FIC: The Edge of Silence

[Jennpurr]

Hey, Darcy.



I can't really help you out with the French thing. I know some Spanish, but not French.



Take care,

Jen

- - - - -

|My Fan Fiction and More|"... Evil's good..."
"We're more centered on the, girl on girl action." ~ Willow

[Triscuit7]

Hey -



I have hummus credibility; Darcy doesn't. Her opinion of the picnic foods was something on the order of "you're having them eat what?!"



Alas, my dearest love is a meat and potatoes kind of girl and it really needs to look like meat and potatoes.... No hummus, no babaghanoush, no taboueh.



She doesn't like rhubarb or parsnips either. Sigh.



I did get her to eat artichokes last weekend! Yay. She like the garlic butter....



Me, foodwise, well, I like to think I'd try anything once and I like Middle Eastern quite a bit. Except for keftah kebabs - bad experience in Egypt with those... For the uninformed keftah/kuftah is spiced ground meat (lamb/goat/beef) that is barbecued/grilled on a kebab/skewer. And as with ground meats everywhere but especially in unsanitary restaurants, it can hide a multitude of.... well, just ick. Tbat's really enough said...



And as for hummus=smoochies, Tulipp - yep, and here's one for you and a hug too....



Ciao, Melissa

**********************


I brought marshmallows!

[Tulipp]

Melissa, food. I love food. But I have to tell you, since you brought up artichokes...I was with my sister and mother in Santa Fe a few months ago, and my sister wanted to order a cold artichoke, so we did. I like artichokes but had never just kind of, well, dived in. But I wanted to play it all cool and act like I knew what I was doing.



Unfortunately, my sister totally blew our cover by calling the waitress over and saying "are we eating this right?"



I was glad when we left Santa Fe.

[Triscuit7]

And I bloody well should have checked it too.



So now you have both Darcy and me stumbling over each other, saying sorry, no it's my fault, no it's not and so forth ---so that it's 100% apparent to everyone that we've been together forever (Yay!). Of course we were doing this in Year 2 as well....



And all of this is making me feel better, though, I am still kicking myself for tuning in the last 10 min of that damned show tonight (see my post in the angry rant thread if you're curious -but it was Darcy coming home that worked....)



Ciao, Melissa (who is now headed off to contemplate ... chocolate)

**********************


I brought marshmallows!

[darkmagicwillow]

I'd have to say the Sumerians are technically right, but being a classicist at heart, I'd say the important part began with Herodotus. Just remember that nothing interesting happened after 476 C.E.¹ and don't leave the boundaries of Rome when you visit Europe and you'll be okay. I'm about to go on my fourth trip to Europe and I still haven't ventured beyond the empire into the barbarian lands though I did look at Scotland from the top of Hadrian's Wall. I love the T-shirt too, btw.



I'd like to challenge for the bookworm title too. I mean I am sitting with my cat in front of my computer in a room with over a thousand of my books in it. Unfortunately, teaching never helped me with my shyness. I can give lectures in front of any size audience without difficulty, but expose me to strangers in an unfamiliar setting and I'm suddenly speechless.



¹Okay, okay, 1453 C.E. in the east.

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[kpmuse]

Triscuit, that picnic was so, so sexy! I love all of the foods Tara chose for her seduction of Willow . Good lord, can it get any hotter in here?



I hope Jo gets a date. I know she has been a little pesky, but I am rooting for her to find some smoochies and love . Tara is so sweet to help her out. That is so Tara.



Yeah for Willow for figuring out that the love she and Tara share is way more important than what people think! I'm happy that it happened pretty quickly for Will. It can take a long time for some people and it can be a pretty painful journey to make. Brave Willow is going to be a happy Willow!

Kristine

Tara & Willow Love Forever

[AutumnT]

I really think you're doing a wonderful job of detailing this whole coming out process for Willow. Her anxiety and the futility of it. It's so very realistic and well done.



And I thought this was a particularly nice description of that moment in Hush:

Quote:

---

A thing about herself that she had scarcely even acknowledged had screamed that night: “this one, this one, this one”, so insistently that it had been nearly impossible to release Tara’s hand.

