remindmeofthe: (this could be a little more sonic - cred)
Cathryn (formerly catslash) ([personal profile] remindmeofthe) wrote2008-04-12 11:16 pm
Entry tags:

(no subject)

AUGH I have a stomachache and I think eating a bagel that had sat in the fridge for a month for breakfast was a REALLY BAD IDEA but I still have Who thoughts. AND OMG YOU GUYS I ALSO HAVE THIS. A SONIC SCREWDRIVER FLASHLIGHT TORCH. I can totally justify the purchase, too, because I do need a small flashlight I can easily carry around for when I get home at night and there are no lights on. Sadly, it does not make noises, but it looks wicked cool and the little blue LED light is bright enough to be useful.

There is, however, no excuse for the excellent black coffee mug with the silver TARDIS on. I needed another coffee mug like I need a hole in the head. However, I feel that the five-dollar pair of jeans I found makes up for it.

Incidentally, if you want a sonic screwdriver torch and you are near a Newbury Comics, go there to get it because it's a buck and a half cheaper and you'll (obviously) save on shipping. And don't shine it into your eyes. I can barely see the keyboard. I am so unaccustomed to having my geek needs catered to that I was prowling the store looking for the flashlight to be hidden in amongst random other toys, because Newbury Comics does lots of random toys. So I'm inching my way down the only aisle I hadn't checked yet, scrutinizing the wall and noting that all the toys are conveniently grouped by fandom because Newbury understands these things, and I get to the end, turn my head, and find that half the wall there is covered in Doctor Who merchandise. The packaging all involved a lot of orange, too, so it's not like it was subtle. If I hadn't been looking so carefully I would have found it a lot faster, and how often can you say that?

Anyway. I said Who thoughts, right?



I liked this one much better than last week. Less silliness and more seriousness, giving us a more balanced episode (mostly), and I think Donna and I are going to get along okay.

I remember way back when I first saw "The Runaway Bride" and was all set to just hate on Donna unreservedly, she said something that kind of derailed the hate train. She made the Doctor promise that he wouldn't be alone. That got me hard because it was the one thing I had wanted Rose to say to him in "Doomsday" and she never did. I was reminded of that a little, though sort of in reverse, when the Doctor emphasized that he wanted to go back and save Gallifrey, but he couldn't. It struck me as a singularly Donna moment because it's the deepest we've seen the Doctor get into and acknowledge his grief and guilt, at least verbally - he never got anywhere near there with Rose or Martha. Donna's being in a different place in her life than either of them gives her a different perspective on the Doctor, which allows them to connect on an entirely new level. I think she already sees him more clearly than Rose or Martha ever really did, and he's responding to that. It's looking like Donna is going to be very good for the Doctor. She doesn't get stars in her eyes quite so easily.

A few random bullet thoughts:

* The second consecutive mention of the Shadow Proclamation. It's come up before, but this series is the first time there's been any real context for it. I find this worth noting. No mention of bees, though.

* So, wait. If you speak Latin in ancient Rome with the TARDIS translating for you, it comes out as - Welsh? I sincerely love how that makes no sense. A funny little bit of throwaway absurdity.

* The Doctor didn't set his watch for volcano day! I kept hoping Jack would show up, even though it wouldn't have meshed with the plot even the tiniest bit and also if he does make an appearance this series it's unlikely to be in the first half of it. It would have been great! Pre-Doctor Jack, SO pre-Doctor that when the Doctor says, "Jack?" he looks around and goes, "Who?" And see, he's still there because whatever fuckery the Whatsits are pulling in the mountain is playing havoc with his wristband, so he can't get out! So the Doctor grabs him and hauls him into the TARDIS and goes, "You can't die yet. You've got too much to do. Also, you're going to want to forget this ever happened. Trust me. Where shall I drop you off?"

I could only dwell on the angst for so long before I had to invent a bit of fluff while I watched everyone run around everywhere.

* Oh, Doctor. Your life sucks. You just get to kill EVERYONE.

* Also, nice intro to travelling in the TARDIS for poor Donna. I'm going to assume that wherever the Doctor took her next was someplace quiet and serene with absolutely NO mass deaths scheduled for at least the next millennium.

