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Subject: "(S07) The Courtship of Princess Dessler"     Previous Topic | Next Topic
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Gryphonadmin
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"(S07) The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
 
   LAST EDITED ON Apr-02-10 AT 01:27 PM (EDT)
 
9 This story's title is based on that of the Star Wars novel The Courtship of Princess Leia... which, oddly enough, I haven't actually read. I just liked the title.

78 And here we have Rina Dragonaar, who is one of the First Symphony's more notable runaway characters. She was only supposed to be "the crewman who shows Devlin to the hangar bay", but somewhere along the line she developed into something very much more.

154 Cut line: "Not that there's anything wrong with playing with yourself, but you can't fill entire days with it. Trust me, I've tried."

189 The Lightning IV isn't based on any particular sci-fi space fighter, though in my mind it does end up somewhat resembling the real-life F-22 (which should've been called the "Lightning II").

212 This always kind of bugged me about Star Wars - that Rebel pilots flew in what looked like they might be pressure suits, but wore open-faced helmets that couldn't possibly protect them in the event of a loss of cabin pressure.

304 The Starfury is the standard fighter of the Earth Alliance in Babylon 5.

325 At the time I wrote this, there were no B5 references available that gave technical details about Starfuries, so I had to make up my own numeric designation for them. I failed to be consistent in this, so the numbers attached to the fighter type are sometimes different from story to story. The ones seen here are actually SA-23E Aurora Starfuries, the most common type seen on the source show.

380 Gamilor, and UF-universe Gamilon culture in general, is mostly an original invention. They weren't well-explored on Star Blazers and my memories of that series are hella sketchy to boot.

460 Like Amanda and Rina, Xenia is an original character. She shares the given name of James Bond villainess Xenia Sergeyevna Onatopp, but is not derived from that character.

514 Only Amanda calls Kitarina "Kit"; all her other friends call her Rina.

598 Klah is one of the galaxy's many coffee-like beverages.

885 Garon specifically requested command of the destroyer Vengeance because of his and Amanda's fondness for the old Klingon television show Battlecruiser Vengeance.

1093 Dolshaia the Redeemer is the second of the UF-Gamilon religion's two principal deities. She is the wife of Kru the Executioner and is responsible for seeing to it that warriors who have not yet completed their destiny do not die from wounds incurred in battle. She is an aspect of Freyja Lightwalker, the goddess of medicine.

1109 Devlin is possessed by an uncommon fury here; normally he would never consider issuing a direct command like this. It goes against his principles.

1156 Well, considerably more modest, if we're being honest - 32B vs. 36D.

1216 As seen on the original Star Trek.

1218 Reference to William Gibson's Neuromancer, in which the best biotechnologically manufactured replacement organs can be had in Chiba, Japan.

1220 Inspired by a bit in one of James Burke's documentaries in which he notes that a Pinkerton's agent in the Old West tragically became, thanks to heavy drinking intended to give him cover as a hopeless drunk, a hopeless drunk.

1288 At last it comes out. Many details in my stories develop organically over time, or spring upon me while I'm writing as suddenly as they subsequently spring upon the reader, but this is not one of those; Devlin was going to be a blip all along.

1547 Rina's discontent at this turn of events will be seen again.

1608 12 HD.

1855 Amanda's eyeplate is visually reminiscent of that sported by the Zentraedi commander Breetai in Super Space Fortress Macross.

1941 I always picture this scene in a jerky-camera, fast-pan, Homicide: Life on the Street sort of style, with a bit of artsy slo-mo thrown in just for kicks.

1950 Devlin's weapon is a PPG (phased plasma gun), the sidearm of choice on Babylon 5.

2195 We'll find out who she's calling in Hunted Rose.


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  Subject     Author     Message Date     ID  
  RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler jadmire Dec-09-06 1
  RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler laudre Dec-09-06 2
     RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Gryphonadmin Dec-09-06 3
         RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler laudre Dec-09-06 4
             RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Verbena Dec-13-06 6
                 RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler junipermoderator Dec-13-06 7
  RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Lime2K Dec-10-06 5
     RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Mephronteam Dec-13-06 8
         RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Verbena Dec-13-06 9
  RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler JeanneHedge Dec-30-06 10
     RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Gryphonadmin Dec-30-06 11
         RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler trboturtle Dec-31-06 12
             RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler Gryphonadmin Dec-31-06 13

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jadmire
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Dec-09-06, 05:42 PM (EDT)
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1. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #0
 
   >>885 Garon specifically requested command of the destroyer Vengeance because of his and Amanda's fondness for the old Klingon television show Battlecruiser Vengeance.<<

First of all, you're on one hell of a roll with these "liner notes". I just want you to know that I really appreciate them all! (As if you couldn't tell from my .sig...)

