News-wise? Had my graduation ceremony back on the weekend and it went well (no photos to bung up here as I've got to get 'em off my dad's camera)... so now I can formally tack the letters BAntStud(Hons) after my name. Otherwise I'm just chugging along as usual... not much progress on the job hunt front (more applications but no news yet).

Been eyeing up this meme on 's 's and 's journals:

Choose twelve of your original characters, in any particular order. Then, answer the questions that follow, but DON'T LOOK AT THE QUESTIONS BEFORE YOU PICK THE CHARACTERS!

(well, kind busted that already... how are you meant to do it if you've looked at this meme on other's journals?)

Just for a laugh, in addition to my Highland Mist RP chars and those from my hiatus-ed alt-WW2 fic I've trotted out three chars from old nation sims I played on AH.com.

1. Hussar (male, MLP RPG char)
2. Vice Admiral Ryan (male, human, Terra Australis In The Sea Of Time)
3. Seablade (female, MLP RPG char)
4. Arbalest (female, MLP RPG char)
5. Captain Roberts (female, human, Terra Australis In The Sea Of Time)
6. Air Commadore Hall (male, human, Different Mosaic Earth)
7. Escrime (male, MLP RPG char)
8. Commodore Marsh (male, human, Different Mosaic Earth)
9. Cuirassier (male, MLP RPG char)
10. Praetor II (male, MLP RPG char)
11. Éée (female, MLP RPG char)
12. Pyrrhus III of Epirus (male, Mosaic Europe II: Antiquity)

1. Who would make a better college professor, 6 or 11?
Probably depends on what they'd be teaching. Air Commadore Hall is a senior officer in the RAAF (albit a 1940s version thereof), so he's probably more competant with teaching technical and mathematical areas of study... his personality would fit into the role okay, but I doubt he'd be a truelly outstanding lecturer. Éée on the other hand would certainly better suit the humanities/arts (history etc.) as it's been her major past-time since her youth.

2. Do you think #2 is hot? How hot?
Nah... try number 5 on the other hand...

3. 12 sends 8 on a mission. What is it, and does it succeed?
Pyrrhus III would probably send Commodore Marsh to deal with the Macedonian fleet. The outcome I'd expect to depend on if Commodore Marsh get's to take his own ships or if he has to use Pyrrhus III's fleet... the former is easily a sucess (Super-Dreadnought Battlecruiser vs Trireme) while the latter is likely to fail.

4. What is or would be 9's favorite book?
Cuirassier? Some political/military history book. If in-universe probably the book Éée is writing at the moment... in real life I'd guess Arrian's Anabasis (more commonly known as the Campaigns of Alexander).

5. Would it make more sense for 2 to swear fealty to 6, or the other way around?
Hmmm... I don't see either swearing fealty to each other for the simple fact that they're both naval officers in closely associated navies (RAN, RN) and so, one would have to folow the others orders. Going on rank along the one giving the orders would be Vice Admiral Ryan... but the combination of time travel and connections between alternate universes to get the two in the same place may bugger up the usual means of sorting out seniority.

6. For whatever reason, 5 is looking for a roommate. Should 5 share a studio apartment with 9 or with 10?
Given Praetor is kind of dead Captain Roberts would go with Cuirassier... and get Éée thrown in for free.

7. 2, 7, and 12 have dinner together. Where do they go, and what do they discuss?
So, an Admiral, a General (well, Marshal of the Army... boils down to the same thing) and a King with a respectable record on the battlefield... likely topics of conversation are fairly obvious (war, politics and women). Not so sure where they'd go out to (given their importance they'd mostly be hosting dinners)... Maybe a Greek Taverna given Pyrrhus's origins?

8. 3 challenges 10 to a duel. What happens?
So Seablade challanges Commodore Marsh? Depends on who gets choice of weapons... which would be a function of who's universe they meet in. In DME, Marsh would get the choice of weapons and so, it'd probably end up as: Pistols! Ten paces, turn shoot! BANG! She's dead. In the Highlands, I'm not sure of the exact traditions governing it but I'd guess it's more complicated than just the challangee making the choice... so, it'd probably end up with the ol' cold steel which I'd think Seablade would be better at.

