# Which Fictional Universe Do You Want To Live In? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2005, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390 "2005-03-20T04:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pope\_hentai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@pope\_hentai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pope_hentai)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/41 "2005-03-21T17:56:49Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Mild and weekly aren’t adjectives I would use to describe their regimens, else Chi Chi and Mr. Satan would be flying. well they COULD do it but chi chis too busy cooking gynormus amounts of food and mr satan is too full of himself to listen to how to do it. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/42 "2005-03-21T20:38:35Z")
As I’ve mentioned before, if I got to choose my role in that universe, I’d love to be an Angel in Sharon Shinn’s Samaria… -Lots of consequence-free sex is not only encouraged but expected -Superhuman strength and health and looks and singing voice -Get to fly -Have an incredibly rewarding job basically doing good all the time -Have unshakeable faith in a benevolent deity, because when you go out there and pray for, say, medicine, hey, presto, antibiotic pills fall from the sky! Antoher fun one would be Phaze/Proton from Piers Anthony’s **Blue Adept** series, at least if you’re a member of the ruling class. In one reality, you have massive wealth and power, and lots of naked women. In the other one, you have lots of wealth and power, and get to do magic. Plus you get to play The Game. What’s not to like? And who of us, when we were younger, wouldn’t have wanted to attend Hogwart’s? ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/43 "2005-03-21T20:42:11Z")
I’ll second Hogwarts. Pros: MAGIC! Awesome contemporaries. According to the implied timeline, I’d be in Ginny Weasley’s class. Dragons are REAL. Cons: Always worrying about that pesky Voldemort. Wizarding world seems a little unsophisticated. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/44 "2005-03-21T20:53:01Z")
Graduate student, possible Teaching Assistant, at Hogwart’s. -or- Graduate student, possible Teaching Assistant, at Unseen University. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/45 "2005-03-21T22:01:07Z")
San Francisco (The City, _Yerba Buena_) in Starhawk’s _The Fifth Sacred Thing:_ Pros: a lot like Ecotopia (see post #30) – but there’s less government regulation, and magic works! almost everybody’s a pagan, but Christians are tolerated worst punishment for crime is exile to the Wild Boar People losta free love – there might be STDs, but a witch can spot them beforehand Cons: you really think you can just tear up pavement and plant crops in the streets and get anything worth eating? that pesky religio-techno-patriarchy in LA always threatening to invade said patriarchy always hitting you with gene-engineered diseases for all you know, everything outside California is a wasteland ---
**Author:** ![Dob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Dob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dob)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/46 "2005-03-21T22:09:43Z")
I would like to live in the Land of Thomas Covenants sometime after the reign of Damelon Giantfriend but before Kevin. pros: Earthpower Giants Nature that really lives Revelstone cons: None really!..well except for the Despiser… ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/47 "2005-03-21T22:09:38Z")
America in Neal Stephenson’s _Snow Crash:_ Pros: non-stop excitement skateboard couriers can afford equipment Batman would envy so can the pizza delivery guy you can be whoever you want in the VR world the Mafia isn’t so much into crime any more money can buy anything, and I mean **anything** Cons: you need a passport to enter any gated community said community might be a nuclear power any shared public space is pretty much a free-fire zone for most of the world, life still sucks money can buy anything, and I mean **anything** ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/48 "2005-03-21T22:12:20Z")
**Gor** 😉 Pros. I’m decent with sword and medievil weapons, I’m not a girl Cons I need to be decent with sword and medievil weapons Seriously The End of Time from Michael Moorcock’s books, just so long as I have access to a power ring or two. Pros, You are a God (or as near as possible to be God) Cons It can get boring after a few millenia, and you’re converting the entire universe to energy to feed your powers. ---
**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2005, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/49 "2005-03-21T22:17:21Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > I want to live at Hogwarts. Cool. Me, too! This is one of my favourite fictional universes. I’d love to live at Hogwarts. Pros: Lots of magic; dragons; Quidditch… Cons: That Voldemort… ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/50 "2005-03-22T01:54:50Z")
Me, I’m a space opera guy. _Dune_. Particularly Caladan, someplace where it’s temperate and pleasant. Leave the hell-planets to the heathen. 😉 Peter F. Hamilton’s two big intersteller empires, the first from his _Night’s Dawn_ series (I’d be an Edenist, of course), the second from his _Pandora’s Star_ universe. Iain Banks’ **Culture**. A man who knows that Communism will work only when machines do all the labor and production. If you could do something about the dead bodies and the tragic aspects of 99% of humanity dying, Stephen Kings _The Stand_ would make a pleasant, relaxing world for a while. Ahhhh, the _peace!!_ And one I _don’t_ want to live in: Stephen R. Donaldson’s _Gap_ universe. Painful as hell, controlled by a monomaniacal CEO/Tyrant, and surrounded by some of the creepiest aliens in sci-fi history, SR Donaldson’s [Gap Universe](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553295098/ref=pd_ys_pym_all_1/104-7146742-3667959?v=glance&s=books) is very unpleasant. But this is possibly the finest space opera I’ve ever read… great stuff if you can get past all the pain. ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/51 "2005-03-22T03:41:12Z")
