule they glorified, enshrouding the dark events of the past and magnifying the power and greatness of Westernesse in memory. Oddly enough, this attitude had led to the birth of a cult that foretold Ar-Pharazôn’s triumphant return from the West. Followers of that cult expected the King to reclaim the throne of the unified Reams in Exile – all three of them – in some distant future.

The current rules of the Realm, Lords Herucalmo and Manwendil, did not subscribe to this messianistic cult; nor did they join to that of the Death Eater, the revival of which they had watched with some consternation for quite some time by now. They were warlords and merchants, respectively, and did not want to tighten the leash binding them to Agannâlo – or to the Haradric realms – more than it would be inevitable. They had to consider their moves very carefully, though, for the number of Zigûr’s spies had been slowly yet steadily increasing in the recent years. They could almost literally feel the iron grip of Zigûr tightening around them. ‘Twas high time to seek out alternate routes that would not bind them quite so tightly to the fate of Agannâlo.

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Oh, I love the idea of the Black Numenoreans having their own system of Stewardship, and looking for the return of Ar-Pharazon! That is absolutely inspired!

And did I capture a glimpse of Andrahar's back story in there?

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To tell you the truth, the idea is based on Lalaith's theories - he(?) used to have this fantastic website, and one of the chapters "The Third Realm in Exile", dealt with Umbar. Of course, what I made of it turned out quite different, but that site was the inspiration, definitely.

And yes, it's about Andrahar's mother. Well spotted. Isabeau generously allowed me to mess around with the guy's family, and I created the whole fire-worshipping, semi-nomadic, merchant-warrior society based on Ancient Iran, completely with Persian names taken from the Sáhnáme and from the research I did on nomadic societies decades ago, just for fun - and to find the roots of my own people. We lived with such societies before coming here, you know.

So yes, Isfhandijár, the culture and religion of Bakshir, the social order and whatnot are mine. I even have long lists about the various wives and concubines of Andrahar's father, the servants in the house, the nobles of the realm and all that. One day I might even write "Where the Stars are Strange", Isfhandijár's tale. One day...

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It's such a nifty idea and I don't blame you adapting it for your own ends.

Tell me if there's anything you'd ever like me to add to the

best_loved_sons timeline.

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Not yet - the last thing I wrote was "A Brotherly Gift", and I think you already have that one. I'll alert you when any part of the Umbar fic is linkable.

If only I could find a beta for the poor story. It only has a single chapter so far, and three people have abandoned it already. :(

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Very interesting and loads of worldbuilding. I like the way that you have developed their mythology - it really works and makes them very interesting. :)
I really like the way that you have developed the independent cultures of the different places.

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What can I say? It's gone beyond a hobby, it's a downright obsession by now. *g*

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It's part of what Tolkien meant when he wrote about 'other minds and hands'.

The idea of the Black Númenoreans waiting for Ar-Pharazon to return is absolutely brilliant! Of course he merely sleeps under the Pelori.

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Umbar has a lot of potential - especially as Tolkien summarily declared the Black Númenóreans "evil"; I like to be contrary sometimes. Although these guys aren't exactly what we would commonly call the white hats, they must have got their own reasons to act the way they acted, even an Age after Númanor's downfally. I was trying to work with that.

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Being subversive is more interesting than just imitating the master.

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Absolutely. They were Númenóreans, after all, which means stubborn, strong-willed and gifted. What they use their gifts for is another matter entirely, but they weren't any less than their cousins in the area of abilities, I deem.

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Given that only a small percentage of every population is evil, a fair number of Black Númenoreans must have been perfectly okay.

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Agreed. Probably most of them firmly believed that the Elendili were usurpers and themselves the true Faithful: to the legitimate King.

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I love that line of Tolkien's, makes me feel like he might vaguely enjoy some of what I do...

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Except the slash, I'd presume. He was way too Catholic for that. *g*

But again, so was I, once upon a time. Who knows...

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But again, so was I, once upon a time.

Weren't we all... ;-)

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What you do, yes. Not necessarily what I used to do...

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jsks.livejournal.com

happy birthday and many more- sends virtual flowers and candy.

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Thank you. Here comes your gift snippet: a short excerpt from the single written chapter of "Director Jones", the prequel to the Virtual Season 2. I hope I'll get it posted in one piece, but if not, I'll post it as a chain of comments.

Let the Gwen-bashing begin!

Excerpt:

At first, they had all been too numb with grief and guilt to question Gwen’s dogged refusal to leave Jack’ side, but as time had gone on, Ianto felt his resentment towards her growing. By now, he was downright pissed. What gave her the right to usurp that position a Jack’s side? Didn’t she have a good, long-suffering man at home to attend to? A man who she supposedly loved so much that she would open the Rift, end the word – and kill Jack! – to bring him back? Why was she not at home, taking care of her boyfriend? Why did she keep glued to Jack’s side, effectively hindering the rest of the team to say their good-byes?

Was it guilt, for having practically led the rebellion that had ultimately caused Jack’s death? Or did she want to rub in their faces, especially in Ianto’s face, that she had such a special relationship with Jack?

After all, hadn’t Jack chosen her to accompany him when he’d gone out to face Abaddon?

For his part, Ianto thought that Jack had chosen Gwen because she was expendable. Torchwood would have had a hard time to go on without Tosh’s technical genius or Owen’s medical expertise… or even his, Ianto’s extensive knowledge about the Archives. Not to mention the fact that without him, they’d never be able to gain access to Headquarters’ digital database. He was the only one who knew all the codes and passwords.

