The Sunday Seven: Fictional Places
It was a busy week this week. One that was full of loss (Mike, we shall miss you terribly), but also full of laughter (Murder Mystery toga Party B-day party…kind of awesome. An excellent way to spend my 32nd by the way). I also cleaned my house big time in preparations for the notorious shindig. Which had me thinking about my eclectic taste when it comes to interior decorating. My home is one that has posters of Serenity, LotR, and Secretary in one room while I have Mucha and Waterhouse paintings in the other. It is a home where action figures share the same space as artistic sculptures and the 360 is sitting right next to a fresh vase of flowers. I have bookshelves and columns, an antique writing desk, candelabras right along with a life size Spike standup and some Tribbles.
But I love my place. I call it geek chic, which seemed to be the general consensus when I had everyone over on Friday which was one of the first times I had people over since the big move. Sadly it rained so we didn’t get to enjoy the deck which is bedecked with solar powered strings of lights, a gorgeous couple of dahlias, and some nice patio furniture. If it wasn’t so hot right now I would be out there as we speak sipping on some Sangria.
Anyway, this week we have the top seven fictional places I would love to live in. We are going literary this time, so bibliophiles please weigh in.
1. Lothlorien (Lord of the Rings): I always wanted to be an elf and I blame it all on Tolkien. When my dad would read the Lord of the Rings to my brother and I when we were children I wanted to be Galadriel or Arwen. And I really wanted to live in Rivendell or Lothlorien. The reason I choose Lothlorien is largely due to Galadriel herself. Not only is it the Golden Woods and full of trees, but due to Nenya, Galdriel’s ring the flora is constantly preserved from death and decay. Add to that that it also created a powerful ward strong enough that Sauron himself would have to come by and say ‘hey, how’s your father’ in order for it to be conquered. Plus, it is just beautiful.
2. Hogwarts (Harry Potter): I wish I wasn’t just a muggle. I wish that my little camping tent turned into a nice cozy bungalow and above all if I had to do boarding school all over again, I wish I could do it at Hogwarts. I mean what isn’t there to like. It is a castle, it has a room of requirement (so if I required let’s say…oh Ryan Reynolds, would he magically appear? Or maybe a good margarita), has a Loch, an enchanted forest (yeah Unicorns) and Hogsmeade is just a hop, skip and jump away. Plus there is the whole learning magic thing which would come in handy methinks.
3. The Nightside (The Nightside series) : In Simon R Green’s novels of the Nightside, the Nightside is the other London, a place where gods and devils coexist, where it is always 3 am and the car you are standing next to might just eat you. In John Taylor’s words it is “a place where dreams come true and nightmares come alive. Where one can buy anything, often at the price of your soul... or someone else's. Where the music never stops and the fun never ends.” Granted I would probably get eaten or bamboozled in about .25 seconds, but it would be great to meet people like Razor Eddie, Dead Boy or Julian Advent along with John and Suzie, to have a drink at Strangefellows and catch a glimpse of the impossible.
4. Discworld (Discworld Series): I love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series. After all it is a flat world, balanced on four elephants who are in turn standing on the back of a giant turtle. It is a place where Death is nice and occasionally snarky, where Rincewind is a wizard with absolutely no skills and Granny Weatherwax is just plain awesome. Magic is everywhere as is the humor, and the power of belief can be a dangerous thing. Still would be nice.
5. Wildcards Verse (Wild Cards): In George R Martin’s Wildcards universe in 1946 an alien virus rewrote human DNA. Many people died, some became jokers (aka mutations in not a good way) and others became aces. It’s a world where Mick Jagger is a lycanthrope and your power may be as simple as being able to levitate two feet off the ground, or maybe it is more significant like being able to fly. I wonder what my superpower would be? Or would I be a joker?
6. Alternate Atlanta (Kate Daniels Series): In the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, magic and technology are not friends. In fact it was because of technology that magic pretty much said up yours and came back with a vengeance. During tech times, your phone works, possibly the interwebs, and your car for sure. But when the magic is up electricity is a no go I am afraid, so keep a fireplace lots of candles and know your spells. It’s a messed up world where vampires are not sexy but predators that scuttle and are controlled by necromancers, the little old lady next door might be a banshee and because of magic huge city blocks have been reclaimed by Mother Earth. It would certainly make things interesting, but I figure the average person does ok.
7. The Galaxy (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, etc): I heart you Douglas Adams. I want to go to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and to Alpha Centauri so I can get my very own Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Granted, yes this means that Earth has gone kaboom, but the dolphins did recreate it, so that is a plus. Admit it, it would be fun. I don’t know about you but I have my towel ready and I plan on not panicking.
