Reading roundup: The Raven Cycle and fandom meme (also, happy new year!)
So, first of all, Shana Tovah! The new year starts this evening, and I hope by then I will be able to stop yelling and being annoyed at literally everyone in this household, because that's no way to set the tone for the year, but that's pretty much what the entirety of my weekend has been so far
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Hmmm, I'm not sure there are any pairings in Phedre's trilogy or Moirin's that I could scrape up enough headcanon for -- though if you prompt me with a pairing, I'd definitely try! -- but for Imriel's I should be able to do this. Do you have a specific pairing in mind? Left to my own devices, I'd probably do Imriel/Maslin or Imriel/Sidonie...
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Sure, Imriel pairings sound good! Hit me :)
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- falls asleep on the couch
Maslin, I guess, because I think the way he passes his days involves more physical exertion and is more likely to tire him out. Plus I see him as someone who is by nature more of an early to bed/early to rise type than Imriel.
- makes friends with the neighbors
Neither of them is particularly gregarious, but Maslin probably finds it easier to pal around with neighbors -- Imriel comes across as too aloof and stuck up, even though he's really not.
- is the adventurous eater
Imriel. He's traveled much more widely as a kid and has tasted more different cuisines than Maslin. Maslin I see as someone who is more likely to see food as fuel and have not much patience for fiddly dishes that aren't very filling. (He loves Vralian cooking for this reason :)
- hogs the covers at night
Maslin, and Imriel teases him about it in the morning.
- forgets to do the dishes
Maslin, but not so much "forget" as "enjoy the fact that he doesn't have to do them if he doesn't want to". Imriel would be more likely to genuinely forget, but Maslin slacks off on them more often than that.
- tries to surprise their partner more often
I think they both do, but in different ways -- Imriel is more the traditional romantic "let me sweep you away to a glorious evening" kind of surprise, and Maslin's more the type to pounce on Imriel when he doesn't expect it, which turns into a sparring match, which turns into making out. Maslin's way takes a lot less effort and planning, so I would guess he does it more.
- leaves dirty laundry on the floor
I don't think either of them would be especially likely. Imriel, who had a period of living luxuriously after his early years, probably does this a couple of times, but Maslin makes fun of him for it, pointing out how cossetted that is, and Imriel is genuinely embarrassed and tries not to have it happen again.
- stays up til 2 AM reading
Definitely Imriel. That's probably when Maslin falls asleep on the couch.
- sings in the shower
I think Imriel would be too self-conscious to do this, though he has a very nice voice, so it's got to be Maslin. He hums the marching/campfire songs of the Unforgiven, because standing under hot water always makes him think of being cold in the mountains there.
- takes the selfies
Imriel. They are very hispter selfies :P Tastefully black-and-white and Instagram-filtered.
- plans date night
Imriel -- Maslin is more the spontaneous, hey, we have an hour free, let's have a quickie type :P
- drinks all the coffee
Maslin. 'cos if there's coffee, or anything else hot and energizing, you drink it while you can.
- brings up adopting a pet
Imriel wants to get a cat, and mentions this to Maslin. Maslin scoffs that if they're going to have an animal living in their house, it better be a USEFUL animal that earns its keep, like a dog who will guard the house. What ends up happening is that they go to the animal shelter still arguing, and come home with a one-eyes Siamese that hates everyone except Imriel and a white German Shepherd puppy that Maslin, cursingly, house-trains and takes on walks, and is really annoyed when the puppy bonds to Imriel more.
- always ends up with too much junk food after grocery shopping
Probably Imriel is the one who buys it, but Maslin is more likely to eat it when he's hungry and snooping through the cupbroads for a quick snack.
- nicknames the other
They both have embarrasing/fond sobriquets for each other, starting with Imriel calling Maslin "my bright angel" :)
(Not sure if you also want me to do Imri/Sidonie -- let me know if so :)
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I find your ideas intriguing and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter (though actually I guess I am :P)
I agree with all of these! Especially the shower one. Except maybe the pet one. Not sure. And hey, don't you think Maslin had a few nights once in awhile where he stayed up all night in the dungeons? :P
yes to Imriel/Sidonie!