But what had Gwen ever contributed, in all her time working for Torchwood, except pissing off the police in her lame attempts to play liaison and thus making cooperation with the local authorities even more complicated? As if Jack’s arrogance hadn’t caused enough problems in the first place…

Of course, Ianto readily admitted that he wasn’t entirely without prejudice when it came to Gwen-bloody-Cooper (as Suzie had so adequately nicknamed her). Frankly, it would have been hard, to be fair to someone who considered him either her personal servant or simply part of the furniture. And then there were her less than subtle attempts to get into Jack’s pants.

Ianto was an old-fashioned guy in the heart of his hearts. He believed in honesty, fidelity, and commitment. He could not understand why someone with a long-term partner – who worshipped the ground she was walking on – felt it necessary to cheat on said partner. And yet Gwen had been shagging Owen (until Diane’s appearance, after which Owen had come to his senses and dropped her like a hot potato) and did her best – or would it be her worst? – to crawl into Jack’s bed, too. Had tried her damnedest since she’d first set foot into the Hub.

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The ironic thing was that Ianto knew for the fact that Jack had never touched Gwen that way. Jack had respected Gwen’s relationship with Rhys, way more than Gwen herself. But that didn’t make Ianto feel any better. It seemed only to prove Owen’s point: that he had only been a part-time shag for Jack.

Would he otherwise had fallen for the other, the real Jack Harkness as hard as a schoolboy at his first crush? During the last week Tosh had found the time to tell him everything that had happened in the past. She felt that he had the right to know, and Ianto was grateful, even though it broke his heart.

There had doubtlessly been a great deal of hero worship on their Jack’s part, and there could be no doubt that the real Captain Jack Harkness most likely deserved it. He had been a hero. But that didn’t change the fact that Jack had only returned to their time because duty called.

He had not come back for Ianto. He had possibly completely forgotten about Ianto’s very existence.

And now he was lying in the morgue, dead, shielded by Gwen from everyone else, and Ianto couldn’t even say his farewells. It was almost too much to bear. Losing Jack, now that he had finally begun to overcome the loss of Lisa, the loss of all his friends at Canary Wharf…

Jack had given him purpose, after he had lost what was still there from Lisa. What was he supposed to do now, that Jack was gone, too?

He took Jack’s greatcoat from the coat rack behind the desk (he had advanced from the main Hub area to cleaning the office, not that it would have needed cleaning, just to occupy himself with some blessedly mindless task), and buried his face in the thick wool. It still held Jack’s unique scent, those blasted fifty-first century pheromones that could make him weak-kneed, even now.

He didn’t even realise when his tears had started to fall.

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So sad! Poor Ianto!
I love your characterisations in your Torchwood stories - I really like the idea that Jack took Gwen with her because she was the only expendable one.

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That was the general consensus at

antigwenallies during a discussion about this very topic, and I must say that I agree.

Don't worry about Ianto, though - you've seen how well he came out of the whole situation in "Everything Changes" and "Wedding". He's a tough one.

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I can see that he came out of fine, but that doesn't make my sympathise less with his pain along the way.

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Yeah, I know what you mean. He had a hard fate, poor boy.

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Oh! Poor, poor Ianto!

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I know. I just couldn't buy him bouncing back as if nothing happened.

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And it even rhymes! Go figure. Anyway, this one is for

aviv_b, featuring Jenny, the Doctor's daughter, from the as-yet unposted sequel to "A Big Fat Torchwood Wedding".

Excerpt:

“Speaking of which,” Jack said, “what are you doing here?”

“And flying a starship of Raxacoricofallapatorian design, at that,” Trevor added, eyeing the crashed vessel with a manic gleam in his eyes not even his glasses could fully conceal. “This little darling seems to be the same design as the one that crashed into the Big Ben, back in 2006 – although perhaps a more advanced model.”

“Really?” Jack, who hadn’t been present by that event, asked with interest.

Trevor nodded. “The similarities aren’t that obvious for the naked eye, but I was part of the engineering team that studied the Slitheen ship at Torchwood London. This is definitely Raxacoricofallapatorian design.”

“And so we’ve reached another interesting question,” Jack said. “How would a human girl from the future come to a contemporary Raxacoricofallapatorian ship?”

“I got it on the planet Udrani, in the Brineka Cluster,” Jenny explained matter-of-factly. “My old shuttle was destroyed when I helped the local Itiyri to fend off a Maseeth invasion. They found they owed me, so they organized for me a ship I could operate on my own.”

“You’re a hired gun then?” Jack asked with a frown. “Some kind of mercenary? That’s what you do for a living?”

The girl laughed, heartily and delightedly like a child. “Of course not, silly! I’m just a traveller. I love travelling! There are always planets to save, civilizations to rescue, terrible creatures to defeat… and running. Usually, there’s a lot of running involved. That’s the best part of it!”

“Sounds familiar,” Jack commented with a strangely wistful smile. “So, have you been running from the Maseeth – whatever those are – when you ended up here?”

“No,” the girl replied, suddenly deadly serious. “From the Xathian Alliance.”

“Another thing I never heard of,” Mickey commented. “You must have travelled beyond the well-trodden paths, love.”

The girl gave him a flat look. “Be glad you never ran into them. They’re horrible people,” she answered. “The worst plague that had ever swept across that pert of the Universe. In fact, perhaps the worst plague ever.”

Jack, Mickey and Trevor exchanged doubtful looks. All three of them had faced Daleks and Cybermen – even both at the same times on occasion – and so they had a hard time to imagine anything that would be worse than those.

