Stolen meme
Sep. 27th, 2005 09:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mirrorshardI picked this up on a flying visit to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
elettaria's journal, sparked by her comments on the Metaquotes thread in the preceding entry, and couldn't resist.
If you're going to follow this one (and please do!), make your own list of twelve characters before you look behind the LJ-cut. I promise you, it will be much more entertaining that way.
i) The Duke of Coffin Castle, from James Thurber's The 13 Clocks.
ii) Monkey! Which is to say, The Great Sage Equal of Heaven, featured most charmingly in the Journey to the West.
iii) Gabriel Syme, from G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday.
iv) Prospero, from Wm. Shakespeare's The Tempest.
v) Sir Isaac Newton, as featured in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.
vi) Wesley from The Princess Bride.
vii) Anne Elliot, from Jane Austen's Persuasion.
viii) His Grace Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh (Terry Pratchett, passim.)
ix) Hob Gadling, from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.
x) Lady Teldra, from Steven Brust's Taltos books.
xi) Gloriana, from Michael Moorcock's eponymous book.
xii) Madame Cholet, fom Elisabeth Beresford's Wombles of Wimbledon.
Which would make a better college professor, 6 or 11? What subjects would they teach?
Wesley would leap at the chance, since he loves to show off, but I think he'd also try to take on too many subjects and expect his students to motivate and encourage themselves. Gloriana would be a Politics lecturer, I suspect, the type whom the less-than-bright students don't even go near, but who brings out the best in all of the others.
Do you think 4 is hot? How hot?
I've never really thought of Prospero in that way. I imagine him being immensely attractive, in the touch-me-not distinguished elderly kind of way.
12 sends 8 on a mission. What is it, and does it succeed?
Knowing Madame Cholet, it would have to be something to do with food - unless, of course, it's "Get out of my kitchen! Go on, get out!". I think it would have to be getting Vimes to eat healthily, and I don't think it would get very far - unless of course she made a lot of packed lunches.
What is or would be 9's favorite book?
I don't think Hob is all that much of a fiction reader, but I can see him loving getting exasperated by G.M. Trevelyan.
Would it make more sense for 2 to swear fealty to 6, or the other way around?
Monkey and Wesley? We're all doomed. Wesley would be in charge, definitely, though Monkey would do anything to avoid swearing.
For some reason, 5 is looking for a roommate. Should 5 share a studio apartment with 9 or with 10?
Isaac can get along with anyone, so long as they stay away from the experiments, or (preferably) do what they're told and don't ask inconvenient questions. Teldra would make sure he ate and keep him from upsetting anyone else too badly, though.
7, 2 and 12 have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss?
I can see a lot of discussion about this one! Anne will want something good and unpretentious, while Madame Cholet will want to go to a good French restaurant (though it'll be odd for her not to be the chef herself), while Monkey will want nothing but the best, all of the best, in vast quantities, and Anne will have to talk him out of threatening to destroy the entire restaurant unless he gets his order NOW. They'll probably end up at an all-you-can-eat Chinese place, while the staff run frantically between the buffet and the kitchen and delivery trucks draw up outside, and they'll discuss good food and French poetry, and the two ladies will make polite noises of agreement when Monkey brags and recites his own poetry.
3 challenges 10 to a duel. What happens?
I can see Gabriel Syme challenging almost anyone else, but a lady, and one so exquisitely polite? They would adore each other, and settle for first touch with the fencing foils, remove their masks, and sit down to wine in Morrolan's library.
If 1 stole 8's most precious possession, how would 8 get it back?
Sam Vimes wouldn't play any of the Duke's games for long, but there's not much else he could do right then. Force is sadly out - since clearly, it'd be Young Sam that was the most precious possession in question, especially given the Duke's proclivities - but I strongly suspect that Vimes's friends would be investigating less official approaches.
Suggest a title for a story in which 7 and 12 both attain what they most desire.
Anne and the good Madame Cholet are both after belonging and recognition, really - to be valued for what they consider important. I'll leave this one for a moment and come back to it.
What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4 and 1 to work together?
Prospero and the Duke? Hm. They're neither of them really the type to work -with- anyone. But, given their respective genres, and indeed their personal history, a witch's spell is entirely appropriate.
If 7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
I imagine we'd be quite reserved with each other at first, but I have more than enough poetry books to keep Miss Anne occupied for the weekend, and am quite happy to read aloud.
If you could command 3 to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be?
As a poet, I doubt Gabriel Syme takes well to commands - though also as a poet, I am sure that he would delight in the most paradoxical and unexpected interpretation of any command given. But I cannot think of anything I'd have him do, beyond "Don't ever stop!"
Does anyone on your friends list write or draw 11?
While Gloriana is a popular subject, I'm not aware of any prior art in that department. (If any of you do, please do say so, and show me if possible!)
If 2 had to choose sides between 4 and 5, which would it be?
