#stuart trash

[imthebentley]

What was the River Thames like?

When I drive through it, you mean? Gross.

Imagine the rubbish of literally 2000 years. It's the landfill site of history down there. You got your Roman trash. Dark ages trash. Medieval trash. Norman Trash. Tudor trash. Victorian trash. World War trash. Modern trash. Postmodern trash. And rats.

It's a good day when Crowley remembers to roll up the windows.

[weirdlookindog]

Night of the Lepus (1972)

[taoofshigeru]

You know what probably won't happen but would be oodles of fun?

A Hamefura musical episode.

Wouldn't take much to set the thing up. Alan gets bonked on the noggin and, when he wakes up, everyone seems to him to be singing.

It starts with Geordo delivering Katarina a big bouquet of eggplant seeds, dropping innuendos that she completely fails to catch. Like one of those duets where two characters in two different locations are singing in parallel to each other, except in their case it's just a conversation.

Sophia's number has her narrating the plot of her new favorite F/F novel while Katarina reads through it, interjecting repeatedly with remarks about how it's neat how the two protagonists are such great friends. (Nicol is humming in the background to be supportive.)

Maria sings about the treats she baked and how wonderful they are, and Katarina agrees while repeatedly emphasizing how delicious they are (and how marriageable Maria is). The duet ends with them almost kissing before Katarina turns away to eat the last cookie.

And, when Alan heads to the Hunt family for afternoon tea, we cut to Mary Hunt curating her blackmail book and she bursts into a grade-A villain song.

[esqueletosgays]

RE-ANIMATOR (1985)

Director: Stuart Gordon Cinematography: Mac Ahlberg

[moonandris]

✨NEW WRITEBLR TAG GAME JUST DROPPED✨

If you're struggling with breathing life into your OC's, try this funny yet stupidly simple trick/writeblr tag game I just came up with. I call it the 'Roast Your OCS and Make It Into a Title' tag game. 🤣

So, we've all heard of fictional character archetypes and stereotypes that are often present in fiction, right? We all know it's not good to have shallow, surface level characters that have no complexity or nuance to their personalities, because real life humans contain multitudes, contradictions, and are in general very complicated beings.

Throw all that shit out for this exercise and toss it into the trash! 🗑️ In this tag game, we're gonna be reducing all our OC's to the most basic, mundane, stereotypical/archetypal renditions of themselves and making it Fit Into a Title!

Here's an example of my main character + his besties from my Science Fantasy WIP:

Cold and Stoic Pretty Boy Loaner With Social Anxiety and Unhealed Trauma Tries to Save His Sister

Disowned Goth Femme Fatale With Bitchy Yet Gentle Attitude Is Socially Neglected and Cries A Lot

Occasionally Serious Himbo City Boy Cop Tries and Fails to Fight Crime With Therapy and Rehabilitation

Snobby Know-It-All Imperial Man Who Somehow Has Both A Superiority and Inferiority Complex

Protective Amazonian Lesbian Sadist Who Will Absolutely Step On You and Ruin Your Life Forever

Gifted Slutty Bisexual Boy Genius Is Hiding a Dark Secret and Is Very Zesty (Rude) About It

For this tag game I'm gonna be tagging A LOT of people but mainly people who've interacted with me recently. Free to reblog if you see this on your dash, even if you're not tagged. I find this shit HILARIOUS and I would love to see what everyone manages to come up with! No pressure at all if you don't wanna participate, this is all just for fun. ❤️😊

@in-heavens-trenches @revenantlore @cupandquillcafe @fattybattysblog @eames-with-a-rose

@gailynovelry @kestalsblog @dru-reads-writeblr @druidx @indigowriting

@diabolical-blue @writercoracain @tildeathiwillwrite @craig-h-stuart @illarian-rambling

@coarsely @rjcopeseethemald @jackiezenauthor @squarebracket-trickster @kaylinalexanderbooks

@pen-of-roses @flock-from-the-void @sarandipitywrites @buffythevampirelover @imsaanvikhanna

@songsofsomnia @shadow-of-tea-and-tea @owlsandwich @faeriecinna @hauntedluminarybbq

@sarahlizziewrites @ayzrules @rickie-the-storyteller @janec23

If you want some extra help you can also look up character stereotypes/archetypes like I did. There's hundreds of blog posts about this topic but here's some helpful links so you can judge/roast your OC's to your heart's content:

[scifrey]

NINE-TENTHS

Twenty-four is one year too young for a quarter-life crisis, but hey, Colin's always been an overachiever. He's got a degree in Sustainable Tourism, which his family says he's wasting as a barista, an annoying anxiety disorder, and no freaking idea what to do with his life.

The only thing going his way is the cute coffee shop regular, a homo draconis named Dav (who, in his humanshape, is a total hottie.) Still, it'd be easier if Dav didn't have a habit of accidentally setting things on fire when he's startled. Like the café kitchen.

When Dav breaks draconic taboo and volunteers as a replacement bean-roaster to apologize for the inferno meet-ugly, sparks really fly. Everything's finally happening for Colin, until he learns that hooking up with Dav means that under dragon law, Colin is absorbed into Dav's hoard.