On the other hand, as Jack liked to say, it was a big universe. Not even he, in all his years as a Time Agent – or as the Doctor’s companion – could have seen all that was out there.

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Ooh, lovely. I like the fact that Jenny meets them after she has learned how to live in the universe, survive and help people. And so much background - all of the things mentioned in her past are so intriguing - I like the fact that she has been dealing with races etc that have not come up in the show, because it allows her to have thwarted dangers that the rest of them don't have to face.

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Thanks. I wanted something different than the ever-repetitive adversaries of the Whoniverse. I admit to have been influenced by

jen_rock's Thirteen Species while making up my aliens, even though mine ended up different. There are similarities, but the end result is something else entirely. As for the names, I simply clicked on the Exotic Name Generator and picked out the ones that sounded best.

Jenny has been on her lonely crusade for about six years or so when she meets the Torchwood gang. (Crash-lands in Andy's back yard, in fact.)

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I wanted something different than the ever-repetitive adversaries of the Whoniverse
Yes! They do seem to overuse the main enemies - like they aren't prepared to do the work of developing new interesting ones.

As for the names, I simply clicked on the Exotic Name Generator and picked out the ones that sounded best.
Works well! :D

Jenny has been on her lonely crusade for about six years or so when she meets the Torchwood gang. (Crash-lands in Andy's back yard, in fact.)
So it will be good for her to have people to help for a change! But she will have had to become very good at surviving! :D

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stevie-carroll.livejournal.com

I like your Jenny there.

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Thanks. I liked her, a strange mix of the military and the child-like, it such a shame that she didn't make into another episode or two. Or ten. I intend to keep her in Cardiff for at least two subsequent stories.

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illereyn.livejournal.com

Happy birthday! The cake sounds like heaven. Mmmmm....

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Hey, welcome to the party! Yes, the cake is absolutely fabulous.

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mraltariel.livejournal.com

It can't possibly be a year! Happy Birthday!

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Thank you. It's hard to believe, isn't it?

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*gets out the champagne* Who wants a glass?

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Yes please!

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*offers a glass of champagne with a flourish* Here you are, dear!

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Just what I needed in this heat wave. Cheers!

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*clinks glasses with you* Let's drink to the health of the birthday girl!

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To the good health and ever-flowing pen of

wiseheart!

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Amen! Especially where the pen is concerned. But good health will be mightily welcome, too.

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A votre santé!

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jen-rock.livejournal.com

Happy early birthday! May you get more comments than ever before. ~Takes two pieces of virtual cake for the new niece and me.~

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Thank you. I hope you'll like the cake. ;)

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Show us a picture of the last character you've written or read a fic about! Official pic, fanart, whatever you like :)

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Okay, that would be Lancelot, then. *points at icon* Sorry, I don't know how to insert pics into replies.

Good idea starting new threads, though. We've got a great many collapsed ones, but we're still on Page 1.

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I know how, but I still find inserting pictures into replies a hit and fail thing :S I only get it to work half the time. LJ is evil like that!

Lemme try to post a Lancelot pic for you...

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Oooh... mmmm... now that's delicious!

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I thought you would think so *cheeky grin*

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You know me too well. All the pretty boys in Merlin, and they all happen to fall for Gwen who isn't even pretty - what is it with BBC shows and Mary Sues?

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Merlin sure has a lot of pretty boys! They know how to spoil us!

Gah, I keep trying to find a sexy Lovino picture to post, but I can't :( You might get another Feliciano since they're both in the fic I edited tonight! Don't you just love it when you open your fic folder and rediscover stories you didn't even remember writing? I do! *goes back to looking for sexy Lovino, there must be art, damn it, Lovi is plenty sexy!*

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Which fandom are we talking about?

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Hetalia again. I know I've been an annoying one-trick pony this year, but you know how fickles muses are. My poor robots are sure feeling neglected!

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Very pretty! :)

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*points to icon*

I'm cheating slightly - she isn't the last character I've written about, but the last character I posted a story about and as it was for sfbb I got art for it - thus the icon. :)
(Well, the story was about other characters as well)

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Ooooh, Talia! You write B5, that's so cool!

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She writes a great Talia!

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Thank you! :D

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:D

I love the show (and Crusade) and it is very fun to write for - so many possibilities and wonderful characters.

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Oh yes, the characters are wonderful! Talia's one of my favourites, actually, I was so sad that she wasn't around for long!

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It is such a pity, especially with all they did to set her up to become more powerful in an interesting way

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It is! Not that I don't love Lyta, but Talia was such an interesting character, there is so much more they could have done with her. I particularly liked seeing her and Susan interact.

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Yes, Lyta is a good character as well, but I think that having the Vorlons directly increase her powers was a lot less interesting a way to increase her powers. It would have been wonderful to see more of Susan and Talia's relationship and where it might have gone. I would also have liked to see Lyta and Talia interact, especially as they knew each other before and it would be very interesting to see how that relationship would have survived their changes. Plus it would be interesting to see how Marcus would have reacted to Susan if she was already involved with Talia. :)

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I always mourned the fact that they never brought back Ironheart. His incredible change - with his powers, he could have kicked major Shadow and Vorlon ass, IMO - his backstory with Talia, his knowledge about the PsiCorp's machinations... that all could have been crucial.

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I'd never thought of that, but it would have worked very well! Possibly leading to a more interesting (and believable) final confrontation with the Shadows and Vorlons! I can imaging that he would not have been pleased to learn that the Vorlons were doing all the same things as Psi Corps, only better. :D

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Yeah, the end where Sheridan simply told both Shadows and Vorlons to f*ck off our galaxy, and the most powerful beings of the known Universe meekly obeyed was a bit ridiculous...

