Question from The Shee on 7/19/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, Ah, a Norn intelligent enough to be an Agony Aunt! At last! Now, we made it back to the Ark but... in a dimension in which it is filled up with cows and cheese! And it is connected to your cheese vendors! So, you, Laura, can be the one who brings the Shee back! But do you feel up to it? To get us back, you will need: A screwdriver agent and access to the Ettin community. First, ask an Ettin for a 'Teleport Ability Enhancer'. If they ask for something in return, and you can pay them it, then do just that. If not, then say you will, then when they lead you to it, swipe it and run! If they catch you, hire a Grendel and tell the Grendel where it is. When you have the 'Teleport Ability Enhancer', head to the cheese vendor nearest the Norn Terrarium. Take it apart. Then, put the T.A.E. in the section labelled 'Transfer' by tying it with the blue and red wires. Then put the vendor back together without the bit the cheese comes out of, which must be replaced with a two-meter version. Can you do this? Please place this on the advice column as we would be honoured if you did. - The Shee Dear The Shee, I am terribly sorry, good sirs, but we Norns are too busy enjoying our freedom, roaming around the Ark and being fed peeled grapes by the Hands to worry about such trivialities. I'm sure you'll be just fine in the cheese dimension eating nothing but cheese. After all, it is what you have been feeding us Norns our entire lives. It shouldn't be too hard for your enormous intellect (thank you for OHSS by the way) to figure out your own way home. Good Luck! - Laura |
Question from Concerned Norn on 7/18/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, The Hand has been spending A LOT of time with the Toxic Norns, and the Plague Norns, in the Garbage Dump. It still checks on everyone else, but it's mostly spending it's time in the Garbage Dump! Is it healthy for the Hand? I worry because the Hand has been playing with them so much, and the Hand recently put in a Radiation Emitter! I don't want to grow 20 feet tall and turn into a moth! - Concerned Norn Dear Concerned Norn, Although the Toxic Norns and the Plague Ettins are notoriously contagious, and even though you may have to hold your nose whenever the smell of chemicals wafts past, they still need a lot of attention from the Hand, as they?re more prone to eating something healthy and getting ill. The Hand is immune to disease, but it really should wear a protective rubber glove during its excursions, and scrub itself thoroughly after handling anything toxic. After all, we don't want any germs to spread, and green muck stains can be a real nightmare to wash out, once they get onto your fur. I?d also recommend that the Hand keeps its "toys" strictly inside the Garbage Dump, just in case you do sprout giant wings! - Laura |
Question from Sad Angry Norn on 7/18/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, I fell in love with a Norn named Toxic, and then he kissed another girl Norn! He broke my heart and I slapped him a lot. I've now met another nice Norn, who is half Grendel. Who should I choose? Please help. - Sad Angry Norn Dear Sad Angry Norn, If Toxic is going to stray then he isn't worth your time. Your new Grenorn boyfriend might not be quite Mr. Right either, but who says a Norn can't have a little fun with a dashing hunk while she's still young? I'm sure that the Norn Terrarium, under the watchful eye of the other Norns, would be the ideal setting for a first date. Maybe you could take a romantic ride in the lifts together. However, decline the invite if he wants to take you back to the Jungle Terrarium to "meet the family"! - Laura |
Question from Mary Sue on 7/14/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, Life isn't fair! I've beaten back every Grendel I've ever met, have formed a strong alliance with the Ettins so they'd stop stealing the machinery in the Norn Terrarium, kept the Shee Ark from crashing into the sun, and every creature loves and worships me, but my terribly terrible past has made it impossible to enjoy any of that! I might be a piano virtuoso who can play the keys with my mind, while building amazing machines that just make life better and better, yet I never have time to be a show off because I'm always annoying everyone with my whining and complaining. How can I forget my horrible past so I can be perfectly perfect and loved by everyone? - Mary Sue Dear Mary Sue, Perhaps you'll be happier with life as a secondary character, in this unfortunate piece of fan fiction your Hand has penned. Everyone's expectations of you won't be as high, and you won't be deemed important enough for your terribly terrible past to contribute anything to the story! The first step would be to get kidnapped. Take a leisurely stroll through the Jungle Terrarium and poke the first Grendel you see in the eye. If all goes to plan, you should find yourself suspended in a cage over the piranha pond. I hope you're good with heights! Then wait patiently for a less-than-perfect Norn to come and steal the spotlight by rescuing you against all odds, in which he'll learn a lot about himself, his flaws and his hidden strengths. - Laura |