Possession may be nine-tenths of the law, but becoming his boyfriend's property does not make this whole identity crisis thing easier. Especially now that Colin must navigate politics, paparazzi, and legal questions about his personhood. Colin's still angling for his Happily Ever After, but the growing scrutiny on his relationship with Dav threatens their budding romance.

And if he's not careful, Colin's fight for agency may just destroy symbiotic human/dragon relationships worldwide.

🐉☕❤️

A sassy, queer, alternate universe romance from Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2011 author J.M. Frey. Wrapped in discussions of autonomy and colonialism, Nine-Tenths meets in the middle between Red, White & Royal Blue and the Temeraire series.

🐉☕❤️

Part One

There's this thing in stories called the "inciting incident". 

And mine? It's a goddamn doozy.

It’s the part of the book, right at the start, where the lovers have their meet-cute, the farm boy leaves for the wider world, the Chosen One is attacked by her first evil monster, blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean. It's the place where everything opens up and you have no idea what you're in for—only that it'll be exciting.

I know all about Inciting Incidents because I was going to be a writer.

No, I thought I was going to be a writer. Historical romance, that’s my jam. Dukes, rakes, windblown-gowns, dropped handkerchiefs, cliffside confessions—I am a slut for that stuff. Forget real history (totally flunked ‘We’re-Feeding-You-Colonialist-Narratives-Disguised-As-Education’ 101). Give me made-up kingdoms and far-flung pirates. Give me the fantasy of a happily ever after that lasts beyond ‘the end’. Give coffee and stories, and I am a content boy.

But right before he got sick, in the summer between my first and second year of university, my Dad and I had a serious talk about writing. How much work it is. How long it takes to start paying off. Backup plans.

And then… after, I thought, well, he wasn’t wrong. If life was going to be pointlessly, stupidly, cruelly short, then I should spend my time trying to do something good, right? I switched majors. Science makes sense. Science is logical. Science creates vaccines and saves lives. Science can bring species back from the brink of extinction. Science doesn’t break your heart.

All of this is to say that I can—with complete and utter certainty—point to the exact moment when my life became a trash fire. It was my twenty-fourth birthday, and my big sister Gemma gave me the dumbest, but totally plot-inciting gift: a sunrise alarm clock.

The Incident starts like this, in Mum’s pokey poppies-and-roosters kitchen, with Gemma leaning on the back of my chair: 

"I have a perfectly good alarm clock." I hold up my phone, then let it slap back down onto the plastic tablecloth. "Goes ding when there's stuff."

My sister heaves the kind of sigh only eldest-born siblings make, indulgent and frustrated at the same time. I love making her make that noise. It's hilarious.

"It wakes you up gently," Gem says. "So you’re not cranky."

"I’m not cranky in the mornings."

Everyone laughs. I may have snapped at Stuart this morning when he shook my foot through my childhood bed sheets like an aggressive chihuahua. Okay. So I'm cranky in the mornings.

"I don't see how it's supposed to work." Stu grabs the clock. "How can you see the light if your eyes are closed?"

As the younger brother of twin siblings, I am used to having the toys I’m playing with pulled out of my hands. Instead of trying to snatch it back, I fiddle with the iridescent green bow that was on my present, then stick it to my ear. Mum smirks at my accessory, but otherwise her prim little 'all my babies are home to roost' face stays in place.

I'm the only one of us who went away to school, and stayed away. Gem came back to live with Mum straight after she finished her undergrad, so Mum wouldn't be alone in the house. Stuart never left the city, though he's got his own place now. But that's why I stayed away after I graduated last year. Mum and Gem don't need me, and if I came back, Stu would try to get me to join his crew.

I go weak in the knees for the kind of person jacked enough to pick me up and consensually throw me around. Standing on a roof next to a whole crew of pretty roughs trying to help them replace shingles? That's gonna lead to me swooning and dying of a broken neck. Stu doesn’t want that on his conscience.

Because she's a bossy know-it-all, Gem takes my present from Stu and opens it to show me how it works. She huffs. "You can see sunlight through your eyelids. It just works, okay?"

Stu helps himself to another piece of my birthday cake, licking the icing off his fingers and the serving knife. Mum slaps the hand holding the knife, and Stu flushes up and sets it down. He descends on his third piece like a wolf, but at least now he's watching his manners.

"There's an instruction manual," I point out as Gem tosses the booklet on the table.

"The day you read the instructions," Mum says, "is the day I'll know for sure the fairies really swapped you."

It's an old joke, being the Changeling child. I'm the only one of them with dark hair. The rest of my family are blond as heck.

Mum’s grinning into that little curl in the side of her mouth that holds secrets. Dad always called it Mum's 'Peter Pan Kiss’. He'd wrap his arms around her waist and kiss that corner, and Mum would swat at him for ruining her lipstick.

Thinking about Dad reminds me he's dead.

I hate the swoop-and-stab sensation in my chest that comes with remembering. Especially when there's a moment you want to share, and you turn your head to his chair and start composing the sentence in your head: "Hey, Mum's doing that—" and then you stop.

You stop composing. Stop turning. Stop thinking about sharing. Stop breathing.

