#cj cherryh foreigner

[aqueenvictorious]

like a river, like the wind

There's a general (if unspoken) consensus, among those who understand what Manchi is, that it's a great deal more complicated than love.

Bren Cameron disagrees.

[sylvanauctor]

on capitalist mospheira, a pizza party means "please don't form an association". in the democratic-feudalistic atevi western association, a pizza party means "we ARE your association"

[datgreenmonstah]

More context to that whole CJ Cherryh and the audio cinema debacle, as well as explaining what my partner went through as the audio engineer and the lack of payment and the issues we dealt with. But basically the lack of communication.

The more I think on it, the more I feel like they probably dragged it out with us was to make us think we were on it so our manager would stick around or something. Still not sure what happened to everything and everyone.

Never got paid and all we had to show for our work was some stuff our manager gave us as payment and a measly $5 for my partner once he cut his contract with our manager after the 3 yrs ontop of the previous work he did with them, which I think was an additional 2 or so. So my partner had $5 to show for 5 yrs of work for them.

Just an overall headache and waste

[sylvanauctor]

me knitting while listening to my blorbo watching its shows: Never let us forget what is kabiu or break the rhythm of the seasons, or of the wild things, or of our own bodies. Let us never forget how to build a fire, light a candle, or use our hands to spin thread. Let no single village forget how to weave cloth, shape a pot, or hunt its own food. If a machine made a pot, it serves for a while, but if hands made it, it is kabiu, and fit to pass to our children. This was the true understanding I learned from Valasi. This is what I now give to my son. This is what he will, in his day, give to his son. This observance of true value is what keeps kabiu. This is the source of things unseen. This quality, this fitness, remains so long as we have the keen sense of what is real. And in a hundred thousand pots, one is kabiu. We can heal the sick, warn against weather, and supply common pots to every village in the world. But let us teach our children to make what is kabiu and to recognize what is kabiu and to value what is kabiu. This is the unity of one. This is the Aishidi'tat. This is our heritage.

Me watching tv: it’s what murderbot would have wanted

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I love how many conversations in the Foreigner series are just

Bodyguards: We have reason to believe that this guy wants to kill you

Bren: Oh that's easy to solve, I'll just go visit them and we can talk it out

Bodyguards: Bren-ji they will kill you.

[wizardsvslesbians]

We feel that Bren Cameron would be a perfect skrunklo for the tumblr set, if only they knew him. With special guest Ann Leckie!

[fumblingbuffoon]

Foreigner Wiki

If you are reading CJ Cherryh's Foreigner series, may I recommend the Shejidan Wiki on Fandom? Lots of handy background has been provided by a long-standing and very knowledgeable fandom.

Ive added a bit as I read through the series and would welcome advice, I'm a novice to the series.

https://shejidan.fandom.com/wiki/Shejidan_Wiki

[kikimaymay]

One of the most fascinating issues with the Foreigner series by CJ Cherry is that the alien race/atevi are an autocratic* civilization, but it's because of actual biological impulses that function as a pyramid of sorts.

Despite the (maybe genetic? Definite social conditioning) "follow the leader" aspect of the culture, with a large monarchy/serfdom allegory, Tabini is only in power because he gives the larger population/commoners reason for him to actually stay in power. If the general population hated Tabini, he'd be gone in a heartbeat.

Anyway, I've got a lot of feelings lately about this series and life in general, and re-reading and seeing the sheer stress that Bren goes though like.. almost every day? The man just needs to go fishing a lot more. And maybe fuck Jago a lot more too.

[calmnivore-new]

fanart for foreigner by cj cherryh

[karalynlovescake]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Foreigner Series - C. J. Cherryh Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Bren Cameron & Tabini, Bren Cameron/Jago, Bren Cameron & his Aishid, Bren Cameron & Ilisidi Characters: Bren Cameron, Jago (Foreigner), Tabini (Foreigner), Cajeiri (Foreigner), Ilisidi (Foreigner) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, canon compliant apart from that one thing, bathing together, love and fate and destiny and all that stuff Summary:

For humans, the first words your soulmate will speak to you appear on your skin.

As usual, unbeknownst to humans, atevi do things a little bit differently.

*******************************

WHAT’S UP GUYS, SOMEONE POKED ME POLITELY ON AO3 SO YOU GET A LIL FOREIGNER SOULMARK AU.

[bren-nandi]

foreigner series (hear me out) is an isekai. mospheiran culture is just too familiar to be the believable result of hundreds of years of space travel plus hundreds of years of forced isolation. therefore i say the whole "lost in space" situation functions basically to teleport a US state into the waters off the coast of the aishidi'tat. as if by portal.

not saying that's a BAD thing, it is in fact great, but it is true

[sylvanauctor]

O tempora, o man'chi!

Hasdravad tashridique haec intellegunt, Aiji videt; hic tamen vivit. vivit? immo vero etiam in Shejidanem venit, fit publici consili particeps, notat et designat oculis ad caedem unum quemque nostrum!