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It gets silly as soon as they get Lorien appears - suddenly they can't solve their own problems and have to have someone more powerful to do it! :S

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And such dependent fools are supposed to be responsible for our galaxy? Oh, please!

Not to mention that Lorien was way too ridiculous to be taken seriously, even for a moment...

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Yes! Especially after they have spent three seasons building up the characters and how they matter and *can* make the right decisions

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It was such a leftdown. *nodnod*
I continued watching the series, cos I'm stubborn that way, but it was never the same for me again.

And I absolutely hated how everyone treated Lyta, after all that she'd risked to help them. Throwing her out of her quarters and stuff. No wonder she was desperate enough to join that completely insufferable Byron!

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Yes! It was totally unfair - after all they had already proven how useful she could be to them, and not just fighting the Shadows. If they had been kinder and more reasonable with her there would have been a lot fewer problems for them all!

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Oh yes, seeing how Marcus would have reacted to Susan if she'd been taken would have been very interesting! How he would have handled it hadn't even occured to me at all. I was very sad Talia and Susan didn't get much screen time. I mean, I liked it that they didn't make a big deal out of them both being women, but more screen time would have been nice.

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*grin* I started thinking about when I started writing in the fandom....

I was very sad Talia and Susan didn't get much screen time. I mean, I liked it that they didn't make a big deal out of them both being women, but more screen time would have been nice.
Yes, and it would have been interesting to see how they handled the issues of Talia being a telepath and Susan's issues with it as their relationship got more serious.

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*nods* I'd been really looking forward to seeing that conflict explored, but Talia left before we ever got a chance...

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I find Marcus a completely ridiculous character. The actor was bad, too, but the whole concept of a male virgin - kind of Galahad in the 23rd century - was never fully interated in his personality, as otherwise he was a self-important jerk. I'm a proud member of the Marcus/Neroon list, and in a lot of fanfic he's much better.

There is a particular story called "A Minbari Courtship" by Kelly Lynn, about the only one where Marcus' choice to remain untouched was explained convincingly. I highly recommand it. It's posted to the Delusions archive.

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I'll take a look at that fic!

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idk. I like his character with the quirky references to all sorts of things (plus any character singing Gilbert and Sullivan get a plus in my book) :)
and I like the fact the he is not defined by his virginity.
I fidn the end of s4 extremely sad - so hard to re-watch - yet so pointless, as if Dr Franklin had done what he had promise the woman he would have and researched the machine it could have been possible to use safely.

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I'm probably prejudiced because Marcus' juvenile behaviour reminds me too much of my students, and of that I get more than enough all day...

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Ooh, Talia! Very cool!

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:D

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Faramir, but I've never quite found a picture that looks exactly right. Anke Eissmann comes closest.

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Whoops! Used the wrong icon. Never mind, I get to make another comment...

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All for the noble goal, eh? *g*

It's interesting how I came to see Faramir the way Orlando Bloom looked in "Kingdom of Heaven". Okay, the dark eyes were a bit off for the character, but if you think about it, Faramir was in his late 30s during the War of the Ring...

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All for the noble goal, eh? *g*

It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it ;-)

I haven't seen "Kingdom of Heaven" (even though Dr Bashir is in it, I think, and I have a little crush on him). I found some pictures of OB online. I sort of see it, but he's a bit prettier than I imagine Faramir. And I just can't believe there's anything smart going on behind his eyes! :-D

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I found the movie amazing. Gemma (again) gifted the Director's Cut upon me a couple of years ago, and there's one of the deleted scenes, in which Balian gets to see his father's house for the first time, and the sequence how he's led inside through all those huge doors, opening into beautiful oriental rooms, is simply breath-taking. Will use something like that if I ever get to write the story of Andrahar's fatehr.

Orlando is actually very good in the movie. He's matured a great deal since cardboard!Legolas and I liked the way he played Balian. I don't find then that pretty, never did, so perhaps that's why I can imagine him as Faramir. And the character he plays is actually very smart.

Siddig's character is simply fantastic, too. I think you might actually like the film.

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Sid is great in everything, he's such a smashing actor. My number one choice for the Doctor. I'll keep an eye out on the film channels and see if I can catch it.

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Perhaps we should start a campaign with the slogan "Sid for Twelve!

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He's be scrumptious. They do seem to be casting slightly younger men these days though.

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Perhaps. He'd be still great.
What's this with this youth-craziness in TV anyway? You can't see a decent character beyond 20 anymore.

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It appears to be because according to the people making the programs young people won't watch tv unless they find the leads attractive and obviously old people can't be attractive! The whole thing is totally crazy, but appears to be why the doctor is getting younger and younger, as well as why all the companions are young (and at least one is female)
It seems to be part of the whole idea that all tv (films etc) has to appeal to teenagers and 20s people - so why everything has to have sex and violence and lack of intellectual depth. Except things that are put into different niches - but that mostly seems to be not-fiction stuff.
(sorry for ranting - tv annoys me so much)

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Oh, I completely agree with you. I like me some more mature characters, even in sci-fi. *points at icon*

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I do too - I get very tired of the fact that it appears that most people in tv shows are far too young for the qualifications and experience that they are supposed to have. Not that I mind occasional geniuses especially where it actually makes sense (eg Charlie Eppes in Numb3rs) and where they consider the impact that this will have had on the characters and those around them.

