Ask me anything: Toby's world Q&A.

Aug 20, 2012 09:58

Since I have a book coming out in fifteen days, I figure it's time to once again offer to answer your questions about the world. So ( Read more... )

math is awesome, toby daye, party games, ashes of honor

Leave a comment

Comments 96

dostehseh August 20 2012, 17:00:03 UTC
Man, I was so excited when I read/glanced that first line, because I thought it was going to be like ... world-general questions, and I was going to ask about string theory in quantum physics. :(

Reply

seanan_mcguire August 20 2012, 17:11:51 UTC
Yeah, see, that would be Seanan Makes Shit Up Theater.

Reply

dostehseh August 20 2012, 17:14:56 UTC
I shall keep my eyeballs peeled for such a title!

Reply

ohari August 20 2012, 21:55:12 UTC
That would be bad how?

Reply


ladymurmur August 20 2012, 17:37:09 UTC
Are there other land-animal-alternate-form-fae, in addition to cats and foxes? For example dog, horse (not humans-changed-to-horses), or snake fae?

And since I find myself oddly biased towards smaller animals = potential fae, what about buffalo or elephant fae?

Reply

seanan_mcguire August 20 2012, 17:39:23 UTC
Yup. It was actually gone into rather a lot in the shapeshifters discussion.

No elephant or buffalo fae, currently, as there was no way to fit that into the pre-existing mythos without committing massive cultural appropriation.

Reply

ladymurmur August 20 2012, 17:44:14 UTC
Ah - thank you! I've been reading a lot of fiction with were-beings in it, and that is how my Monday-brain translated "shapeshifter". I'll go back and look at that answer. :-)

And try to think of another question. 'cause this is fun!

Reply

vixyish August 20 2012, 19:09:53 UTC
I just dug through and added links to the two previous question posts and all the answer posts, for your questing convenience! :D

Reply


last_archangel August 20 2012, 17:44:46 UTC
Are all land fae mammalian (or at least give birth to live young), or are there some egg-layers? I'm assuming some if the water-based species must lay eggs.

Reply

seanan_mcguire August 27 2012, 16:06:48 UTC
There are egg-layers.

Reply


beccastareyes August 20 2012, 17:45:45 UTC
Toby is the Knight of Lost Words (IIRC). I can imagine that a landed title comes with the name of the land it's attached to (Goldengreen, Tamed Lightning. etc.), but a knight is an unhanded position. So does the title mean anything -- either a reference to what Toby did, or as a title that can be awarded (a bit like how a professorship might be the Rich Donor Professor of Stuff, instead of just Professor).

Also, anything you can say about fairy craftspeople and making stuff -- I know it was addressed a bit in the second book (especially that the more craftsmen-oriented fae use changelings to handle ironwork), but I like hearing about how stuff gets made. I know to some extent, even a changeling like Toby has to be able to make a decent dress from raw materials and magic, but is there a difference between 'stuff i need right now so I make (and don't care if it turns back to leaves at dawn as long as I'm not still wearing it)' and 'old, well-made stuff'.

Reply

vixyish August 20 2012, 18:14:46 UTC
I'm totally interested in the making-stuff question too!

But just to note for reference: Toby making a dress from raw materials and magic is her crafting an illusion. It turns back to leaves at dawn because it isn't actually real in the first place. She's still got jeans on underneath. (This is why she tries not to do it for the Queen's court-- the Queen likes to change Toby's real actual clothing into real actual something else, and she's fond of her jeans.)

Reply

beccastareyes August 20 2012, 21:01:13 UTC
Somehow I missed that. Weird subconscious associations, I suppose -- probably the fact that Toby used the materials to 'anchor' (?) her illusion and not just throw up something over her clothing.

Reply

vixyish August 20 2012, 21:07:05 UTC
I'm not 100% sure this is right, but I think it's because Toby is not Titania's descendant. All Titania's children are good at illusions; some of them probably wouldn't need the help of feathers and leaves and whatnot. Races that aren't as strong with illusions (and Toby's always talking about how hers aren't very good, including don't-look-heres and whatnot) are probably more likely to need the anchor, as it were.

Reply


(The comment has been removed)

seanan_mcguire August 29 2012, 14:23:04 UTC
Question 1: Because only the Cait Sidhe accept and care for their animal-form descendants, and because cats have folklore that says they remember everything while nothing else does.

Question 2: Answered.

Reply


Leave a comment

Up