10 things meme: Cecil Goodytwoshoes
Aug. 18th, 2010 09:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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orikes13 . I can't promise that this will be the most illuminating thing you've ever read about Cecil. For one thing, I feel as though I've already said a lot of interesting things about Cecil, and there are a number of things I would prefer to leave in the dark. However, such as they are, here they are.
1. Cecil is sort of a repository for a fair number of my favorite Victorian things.
2. Cecil almost became a Snidely Whiplash/Hooded Claw, more straightforward sort of villain. I'm glad it didn't turn out that way, but one reason it didn't turn out that way is because I knew I couldn't think of that many infernal machines. “as the candle flame burns through the rope, the box of rats will slowly be tilted towards the window. As soon as they escape out of the window, water will begin flooding into the dungeon . . ." yeah. I can't even do it once, let alone multiple times.
3. Right from the beginning, though, I knew that I did not want to allow him to monologue.
4. Cecil's house has its own weather. If it's snowing, it's a depressing blizzard. If it's raining, it's a thunderstorm. If the sun is shining cheerfully. . . no, it never does that.
5. I spent over 20 years as a very serious, dyed in the wool Anglo-Catholic. Less so now, but the fact remains that it's influenced my development of Cecil in a way that's very difficult to articulate. It's probably more of an aesthetic thing than anything else.writeraissa absolutely nailed this in the latest installment of Sim Spade, though as I pointed out at the time, he would never, ever, even think of using tallow candles in an ecclesiastical service. It's beeswax or nothing.
6. Since it's so close to the end, I can finally reveal the music he plays on that organ. It's “Tiptoe Through The Tulips.” It's probably more of a private joke for myself than anything else. Click if you dare.
7. There are also been a lot of speculations about his sexuality. This is another thing I go back and forth on, but mostly I think that the description of James Barrie by Nico Davies is about right: that Cecil has never experienced “stirring in the undergrowth” for anybody. Either that, or he's so repressed that he wouldn't recognize it if he saw it. Or he is deeply disgusted by the whole thing. You must admit that sex is terrifically untidy, and Cecil is very, very, tidy.
8. He really genuinely thinks that he knows what is best for everybody. Self-doubt isn't in his vocabulary. Neither is self-analysis.
9. When everybody else was doing the “height” meme, I mentioned that Cecil isn't very tall. In fact, the only two things Cecil really has in common with me are height and age. He's only a bit over 5' 6", and he is perennially in his early to mid-40s. He was born in his early to mid-40s, and that's where he's going to stay.
10. I genuinely admire the little bugger. If I were like Cecil, I would work much harder, be much thinner, have more stable finances, and my house would be a lot tidier.
10a. He hasn't allowed himself to become really close to anybody, but he is deeply devoted to his daughter, to his grandson, to his cats, and to his fish. Do not forget the fish.
10b. Would he ever have had a decent relationship with Miranda if he had won the bachelorette challenge? Um-- maybe?
Is there really anybody left to tag?
orikes13 . I can't promise that this will be the most illuminating thing you've ever read about Cecil. For one thing, I feel as though I've already said a lot of interesting things about Cecil, and there are a number of things I would prefer to leave in the dark. However, such as they are, here they are.1. Cecil is sort of a repository for a fair number of my favorite Victorian things.
2. Cecil almost became a Snidely Whiplash/Hooded Claw, more straightforward sort of villain. I'm glad it didn't turn out that way, but one reason it didn't turn out that way is because I knew I couldn't think of that many infernal machines. “as the candle flame burns through the rope, the box of rats will slowly be tilted towards the window. As soon as they escape out of the window, water will begin flooding into the dungeon . . ." yeah. I can't even do it once, let alone multiple times.
3. Right from the beginning, though, I knew that I did not want to allow him to monologue.
4. Cecil's house has its own weather. If it's snowing, it's a depressing blizzard. If it's raining, it's a thunderstorm. If the sun is shining cheerfully. . . no, it never does that.
5. I spent over 20 years as a very serious, dyed in the wool Anglo-Catholic. Less so now, but the fact remains that it's influenced my development of Cecil in a way that's very difficult to articulate. It's probably more of an aesthetic thing than anything else.
writeraissa absolutely nailed this in the latest installment of Sim Spade, though as I pointed out at the time, he would never, ever, even think of using tallow candles in an ecclesiastical service. It's beeswax or nothing.6. Since it's so close to the end, I can finally reveal the music he plays on that organ. It's “Tiptoe Through The Tulips.” It's probably more of a private joke for myself than anything else. Click if you dare.
7. There are also been a lot of speculations about his sexuality. This is another thing I go back and forth on, but mostly I think that the description of James Barrie by Nico Davies is about right: that Cecil has never experienced “stirring in the undergrowth” for anybody. Either that, or he's so repressed that he wouldn't recognize it if he saw it. Or he is deeply disgusted by the whole thing. You must admit that sex is terrifically untidy, and Cecil is very, very, tidy.
8. He really genuinely thinks that he knows what is best for everybody. Self-doubt isn't in his vocabulary. Neither is self-analysis.
9. When everybody else was doing the “height” meme, I mentioned that Cecil isn't very tall. In fact, the only two things Cecil really has in common with me are height and age. He's only a bit over 5' 6", and he is perennially in his early to mid-40s. He was born in his early to mid-40s, and that's where he's going to stay.
10. I genuinely admire the little bugger. If I were like Cecil, I would work much harder, be much thinner, have more stable finances, and my house would be a lot tidier.
10a. He hasn't allowed himself to become really close to anybody, but he is deeply devoted to his daughter, to his grandson, to his cats, and to his fish. Do not forget the fish.
10b. Would he ever have had a decent relationship with Miranda if he had won the bachelorette challenge? Um-- maybe?
Is there really anybody left to tag?
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 06:18 am (UTC)10b. is one I think about fairly often. I've made no bones about the fact that I was rooting for Dean big time, so I'm not sure what I actually would have done if Cecil had won, or if they had been tied down to hearts on both sides.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 06:25 am (UTC)I agree with Ori: It's nice to see all of these together. And, of course, anything involving Cecil totally makes my day. /Cecil Fangirl
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 06:32 am (UTC)Since you live in the Chicago area, I can tell you that you can see this at the Church of the Ascension on LaSalle.
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Date: 2010-08-19 08:19 am (UTC)Just wondering: does Cecil allow for modern conveniences in his home? I have seen him reply to Secundus' e-mail, but does he also have a TV or a Ferrari or an Electrodance Sphere?
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 08:34 am (UTC)He does have a television, though I don't usually show him using it. He doesn't have a dance sphere, but in Doc's Asylum, he loved the thing--high Active points, I think. He will exercise until he maxes Body and Fitness fairly fast.
Vintage cars. He likes vintage cars. He actually has a Packard, I think, but if the CC were available, he'd have a Packard, a Duesenberg, or a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost : http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Rolls-Royce_Silver_Ghost_at_Centenary.jpg&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rolls-Royce_Silver_Ghost_at_Centenary.jpg&h=576&w=988&sz=68&tbnid=R73t_7ZrTstT4M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=149&prev=/images%3Fq%3Drolls%2Broyce%2Bsilver%2Bghost&zoom=1&hl=en&usg=__fiFqW98M0JHTVUsOHlYreaZGbZA=&sa=X&ei=bexsTKrvB5LUtQPRv_2nCw&ved=0CCQQ9QEwAQ
no subject
Date: 2010-08-19 06:23 pm (UTC)