favorite quote questionnaire
Apr. 8th, 2009 11:03 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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queensthiefHello everybody!
A looooooooooooooooooong time ago (say, over a year), I posted the following questions as part of a "hey let's share our favorite lines and fangirl shamelessly" thing which I then completely failed to follow up on. Anyway, given how long it's been, and the fact that the questions are rather good (if I do say so myself), I thought I would repost it. With all the new kids (who really aren't that new anymore, and with all the REALLY new ones I don't know very well at all), I thought it would be fun to see how answers have changed, or maybe stayed the same.
So please! Comment away! Consider the question "and why" is attached to the end of all the questions! (It's just like high school English!)
1) What's your favorite line from the books?
(I know, I know, it's difficult. Think hard!)
2) Is/are there any particular line(s) you find yourself repeating to yourself, or that you automatically think of in certain situations?
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
(That one's kind of hard, too. Did it change the way you viewed a character? Was it in a broader, more life-lesson-y-type sense? Did you breeze right by it the first time, and find it later and wonder how you could have possibly missed it 'cause it's the best line ever? Etc.)
5) If you could, for half a second, channel MWT's brilliance, which line would you have like to have written yourself?
Have fun! I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!
A looooooooooooooooooong time ago (say, over a year), I posted the following questions as part of a "hey let's share our favorite lines and fangirl shamelessly" thing which I then completely failed to follow up on. Anyway, given how long it's been, and the fact that the questions are rather good (if I do say so myself), I thought I would repost it. With all the new kids (who really aren't that new anymore, and with all the REALLY new ones I don't know very well at all), I thought it would be fun to see how answers have changed, or maybe stayed the same.
So please! Comment away! Consider the question "and why" is attached to the end of all the questions! (It's just like high school English!)
1) What's your favorite line from the books?
(I know, I know, it's difficult. Think hard!)
2) Is/are there any particular line(s) you find yourself repeating to yourself, or that you automatically think of in certain situations?
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
(That one's kind of hard, too. Did it change the way you viewed a character? Was it in a broader, more life-lesson-y-type sense? Did you breeze right by it the first time, and find it later and wonder how you could have possibly missed it 'cause it's the best line ever? Etc.)
5) If you could, for half a second, channel MWT's brilliance, which line would you have like to have written yourself?
Have fun! I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!
no subject
Date: 4/8/09 05:56 pm (UTC)(1) " 'Because you didn't look like a king,' he said.
The king stared in mild astonishment.
Costis went on, growing angrier with every word.
'Sejanus says you're an idiot, and he's right. You have no idea even how to look like a king, you don't stand like a king, you sit on the throne like... like a printer's apprentice in a wine shop.'
'So?'
'So-'
'You mistook me for one of your cousins?' "
page 13 of "The King of Attolia"
You have two characters here at the height of their personal quirks. Costis is being dangerously honest (given the wine is helping), and Eugendies is being antagonizing simply by behaving magnanimously and deliberately misunderstanding.
(2) "...what may look completely stupid to you is merely a demonstration of my faith."
page 339 of "The King of Attolia"
This quote aptly describes the times when we do something for reasons others are not able to understand.
(3) I don't really don't have a least favorite character so I'll pick the one I think is the most evil.
" Sajanus saluted the king. 'Basileus,' he said... "
Here Sajanus has finally realized what he has been up against, and by saying this one word admits his defeat.
(4) There are a lot of them, but here is one is in particular.
" 'Eugendies' - he heard her cool voice through the agony - 'have I exceeded the restraints of tradition? Have I offended the gods?' and he heard someone whisper with his voice, 'No, Your Majesty.' "
page 26 of "The Queen of Attolia"
I first thought the Eugendies was in so much pain that he was just not aware of his own actions, but then I late realized it was the gods speaking for him personally answering the queen's question.
(5) " 'What the hell was he doing, then?' the king snarled.
'Well, stealing your magus, sir.' "
page 116 of "The Queen of Attolia"
A pure example of Mrs. Turner matter-of-fact humor, this line never fails to make me laugh.
I should be studying! But I'm not! WHEE!
Date: 4/8/09 06:23 pm (UTC)"Why did you come if not to kill my king?"
"I came to steal his magus."
"You can't," said the magus in question.
"I can steal anything," corrected Eugenides, "even with one hand."
2. Recently, "I don't think I've ever heard you say that many words at once. You sounded almost articulate." Particularly that last line.
