Party time again!

[wiseheart]

Hi folks! *waves*

Time is flying by, isn't it? It's that time of a year again - I'm getting older. In this case, I'm turning 55 on October 9, which used to be an important thing, back under the old regime. Women could retire at the age of 55 back then. So I've decided to ignore all that fantastic headway we've supposedly made towards democracy in the last two decades and enter my virtual retirement, blithley overlooking the fact that I'll have to work another 7 or 8 or only God knows how many years.

So, let's party! Last years virtual birthday party yielded 742 comments on 6 pages, which won't be easy to top, but we're good, aren't we? WE CAN DO IT! So, let's give it a try! In the recent years, it has always been great fun, so let's have fun again!

You're all cordially invited to help yourself to a slice of virtual Dobos Cake recipe - it's my absolute favourite, although I never managed to get it as good as my Garnny used to.

Cheers!

Note: The party will be closed on October 9, at midnight, sharp. Join us and have fun!

Comments

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Happy early birthday!

That cake looks delicious! :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

[aviv-b.livejournal.com]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

[artemis10002000]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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*

[solanpolarn.livejournal.com]

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>

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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. :)

The Hobbit film

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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? :)

Re: The Hobbit film

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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*

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

Yay! \o/

[jilba.livejournal.com]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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?

[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 :)

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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?

[cirdan-havens.livejournal.com]

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?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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*

A birthday gift, in Hobbit-fashion

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: A birthday gift, in Hobbit-fashion

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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.

Birthday Present the Second

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: Birthday Present the Second

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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)

Birthday Present the Third

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: Birthday Present the Third

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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 ;) )

[altariel.livejournal.com]

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?

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

[jsks.livejournal.com]

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

Thanks, and your gift snippet...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

Birthday Gift the Fifth!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

Re: Birthday Gift the Fifth!

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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.

[illereyn.livejournal.com]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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

[mraltariel.livejournal.com]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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

[artemis10002000]

*gets out the champagne* Who wants a glass?

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes please!

[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.~

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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

Pretty pictures meme ^___^

[artemis10002000]

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

Re: Pretty pictures meme ^___^

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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.

BBC's Robin Hood

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

... 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?

Re: BBC's Robin Hood

[artemis10002000]

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!

Hmmm, new thread...

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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. ;)

Re: Hmmm, new thread...

[jenn-calaelen.livejournal.com]

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.

[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.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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. :)

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

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

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

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

Ooops, wrong userpic!

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

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

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

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