where are mrs. pringle and custard?

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

A blogflog!  Wherein LKH discusses just what happened to Mrs. Pringle and Custard.  I've been curious about this, myself. 

LKH- bold
Me-   fits of laughter
URL- http://blog.laurellkhamilton.org/2007/02/where-are-mrs-pringle-and-custard.html

I'll answer one quick question. Where have Mrs. Pringle and Custard gone? I have had two ideas that involve them, but had to push them back. One is discarded completely because you don't need a Pomeranian to wake you to bad guys surrounding the house when you're living with two wereleopards? 

Did I miss the question here?  I must have, because there is a clear question mark at the end of that declarative sentence.  Further, in the time of B.P. (before pr0n) Custard tries to show dominance over Richard.  I think this was Guilty Pleasures.  Typically, smaller dogs do that when faced with a larger perceived threat.   Naturally, he is unsuccessful, but clearly LKH has forgotten that Custard does have some sort of sense that alerts him to danger.  Nice though he may sometimes be, Richard is the Ulfric, and that little dog definitely knew something was up, while Mrs. Pringle was completely unaware. 


We might still try and do it, but I just can't decide how much different, or better the dog's senses are than the wereleopards. I know from my experience with one of my pugs that, not all dogs are watch dogs. In fact some of them will happily snooze through the emergency. The other plot that remains has lost some of it's amusement factor for me, because I hate to bring on Mrs. Pringle and have something horrible happen to her.

Several things about this paragraph irritate me immensely:

A) Why does it automatically have to be a battle of the senses between the dog and the wereleopards?  If she wanted to involve Custard in a "plot" of some sort, couldn't both he and the wereleopards know that something is wrong?  

B) Pomeranians are not the same as pugs.  Just because her lazy pug snoozes through trouble doesn't mean that a pomeranian would.  I love pugs, but it is certainly foolhardy to assume that you know all about dogs simply because you have a pug that likes his naps.   

C) Mrs. Pringle was an adorable minor character.  She seemed concerned about Anita when they were neighbors, approving of Richard on sight, and didn't bat an eyelash when someone blew a hole through Anita's door.   She was a classic innocent bystander, and bad things sometimes happen to innocent bystanders.  It made sense that we didn't see her anymore because they were no longer neighbors.  Bringing her back for the sole purpose of having something bad happen to her is a GREAT idea.  It would add a much-needed shot of reality to the series, and would help to stave off the criticism that nothing bad ever happens to these people. 

 

Comments

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

i think her brain *is* a pile of sticky notes

[ladyblue99.livejournal.com]

ADD:

Written and proof read by her dogs *snerk*

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Never mind the fact that Anita moved away from Mrs Pringle (and Custard) - so there's a big fat WTF about all this. Why the hell would it be brought up? Unless Anita had an unusually tight and wet relationship with her neightbours at her former apartment complex, why on earth would she keep in contact?

Secondly, I am creeped right the fuck out by the notion of involving Custard in something with wereleopards. I'm sure that Pom is secretly a ninja assassin and would be able to pwn all Siamese cats on the block and then team up with Sigmund to rid St Louis of the Anita-scourge. BUT OMGWTF?! ANITA MOVED AWAY! WHY THE HELL WOULD CUSTARD SUDDENLY BE IN HER HOUSE?!? WHYYYY???

But oh, logic does not apply in this argument, does it? Stupid, stupid me. *smacks self*

Though, given how uber-l33t both Micah and Nathaniel's spider wereleopard senses are and that they did not notice that A) Anita had missed her period and B) she wasn't pregnant, maybe Custard as the watchdog isn't such a bad idea.

God, now I'm getting the adorable mental image of Richard adopting Custard and getting little doggy-sweaters for him as they sit down to watch G&S musicals. XD

[pandaemonaeum.livejournal.com]

I wondered when someone was going to remember that Anita moved house, as she used to be in an apartment, which kept getting shot up, to a house, which continues to get shot up on a regular basis but the nosey neighbours are too far away to call the police when they hear screaming, howling, and moaning. Just as well really, or the ardon't might be permanently defeated by a bunch of flatfoots showing up every time it 'spills' over her!

[dwg.livejournal.com]

I want to know how she can afford the rent on the house - given that she's...kinda never working. That, and you'd think the landlord would be pissed off with the amount of maitenance that needs to be done given that the place is getting shot to shit. Really, I'm surprised her ass hasn't been evicted and Anita taken to court owing thousands of dollars for damages.

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

lol, i know, it actually MAKES SENSE that Mrs. Pringle is no longer around. What doesn't make sense is any sort of plot involving them, unless Anita gets roped into dog sitting or something.

AWwwwww, he'd totally get him doggy sweaters with little wolves knitted on to them :)

[dwg.livejournal.com]

Custard would proudly prance around the house, thinking that he's Lord of Everything now that he's got a freakin' Ulfric looking after all his needs.

I'm sure Richard would never live it down. Badass werewolf, pwned by Pomeranian.

I've been thinking about the 'pregnancy' scare

[rozasharn.livejournal.com]

Since the pill works by feeding your body pregnancy hormones--that is, it makes the body think it's pregnant, so it doesn't bother ovulating--maybe women on the pill smell pregnant except for once a month when they menstruate.

