For corwin, this IS relaxing, really. DesignDesk so he doesnt have to reveal tech Diqu doesnt have yet; Futon for those 30 minute breaks every 2-3 hours, really reminds me of when he was working on the world engine for Cepherio. Granted, the house is probobly less complicated than the engine, but hey, its CORWIN. He generates this stuff the way a stray unfixed feline generates kittens!

> "Don't look at me," said Gryphon when Corwin did exactly that.
>"I've known better than to try and slow these two down since the day you
>were born. Literally."

Quoted for truth, and just the sheer hilarty of the whole bit. Could be even more hilarious later in Future Imperfect or "new era" when he's come into his own enough to riff right back at her.

> Skuld looked back at Annabelle's face, shaking her head in
>amazement. "Inconceivable," she muttered.

Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

> "Well, obviously not," said Gryphon, causing Korra to snort
>involuntarily, Corwin to cough awkwardly, Anthy to giggle, and Utena to
>stifle a bark of laughter that probably would have startled the baby,
>then shoot him a reproachful smile.

I dunno if I should be sad or glad that you didn't have UF-G go for the Inigo riff; after all she only used it once and Inigo didnt do it to Vinnie till what... the 4th or 5th time? Just before Westly beats him in the duel in the forest?

> "The pun or the procreation?" wondered Anthy innocently.
> "Both," Gryphon replied promptly, drawing another round of
>similar reactions.

Or maybe not so innocently. :p I can totally see Anthy giving UF-G a straight line like that. And a pun is the shortest distance between 2 straight lines, after all. And I should know, my whole family is punny that way. Except for my stepdad. He'd usually just turn down his hearing aid so he could ignore us once we got going.

>"Oh, please don't say that where Minmin can hear you," he begged.
>"She'll insist on submitting a bid as a matter of form and guess who'll
>have to write it."

Church Lady: COuld it be.... Sata.... err... Ryo?

>"She's a little bit crazy."
> "A little bit?" Corwin wondered,

Ah, but its a good crazy, the kind that takes after her... fudge. Are these Asami's kids or grandkids? I've kind of forgotten at the moment.

> Anthy smiled. "Well, for them, I'm sure he'll be happy to go -
>despite how much he loves the Turing Board," she added dryly.

Anthy's true mystic power? getting her tounge that far in her cheek without biting it off at the root!

> Grown-ups are so weird, she thought as she slipped quietly back
>out of the house and took herself off to bed.

Jeremy Irons: You have NO idea.

> Of course, there was -one- important difference; back in the WPI
>and DSM days, her afternoon workouts with Kate had not involved the
>occasional presence of a gleeful infant and a slightly fretful dragon,
>one lashed to her back and the other anchored watchfully on her
>shoulder. That was a bit weird, but at the same time oddly gratifying.

Makes sense, really. Both Korra and Nyima are masters, and would be skilled enough that Annabelle wouldnt be in any real danger; and its not like bad guys to give you a chance to hand off your daughter before attacking. And while Nall loved to hang with Utena; I'm certain that he'd have found riding her shoulder while she spared far to energetic. he is a CAT dragon, after all.

>It's... calming." He shook his head. "I just
>can't say anything here that doesn't sound like a euphemism, can I."
> "Not really," Corwin agreed.

*SNERK* Ahem, excuse my not so dirty mind here, but I was actually assuming that her spending time with Nall *WAS* more like meditation and talking things out with a peer, etc... granted, Lhakpa isn't exactly a true PEER, but I have a feeling she kinda gets where Nall is coming from a lot more because of her own issues.

I think I read way to much into the fact that this sceen happened on April 1st, though.

> "(Hmm, good point. I guess we'd better skip that for right now.
>I wouldn't mind so much,)" she added with a mischievous grin, "(but Ryo
>might be embarrassed... )"

Poor Corwin. Even from his wives he gets no respect! And be glad Anthy wasn't there, she probobly would have come up with something even more wickedly teasing.

> "It is a great honor to have you traveling with us, Avatar!" Lt.
>Zhi barked stiffly before anyone else had a chance to speak.

Heh. A continuation of stick up the... backsides officers tradition that runs all the way back to the first appearance of the HoSghaj.

> Zhi continued to look confused for a second or so longer, then
>finished parsing the request and smiled, suddenly looking much more
>human than he had when shouting rigidly formal greetings to the Avatar
>on the bridge.

