swatkat | Entries tagged with discworld

I am back, internet - I have been travelling (which was fun - if I ever end up editing the 500 million photos I took, I will share) - and mostly caught up on my flist, but in case there's anything you think I should see, please point me to it. ♥

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Thoughts on comics:

1. HUNTRESS MINI HUNTRESS MINI HUNTRESS HUNTRESS HUNTRESS \0/

2. When did Jaime get those abs?

3. Batgirl #23: My heart. ;_____; Good issue, if a little rushed - it's very clear that Miller was asked to wrap up what was going to be a longer storyline.

4. Birds of Prey #14: It might have been a fun adventure? Andreyko was fantastic in Manhunter, but the art was hideous, and anyway I am too heartbroken about Gail Simone not writing the book anymore after just having her back to care. There were a couple of nice moments with the ladies hanging out.

Speaking of which, who is Starling in the new BoP? Have we met her somewhere before? Is she a Wildstorm character?

5. The other day I was watching Batman Begins, and okay, possibly I am a philistine who does not get the magnificence of the Nolanverse, but it's easily the most boring Batman movie I have seen. So boring, in fact, that I would rather watch Batman and Robin, because silly or no, it has ridiculous cartoony villains and Robinwing and StephBabsgirl. This, meanwhile, has whiny emo Bruce who spends most of the movie being whiny, like the worst of ~manpain!Bruce, but without any of the emotional payoff that usually accompanies ~manpain!Bruce in comics. Morgan Freeman is wasted as Yoda!Lucius Fox, and I'm not sure why Liam Neeson is Ra'as al Ghul. Also, Bale's 'Batman voice' doesn't work for me at all.

There's one piece of casting I will keep, however, and that's Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon. Because I love ♥Jim Gordon♥ and want to draw hearts around him and Gary Oldman looks the part. In fact, I would pay good money to watch a Batman movie about him - Snyder's current 'Tec run, preferably, with DickBat and Babs and James Jr (Detective #879 highlights once again why Jim and Babs are my favourite father-daughter duo in comics ever. EVER). It has every element of a good Batman movie, without being bogged down by emo or an idea of a so-called 'serious' Batverse, where seriousness apparently means a lot of OTT manpain and everyone wearing grey.

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I also have read Wee Free Men, A Hatful of Sky and I Shall Wear Midnight in the last couple of weeks, and OMG, why did I not read these before? Possibly because I was stupidly prejudiced against the Feegles because I did not particularly have a good impression of Wee Mad Arthur in the Watch books, but that was just a silly misconception! I have now seen the error of my ways. The Feegles are ♥, Granny and Nanny and the rest of the witches are, as always, fabulous, and Tiffany Aching - following in the footsteps of Angua and Susan - is a Pratchett heroine of my heart. He just loves his sensible girls, doesn't he? I think I love I Shall Wear Midnight the best, and I squeed when Carrot and Angua showed up in their little cameo. Can Tiffany please hang out with Susan next? <33

Crossposts: http://swatkat24.livejournal.com/305744.html

Happy Lilac Day, fandom! Here's to truth, justice, freedom... and a hard-boiled egg!

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I'm all caught up on BSG. ( cut for spoilers; with some CAPSLOCK )

ETA: ARGH where is all the readable Roslin/Adama? And Adama fic in general?

Current Mood: chipper

A lot of you mentioned wanting to read up more on Pakistan in order to understand why things are the way they are now. You might want to take a look at this post, on language in Pakistan. It might be difficult to comprehend just how *important* language is in this part of the world, but that is how it goes. East Pakistan became Bangladesh *because* of language.

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I finally got around to reading Lords and Ladies and am in *awe* of Pratchett's ability to reduce me into a puddle of goo with his pairings. I've always liked the idea of Ridcully/Granny Weatherwax in *theory*, but turns out reality is even more awesome. This tiny little yuletide drabble suddenly makes a lot more sense. *sigh*

Benazir Bhutto assassinated. Lately she was being portrayed as Pakistan's new Messiah, which was something I personally did not buy, because she had her faults. But she was smart and brave and articulate, and I did admire her. This does not bode well. *sigh*

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Back to your regular fannish things: I watched Pushing Daisies 1.4 today, and how is this show so perfect? SO PERFECT. IN EVERY WAY. I've also come to realise that while I love Ned and Chuck, it's Emerson and Olive and the Aunts that make the show for me. Olive and Aunt Vivian! Make a little birdhouse in your soul! Emerson and Aunt Lily need to meet each other, because they would understand each other perfectly.