Because that chair is empty.

Dad's dead.

And you'll never get the chance to point out the Peter Pan kiss again. Or watch Mum swat him. Or listen to him tease us for falling for Mum's Old World fairy stories. Or hear his stupid har-har-har donkey laugh, thick with his French accent.

It's my birthday. 

He's not here. 

I'll have another birthday, next year, and he won't be there for that one either.

I try to control my breathing, but Mum hears it hitching. I'm already staring at Dad's terrible empty chair, so it's not like I can hide what I'm thinking about. Mum curls her fingers over my knuckles.

"I wish he was here too, mo leanbh," she says softly. 

Stu and Gem go quiet.

"Sucks," I cough out, deciding to give no one the pleasure of watching me actually cry. I'll save it for later, when I'm back in my own apartment. Not because of any kind of 'real men don't' toxic masculinity bullshit, but because I hate the fuss. They take the shit my therapist tells them about being my support network too much to heart.

"More tea, Mummers?" I ask instead.

"Time for something stronger, don't you think?"

Next Part | Read on Wattpad

Trailer Music: "A Thousand Years" by The Piano Guys Cover Art: @seancefemme

[ghoul-slime]

Ghouls & Their Favorite Horror Movies (1980s edition)

In honor of Halloween being just a few days away (!!!) have some thoughts about the ghouls and their favorite horror movies. Narrowed down to the 1980s because that's probably my favorite decade for horror (shoutout to the 70s though).

Dew: City of the Living Dead, The Evil Dead, Pieces, Cannibal Holocaust

Resident horror snob and ultimate gorehound. The bloodier, sleazier, and more fucked up the better. Huge fan of the Italian horror directors, especially “Godfather of Gore” and king of onscreen eyeball trauma Lucio Fulci. City of the Living Dead (aka The Gates of Hell) is his favorite, it’s gory, blasphemous, and just obscure enough for him to feel smug when nobody else has heard of it. The biggest horror fan of the group, he’s seen it all and is always on the hunt for something weird and new that he hasn’t seen yet (a difficult task). Introduced pretty much all of the other ghouls to their favorite horror movies.

Aether: Return of the Living Dead, Re-Animator, Night of the Creeps, Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Lover of all the best 80s horror comedies. Silly and fun without being too intense or mean-spirited. The more over the top the better. Aether movie nights are always the most fun. Loves Return of the Living Dead because of the awesome punk rock soundtrack and 80s punk aesthetic. Secretly loves horror comedies the best because he gets to see Dew laughing the whole time. He and Dew are the most annoying about quoting movies back and forth to each other nonstop.

Mountain: The Thing, They Live, Aliens, From Beyond

Loves his horror with a side of sci-fi. Major John Carpenter and Stuart Gordon fan (who isn’t). Also a huge fan of sci-fi horror with amazing practical effects and The Thing is the king of them all (he loves the original too, for the plant-man monster of course). 

Swiss: Hellraiser, Videodrome, Society, Street Trash

Body horror enthusiast. If it's slimy, horny, and taboo then he’s all about it. Unsurprisingly the biggest Cronenberg fan of the bunch. Huge fan of the Hellraiser series, what with all the leather and the chains and the flesh. Will also sit you down and force you to watch Society if you’ve never seen it (you will thank him later).

Phantom: The Monster Squad, Fright Night, The Lost Boys, Near Dark

Of course it’s gotta be The Monster Squad. Phantom loves the classic Universal Monsters and Monster Squad has them all, wrapped up in a super fun 80s horror comedy with great writing and memorable characters. Will undoubtedly yell WOLFMAN’S GOT NARDS at the most inopportune times. Loves vampire movies the most and secretly thinks of his pack a little bit like the group of vampires in Near Dark.

Aurora: Night of the Comet, Slumber Party Massacre, Phenomena, Sleepaway Camp 2

GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS. Loves seeing pretty women absolutely kick ass onscreen. And any horror movie with a female villain will almost always become a favorite. Loves Night of the Comet because why shouldn’t a couple of valley girl cheerleaders get to enjoy a mall shopping spree while also mowing down hordes of comet zombies with machine guns?

Cirrus: Possession, Altered States, The Shining, the Ninth Configuration

Queen of psychological horror. Her picks usually toe the line between horror and other genres. Cirrus movie nights almost always have to come with a “palate cleanser” movie right after (usually a Cumulus or Aether pick). Dew secretly thinks she has the coolest taste of the bunch.

Cumulus: Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama, Blood Diner, TerrorVision

80s horror comedies (horny version). Like Aether, Cumulus loves horror comedies. But for her, the sexier and more ridiculous the better. Always thinks a movie would do better with more boobs and full-frontal. Vocal advocate for more male nudity in movies. Linnea Quigley is her horror idol.

Sunshine: Slumber Party Massacre 2, Black Roses, Trick or Treat, Slaughterhouse Rock

Number one champion of the rock & roll horror subgenre. Horror and rock music were both public enemy number one during the Satanic Panic of the 80s, and Sunny loves movies that lean into it. Slumber Party Massacre 2 is the most fun with the leather-clad rockabilly slasher facing off against members of an all-girl rock group with his massive (unmistakably phallic) electric guitar-drill.

