first youtube. now attention-whore memes!

[quigonejinn]

But what can I say? I found this after looking at a related thing from ataniell93, and not only is it a Golden Compass tie-in -- AND A WEBSITE WITH DANIEL CRAIG, OKAY, EXPLAINING THINGS -- but my favorite part of the Golden Compass aside from the gay angels.

OMG, GUYZ, WHAT FORM DOES MY TOTEM ANIMAL HAVE???

...

On a only slightly less plebey note,

John Barrowman's new and improved American accent is Torchwood's #1 present to me this season. I swear. It's pretty fucking good, man. He doesn't have all of the enunciation -- you know, the way his voice goes up and down within a sentence? -- completely right, but it's pretty darn close. It's the best American accent I've heard on British TV in a long time.

Present #2 has to be the new and improved plots that don't become immediately clear within about 35 seconds. Alas, though, after the total awesomepants fanservice of the first episode, I suspect that I'm going to spend most of every episode from now on being like I CAN HAZ IANTO NOW? HOW ABOUT NOW? HOW ABOUT NOW? I mean, I'm a little disappointed at how everything he's done so far has tended toward either the gay or the humor, but at this point, I don't even mind this whole Regis Philbin Casual Coordinates shit he's got going on.

Also: could that intro scene have been more profoundly YOU ARE NOT WATCHING AMERICAN TV? Interracial couple in bed! Cricket bat under bed! Burglars without guns! And then the endless Abu Ghirab/torture airline reference with the non-white prisoner sitting in the interrogation with indefinite detention and Gappy's references to "We're just doing our jobs!" The torture chairs! The determined American interrogator!

And then they wussed out and made the girl all heroic and self-sacrificing and believing them. Excuse me while I roll around on the floor in laughter.

Comments

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

It's the best American accent I've heard on British TV

Well, that's because Barrowman was raised in Illinois.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

He was born in Glasgow, though, and from what I remember MANY FANGIRL MOONS AGO, had to fake an American accent when he went to school.

And I mean. Did you see the first season of Torchwood? Barrowman's accent was preposterously, gratingly awful exaggeration of what Americans sound like. It was disgustingly bad. ITV soap drama bad. Every time he opened his mouth, I wanted to cry. And back in the day, he used to give interviews in his native Scottish accent and not the (much-improved) American one he uses now.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_oggy_/]

i'm glad i wasn't the only who thought his accent sounded weird. it was so stiff and awkward.

[artyartie.livejournal.com]

I absolutely love the design of the Web site (and the music!) but they need more choices, both for questions and daemons! Picking out daemons for any future characters who show up in my story is both going to be fun and beat-my-head-against-the-keyboard frustrating.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the questions when your friends show up to take it are kinda limited, but I remember being pretty impatient this morning when I was taking the full 20-question thing for myself.

*has been saving your story to read until she can properly sit down to enjoy it* I've been thinking about what kind of daemon Caesar would have. XD

[artyartie.livejournal.com]

*grins* May I recommend a fine pinot noir to accompany the story? But that's awesome you're saving it - I do that too, when I just don't have time to do more than skim.

But yeah, Caesar is going to be the hardest, and I've been mulling him over. Octavian is going to be a pain in the ass until his daemon settles, because as hard core as Antony is, Octavian just takes it to a whole new level.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think Caesar would have to be a carnivore. It's hard narrowing it down beyond that, especially since you have Antony pegged as a panther in your story already. Maybe a lioness, big as a pony? And Octavian, in my mind, is pegged pretty firmly as a snake. I mean, whatever the theory about how daemons settle into their final forms, I don't think the pre-Christians were as negative on snakes as modern society is. And what with the old stories about Asclepius and, also, the

(And randomly: the story of Romulus and Remus takes a different cast when you think about it in the context of daemons, doesn't it?)

[artyartie.livejournal.com]

Caesar is definitely a carnivore, but he's tricky. He's ruthless but clever, and overall merciful to his enemies, at least when they were Romans. I may have to read up on my big cats! And he is rather reptilian - I was thinking perhaps a Komodo Dragon. Snakes in Pullman's verse tend to be associated with guile and influence, which seems to me more like Servilia.

Oh, and I think having a wolf daemon either would be some sort of divine sign or the worst sort of hubris! I think Caesar and Cicero both would have had a wolf daemon, temporarily, before they settled.

The whole daemon concept just raises soooo many possibilities in the context of Rome. Boys wouldn't become men and take on the toga virilis until their daemon settled; future commanders would be set apart right away due to their daemons - and would men respect someone who 'came up through the ranks' if he still had a canine and thus servile daemon? And how would the different philosophical schools deal with daemons? I tried to get into that, a little - the Stoics thought the soul was made of fire and air, and so thus Brutus and Cicero's 'perception' of a soul was tinted with that concept.