I trust you'll get into this in a bit more detail when it comes time to do the commentary for "Pavane for a Dead Princess", but it strikes me that the crew of the Vengeance will know the truth about Garon, because obviously he behaves in a totally different way on the bridge of his ship than when he's out in public, so to speak. Hard to imagine that any Gamilon crew worth their salt would willingly obey a notorious drunkard, even the Prince, otherwise.

-Joe-

Lover of fiddly and only faintly relevant background detail


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laudre
Member since Nov-13-06
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Dec-09-06, 07:55 PM (EDT)
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2. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #0
 
   >598 Klah is one of the galaxy's many coffee-like
>beverages.

</lurk>

Out of random curiousity, is this a deliberate Anne McCaffrey/Pern reference, or a coincidence?

<lurk>

- Sean
"All tribal myths are true, for a given value of 'true.'"
-- Terry Pratchett, from _The Last Continent_


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Gryphonadmin
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Dec-09-06, 08:31 PM (EDT)
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3. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #2
 
   >>598 Klah is one of the galaxy's many coffee-like
>>beverages.
>
>Out of random curiousity, is this a deliberate Anne McCaffrey/Pern
>reference, or a coincidence?

It wasn't deliberate, but I read the original Dragonriders trilogy many, many years ago, so it was probably an unconscious reference.

I hope her attorneys don't come kill me now. I hear she's mean to fanfic people.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/


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laudre
Member since Nov-13-06
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Dec-09-06, 08:55 PM (EDT)
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4. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #3
 
   >It wasn't deliberate, but I read the original Dragonriders
>trilogy many, many years ago, so it was probably an unconscious
>reference.
>
>I hope her attorneys don't come kill me now. I hear she's mean to
>fanfic people.

The last I heard of her fanfic policy was that she'll turn a blind eye as long as you don't write about certain of her babies in the Pern novels. This led to online communities built around fan-created Weyrs and such. I don't know much more than that, nor do I particularly care; I have a great deal of affection for the Pern novels, as they are a treasured part of my childhood and young adolescence (which is the entire reason I pinged on the "klah" thing), but I never had the slightest urge to go there when I was still writing fanfic.

- Sean
"All tribal myths are true, for a given value of 'true.'"
-- Terry Pratchett, from _The Last Continent_


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Verbena
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Dec-13-06, 01:59 PM (EDT)
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6. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #4
 
   >>It wasn't deliberate, but I read the original Dragonriders
>>trilogy many, many years ago, so it was probably an unconscious
>>reference.
>>
>>I hope her attorneys don't come kill me now. I hear she's mean to
>>fanfic people.
>
>The last I heard of her fanfic policy was that she'll turn a blind eye
>as long as you don't write about certain of her babies in the Pern
>novels. This led to online communities built around fan-created Weyrs
>and such. I don't know much more than that, nor do I particularly
>care; I have a great deal of affection for the Pern novels, as they
>are a treasured part of my childhood and young adolescence (which is
>the entire reason I pinged on the "klah" thing), but I never had the
>slightest urge to go there when I was still writing fanfic.

I had the opportunity a couple times to join various Pern MU*es, and frankly, I always turned them down. Just like Dragonlance, it struck me as a fine setting to set a premade story in and a disappointing place to try to roleplay in. The lack of armed conflict is, to me, particularly silly and unlikely. I'm sure McCaffrey had no intention of writing about that kind of thing, and I can respect that (There's a couple suspensions of disbelief in most stories I read, and I do so because the story is generally fun. UF's no exception.), but it's just not -logical- enough for me.

Wasn't Klah, like, mocha or something? I haven't read a Pern book in ages.

"They say one should not speak unkindly of the dead, so I say, 'nice try'." --Lezard


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junipermoderator
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Dec-13-06, 02:59 PM (EDT)
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7. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #6
 
   >Wasn't Klah, like, mocha or something? I haven't read a Pern book in
>ages.

The coffeetable splat book about the world of Pern has it as being the inner bark of the Klah tree...and then provides a recipe that tastes similar in flavor that is mostly cocoa powder, instant coffee, cinnnamon, and sugar.

Like most drinks made with instant coffee, it tastes about as good as however much you shell out for the instant coffee. (In the case of the one time I made it, really, really bad.)


Juniper
Rampaging Karateka Crypto-Kwavu'b Contributing Editor (and Moderator)
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited
Because why be ordinary in your choice of hobbies?