Rain: Jaws 3, Humanoids from the Deep, The Fog, The Abyss

Absolutely nobody is shocked to discover Rain is a fan of underwater/nautical horror. He doesn’t even care if a movie is “good” as long as it’s wet and full of weird monsters or creatures. Avid defender of Jaws 3 (it has dolphins, hello). His taste is all over the place quality-wise, from b-movie creature features like Humanoids, to the cozy coastal ambiance of the Fog. As the only ghoul who can breathe underwater, he loves to watch others squirm during the breathing fluid scene in the Abyss.

[bullet-prooflove]

Valentine's Day Bingo: Stillwater - Stuart Scola x Reader

Tagging: @trublu2u @greenies-green @burningpeachpuppy @upsteadlogic @malindacath @yezzyyae @noxytopy @district447 @soultrysworld

Prequel to Unruly (NSFW) - You get a little territoral when it comes Stuart.

Hitting the Secret Admirer Bingo Square

When the bottle of Stillwater whisky is delivered to the house on Valentine’s Day, Stuart assumes that it’s from you. You’re away in Europe, teaching explosives training to the police force in Budapest. You’ve been testing the waters, exploring more options outside of the field since the pregnancy scare a couple of months ago. It had brought up the topic of kids and whilst you weren’t ready yet, you’d started to think about it. Stuart thought at some point in the next few years the two of you may be starting your own little family.

You blew the budget, he texts you before sending a picture of himself holding up the gift.

This bottle alone costs almost five hundred dollars and he’s touched. You refuse to dip into the joint account, you’re far too independent to spend the cash he earned at Goldman Sachs despite the fact he’s told you it’s there for the both of you.

It isn’t until the late afternoon he gets the message back from you.

That isn’t from me. Maybe a wrong delivery?

He knows that can’t be true. He’d had to sign for that package, it was his name and address on the paperwork.

Yea maybe, he texts back because he doesn’t want to worry you.

You respond with a picture of yourself in City Park giving him a thumbs up. He can see agents Kellett and Vo in the background, holding takeaway cups of coffee. He finds himself smiling because you look so vibrant in that moment, so happy and relaxed. Travelling suits you he thinks, the two of you haven’t done enough of it. He makes a mental note to book a trip when you get back, maybe Barcelona or Madrid, somewhere warm to balance out the harshness of the New York winter.

It’s when he steps out of the shower that the doorbell goes, he throws on his sweats and a t-shirt. The fabric clinging to his damp skin as he pads towards the door in bare feet. He’s surprised to find  Armando, the delivery driver from his favourite restaurant Villa Valencia outside, a brown paper bag of food clasped in his hand.

 “I didn’t order anything.” Stuart tells Armando as the other man hands the bag to him.

“Your girl did, she called it in about an hour ago” Armando informs him, already halfway down the steps. “She said someone should be taking care of you on Valentine’s Day.”

There’s an apprehension in his chest as he sets the bag down on the kitchen table, he picks up the delivery receipt and it’s a list of all his favourite food. Nowhere on the bill does it mention the name of the person who called in the order. He checks the time on his phone, it’s two am in Budapest, there’s no way that was you who bought his food. He dumps the takeaway bag straight in the trash.

The whiskey and now this…

It makes him uneasy. He double checks the doors and windows before he goes to bed, making sure they’re locked.

When he wakes up the next morning it’s to the scent of freshly brewed coffee. The aroma assails him and he reaches for his gun on the nightstand because he knows there isn’t a chance in hell that it’s you. You aren’t due home for over a week. Even if you’d decided to surprise him, a flight from Budapest is almost twelve hours direct, you wouldn’t be here in time for his alarm to go off.

When he steps into hall, he can hear music playing in the kitchen. Something soothing and soulful. It reminds him of the music in the coffeeshop the two of you used to frequent, the one down the block. There’s someone singing along to the song, the voice is too low for him to recognise.

He uses his palm to slowly push open the door, his gun raised. He’s surprised to find a woman standing with her back to him, she’s wearing one of his shirts and very little else. There’s a breakfast tray he doesn’t recognise in front of her. He sees the cappuccino with coffee art heart set into the foam, the toast on the side, the dainty little flower she’s placed in one of his glasses. There is no doubt in his mind, she’d intended to surprise him in bed this morning.

When she turns about to face him, he recognises her immediately and he knows exactly why this is happening.

There’s a reason you’d both stopped visiting that coffeeshop. You’d left him last year after the Mad Bomber had been released, disappeared for a few months. You’d both fucked other people in that time, falling back into old habits.

One of them had been the perky barista from the coffeeshop. She’d always paid him a little extra attention even when he came in with you. You had joked about it once upon a time, how she always left little hearts in his coffee but never in yours. She’d noticed when you stopped coming in, that he was hungover most mornings. Bad break up he’d told her. He’d bumped into her in a bar a couple of days later, gone back to her place. He’d slipped out of the sheets in the early hours of the morning the same way he did with everyone woman before and after you. He’d been upfront with her at the time.

I’m not looking to replace her, he’d said talking about you. This is just a one night thing.

