Bad enough that Simone had to pretty much flee to Boston when the German demon community didn’t understand her master thesis. When she scores a date with a beautiful woman upon arriving in the land of endless possibilities, she should have known that yet another demon secret service would have had a hand in that, eagerly waiting to ruin more of her life.
Linguist Blues, or: The Consultant Who Didn’t Exist
Fantasy, Romance, Humor, Short Story, 23 pages
Boston Clan Cycle
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How did you like it? 🙂
I had a lot of fun reading this! It’s a great execution of the classic “Spy who falls for their mark” trope. I really didn’t see the twist coming. I was too busy being proud of myself for remembering enough of language psychology to get what they were talking about. What a ploy— pretending to be interested in an academic’s field of study will hook them any time, lol. It was funny watching Simone go from “okay, gorgeous if she doesn’t talk” to “Wow she gets me she may be a keeper” to “seriously, wtf? Asshole”
I also loved how Simone doesn’t suffer fools, I felt like I was right inside your head. 😉 Overall the style was a classic example of your dry humor.
I was laughing as she ended up as a consultant. I probably got this on a much deeper level because I know you.
Overall this story was a great metaphor for how silly and fucked up academia can be, and the vicious fights over niggling details that nobody in the real world would care about. It’s pretty representative of how some of the most hysterical people don’t actually understand the point they’re debating and just wildly misunderstand stuff. There’s a saying about the battles in academia being so fierce because the gains are so small. This is a great metaphor for that. I mean, who *hasn’t had to skip town because the demon community didn’t understand their thesis? XD
I also felt like this fit well into this ‘verse. Like, if this was a TV show this could be one of the plotlines
So, A+ would recommend. ((Hugs))
What a ploy— pretending to be interested in an academic’s field of study will hook them any time, lol.
LOL. No shit.
I’m gleeful that you like this one. This fic does indeed go back to a self-insert challenge, and the protagonist’s propensity for eating human children only came much later. It was also hilarious to write the worst version of myself. Not that I have a self-image problem or anything. The fic is probably proof enough of that. :p
Thinking about it, it’s interesting to look at this, originally conceived when I was in college, versus where I am now, almost finished with that doctorate, but in a totally different field. Romantic fairy tale novellas are still dear to my heart though. As is language philosophy.
The whole “Damn they don’t understand my differentiated point” thing also turned out eerily prophetic if I look at how often I sit across from my boss, who apparently hears only fifty percent of what I say, and for the hell of it I can’t figure out which half that is. :p
I’ve never looked at this as a reiteration of the “Spy who falls for her mark” trope! Hee!
Thank you for leaving a comment. <3 I shall now return to writing Masquerade, the fic I plan on posting on the plot once I'm through with the short stories.
I just re-read the German version and then the English version, and it’s a treat both ways. Reading this one alway makes me miss literary studies 🙂 I love the dry humor and the insanity of academia (although Germanistik always seems to be yet a bit more insane than Anglistik as far as I’ve experienced, so this is very appropriate).
But reading both versions back to back, I just love how small details add a bit of a different flavor to the English version: How it picks up on Cal and the clan wars in general (the German version only hinted at the connections), the different names and ethnicities for side characters, the different food for their date, Sam’s dorky guesses about Simone’s thesis topic… The name choice for Carter Lim made me chucke for … reasons 🙂
And while I find the switch from German to English interesting in gerneral, it’s especially interesting here, because the German version already had a German-speaking character in an English-speaking environment, and now there’s yet another twist to it. Wit the first person narrator you almost forget that Simone is German until she slips towards the end and confuses the demons by not speaking English. Heh 🙂
So, yeah, you know how excited I am to read every little bit about your demon universe, and you already know I love this gem here, but once again: I love this gem here 🙂
Greetings and hugs!
Hugs back! More hugs, bigger hugs!*
(*gratuitous Battlestar Galactica reference)
Carter Lim makes you chuckle for reasons, huh? ^´ (I feel like you’ve told me why but I forgot)
Literature people are better people and they know it! Just some days ago my boss claimed in all seriousness that in his experience, having a degree in a particular subject doesn’t mean the person is better at the thing than t he other people. I did my might not to make a pitiful face, and not to remind him that just because he thinks how to do a literary analysis, doesn’t mean he can.
…ah, yeah, so this story originally started out as a self-insert. Uh. Surprise? :p
Yeah, yeah, especially with literature studies. “Everybody can read”, “everybody can write”… Alas, people who loudly and proudly proclaim this often sadly lack critical thinking skills … *sigh*
And Carter Lim? Because of Jason Carter. I just found it funny to run into this name again in this universe 🙂 But I’m pretty sure I didn’t tell you.
Ooh, Jason. I miss Jason. <3
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