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Lime2K
Member since May-4-04
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Dec-10-06, 02:37 AM (EDT)
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5. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #0
 
   >1608 12 HD.

Owwwww... thats horrible...

Are you channeling R. Dorothy's sense of humor?
--------------
Lime2K
The One True Evil Overlord


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Mephronteam
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Dec-13-06, 04:51 PM (EDT)
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8. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #5
 
   >>1608 12 HD.
>
>Owwwww... thats horrible...
>
>Are you channeling R. Dorothy's sense of humor?

When I saw that, and got it referenced, I released a bark of laughter that scared the cat.

The next time I saw the Chief in the studio, I complemented him on it. I thought it was brilliant, myself. Of course, I am a paranomasiac.

--
Geoff Depew - Darth Mephron
Haberdasher to Androids, Dark Lord of Sith Tech Support.
"And Remember! Google is your Friend!!"


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Verbena
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Dec-13-06, 08:08 PM (EDT)
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9. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #8
 
   >>>1608 12 HD.
>>
>>Owwwww... thats horrible...
>>
>>Are you channeling R. Dorothy's sense of humor?
>
>When I saw that, and got it referenced, I released a bark of laughter
>that scared the cat.
>
>The next time I saw the Chief in the studio, I complemented him on it.
>I thought it was brilliant, myself. Of course, I am a paranomasiac.

The d20 junkie in me loved that. (The question is, are there class levels?)

"They say one should not speak unkindly of the dead, so I say, 'nice try'." --Lezard


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JeanneHedge
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Dec-30-06, 08:57 PM (EDT)
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10. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #0
 
   >78 And here we have Rina Dragonaar, who is one of the First
>Symphony's more notable runaway characters. She was only supposed to
>be "the crewman who shows Devlin to the hangar bay", but somewhere
>along the line she developed into something very much more.


I'm curious. It's often been mentioned how the Corwin and Utena thing was supposed to be a bit of comic relief, yet together and singly they (and the rest of the cast from RGU) have practically hijacked the stories we've been privileged to see. So not counting them, and not counting Rina (since you mention her here), what other characters (if any) have surprised the writers with the reaction they drew from the readership?


Jeanne


Jeanne Hedge
http://www.jhedge.com
"Believe me, if I have to go the rest of my life without companionship, knowing myself won't be a problem."
-- Gabrielle of Potadeia



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Gryphonadmin
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Dec-30-06, 10:50 PM (EDT)
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11. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #10
 
   >what other characters (if
>any) have surprised the writers with the reaction they drew from the
>readership?

I'm not sure the question necessarily follows the examples - in Rina's case, for instance, reader reaction had nothing to do with it, since she developed in an entirely unexpected direction during the writing of this one story, before anybody outside the crew got a look at her.

Though I often (too often, perhaps) develop characters I don't have any pressing dramatic need for, either for my own edification or that of someone on the crew, I don't do the "popular demand" thing all that much - not out of contrariness so much as the fact that most of the time, that's not how it works with me. I have a hard time directing myself to work on any one particular thing at any given time, which is why I have so many partial pieces kicking around. (And also why I probably wouldn't survive long in the wild. I liked the university - they gave us money and facilities, we didn't have to produce anything. I've <i>worked</i> in the private sector. They expect <i>results</i>.)

That said, there have been a few characters that got more attention from readers than I was expecting, though I can't think of them all right off the top of my head. Ironically, in at least one case - Mac McKenzie - the unexpected attention he got coincided with the character spontaneously running away with things on his writer, and both factors caused me, as editor, a sharp pain. Dude was supposed to stay behind the yellow tape and not touch anything. We didn't have the time or the plot space to go wandering off in that direction.

It's not an exact science, and involving multiple creators can cut both ways - on the one hand, a team effort is usually more fun and allows for interesting synergy; on the other hand, there's the old saying about too many cooks.

That probably doesn't really answer your question, but right at the moment I can't think of another example that doesn't, like Mac, open another can of worms.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/


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trboturtle
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Dec-31-06, 08:12 PM (EDT)
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12. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #11
 
   Don't you hate it when a character refuses to follow your direction and make their own way into stories? I hate that ^_^

Craig


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Gryphonadmin
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Dec-31-06, 08:39 PM (EDT)
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13. "RE: Annotations: The Courtship of Princess Dessler"
In response to message #12
 
   >Don't you hate it when a character refuses to follow your direction
>and make their own way into stories?

I do when I'm the one trying to write the damn story, and the character's being insistent about getting into said story with some other writer.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Admin
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/


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