---

Autumn

-----------

Buffy Season 6: It grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong.

[BFR from Paris]

Hey again!



Don't worry about it, French is a very complicated language

And I'm sure some French people don't even know the expression "petite mort", so there you go!



And if you ever want to include a French expression in one of your fics, ask me (dolipranvero@noos.fr)



You see, part of my job is to read translations and correct the mistakes, so I just couldn't help it...



A bientôt les filles!



Christine

[The Inward Sea]

darkmagickwillow wrote:

Quote:

---

I mean I am sitting with my cat in front of my computer in a room with over a thousand of my books in it.

---

Hey! We might all be related! So, there's a Bookworm World Championship going on in the Kitten then



I also think that -in general- History *as an object* started with writing, but *as a science* could have started with Herodotus. Although my first love was Ancient History, with time I settled for the local one. My heart still beats faster around Ancient History issues -and I still read about them.



Sea

[darkmagicwillow]

That's a good distinction between history as an object and as a science. Why did you settle for local history? The greater ease of accessing it? While I didn't think so when I was younger, it does make a difference to be able to see and touch the evidence of the past. It was an amazing experience to hike along Hadrian's Wall and I'm finally going to Rome this Fall to see if I can overdose on classical history. Someday I'll get to Greece, Egypt, Persia...there are so many places to see.



So what are the events going to be for the Bookworm World Championship anyway? (-;

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[The Inward Sea]

Oh, greater access is a must in choosing your field of studies. In my tender age I even considered migrating to England or Greece but when I finished my studies I was already very much into local history. It's like not marrying the love of your life but an easygoing, familiar someone who lives next door... It's not too bad when you're dedicated to local history. No passion at all.



I understand your feeling about being in the places where the actual events happened. They make me feel empathic vibrations!



Some events for the Bookworm World Championship could be:

- Endurance on reading. No eating, no bathroom, no nothing. With quiz on the subject.

- How many books can you quote on a given subject?







Sea

Edited by: The Inward Sea at: 9/4/02 2:26:43 pm

[darkmagicwillow]

I have thought about living in England many times at least for a few years. I'm a scientist by education rather than a historian so I don't have a great a professional need to live there, but history was my first love and I can't abandon it. And about being there, one of the coolest things was that I could recognize Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and so forth from their statues just from having read Suetonius and Tacitcus. Their personalities were so evident in their carved faces.



Your events both sound good. I'll warn you that I'm very good at the first one, but I think we're both in the lead as we're the only ones bookwormy enough to continue this discussion today. (-;



Here are a few more event suggestions:

• Obstacle reading: how many books can you finish in a given time with a cat in your chair (and inevitably on your book).
  
  
• Reading connectivity: given two subjects, build a chain of books that transition you from one book to the other, sort of like Scientific American's "Connections" column.
  
  

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

Edited by: darkmagicwillow at: 9/4/02 4:23:10 pm

[The Inward Sea]

ROTFL

I'm very good at your first one! My cat is now older and thinner, but when she was young -and stubborn as cats come- she could cover both pages of a book easily and even have a paw or a tail over the notebook! Guessing what was written under the cat improves your brain activity!



Don't worry about us being the only contestants. Tiredsoul might join us as soon as she reads the thread... Anyway, something must be done until Triscuit updates (hint, hint).



You really recognized them by their expression? That's great! I've had this dream all my life: to visit Thermopylae (and cry like a baby).



Sea

[darkmagicwillow]

I knew I kept my cat around while I was reading for a reason; I'd just forgotten that it was improving my brain activity. (-;



About competitors. I just remembered that Triscuit said that she manages a bookstore so she might be in the running too.



Thermopylae. Yes, that would be a very emotional spot. I'm not very enthusiastic about what Sparta did in later years, but you have to remember and respect them for Thermopylae.