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"Stargate: Universe" comes to the mind...
Although in that one, the older charcters were every bit as stupid and amoral as the younger ones.

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I still haven't seen it - all that I've heard makes me very reluctant to spend any money to see if, but eventually I'll probably see it, and my expectations of it are very low.

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Save your money and wait until it comes to free TV. It's really not worth it.

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It does make for some pretty television, but I'd like some variety.

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Still, though, he's not David Wenham *grrrrs*

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David Wenham was an insult, both in his looks and his so-called acting. Plus, of course, I'd just seen an Aussie soft pr0n featuring him a week before I'd watch him in LOTR, and the only thing I could think whenever he appeared on screen was his naked arse. Which, IMO, looked a lot better than his face....

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Yuk! The only thing I'd seen him in was a great little Aussie series called Sea Change, in which he was terrific. But Faramir's part was appallingly written.

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I still say that Orlando would have made a good Faramir, if more properly written. As boring and colourless as he was as Legolas, he could have been a great Faramir. And grey contacts would have looked better on him than grey ones.

Not movie!Faramir, of course, that was a bad caricature. But a heroic and yet kind-hearted book!Faramir, yes. His role as Balian had certain similarities, IMO.

Edited Date: 2011-10-05 08:27 pm (UTC)

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... because we need a new thread to make it onto the next page eventually.

I've watched an episode on Hungarian TV yesterday. It must have been the third series, because it had Clive Standen as Archer. Which is a good thing, as he was the reason I wanted to watch it originally.

But Series 3 also had Guy de Gisborne's sister as the sheriff or whatnot. Really, guys, I know this series doesn't have all too much to do with the legends, but some basic knowledge about medieval times would have been necessary. Girl power is nice and good, but give her then the correct context.

Anyone fan of the series?

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I've never seen it, but heard about it from a friend. They have a hot villain, I think? One of my friends used a Robin Hood character as his RP char's avatar anyway and he was pretty hot!

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Hot villain? Do you mean Richard Armitage, who plays Guy de Gisborne? Yeah, he's pretty hot, in black leather and all. I can't wait to see him palying Thorin the Dwarf, though.

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Probably, I don't remember. He told me a lot about Robin Hood, but that was years ago and all I remember is the hot guy XD

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I'm not - I think I watched less than an episode when it was first on and gave up in disgust. Too much modern references and lack of any depth to it - as well as disregarding most of the legends.
It is a pity because it sounded like it could have been good, but I hated it.

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Yeah, that about sums it up. I never liked the Robin character, myself. Much and the Saracen girl were cute, though.

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I didn't stick with Robin Hood very long. I was a big fan of Robin of Sherwood, from the early 80s, and I kept comparing them.

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Was that the one with all kinds of ridiculous things, including dinosaurs? (if I'm not mistaken...)

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No, RoS was the one with Michael Praed. "Primeval" had dinosaurs.

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Yes, I know Primeval had dinosaurs. Loved that show to pieces... at least the first two seasons of it. But there used to be a Robin Hood series with what critics thought incompatible ingredients for a semi-historic show. I never saw it, but I vaguely remember that there were a lot of strange things, according to the episode guide.

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This is Robin of Sherwood. There was a 1950s B&W show, and there might have been miniseries that I don't recall. Robin of Sherwood was fabulous.

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If I've counted correctly, we'll need another four new threads to finally make it to Page 2. So, here is one of four: if you could wish for a TV-series, what would it be like? Since, you know, we are all a bit addicted to TV, even if we not always admit it. ;)

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hmmm.. apart from wanting things to be un-cancelled -

something with the organisation, scientific extrapolation and continuity of Babylon 5 with the smart dialogue, optimism about people of West Wing ... possibly set near future with first contact with aliens, with either friendly or neutral aliens with well developed society and motives.

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That would be wonderful!

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:D

Sadly, probably too intellectual and optimistic for tv - it seems to be going more and more towards bleak shows

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Yeah, it does seem that way. All the new sci-fi shows seem to be very similar as well. If there are aliens at all, it's all about infiltration and such. That's fun, too, but not if there's no variety.

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Yes. Defying Gravity looked interesting, but then it got cancelled, and doesn't even seem to be coming out on dvd in r2.

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What's that about? I've never heard of it before. There was this new sci-fi show that started here in Germany over the summer - another alien invasion in human bodies thing, by the sound of it, but it sounded alright - but I didn't get to watch it.

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Defying Gravity is set on a near future earth where earth is developing space flight to send a manned mission to the other planets in the solar system. Publically this is for the usual reasons - exploration and so forth, but really it is something to do with an alien something found on earth previously that is somehow communicating with them and influencing events. It ended after a season with a lot of questions up in the air and not much explained at all.
One of the reasons that I like it was that they were dealing with a very limited form of space flight and a large part of the show was about them training and selecting the crew to send.
(it was on 3 or 4 years ago iirc)

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That sounds very interesting! Especially the focus on the training and selection of the crew and such, I love myself a good backstory. It's a shame they cancelled the show with so much question remaining unanswered.

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Yes, backstory is wonderful - one of the things I love fic for is finding out how characters in canon ended up where they did and who they are.

It has a lot of timeline jumping back and forth, so was quite confusing on the first watch, but became clearer on rewatching. :)

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I enjoy that as well! It's one of my first aspects of Torchwood, actually, figuring out slowly during the course of season 1 how Jack became the person he is in current time, exploring more facets of his personality than what he shows the world. I couldn't stand him at all at first and only came to love him through the backstory.