If only I could give this much attention to my thesis writing!!

thesis, shmesis.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Octavian does strike me as being guileful and full of the seductive, but ever-so-slightly off-kilter guile -- which, to me, doesn't rule out Servilia as a snake. A boa constrictor-type for Octavian to parallel the way he settles in, deceptively gentle and innocent, and then squeeeeeezes the life out of the Republic. Servilia would has a little viper, bright as a jewel.

XD I bet every male Roman patrician would pray and bargain and attempt to bribe in the most transparent fashion to get a wolf. Or an eagle. Jesus, the kind of bragging rights you'd get. XD

When I skimmed your fic, one of the most interesting bits for me was the notion of the Roman legionnaire without his daemon. I bet that if the legions got their boys young, a disproportionate number of the men would have their daemons settle into a canid form. Let loose the hounds of war, etc, etc.

bed, schmed...

[artyartie.livejournal.com]

I think I could literally talk with you about Roman daemons for waaaaaaay too long, but I have a morning class to TA! So I will post once I'm coherent and out of class in the a.m. :)

I like your thoughts on the snakes, especially Servilia! And how disappointed would she be in Brutus' daemon? Descendant of two illustrious families and he gets an overgrown weasel. Oh, and the legions *would* snatch up children young (I'm thinking Spartans training up babies young) to train them just the right way - loyal but bloodthirsty. Hounds of war indeed!

Re: bed, schmed...

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

This is a belated reply, but I've been trying to flesh out the idea of Antony as an animal besides a big cat -- I mean, it's the obvious one for how Antony is a very, very, very dangerous man underneath the pretense of being vulgar and fucking everything female in sight, but I've been trying to figure out an alternate just as an intellctual exercise. I've rewatching Rome, and it's striking how socially-oriented Antony is. He's intensely loyal, but to people, not to ideas or causes. Remember his little shitfit when Atia suggests that he betray Caesar? And how Antony finds strength at the end by hanging with Vorenus?

Antony, I think, is fundamentally a guy who needs to follow a leader. you know? Which makes me think maybe you could make an argument for him being a wolf, albeit one that acts like a dog most of the time, but it'd draw a fascinating line underneath his proper Roman suicide. And ahaha, if we go with Plutarch's version of Antony's youth, it just adds to the scandal, doesn't it? Young man of distinguished family spending his days cavorting with actors and prostitutes! AND HE HAS A WOLF FOR A DAEMON, TOO. :O :O :O

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, I have that exact same little deamon thing, though originally I had a raven and people voted me into a lynx. XD At least it wasn't a ladybug. I'd have killed myself if I was a ladybug.

I have yet to see the new TW yet, but I'm leery. I'll wait to the season is over and you guys let me know how it was. Because if Ianto gets shafted in favor of Gwen, I might have to throw up. Not because of any homosexual solidarity (though I admit there might be a little of that), but more because Gwen annoys the shit out of me. Though if Ianto's consolation prize is Tosh, that might not be so bad. Because they're both way smarter and more competent than Jack will ever be. XD

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

Ahaha. Yeah. I like to think that it's not going to end that way -- knowing

And where are you finding the lists of possible daemons? I'm clicking around the website and feeling like a fucking retard, and ahaha. Yeah. XD I started out as a gibbon? And now I am a wolf, apparently, after a long period as a lynx.

Is your animal thingy still up?

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh, well the daemon thing got passed around last summer, I bleev, so I remember seeing all the daemons on the list. I can't rmember all the little animals, but there's a sizable variation. Mine's still up, but long solidified into lynx form, buried in my journal somewhers. XD

As for Anakin and Obi-Wan daemons, hmm. I think Anakin would definitely be wolf. Pretty, everyone wants one, but not tameable, and you never know when he will turn on you and try to rip your throat out. Obi-Wan might be a stag of some sort, I think, proud and fierce, but also stately and elegant.

I'm assuming you think Qui-Gon would be a lion? Or do you have other ideas?

LONGASS REPLY.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

ACTUALLY, I THINK OF QUI-GON AS AS A NAKED MOLE RAT :D :D :D

OK, no seriously. Granting the idea that Jedi would have Earth-type animal forms, Qui-Gon is a hard one for me because I think of him as a big ol' crankypants, and I have difficulty thinking of animals as being that way. A badger? An orangutan? The crankiest-looking animal I've ever seen was this female kangaroo at the local zoo, which, OK, what with the GIANT NOSE, there's actually some kind of physical resemblance there. And Qui-Gon's daemon could keep her lightsaber in her pouch!

If we're going with the Pullman rules of opposite-sex daemons, I guess Obi-Wan would have a doe? Which seems less fearsome, but then again, I've been eye-fucked by many a doe taking her fawns across the road. The stag seems to fit better, though, what with the dignity that Obi-Wan grows into.