3. The reason I hate Ambiades is that he has no good lines ;-). I'm sure thats not true, but none are coming to might just at the moment. (Help?)
4. I shall have to think on this one.
5. Oh my. All of it? Um.... I love the ones that come back chapters later, I want to do that.
"I can't keep on apologising."
"Why not?"
"Well, I think you would be bored."
...
"You were right."
"I was?"
"The apologies do get boring."
Re: I should be studying! But I'm not! WHEE!
Date: 4/8/09 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 4/8/09 08:56 pm (UTC)IT COULD BE THE GODS SPEAKING THROUGH HIM. COULDN'T IT.
I love that I am still discovering new things about these books.
*Is totally down with shameless fangirling*
Date: 4/8/09 09:55 pm (UTC)This questionnairre was the very first place I found out about KoA!
(And also how I got soooo badly spoiled...)
Hmmm, must think more on answers though.
no subject
Date: 4/8/09 10:43 pm (UTC)It wasn't until after many rereads that I noticed it.
WARNING: NO FANCY PAGE NUMBERS...
Date: 4/8/09 11:32 pm (UTC)1. Have to say:
"I love every single one of your ridiclous lies." *kiss*
Just because. You know why.
2. Whenever I'm talking to someone who wants me to help them with something impossible, I find myself saying "First, I will see Gods walk the earth." Which might not be the best thing to think as it actually happened for Gen. :-)
3. There is no character I dislike really. I always laugh when Ambiades calls Gen "O scum of the gutter" knowing how much Gen hates dirt.
4. "The velvet was soft, but the embroidery scratched." When I saw kitsune_rains post about this, I realized just how deeply cool that was.
5. I wish I could come up with as awesome a comeback as Costis's "The assasin or the heir?" I usually end up stuttering out "Well... your... stupid...!!"
no subject
Date: 4/9/09 12:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4/9/09 02:28 am (UTC)2) Pretty much any time anyone says "Oh my god," I immediately think of
Which is also another answer to 1) and 5). Man I love that line.
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
Oxe Harbrea Sacrus Vax Dragga Onus Savonus Sophos At Ere.
...when Teleus speaks it. Though Teleus is not my least favorite character, that he would fall on Gen's mercy "against" his queen in this moment and then still dump crap all over Gen later...graaah Teleus. Also, because of the chills I get when it echoes back to when Gen said this line. (Nahuseresh is my least favorite chara, but I can't quote him.)
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
When Gen is in the cell and screams "I CAN DO ANYTHING I WANT." Every time I read this line, it evokes different images...the first time I read it, to Gen in the tomb with Hamaithes; the second to Gen stealing Attolia's earrings; etc. etc.
5) ...which line would you have like to have written yourself?
And also "...You'll never die of a fall unless the god himself drops you."
All quotes from KoA, BECAUSE IT'S MY FAVORITE, and because it's the only one I have to hand.
Re: I should be studying! But I'm not! WHEE!
Date: 4/9/09 02:30 am (UTC)Re: WARNING: NO FANCY PAGE NUMBERS...
Date: 4/9/09 02:55 am (UTC)Is that a reference to my post?
*laughs*
But I see now, I forgot to put the page number in for #3. So sad.
I like your answer for #5. That's hilarious.
no subject
Date: 4/9/09 04:56 am (UTC)"Gen, you viper."
*sigh* he is, isn't he? I find it an excellent description, since snakes are somewhat of an acquired pet, and yet even people that don't like them had best be wary.
2) Is/are there any particular line(s) you find yourself repeating to yourself, or that you automatically think of in certain situations?
"Oh no, never more than he's worth"
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
I don't have the book on me, (my younger sister has stolen it) But towards the end of QoA Nahuseresh says something like "You are a woman, and as such do not understand the world of men and kings, you do not understand the nature of their gifts." Totally shows his blindness, and sets up Attolia for the fantastic response of "Oh, Nahuseresh, if there is one thing a woman understands, it is the nature of *gifts*"
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
This would have to be the line in the middle of QoA, where Eddis makes Gen turn back, and say "My Queen," and responds with "Just that." So he says it again, since it might be the last time she'll ever hear him say it. What I passed off every previous reading as "maybe he'll be dead" not until my latest reading did I get the subtext that a successful mission will mean it is the last time. *sobsnifflesmile*
5) If you could, for half a second, channel MWT's brilliance, which line would you have like to have written yourself?
"Will you serve me and my god?"
"I will, Your Majesty."
"Then come out," said the king, helping him, "knowing you'll never die of a fall unless the god himself drops you."
