(no subject)

[skygiants]

I'd sort of been dreading getting through Scales of Gold, the fourth book in the Niccolo series, because I knew it was the Africa one and . . . to put it bluntly, I love Dunnett but I like to think I am clear-eyed about her flaws and I really did not trust her to do Africa. On the other hand, I had also been looking forward to it because it introduces the awesome that is The Heroine! The Boulder was conflicted. :O

I was sort of right on both of these, although Africa was not quite as bad as I feared. I mean, she's clearly making an effort to emphasize that Africa is absolutely not a monolithic Continent of Savage Darkness, that in fact many places in Africa have a long history of culture and learning, and that it really, really does not need White Dudes to Come Save It, and I respect these efforts from her! And I also respect her willingness to show a realistic range of fifteenth-century attitudes about slavery, on all sides. At the same time, though, she often can't quite manage to break out of the Exoticized Adventure Fiction tropes, which makes for a few very othered characters and pretty cringeworthy scenes. I'm similarly conflicted about Loppe/Umar, Nicholas' BFF/partner/semi-confidante. On the one hand, he gets a ton of agency in this book and gets to do a really impressive amount of puppetmastering for the Greater Good, which is a prerogative that is usually reserved for Dunnet's actual titular heroes! In that respect, he may be one of the most narratively privileged and respected characters of the series, which is pretty cool. On the other hand, one of the stated goals of his puppetmastering is Nicholas' Growth as a Person, which tips him perilously close to the Magical. On the other other hand, he actually gets to eventually have a happy and fulfilled life that he has created for himself without any help from Nicholas, which, again, makes him one of the most narratively privileged characters in the series. So I think I would be cool, if DD did not then turn around and fridge him (and it is totally fridging) at the very end of the book to make Nicholas angry. That made me angry the first time I read it, before I even knew the term 'fridging,' and it makes me angrier now.

(As a sidenote, I also found it hilarious how getting to Ethiopia was IMPOSSIBLE, IMPOSSIBLE, THE FEAT THAT CAN NEVER BE ACCOMPLISHED, because I kept thinking back to the Elizabeth Wein books, where people sail cheerfully from England to Ethiopia every other page.)

On the other hand: this book totally ups the ante on female characters. COLD REVENGE-DRIVEN SUPERINTELLIGENT HEROINE who invites herself along on an epic doomed voyage for the sole purpose of bitching at her enemy the whole way. I LOVE HER. (And Bel! Cheerfully shrewd old Scottish ladies for the win. And they actually managed to pass the Bechdel test, which is pretty astounding, considering how few people in the books ever talk about anything but Nicholas. And Bel is all, "she is so awesome, I would take her home with me and be BFF with her even if she hated the whole world! . . . well, actually she does hate the whole world. OH WELL, STILL BFF.") I - I am kind of embarrassed by how much I actually ship Gelis/Nicholas. I AM SORRY I occasionally have a thing for OTPs where their entire lives are centered around Machiavellianing each other into misery. ;_; It is a sickness, I know. But, I mean, okay:

GELIS: I hate you for getting my sister pregnant and then getting her married to a jerk, who is incidentally your father, and then getting her dead.
NICHOLAS: Okay, fair. In that case, maybe it's better if we just kind of avoid each other -
GELIS: I HAVE A BETTER IDEA. Why don't I come to Africa with you and make your life a constant misery the whole way :D? And that way if I die on the voyage you'll feel EXTRA GUILTY!
NICHOLAS: . . . Philippa just wanted to come to Constantinople with Lymond to help him babysit. D:

GELIS: By the way, did I mention I'm a genius, knowledgeable about trade, am learning Arabic, and am probably your perfect woman.
NICHOLAS: . . . I am starting to notice this, yes.
GELIS: ALSO, now that I have nursed you through babbling hallucinating sickness, I know all your most painful secrets. The better to eviscerate you with my verbal and emotional barbs, my dear!
NICHOLAS: My god, you are my perfect woman.

GELIS: Okay, I'll sleep with you, but I am warning you now that this is just to mess with your head even more. Also because you're really attractive and occasionally you can make me laugh.
NICHOLAS: My head: efficiently messed with. MARRY ME.
GELIS: Ehhhhhh, no.
NICHOLAS: Why won't you make an honest man of me? I want to settle down and start a family! ;_;
GELIS: CRY MOAR.

