#quaddies

[cookie-nom-nom]

Quaddies!

Bonus Nicol on her double hammer dulcimer* *idk what that is an I had no internet so did whatever I felt like

+cursed Quaddies

[appelsauc]

24-7 PIZZA-PIE HEAVEN ‼️

[statementlou]

Louis' voice sounds like a beautiful clear mountain stream full of angels today 🥰

[iknowaladygoodandevil]

Q uaddy Qua rrel aaaaaa

[highladyluck]

Hhhrrrrrraaaaghhhhhhh YOU ARE DOING THIS ON PURPOSE LOIS

And just how many hands do you expect the locals of Graf Station to have, Gregor? 🤔

[animaticbattleconfessions]

contributing to the quaddy quarrel theory. May I suggest This Fucking Drawing Made By Animatic on the elimination stairs (high quality picture grabbed from the AB RP game on roblox, which does have greenyguy working on it, so I’d say it’s a reputable source in this aspect)

.

[roamertv]

LOVE THIS!! I think i'm going to have a tshirt made 🤣🤣🤣

Photo courtesy of Quaddy Tweeder on Pinterest

[dingodad]

quaddies

[ladymordecai]

I mean, of these options Star Trek is objectively the best--subjectively it's all personal whatever.

BUT. I want into the Vorkosiverse! I would like to live in Bujold's complex, weird, diverse, fascinating science fiction!

I would be a quaddie. Cons: gravity sucks, everywhere with gravity is a trap. Pros: ZERO G BALLET. and unions.

[litcityblues]

'Diplomatic Immunity' --A Review

I know it's actually May, but a new year means that I am continuing ahead on the Honorverse Saga and now I'm dipping back into the Vorkosigan Saga as well with the 13th Book in the Series, Diplomatic Immunity.

The book opens with Miles and Ekaterin on their honeymoon, wrapping up an extensive tour of various galactic sites before heading back to Barrayar just in time to open the replicators and welcome their two new children to the world. This being the Vorkosigan Saga and Miles being a (relatively) new Imperial Auditor, they naturally get diverted to deal with a diplomatic crisis in Quaddiespace.

Quaddies- if you are not familiar with the series are genetically modified humans who traded out their legs for a second set of arms so they could live and move more easily in a zero gravity work environment (Falling Free, which Is set 200 years before the start of the main series is sort of their origin story-- I'll get to that eventually, I promise.). Anyway, as it turns out, a convoy of Komarran Merchant ships is prevented from leaving Graf Station thanks to the somewhat reckless behavior of their Barrayaran military escorts, and to top that mess off, a Barrayaran security officer is missing, presumed murdered and another Ensign has deserted: for love.

Miles and Ekaterin arrive and Miles begins the process of untangling the diplomatic mess, only to be reunited with an old friend: his former Dendarii colleague, the Betan hermaphrodite Bel Thorne (last seen in Mirror Dance or possibly Memory I think-- no longer with the Dendarii, but still working with Imperial Security.) Bel is happy to see Miles, but hints that they would like to be released from Imperial Service so they can settle down with Nicol (a Quaddie musician Miles met earlier in the series while in Jackson's Whole-- in 'Labyrinth') and Bel tells Miles that there is something strange about the missing security officer, but they can't quite figure out what it is.

In short order, Miles discovers that he's in the middle of a plot by a renegade Cetagandan Ba to kidnap what turns out to be an entire cargo of embryos stolen directly from the Star Creche itself that it hijacked near Rho Ceta. Miles instantly realizes that this spells big trouble and a potential war between Barrayar and Cetaganda-- but before he can put a stop to it himself both he and Bel are infected with the same highly lethal bioweapons that was used to murder the missing Barrayarn security officer and nearly die, but manage to reach the nearest Cetagandan world just in time. They cure both him and Bel- though not without both suffering some permanent side effects and he returns the embryos to Cetaganda, averting a war and managing to make it home with Ekaterin in time to meet their new children.

I switched from snagging these on Audible to getting them off Kindle around about Memory I think and that was, oddly enough, the perfect time in the series to do that because as Miles transitions away from the Dendarii and into the role of Imperial Auditor-- I don't want to say the quality of the writing improves, because that's not true, it's always been good-- let's just say that the series matures with its character and the writing reflects that.