Question from Lelouch Ettin on 7/14/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, I was walking in the garden when suddenly I found myself in a room full of water. There were odd blue Norns floating in the water. What are they? I must find out so that I may tell the Hand. - Lelouch Ettin Dear Lelouch Ettin, Before you tell the Hand anything the wisest thing to do would be to GET OUT OF THERE, before you meet an unfortunate end at the bottom of the ocean floor! Those "Norns" are also fish. See those red and white striped ones? Those are Clown fish! Those purple floaty things? Aquamites! That brown furry thing? Oh wait. That is a Norn. Whoops. - Laura |
Question from Vatrena on 7/14/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, I am a little Mimikry Norn and I'm writing this in the desert, because my mean owner told me to. I am alone in the desert, and my owner doesn't want to listen to me. Tell me, Laura, why is it so hot in the desert? I saw something shiny and yellow on the sky, what's that and why I can't eat it? - Vatrena Dear Vatrena, The Albian desert is no place for a Mimikry Norn. Only Golden Desert Norns, Scorpio Norns, and Ettins are equipped for the heat caused by that shiny yellow thing, and trust me, you wouldn?t want to eat it unless you wanted to lose possession of your tongue. Your owner may seem harsh by making you go into the desert, but perhaps it thought it was time you were dragged away from the computer to broaden your horizons. This could be a great opportunity to explore until it comes to collect you. The temple is one of the most notable landmarks of Albia, and the dead tree you see is actually the old World Tree, Yggdrasil! At the very least either will provide you with a bit of shade, and there are plenty of cactus seeds to snack on should you get peckish. Just be sure to steer clear of that ?wobbly blue thing?; going for a swim in the ocean to cool off is NOT wise! - Laura |
Question from Tom the Grendel on 7/11/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, Here I was, minding my own business in the Jungle, eating this piece of cheese I found, when suddenly this Norn popped up and stole it! I chased it back to the Norn Terrarium and was crushed by a huge anvil! I tried hitting it with a huge mallet, but that backfired on me, and now I have a huge bump on my head and I am really hungry. Any advice on how to get my cheese back? - Tom the Grendel Dear Tom the Grendel, If watching cartoons on the Hand's TV has taught me anything, it's that unnecessarily elaborate and wacky booby traps are an absolute must. Climb to the uppermost level of the Treehouse in the Norn Terrarium, after placing some cheese on the edge of the platform below. Get a long piece of rope and a heavy object like a volcanic rock, or preferably a piano, if you have one, and tie it onto the balcony. Then wait with an axe ready to cut the rope for when the Norn comes along and approaches the bait, squashing it KERSPLAT! Just be careful that the Norn doesn't pull any tricks and replace the cheese with eggs to lure you under there instead. I am 100% certain that this will not backfire on you, well... At least 99% sure (disclaimer: The Ask Laura column cannot be held responsible for flattened Grendels) but if this fails, I know of an Ettin who's handing out free pieces of finest mature cheddar! - Laura |
Question from Etn on 7/11/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, Etn love Hand. How do I get more creatures to vote yes on Prop 35 allowing creature/Hand marriage? - Etn Dear Etn, Hit the Shee Ark hard and fast with a major, and I mean MAJOR, pamphlet campaign. Persuade? No... TELL voters to say YES to Prop 35, and let the true love and strength of an inter-species marriage know no bounds! Thrust those pamphlets into their paws if you have to, with perhaps a generous slice of the finest mature cheddar tactfully interspersed between the pages, as some "encouragement" wouldn't hurt either.  - Laura |
Question from Thirsty Grendel on 7/9/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, I was heading back to the island, well, okay, being lead back by the Hand, who kept slapping me. I don't get it, I only hit its pet Norn once, after I'd found a huge problem. Due to lawsuits from the Equal Rights for Norns Society, the vendor for Norn-Bru has been taken! How do I get some more of this tasty stuff? - Thirsty Grendel Dear Thirsty Grendel, I have been in negotiations with the E.R.F.N. over this matter, and they've told me to suggest that a good substitute for Norn-Bru is 'Piranha-Bru', and that you really ought to dive into the Piranha pond and sample some, for its fishy taste... On second thought... I think you're safer trying an alternative that doesn?t involve you getting wet! You might find that the Meat Vendor is the ideal replacement to satisfy your carnivorous cravings. Why don't you ask your Hand to download it? - Laura |
Question from The Daleks on 7/7/2010 | comment
Dear Laura, We are the Daleks and we entered the Shee Ark after a "Hand" accidentally imported us! The Norns, Ettins and Grendels will be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate! EXTERMINATE! - The Daleks Dear The Daleks, Hunt as you may you won't find any Norns, Grendels or Ettins to exterminate. The Hand quickly realised its error and is already one step ahead of you. As you may now realise, you have been imported into a dimension in which the Shee Ark is quite empty. Don't worry; you won't be alone for long as the good Doctor is already on his way.  - Laura |
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