Because OH MY GOD!!! was my first reaction. This one exchange has been absolutely mindboggling for me. The ramifications if what is hinted at it is true, versus the difficulties, and such are enough to keep me occupied for well over three years.
no subject
Date: 4/9/09 04:59 am (UTC)1) What's your favorite line from the books?
"When she's angry, she sits, when she's sad, she sits. If she was ever happy she'd sit, I think."
2) Is/are there any particular line(s) you find yourself repeating to yourself, or that you automatically think of in certain situations?
"Stop whining." :)
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
Nahuseresh to Kamet: "I would like very much to strangle someone. Why don't you go away until I decide it isn't you?"
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
One of many, when Eddis tells Gen: "Go and steal the Queen of Attolia." So many different ways to see that line!
5) If you could, for half a second, channel MWT's brilliance, which line would you have like to have written yourself?
There are so many, that I'll choose one of the pages I have marked at random: "She was very pretty." After a pause he added, "And very kind."
no subject
Date: 4/9/09 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4/9/09 05:17 am (UTC)Arf, arrf, bark, bark, bark, yap, yap
2) Is/are there any particular line(s)
Ten cups, I swear, [Ten cups of flour, I swear!]
3) Think of your favorite line by your least favorite character.
'Pol thinks you ride like a sack of loose rocks' -Ambiades, The Thief, I know it's mean!
4) Is there a line that struck you differently on subsequent rereads than it did the first time you read it?
(That one's kind of hard, too. Did it change the way you viewed a character? Was it in a broader, more life-lesson-y-type sense? Did you breeze right by it the first time, and find it later and wonder how you could have possibly missed it 'cause it's the best line ever? Etc.)
Moon Promises
5) If you could, for half a second, channel MWT's brilliance, which line would you have like to have written yourself?
You are more pretty,' 'But she is kinder.' The Thief, Gen.
That was fun. XDDD
no subject
Date: 4/9/09 06:33 am (UTC)#1 favorite line: (Gen to Relius) "So would I". (The context is, Gen asks Relius if he would serve Attolia again, even after all she has put him through in prison. Relius swears he would. Gen very simply replies, "So would I.") My heart stopped when I read this, realizing the depth of Gen's love and forgiveness for his wife. That's why I think this is the most romantic of all stories. Having been married many many years, my version of true love is not the "falling in love" type, but the "yes, I'll forgive you" type that a couple must have to stay together.
#2 repeating to myself: (Gen and Costis) "--I'm speechless; -- Not noticeably, sir."
#3 Least favorite character: I must pass; I don't have my books.(loaned out)
#4 I have to choose one from each book.
From TT: (The Magus) "We may someday achieve a relationship of mutual respect, but for now I will have your obedience."
From QoA: (Gen, about Attolia) "I dream about her."
From KoA: The entire scene when Gen goes on and on about being disemboweled, "my insides may soon be my outsides", carrying on like he's at death's door, when really he was faking to irritate Irene, knowing that she wouldn't worry if he was being silly like that. I love the line at the end of this scene: (Gen to Ornon) "I think, in future, I will stick to upsetting my physician," which is when we catch on that he was faking all along, and why. So silly, so irritating, yet beautifully romantic!
#5 MWT brilliance for myself: This it he easiest most obvious question for me to answer. Of course, "In my nightshirt?" I love how contrary he always is. So funny!
Re: WARNING: NO FANCY PAGE NUMBERS...
Date: 4/9/09 01:49 pm (UTC)Re: WARNING: NO FANCY PAGE NUMBERS...
Date: 4/9/09 06:27 pm (UTC)There's only one level in my house so stairs aren't an issue.
*gratefully acknowledges respect for commitment*
no subject
Date: 4/10/09 12:17 am (UTC)1. The very end of QoA.
'And she believed him.' It's such a significant point for Attolia - and for the poor reader who's been hoping for this moment ever since chapter 15!
Or when Gen calls 'Irene?' after she faints. Just... yeah. *is incoherent*
2. 'So, so, so.' When I'm frustrated. I think of it as a verbal eye-roll. (And always wonder about this phrase - where did it come from? Did MWT just make it up? It seems to mean 'yeah, yeah, yeah' - is it taking off 'it is so'? I know, strange thing to obsess over.)
3. 'Don't think that I am a fool, either.' -Sounis, right at the beginning of The Thief. Drama!king, anyone?