Oh, that's a hard one. Monkey is of course the Great Sage, incredibly learned, but so are both Sir Isaac - a veritable sorcerer of a man - and Prospero - a sorcerer and a gentleman. I suspect that if they were to get into a dispute, as sorcerers so often do, Monkey would attempt to mediate, and then go off to sulk when his efforts failed. And although I doubt either would ever forgive having someone take sides against them, Monkey wouldn't understand that at all.
What might 10 shout while charging into battle?
"Excuse me, please."
If you chose a song to represent 8, which song would you choose?
"These Boots Were Made For Walking".
1, 6 and 12 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?
Madame Cholet would never dream of taking the last piece. So very rude. The Duke would go for it even though he didn't really want it, just to be evil. Wesley would let the Duke take it, so he can make an edged comment.
What might be a good pick-up line for 2 to use on 10?
I can't see anything Monkey used ever working on Lady Teldra - though he'd doubtless try them all, given time!
What would 5 most likely be arrested for?
It's a tossup between Heresy, Homosexuality, and Endangering the Currency. I think, on the whole, Heresy is the big one.
What is 6's secret?
You only have to take off the mask to see! Though I do wonder how he really feels about Buttercup, after so long, and what happens now he's won the prize.
If 11 and 9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
Hob isn't the hurrying type, but he's at least as stubborn as Gloriana. She'd order him out of the way, he'd ignore her and win, and then turn around and present her with the prize anyway.
3 and 7 tell conflicting versions of events. Which is more reliable?
I can't see either of them telling less than the complete truth as they see it - at least, assuming that Anne wasn't required to keep any of it in confidence - but given that their viewpoints differ so widely, that doesn't mean their accounts will be anywhere near the same.
"1 and 9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's sinister secret organization. 11 volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that 11 is actually a spy for 4. Meanwhile, 4 has kidnapped 12 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5, they seek out 3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest." What title would you give this fic? Name three people on your friends list who might read it. Name one person who should write it.
"Sex, Lies, and Fairytale: Action, adventure, and alchemy in the court of Gloriana." Prospero, clearly, is conspiring to take Gloriana's court out of the world of fairy-tale into an early Enlightenment, and Sir Isaac is of course his greatest foe in that - no doubt aided by their professional dispute above. However, he isn't going to stir himself to do anything, so he sends them Syme, the poet of law, order, and the romance of civilization. I have absolutely no idea at all where the Womble came from in this.
I'd tapowlfish, claudacity, and raggedrags to read it. I'm not sure who, if anyone, could write it, but I think that out of the native authors a collaboration between Michael Moorcock and Neil Gaiman would do the best job.
elettaria's journal, sparked by her comments on the Metaquotes thread in the preceding entry, and couldn't resist.If you're going to follow this one (and please do!), make your own list of twelve characters before you look behind the LJ-cut. I promise you, it will be much more entertaining that way.
i) The Duke of Coffin Castle, from James Thurber's The 13 Clocks.
ii) Monkey! Which is to say, The Great Sage Equal of Heaven, featured most charmingly in the Journey to the West.
iii) Gabriel Syme, from G.K. Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday.
iv) Prospero, from Wm. Shakespeare's The Tempest.
v) Sir Isaac Newton, as featured in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle.
vi) Wesley from The Princess Bride.
vii) Anne Elliot, from Jane Austen's Persuasion.
viii) His Grace Commander Sir Samuel Vimes, Duke of Ankh (Terry Pratchett, passim.)
ix) Hob Gadling, from Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.
x) Lady Teldra, from Steven Brust's Taltos books.
xi) Gloriana, from Michael Moorcock's eponymous book.
xii) Madame Cholet, fom Elisabeth Beresford's Wombles of Wimbledon.
Which would make a better college professor, 6 or 11? What subjects would they teach?
Wesley would leap at the chance, since he loves to show off, but I think he'd also try to take on too many subjects and expect his students to motivate and encourage themselves. Gloriana would be a Politics lecturer, I suspect, the type whom the less-than-bright students don't even go near, but who brings out the best in all of the others.
Do you think 4 is hot? How hot?
I've never really thought of Prospero in that way. I imagine him being immensely attractive, in the touch-me-not distinguished elderly kind of way.
12 sends 8 on a mission. What is it, and does it succeed?
Knowing Madame Cholet, it would have to be something to do with food - unless, of course, it's "Get out of my kitchen! Go on, get out!". I think it would have to be getting Vimes to eat healthily, and I don't think it would get very far - unless of course she made a lot of packed lunches.
What is or would be 9's favorite book?
I don't think Hob is all that much of a fiction reader, but I can see him loving getting exasperated by G.M. Trevelyan.
Would it make more sense for 2 to swear fealty to 6, or the other way around?
Monkey and Wesley? We're all doomed. Wesley would be in charge, definitely, though Monkey would do anything to avoid swearing.
For some reason, 5 is looking for a roommate. Should 5 share a studio apartment with 9 or with 10?
Isaac can get along with anyone, so long as they stay away from the experiments, or (preferably) do what they're told and don't ask inconvenient questions. Teldra would make sure he ate and keep him from upsetting anyone else too badly, though.