* I really liked the discussion of the nature of time and how events look to a Time Lord. This is an issue I've pondered a bit myself - it only seems logical that there is a very good reason indeed why Time Lords don't abuse their powers. (You know, as a general rule. You can tell they don't because the universe hasn't exploded into infinite paradoxes.) This lines up nicely with my reasoning - it's not that they don't, and it's not that they are physically unable. It's that they can't. It's that fucking with how time is supposed to go is repugnant to a Time Lord in a way that goes to the very deepest and most primeval levels. It ties in to how the Doctor reacted to Jack, and reinforces how very insane the Master must have been, to be able to ignore this in order to do what he did. It makes a lot of sense and Tennant really sold it in terms of showing how profound a burden it can be, especially now that the Doctor has to carry it alone.

* Oh my. I've just had a thought involving volcanoes and computers and The Sarah Jane Adventures that I should really post separately if I want to get into it. But I don't want to, so I'll just say: volcanoes and computers. Another potential running theme, if mentions on two different shows count. It hasn't exactly cropped up before, unless you count the "Torchwood" foreshadowing in series two, but that doesn't necessarily mean it can't. It's probably a bit of a reach, but what the hell.

* I am tired. No more thoughts. Looking forward to next week even though I've already completely blanked on the previews. I always do.

Oh, and by the way, the comments now contain spoilers for the Torchwood finale and implied casting spoilers for series four.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-13 10:08 am (UTC)(link)
I'm also very disappointed - when the name of the episode came out I was expecting it to have more relevance to that speech in S1 than it did. Poor show, writers, missed chance.

Donna kicks butt. I realise I may just be suffering from my anti-Rose syndrome somewhat but I'm enjoying each successive companion post-Rose more and more. She can definitely stay, having done exactly what I was hoping someone would do, and kicked him out of his Godlike Comfort Zone a few times. And I love her reaction to being tied up, especially. Not "The Doctor Will Save Me" but "I'm GUNNA F**KIN' 'AVE YOU!". :D I like her. She's got gumption.

Disappearing planets, the Shadow Proclamation, and Hard Choices being the theme of the series, I'm kind of horrified that the End Of Level hard choice is probably going to be something like "which companion do you save? Return Of The Rose!" and if it is I will throw RTD down a flight of stairs.

Agreed on the way the Doctor sees the universe - that makes sense. It also sounds like a description of a particular magical/drugs experience Alan Moore described once, the ability to look at an object or a person or a civilisation and see it simultaneously at all stages of its existence. YES. That's what being a Time Lord should mean.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-13 03:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Not "The Doctor Will Save Me" but "I'm GUNNA F**KIN' 'AVE YOU!".

Yes! Now that you point that out, it was awesome. "FUCK YOU! I WILL CUT YOU!" I love that she's forcing the Doctor to see her and treat her as an equal, right from the start. She's not a kid like Rose, or a very young adult still finding herself like Martha - she's an adult woman and demands to be treated as such. And the Doctor needs someone who will get up in his face when necessary. Donna will not accept being dismissed out of hand; if the Doctor's going to shoot her down, he's going to have to explain why.

Heh, the more I think and talk about it, the more I like her.

"which companion do you save? Return Of The Rose!" and if it is I will throw RTD down a flight of stairs.

I will help. That makes so much sense it's depressing. But, given all the casting rumors/spoilers, I'm just going to hold out hope for a former companions extravaganza episode. The combined awesome might blow out my computer screen, but that is a risk I am willing to take.

Edited because disappearing THINGS. The Adipose planet and the Whatsits' planet (seriously, too lazy to look it up). Bees. Rose, even, if she can be counted amongst these things rather than being all ghostly on her own. Not just planets, living beings too. Where are they going? Are they going anywhere? Does this have anything to do with the minor detail of Torchwood spending an entire episode on people being sucked out through the Rift? Because that would be the second event that is reminiscent of events in one of the spinoffs. This is the first season of Doctor Who that I've started from the beginning with everyone else, and I think I'm going to have way too much fun with this, even though I kind of suck at this sort of thing.
Edited 2008-04-13 17:32 (UTC)

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-14 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
I love that she's forcing the Doctor to see her and treat her as an equal, right from the start.

