Random thought

A discussion on the marysues board at the moment, re: Legolas. Would his fangirls spontaneously combust if they found out at the end that he ran off to Valinor with Gimli? Consensus thus far is no, 'cos they'd write it off with 'slash is eeew he wuuuuuvs me' even if they saw it in the movie or the book, but it'd sure be nice if it did work that way.

This + recent Silmarillion reading inspired an image. My poor benighted brain now wishes I were a bit better at combining proper anime dimensions and chibi. The thought of all the other Valar and the resident Eldar, Maiar, and Frodo staring in shock as Aulë leaps in the air and squeeee!s upon seeing one of his beloved creations, the Naugrim, in Aman for the first time.... well, it's just too entertaining to pass up.

!!!

The Wee Free Men
by Terry Pratchett
Reading group: ages 9-12
Scheduled release date: May 2003

Book Description
"Another world is colliding with this one," said the toad. "All the monsters are coming back."

"Why?" said Tiffany.

"There's no one to stop them."

There was silence for a moment.

Then Tiffany said, "There's me."


It's got Nac Mac Feegle and the Queen of the Elves... can't wait to see this one.

Some of you may be interested in this.

Facing Fear Curriculum Helps Children Cope with War, Terrorism

Written by Mason Booth, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

March 27, 2003 — In a world of round-the-clock media coverage and live footage from scenes of crisis and conflict, protecting children and young adults from exposure to war and terrorism is often difficult, if not impossible. Parents today must field complicated questions, such as "What does war mean?", "Am I safe?" and "What if something happens to you?"

To help, the American Red Cross developed Facing Fear: Helping Young People Deal With Terrorism and Tragic Events, a school curriculum designed to help alleviate worries and clear up confusion about perceived and actual threats to safety...

The curriculum itself is part of our children's safety and disaster curriculum, but you can see information about it and grab the downloadable version at this link.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a drink. I gave blood yesterday and I'm still a pint low.

The RP meme

Because I can.

Years RPing: When did I start college? 1992, I think? yeah… so that's 11 years.
Least favorite character: Any one of my non-starters. I've had a few characters that seemed great as concepts and that simply couldn't be sustained because I didn't feel enthusiastic about them. Currently my least favourite is Inaroq, an Algor frost giant in a play-by-post Palladium game I haven't felt any joy of playing in months.
Favorite 3: Xiang Fang, Dave Grishin, Lewis Tanner.
Male or Female characters: Both. More males than females, although my males are confined to WoD roleplay save for a DuneMUSH character.
Oldest character: Ever: Baroness Kyria Raichur, my first DuneMUSH character. Oldest currently in play: Alec Fitch at Mediterranean Nights: Monaco by Night.
Newest: Esther Herrigel, a boggan and seller of martial arts supplies
Most popular: Almost certainly Dave Grishin, although Xiang Fang's pretty close.
Character never played: Huh? … well, I guess Ping-Ping Guo counts, since I only got one introductory session with her, more's the pity. I've never put together the stats for Xiang Fang's nephew Peter Xiang, but he probably counts too since I looked for a place to play him for a while and never found one.

Which character of yours would be most likely to:
Jump off a bridge: Fang, because the little prat would have a stunt bag in place first
Get drunk and pass out: Fang already did this.
Kill someone in an unorthodox manner: Nikos Raichur (he had four or five other names), via bacteriological warfare of a sort.
Get married: Dave did, Fang did, Bob Torres did but he got divorced, so did Dafydd Rowlands, Crowmark at Two Moons had a lifemate. . .
Be too hyper: Fang. No question.
Rape someone: Aleksei the Scary, at GarouMUSH. Silver Fang + 16-year-old stupidity + alcohol. Bad combination.
Be raped: My characters tend to gut people first. Though I have an NPC who might have been considered a likely target for this.
Get lost and refuse to ask for directions: Dr. Liz Macfarlane of City of Darkness.
Get lung cancer: Bob Torres. Didn't smoke, but lots of people in his precinct, and his family had a genetic tendency to cancer. Also, Signy Hammer, a sandblaster who probably encountered asbestos more than once.
Star in a horror movie: Dave Grishin, Chuko Lei-zu (Feng Shui tabletop character)
Star in a whore movie: Fang might consider it.
Star in a video game: Fang, Dave Grishin, Chuko Lei-zu, Leah Handelman. Let's face it, a cute Reform rabbi with computer skills and no fear of vampires would go a long way in some of the survival horror games out there. Oh, and Ping-ping; anyone who has a pet snifer rifle qualifies.
Make the world a better place: Hsiang Ho, Pete Muir, Liz Macfarlane
Have a torrid gay love affair: Not really a big thing for any of my characters.

Character who best exemplifies each following word:
Love: Hsiang Ho / Lewis Tanner
Hate: Um. . . huh. You know, I can't think of any. Even my Sabbat vampire. (Sire on Path of Evil Revelations. Demon attempted to break her will by shoving her into absolute nothingness. She did in fact snap, but it wasn't the sort of snap he wanted; she decided everything really was empty and promptly became a Buddhist.) I had a Malkavian once who was THE Bastard Operator from Hell; she'd qualify, but I can't remember her name.
Family: Hsiang Ho.
Money: Lewis Tanner / Anselm Glendower Brooke
Seduction: Lewis Tanner
Lies: Dave Grishin. The man's Garou name was Speaks-Like-Microsoft, and if he'd been born a few years later, it would've been Speaks-Like-Bill-Clinton.
Tragedy: Alec Fitch.
Comedy: Fang. Dave Grishin.
Manipulation: Dave Grishin. A Sabbat Revenant I had once whose name eludes me.
Violence: Lewis Tanner.
Politics: Grand Duke Nikos Musashi al-Qair Morotai Raichur.
Fire: . . . shoot! I can't remember her name! My nuclear physicist Redcap.
Ice: Metaphorical - Nikos; actual - Dave Grishin. (He had a sword. It froze things. He disposed of an enemy's body once by sticking the sword in the corpse, waiting two minutes, then hitting it really hard and quoting Terminator 2.)

Would you ever play:
A prostitute: Possibly.
A musician: Already do. Alec makes musical instruments for a living, and plays them in public from time to time.
A pilot: Sure, can't be all that different from the astronaut Sidhe I had.
A homosexual: Maybe, but I'd need a lot of help from the real thing to get it right.
A pedophile: No.
Politician: Which part of 'grand duke' didn't you notice?
A character for the sole purpose of smut: Even my FurryMUCK characters have lives other than smut.
A character involved in an incestuous relationship: Only if we're going for a Volsungsaga tragedy sort of incest. "You're my WHAT? EEEEEEEEE!" *flings self over cliff*