For me, I think Constantinople would be where I'd cry. Even though the glory and substance of classical civilization were largely lost after the fourth Crusade, I still get misty eyed at the thought of the last Constantine tossing off the imperial regalia and throwing himself into that last desperate defence of the city gates. The thought of how that fall led to the Renaissance is comforting but it's not enough to make up for the loss.

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Darcy]

I think we stand a very good shot at this title. We knew it was true love when we got rid of the duplicate books in our merged household - at least, the ones that weren't such favorites that we kept multiple editions (the hardcover, the science fiction book club omnibus, the trade paperback, the mass market paperback ...) or even just multiple copies because we were wearing them out.



Yes, she runs a bookstore, and has worked in one in some capacity or other for years now. And before she was getting an employee discount, we maintained discount cards for both B. Dalton and Waldenbooks - and never lost money on them.



We have "the library" with seven 7' tall bookcases, many of the books double-shelved. The living room has two 6' x 6' bookcases plus a slightly smaller one. The "attic" has, I think, another seven or eight bookcases, but smaller ones because of the lower ceiling. The computer room has three bookcases. The dining room has three, plus a secretary with all the shelves filled. The upstairs hall has one, the downstairs hall has two. The kitchen only has one, and so far I've managed to avoid adding bookcases to the bathrooms and laundry room, but that may not last. We have two more bookcases awaiting assembly.



And none of that counts the 25+ large shopping bags filled to bursting, or the server and dining room table stacked three feet high with books. And remember, this is AFTER discarding books.



Yeah, I think we're in the running.

*****************
I don't care if it is an orgy of death, there's still such a thing as a napkin! - Willow in "Superstar"

[Triscuit7]

Just an addition to Darcy's post (Hi sweetie ), uh, oops (train of thought), ohh, right ....we're not gonna move ever again. We may build an addition for the books, but no more moving. The house may collapse under the weight but no more moving....



And right, update..., um, Friday or Saturday?



Sorry...it's just I have these frickin bookseller reviews to write and I don't really want to confuse them with "Edge" - might get me fired actually - and truthfully this day has been surreal enough....



Ciao, Melissa

**********************


I brought marshmallows!

[Jennpurr]

Damn, that's alot of books, ladies. WOW...



Have you read all of them??



Jen

- - - - -
|My Fan Fiction and More|

"... Evil's good...""We're more centered on the, girl on girl action." ~ Willow

[The Inward Sea]

darkmagickwillow: Cats are *always* thinking how to improve our brain activity. Perhaps they think we'll understand them faster than we normally do. You know how exasperating a slow human can be...



I'm not so much for Constantinople/Bizantium (there's a *y* somewhere there, but I can't remember where...) history. But I love their art. I would die of sheer pleasure just by being in Hagia Sofia!



I'm not a big fan of Spartans either, but Thermopylae is their excuse. And a very good one.



Darcy: How many of them books have you read? More competitors, more fun! Welcome to the Championship!



Now, it's easy to see why we all can relate so much with Willow and Tara, isn't it?



Triscuit: Friday or Saturday? Okay... This kitten hopes for a large update...



Sea

[tiredsoul]

Oops, didn't mean start a run for the title--but it's fun



While Triscuit and Darcy will definitely pass me in the amount of books category, I think I got a shot at pathetic and boring. Just last week I sat down and read the "Dictionary of Cultural Literacy" for the third time--just for fun. The dictionary I had as a kid is almost completely full of highlights of all the words I've looked up over the past 20 years. Insane, I know.



There's my pathetic and boring speech



But no cat. Not even a dog. In fact, I can't even keep a plant alive in my house.



--celia

---------------------------------

"That was just rude. Now I forget what I was saying."

Edited by: tiredsoul at: 9/4/02 8:37:07 pm

[darkmagicwillow]

I also have to concede to Darcy and Triscuit in the quantity of books category. In my defence, I don't have a house. Maybe I can still compete on book density? I'm sure I'm doing pretty well on books/square foot though it sounds like you probably have me beat there too.