Yes - and I also like that the first time he asked her to travel, she said no. I like that he's pursued her, and I like that she's a grown-up who really isn't going to take bullshit from him ("Donna. Human. No." / "I don't know who you normally hang around with but you don't just tell me to shut up.").

But, given all the casting rumors/spoilers, I'm just going to hold out hope for a former companions extravaganza episode.

JACK JACK JACK JACK. *cough* I haven't ... checked the casting spoilers. I'm trying to avoid them.

Edited because disappearing THINGS.

Someone else on my flist mentioned this. That's surely going to be another theme. I do wonder if that's kind of bound up with Rose - if things are disappearing into the reality she's trapped in (it'd be nice if that was happening because she was trying to get back to this universe, because then I can indulge my dislike of Ms. Piper to the full)?

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 12:56 am (UTC)(link)
JACK JACK JACK JACK. *cough* I haven't ... checked the casting spoilers. I'm trying to avoid them.

XD I don't really count casting as spoilery, especially since it's the most likely to be covered by publications that don't grasp the concept of "spoiler" and getting neurotic about it is a fruitless endeavor, but I shall avoid saying any more here. Except that I am REALLY EXCITED.

(it'd be nice if that was happening because she was trying to get back to this universe, because then I can indulge my dislike of Ms. Piper to the full)

I would be surprised if it weren't all tied together somehow - maybe shit's going down in her universe too, and the alt!Torchwood has traced it to a connection with the Whoniverse, and Rose is trying to bridge the gap to connect with the Doctor and try to sort it out. I like your theory too, though. *g*

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 06:05 am (UTC)(link)
I think the fact that I've gone from being unbothered by spoilers to being phobic even of casting news is indicative of how invested I've become in the blasted Whoniverse. I swear I wasn't intending to get wrapped up in a fandom with so much continuity and history of wank ...

and the alt!Torchwood

WHERE TOSH IS STILL ALIVE. Ahem.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 06:12 am (UTC)(link)
WELL OBVIOUSLY THEY ALL ARE because Jack wasn't around to kill them with his crazy brother or hire them in the first place but whatever.
Edited 2008-04-15 06:12 (UTC)

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 06:31 am (UTC)(link)
Wait, there's no Jack in the alternate universe?

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 02:31 pm (UTC)(link)
Can't see how there could be. Rose wasn't around to do her heart-of-the-TARDIS thing. So, he probably like, exists, but he's not immortal and likely stayed dead on Satellite Five, if he even got as far as travelling with the Doctor at all without Rose there. Which I'm going to assume he did because the Doctor still had to be there to clean up his nanogene mess and oh my head.

There more I think about this alternate Roseless universe, the more it becomes like Torchwood: just don't think about it too hard.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 04:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Maybe there was no nanogene mess in the alternate universe? Maybe in the alternate universe Jack's still working for the Time Agency and therefore didn't steal the Chula ambulance? Maybe he's still stuck in a timeloop with alterna-John?

There more I think about this alternate Roseless universe, the more it becomes like Torchwood: just don't think about it too hard.

I know ... I think I just gave myself a nosebleed.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 04:21 pm (UTC)(link)
Who knows? It's clear from all the nonsense with the earpods that Rose Tyler not being born isn't the only thing that's different in that universe. With all the things different on twenty-first century Earth, it would be silly to think that things aren't different everywhere else, too. Hell, for all we know, events somehow came together so that Jack DOES run Torchwood Three, and even goes by Jack Harkness. I'm going to stop thinking about this now.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 04:31 pm (UTC)(link)
No don't! Because what if it was JOHN running Torchwood Three in the alternate universe? How cool would that be?

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 04:39 pm (UTC)(link)
That would be fantastic! And he would long since have seduced both Ianto and Owen, simultaneously. And Jack would be the crazy ex-boyfriend who shows up and tries to kill them all!

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 05:02 pm (UTC)(link)
And because John's not actually immortal it would be genuinely scary, but he'd also still be more into Jack than our-universe-Jack is into John. Oooh. NO NO PLOTBUNNIES.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes. And Jack would be dark and menacing and it would be obvious why John still has the hots for him and is honestly tempted to follow him through the Rift. Even though he knows better. And he has to literally put his hands on Ianto and Owen to remind himself why he's got such a good situation going here.