Okay…this is going to sound weird. I want to live in Tomoeda, Japan, and go to school with Cardcaptor Sakura. Class is undemanding, but there are afterschool groups for just about every activity known to man. Plus the field trips are kickass: the beach and a ski resort in the same school year. Everyone has disposible income out the wazoo and lives in a giant houses trillionaires couldn’t afford. It’s also about the gay-friendliest town this side of San Francisco. There’s magic, too. The only downside is you pretty much have to be born to the magic. Pretty much any of the girly Japanese shows have pleasant towns to call home. Wouldn’t you want a pet snow fairy or have a witch deliver your bread, and enjoy the comforts of a Europe spared both world wars? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/52 "2005-03-22T04:02:28Z")
Pornland (the alternate universe in which adult movies take place) Pros: life is an unending sequence of brief but hot sexual encounters with highly desirable and responsive partners complicated seduction techniques not necessary wining and dining not necessary getting to know about your partner’s likes, dislikes, personal history not necessary extended foreplay not necessary learning your partner’s name usually not necessary nonorgasmic women and impotent men do not exist women who look ugly naked do not exist men who look ugly naked are rare; the few who exist compensate . . . in other ways you might find yourself in some exotic pseudohistorical fantasy setting at any moment for no reason STD’s? what are STD’s? Cons: for some reason, you can never have sex without hearing that crappy music and you can never figure out where it’s coming from intellectual stimulation? what’s that? you’d damned well better like _coitus interruptus_ life really doesn’t make much sense, does it? no, best not to think about that . . . ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/53 "2005-03-22T12:20:19Z")
Moderator Speaketh: Better late than never. (This was a post from two days ago, but I’ve been distracted by Real Life and it didn’t get reported until today.) **Sample the Dog** , consider yourself whomped about the head with a dead fish for bringing politics into a completely unrelated thread. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/54 "2005-03-22T12:38:03Z")
I’d like to live in the Looney Tunes universe Pros: \*Anything goes, baby! 😃 \*Very little peramanent harm comes to anybody Cons: \*Very little actually ever seems to get accomplished \*I might get Bugs Bunny as my cartoonist :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/55 "2005-03-22T23:02:45Z")
I’d want to live in the Forgotten Realms. Pros: -Magic not only exists, but is quite common -Potential to become a badass archmage -You get to pick the religion that’s right for you without a social stigma (unless it’s an evil religion) -The afterlife is a proven fact -Very few if any religions are puritanical -Plently of picturesque ancient ruins to explore and pillage -Potential to become insanely rich -Potential to ascend to godhood -If you get sick or injured, divine magic can fix you up in a jiffy -If you die violently, divine magic can fix you up in a jiffy Cons: -High likelihood of dying violently -Monsters common in the wilderness -Low technology level -Necromancy not only exists, but is quite common -Evil religions whose members are rewarded for spreading disease, suffering, opression, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/56 "2005-03-23T03:53:08Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > **Sample the Dog** , consider yourself whomped about the head with a dead fish for bringing politics into a completely unrelated thread. Sorry. It really was the first thing that occured to me. Wasn’t paying sufficient attention to the forum. But speaking of fish-slapping… How about living in the Python Universe: - Anything is possible - Blasphemy is encouraged - No matter what kind of nasty end you meet, you can always reappear in the next skit - There’s a chance you might wind up in films with Jamie Lee Curtis - Intelligence is mandatory, coherence is not - You get to live forever in syndication ---
**Author:** ![iggy\_popov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@iggy\_popov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iggy_popov)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/57 "2005-03-23T06:11:12Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Moderator Speaketh > > **Sample the Dog** , consider yourself whomped about the head with a dead fish for bringing politics into a completely unrelated thread. Since I’m the one who started this thread, I just want to say that I said any fictional universe. This includes the one in Bush’s head. Please remove your moderating from my thread. It would be much appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Halfling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@Halfling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Halfling)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/58 "2005-03-23T09:12:55Z")
It has to be the Lord of the Rings Movieverse for me Pros Lush scenery Lush Hobbits Lush rangers Pretty Elves Immediately identifiable baddies (i.e. neither lush nor pretty) Cons er, what? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sample\_the\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Sample\_the\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sample_the_Dog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/59 "2005-03-23T11:55:56Z")
> [@Halfling](#): > > It has to be the Lord of the Rings Movieverse for me > > \ > > Cons > > er, what? Getting your legs eaten by an orc. ---
**Author:** ![Halfling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9adbd/32.png) [@Halfling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Halfling)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390/60 "2005-03-23T17:18:26Z")
> [@Sample\_the\_Dog](#): > > Getting your legs eaten by an orc. Hey **Sample** , this is the Movieverse! Whilst I appreciate your concern for my welfare I know that a Pretty Elf will skateboard down the back of a Mumak and in the very nick of time fell said Orc with an arrow in the mush. Sorted 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-fictional-universe-do-you-want-to-live-in/295390.md?page=2)