He’d seen her around since then, the grocery store, one of the bars down the block, at the subway. It had stopped when you’d come back onto the scene. He’d told you about the girls he’d fucked, and you’d shared your own stories. There were a couple of overlaps, for him the barista, for you Nestor Vertiz.  You’d steered well clear of them both since, neither of you wanted your past indiscretions rubbed in the other’s face.

The worst part is he can’t even remember her name.

“Scola, you still there?” Tiffany’s voice is in his ear, as he grips the phone in one hand and his gun in the other.

He’d dialled his partner before he’d left the bedroom. She’d already been seated at her desk in 26 Fed, getting a head start on some paperwork when he’d called her.

“Yea Tiff.” He says quietly, his eyes still trained on the barista. “I need you to get a unit over here, there’s a woman in my house.”

Love Scola? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[chaotic-archaeologist]

I found these fragments on the sidewalk outside of a dorm while on my way to the library. Whoever chucked it out the window was kind enough to do so in a way that left most of the maker's mark and a good deal of the pattern intact.

A quick search for KG 701 Berry Orchard revealed that this dish was most likely part of the Christopher Stuart Berry Orchard Tea Set. Based on the handle attachment and base circumference, I'm willing to be that these fragments used to be a mug like the one in the picture below:

Christopher Stuart is now a subsidiary of Mikasa Inc, which distributes wares from several different china manufacturers.

Some combing through ceramics catalogs and databases could definitely reveal a solid date range for the manufacture of this set. Unfortunately, I wrote this post instead of doing reading for my classes, and I don't have the time to do that sort of deep dive.

I love trash. I love what it can tell us about people and their history. Who originally purchased this mug, and how did it wind up getting thrown out the window of a college dorm? I hope you enjoyed this little peek at how my archaeologist brain works as I walk through the world.

[oneirataxia-girl]

Cute character questions for my Triple B (Beloved Blacksmith Boy) Kenji, perhaps? 💚

I will be exclusively calling Kenji Triple B Boi from now on fyi. tagging the op girlies @supermarine-silvally @auxiliarydetective and @starcrossedjedis as well!!

under a cut bc it’s long af

the basics

name: himura kenji (or kenji himura in western conventions)

age: 18 at the start of One Piece season 1

zodiac sign: leo

one good trait: protective

one bad trait: possessive

habits

one bad habit: bites off more than he can chew

one good habit: uses mouthwash every day

one habit they can’t break: writing in his diary

one they’ve broken: leaving said diary in random places

what they’re afraid of: his pa and siblings already dead before he find them, losing the Strawhats, having his hands chopped off

family

their parents names: his ma’s a spoilery secret, but his pa’s is Kuroiwa Noboru

their siblings names: his brother’s name is Hanzo, while his "sister"’s is Stuart D. Marnie

favorite childhood memory: him and his siblings during summer nights, chasing fireflies and having barbecues

favorite childhood toy: a mechanical dog he and Hanzo fixed up together

embarrassing story: Kenji was terrified of raccoons when he was very young, once while taking out the garbage, he discovered a mom-baby raccoon duo and tore apart the trash bags, slipped on a can, and fell fast forward into said garbage trying to get away

favorite family member: Hanzo

a story about that family member: Hanzo and Kenji used to team up and scare Marnie, but Kenji would always feel bad for her after the pranks Hanzo planned bc they were actually really mean

what they prefer

coffee or tea? coffee

showering in the day or night? nights are a must, but if he gets particularly dirty in the workshop, then he’d take a shower during the day too

taking baths or taking showers? showers are more practical, but he does like taking the occasional bath here and there

tv or movies? tv

writing or reading? writing

platonic or romantic love? platonic

iced tea or lemonade? lemonade

ice cream or smoothies? ice cream

cupcakes or cake? cupcakes

beach or mountains? beach

favorites

song: he enjoys Binks' Sake since it’s a common song for pirates, who were his main mode of transport

band singer: Uta

outfit: steampunk-esque vibes

place: Scarlet Village

memory: probably his favorite childhood memory

person: everyone, including you ;) cue Mari and Zoro rolling their eyes in corner

movie: the barbie movie

show: brooklyn 99

Cute Character Questions!

[weirdlookindog]

1000 Years from Now (Captive Women, 1952) & Invasion, U.S.A. (1952) - Double Feature, R-1956

[taoofshigeru]

I kept thinking about this hamefura musical idea so I wrote out what the soundtrack for such a farcical musical could look like on a playbill.

---

Act 1

Overture to Doom

Alan's Abrupt Accident -Alan

Dreams of Doom -Katarina

It's Morning, Milady (My Comfy Bed) -Anne/Katarina

My Daughter -Millidiana/Katarina

For My Fiancé (For My Field!) -Geordo/Katarina

Sister, Seriously -Keith/Katarina

Overworked (Overjoyed) -Raphael/Katarina

Delicious (Wife Material) -Maria/Katarina

Act 2

So Romantic (Such Good Friends) -Sophia/Katarina/Nicol

Our Daughter -Millidiana/Luigi

Hell's Heart ~Thorns and a Rose~ -Mary

For My Fiancé Reprise -Geordo

Not Friends -Geordo/Keith

Stupid! Stupid! Music! Music! -Katarina/Alan

Dreams of Doom Reprise -Cast

---

Assorted Notes:

Dreams of Doom has lines for five Katarinas, and the song allows for the parts to be divided among 5 different actors. However, notes in the margins allow for understaffed productions to use a single actor, using props and musical cues to indicate which of the five is speaking is acceptable.