*feeds the plot bunny* It's nice to see someone else dealing with one for a change. I've been attacked by like three over the last week. It's your turn.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
And Ianto and Owen are kind of maybe tempted too. And Jack blatantly throws himself at them at some point and they really can't resist ... and oooh the idea of Owen and Ianto being someone's harem of snark really really is fantastic.

NO. Jesus! I have the Bad Timing sequel, the Scary AU and ... like, an actualy commission to write. *wrings hands*

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 05:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes! He gets each of them alone at some point and the "don't let him kiss you" rule goes right out the window. But he foregoes the paralyzing lip gloss because that makes it less fun.

Pfft, I've got like seven things going. Amateur. ;)

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 05:33 pm (UTC)(link)
Hahahhaha. That is so very JACK. Which is what makes him less dangerous than Our Universe John, I suppose.

Oh bitch, don't make me bust out the WIP list. It is long and scary and peppered with novels. :(

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
It makes him differently dangerous. He ultimately has more fun with the sex than the killing (he probably does not require murder rehab), but he'll still do the killing. Though a person can probably save his or her life by being a good lay.

OH AND ANOTHER THING there is no Gwen. There is a Suzie. This is because John was bright enough to spot the glove becoming a problem and destroy it before it could really start fucking with Suzie's head. I would not be averse to a running gag where they end up having to re-Retcon Gwen every couple of weeks, though.

Ah. I don't really do novels. I'm just now experimenting with writing stuff that sustains itself beyond three thousand words. Novels are a long way off. *g*

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 09:28 pm (UTC)(link)
Really, you generate far too many good ideas to be allowed to foist them off onto me, the person who cannot do justice to anything. :P This is genius stuff!

I've completed NaNo three years on the trot. :( This year was slightly painful thanks to the SUICIDALLY STUPID imperative to write a double-NaNo while working full-time in a job that consists solely of typing. That is why my elbow grates.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 09:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Why, thank you! I am full of something ideas, which is probably why my fic output tends to be so low. I keep getting distracted. All it takes is, "The writers could have handled [for example] Gray's storyline a little less excruciatingly boringly," and off I go. This is the big fat upside of ADD. My point being, I am happy to foist, because that improves the odds of an idea not dying inside my head. And also, Suzie and John would have a way more interesting dynamic than Gwen and John. And Suzie and Tosh could pair off, which would spare Tosh mooning fruitlessly over Owen and give her a much-needed confidence boost, and would give us a totally badass Tosh.

Every year I'm like, "I should do NaNo!" And every year I - don't. Maybe next year.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
And that leaves us the Ianto/Owen/John harem collective. You really are a genius. And ... it sounds like a pretty neat upside. What you need is a small cabal of tunnel-visioned, easily-influenced writers you can farm ideas out to!

It's worth trying at least once. I learnt wonderful things about the ability to concentrate, self-discipline, and writing through block. Mostly what I learnt was that contrary to my beliefs, I was actually capable of all that. It's amazing what you can achieve when you push yourself, and I say this as a lazy, LAZY bitch.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-15 10:00 pm (UTC)(link)
A well-laid Torchwood is a happy Torchwood is a productive Torchwood! Is probably a competent Torchwood. I bet they, like, get shit done and don't get quite so many people killed.

it sounds like a pretty neat upside.

It really is. It's to do with the fact that people with ADD don't think linearly, so we make totally random connections that normal brains don't necessarily come up with. This is awesome for me in English classes, and really bad news in math and science. *g* Once in high school science, we were assigned to create an experiment to find some result or another. When I showed the teacher what I had come up with, I think it broke him. Looking back, it's very clear he was trying really hard not to say, "What the shit is this?" out loud.

Some people with ADD actually choose to go off their medication because they don't like how it stifles their creativity. (I went off it because my insurance ran out and I don't know how much difference it was making anyway, but whatever.) Plus, when people are encouraging me I pretty much don't shut up.

