Questions for Lee

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Question from andrea: Lee: -when is your birthday?
- have you always loved April?
-what's your favorite color?
- what's the best memory you have?
- if you could choose what species you'd like to be, what would it be?

Answer:

LEE: I was born in the morning hours on the 1st day of the 7th moon, which is considered an inauspicious time to be born by the more superstitious among us. However, this has never particularly bothered me. My favorite color is green, which incidentally is the most common favorite color on Planet Gorlock.

Yes, I have always loved April. I have known her since I was a very small child. We were both born in the same village, and since she was slightly older than me, she took me under her wing. Her father was a General and so she learned all manner of fighting techniques and hunting skills before the rest of us. The two of us used to spend hours play-fighting or discussing subjects that I can now only half remember. Other times we would pretend to be married, and the other Gorlock boys would torment me endlessly about it. Nevertheless, some of my best memories were of the games we used to play.

I admired April so much - she was so strong and capable, everything I felt that I was not. In addition to these traits, she also exhibited compassion - something she always thought of as a weakness. It has become clear to me, though, that this is the one aspect of Gorlock society that is flawed. Compassion is not always a weakness. It is, in my opinion, her best trait.

However, as we grew up, April's natural talents in the art of warfare meant that we were able to spend less and less time together. Our days of childhood happiness slipped away bit by bit, no matter how much I tried to hold onto them. She began to take on more leadership roles, and any chance I had of telling her how I felt disappeared. You cannot just stroll up to your superior and proclaim that sort of thing.

Aurora showing up alleviated the problem for awhile. The three of us were able to, how do you say, "hang out" and have a very good time. When the girls joined the rebellion two years later, however, it spelled the end of my daily companionship with April. She was gone much of the time, and I spent my days following my father's wishes to become a cultural expert.

Of course, whenever April returned I was greeted warmly, but I felt a rift grow between us as I tried harder and harder to conceal my feelings, and she spent more and more time away. Then she met Nav and I knew it was too late to ever tell her. I would not dream of ruining her happiness for my own interests.

...I do not think I would like to be any other species. I mean, who would not want to be a Gorlock?

 

Question from loopin: Lee... if you could have anything or be anyone for one day, what would you want, or who would you be???

Answer:

LEE: If I could be anyone for a day, I'd be Nav, so that April would feel the same way about me as I do about her.



Question from Carrie: Lee, Mara mentioned that she thought about the rituals of Gorlock mating. Maybe you can tell us a thing or two.

Answer:

LEE: **cue tour guide manner** I would be more than happy to explain our courtship rituals to you!

NAV: (sideways glance) Ya, you do that.
 
LEE: (glaring) What is that supposed to mean?

NAV:  -_- Nothing.

LEE: Fine.  **glare**

NAV: Fine.

LEE: FINE!

NAV: FINE!!

NAV and LEE: angry face

APRIL: Uh...? 

LEE: Hmph. Pay him no mind, April. He just does not understand. AS I was saying, I will be happy to explain the GORLOCK mating rituals that take place on planet GORLOCK among the GORLOCKS who live here.  o:) 

NAV: Knock yourself out, buddy.

**Nav sticks up his nose and makes a great show of stalking off**

APRIL: (watching him leave) Um, Lee...what was that about?

LEE: ....Nothing. 

APRIL: ... OK....

LEE:  ^_^ Gorlocks are a monagomous species (with a few exceptions among the highest-ranked Generals who, to quote Aurora, "like to take their game to the next level").

Courtship is similar to that of humans, with excessive flattery, gift-giving, and life-or-death duels.  If a male and female agree on their affection, then a small ceremony is performed between their respective families and they pledge lifelong devotion to one another. The female then pays a tribute to the male's family...nobody quite remembers why anymore, but it is tradition.

However, if the affection is one-sided, or if one rejects the other's proposal, the couple must proclaim this fact to the village and send out invitations to the makrii...which is basically a fight in which the two lovers are pitted against one another. The battle is dramatic and many people come to watch...and the winner of the match determines whether the marriage will take place or not. So, if a male loves a female but she does not love him back, he can proclaim his love and challenge her to a Makrii. If he wins, she MUST marry him. If he loses, then the crowd disbands and she is free to go. This arrangement works splendidly and there are usually no hard feelings.

However, the Makrii has become such a popular form of entertainment in past years that even couples who DO love each other and intend to marry will challenge each other to a Makrii...simply for the attention.