The performance of My Daughter ends with Millidiana grounding Katarina for a year. Our Daughter is Luigi trying to talk her out of it.

Geordo and Keith are not required to carry prop swords during the performance of Not Friends, though it is encouraged.

While the original Dreams of Doom focuses on all the ways Fortune Lover's romantic narrative could be the death of Katarina, the reprise focuses on the rest of the cast highlighting all the ways her obliviousness could be the end of her.

Stupid! Stupid! Music! Music! starts with an argument, descends into name-calling, and ends with spirited tap-dancing.

[poorshadowspaintedqueens]

Which husband of Queen Mary of Scot’s was the bad one that basically forced her to marry him? Was it Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley or the third one that fled to Norway?

To be fair, asking which of Mary Stuart’s husbands was the bad one is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel. Henry Lord Darnley was an absolute trash fire of a man, but James Hepburn, earl of Bothwell, may or may not have kidnapped Mary and forced her to marry him after orchestrating Darnley’s murder. So...both are pretty awful.

[alanfromrochester]

THG book 1 reread thoughts

THG rereads book 1

The TBOSAS movie inspired me to finally read that book and reread the originals

The start does well at setting the scene, but that might be helped by having first read knowledge to work off of.

"inside the woods is the only person with who I can be myself: Gale" is common Everthorne fodder but in context it comes right after who can be trusted with political rants. A child repeating what they shouldn't is I thought of with Posy but it's mentioned with Katniss and Prim. Tesserae did seem like part of divide and conquer within districts, and Katniss describes Gale saying just that.

There is much more to the story than the love triangle, of course, but I couldn't avoid thinking about Everlark shippers insisting it was set up already. I do see a lot of potential with Peeta and not much romantic about Gale however close they are otherwise. (At first I saw friends-to-lovers potential with Everthorne and figured Everlark happened because of shared experience with the Games)

I'm hardly starving but could still relate to the dumpster diving - the bins had just been emptied is frusting timing. I forgot the details of the all important Peeta giving Katniss bread. It was fresh but burnt, I had mentally assumed it was stale. Deliberately burnt to give away? Even if it's a lost sale rather than just giving away something that would be trashed anyway, she's still being cruel. Also note that Mr. Mellark will only trade for squirrels when she's not around. When Peeta didn't say anything to Katniss, I had assumed he was too much of a dork to talk to girls (I can relate to that too) but I got the clear impression he was scared of his mother.

Haymitch and Effie's appearances were refreshing - highlights there's more to him than a drunken idiot and more to her than being vapid about the show.

I wonder if Haymitch told Peeta about the forcefield around the tribute center because of the one at the edge of Haymitch's arena. Avoiding tributes escaping or being killed (note no fighting each other, with neutral sparring partners available) before the Games felt like a reaction to the haphazard early procedures in TBOSAS.

Katniss worrying about not helping Lavinia feels kinda like Coriolanus and the Sejanus situation from TBOSAS.

I had forgotten the beginning to middle Games because the finale was so dramatic.

I thought of Clove as the District 2 psycho, but Cato isn't the most mentally stable individual either, I had remembered him as more of a straight up meathead/jock. "I kill her in my own way" could be interpreted in a particularly sinister manner. It reminds me of the hero escaping because the villain takes his time, like monologuing to a captive James Bond. Maybe it's doubly personal because of not only his close call with the tracker jackers, but Glimmer's horrific death, a Cato/Glimmer hint perhaps.

I rmembered Rue helped Katniss by pointing out the tracker jacker nest, but I forgot how closely they worked together. Rue talking about 11 being even worse than 12 made me think of all things The Big Bang Theory - Stuart the comic book store owner is even more antisocial than the nerd main characters. Maybe dramatic contrast is part of the point. Katniss thinking that conversation might get censored made me think of how a Peeta interview in Mockingjay was quite interesting for the audience as no Victor had previously spoken publically about their experience in the arena.

Marvel killing Rue with Katniss immediately shooting him was hard to forget but I hadn't remembered he snared her first. The memorial wasn't as extensive as I recalled but perhaps that's because the movie really emphasized it.

Careers carrying minimal food and being vulnerable to disruptions was interesting as both a comment about starvation and Games strategy.

I also hadn't remembered the fire sequence. Perhaps Haymitch was able to save sponsor money for the burn ointment because Katniss is an experienced hunter and gatherer so the money didn't need to go to food.

I remembered Peeta was sick in the cave and the feast included his medicine but forgot just how dire the situation was. Blood poisoning used in the medical sense for infection complications (apparently when bacteria from the infection get into the blood) threw me for a loop because the xenophobic usage was in the news December 2023 (with Trump channeling Hitler about immigrants). "Remember, we're madly in love, so you can kiss me whenever you want" even when he's half dead I saw two ways - that crush is severe, and/or he still has the sense to play up the star crossed lovers act.

