sholio: (Dresden bookverse)
Sholio ([personal profile] sholio) wrote2007-05-13 04:18 pm

A few Dresden Files bookverse questions

Rather than combing through the books trying to answer these, I figured I'd ask my friendlist. (It's for a fic.)

- Does Book!Harry have a working answering machine in his apartment?
- Does anyone remember the spell command that he uses to throw a wall of force at something? I know he uses that one a lot, but I've flipped through several of the books and can't find a specific scene where he does.
- As of Book 9, Murphy, Molly and Thomas are all able to get through his wards and come and go from his apartment, right? Are they the only ones, or is there anyone else who can do it?

Any help is appreciated. Alternatively, I could leaf through the books some more, but I thought I'd see if anyone knows the answers before I do TOO much searching.

[identity profile] spark-force.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 12:30 am (UTC)(link)
1) Not sure on this one, but I doubt it. He does so much magic there, you wouldn't think an answering machine would survive.

2) Isn't it 'forzare'? (I'm kinda disturbed that I know that off the top of my head.)

3) I think they're the only ones, or maybe one or two other people. I seem to remember various scenes where the books talked about how beefed up his wards are, and he had to be careful to teach Molly how to get in correctly, without hurting her.

Of course, this is all off the top of my head, so I may very well be wrong...
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 05:57 am (UTC)(link)
Forzare! I knew it was right on the tip of my brain! Thanks!
ratcreature: reading RatCreature (reading)

[personal profile] ratcreature 2007-05-14 12:36 am (UTC)(link)
- I recall an answering service, and that he complained that they switched that over to a machine based service rather than one with people, IIRC. But there isn't an answeing machine in his apartment.
- Forzare?
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 05:58 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! This helps. (I remembered the answering service, but wasn't sure if that just applied to his office.)
ratcreature: RL? What RL? RatCreature is a net addict.  (what rl?)

[personal profile] ratcreature 2007-05-14 02:32 pm (UTC)(link)
Actually that is just not said. He calls it in chapter 15 of Dead Beat from Billy's place and the messages left are from Murphy calling him from Hawaii, from his mechanic about the Beetle, and that message from Shiela Starr. Since I don't think Murphy would have called his office for calling him from her vacation, I assumed it also covered his apartment, but I don't think that is made explicit.

[identity profile] parisindy.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 01:51 am (UTC)(link)
'forzare' is for when he shots fire.. i can't remember the sheild
harry is crap with electronics so i can't see him keeping a 'working' answering machine in his apartment

erm not very helpful was i? sorry hehehe

[identity profile] spark-force.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
forzare is for his "force based magic" (http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php?PHPSESSID=2e25380d3e1ae68899c6ef8682c4f4dd&topic=2894.msg65377#msg65377), not fire.
ext_1981: (Avatar-angstosaurus)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 06:01 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, AWESOME link! Thank you!

[identity profile] spark-force.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
No prob! I've been spending the last few hours reading all his posts (http://www.jim-butcher.com/bb/index.php?action=profile;u=5;sa=showPosts;start=0) on that site-- really interesting stuff (tho there are some spoilers, mainly for the Codex Alera series). It's making me want to go back and re-read the whole series, though; I'm getting the impression that I missed a lot of hints and clues.
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
Nope, that helps! Thanks!

[identity profile] alipeeps.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 09:12 am (UTC)(link)
"Fuego" is the word he uses when calling fire... and I think, "flickum bicus", or something like that, when he lights the candles sometimes?

[identity profile] leenys.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 02:08 am (UTC)(link)
Know nothing about the books. Are there going to be more shows?
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 06:02 am (UTC)(link)
I'm not sure about the show. I didn't even know it had stopped! I highly recommend the books though. ^_^
ext_2160: SGA John & Rodney (Default)

[identity profile] winter-elf.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 02:29 am (UTC)(link)
he has an 'answering service' I believe, but I don't remember an answering machine. It's technology, and would screw up if he's around it long enough.

I don't recall anyone else having the ability to come and go unescorted. He's pretty private (or was very much so in the earlier books)
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 06:03 am (UTC)(link)
I was kinda thinking that an answering machine might not work for him.

Poor Harry! No Internet!

Thanks for the answers -- this helps.
naye: A cartoon of a woman with red hair and glasses in front of a progressive pride flag. (chi - WAI)

[personal profile] naye 2007-05-14 07:19 am (UTC)(link)
Oh, a fic!

And everyone's already answered the questions, but I was remembering his answering service being described as one of those things where you call up from your phone. He was grumpy about how they couldn't afford to have real people taking messages anymore, since technology could easily do the job - I think at one point he might have been worried about blowing up the answering service by proxy, even though he wasn't in direct contact with it. Or it could be one of those times there was so much magic flying about Chicago that he was worried about that.

Oh, and the wards? Those three are definitely the only ones who have talismans to be let through, but I'm guessing someone intimately familiar with his magic - Elaine or Ebenezer - could undo them and slip through if he wasn't at home to guard them. Possibly. But on the other hand, he's grown quite a bit since spending any considerable time with those two, so it's also possible that his wards would just wipe the floor with them before they had a chance to start tinkering with them. For some reason, Harry takes his wards seriously! Can't imagine why.

(Yay, fic!)
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 08:04 am (UTC)(link)
This all pretty much tallies with my general recollections. Thanks! And I hadn't thought about Elaine being able to (possibly) undo his wards. That might work for the plot I'm working on ...

It's going to take a little while for this fic to see light of day. It's for the Harlequin romance challenge at [livejournal.com profile] summersteam. The fic prompt that I'm working from in this post (http://community.livejournal.com/summersteam/552.html) is "W" -- the lust potion one. (Although it sounds like a total pornfest, I'm basically a gen writer so it's, er, not really. At least as interpreted by me. However, the minute I read the summary I immediately thought of the Dresdenverse.)

And they're still looking for writers for a few unclaimed plot prompts, as seen here. (http://community.livejournal.com/summersteam/2972.html)

[identity profile] alipeeps.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 09:13 am (UTC)(link)
Wooohoooo! You succumbed! :lol:

Can't wait to see what you make of it... :D
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I'm still kind of amazed that I signed up because writing romance isn't usually my cup of tea ... but I had an idea for that prompt.
naye: A cartoon of a woman with red hair and glasses in front of a progressive pride flag. (Default)

[personal profile] naye 2007-05-14 09:55 am (UTC)(link)
Hee! That sounds perfect for the Dresdenverse! Very curious to see what you'll do with this... ♥

[identity profile] killash.livejournal.com 2007-05-14 04:08 pm (UTC)(link)
No answering machine, just answering service for the office. Or at least, that's what I've understood from reading the books.
:)
ext_1981: (Avatar-Zuko fighting Azula)

[identity profile] friendshipper.livejournal.com 2007-05-16 08:19 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! That seems to be the consensus. I really wasn't sure...