Oh, Nora, that's a tough spot for you, but you didn't do one thing wrong. Your attitude is healthy about it, though. You understand why your family would be hurt. You respect her right to invite the people she can/wants to--to her wedding. I hope the fallout is minimal for you. Did she invite you and Tom?

((Nora))

...did I even say Happy Birthday to the Empress yet? I can't remember. If I didn't, belated Birthday wishes.

Wow. Am all shaky and kind of brimming-with-story-but-thirsty-for-more after mainlining Veronica Mars and just watching the last ep. Wow. What a fucking excellent show that was. Is. Want more. Well, actually, no, want fic, and that's what I'm going to do now - reading and pondering. And THEN I want more canon.

Meanwhile, though, I've thoroughly enjoyed this whole accent discussion. Oddly enough accents are already an issue in the story I'm working on right now. In the space of 3 chapters I've found myself writing someone who's Canadian (denoted by vocabulary choices and speech patterns), someone who's Scots (accent explicitly mentioned, occasional vocabulary choices indicative), someone who's from Jamaica (accent mentioned, impact on vocabulary/speech patterns negligible, so it hasn't cropped up otherwise) and someone who's Polish (accent mentioned, grammar choices and vocabulary specific to the character and pronunciation made explicit in a couple of words). And none of this was a conscious decision. Weird.

Veronica Mars. My new favourite show. Loving the illicit files I've got here, but I'll definitely be buying shiny DVDs just as soon as they're available. What a cracking show. Damn. Want more NOW.

headdesk

Helllloooo unpaid and unexpected overtime.

Client from Hell shall be fed to the komodo dragon at the zoo. I hear it's a nice painful death and if they're going to get a bad rap, might as well get a nice meal out the deal.

Unless there is something that kills particularly painfully at the Wild Animal Park. Anyone? billytea? Bueller?

BTW Fay - is this Yorkshire dialect with "Tha" and all that something you actually speak on occassion. Or just something you hear on occassion. Cause if you can do it authentically I'd love to see a paragraph in Yorkshire Dialect. As an American I've never in my life encountered it face to face, and pretty seldom in literature.

Komodo dragon is actually pretty painful. In extreme cases they poison their prey (not with venom but with bacterial infections) and then follow them around until they die of the infection. Usually they are not that patient and just eat ther prey alive.

I'm hoping for the painful post-bite infection-y death for her. Whilst being stalked by the dragon for added amusement.

The one at the zoo is cute lumbering around but I think he needs some live prey. And I have a list.

disclaimer: I'm usually not so cruel. At least I don't usually admit it.

Komodo dragon is actually pretty painful. In extreme cases they poison their prey (not with venom but with bacterial infections) and then follow them around until they die of the infection. Usually they are not that patient and just eat ther prey alive.

Yup. Their teeth actually contain tiny serrations which facilitate getting rotting meat stuck in there, providing a better haven for growing a toxic soup of bacteria. However, note that the dragon at San Diego Zoo (for whom I have a serious soft spot) won't be poisoning anyone. Zoo dragons are subjected to much better oral hygiene than they'd practise in the wild.

What can I feed her to then?

(I am glad to hear that the zoo dragon is brusha brusha brushaing. Though I am distressed to earworm myself with music from Grease.)

Blearg. Still feeling miserable. Stupid cold. Just a cold should not knock me out this badly.

(I am glad to hear that the zoo dragon is brusha brusha brushaing. Though I am distressed to earworm myself with music from Grease.)

Think yourself lucky, you just earwormed me with The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

If you want a toxic death, I'd suggest Russell's viper, for all your ROTFBFEO (rolling on the floor bleeding from every orifice) needs. For painful ravenous death, you have two options. First, the critters who aren't picky about whether their prey's dead yet, such as the African painted dogs or the hyenas. But second, bear in mind that the ouchiness of death tends to be inversely proportional to the ratio of the size of the predator to the size of the prey. On this score, easily the most gruesome death I know of involves a couple of million driver ants. No stings, so no anaphylactic shock.

Of course, setting it up will be a lot trickier, and San Diego Zoo isn't likely to help you. It may be harder to make it look like an accident too.