I do feel drugging Peeta when he said not to is acceptable because he's clearly not in his right mind, physical illness analogue to involuntary committment for mental illness.

In the cave she dreams about being snug at home, that seems telling.

Katniss thinking about the truth of Peeta's first day of school story is some "real or not real" already, I wonder if SC deliberately planned it that way or later decided to reference the earlier concept. I figured Peeta meant it, maybe played it up, even if Katniss didn't reciprocate.

Her not wanting to sing because it reminded her too much of her dead father is how I think I reacted to baseball for awhile.

The movie emphasized the Rue mutt if I recall correctly; the book highlighted Glimmer and Foxface. I recalled Katniss putting Cato out of his misery with the mutts but forgot that dragged on all night.

I wasn't surprised there was some sort of new victor interview, but I had forgotten about the highlight reel and the platforms and the stage being modified for two.

With a new appreciation for Everlark, the ending was heartbreaking where Peeta is shocked at it being at least partially an act/strategy on Katniss' part, highlighting how real it was for him at least. The book ending before the homecoming was an interesting dramatic choice.

[xxthefairywitchxx]

Are there any F/Os you're uncomfortable sharing? I couldn't find any info about it in your carrd

To be honest it's usually most of them, though I've been getting less...idk intense about it? It's been less of an issue lately? Maybe it's cause my current main is Ian Duff, a dating sim character, so it makes it a little easier to deal with?

Generally I just block people if I see we share an f/o unless it's a mutual then I just block their tag for that character.

Lemme just...Copy paste my whole ship list under the cut for ease of explaining who I am and am not comfortable sharing, that'll make this simple...And I'll keep the tags so anyone can block any tag they need to

encouraged actually, not just okay with: 💓

yes: 💖

no: 💔

depends: 🫀

Princess Peach - Fruitbowl 💓 Jaden Yuki(Yu-Gi-Oh GX) - SuperLuv 💔 Jesse Anderson(Also GX)- Southern Jewel 💔 Aster Phoenix(GX) - Angel 💖 Sartorius Kumar(GX) - Gummybear 💖 Blair Flanagan(GX)- Kitten 💖 Adrian Gekko(GX) - Insurance 💓 (take him) Jack Atlas♥(5Ds) - Bastard Man 💖 Kalin Kessler(5Ds) - Puppy 💔 Carly Carmine(5Ds) - Lady Friends 💖 Link(LOZ) - My Hero 💔(this one sucks, he's so popular and z3l!nk is every where) Dark Link(LOZ) - Shadow 💖 Linkle(LOZ) - Girls Do It Better 💓 Bonnie(fnaf) - Bunny Boy 💔 Foxy(fnaf) - Pirate Protector 💔 Monty(fnaf) - Rock And Roll 💔 Baby(fnaf) - Clowning Around 💓 Nova(fnaf oc kinda?) - Shooting Star 💔 Broly(Dragon Ball Super) - Let’s Rock 💔 Tadase(Shugo Chara) - Strawberry Shortcake 💓(he was bullied so much when I was in the fandom he needs more love) Frankenstein's Creature - Patchwork Hearts 💓 (more people need to love him) Dylas(RF4) - Tsundere Tango 💖 Keith Claes(Villainess Isekai) - Linked Hearts 💖 Alan Stuart(Villainess Isekai) - Resonate Soul 💖 Red Velvet(CRK) - Dark Desire 💖 Pure Vanilla(CRK) - Sweet As Sugar 💖 Vash(Trigun) - Heart Typhoon 💓 (love him getting love) Knives(Trigun) - Million Hearts 💓 (get him away from me) Joe Tazuna(YTTD) - Keychain Buddies 💔 Alice Yabusame (YTTD) - Love Crimes 💔 Rio Ranger (YTTD) - Dressup Doll 💔 Naomichi Kurumada(YTTD) - Final Countdown 💖 Mai Tsurugi(YTTD) - Creampuff 💖 Trash, Garbage & Scum(River City Girls) - Brothers Gross 💖 Sunny Day Jack(SWWSDJ) - Sunny Days 🫀 Ian Duff(SWWSDJ) - Second Chance 💖 Bo(Dachabo) - Dog Toy 💓 Taylor Pots(Gallagher Mansion) - Lovely Dork 💓 Garrett Golde(Snaggemon) - Pretty Idiot 💖 Bram(Snaggemon) - Rival Bicycle 💓 Keaton(Fire Emblem Fates) - Favorite Treasure 💔 Kaden(Fire Emblem Fates) - Mutual Pampering 💖 Corrin(M) - Dragon Prince 💖 Chrom(Fire Emblem Awakening) - Hot Dad 💓 Dimitri(FE Three houses) - Taste Of Love 💔 Alfonse(FEH) - Prince Charming 💖 Otr(FEH) - Dear One 💖 Elm(FEH) - Batty About You 💔 Karamatsu(Osomatsu-san) - Fashion Disasters 💓 Ichimatsu(Osomatsu-san) - Furreal Boyfriend 💓 Sir Pentious(Hazbin Hotel) - Soup Snake 💔/🫀(I have a mutual who ships with him and I just...don't look at that tag...) Cherri Bomb(Hazbin Hotel) - Cherry Pie 💖 Arackniss(Hazbin Hotel) - Spider's Kiss 🫀 Striker(Helluva Boss) - Cowboy Snake 🫀 Gonta Gokuhara(DR V3) - LoveBug 💔💔💔 (idk why but I've had to block more people for him than anyone else) Kaito Momota(DRV3) - Outta This World 💖 Nagito Komaeda(SDR2) - Lucky Day Hajime Hinata(SDR2) - Loverboy 💖 Izuru Kamakura(SDR2) - Ultimate Love Junko Enoshima(DR) - Terrible Queen 💓 Mukuro Ikusaba(DR) - She Wolf 💓 Sabro Sabnock(M!IK) - Precious Metals 💔/🫀 (someone rebloged a gush post for him but otherwise it might be fine?) Shichiro Balam(M!IK) - Gentle Sunset 💔 Ameri Azazel(M!IK) - Blushing Beauty 💓 Atori(M!IK) - Wax Prince 💓 Purson Soi(M!IK) - Daddy Issues 💖 Kisshu/Dren(TMM) - Alien Feeling 💔 Anos Voldigoad(Misfit at Demon King Academy) - Sweet Laughs 💓💓💓 Arven(Pokemon ScarVio) - Puppyboy 💖 Piers(Pokemon SWSH) - Dark Heart 🫀 Riddle Rosehearts(TW) - Red King 🫀 Andrew&Ashley Graves(TCOAAL) - Three Of Them 💓💓💓💓💓