I also finished reading Making Money, and it's brilliant. Which is what you'd expect from Pratchett, of course. It has the same Going Postal this-is-going-to-be-a-jolly-good-romp feel. Awesome Vetinari action, awesome Adora Belle (yet another candidate in my people to slash Angua with list), Moist is fun as always. I loved the cameos by the Wizards and the Watch - it had a very cross-overish feel to it (though of course they're all Pterry's characters, so he can do what he wants, and the book is set in Ankh-Morpork after all). All you needed was Susan Sto Helit and the Witches. *g* ( further spoilers under cut )

I have Thud! I'm reading Thud! I'm more than halfway through Thud! *squee*

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For the two people who will understand this: Guru OST is made of awesome. That man just keeps getting better and better. *fangirls*

Current Music: Jaage Hain - Guru

So we have yet another JKR vs. Pterry wank, courtesy some asshat reporter who obviously thought it would be cool if he could get something 'controversial' out of this weirdo author who people seem to like so much for some reason (the article's titled: Sod the Booker, this is popular. how much more condescending can you get?). Pterry, as usual, wins the Coolest Author Ever award by his response. Someday I'd like to hear JKR comment on this as well - although, knowing her fans as she does, she probably thinks it's wiser to not say anything at all. It's kind of ironic that the wank coincides with the airing of the Hogfather TV movie. Susan would reduce Mr. Hattersley's brain to jelly with a blink. *hearts Susan*

What's even more fun about the F_W post is the number of HP/Discworld crossover pairings that it has been throwing up. Wouldn't *you* want to see Snape meet Ridcully? Or Granny meet McGonagall? Or Susan meet the Trio? And, of course, Dumbledore/Nanny Ogg for the win. *dies imagining the ship*

There should be more Discworld/[insert fandom here] xovers in the world. Because Discworld makes *everything* better.

Current Mood: cheerful

Once upon a time, I said here (upon viewing The Socratic Method): You know who he reminds me of? Sam Vimes (from Discworld, for those who haven't read). Take away the cane and vicodin and replace it with a policeman's badge and alcohol and send him to Ankh-Morpork, and you'll have Sam Vimes. The misanthropy. The way he cares. The intense hotness. And it fits - Vimes is a Discworld version of Sherlock Holmes. Pterry frequently uses him to mock Holmes (Clues *giggles*).

I even had Proof to back it up.

See? (Sam Vimes icon courtesy

hyel and House icon courtesy

awakencordy)

There was more.

House's line: 'Everybody lies.'

Vimes' line: 'Everyone is guilty of *something*'. (this is a paraphrase, but you get the idea)

Vimes doesn't like people, and has been called a very angry man, more than once. House is, to quote Cameron, 'an angry misanthropic s.o.b'.

You want more? There was a discussion in

house_md today, where I compared House to Vimes. A poster (

charliesmum) told me this: When I saw Terry Pratchett last summer, I asked him if he thought Hugh Laurie would make a good Vimes, and he said yes, if he were being 'House-like'.

Yes, Pterry said that (which means he watches House *dies*). There cannot be enough squee in the world to express how I feel about this.

... there should be a crossover. In which the Patrician is ill again, and Doughnut Jimmy has failed, so Commander Vimes has no option but to take him to the Ankh-Morpork Teaching Hospital (after being persuaded by Lady Sybil), which is run by Lady Lisa Cuddy (who happens to be a friend of Sybil's). Their only hope is the eccentric Dr. House and his sidekicks (Dr. Chase is from XXXX). I can picture Vimes being rude to Cuddy and Carrot blushing at the sight of her cleavage, and Vimes wondering once more how on *earth* Angua manages to stay with him (even if it is a very fine cleavage, as far as he is a judge. Vimes doesn't make a habit of looking at ladies' bosoms).

