Who is your least favorite elf?

No- she created her own role. It's not like there had to be a Mother of Memory or there was some kind of vacancy she filled. The position would not exist without her.

Well, I'm happy to read that people are mostly amused by Savah's burning. Since she isn't a real person, I don't mind being blunt.

Oh wow, that's the biggest burn I've seen in a long time.
But you're completely correct.

Actually, I think Savah herself can be pretty blunt at times, in a sorta... humouristic way.
"Even the oldest among you is but a stripling." anyone?

As for her not noticing Ahdri's rockshaper powers, I think she suspected that there might be something there, but there was no point in going around for several 1000 years being all "You're the descendant of the three greatest rockshapers this village ever had. You better learn to use those powers right about now!"
If Ahdri's powers had never awakened - and I don't think they would have if it hadn't been for the little Palace - she would have continued living her life as she had for millennia before, blissfully unaware that she might have had rockshaper abilities.
Redlance, on the other hand, knew all the time that he had latent planshaping powers and was very conscious about it.

Continuing on to her teaching of Rayek; before the Wolfriders arrived he never needed to do more than lifting smaller objects and hypnotizing pray. He was already by far more powerful than any of the other Sunfolk - except, perhaps, from Savah and Leetah - he had reached the top of the mountain and could just look back down and see that everyone else hadn't even started climbing yet, couldn't even start climbing.
Then when he'd left Sorrow's End and met Ekuar he had a much bigger mountain to climb.

Finally the bit about Sunstream still needing her guidance. No, I honestly don't think he does any more, at least not when it comes to his powers. His training is complete and he's sent out The Call. On the other hand; it's very possible he still needs her guidance for more personal issues; the guidance of a (grand)parental figure rather than the guidance of a teacher.

My least favorite elf is "Elf on the Shelf." Saw it in a craft store today. Ridiculously overpriced.

I was just going to say... he sits up there mocking me from his shelf... poking fun at the fact my son is gonna get more presents than I am... Shoot, my son might even get GOLD for christmas and I might not even rank a lump of coal... At least coal is useful in a forge... what the heck am I gonna do with three nuts, a broken three year old candy cane and a dried out tangerine? You know what happened to some of your kin, Mr On-The-Shelf? Barny the dinosaur had a firework enema... the teletubbies got a bath of used industrial cleaning solvent before learning why it's a bad idea to play with matches, and the works were used for wadding in a black powder cannon that was used to launch frozen pears... ...Your shelf is not night enough to pose much of an obstacle for me, and while the ground is frozen, I have a tractor with an auger... it'll take longer to start the thing than it will to dig a nice deep hole, just the right size for a stuck up, 10 inch tall Elf that thinks it's his job to tell Santa how to do his job... Shoot, I bet I might get a little something special in my stocking just for getting rid of an annoyance for the jolly old man!

I tell you what, Mr EotS... We'll hang our stockings early. Plenty early enough for you do figure out some way to show you're not completely worthless. Yes, this is blackmail. I better see at least three Hersey's kisses and a fresh candy cane or citrus (and it better be SWEET... if I have to pucker when I eat it, you're gonna find yourself puckering when you fall from the sky without a parachute!). I'll be checking next Sunday night, and if I don't see something worth your scrawny neck, you're gonna find out why I don't get to barrow my dad's brush mulcher very often: He hates having to pull fluffy stuffing out of the discharge chute, but I have no problem trying to see how much stuffing I can get to hang up on the spiky outlet.

No, this isn't a threat, it's a discussion. If you'd like to defend yourself, my ears are yours for the talking, even if you don't see a 'point'. You get down off your shelf on high and come down here with the rest of us. No one elected you as a judge, quit being so full of your sElf in your self appointed "santa's helper" position. He never needed your help when I was a kid... the world isn't any bigger and there aren't all that many more people around since then, what makes you think he suddenly needs YOUR help? If anything, his job's easier, what with social networking and high-speed internet. Wouldn't surprise me if he decides to just lay off all you elves and just go with the 'one click' option on Amazon for all the children of the world. Won't even have to get his sleigh out, just sit on the internet all day watching hash tags. Then he can stay home and enjoy some real home made cookies from Mrs Claus and not any of this 'gluten free' 'organic' 'all natural' 'low carb' alternative crap with soy/almond milk substitute kids try to make him gag through these days. Or is that why you're up on the shelf? Did you get laid off from making toys and perhaps got caught spying on Mrs Claus? Now you're in my house, watching my kids with those unblinking eyes? Talk about creepy... an unnatural skin tone and a fake nose doesn't grant you a free pass as a freako hovering around children.

On second though, just clear out. Don't wait until the last second for Santa to come around. I figure you must get some thrill out of the chance at getting caught by Santa, but I'm just going to lay it out here and now. Get out of my house, Elf on the Shelf. I don't want you watching my family, and I don't want to watch you watching my family. Get out now while you still can before find a place in the bathroom where you can get a nice view of my backside while I'm relieving myself before I flush you down. Begone, Elf on the Shelf!

I am SO glad Elf on the Shelf did not exist when I was a kid. That would have traumatized the hell out of me. I was afraid of the dark enough already. Shadows came to life and toy moved places. The Bogeyman came for you if your eyes were open when the clock read 10:00! - this was a FACT!

Not to mention I always spent Christmas Eve terrified that if my bladder woke me up in the night I would stumble upon Santa and thus he would forsake me forever! The LAST thing I needed was a toy that actually DID move around during the night and spy on me all throughout the holiday season.

EotS is an evil designed to aggravate kids' neuroses for adult amusement. Kill it with fire!

Elf on a shelf totally existed because I'm pretty sure I'm older than you and we had one when we were kids. Exactly the same elf! No book though-- and no packaging. No trendy name. Same toy.

It's whole marketing strategy is the nostalgia.

PSSSTT!
Elf on a Shelf is not an EQ-elf!

We don't have that thing here.

Lunakat wrote:

Elf on a shelf totally existed because I'm pretty sure I'm older than you and we had one when we were kids. Exactly the same elf! No book though-- and no packaging. No trendy name. Same toy.

In that case, I'm SO glad the Elf on the Shelf Marketing Phenomenon (C) did not exist when I was a kid.

Me too!

Lunakat wrote:

Skywise is totes sidekick. The reason the sidekick is a "ladies man" and never commits is that he is already committed to the main character. No woman in his life can be more important than his buddy. He has to be ready to pick up and leave at a moment's notice-- anytime his hero calls. That's why it's a formula. If he had to check with his wife and call a baby-sitter, he wouldn't be able to jump on command, like the super-loyal, always available amigo he is. He'd, y'know, have his own life and stuff...

Bros before... romance.

Besides, look what happened with Aroree. (That's what you get for breaking the code, man!) Sometimes I think that Aroree was Skywise's punishment for trying to choose a woman over Cutter.

Good thing he now has the opportunity to have a child with Cutter...