9. If 1 stole 8's most precious possession, how would 8 get it back?
This will be messy: Hussar isn't the kind to steal... he's the kind that marches in with an army and proceeds to rape, loot and pillage. Commodore Marsh... well, as a RN officer serving aboard a Battlecruiser on the Australian station... for Hussar to have got hold of his most precious possession (WW1 bravery medals? A picture of his wife?) would entail Hussar forcing his way aboard the ship... which would entail war with the Union of Pacific Dominions.

So, I guess the answer is that Commodore Marsh would play his role in the war... sooner or later Commodore Marsh's fleet would steam into the port near Hussar's home city, Chevalier... I don't think it'd take too many 13.5" and 15" shells to convince the Ponies to give in (we're talking 1500s equivilent tech vs 1940s) and then Commodore Marsh can simply walk up to what was Hussar's Palace and retrieve his belongings.

10. Suggest a title for a story in which 7 and 12 both attain what they most desire.
"The Fall Of a Tyrant,
or, the tale of the defeat of Hussar of Hippium and the rise of Pyrrhus to the throne of Alexander the Great"


11. What kind of plot device would you use if you wanted 4 and 1 to work together?
Actualy all the parts are in place for that! Hussar utterly hates Escrime; Arbalest dislikes Escrime; Arbalest had served as a mercenary under Hussar; Hussar is in the Highlands at the moment.

All it would take is for a chance meeting between Arb and Hus and for Esc to mess up sufficiently badly that he falls out of favour with Cressie's Heather Mist.

12. If 7 visited you for the weekend, how would you get along?
I'd like to think fairly well... after all Esc is my pony-sona.

13. If you could command 3 to perform any one task or service for you, what would it be?
Nothing at the moment... I don't have any injuries for Seablade to use her healing powers on and I wouldn' feel comfortable sending her off to kill someone. A year back? Use her healing powers to sort out my dislocated shoulder.

14. Does anyone on your friends list write or draw anything regarding 11?
Nope.

15. If 2 had to choose sides between 4 and 5, which would it be?
No competition: Vice-Admiral Ryan would side with Captain Roberts... after all she is a (highly decorrated... at least once said fic is finished) officer under his command, whatever she did to end up on the wrong side of Arb is likely to be a result of one of his orders. That, and blood is thicker than water (VAdm Ryan and Cpt. Roberts are both human... Arb is a pony).

16. What might 10 shout while charging into battle?
"Sons of Equites!" or "For Equium!"

17. If you chose a song to represent 8, which song would you choose?
I honestly don't know... possibly some old sea shanty or more probably a military marching song.

18. 1, 6, and 12 are having dim sum at a Chinese restaurant. There is only one scallion pancake left, and they all reach for it at the same time. Who gets to eat it?
First of all, I doubt those three are likely to go to a Chinese restaurant.... putting that aside: Hard one... Air Commadore Hall is a well trained pilot, so probably has good reflexes and is capable of acting fast; Hussar is a blood-thirsty loonie and so is likely to dismember anyone who beats him to the pancake and Pyrrhus? Well, experianced cavalryman in his youth so probably similar to Air Commodore Hall in reactions etc... and a bit more rutheless -not to the extent of Hussar though.

So Hall grabs it first and either he get's hacked to pieces by Hussar or else he get's to eat it while Pyrrhus and Hussar are duelling...

19. What might be a good pick-up line for 2 to use on 10?
Praetor's dead and rotting... and I am quite certain Admiral Ryan isn't into necrophillia.

20. What would 5 most likely be arrested for?
I imagine she could quite easily be placed under arrest pending a Court Martial or Court of Inquiery over one of her braver/more reckless ('tis a question of point of view and outcome to distinguish those two) actions when her frigate was/will be (firmly in my head, as yet unwritten) facing a large force of IJN Cruisers off Rabul.

21. What is 6's secret?
An incident involving a bomb, a car crash and a Russian Princess? Mainly because it's kind of embarassing and so he'd want to keep it hidden. Otherwise, the brawl in St Peterberg back circa 1924 when he landed up in the brig on a British Cruisers.

22. If 11 and 9 were racing to a destination, who would get there first?
Well, Cuirassier and Éée are husband and wife... so most of the time they'd be racing towards each other or away from Hussar (complicated family politics: Cuir is Hus's nephew and Epee is Esc's sister).

In a proper race I'd guess Cuir... his life as a soldier means he's likely to be fitter thatn Epee.