Writing things I am teaching myself now is pushing through a plot, because it is high fucking time I figured out how to do that, and the all-important fact that getting things down in the first draft is the priority. Getting them Just Right can be saved for later. And sometimes you gotta write the boring shit in order to get to the good shit. Plot set-up: zzzzz but so necessary.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
That'll be the day ...

It's to do with the fact that people with ADD don't think linearly, so we make totally random connections that normal brains don't necessarily come up with.

Huh, this I did not know, and it makes me wonder if there's any connection between ADD and Tourette's in that regard.

Some people with ADD actually choose to go off their medication because they don't like how it stifles their creativity.

That's a large part of the reason I stopped taking anti-depressants/anxiety tablets. I decided I'd rather just ride whatever my brain threw at me and enjoy some actual highs occasionally.

Plus, when people are encouraging me I pretty much don't shut up.

:D That's a GOOD trait.

pushing through a plot

I swear this is everyone in the world's weak spot. It's certainly one of mine.

And sometimes you gotta write the boring shit in order to get to the good shit

Yeah. I keep reminding myself that when I'm slogging through it "this bit mean that bit can happen! Think about how much bit B will fuck with people!"

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 03:54 pm (UTC)(link)
:D That's a GOOD trait.

Yeah, but between you and [livejournal.com profile] nightanddaze egging me on, my ego's gonna get so big I won't be able to fit through doors.

But I did figure out background stuff! Waaaay back on Boeshane, it was Gray who got home safely and Jack who was abducted. He was rescued rather sooner than Gray was, so his sanity was still mostly intact, if heavily damaged. He was allowed to join the Time Agency with the more experienced John as his partner. When they got stuck in that time loop, though, Jack's sanity snapped, and he disappeared after they escaped. Shortly thereafter, John was summoned to Time Agency headquarters and told, "Right, so there was this thing your partner was supposed to do in twenty-first century Cardiff, but somehow things have gotten all fucked up, so we're going to have to send you instead to fill the gap." And thus John became leader of Torchwood Three.

This is probably significantly more elaborate than is necessary, since lord knows the actual TV shows never bother with explanatory backstory for every single character in an alternate universe, but whatever, it was fun.

Think about how much bit B will fuck with people!

Yes! This is an issue I'm having with an AU I'm trying to write. There's a bunch of boring crap that is absolutely vital to setting up the stomach punch at the end of the first part, and I think I finally figured out a way to make it less boring (and less likely to chase people off), but we shall see.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 04:14 pm (UTC)(link)
I will refrain from shouting "GENIUS" at you over that backstory then, in an attempt to preserve your skull from becoming swollen. GENIUS :D :D This is great stuff.

With regards to that ... making the boring stuff seem comfortable and mundane but with a bit of zippy dialogue etc just to get people into the habit of that universe, maybe? Then a really MEAN sucker-punch to the soul.

... Yeah, don't mind me. I dispense (probably awful) advice at the drop of a hat.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 04:30 pm (UTC)(link)
My skull thanks you. *g* And all this would add a dimension of tragedy when they meet back up, because Jack was probably more or less sane when things started between them, and the way he's trying to hold on to what they had reads to John like he's trying to bridge the gap back to who he used to be. John knows he's probably romanticizing Jack's motives, but it still makes it very, very hard to tell him no.

And then obvs things really go mad when some vague plot device related to the apparent fluxing between realities spits our Jack into John's Torchwood.

You are correct and that is more or less what I'm going for, but there is an added difficulty: the first part of the story looks as though I've paired Owen off with an OC. I HAVEN'T, I HATE that shit, it's a disguise, but if I spell that out to avoid OC-y vibes then it'll ruin the impact of the gut punch. So I have to find a way to gently imply that Thing Are Not What They Seem without telegraphing it. I just like to make things as difficult as humanly possible for myself, really.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
And their Jack into our Torchwood? *~pleading face~* This needs so badly to be written.

So I have to find a way to gently imply that Thing Are Not What They Seem without telegraphing it.

Do you? I'm sure that not hinting at all won't scare people that badly ...

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 07:24 pm (UTC)(link)
Yes! Of course. And it would be fun to set it up like he's going to take our Jack's place while he figures out what's going on and it will be this whole suspenseful thing about whether the others will figure it out in time, except then Ianto comes back from picking up lunch and susses him out in five seconds.