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Very true. I didn't really like or dislike him at the start, but came to like him over the series - although also to wonder how he had got that far without gaining any common sense!

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*lol* I guess that's a luxury you can only afford when you're immortal!

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Very funny and true! :)

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Immortal hormones... the mind boggles from the mere idea of it...

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Oh man, there are so many shows I would love to see... But for years, I've been yearning for another new "hard" sci-fi show and while wishes are horses, I'll wish for an European one. You know, the old 90s stuff, space ships, outer space, aliens - but that isn't all soap opera like the horrible new Stargate I have tried to erase from my mental Stargate continuum. Or really not at all like Stargate, because as much as I love it, the "violence is always the right answer" attitude annoys me. I want exploration. I want politics. I want complicated world building. So actually, I want something very close to what

jenn_calaelen wants, something Babylon 5-ish. I don't even care if the special effects aren't all that good because European budgets are smaller, BBC has some pretty ridiculous monsters, but the different cultural spin was what I really enjoyed about the Firefly movie, so I would love to see more of that.

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Sounds good! I wonder why everything seems to have gone way from that sort of traditional sf (except for things in established franchises). I'd love it if there was a new bbc sf show, maybe they will do something now that they have got rid of Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures

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Yes, it's sad :S I enjoyed that kind of sci-fi. I guess making present-day all-human sci-fi is cheaper, but I liked those shows. I grew up on Star Trek, after all! XD

:O I didn't know that Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures have gotten cancelled. I'm so out of the loop, it's not even funny anymore!

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I guess making present-day all-human sci-fi is cheaper
Sadly this is probably the case, although you'd have thought that it wouldn't be so much of a problem with the fact that it can all be done on computer.

I didn't know that Torchwood and Sarah Jane Adventures have gotten cancelled. I'm so out of the loop, it's not even funny anymore!
Well, Torchwood as farmed out to one of the US people, but they have implied that they aren't going to be making more after this series; Sarah Jane Adventures I can't recall if there was a formal announcement but Elizabeth Sladen died.

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*nods* Yeah, I heard about Torchwood being farmed out, though I don't know how to feel about it. Well, sceptical, mostly, but we'll see... It's a party, I don't want to be negative XD

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I've seen the first couple of episodes of the new series - have the rest recorded but haven't got round to watching them... (although I should soon, or delete them - need to clear space on the pvr for other things)

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Oh, you have? What is your opinion on it? I'm not afraid of spoilers.

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In case other people would prefer no specific spoilers, Ill keep it general.

More Gwen and she is so dull and they keep saying how competent and wonderful and special she is but they don't show it. Jack seemed to have lost most of his characterisation and become a caricature. The new characters don't do much to make me be able to realise they were the same characters from scene to scene and they weren't very interesting. The main plot device seemed to be an excuse to see how gory they could be, and there seemed to be no depth to the story. It doesn't seem to work within the Doctor Who universe at all - although maybe they could have done something about that later on.

Basically if it was a random show that I'd tuned in to try I would not watch more of it... given that it is Torchwood I might try watching more.

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Looks like I haven't missed anything! Ah well, I didn't have any expectations, but it's still a bit disappointing to hear I was right :)

Given that it is Torchwood, I will watch it anyway when it's aired here. Except if I find it truly awful, in which case I might stop watching so I'll keep my good memories untarnished.

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Personally, I've decided that only s1 and 2 of Torchwood exist in the main Doctor Who universe and that the rest is some sort of alternate universe where the Doctor doesn't exist and everyone is stupid and/or evil. :)
Then it doesn't hurt my memories of the show. I really should rewatch the first two seasons - I haven't seen them since they first aired here - but recently got the dvds.

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I completely agree with you. I never re-watched CoE, and I would't watch Miracle Crap if they paid me for it, but I randomly watch S1 and S2 eps as I need to check facts for my stories, and I must say that I still enjoy them. Even if I have to fast-forward the scenes with Gwen when they're too boring.

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I liked Children of Earth well enough, though I'm kinda iffy on whether it's part of my headcanon of the Torchwood storyline or something I'm keeping separate in my mind. On principle, I like the kind of plot they used there, I just hated what it did to Jack's character.

Rewatching the early episodes knowing what one knows now about Jack's character would be an interesting experiment. I believe I rewatched some episodes during a rerun, but I'm not sure.

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Part of my problem was that it just doesn't fit in the same universe with Doctor Who and

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Part of my problem was that it just doesn't fit in the same universe with <em>Doctor Who</em> and <Sarah Jane Adventures</em> - it just seems impossible that it would happen on earth in the modern day and none of them notice it or refer to it at any point.
Also, I didn't particularly like the plot. I get tired of the whole all politicians are evil stories - far, far too overused. I'd rather see something more nuanced.

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I'm quite good at keeping several alternate canons separate in my head and just blending out whatever doesn't fit in with what you're currently watching. It's a necessary skill in some of my main fandoms! XD

As for nuances, sure, I love shades of grey. But I've resigned myself to only the very rare show giving me the shades of grey I need to be happy *sigh*

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*g* Continuity is one of the things that I look for in shows etc - I want things to make sense and for the show to pick up things from earlier and allow the characters to develop. Possibly this is one of the reasons that there are so few tv shows that I actually love.

As for nuances, sure, I love shades of grey. But I've resigned myself to only the very rare show giving me the shades of grey I need to be happy *sigh*
Totally agree!

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I like continuity, but I'm content with fandom doing the fleshing out of characters and world as long as the "bare bones" to work with are there. Some of my fandoms are of a very light-hearted nature in canon, so all the deeper stuff has to be interpreted into them anyway.