7, 2 and 12 have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss?
I can see a lot of discussion about this one! Anne will want something good and unpretentious, while Madame Cholet will want to go to a good French restaurant (though it'll be odd for her not to be the chef herself), while Monkey will want nothing but the best, all of the best, in vast quantities, and Anne will have to talk him out of threatening to destroy the entire restaurant unless he gets his order NOW. They'll probably end up at an all-you-can-eat Chinese place, while the staff run frantically between the buffet and the kitchen and delivery trucks draw up outside, and they'll discuss good food and French poetry, and the two ladies will make polite noises of agreement when Monkey brags and recites his own poetry.
3 challenges 10 to a duel. What happens?
I can see Gabriel Syme challenging almost anyone else, but a lady, and one so exquisitely polite? They would adore each other, and settle for first touch with the fencing foils, remove their masks, and sit down to wine in Morrolan's library.
If 1 stole 8's most precious possession, how would 8 get it back?
Sam Vimes wouldn't play any of the Duke's games for long, but there's not much else he could do right then. Force is sadly out - since clearly, it'd be Young Sam that was the most precious possession in question, especially given the Duke's proclivities - but I strongly suspect that Vimes's friends would be investigating less official approaches.
Suggest a title for a story in which 7 and 12 both attain what they most desire.
Anne and the good Madame Cholet are both after belonging and recognition, really - to be valued for what they consider important. I'll leave this one for a moment and come back to it.
What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4 and 1 to work together?
Prospero and the Duke? Hm. They're neither of them really the type to work -with- anyone. But, given their respective genres, and indeed their personal history, a witch's spell is entirely appropriate.
If 7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
I imagine we'd be quite reserved with each other at first, but I have more than enough poetry books to keep Miss Anne occupied for the weekend, and am quite happy to read aloud.
If you could command 3 to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be?
As a poet, I doubt Gabriel Syme takes well to commands - though also as a poet, I am sure that he would delight in the most paradoxical and unexpected interpretation of any command given. But I cannot think of anything I'd have him do, beyond "Don't ever stop!"
Does anyone on your friends list write or draw 11?
While Gloriana is a popular subject, I'm not aware of any prior art in that department. (If any of you do, please do say so, and show me if possible!)
If 2 had to choose sides between 4 and 5, which would it be?
Oh, that's a hard one. Monkey is of course the Great Sage, incredibly learned, but so are both Sir Isaac - a veritable sorcerer of a man - and Prospero - a sorcerer and a gentleman. I suspect that if they were to get into a dispute, as sorcerers so often do, Monkey would attempt to mediate, and then go off to sulk when his efforts failed. And although I doubt either would ever forgive having someone take sides against them, Monkey wouldn't understand that at all.
What might 10 shout while charging into battle?
"Excuse me, please."
If you chose a song to represent 8, which song would you choose?
"These Boots Were Made For Walking".
1, 6 and 12 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?
Madame Cholet would never dream of taking the last piece. So very rude. The Duke would go for it even though he didn't really want it, just to be evil. Wesley would let the Duke take it, so he can make an edged comment.
What might be a good pick-up line for 2 to use on 10?
I can't see anything Monkey used ever working on Lady Teldra - though he'd doubtless try them all, given time!
What would 5 most likely be arrested for?
It's a tossup between Heresy, Homosexuality, and Endangering the Currency. I think, on the whole, Heresy is the big one.
What is 6's secret?
You only have to take off the mask to see! Though I do wonder how he really feels about Buttercup, after so long, and what happens now he's won the prize.
If 11 and 9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
Hob isn't the hurrying type, but he's at least as stubborn as Gloriana. She'd order him out of the way, he'd ignore her and win, and then turn around and present her with the prize anyway.
3 and 7 tell conflicting versions of events. Which is more reliable?
I can't see either of them telling less than the complete truth as they see it - at least, assuming that Anne wasn't required to keep any of it in confidence - but given that their viewpoints differ so widely, that doesn't mean their accounts will be anywhere near the same.
"1 and 9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's sinister secret organization. 11 volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that 11 is actually a spy for 4. Meanwhile, 4 has kidnapped 12 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5, they seek out 3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest." What title would you give this fic? Name three people on your friends list who might read it. Name one person who should write it.
"Sex, Lies, and Fairytale: Action, adventure, and alchemy in the court of Gloriana." Prospero, clearly, is conspiring to take Gloriana's court out of the world of fairy-tale into an early Enlightenment, and Sir Isaac is of course his greatest foe in that - no doubt aided by their professional dispute above. However, he isn't going to stir himself to do anything, so he sends them Syme, the poet of law, order, and the romance of civilization. I have absolutely no idea at all where the Womble came from in this.
I'd tap
owlfish, claudacity, and raggedrags to read it. I'm not sure who, if anyone, could write it, but I think that out of the native authors a collaboration between Michael Moorcock and Neil Gaiman would do the best job.