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Imriel/Sidonie:
- falls asleep on the couch
Together, probably after making love. Sidonie often has to get up and get some more work done, though, and leaves Imri to sleep there, covering him with a blanket and giving him a pillow to snuggle with in her place, if he doesn't rouse enough to go to bed properly.
- makes friends with the neighbors
Once again, neither is really the friendly-with-neighbors sort. So they'd probably come across as a stuck up couple (living in the modern world where they weren't powerful/infamous), until Alais came to visit and charmed people on their behalf.
- is the adventurous eater
I think in this case it would actually be Sidonie. Imriel has traveled more and has a broader palate, but she strikes me as someone who would be more interesting in pursuing interesting food in the name of experience.
- hogs the covers at night
Sidonie, probably. Imriel is very solicitous of her having enough covers, so he's happy to cede them to her. But mostly they just sleep intertwined and don't need covers to keep warm as much.
- forgets to do the dishes
They have servants for this, but even if they didn't, I don't see them prioritizing dishes very highly. They probably would use disposable plates a lot in the name of efficiency, if they had the option and no-one else to take care of them.
- tries to surprise their partner more often
Sidonie probably a little more, because she would feel like it's up to her to push the relationship in interesting directions. (A lot of the surprises would involve BDSM, quite likely.)
- leaves dirty laundry on the floor
Only clothing discarded in the heat of passion (and then servants come and pick it up, but if they didn't, they'd put things to rights themselves the next morning).
- stays up til 2 AM reading
Imriel with literature/philosophy, Sidonie with more practical things like reports and dispatches. I also see them as a couple who would read things to each other -- Imriel would recite the particularly beautiful or profound bits he came across, and Sidonie the bits that made her laugh and roll her eyes or think "what kind of idiot doe they take me for".
- sings in the shower
Please, like they ever take showers alone, and then they're too busy for singing ;P
- takes the selfies
Same answer as with Maslin: Imriel. Except instead of black-and-white, there are probably fancy filters that bring out the gold of Sidonie's hair and clothes.
- plans date night
Sidonie, probably, as her schedule is usually the limiter -- and also see the "surprises" question above.
- drinks all the coffee
The drink it together whenever they can, and split the last bits of it equally.
- brings up adopting a pet
I think in this case Sidonie would have to bring it up, because Maslin would feel like she's too busy for the added distraction/responsibilities of a pet, and he'd want it to be her pet as much as his. In the end, they get a vizsla (acquaintances of ours has one, and it's a very Sidonie sort of dog - aristocratic and quiet and ladylike, but incredibly loyal and protective, plus sort of golden).
- always ends up with too much junk food after grocery shopping
I don't see them buying too much "regular" junkfood, but maybe interesting/unusual flavors like pickle popcorn, sweet potato/kale chips, etc., at Sidonie's instigation.
- nicknames the other
They both do it along the old brooding/haughty lines, but it's one of those things where the words have lost all meaning and it's just what they're used to calling each other.
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ANYWAY the gist of what I was gonna say, before I run out of steam again and leave it for another twenty days without comment, is again that ooh these are very neat and IA :D with basically everything.
Even though thinking of KL modern AUs kind of hurts me :( [ETA which isn't to say that you did anything bad! Just, I've never thought of them that way because I'm not really a modern AU kind of person. It's weird to think of them doing some of these things...though now that I look more closely it's not exactly modern actions...but a lot of associated acts that are. Argh. Too late to be doing this kind of thinking. Goodnight!)
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I do like modern AUs in general, but some fandoms are easier to transform into them then others, in my head. But a lot of these character meme questions pretty much require a modernized universe, or at least those were the scenarios that suggested themselves to me. I do prefer KL "period", though, for sure, but then buying junk food while grocery shopping an dsuch are harder to answer.
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