4. In my last few re-reads of KoA I saw the whole 'how embarrassing' and 'Gods, how humiliating was that' exchanges in a different light. I used to read the exchange after Gen threw up as him complaining about his own hulimiation, and Attolia not being all that sympathetic. Now I think he's commenting rather on how embarrassing it is for Attolia to have her husband 'scared white' to the point of throwing up when he sees her. This is pretty much the only theory I've come up with on my own, so I'm very proud of it :D
5. I always get awed by the way MWT describes movement - like when Costis is lying on his bed pinching the rim of a cup between his fingers. Sigh. But one line?
'The queen was settling on the edge of the bed, ungainly with hesitation and at the same time exquisite in her grace, like a heron landing in a treetop.' That's just lovely.
Re: I should be studying! But I'm not! WHEE!
Date: 4/10/09 12:35 am (UTC)In my mind, when Gen says, "I can steal anything" in this part, he says it in his Sounisian gutter accent. Just so he can smirk at the Magus. Does anyone else see this???
no subject
Date: 4/10/09 01:44 am (UTC)1) "Whether I am on a rafter three stories up or on a staircase three steps up, I am in my god's hands.
He will keep me safe, or he will not, here or on the stairs."
-KoA p.349 hardback
Gen has an amazing amount of faith and what he says about his relationship with his god is the same that I ought to have with mine. This line is a beautiful example of MWT's genius. It never fails to make me squee. =)
2) "You've always been kind to me."
"What a lie that was."
-KoA p.307 hardback
But is it really a lie? The conundrum here is great fun to ponder from time to time and I often find myself thinking it in conversations with my best friend.
3) "I would very much like to strangle someone. Why don't you go away until I decide it isn't you?"
-QoA p.323 paperback
I really do hate Nahuseresh but words cannot describe just how brilliant that line is.
4) "Well, that was revealing."
"Only to those with eyes to see."
-KoA p.101-102 hardback
I still don't really understand what exactly was revealing about that scene but each time I read it I think of something new. Are they talking about: Gen's strength and ability, the idea that in the end Gen is the center of gravity/the true ruler, it also might possibly show the gods' presence. Regardless this line is very dynamic.
5) "If Attolia could look like a queen, Eugenides was like a god revealed, transformed into something wholly unfamiliar, surrounded by the cloth-of-gold bedcover like a deity on an altar, passionless and calculating."
-KoA p.228 hardback
*Dies of too much brilliance.*
no subject
Date: 4/10/09 04:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 4/10/09 06:08 am (UTC)1) "I love your eyes, I love your ears, and I love every single one of your ridiculous lies." One of the best Irene/Gen moments of all time!!!!!!
2) Two different answers. I find myself repeating, "gods damn you, too" whenever I'm frusterated at someone, because it's a good untranslatable way to say that I think I'm smarter than them. On the other hand, I get the quote "who wouldn't want to be married to the woman who cut off his right hand?" stuck in my head very easily. It's fun to analyze. To me, it represents the moment when the Attolians (at least those with some sort of mind) begin to realize that the new king might not be there just to torture them. They don't accept him as a king, but at least they aknowledge him as a human being... who might want to be there as little as they want him. Not true, but an interesting thought.
3) Hmmmmmmmm... well, my least favorite character is Ambiades, but I lent my copy of Thief to G. There is one tugging on my mind... ohhesphestiadangit, I don't remember. Ah well, I'll go with another one, just because I think the scene is overlooked far too often: "She's beautiful, newly widowed, and the stupid ass persists in dancing with her sister." Baron Erondites. Quite simply because it makes me smile to think of how much he doesn't see.
4) People have said a lot of mine - "First, I thought, I will see Gods walk the earth", and, "'My Queen?' 'just for that'" are the two outstanding ones... But I always laugh at the line, "what makes you think my sweetheart can read?", when Gen's talking to the Magus. The interesting thing about that scene is that I get the feeling the Magus senses that the joke may be on him, but for some reason he doesn't care, and trusts Gen enough that he'll let him have his joke.
5) "A shadow princess he'd called her, and someday, he'd said, a shadow queen." Those phrases, 'shadow princess' and 'shadow queen' would fit wonderfully into a screenplay I'm writing... and it could use a little brilliance... *stares dreamily into space, imagining a world where such things as spontaneous-mwt-channeling occur*
Re: WARNING: NO FANCY PAGE NUMBERS...
Date: 4/10/09 02:17 pm (UTC)Re: I should be studying! But I'm not! WHEE!
Date: 4/10/09 11:01 pm (UTC)