This needs so badly to be written.

Then write it! I'll even start you off.

Jack cracked his head hard against the floor as he landed. He blinked at the ceiling a few times, dazed, before he sat, bracing himself against the rush of vertigo -

And found himself face to face with Owen and Tosh.

For a few floundering seconds he thought he'd somehow managed to die after all and everyone had gotten it wrong about the darkness. Then Tosh went for her gun and Owen started shouting into his head set and Jack knew that something much stranger was going on.


And GO!

I'm sure that not hinting at all won't scare people that badly

Maybe not. I just have a horrible prejudice against OC pairings in fic, and ninety-nine percent of the time I am right.

And there is another difficulty - namely, that this is Owen we are talking about. Either I spend valuable time delving into his myriad issues about commitment and abandonment (boring myself to tears and revealing that I can't write romance to save my life in the process) or I come up with a reason why they have conveniently fallen by the wayside. And I work it in carefully to give an ominous feeling to the proceedings, because if I don't, it's going to look like I've just written Owen OOC. And the last thing on the planet I ever want to be accused of in my fic is bad characterization. That's an even worse crime than an overly perfect OC self-insert.

I think I've worked it out, though. It's all shaping itself a bit more clearly.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 08:31 pm (UTC)(link)
*grin* You've started now. You might as well carry on. :P

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 09:07 pm (UTC)(link)
Pfft. Doesn't count. It was a helpful way of putting off finishing up homework for a class that I found to be cancelled when I arrived, though.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)
Clearly this AU is magic and gets you out of doing things that are annoying! YOU MUST KEEP WRITING IT!

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-16 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
But then I put it off some more with one of my own AUs already in progress! I already gave this one to you and it would be terribly rude to take it back. And no returns without a receipt. Which you didn't get. :D

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-17 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
... I have been thwarted with manners. Holy Shit! They didn't warn me about this ... they said "watch out for the Southerners", they said nothing about people from Maine!

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-17 05:32 pm (UTC)(link)
The blessing and curse of being a Mainer is that when people think Maine, they think lobsters and blueberries. They don't realize that we have honed our stealth attacks through decades of having to be polite to tourists so they will continue to give us their money.

A Southerner would have just said, "Oh, bless your heart!", safe in the knowledge that you don't know that you were more or less just told to go fuck yourself. Stealth manners can be employed in many different ways. :D

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-17 05:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I don't, I think cult murders and lots and lots of woods, but that's what happens when your entire education on a place comes from a series of supernatural murder mystery trash novels. ;)

you don't know that you were more or less just told to go fuck yourself

Heh, I know enough Southerners (lesseenow ... Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, Missouri ...) to know when I'm being bitch-slapped with an iced tea. Sadly Devon is not really known for its quick wit.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-17 05:40 pm (UTC)(link)
Woods, yes. In many places. Lots of woods. Not as much as there used to be thanks to development and clear cutting, but your basic metric fuckton of trees in plenty of areas. Cult murders, not so much. What is this series you speak of?

Ha, you probably know more Southerners than I do. I tend to end up acquainted with people from Michigan, for some reason.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-17 09:29 pm (UTC)(link)
John Connolly's "Bird" novels (http://www.johnconnollybooks.com/novels.php). Great swathes of description. He seems rather in love with the state.

Most of the Southerners I know I seem to know because of one specific fandom. 'Tis most strange.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 12:49 am (UTC)(link)
*clicks idly through the site* OMG I LIVE IN PORTLAND. How did I not know about these books? Maine doesn't get very many books set here. Well, at least not very many books that aren't written by Stephen King. Totally hitting the library tomorrow.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
Hurrah, another one bites the dust! I confess I mostly read the books for Angel and Louis but the loving and detailed descriptions of the countryside do paint quite a vivid picture. :D

(Is it really lame that I'm kind of impressed that you live in Portland and thus will GET all the references he makes?)