Anakin as a wolf makes a lot of sense. See, I'd never have been able to figure out what the important elements of his characterization are, but you do it so nicely. XD I think I'd disagree with him being a wolf, though -- they always strike me as being really, really smart and socialized, though, which doesn't exactly describe our darling, so I'm inclined towards eagle or falcon. Same striking good looks there, but with a greater hint of cruelty. And solitary for the most part, and you can only really handle them with thick gloves and you can't ever really train them. You just, uh. Bribe them to give you the mangled rabbit by distracting them with a bit of bloody liver.

Also, dumb as fuck, from what I'm told. XD

There's a really intersting fic to be told about, say, how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and loses his daemon or his daemon changes form. And Obi-Wan's daemon finally freezing into a single shape at the same moment that Qui-Gon dies. And ahaha, Yoda's daemon actually being another Yoda-type-species thing.

Re: LONGASS REPLY.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Ah, good point. Lions hold a sort of majesty that I don't think Qui-Gon demonstrates, regardless of how arrogant he can be. What about a cranky old mama bear? I could totally see him having one of those. The badgers and naked mole rats could work, but he has such a large presence... I could actually see the kangaroo, humorously enough. An odd animal, not normally seen, maternal appearing, grumpy and powerful.

I'd forgotten about Pullman's opposite gender daemons. I fail at Pullman, but I plead ignorance based on only having seen the movie once and read the books never. So I guess the stag is out and does make me envision Bambi's mother, so let me think. Obi-Wan might work better with a vixen. It has the same elegance with it, but also a certain amount of charm and wiliness. Plus, back a fox in a hole, and they'll tear the shit out of you. (Also, foxes love to hide when the going gets rough--run away to the Dune Sea much?) Different evocation, but I can't think of anything else.

Hmm, I was thinking that Anakin would be more of the lone wolf type, or the wolf that people try to make into a pet, which are different from the pack animals, but I see your point. I can also totally see the eagle thing. And birds are pretty dumb in general. ;)

There's a really intersting fic to be told about, say, how Anakin becomes Darth Vader and loses his daemon or his daemon changes form. And Obi-Wan's daemon finally freezing into a single shape at the same moment that Qui-Gon dies. And ahaha, Yoda's daemon actually being another Yoda-type-species thing.

*dies* This would be fascinating. I vote for you to write it. :D :D :D

MY BRAIN, IT IS GONE. EXCUSE THE TYPOS.

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

XD There are all kinds of interesting things to spin out from the central idea of daemons in the Jedi universe -- I mean, it's kinda cool to think of daemons as being generated by the midichlorians, and in the beginning, it's just this kind of vague glowy thing about the body, like an aura. And an important of becoming a Jedi is getting control of that glow/being able to make it into a separate thing in much the same way as controlling the Force in general is an important part of being a Jedi. And yeah. THe idea that Anakin, as a kid, had this daemon that changed shape so rapidly that it was a blur. It's a cool visual effect, you know? Much like the idea of having TWO YODAS FROWNING AT YOU.

The problem, to me, though, appears to be how the author would address what animals the daemons were. You'd want familiar Earth animals because that's what we know, but on the other hand, why would a Jedi of a GFFA have the same set of animals to work with? It's the same reason why I have qualms about using things like Earth units of measurement or time in SW fic.

Wikipedia tells me that badgers have really awesome jaws that give them Qui-Gon-esque tenacity. On the other hand, oh my God, Jax, I somehow forgot that badgers were so cute.

And. I like the ideaof Obi-Wan having a vixen. I bet it would distress him, in a way, to have such a disreputable daemon, but he'd get used to it. And she'd stop being quite so squrrely. Alternatively, I probably have a totally warped view of things, but I could see Obi-Wan as a skunk. YEAH, I KNOW, STINKY, but they're cute as all hell and not usually aggressive. Plus, I hear that for wild animals, they make surprisingly sweet-tempered house-pets -- fond of people if handled from the start and easily housebroken. At the same time, though, they've got that "back a fox in a hole, and they'll tear the shit out of you," as you put it, quality.

God, remember the bit in RotS when Obi-Wan is going to Mustafar?

Plus, Wikipedia tells me that skunks are normally solitary creatures, but will sometimes form collectives for warmth. Clearly, this is a metaphor for him cuddling up with Anakin. XD

[karabou.livejournal.com]

OMG, GUYZ, WHAT FORM DOES MY TOTEM ANIMAL HAVE???

OMG you are so behind the times. XD

[quigonejinn.livejournal.com]

DIDN"T SOMEBODY EVER TELL YOU IT'S NOT NICE TO MAKE FUN OF THE SLOW KIDS?

[randomalia.livejournal.com]

You'd have to post ten times that many memes before your journal reaches the level of pointless rambling mine has. :> And I got a spider twice.

I feel like they're setting Ianto up for a fall, because of the "I know everything!" thing. But seriously, he's so much more stable and relaxed now.

[iansmomesq.livejournal.com]

I think if Barrowman says eeeeeestrogen again I'll have to kill. :) What American says, eeeeeestrogen?

:)