I love Byzantine art. Those amazing mosaics! I'd love to visit Hagia Sophia too! Gibbon really bashes Byzantium and in his defence, Justinian was an idiot. His shifting around of Belisarius forced him to reconquer Italy and the other Western provinces multiple times, utterly smashing the remnants of classical civilization and helping condemn the West to a much darker age than it had to be as well as exhausting the East just in time for the Islamic hordes to explode out of Arabia. Still, it wasn't all decline and there was art and civlization in a time when the West was a land of illiterate barbarians. Hmmm...does that count as a Willowbabble?



I'm sure I could do pretty well on boring though you may have me beat, tiredsoul. I did just read The Population of Europe and enjoyed it and I have read dictionaries and encyclopedias for fun, getting lost in the associations and never finding what I originally picked up the book for.

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Triscuit7]

Once upon a time, there were two lesbians. They met, played softball, stuffed envelopes, decided they liked each other...a lot and after a year of nights spent at her place and the other her place, they moved in together. These were the great good old days of reading everything.



Then they moved to NJ which meant no more public transportation for the one and a decrease in reading; the other liked watching, oh maybe just a little too much, and couldn't bring herself to read on the bus... which meant a decrease in reading.



Then the one got a job in a bookstore, and they added a 2nd car, and lo, and behold the books accumulated but were not read. And it was sad. Very sad.



Time passed and only the favorite authors were read and well, re-read, and maybe read again, but the books continued to be bought and to accumulate because, hey, discount here and someday there would be retirement.



Then a great discovery was made in the fall of 2001 of a certain television show that quickly replaced the Weather Channel and the History Channel and the Discovery Channel and Junkyard Wars in the hearts and minds of this lesbian couple. It was even better then Xena (esp. the last season), and had someone (two someones actually) on it that was as cute as Major Kira Nerys (but without the wrinkly nose and uniform). But the two someones had each other and a kitten and a bad wardrobe that they seemed to share.



Lo, it was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and while the two lesbians were late in coming to their senses and admiring such a beautiful thing, they were not hesitant. They "buffed" AM and PM on FX and started watching the new season too, and bought every book and even read them.....



But things in the new season were growing dark and they wanted answers and they searched the internet and found this site with spoilers, and fanfic, and smut, and Kittens. And when things grew dark and horrible and the season sucked, one of the lesbians said to the other "hey, look at this," and pointed to this itty bitty revenge-y write-an-ending fic on the Kitten Board. The other Kitten looked and thought and said, "hmmmm, I have this idea" and she sat down and wrote and posted and got feedback and well ...,



It was good. She was a 'ho, but it was good.



She was happy, the other lesbian was happy, and they went to sleep. And the writer dreamed of Tara in boots, and Willow unlacing the boots, and of them together in nothing at all.



By the third night of boots in her head, she sat down and wrote some more and an addiction was born.... She stayed up late, writing, but she worked in the bookstore with a grin on her face.



Then the two lesbians went to VT, got civil-unioned and well...,

It was very good, but they still aren't reading many books.



The-Not-So-Much-An-End



Ciao, Melissa (damn reviews)

**********************


I brought marshmallows!

Edited by: Triscuit7 at: 9/5/02 3:50:18 am

[The Inward Sea]

tiredsoul wrote:

Quote:

---

I think I got a shot at pathetic and boring

---

And darkmagickwillow said:

Quote:

---

I'm sure I could do pretty well on boring

---

See? Now I'm certain that we are all related!



About Byzantium, I agree that Justinian was an idiot, but its fall was matter of time. And I have many doubts about the West not being already a land of illiterate barbarians... Extremes doesn't happen in History from just one fact, but who knows? And Belisarius is one of my All Time Favourite People. Willowbabble? Maybe darkmagickwillowbabble is it! (*Listen to us! We-we're arguing! We're having a debate about a college lecture!* OOMM, S5)



I loved the "Tale of two little lesbians", Triscuit! Buying books that I don't have time to read happens to me too! I have piled them over my desk, my nighttable and a chest of drawers. Of course, its strictly forbidden to touch/move any one of them. I haven't read any Buffy books. My weakness are Lilian Jackson Braun's "The cat who..." mysteries!