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 06:26 am (UTC)(link)
Not as lame as the fact that I scoff at his list of eateries because most of them are a bit pricier than they need to be. (But I do walk past the Katahdin almost every day on my way home from classes!) Mentioning Bintliff's was on the money, though; I don't think I've ever been, but it's definitely one of those places where everyone knows what you're talking about when you mention it. Ditto Norm's. And not even mentioning Fore Play (it's a sports bar) on his list of bars! For shame. It's a freaking Portland institution. You ever come to Portland, you find me, I'll show you where to eat for a reasonable price and find a good place to drink.

I look forward to seeing what he puts in his books. I grew up in the area, but I've only lived in the city for about three and a half years, so some of it might be a little before my time.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:13 pm (UTC)(link)
I'll be interested to see what you make of them, I confess - to see if I'm right in thinking he Really Does His Research.

Ohhh, make me not make the knee-jerk "someone mentioned cost of living" And I'm From London answer ... *struggles*

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I see your suppression of knee-jerk "my cost of living, let me show you it," and raise you a "I'm a broke college student, EVERYWHERE is too expensive right now." ;)

I picked up The Killing Kind this morning, as it was the earliest of his novels I could find on the shelf, and you are correct. This guy Does His Motherfucking Research. The only stuff I've found that seems made up are the state/city officials and companies that play a bigger role in the story, and the reasons for that are pretty obvious. In the smaller details, the locations and product name brands and street intersections, he is scrupulously accurate. The part toward the beginning where Parker makes a stop at the Portland Public Market? Every single purchase he makes inside is from a company that really did make its home in the Market circa 2000. (Sadly, the Market itself shut down a couple years ago, but all the really good stores had other locations or relocated to a building just up the hill.) The area where he's wandering around and he sees the woman and the little boy happens to be one of my favorite parts of town, and it is also described perfectly. It's really cool to be able to map everything out in my head in the Portland scenes. Quite a change from the usual vague visuals my brain serves up when I read.

On the other hand, though, all the name dropping is really distracting. I'm fifty pages in and I don't know yet if the story has my interest because I keep thinking, "OKAY. You've been to Portland. Many times. I GET IT. I don't need the name brand EVERY TIME." I'm waiting for the bit where Parker is drinking a Moxie soda with his Jordan's Red Hot Dog and some Cape Cod potato chips. That meal would be about as regional as he could get.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Aww, see, I had an answer but now I'm just laughing. I have no idea if the story will grip you, but keep at it for Angel/Louis and their terrible banter.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:48 pm (UTC)(link)
I will. I do like the occasional murder mystery, and this does at least seem to be off to a promising start. Plus, I just about crawled out of my skin over the spiders-inna-car murder OH JESUS FUCK and I really need to know how THAT came about.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:50 pm (UTC)(link)
I was *warned* about that scene by the woman who leant me the first four books. Fortunately I'm quite a long way from being an arachnaphobe but yea gods it still made me itch something fierce.

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-18 09:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm not arachnophobic per se, but anything insectlike with an excessive leg count does freak me out. It's about the only thing that can turn me into a squealing girly girl. Snakes? No problem. Rodents? Love 'em. Spiders or freaky bugs? AUGH MAKE IT GO AWAY. So, yeah, I was sitting at the bus stop, reading that and squirming and maybe flailing just a tiny bit. It's rare for a book to unnerve me like that; I'm a wuss about horror movies, but I can handle a graphic scene in a book without flinching. Every once in a great while, though . . . yeeeeeee.

[identity profile] apiphile.livejournal.com 2008-04-19 11:48 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, as a committed (ish) memember of [livejournal.com profile] entomology I'm okay with pretty much all things that creep, crawl and skitter, providing they don't actually do it on me without my permission. :) I used to have a deal going with the (frankly fucking enormous) spiders that bred down the back of my chest of drawers at home: don't walk on me, don't get in my bed while I'm in it, and get out of my clothes before I want to put them on, and I won't squash you. But they BROKE THE DEAL. So I ended up with a special shoe that I kept especially for splatting five-inch-wide house spiders. :D

[identity profile] remindmeofthe.livejournal.com 2008-04-19 01:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I occasionally find daddy longlegs in the bathtub. Fortunately, this tends to be when I am too tired to do anything but sleepily mash them in toilet paper and go about my shower business.