Other Tales of MU: Balancing Scales

"We weren’t an underground grace, originally"

I think you mean race.

"One human I met last year made a big deal about how she’s skinblind, as she put it. ‘I don’t see humans or gorgons or elves, I just see people.’ That’s a wonderful disorder for a human to have, but I can’t not be aware that I’m a gorgon surrounded by humans, and I’d rather have other people think about what that means than pretend it doesn’t matter."

That is great.

typooo

"...that’s why they’re do dull compared to me.”

so dull

Re: typooo

I can't see an official typo thread...

“You’re welcome,” Cetea said. “And just so you know we cover our eyes.”

Should there be a comma after "know"?

Wow

That was just incredible. There was so much information, but it flowed so naturally. It's really great when we get to have these little insights into the lesser-known parts of the MUniverse.

LOVE IT.

Infodumping isn't an issue when it's part of the plot!

I really like Lucinda, and how she's trying so hard but still keeps catching herself... I hope she manages to get some intelligence back at the newspaper.

I hope she manages to start up a new more open newspaper, I don't think much of the editorial policy of the old one.

I really want more spotlights like these. In fact, if someone wrote an entire story/world around interviews like this, I'd be a happy reader :)

If you like zombies, check out World War Z. It's entirely in interview format about what happened during and after a zombie apocalypse. I think the author did a good job of trying to do a lot of voices and perspectives but still have the overall timeline and story flow.

I just about choked on my tea when I got to the "something safe, like a mermaid" part. :-)

Love the format of this Other Tales installment. The interview flowed very nicely. I like how they both had trouble trying to explain their own culture perspective.

That's one thing I love about MU the other races have real unique cultures not just human culture rebranded.

Wow! This was a rather great chapter!

I really like the unique perspective of the gorgon, and how smoothly the interview flowed - even with Lucinda having to catch herself from saying something potentially offensive.

I would definitely like it if more chapters like this could be written!

This was wonderful! And it would make a great series. Its really interesting learning so much about the different cultures. And I love that Lucinda really is trying, even if she falters along the way.

One of THOSE dialogues...

Tripping through unfamiliar territory, trying to get away from whatever centricism is constraining one's vision. She is trying though, and thinking past some of the obvious clangers before she drops them. The number of times I've been asked whether I have difficulty balancing on just the two hooves (nope!) or whether I catch my horns on low overhangs (rarely, and better my horns than the top of my skull)...

Enough about me. Good reveal about the nature and culture of gorgons (messing with mythology is always fun). Particularly the bit about classical mirror trick not working against their gaze weapon. Maybe someone will develop some protective eyeglasses for them, like in The Voyage of the Basset (or the X-Men >:=), possibly based on their own inner eyelid.

I had to look up amuse-gueule, one of those idiomatic phrases that the French are so fond of. Literal translation: "face-entertainer", gueule having the meaning here as in "feeding his face". I have just had a vision here of a gorgon dinner jacket, with epaulette-like shoulder pads on which feeding trays can be arranged, keeping all the hungry little mouths amused while the owner socialises.

All of which raises the question of whether the gorgons are French analogues. I am undecided. But the existence of gorgon chefs, the importance of good presentation of food, culture and the arts are all points in favour n'est-ce pas?

Another thought occurs: would the disposition and attitude of a gorgon's head of serpents influence their personal relationships?

- "I never thought your mother was anything special, but she could stick her hand right into my crown without being bitten, and her wreath only ever nipped me, so I couldn't really argue with that."

- "My mother married wealth, my sister married looks, I married a man who can clean and oil my wreath every day. I think I got the best deal."

There is also the question of how the snakes excrete what they have digested... ...but I won't go into that if AE doesn't.

The fact that the serpents have autonomous animal intelligence brings up all sorts of interesting thoughts. Can some gorgons consciously influence or control them? Also, we mammals often forget about all the bits of us that aren't under conscious control. When I step into a blast of freezing air, I still feel my hair follicles tense up and my hairs stand erect, same as every other mammal, and feel a strong urge to shake my hide and fluff my coat out. Then there is the gut, which has its own primitive intelligence and own rhythms. We only have executive control of the very front and back ends of it. (Not entirely true in my case: I have conscious control of everything from the stomachs forward. Benefits of ruminancy, folks - I can make the walls of my oesophagus dance.)

Anyway, good to see Lucinda out and about. I'm sure Lance would make a big fuss if he knew. But with creative posing and a glance from Cetea, he would also make an amusing coat stand. Not to mention an amusing scene if dumped sans habillements in the woods/fountain/Callahan's office just before he unpetrified.

Re: One of THOSE dialogues...

"There is also the question of how the snakes excrete what they have digested... ...but I won't go into that if AE doesn't."

Well, if they "share blood", presumably it gets there somehow... Also, don't forget this is a world with magic, so our logic may not apply!

---

"The fact that the serpents have autonomous animal intelligence brings up all sorts of interesting thoughts. Can some gorgons consciously influence or control them?"

It makes me think of Celia in "Monsters Inc." - her snakes reacted to her thoughts, "kissing" Sulley, hissing and rattling when she got angry...

Re: One of THOSE dialogues...

Possibly their excretion works the same way as that of demons and nymphs?

"lifting her hand and very slowly and putting it across her eyes,"

Got an extra "and" in there.

This was wonderful. Thank you! I agree with thegeekreview about the unique history and traditions of the non-human cultures in the MUniverse. How rich those cultures are never fails to impress me.

Lucinda take notes
On natural hiss story
And cold-blooded facts

Would Cetea and
Her kinfolk enjoy dining
On Gorgon's olla?

Cetea may be
Related to Scylla as
Offspring of Cetus

This story

The entire series has been great so far, although I am noticing a slight increase in spelling errors on your latest stories. That's not what I am focusing on right now, though.

Cetea is my main focus and the entire reason I made a Live Journal account just now. I really, really like how you did this particular story and described the back story for Gorgons in general as they exist in this universe.

I would love to see more about her in the story as time goes on.