Honorable Mentions: Coruscant (Star Wars), Buffyverse (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel), Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia), Lyras world (His Dark Materials) as I so want to see what my Daemon would be and Neverland (Peter Pan)
Do you have your own list to share, let me know and I will post it.
But I love my place. I call it geek chic, which seemed to be the general consensus when I had everyone over on Friday which was one of the first times I had people over since the big move. Sadly it rained so we didn’t get to enjoy the deck which is bedecked with solar powered strings of lights, a gorgeous couple of dahlias, and some nice patio furniture. If it wasn’t so hot right now I would be out there as we speak sipping on some Sangria.
Anyway, this week we have the top seven fictional places I would love to live in. We are going literary this time, so bibliophiles please weigh in.
1. Lothlorien (Lord of the Rings): I always wanted to be an elf and I blame it all on Tolkien. When my dad would read the Lord of the Rings to my brother and I when we were children I wanted to be Galadriel or Arwen. And I really wanted to live in Rivendell or Lothlorien. The reason I choose Lothlorien is largely due to Galadriel herself. Not only is it the Golden Woods and full of trees, but due to Nenya, Galdriel’s ring the flora is constantly preserved from death and decay. Add to that that it also created a powerful ward strong enough that Sauron himself would have to come by and say ‘hey, how’s your father’ in order for it to be conquered. Plus, it is just beautiful. 
2. Hogwarts (Harry Potter): I wish I wasn’t just a muggle. I wish that my little camping tent turned into a nice cozy bungalow and above all if I had to do boarding school all over again, I wish I could do it at Hogwarts. I mean what isn’t there to like. It is a castle, it has a room of requirement (so if I required let’s say…oh Ryan Reynolds, would he magically appear? Or maybe a good margarita), has a Loch, an enchanted forest (yeah Unicorns) and Hogsmeade is just a hop, skip and jump away. Plus there is the whole learning magic thing which would come in handy methinks. 
3. The Nightside (The Nightside series) : In Simon R Green’s novels of the Nightside, the Nightside is the other London, a place where gods and devils coexist, where it is always 3 am and the car you are standing next to might just eat you. In John Taylor’s words it is “a place where dreams come true and nightmares come alive. Where one can buy anything, often at the price of your soul... or someone else's. Where the music never stops and the fun never ends.” Granted I would probably get eaten or bamboozled in about .25 seconds, but it would be great to meet people like Razor Eddie, Dead Boy or Julian Advent along with John and Suzie, to have a drink at Strangefellows and catch a glimpse of the impossible.
4. Discworld (Discworld Series): I love Terry Pratchett and the Discworld series. After all it is a flat world, balanced on four elephants who are in turn standing on the back of a giant turtle. It is a place where Death is nice and occasionally snarky, where Rincewind is a wizard with absolutely no skills and Granny Weatherwax is just plain awesome. Magic is everywhere as is the humor, and the power of belief can be a dangerous thing. Still would be nice. 
5. Wildcards Verse (Wild Cards): In George R Martin’s Wildcards universe in 1946 an alien virus rewrote human DNA. Many people died, some became jokers (aka mutations in not a good way) and others became aces. It’s a world where Mick Jagger is a lycanthrope and your power may be as simple as being able to levitate two feet off the ground, or maybe it is more significant like being able to fly. I wonder what my superpower would be? Or would I be a joker?
6. Alternate Atlanta (Kate Daniels Series): In the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews, magic and technology are not friends. In fact it was because of technology that magic pretty much said up yours and came back with a vengeance. During tech times, your phone works, possibly the interwebs, and your car for sure. But when the magic is up electricity is a no go I am afraid, so keep a fireplace lots of candles and know your spells. It’s a messed up world where vampires are not sexy but predators that scuttle and are controlled by necromancers, the little old lady next door might be a banshee and because of magic huge city blocks have been reclaimed by Mother Earth. It would certainly make things interesting, but I figure the average person does ok. 
7. The Galaxy (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, etc): I heart you Douglas Adams. I want to go to Milliways, the Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and to Alpha Centauri so I can get my very own Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. Granted, yes this means that Earth has gone kaboom, but the dolphins did recreate it, so that is a plus. Admit it, it would be fun. I don’t know about you but I have my towel ready and I plan on not panicking. Honorable Mentions: Coruscant (Star Wars), Buffyverse (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel), Narnia (The Chronicles of Narnia), Lyras world (His Dark Materials) as I so want to see what my Daemon would be and Neverland (Peter Pan)
Do you have your own list to share, let me know and I will post it.
Comments
I am such a HitchHikers' Guide fan it's RIDIC!
http://satoya-writes.blogspot.com/