Diplomatic Immunity might be the first in the series that has so many callbacks to prior volumes. I don't think you have to read other books in the series to understand this-- McMaster Bujold has always been good at providing context for readers, even if it's only a sentence or two-- but it does add an extra dollop of charm as you get to meet characters from prior novels. I don't know if we're scheduled to see Bel Thorne again in future novels, but if not, then I think this is a nice, (relatively) happy ending for them and I like that. I also enjoyed the fact that this tied back to the events that happened in Cetaganda quite nicely as well-- for all the talk of the war with Cetaganda and how it hangs over a lot of the Barryaran experience, this is only the third time that Miles has tangled with them directly.

(Also, am I the only one who thought that Dubauer being called Dubauer was going to be a callback to Shards of Honor?)

I saw a recent Reddit post proclaiming McMaster Bujold as 'the most underrated writer' in SF/F and while the comments were quick to point out that she's got plenty of Hugos and Nebulas that would indicate that she's very rated and appreciated and has commercial success to boot, I would characterize her as perhaps 'the most discoverable' writer in SF/F? At 74, her output is not what it was at the height of her run in the late 80s, and early 90s and I know damn well that if I had found these books as a kid, I would have eaten them up instantly. Finding them now, in adulthood-- I can't tell you just how happy these books make me and how much I love these characters, and how I desperately wish someone who treasures these books would work up a screen adaptation because they are RIPE for the taking.

Overall: Excellent, enjoyable, delightful, charming, a great addition to the series and I ran right through this book because I just didn't want to put it down. My Grade: **** out of ****

[ask-liam-p]

mod can i see the list of object show recommendations pleas okay ya

sure! here's what I was given to watch! its under the line!

IDFK (the literal obj show name) (WATCHED)

IDS/I DON'T KNOW SILLY (also the literal obj show name, recommended to find it by searching up "idks episode one" on youtube) (WATCHED)

NUMBERS (kinda similar to hfjone i'd say it's like d sided hfjone or smth but erm underrated) (WATCHED)

ANIMATIC BATTLE

A IS FOR (basically d-sided animatic battle. link because it's prob like hard to find: https://youtu.be/_Txbji549aA (copy and paste it in search bar))

ITS TIME FOR THE

THE SLIDESHOW OBJECT SHOW

QUADDY QUARREL

GRENNY'S GRAND GAME

OBSOLETE BATTLE SHOW

BATTLE FOR CHAMPIONS RESORT

OBJECT BATTLE CITY

HAPPY STAR'S GUIDE TO OBJECT SHOWS (kinda an obj show??)

THANOS

WALK-CYCLE'S EPIC BLENDER

NEUTRAL SHOW

LOVE OF THE S*N

BRAWL OF THE OBJECTS

[clonerightsagenda]

I doubt I will be able to keep this one but so far shoutout to Silver the quaddie who is like 'sure I will have sex with people for strategic reasons. this shit is boring as hell though idk what any of you see in it'

[agardenandlibrary]

Books Read in August 2024

August is already over?? I had a pretty good reading month! September is going to be wild, since we’re closing on our new house (!!!) this week and moving. We'll see how it goes...

Witch King by Martha Wells

I enjoyed this one a lot! Neat world & history. 

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix (audiobook)

Finally trying more Nix, not just his Abhorsen books lol. Pretty good. I do love a “child of the ancient Powers discovers their heritage” story. I was pleased at how many people were excited about working in a magical bookshop (will I ever forgive Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore? Only time will tell). 

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart (for the podcast)

This was SO GOOD. I’ve heard the sequels ARE NOT. Full of hubris, I believe I will go on anyway, that’s how good this book was! 

Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold

The History of the quaddies! Overall, good! I really liked the decisions to take personal responsibility – Graf being like “someone should help these kids – fuck it, I’M someone”. Another line that stuck with me was Graf on the station being threatened by someone planetside, another person planetside saying “You have to stop him” and Graf saying “Hey, I’m out in space. You’re in the same room. You stop him.”

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

I do love a living city. Curious how it ends, since I know it was supposed to be a trilogy and then got turned into a duology instead.

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher (audiobook)

It’s a Kingfisher! Very good & interesting take on the Goose Girl story. That sure was a fucked up horse! I do love those geese!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer (for the podcast)

And the month ended with a whimper. Return to the world of your childhood portal fantasy! Be overall disappointed with how the story was told! The interjected “storyteller corners” could’ve been better if they’d been completely different. Oh well.