that is so much and I hope I didn't miss any...And didn't lose any since the formatting got hella fucked...

[ancientphantom]

I'm a regular reader of historical romance and I was reading your review of Anne Stuart's take on POTO (and giggling along, bc it's bad even by my standards even if I indulge in trash from time to time). That did make me curious though, are there any other fiction books with Meg (or a Meg/Christine combo) be the Phantom's love interest? I remember hearing about Sadie Montgomery's books a few years back but I was wondering if it was an outlier and that everything else had Christine or an OC.

I'm glad you enjoyed the review!

While the majority of Phantom lit is E/C, with R/C in second place, there is more than a little E/M kicking around out there! Here are a few off the top of my head:

The Phoenix of the Opera Series by Sadie Montgomery - you mentioned this, but it's a big one! There are seven books in this series - The Phoenix of the Opera, Out of the Darkness, The Phantom's Opera, Phantom Death, Phantom Madness, and Phantom Nightmare, all of which cover Erik's and Meg's burgeoning romantic relationship and ensuing adventures. I've only got a review of the first one (I didn't love it, but you might!), but the whole series is pretty much the top-tier E/M option out there.

The Guardian of the Opera series by Cheryl Mahoney - this is another purely E/M series, and much newer than the Montgomery ones, which came out about 20 years prior. While the first book follows the events of Leroux's novel fairly closely, just from Meg's point of view, the following two develop a romance between the Phantom and the ballet dancer.

The Angels of Music series by Louise Ann Bateman - another much newer option that starts with Leroux's story but then moves on to developing an E/M plot afterward. There are only two books in this series so far, but there may be more in the future!

Night's Melody by Drake LaMarque is an erotica that features a gender-flipped Meg named Mathieu as its main character, who is very into Christine/Christophe even before the mysterious masked man gets sexily involved (amusingly, you'd think that the infamous Unmasqued by Colette Gale would have something with all the orgies and BDSM, but while the older Giry is definitely up to sexy shenanigans, her daughter doesn't feature as prominently).

Honorable mentions:

Love Never Dies - Yes, they don't get together, but this is an example of Meg being heavily in love with the Phantom and that having a sharp effect on the plot.

The Phantom of the Opera (1990 David Staller musical) - While not in most of the plot, this musical ends with the Phantom giving up on the rescued Christine and deciding to start mentoring a young ballet dancer instead, which a lot of E/M shippers see as a call out to Meg.

In addition, there are also a LOT of books that use the Phantom story but have him target a ballerina instead of a singer; usually, the ballerina is just Christine (probably because Sarah Brightman is a ballet dancer, so the Lloyd Webber musical made Christine one, too), but some of them are ambiguous and might scratch that itch! Off the top of my head:

The Ballet of Dr. Caligari and Madder Mysteries by Reggie Oliver - this is a short story collection, but the title story is about a man who, when his ballet dancer obsession can no longer perform, becomes more and more dangerously obsessed with getting her back onstage no matter what the cost.

The Cursed Ballet by Megan Atwood - a dancer at a ballet academy is deetermined to excel in the so-called "cursed show", but the mysterious dancer boy who she meets at night seems to have something to do with it.

A Dance with Danger by Marisa Wright - a mainstream romance novel featuring a ballet dancer who loses his legs but falls in love with another ballet dancer and decides to help her.

Night Child by Ann Majors - another mainstream romance novel featuring a ballerina who was kidnapped as a child and the man who has been protecting her for her entire life.

There are definitely more, so folks who have read them, feel free to chime in down in the replies and tags!