I also think that Darcy and Triscuit won on the Quantity Contest. (But they have a joined library... )





Sea



Edited to say that Hey! I've just made Flaming O!

Edited by: The Inward Sea at: 9/5/02 11:09:51 am

[Kieli]

Hmmm....and here I was thinking that Diana and myself were bad. I've got a nightstand currently overflowing with about ten or so books and close to thirty magazines of the scientific variety (Science, Cell, Scientific American, Discover, American Scientist). However, we have close to seven very large bookshelves packed to capacity with anything from classics to Nancy Drew to all of my science related textbooks, notes and collectings, as well as copies of the Advocate, and back issues of Wired magazine. Well...and there is also that huge box of all of my collectible graphic novels from Oni to X-men We've got archeological books (mostly mine) and religious books and a TON of historical books (again mostly mine...I really am a science/history fiend). So....can I step up to the Bookworm World Championship plate?



Toni

Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea then lays you on the beach again. Today's struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no. It includes everyone."--Amy Tan "The Hundred Secret Senses"

[saphire tear]

I was one of those book-wormy kids. I have been collecting books since I was really little....7 I think.

Anyway, I have a collection of over 650 different books. (My favourite being the old Roald Dahl childrens books, I have every one).

When I moved away from my home I moved into this two bedroom apartment...one room for me and my girl, one for my books.

It has that great old musty book smell too which is very cool....and now you guys all think I am nuts right?

[darkmagicwillow]

Well, it does seem that we have enough similarities to be related...



It's true that the Byzantium's fall was only a matter of time, but it is amazing that it lasted a thousand years after the West. The West was going downhill rapidly by the time Belisarius arrived but I think the Italian wars pretty much finished it. I love Belisarius too. Have you read David Drake's alterate history Belisarius series, starts with An Oblique Approach? While not literature, it's a pretty fun read. I picked up Robert Graves' Count Belisarius recently but it's on my toread shelf.

---

(*Listen to us! We-we're arguing! We're having a debate about a college lecture!* OOMM, S5)

---

Like Willow, I loved seeing Buffy as an academic if only for a few season 4 episodes. It's one of the times that I really liked her.



I loved the "Tale of two little lesbians" too. I'm also bad about buying too much books. I bought a bookshelf just for my toread books a few years ago but that's long since filled up and they're everywhere again.



Kieli, welcome to the Bookworm World Championship. We can always use more contestants, especially if you'll let me browse through your history and science books (my two favorites for nonfiction).

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[Kieli]

No problem, DMW, come and peruse to your heart's delight. I agree that Byzantium was having problems and was destined to topple. But civilizations at that time were just having it tough all around....Christianity was rife with constant in-fighting, the barbarians' constant pillaging and making war was just disintegrating the empires. I could sit and talk history for days. One day we'll have to sit and chat. Right now I'm reading Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir. It's actually rather entertaining.



Cheers!



Toni

Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea then lays you on the beach again. Today's struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no. It includes everyone."--Amy Tan "The Hundred Secret Senses"

[The Inward Sea]

darkmagickwillow wrote:

Quote:

---

It's true that the Byzantium's fall was only a matter of time, but it is amazing that it lasted a thousand years after the West.

---

Well, the Byzantine Empire was the twilight of the ancient civilizations in many ways. And twilights are charming, aren't they? You can feel the elegance or the tragedy of their farewell. Is like ending a well written novel with much loved characters. And they even managed to make amazing art!



I don't know David Drake's work, but I enjoy Robert Graves' Count Belisarius a lot. I, Claudius et al are also big favourites. The only one that I don't like is this book on mithology he wrote!



I think that Buffy/Willow relationship wasn't well developed. From my POV, they jumped to the *Six years of being the sidekick* (Oh, you know the ep, TTG, S6) from a very thin line. And it never was properly addressed how much Buffy wanted to keep on college or be as smart as Willow is. In many ways, Willow is what Buffy would like to be. The Kitten fanfic writers are doing also there much better work than ME did!



You're welcome, new competitors! We have to open more events, then... like:

- How fast can you find a given book in your house?