23. If you had to walk home through a bad neighborhood late at night, would you feel safer in the company of 7 or 8?
Hmm... spose it boils down to Swordspony vs gunman (well, aging naval officer with pistol). Then again, Esc does have another advantage... in previous memes I've put his height at about 13.5 hands... a bit small for me to feel comfortable riding but large enough my feet wouldn't drag on the ground. So, if an incident happend we could bug out of there faster...

Guess it'll be Esc then.

24. 1 and 9 reluctantly team up to save the world from the threat posed by 4's sinister secret organization. 11 volunteers to help them, but it is later discovered that he is actually a spy for 4. Meanwhile, 4 has kidnapped 12 in an attempt to force their surrender. Following the wise advice of 5, they seek out 3, who gives them what they need to complete their quest. What title would you give this fic?
My first thought was WTF? but taking a moment to think about, that wouldn't be quite as stupid a story as it looks at first glance: much of it actually fits togeather quite well. Hus and Cuir would certainly be reluctant to team up; Epee could certainly make a good spy and -via Esc- has connections with Arb; Seablade would be just the person... er, well pony... to give them what they need to complete the quest (Arb's head... again family politics is involved: Arb and Seablade are sister-in-law!). Though I don't quite get how the kidnapping of an ancient greek king is meant to force Hus and Cuir's surrender. And the involvement of Captain Anna Roberts lso seems kind of random.

Title? "Delenda Est Silver Mist"... as Arb's sinister secret organization is likely to be tied up with the Silver Mist clan and Hussar is big on destroying things.

1. 1, 6, and 11 are all told to wait in a room together until someone comes in to get them. Let's say no one does. Who would leave the room first?
Either Hussar leaves first and the other two leave later (in coffins) or Air Commodore Hall and Epee leave at the same time (well, Epee a couple of paces ahead... Air Commodore Hall has good manners by the standard of his time) and Hussar leaves later (in a coffin). Either way, locking anyone in the same room as Hussar is asking for trouble.

2. If 2 had to do one nice thing for 8, what would it be?
Glass of scotch in the officers' ward room aboard HMAS Australia?

3. If 4 and 7 co-stared in a movie, what genre would it most likely fall under?
A war movie doccumenting either the conflicts on the Hippias Peninsular or the upcomming conflict in the Highlands.

4. If 3 was made into a toy, who would be more likely to buy it? 9 or 10?
Putting asides the whole 'dead and rotting' thing probably Praetor... less for the toy thing than because Seablade was his personal physician and so it'd be kind of rude to refuse it.

5. Would 5 be likely to consider stalking 12, or vise versa?
Oh, it'd certainly be Pyrrhus doing the stalking... but I don't think Anna Roberts would take too kindly to it.

6. What would 6 make the better star of? An anime or a newspaper comic strip?
Well, he's fairly serious, so if it's limited to those two then Anime. If not, then probably one of those war comics (Commando etc) would suit him perfectly.

7. 8 wants to buy a car but can't decide who offers a better bargan. Should (s)he buy from 2 or 11?
Certainly VAdm Ryan for afew reasons: 1. Tech... if limited to the tech from their own universes then it becomes 2010s car vs 1500s cart 2. VAdm Ryan is human thus any car he is selling will be usable by Commodore Marsh... while I doubt a car designed for a Pony would be comfortable for him to drive.

8. If 5 wanted to dye his or her hair but could not decide on the color, would (s)he rely on 1's opinion or 4's?
Capt Ryan would rely on Arb's opinion... partially because they're both female (mor elikely to be on the same wavelength?) and partially because Hussar's suggestion would probably involve decapitation.

9. Whose babies would be cuter? 12 and 3's, or 9 and 2's? (If it is impossible for them to breed because of gender or species, just go with it and pretend that it was possible, please.)
Neither. Both cases are human-pony pairings... Even under optimistic assumptions (Centaurs rather than deformed messes) it wouldn't be nice. I suppose at least the Seablade-Pyrrhus offspring would fit in with the mythology of Pyrrhus's kingdom at least (hmmm... pass 'em of a sign of Zeus's favour?)

10. Who would have a DeviantArt account; and if not, what would their reason be?
Epee, as somewhere to show off her writing.
Cuirassier... cause Epee insisted he join.
Anna Roberts, probably only as a place to store photos though.