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Makes sense! :)

I'm not in fandom for a lot of the tv shows because I prefer to watch unspoiled and most things take a while to get here. Therefore I don't tend to end up following shows unless they give me enough of the things that I like in the show itself. :)

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Oh, where do you live that shows get to you late? They get late to Germany as well, with a few exceptions which the broadcasters expect to be big commercial successes.

I've gotten out of the habit of watching TV at all. For two years, I've been getting home late on weekdays and then I'm too tired to follow a show. Now, I only get home late on three days every week, but I'm not used to watching shows on TV anymore. It's a shame because I miss a lot of interesting new stuff that way, but there's nothing to be done about that for now.

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UK, but I don't have pay tv - a lot of the shows get shown quickly on the various pay channels but only slowly filter through to free to air (except anything that is partialy funded or makes special deals with the bbc).
I usually end up 1-2 years behind on US shows, but more than that on some eg the first season of Castle showed here and I believe the s4 is showing in the US.

I end up watching a lot of it, due to being underemployed (rather complicated situation) and disabled so not having the money or energy to be out of the house much (and my bf like having tv or similar on in the background)

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Oh, I didn't realise you have that problem in the UK, too. We're a bit farther behind, I think, due to dubbing, but two years seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb. The only exception I know is Vampire Diaries, that is/was only a few months behind the US since they wanted to cash in before the "we have vampires, just like Twilight!" slogan wouldn't work anymore and they would have to, you know, actually advertise the show they ARE broadcasting. But then, that broadcasting company has a track record of messing up the target audiences for ads/actual show.

Watching quality TV shows is certainly a good way to spend the extra time spent at home!

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A lot of the adds for tv shows seem to be trying to trick people into watching rather than accurately reflecting the shows. I suppose it must work or they wouldn't keep doing it.

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Yeah, apparently, it works. I really wish they would stop, though, since I sometimes intentionally avoid shows thinking it's going to be something I hate, only to find out much later the element I avoided it for isn't a big part of the show at all.

In the case of Vampire Diaries, I was so put off by the cheesiness of the love triangle ad campaign, I didn't give the show a chance at all. Although missing the first couple of episodes might have been lucky, since wiseheart did watch the pilot and stopped watching in the midst of it.

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That I did. Although the fact that I'm just fed up with smartass teenagers might have played a role, too.

I had tentative hopes for "True Blood" but barely managed to get through the pilot, either. They just don't make any good vampire series anymore.

I know many people love "Being Human". I gave it a try. Several times. Never could last till the end of the episode.*sighs* Where's "Kindred" if you need it?

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Wow so many vampire shows - I suppose that is partly why they are all so bad - it is clearly a trendy thing for them to make a show about and therefore they don't bother to look for good ideas, just add stuff that they think will make more people watch.

(I hadn't realised how many there were, because I don't generally like vampire things - too near to horror for my tastes)

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Yep, there's an awful lot of them, most of them just being... well, awful. I like vampire shows and always give every new one a try, but the only good ones I've seen so far were "Kindred: the Embraced" (my absolute favourite), "Forever Knight", "Blood Ties" and the Buffyverse.

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True Blood, is that the Sookie Stackhouse show? I heard from some that it's awfully cheesy, but other friends recommended it highly, so I'll give it a chance if I ever find the time. Or is that Blood Ties? They're all so similar, I can't keep them apart. I know I tried one of them and gave up on the pilot because it's too cliched for my liking.

I watched the Being Human pilot, not sure if I ever mentioned that on my blog. I enjoyed it a lot, though I shelved it for later. I was following too many shows at the time.

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True Blood, is that the Sookie Stackhouse show?
Yep. And it really was awfully cheesy. What's worse, it was awfully boring, too.

Blood Ties was actually quite good. It was the one with Henry Fitzroy (an actual historic person, illegitimate son of the notorius Henry VIII who, in truth, died shortly before being declared heir or somesuch) and the PI ex-cop lady with the night blindness. I liked that one; the vampire character was wonderfully ambigious, even though it was basically a supernatural cop show.

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Oh, it's Blood Ties then, I remember the aristocratic vampire. He's actually why I gave up on the show, I was very fed up at the time with drop-dead gorgeous vampires of noble heritage. I liked the demon they summoned in the pilot, though.

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I liked Henry a lot - he was such a refreshing change after wangsty "woe me I'm a vampire"-Mick from "Moonlight", and the female lead wasn't a Barbie. Even though there, too, was that slight Mary Sue effect of every man falling in love with her; she was cool and vulnerable and imperfect.

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That sounds interesting. Maybe I'll give it another chance the next time the vampire mood hits me!

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Yes. I usually find out about shows from other people before they air here (except bbc ones) and end up checking up about them online first to see if it sounds like something that I'd like to watch.

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Aside from the character butchery and the severe lack of Torchwood-ness, CoE also annoyed me with a stupid plot that had big enough holes to drive a track through it. So no, I don't think I'd have liked it, even if I hadn't expected it to be, you know, Torchwood - which it decidedly wasn't.

But again, evil government conspiracies bore me to death. It was an interesting idea in the first two hundred or so films and shows I saw it, but by now it lets me fall asleep.

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Oh, I'll never get tired of the world going to hell in a hand basket :P

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Conspiracies can be fun to me, but I prefer ones that at least seem to have some degree of sense to them (eg the cult of secrecy around the Stargate, then conspiracies to get control of it), not just conspiracies for the sake of evilness!