Be careful, darkmagickwillow and kieli:

Quote:

---

especially if you'll let me browse through your history and science books

---

Can be considered by the BWC Comitee to be bribery!



Sea

Edited by: The Inward Sea at: 9/5/02 8:34:24 pm

[Darcy]

Did somebody say boring? I still have a lot of my law school texts and tons of computer books (Running MS-DOS 5, for example). We actually have most of the bookcases sorted by topic: animals, home improvement, music, languages, and mysteries in the attic; science fiction and fantasy in the library/bedroom; classical literature and history in the big living room bookcases; law in the small one .... Unfortunately, some of the categories have long since outgrown their assigned spaces. The shopping bags are mostly unsorted.



Oh, yeah, I missed an extra bookcase in the library/bedroom, and the 24 cubic feet of books serving as a makeshift table/nightstand, and the piles and full nightstands in the main bedroom. I also transported a chunk of our collection to my office (tech stuff and Dilbert). And we've lent some to my mother, and they're living at her house indefinitely.



We toured the model homes where my cousin bought her new house and decided we could never live in anything new. Way too much valuable bookcase space wasted by things like windows.





Darcy: How many of them books have you read? - Inward Sea



Unfortunately, not as many as I would like. But as Corky pointed out, there's always retirement. And next year they're opening a light-rail system to Trenton that will stop a quarter-mile from our house, so I might get to resume public transportation. I do read some new stuff, mostly non-fiction/history lately. I'm not counting tech manuals and training materials, of course. But in a pinch it's easy to pick up an old favorite and just drop in anywhere, and it's easier to put it down when you know it well.





But the two someones had each other and a kitten and a bad wardrobe that they seemed to share. - Triscuit7



We do NOT share a wardrobe. We have two independent bad wardrobes. When we do laundry, the colors are mostly hers, and the darks are mostly mine. If it has stripes or bright colors/patterns, it's hers. If it's solid colors and boring, it's mine.

*****************
I don't care if it is an orgy of death, there's still such a thing as a napkin! - Willow in "Superstar"

[Tulipp]

Oh my. I am not even going to try to compete because I don't know a ton about history and probably couldn't recognize anyone from a statue.



But there are thousands of books at my house...shelves in every room on three floors...and I've read...some of them. A lot of them actually, but since I have a notoriously bad memory, I can get several chapters into an old favorite before I realized I've read it already.



You should add one thing to your championship events, though....use of scholarly apparatus, like footnotes, in Pens responses.



But I think I already know who would win that one.

[darkmagicwillow]

Sea, you're right about twilights being charming. You describe that so well. That may be why I like Byzantium so much. Kieli, yeah, I think Constantine making Christianity the official religion of the empire was a mistake. I think he wanted to unite the Romans with a unified religion but not having our historical perspective he didn't realize how quickly the Christian sects would begin fighting among themselves once they were no longer worried about government persecution. I've been wanting to read about Eleanor of Acquitane but haven't found the right book or the time yet. I'd love to sit and talk about history for days with you.



I, Claudius is great. David Drake isn't up there with Robert Graves but he is a fun quick read. I like the alternate history genre a lot as it mirrors a lot of the speculation I do about what might have happened if something had been a little different. I like Harry Turtledove a lot too. His Agent of Byzantium, the East has a long golden age because Mohammed becomes a Christian monk and revitalizes Christianity instead of creating a new religion.



My books are sorted by topic too and I have the same problem with some topics expanding faster than others and eating into their space or spilling out of their shelves. I can find one pretty quickly though! However, after hearing about Tulipp's three floors of books I'm beginning to feel inadequate! I'm going to have to run to the used bookstore and buy more now.



But computer books boring? Sure, I'd agree about Windows and MS-DOS books, but a lot of the O'Reilly books are fun and they have cute animals on the covers. Of course, maybe me not finding them boring will help me in the boredom category. (-;



Tulipp, no one would be so bookwormy as to use footnotes on Pens. Would they? (-;

--
"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit. "   "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."