[statementlou]

do you think it’s concerning that louis not only gets on stage drunk but also seems to have a high tolerance for it?

lol no I don't think it's concerning that a grown ass touring musician drinks alcohol on tour (ie literally almost everyone in the whole entire industry since the actual dawn of time) and your confusing concept of tolerance (a high tolerance means he would drink a lot and NOT be drunk, or do you mean an ability to perform drunk cause if so he got that in 1D when they ALL downed the infamous quaddy voddy redbulls so I KNOW you are OF COURSE just as concerned about poor Harry and Niall RIGHT??) makes no sense, you're just parroting conservative puritan abstinence nonsense. For the record that kind of thinking leaves you a lot more vulnerable to developing substance abuse issues than just having a healthy attitude about it, I highly encourage people to challenge the reagan era DRUGS OPEN THE DOOR TO THE DEVIL or whatever the fuck mentality and to stop be fucking cop about what other people do with their lives and bodies

[regallibellbright]

The first time I’d read Diplomatic Immunity, we didn’t have Falling Free easily accessible so I hadn’t read it yet, just known a general outline.

Having read it this time, I’m definitely going “Yay, thing from Falling Free!” every time they come up.

Quaddie zero-g ballet is of course awesome either way.

[highladyluck]

Would you be so kind as to write a quick little "why you should/shouldn't read" for the Vorkosigan saga? Doesn't have to be specific, but it sounds like you're having a lot of fun over there and I want a reason to join in on another unreasonably long and convoluted-sounding book series. Also it sounds like you're ready to gush about it at a moment's notice

Ooooh, with pleasure! The Vorkosigan saga is a collection of short stories, novellas, and novels written across 30+ years by Lois McMaster Bujold, focused on Miles, the disabled scion of one of the most politically powerful (and progressive) feudal lords of the 3-planet Barraryan empire. Barrayar was a colony planet settled by a couple ethnic/cultural groups from earth (I’ve spotted Russian, French, & Greek and I think there’s a 4th) and they ended up left to their own devices until around 200 years ago when they were discovered by the rest of galactic society (other human colonies).

They have a cultural trauma around genetic mutations due to being atomic-bombed by a neighboring empire about 4 generations ago, and Miles’s life is shaped by the attendant prejudices around this. He isn’t actually mutated but he looks like he is, due to teratogenic damage from an attempted political assassination (chemical weapons + fetus = very short kid with brittle bones & chronic pain). He copes by being extremely desperate to prove himself, and is consequently pretty reckless with his physical body & mental health, but he’s protective of people he is responsible for & puts a very high price on personal integrity. (Reminds me of Rand and Mat, of course.)

There’s some ‘progressive for the 90s’ terminology/attitudes about queer people that are dated at best and wincingly off-base at worst, but that’s really the only complaint I have, and I think that has begun getting better as I go along. (I have similar issues with RJ.) It’s a series very much concerned with the politics of reproduction, in a way that still feels rare in science fiction. The implications of the technology of the uterine replicator on power, gender, sexuality, morality, and culture are explored. Worth noting is that the books also have some heavy torture scenes and occasionally deal with sexual assault. I think it is handled well & is not gratuitous but it’s definitely content warning territory.

The honor-based-checks-and-balances feudal structure of Barrayar is contrasted with various realistically flawed democracies (Komarr tends towards ogliarchy & the Beta colonies are a partially-automated semi-luxurious gay space socialist democracy), the other empire (Cetaganda is like the Byzantine empire if it was built on mad science eugenics), and various other interesting government models (Jackson’s Whole aka the libertarian goblin market, the Quaddie’s ascended engineer’s union, etc). The feudal structure is an exciting place to have the conversations about women’s labor (literally and figuratively), personal expectations, and societal responsibility that Bujold is interested in, because the personal and the political are so dramatically and obviously intertwined there.

In addition to the themes & setting, I’m enjoying it at least partially for the excellent structure of the stories; Bujold never forgets to hang up Chekov’s gun in the first act, but it’s always sneaky so it’s fun to try to spot it. Miles and his entourage are also a delight. These characters try their best, and make realistic mistakes, and are understandable even when you don’t agree with them. I also enjoy how the antagonistic cultures are fleshed out with nuance, much like how RJ introduces the Aiel and the Seanchan as faceless, inhuman enemies and then complicated things by giving them faces & human motivations. (In this analogy, Barrayar is Aiel and Cetaganda is Seanchan.)

For reading order, here’s some tips: https://bookriot.com/vorkosigan-saga-reading-order/