FORKNI-L

FORKNI-L Digest - 23 May 2001 to 24 May 2001 (#2001-165)

Thu, 24 May 2001

There are 2 messages totalling 95 lines in this issue.

Topics of the day:

  1. The Art of Bringing Across
  2. GWD Picture Scan Request

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Date:    Wed, 23 May 2001 12:46:36 +0100
From:    Linda Hepden <Kezia.Hepden@b.......>
Subject: Re: The Art of Bringing Across

Gwenn Musicante wrote:
> This reminded me of how old Divia must have been when she brought
>LaCroix across.  My guess is that she was well under 10 years old in
> vampire years,  and I doubt that she had brought others across before
>her father.  What  accounts for the differences in Nick and Divia's skill
>level, it obviously isn't age or experience?

Well, first of all, my guess is that in vampiric terms, she must have been
under two years (three years absolute max!).  Why - she was the adolescent
daughter of a brothel madam, and Selena, not to mention her more well-heeled
clients, would be paying very close attention to Divia's developing
womanhood, with a view either to marrying her off or to - um - her joining
the family business...  So she only had a very short period of time before
her lack of aging would be noticed, forcing her to move on.

And yesterday I recalled an incident in which NK sought advice from Janette,
who told him that in all those centuries she'd never been able to bring
anyone across successfully, because she always drained them first.  No tape
to hand, and it's several years since I last saw that episode - anyone else
able to fill in the exact reason she gives?

Thinking over the difference of several centuries between Janette and Divia,
it seems to be a mixture of self-control and lack of emotional connection
with your intended child/victim that counts.

Then it occured to me that perhaps the reason the fledgling Divia was
successful with her own mortal father is that she suffers from one of the
various pyschological ailments that mean the sufferer is literally unable to
relate emotionally to those around them - if I recall correctly, these
include certain forms of autism.

Asperger's Syndrome is a type of autism that fits the bill - those who have
it are often geniuses in maths, design, computers, science, etc, and are
able to function reasonably well in a work environment, but are utterly
hopeless in social functions.  They can't 'circulate' at parties, or make
small talk, don't understand the social niceties of enquiry after family
members or mutual friends, etc, etc.  They can learn to do it by rote,
however, and to how to pretend, in order to fit in better.

Most types of austism affect males only, or almost exclusively, but there is
one type that is exclusively female, and is related to a defect in the
male/female chromosomes - it's some years since I saw the relevant tv
programme on the subject, but I seem to recall the girls/women with this
type of autism have something like an XYX chromosome arrangement, and even
close relatives like the child's own mother will find them cold, distant,
uncaring.

Hmm... can anyone honestly say this doesn't sound like a pretty good
description of our 'dear' (sic - very!) little Divia?  Maybe this is what
made her the way she is?

Anyone care to shoot me down in flames?  Or anyone with experience in the
pysch fields care to clarify the type(s) of syndrome she could have been
born with?  (And in retrospect, wouldn't that be a valid justification for
LC wishing he'd carried out the classical Roman and Greek custom of exposing
infants to die on hillsides?)

Kezia

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Date:    Wed, 23 May 2001 19:19:25 -0500
From:    Kristin <kris1228@s.......>
Subject: GWD Picture Scan Request

Hi,

I was wondering if some one on this list happens to have the b&w picture of
Geraint from "The Music Cure," 1982, where he appears as Lord Reginald
Fitzambey. Susan Cox as Strega Thunderidge is also in the photo. She is
standing and he is sitting in front of a white piano. It was in the Shaw
Festival 25th annv book. Two of these were in recent auctions, but
unfortunately I couldn't bid on either with the prices being so high. If any
one has a copy of it and can make me a high quality "big" scan please e-mail
me off list. I was planning to use that picture in one of the new graphics
for the re-vamp of my GWD page (which, by the way, will be up by this
weekend).

Thank you very much!
Kristin
http://knightvision.4ever.cc
"When you only have eyes for the Knight..."

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End of FORKNI-L Digest - 23 May 2001 to 24 May 2001 (#2001-165)
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