And continues with showing their... well, I suppose calling it "human side" might be considered an Insult by Zargh Thalekh, but...

As a complete and total non sequitur; I could totally see two Klingon warriors challenging each other to prove who was tougher by seeing who could down the most jalapenoes without having to take a drink during Taco Night.

> So she kept herself away from it, unconsciously editing herself:
>substituting a series of small, easily overlooked awkwardnesses for one
>big, unmissable one.

Rut Rhoh, Shaggy. What do you want to bet that...

>Anthy was peculiarly well-equipped
>to detect such small awkwardnesses where others might miss them. The
>realization came to her gradually, but plainly, and by the time they
>stopped for fuel at Kyoshi Island, she had begun seriously to consider
>what she might do about it.

yup. Healer Anthy is on the case.

> "Oh, hang on, I see what you're getting at," she mused to Anthy.
>"Hmm." Then, with a shrug, she added casually, "Welp; knew this was
>comin'."
> Anthy blinked, surprised by the matter-of-fact tenor of her
>husband's response. "You did?"

Well, I suppose Anthy's surprize at this could have been because she didnt have to draw Utena a picture this time; as Utena notes in the next few paragraphs she HAS been right where Korra is now.

> "Ahh, don't worry, he knows," said Karana with a grin. "He's
>just a big wimp about being cold."

The stereotype here is that most people would associate that sort of sentiment with a Firebender or someone from the Fire Nation. I know I was confused for a moment when I recalled Azana was the team's firebender.

> From ice-out in the spring until the freeze in late fall,
>fishermen and -women - most of whom kept their main homes in Senna -
>worked the waters of both fjords, as well as the coastal waters beyond
>Qurluqtuq, from boats based out of the piers of Pangniqtuuq

IOW, Deadliest Catch Diaqu style, Eh?

>"Now that is a boat." He turned to Korra with a
>roguish twinkle in his eye. "I should make a couple of calls." Gauging
>the size of the vessel with a practiced eye, he went on, "We get 40 or
>50 strong rowers in that hull and we can go a-viking.

Heh. Love seeing Corwins heritage peek through, though I doubt the poor fishermen who work the area would see it as that funny.

>"Vicious little bastards. They'll take your leg off all the way up to
>your neck."

Yipe. and I bet that if/when they learn fishing boats have nets full of fish it just makes the catching that much more... Interesting.

>What you
>three have to do, without any input from me, is get this boat," (she
>tapped the gunwale with a palm) "through that channel," (indicating the
>ice-choked passage) "and out to the open sea without sinking her."

And while the Trinity arn't waterbenders, would using bending be considered cheating? meh. Bellasarius' law prolly applies here.

> _Deadliest Catch: Music from the Series_ (2006)

Heh. Seeing this music cue just EMPHAsises my Quip about DC Daiqu!

> They arrived back at Pangniqtuuq half an hour later with a
>broom, the traditional symbol of victory at sea, lashed to the top of
>the mast.

Actually, it means a clean sweep of all tasks... but now I'm getting excessivly pendantic, arnt I? *wince*

>then, not entirely
>convincingly, she sobbed, "-Hold- me,"

apparently dragons learn win levels of snark during the dreaming as well as language!

> "How hard can mmmrph," said Garnet, and then, when he released
>her snout from between thumb and forefinger, "Can you not do that?"
> "Only if you stop making it necessary," Corwin replied mildly.

But not about tempting fate. Some things one really can only learn through experience after all.

>Corwin's "well, -I- don't know" face

Also known as the "lost in Cleavland" face in my minds eye.

> ... when, with a slightly wicked little smile, Anthy caught her
>eye. With a quick, hard-to-follow movement of her right hand, the
>Cephirean Priestess was suddenly holding two roses, one white, the other
>an almost-iridescent pale blue.

YES! Its been way too long since we've gotten to see one of these in text! and, I for one, somehow find it totally fitting that this winds up being part of Utena and Anthy's plan for inducting Korra into the circle of the "Grave Corwin Conspiracy", (not to be confused with the "Grave Gryphon Conspiracy!")

>On the ground midway between them,
>the pale blue rose that had been on Korra's chest lay scattered like a
>bomb burst, its denuded central bud smoldering gently.
> Utena's was still right where Anthy had pinned it.

The Winner and still champ-een.... Utena TENJO!!!!

> special guest star
> Katara of the Southern Water Tribe

And once again, Corwin shows just how he manages to be so darn luuuurrvable. *thumbs up*