I'd still think the guys should have noticed that she stopped smelling like blood every month--Hello? Blood? Predators?--but maybe they were too discombobulated from all the sex and violence. Ya think?

[dwg.livejournal.com]

That right there is a fair argument. However, I just think it's one of those things that LKH never really put any thought into.

[catskin.livejournal.com]

I'll answer one quick question. Where have Mrs. Pringle and Custard gone?

I can't help but notice that after all that aqua waffle about pugs and wereleopards, Laurell didn't actually answer the question at all.

Presumably this is because any right-minded person would assume that Mrs. Pringle and Custard are safely at home in their apartment, sleeping soundly without Anita keeping them up with her noisy money gunshots.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

We ought to get a quick, omniscent Narrator Voice telling us, "Meanwhile, back at the apartment complex - life could not be happier. Zombies didn't turn up, random hitmen didn't shoot through walls and narrowly miss the innocent families nearby, vampires and werewolves did not make trouble. All in all, when asked, the residents' reply was, 'Anita who?'"

Abd then we might get a quick montage of close neighbours going on about how they didn't really know Anita all that well and that they kinda appreciate the life they have now that she's not in their building.

[everstar3.livejournal.com]

The sad thing is, I couldn't remember who Custard and Mrs. Pringle were until I read the post.

Flee, Mrs. Pringle! Flee for your life! Take the Pom and ruuuuuun!

[allova.livejournal.com]

I think I must've skipped over something at some point in the series because all I'm thinking right now is, "Since when does Mrs Pringle live with two wereleopards?"

[ainjul.livejournal.com]

With the way shes been writing Richard, Custard would dominate the hell out of him. Next we'd have Custard as the pack alpha lolling indolently on a overstuffed doggie bed while Rich keeps the milkbones coming. POM RULE

[rinkori.livejournal.com]

I think she has actually FORGOTTEN that Anita moved away from Mrs. Pringle.

I was rereading Guilty Pleasures the other day, actually... It was so good. Ugh. Why do you suck now, LKH? Why?

Also, pugs are horrible little dogs that are somehow perfect for LKH. Egh.

[ladyravana.livejournal.com]

Awwww, I think pugs are kinda cute. I'd never get one myself, but I certainly don't have anything against 'em.

I honestly pity her dogs, because the pugs are horribly obese, she dresses them up in clothes and there's a picture of Jon THROWING ONE UP IN THE AIR.

That was...pretty horrifying in and of itself. I wish someone would call the humane society on them...because that's just...no. You don't treat animals like that. Ever. *much stabbity DOOM at Jon*

[delphinapterus.livejournal.com]

Well LKH, in answer to your question, yes, one does require a watch-Pomeranian when living two wereleopards if said wereleopards are as gormless and sensory-deficient as Miach and Nathaniel.

[sharkbytes.livejournal.com]

gormless is such a great word for them

[quizzicalsphinx.livejournal.com]

If the Anitaverse ever gets into public domain in my lifetime, I'm so stealing Mrs. Pringle and Custard for a spin-off series. They will solve mysteries together, and there will be recipes for tea-biscuits between chapters. It will be smashing.

[alex-lebeau.livejournal.com]

Why wait? The marvels of fanfiction. Also, LKH obviously will forget who they are within a day or so, which means she won't be hunting anyone down for OMG STEALZ.

[safrialailo.livejournal.com]

I so like the idea of a mrs pringle and custard stories.

Just change the names, and include a slightly crazy and very nymphomaniac neighbour. LKH is too obsessed with how ZOMG unique and powerful anita is to notice a rip off of the minor characters.

and you'd treat them so much better

[dwg.livejournal.com]

And later, Mrs Pringle and Custard can team up with Ronnie (who has moved to Chicago, is now a werelion and is currently trying to deal with Augustine and Edward, *cough*) to Help Solve The Big Mystery...Miss Marple style. :D

[wolfychan.livejournal.com]

Mrs. Pringle and Custard went the way of every other cute, humanizing little detail in the series that was neither violent nor sexual. Into the same sad circular file as Zerbrowski's choo-choo pajamas and Anita's stuffed penguins.

It's not that I think the series needs cuteness exactly, but it adds so much life to have these irrelevant little details. Imagine hearing that Micah has a pet hamster or Nathaniel had an experience as a child where he forgot his lines to the school play. It wouldn't advance the plot. It wouldn't be a big crashing Revelation. But it would make them a little more into people.

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

Bringing her back for the sole purpose of having something bad happen to her is a GREAT idea. It would add a much-needed shot of reality to the series, and would help to stave off the criticism that nothing bad ever happens to these people.

Except, moi slender ducky,

It would involve le dreaded continuity.

I'd completely forgotten about Mrs.Pringer and Custer. Absolutely and completely forgotten. And then reading this I started to remember they were one of the reasons I originally loved the book. Anita had a prime example of why she was an executioner right there beside her. She did what she did so little old ladies like Mrs. Pringle could live in peace.

Moreever, I loved Custer trying to dominate Richard. It was adorable. It was human and normal and slice of life. I used to find myself wondering how Custer would treat Jean Claude and Edward. I also used to think that Custer being hurt would be a more dreadful thing that some of the people Anita met. Cause he was a protector too, just 'bite sized'.

Funny how all that got washed away under a tide of vaginal juices.