NICHOLAS: Okay, it has been a couple years, we've both grown as people, I almost died, we just had some really hot sex . . . will you marry me NOW?
GELIS: Wellllllll I kind of have my own life now, and I could pretty happily go my own way and have nothing more to do with you and our ridiculously complex emotional issues . . . but okay.
NICHOLAS: YAY! :D :D :D
GELIS: HAHAHAHA SUCKER. Our marriage was all an elaborate scheme of mine to get COMPLETE ANNIHILATING REVENGE for my sister and make your life a living hell forevermore! And you totally thought I was the heroine of the series, didn't you. BUT IN FACT I AM YOUR ULTIMATE ENEMY. :D?
DOROTHY DUNNETT: Actually, Gelis, you are the heroine of the series.
GELIS: . . . . D:
NICHOLAS: . . . . Philippa was NEVER EVER this mean to Lymond.
DOROTHY DUNNETT: That's because I like Lymond more. Also, dude, you are the guy who will eventually ruin Scotland for the lulz, and it would be way too mean to your love interest if she was actually nice. Also, SHUT UP, GELIS IS AWESOME. Enjoy the next four books of out-Magnificent Bastarding each other before you finally get a happy ending!
NICHOLAS: . . . . . 'kay.

(FANDOM: But Gelis is an Evil Woman who is meeeeeeeeeean to Nicholas. D: D:
BECCA: SHUT UP, GELIS IS AWESOME.)

I should note: I am not usually that interested in romances where it is just clear that one party is ridiculously bad for the other one, who is relatively sane, because I often just want to tell the sane one to get the hell out of there. (It does not help that the crazy damaged one is usually the guy, who can get away with anything, and the girl has to be nice and sweet and innocent. Double standard!) But I do have a secret weakness for pairings where BOTH parties are completely Machiavellian and manipulating and insane. Hey, better that they end up together than with anyone else, right?

So, guys: indulge my secret weakness! Tell me about your favorite TOTALLY INSANE AND UNHEALTHY OTP. (KYOUYA/AZULA!)

Comments

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

One of the very, very few pairings that I ship like burning that is not an official couple (in spite of the hints, damn they love to shiptease us), is Motoko/Batou, in their Stand Alone Complex forms (though I ship them in the movies too, but they're really different characters there). She's distant and kind of emotionally abusive! He's willing to nearly die in order to get her her accessories back! And yet they work so well together and I love them. ;_;

I must also third Lord Vetinari/Lady Margolotta, who are indeed seen enjoying each other's company in Unseen Academicals.

[skygiants]

I have to admit, call me gender-biased all you want, but I am SO MUCH MORE LIKELY to be sold on a couple when the lady is the distant/emotionally abusive one (and the narrative doesn't vilify her for it.) Look, it happens so often the other way around that it is boring!

(Also, I have to say, if they are the couple in your icon, I am kind of enthralled by the gentleman's crazy eyes.)

>:D eeeeexcellent.

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

S.A.C has plenty of gender issues (often in the form of the Major's clothes) but you must say this for it- "Hey, we've got a female lead who can and will beat up everybody and be respected as a strong military leader and have a whole group of men loyal to her! Admittedly, one of those men is hopelessly in love with her, but the others are there because she has mad skills."

(That is indeed them! They're both cyborgs, and Batou's eyes are prosthetic, standard issue for Rangers. He kept them when he joined Public Security.)

Indeed!

[skygiants]

That is indeed pretty badass. I get way too excited when fictional ladies get to demonstrate their MAD SKILLS!

This . . . is um not really a secret I guess.

(ALSO APPARENTLY has MAD STYLINGS on his own account, from this next icon!)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

And oh, are her skills MAD. Need a small mecha destroyed? Call the Major. Need to hack into someone's cyberbrain? Call the Major.

(I LOVE VACATION!BATOU. He realizes that the only way to hang out by a pool after you have had an episode paying homage to things like Ocean's 11 is in a Hawaiian shirt.)

[skygiants]

You are making this series sound strangely intriguing!