P. Cameroni oratio prima in Cadigidos

[tbookblurbs]

Foreigner - C.J. Cherryh (First Contact/Foreigner series #1)

3.75/5 - really interesting things to say about human nature and translation; pacing a little weird

Having finished this book, I can now say that I like it and that I will probably finish the first trilogy. Apparently the whole series is 20-something books, so I'm not going to commit myself if they all have these weird pacing issues.

Regarding those pacing issues, I found this book pretty hard to get into. The first 100 pages of the book take place in snippets over about 500 years, which is a little disorienting. I understand that the early days are necessary to understand the human politicking but it was difficult to start caring about anyone involved when you don't meet the true main character until page 70. After that, the pace is a little slow until you hit about the 75% mark, at which point the plot picks up quickly.

The main character was not someone I found endearing at first. He has very human concerns, but frankly I found his constant complaints exhausting. He also repeatedly commented on how he knew he was breaking protocol or being rude but just couldn't stop himself, which stops being believable after about the 100th time. After a point I found his frustration understandable and warmed up to the way he lived, but for the first third of the book I just thought he was really bad at his job.

On the positive side, I do love what this has to say about the nature of human connection and meeting those who are different from you. How do you bridge a gap when you have fundamental cultural differences? When those differences go beyond cultural values and into the way that people create and maintain relationships? The struggle of translation lies in the puzzle of taking one distinct meaning and making another that replicates the first and its associated cultural context in another language.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

[queerian]

on Man'chi in foreigner

Warning! Spoilers for Foreigner (book 1) and Defender (book 5).

Tabini places extremely valuable players (or pivotal moments) in extremely risky situations, expecting those who feel man’chi to him to fulfill their duty to the best of their abilities. It's the same thing when there’s a dangerous situation brewing and Bren says “I have every confidence in you, nadiin” to his staff.

When you feel man'chi, “not only do I trust your loyalty but I trust your understanding and your skills and that despite all the risks and dangers you will be able to rise above it and achieve what is necessary” just goes unsaid.

When Tabini or Ilisidi don't give him what he feels is crucial information, or take actions without informing or warning him, he interprets that as them not trusting him but it actually means they trust him more!

They trust him to operate independently of instruction (and in some cases trust him to know better than they do!), they trust him to intuit the needs of his aijin and carry out what is necessary.

This is why Tabini sends Bren to Malguri in Foreigner and essentially invites/challenges Ilisidi to test Bren, knowing or trusting that Bren will not break or do the wrong thing.

This is why in Defender Tabini sends Ilisidi and Cajeiri up to go on the ship to go on the mission Reunion, knowing how valuable they both are to him and the whole aishiditat, but trusting in Bren's man’chi to him and Ilisidi, and trusting that the man’chi of the ship captains and crew to each other, all will ensure a felicitous outcome. As long as there is the treaty, Tabini can trust that all parties adhering to the treaty will maintain their common interests.

Man’chi is basically a biological assurance of stability and trust that allows atevi to operate under high levels of risk, stress, and uncertainty. As long as man'chi is clear, they know more or less what the involved parties can or will do, and this allows them to take action easily. It comes back to this so often in the series - man'chi allows you to predict fairly well how someone will act under pressure.

Man'chi is not a choice for atevi, it's biological. If they fail at something, it's either because they lack the ability/skill to accomplish the intended goal, or there is a conflict of man'chi. So if an atevi folds under pressure, they lose their value to their lord because they are not reliable - either in terms of skill or man'chi.

And this is why, in the first trilogy, Bren’s staff is initially so perplexed by his constant need for information, because they see it as him lacking confidence in them - their skills and man’chi.

As Bren says to Yolanda in Defender: "Don’t back down from Tabini’s baiting you. If he thinks you'll fold rather than argue with him, you’ll be out of his confidence in a heartbeat.” To me, this is a way riskier cultural mixup than “friend” that Bren keeps harping on about.

[not-a-space-alien]

Hi , I have a question.

So do you have any ideas for ship fiction situations based around bren × his ashid , Bren x tabini and/or bren x ilisidi.

You see I was planing on making a fiction for you but I do not have a lot of ideas.

The only idea is this very nsft wet dream or just romantic dreams fiction of bren having dreams around tabini , tano , algini , jago , and banichi separately.

Any better ideas then the one I got?

OH FOREIGNER FANDOM OUT OF LEFT FIELD!! :D

I think those are great ideas! :D

Personally, I love scenes with Bren x Jago, since there's a line in one of the books about it being awkward due to their size difference 😳 I also uhh love the idea of Bren x his entire ashaid just in a big pile because they can 😳😳 👉👈

if you're writing it specifically for ME (that's great ♥) Let's just say I uhhhh don't mind nsft 👀 not in the slightest

I don't have any good ideas though, unfortunately xD