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Pterry also said (says

charliesmum) that he thought Rowan Atkinson would be a good Vetinari (incidentally,

jaybee65, you will *love* Lord Vetinari), and that his favourite movie is Galaxy Quest. Yes, that one, with Alan Rickman, and the affectionate riffs at Trek and the delightful portrayal of fans. How awesome is this man?

Current Mood: SQUEE

So I decided to rejoin the human race by getting that really, really long overdue haircut. A novel plan, you will say. I thought so too. Little did I know what fate had set in store for me.

'Please make sure it's long enough for me to tie it up,' I said. Because it's FREAKING HOT, as you know, and I don't like hair falling all over me.

'Of course,' she said. She, as in the stylist. She's a generally nice lady, and I trust her, so I let her do as she pleased without paying too much attention to what she's doing (and well, I find this kind of thing horribly boring, so I was thinking about other things to entertain myself).

And then it was done, and I realised, to my HORROR, that she had cut it short - so short that it's quite IMPOSSIBLE to tie it up in *any* way, and did I mention how hot it is? And worse, she'd cut it so that my hair, which is quite wavy by itself, is now an impossible mass of curls. Basically, it now looks like I have a crow's nest on top of my head. Oh, and there's a lock in front which keeps falling over my eyes and I *hate* when that happens. *headdesk*

Of course, this means that I'll never have to comb my hair ever again because it makes no difference whatsoever. None. Believe me, I tried (somewhere I can hear my ten year old self shrieking in joy). My mother said it was 'cute', because a. it's just like my family to mock me in time of distress (and today I'll be meeting the entire lot of them *shudders*) or b. she really thinks it's cute because my hair was exactly like this when I was a kid, and our scary history teacher would tell me to comb my hair everyday, which I did, but it made no difference anyway.

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Yo,

nell65? Let's talk about Carpe Jugulum and my issues with it. ( I cant be having with this )

Current Mood: crushed

I should not be online. I have Things To Do. But I am online, and I read this on today's

metafandom and I just... don't know what to say. I don't want to argue with the OP on her LJ, because she isn't exactly being inflammatory or crazy, just stating her opinion. So I'll just rant here. Because this is my LJ, and that's allowed, right?

So. Lilac Day. Some Discworld fen got overboard with the celebration. Others were annoyed. There was wank, as I'm sure you must have seen. But what I don't understand is all this hostility towards celebrating a fictional holiday by fans in fandom. Again I repeat: fans. Fandom. This is how it goes. I say happy birthday to Harry Potter and argue over whether Ron Weasley makes a good Pisces (he does. trust me). We wank because JKR got Bill and Charlie's birthdates mixed up and spend days discussing the House timeline. Why do I do this? I don't know. Maybe because I like to? Maybe because I'm a fan and because these characters somehow touched my heart and I'm expressing my love for them this way? And it *annoys* me that I'll be criticised for this in *fandom* of all places - RL yes, they're mundanes, they don't understand. But in fandom? Where our primary purpose is obsessing over the sex lives of fictional people? It is alright to argue whether Remus is gay or not (he's bi), but it's not to celebrate a fictional holiday?

I'm perfectly aware that Sam Vimes doesn't exist. I'm perfectly aware that Night Watch did not happen and no one ever died. I KNOW. But the book made me laugh and cry, like most Pratchett books do. And we show our appreciation for it in fandom by using our lilac icons and saying 'Were you there?', though I'm perfectly aware of the fact that I wasn't there and I will never be there because it's fiction. How is that creepy and crazy? How is that wrong? *Why* is that wrong? And why do I have to be criticised for it in *fandom*, of all places?

There's something I'm missing in here. Or maybe I'm just, you know, obsessed. But hey, guess what? I'm fine with it. That's what I'm here for. *shrugs*

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All this drama over Discworld. What would Vetinari say? *sigh*

Here, read some House pr0n: Hot Lesbian Sex and Other Misnomers by

ijemanja. House/Cameron/Cuddy. Hot and fluffy, with perfect banter. I just went to a very happy place. [she says in her best House voice]

+ Ahaha Lilac wank. I got to say 'OH. DRAMA' again, which makes me extremely happy. In fact, I am there, wanking.