(EVERYONE SHOULD RECOGNIZE THE BEAUTY THAT IS HAWAIIAN SHIRTS. Especially badass cyborg killers.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

Stand Alone Complex: because no other cop show has the works of J.D. Salinger as a major plot point in the first season.

(EXACTLY. Batou is a very discerning man.)

[skygiants]

. . . what do they do with them? @_@

(And it sets off his cold metal eyes so nicely!)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

The feared hacker the Laughing Man is a huge fanboy. And then the writers just throw in more references for fun!

(I think they're plastic, actually.)

[skygiants]

. . . that is kind of adorkable.

(Somehow EYES OF PLASTIC is way less intimidating than EYES OF COLD STEEL.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

That is not even the half of it! At one point, one of the advanced A.I.s who are adorably childlike (and happen to be multilegged tanks with great destructive ability) is seen reading Flowers for Algernon!

(Well, in spite of his love for shooting and/or blowing things up, Batou is really a huge dork. So.)

[skygiants]

. . . well, it's a good book to read if you happen to be a childlike entity ~advanced by science~! Also, that is totally adorable.

I think my favorite example of that kind of thing is still the series of books where at one point an COLD ANGSTY CYBORG with the SKIN OF A KILLER (no, literally, he occasionally sweats killer viruses) makes an offhanded Discworld reference.

(Huge dorks are the best kind of killers! Well, that is a lie, there are all kinds of awesome kinds of killers. But they are up there.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

The Tachikoma are the most adorable weapons ever. They are just all kinds of win.
In many ways, I think the S.A.C. staff are a lot like Batou- huge dorks who also love explosions!

WHAT IS THIS SERIES I NEED TO READ IT.

(I admit to being incredibly fond of the huge dork variety. Part of my characterization of Bourne has me expanding upon the hints we get that he's a bit of a dork when he's not being an epic former assassin superspy.)

[skygiants]

Everyone wants their weapon to be cuddly. *solemn* *also, laughing* I LOVE writers who are clearly and obviously dorks.

IT IS AMAZING. Kage Baker's Company series, which not only has the offhand Discworld reference and IMMORTAL CYBORG WILLIAM RANDOLPH HEARST, but also a cyborg librarian whose hobby throughout the centuries of his life is writing EPICALLY RIDICULOUS RPF. He cries at the ending of his own stories, it's adorable.

(EXCELLENT. I think half of those hints are probably Matt Damon, who is capable of making really hilariously dorky expressions at times.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

Well, cuddly is hard when said weapon is metal. But you want to give them hugs regardless!
I admit, one of the reasons I can stand NCIS is because the writers are clearly film geeks.

...This is immediately going to the top of my "buy when I have money again" list. Because THAT IS BRILLIANT.

(He makes Bourne so adorably awkward at certain points! I love it.)

[skygiants]

Then you will love Kage Baker, because she is a giant film geek. (There is an entire chapter in one of the books where the cyborgs are hanging out watching an old D.W. Griffith movie and making snarky comments. Plot-relevant? NOT IN ANY WAY. Way too entirely too entertaining to me? WHY YES, WHY DO YOU ASK?)

I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE THIS. The first one is In the Garden of Iden and takes place in Elizabethan England (with cyborgs); they get better and better up until around the fourth book, which is AMAZING, and then the ones after that aren't quite as good. But I love them anyways, and they are totally worth reading for the ridiculously epic degrees of dorkery!

(Those were the best parts of the Bourne movies, really. - uh, the two that I saw, I have not yet seen the third.)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

Clearly, I must obtain this as soon as it is conceivably possible! Cyborgs snarking at Griffith is do need. Along with cyborgs in Elizabethan England.

(:O You have got to see the third, it prominently features Pam Landy being better than the entire rest of the CIA!)

[skygiants]

Yes. Yes you must. >:D

(THIS IS CERTAINLY AN INCENTIVE. Maybe over my winter break when I actually have time to watch movies again!)

[elspeth-vimes.livejournal.com]

AND I SHALL.

(It is the main reason that Ultimatum is my favorite of the 3! [I am also very fond of things they do in it like respect the fact that Bourne's still in love with his dead girlfriend.] I hope you get a chance to see Pam's mad skills!)