Subject: Re: Has any fiction given you things that you use in real life?
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Posted on: 2017-11-14 06:08:00 UTC
I have a friend whose middle name is Locke, not after the actual philosopher but after the character from Ender's Game.
In one of the Beka Cooper books, she mentioned blowing into a horse's nostrils to introduce herself. I've been doing it ever since. I am assuming that I haven't offended anyone yet since I haven't been hoofed in the face.
On a more serious note, reading the Bryant and May books taught me a huge amount of trivia about London, which is always fun.
My oldest son who pre-dates all the Peter Jackson Tolkien movies, is named after a character from the Hobbit. Middle name, but still there.
I have a friend whose middle name is Locke, not after the actual philosopher but after the character from Ender's Game.
Sweet! It's always fun to meet someone and know their parents were as big nerds as you yourself are. I met an Arwen once. I was excited about it and she was thrilled that I recognized the name's origin.
I was named after a dragon in a D&D game my parents were in when they first started dating
Don't post after bed time, kids.
If the PPC were a real-life group and not an online thing, I would say that I'd love to meet your parents. But since it's online, that's not a good thing to want. So I will content myself with knowing your parents must be absolutely amazing.
(Wait! Hey, that's another thing I got from fiction! Watching kids a performance of the play "She Kills Monsters" is helping get me back into tabletop role playing!)
-Twistey
Hey, a theater group I'm part of is doing She Kills Monsters right now! It's a really fun show. I am making the poster and helping build the set (although we do need extras to be some of the monsters, so perhaps I will do that, as well).
(I forgot to mention I only saw the Younger Adventurers version, so if there's any missing details that are in the real one aside from fouler language, let me know.)
-Twistey
I can't think of anything specific I've learned directly from fiction, but I can think of lots of things I've learned because of fiction. HTML, for example. I originally taught myself HTML to help out some friends of mine from a Farscape fan forum. I've maintained and sharpened my coding skills over the years because of RP interests and the PPC, which all goes back to fiction. I'd be an inanimate husk without a soul full of stories.
~Neshomeh, waxing poetic lately.
...hopefully all the logical thinkers I've been reading about have rubbed something off on me.
Oh! Ah yes! I know somewhat about the concept of breaking strain, thanks to Stephen King's The Eyes of the Dragon. I guess that's it?
-Twistey
I learned to spin thread with a drop spindle because I was inspired by Sandry in the Circle of Magic books.
Where did you get a drop spindle? How long did it take you to learn? Was it hard? And, perhaps most interestingly: was there enough information in the books to learn from, or did you have to look things up/get advice?
~Z
I made my own drop spindle (using a plastic toy umbrella as the base, actually) - to that end, I did have to look up what a drop spindle looks like. I, stubborn as I was, didn't look anything up but instead just fiddled around until I got something that seemed threadlike. It probably would have been a lot easier and faster to pick up if I had looked for help and used the proper materials.
I've never had formal instruction, but I used a lot of the information in the book to help me learn how to shoot. I somehow managed to take third place at the local Renaissance Fair's archery tournament.
That's flipping amazing! Yes! Just... yes!
(Also, I haven't really got to know you that well yet besides knowing of your legendary status here. Hi, I'm Twistey, once again, and I'm pretty sure I'm done stumbling all over myself on the Board like when we first were acquainted, but then again.)
-Twistey
Well, fiction gave us all Google Earth... But I don't think that's really what you meant.
Fiction also gave me a lot of my odd language and such. Clannerscum, BLAM, feth, frak, and so on - fiction is good for swears, insults, and so on.
Fiction is also responsible for my giving out of zorkmids to people who get my references, and my silent cursing of Toey when I misspell words. I firmly believe in THE HEART OF THE CARDS! (or a least the spleen), the Random Number God is not to be messed with, and god help you if you steal my Nat 20.
And I wear a lilac on the 25th of May. Every 25th of May. And if you don't know why, you weren't There.
Only about half of that was joking. I don't know which half.
If I couldn't curse in Quenya, Tanith, and mixed Arda-Star Wars references, the world would be a much poorer place.
(Well, my world. Dun' wanna make too big a thing of it.)
hS
...a whole bunch of random knowledge that sometimes comes in handy in my life has come from Tamora Pierce books. Also a number of others...most recently, though, I think, was the moment when I was cleaning part of the apartment and remembering Tris teaching Briar how to lift up the things on the shelf to dust them (and under them) rather than just poking around the spaces between them. Also, the bit about dusting before sweeping, though I didn't do that (there wasn't so much dust, though). So that's a thing. And I'm pretty sure I've tried the horse thing, too, though I think I learned it from a different book of hers.
Essentially: yes, definitely. Also, have you read any other Tamora Pierce books? We could talk about it! :) Shared fandoms are always great.
~Z
I did read a bit of Wild Magic and Circle of Magic, but I don't remember any of it.
Which...is a phrase I'm fairly sure I've never in my life heard anyone use, but shh, I'm going to make it a thing for the moment. Anyway: I've read the Beka Cooper books, but I don't remember much more about them than the general storyline, and even that is really incomplete. I didn't connect to them as much as I did to her other books, so I never really reread them? Or maybe I've reread one? I actually own one or two of them, but they've mostly just stayed on the shelf after I read them the first time...which was when they came out, hence why I don't really remember much.
Meanwhile, I've done the opposite with most of the rest of her books.
Oh well. Still cool to meet another person who's read some Tamora Pierce :)
~Z