I wonder if celebrating a fictional holiday and mourning fictional characters is an Abomination Unto Nuggen? Hmm.

+ I had *completely* forgotten about Cuddy the dwarf in Men at Arms. Now I can't stop laughing.

+ Extraordinarly hot Vimes fanart (not worksafe. not dial-up safe. i mean, not the vimes piece - that one's worksafe, but there are other things in that post). Also features Moist and Susan, and they're absolutely perfect! The slightly evil expression on Moist's face and the imperious one on Susan's... *dies*

+ Damn your ridiculous bouncing object of mass stupidity. This made me laugh, although I'm quite fond of the ridiculous bouncing thing myself. *g*

Current Mood: amused

Happy Birthday, Pterry! Whatever would we do without you and your brain?

A quote: Even with nougat, you can have a perfect moment.

Pics from the sets of the Hogfather movie! Death looks good, I think. And Susan! Pterry is there too, so I don't think he'll let them mess it up. *hearts*

I really need to read that book.

Some excellent Susan art here. It's beautifully done, with that right mix of glamour and wryness that I associate with Susan.

I just finished Thief of Time. Gah. So good! The Procrastinators (*giggles*) in Night Watch make a lot more sense now, for one. And oh, Death! And Susan! How she's grown! I'll have to get my hands on Hogfather now.

( how much time does a codfish need? )

I also have with me Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke. I've heard good things about it (apparently, her footnotes are as good as Pterry's. we'll see), so I'm really looking forward to reading it. As soon as I have time, that is – it's a very fat book. *g*

Current Mood: drained

Damn. Our ickle Discworld wank was on F_W and I missed it! I was so hoping it would get there and I'd get to say 'OH. DRAMA', or 'I can't be having with this!'

Oh well, I can say it here instead.

OH. DRAMA.

That felt good. You'd think a fan of *Discworld* would be above this melodramatic shit, but obviously I'm getting too optimistic. Vimes wouldn't approve.

I have been reading Reaper Man:

( quotes from the book under cut )

Current Mood: touched

Reading The Fifth Elephant now. The book is set in Uberwald, which makes the Angua fangirl in me very, very happy. Have I ever mentioned how much I love these books?

Current Mood: squee!

I have in front me the City Watch trilogy, which means I finally get to read Guards! Guards!, and then re-read Feet of Clay. Then there is Night Watch. And Maskerade.

Pratchett ate my brain.

Current Mood: geeky

I’ll be out of town for the next week or so, with very little internet access. So if I’m a bit late replying to e-mails, that’s why. *g*

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Reading Jingo. How much do you love Sam Vimes? *squee*

I’ve been thinking of reading Discworld fic – after I’m done with the series, of course (at least the Vimes books); I think what I want to read most is gen. With some Vimes/Sybil and Carrot/Angua. I’ve heard Vimes/Vetinari is a popular pairing, but I’d rather read Vimes/Carrot – there’s enough interesting stuff between them in this book itself to make a good slash pairing. Lord Vetinari just doesn’t interest me much. Angua/Sybil could be a good pairing as well… even though they haven’t actually met (as far as I know) – I’m sure they would get along really well if they *did* meet…

I’d also read Vimes/Angua. Yes, I do heart their respective canon partners, but you know – they’re my favourite characters! It’s irresistible!

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‘The Body’ has to be the scariest Buffy episode ever. Scary because it’s so *real*. The way Buffy panics, and babbles, and works on autopilot; the awkward silences; Xander being silent for once because wisecracks don’t help here; Willow’s obsession with her clothes and being ‘proper’, contrasting with Anya’s confusion and honest despair; Tara’s mute sympathy; Giles’ horror…

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I love how Desperate Housewives keeps getting darker, without losing its humour. Yesterday, I *really* felt sorry for Gabrielle – which is saying something. And somehow, I can’t bring myself to hate Rex, because he, like Bree, demands a more complex reaction than that.