If the Makrii leads to marriage, the crowd goes wild and a huge party ensues. Somebody usually slaughters something and someone inevitably carts in a few hundred canisters of various mind-altering beverages. Usually by the end of the night everyone is so...what is the word?

AURORA: Plastered?

LEE: Thank you. Everyone is so plastered that nobody quite remembers who even got married anymore. While the partygoers enjoy the effects of their activities, the newlywed couple conspiratorially slips away and disappears. For the next 3-4 weeks they live in the jungle and...erm...

APRIL: ...

MARA: AWKWARD SILENCE TIME.




Question from andrea: LEE: I've always wondered...what do you think about humans?

Answer:

LEE: Not all humans are bad, but it does seem that most of them cause nothing but trouble. Aurora is a wonderful person, of course, although she terrifies everyone. If it were not for her, (and April's interest in all things human) I believe I would be quite prejudiced against them.



Question from Pigquet: So, Lee, do you hold a resentment toward Nav since he's w/ April, or do you still like him as a guy and friend and are just jealous inside?

Answer:

LEE: Nav gets on my nerves. I wonder how anyone can possibly be so gregarious and loud-mouthed all the time. I cannot even think when he is around. But he makes April happy, so I do my best to tolerate him. Although to be perfectly honest I would like him better if he were somewhere else, preferably on another planet.


Question from Flank: Lee, does April tan and if she does, how does her skin change?

Answer:

LEE: (looking somewhat embarrassed) Why are you asking me?
Hmm, I am afraid I do not know what "tanning" is. Are you referring to the process by which skin pigmentation darkens as a result of exposure to ultraviolet light? Actually, not much ultraviolet radiation passes through our atmosphere, so no, Gorlocks do not "tan". We stay pretty much the same green color all the time.
Gorlock hair color, however, can be affected by exposure to sunlight. It becomes more bluish the longer one is exposed. Sometimes in the summer months when we were younger, April's hair would fade from light purple to a periwinkle blue. It was so lovely...

Ahem.


Question from Amanda: Lee: When "Cindy" (now Aurora) arrived at Planet Gorlock, what were your thoughts?

Answer:

LEE: I did not know what to make of Aurora at first. To be honest, the look in her eye sent chills down my spine. It was almost as if, just by meeting her gaze, I could see all the horrible things that she had seen. She felt like a walking contagion - someone cursed, who would only bring disaster wherever she went.

But Aurora quickly proved herself as a capable warrior, pilot, and friend. My initial fear of her turned to pity over time. Though she conceals it well, she holds a lot of suffering inside. I hope that someday she is able to find peace or maybe even happiness.


Question from Krista: Would you ever steal April away from Nav if you knew you had the chance?

Answer:

LEE: As long as Nav makes her happy, I will not come between them. April deserves happiness, even if it is not with me.
But if he EVER does anything to hurt her, well...it will take more than metallurgy to reassemble him again.


Question from Pigquet: So, if something did by somehow happen to Nav (God forbid) would you see it as your chance to let April know how you feel and want to get with her then?

Answer:

LEE: Even if Nav were to die - no, especially if Nav were to die - I would not tell April how I feel about her. At least not immediately. To do so would be selfish and cruel. Perhaps I would tell her someday, but not under those circumstances.


Question from Beks: Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

Answer:

LEE: Doing the same job I am now, I suppose. Perhaps I will take on some more responsibilities as well. I would like to have a family some day, but I will not hope for too much at the moment.


Question from Corinne: Are you happy in your current job? What about it do you like/dislike?

Answer:

LEE: Yes, I would say I am happy being a cultural scholar and tour guide; my only wish is that my peers would afford the position a bit more respect. It is a very under-appreciated type of career around here. I am working to change that, of course. One of my current projects, which was started by my father, is deciphering the old runes on our capital building at Nuku. We know that Gorlocks had a logosyllabic script prior to the 700 year civil war, but that information has since been lost to us. If I can break the code and share with everyone what our ancestors were saying, I am sure my work will finally be seen as valuable.


Question from Emily: I wonder... Do Gorlocks know how to swim? Okay, that was a dumb question...

Answer:

LEE: Actually, most do not. Large bodies of deep water are few and far between on our planet. April does not know how to swim, nor do I, but I have heard that Lady Jaya is able to.



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