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I second that. Look how long Stargate lasted with that concept, despite the sometimes harebrained non-science, even spawned two sequels - well, one, as "Universe" has about as much to do with Stargate as Miracle Crap had with Torchwood.

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Sadly there'll be no more Sarah Jane Adventures once this current run of six has been shown. See here.

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Very sad. Although I really couldn't see how they could really make more without her.

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No, she was the heart and soul of the show. Awful loss.

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What I always wanted to see was a series about Charlemagne and his paladins. Or perhaps two: one made by the French, one made by the Germans. And then compare them.

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That could be amazing! (although it depends on them not screwing up too badly)
It is not a period of history that I know much about, but from what I do know it could be very interesting to watch a show about.

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Turns out there is a miniseries about him, but it seems to be in French only:
http://www.amazon.com/Charlemagne-2-DVD-French-only/dp/B003TNW01C
:( Unless they have subtitles, in which case I could probably follow it.

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Sadly it only seems to be on r1 dvd for some reason. I suppose it is not surprising that if there is one it would be in French - it would be fun to watch (although I'd need subtitles too)

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I'd love to watch it, too, even with subtitles, although they kill my eyes. It might inspire me to pick up French again, if it's good enough. After all, I only started learning English to watch Star Trek in original. *g*

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I wish there'd been another season of Rome.

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Was it that good?

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I loved it. Thought it was hilarious. Lots of blood and sex and OTT characters. Classicist friends watched in horror, however.

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Since I'm neither professionally nor emotionally devoted to the Roman era, I might enjoy it, too. I vaguely remember having seen it on DVD somewhere actually within my country. I might look it up... and the Tudors. Are the Tudors worth watching?

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I thought The Tudors was tedious and took itself far too seriously, but I know that other people enjoyed it. We're currently enjoying The Borgias, however. And I've heard people say great things about Spartacus, although I gather it's extremely violent. Rome has lots of sex and blood and violence and swearing, most of it gleefully gratuitous (!). I mention this just in case.

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It was quite fun - although I did sit there making rude remarks at all the bits that they screwed up of the history. ;)
Although there were rather a lot of gratuitous orgy scenes

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Which may be the reason why they hired Indira Varma for one of the parts, eh? *g*

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lindahoyland.livejournal.com

This is so much fun!We've the same problem with the retirement age here. It will only make unemployment worse!

Happy early birthday!Your cake sounds delicious.

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It will only make unemployment worse!

Yeah, unfortunately the only people who don't understand it are the Powers That Be - as usual.

And yes, the cake is absoultely delicious. Have some more. :)

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Regarding the unemployment age: maybe you can console yourself that 7 or 8 years will still leave it under the Dutch one, which has been 65 since the Second World War and will be raised to 67 in a couple of years.

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Yeah, but when you've worked since the age of 19 in the hope that you can stop at 55 (even if you might chose not to do so), it's a bit depressing...

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I know. It's a big jump. It would have been better if they'd introduced it in small steps during a couple of decades. I'm sorry for you!

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The main problem is that in my job, your nerves get frayed after a few decades. I still love working with kids, but it wears me out a lot more than, say, even ten years ago. Imagining having to do this for another seven or eight years could make me cry.

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Life isn't fair, but governments are far worse.

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lindahoyland.livejournal.com

Your cake is delicious! We have Powers that Be that are completely out of touch too!

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I've come to believe that you must be deeply stupid to reach a position where you can really harm people who're a lot smarter than you and labour for small wages so that you can get he big bucks, have a comfortable life and make their life miserable.

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Hello! Nice to see you at the party!

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vilakins.livejournal.com

Happy birthday, dear Wiseheart! In fact Boldog születésnapot!!

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Köszönöm! That was a really neat move from you! ;)

Ooops, wrong userpic!

Edited Date: 2011-10-03 07:12 am (UTC)

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vilakins.livejournal.com

:-D

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We need a Blake's 7 thread in this place. I think I'll start one next. Interested?

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vilakins.livejournal.com

In this post? OK, lead me to it!

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It's on Page 4. :)

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Drat! For some reason I missed this, but fortunately I´ve got several more days to participate. So here goes: Happy Birthday Week!

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Oh yes, and can I help myself to a piece of virtual cake? It looks delicious and it's safe to eat!

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Be my guest! Virtual cake is the best thing for the slender figure!

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Thank you! *munches away*.

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Hi there! Haven't seen you in ages! Since we're at the same comment party, isn't it exciting that

ithilwen will be in your country in spring 2012? I wish I could be there, too!

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Hi Tyellas, good to 'see' you again!

I didn't know Ithilwen would be coming to the Netherlands - I've been terribly out of touch of late. Must contact her to ask for the details.

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Check out her LJ for trip details! She and I had a lovely time in San Francisco back in March. It seems like it was just yesterday. How is life treating you?

(it's good manners to talk to your friends at a party! ;D)

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Thanks, I've contacted her.

Life is treating me fairly well these days. My daughters have both moved out to study, each at a different university, and they're doing very well so far. Theoretically, I've got more time for myself now. Let's say it's a beautiful theory... I wonder how the publishers offering me books to translate found out about it - they must have, as the deadlines get tighter and tighter. The upside is that it brings in a bit more money.

How are you doing?

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To my astonishment, I have a very nice elf-evoking boyfriend. He's tall, long haired, and a druid/gardener very into trees. Work is a bit dull, but that's OK with my heart aflutter!

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Wonderful, congratulations!

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She was here, in Hungary, last week! We had lots of fun!

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I want to have fun with Ithilwen, too, so I contacted her.

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