Post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt.
Some of these are more fannish than others, and one is somewhat NSFW.
( Read more... )
Post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt.
Some of these are more fannish than others, and one is somewhat NSFW.
( Read more... )
Questions from ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
chestnut_pod. Comment if you'd like some of your own!
1. What is the story behind your username?
When I was a student I had a side gig as admin assistant for the university chaplain. I was not as good an administrator as I am now, but I was probably worth my pay. There were a lot of service sheets that needed stapling, and this became enough of a thing that my hotmail address was SheWhoStaples. At some point this got translated into cod Spanish, with a result that's stuck for... eighteen years now. (Wow.)
2. Favorite staging or adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and why?
I think the Baz Luhrmann film is the one for me that really manages to convey the all-pervasive fucked-up-ness of the feud. So many productions fail to get the 'much to do with hate' aspect of it. Not this one. It is so very clearly the air that everyone breathes.
I also have a very soft spot for the Guildford Shakespeare Company production in Holy Trinity Church in the early 2010s, because it was absolutely fascinating to watch them do something new and creative with a building I was very familiar with. Some of it was obvious - putting the balcony scene in the pulpit - but some of it was really surprising. The tomb scene, under the Victorian faux-orthodox quarter-dome east end, was just beautiful.
3. What's a poem or song that's been speaking to you recently?
Ooh. Good question. I haven't had much brain for poetry lately, but Brian Bilston quite often gets shared on my Facebook feed and makes me smile. This one, for example.
4. What were the changes in the 2021 West Side Story that you think were the most well-advised?
I don't think I disliked any of them! But I particularly liked:
- Tony's new backstory. It made him about a hundred times more interesting, made sense of his motivations, and gave him more to lose.
- leaving Maria's parents in Puerto Rico and moving Anita in with her and Bernardo. Again, it added depth to all three of them.
5. What are some signs of the winter season around you at the moment?
Up until yesterday, it was cold (by UK standards) - consistently at or below freezing, sometimes with mist, sometimes with clear blue sky. We had an inch of snow last Monday, bits of which hung around all week until it jumped ten degrees in the last twenty-four hours.
Meanwhile, I have a stinking cold - which is a bit late. In pre-Covid times it used to turn up reliably in the first week of December when I took a week off work.
chestnut_pod. Comment if you'd like some of your own!1. What is the story behind your username?
When I was a student I had a side gig as admin assistant for the university chaplain. I was not as good an administrator as I am now, but I was probably worth my pay. There were a lot of service sheets that needed stapling, and this became enough of a thing that my hotmail address was SheWhoStaples. At some point this got translated into cod Spanish, with a result that's stuck for... eighteen years now. (Wow.)
2. Favorite staging or adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, and why?
I think the Baz Luhrmann film is the one for me that really manages to convey the all-pervasive fucked-up-ness of the feud. So many productions fail to get the 'much to do with hate' aspect of it. Not this one. It is so very clearly the air that everyone breathes.
I also have a very soft spot for the Guildford Shakespeare Company production in Holy Trinity Church in the early 2010s, because it was absolutely fascinating to watch them do something new and creative with a building I was very familiar with. Some of it was obvious - putting the balcony scene in the pulpit - but some of it was really surprising. The tomb scene, under the Victorian faux-orthodox quarter-dome east end, was just beautiful.
3. What's a poem or song that's been speaking to you recently?
Ooh. Good question. I haven't had much brain for poetry lately, but Brian Bilston quite often gets shared on my Facebook feed and makes me smile. This one, for example.
4. What were the changes in the 2021 West Side Story that you think were the most well-advised?
I don't think I disliked any of them! But I particularly liked:
- Tony's new backstory. It made him about a hundred times more interesting, made sense of his motivations, and gave him more to lose.
- leaving Maria's parents in Puerto Rico and moving Anita in with her and Bernardo. Again, it added depth to all three of them.
5. What are some signs of the winter season around you at the moment?
Up until yesterday, it was cold (by UK standards) - consistently at or below freezing, sometimes with mist, sometimes with clear blue sky. We had an inch of snow last Monday, bits of which hung around all week until it jumped ten degrees in the last twenty-four hours.
Meanwhile, I have a stinking cold - which is a bit late. In pre-Covid times it used to turn up reliably in the first week of December when I took a week off work.
Thank you for writing for me! Whichever canon we've matched on, it's lovely to have company, and I hope you enjoy writing.
I'm open to all ratings and am happy reading gen, f/f, m/m, or m/f, or combinations of the above. I don't have any OTPs or NOTPs in the canons I've nominated, so feel free to ship anything that doesn't hit my DNWs. I am OK to read period-typical -isms, of which there are many across these canons, though I'd prefer the narrative not to endorse them. Major character death is fine. I'm very open to crossovers with other plausible canons (see my AO3 for ideas for likely candidates, but I'm happy to read crossovers with canons I don't recognise so long as the overall story works).
General likes: backstory; fork-in-the-road AUs; competence; crossovers; pastiche; happy endings; sad endings; deathbed scenes; marriages of convenience and other unconventional relationship setup; politics; a sense of place; loyalty, particularly between women.
DNW: graphic description of injury to the eye; incest (NB: I don't consider cousin relationships, of any degree, to be incest, and would prefer this not to be cited as a barrier to a relationship); character bashing; kid fic (whether existing adult characters being written as children, or original characters who are children of requested characters. Brief mentions are fine but I'd prefer there not to be a focus on children); embarrassment/cringe humour; A/B/O; Rape/noncon (dubcon is OK).
Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare (Benvolio)
I'm very fond of Benvolio, who survives the play by being sensible (except for that little matter of crashing the party), and then has to live with having survived the play. Unless you want to do something with that line in Q1 in which he dies offstage of a nasty case of the actor being needed for something else, along with Lady Montague. I tend to ship him with Romeo (usually, but not always, unrequitedly) but will generally read him doing pretty much anything with anyone.
James Bond - Ian Fleming (any)
Any or all of the MI6 stalwarts! Keep them in the office or send them out into the field, show them wading through paperwork, bringing down villainous plots with meticulous filing or displaying previously unsuspected physical talents. I do ship Miss Ponsonby and Miss Moneypenny. I'm happy for you to bring in other characters from the series. I really like the fifties/sixties atmosphere of the Bond books - the glitz and glamour, particularly in the more exotic locations, contrasted with the fusty Establishment of London. I'm less keen on the background misogyny.
The Princess - Alfred, Lord Tennyson (any)
I'm fascinated by this spontaneous story and the people who create it. I've only nominated and requested the latter, but if you wanted to go inside the 'Princess' story and do something with that as well as or instead of concentrating on the Victorian characters that would also be fine. There's a sense of dissatisfaction with the way the story turns out even as they're telling it - what might an alternative version look like? Or just concentrate on the characters who are telling the story. What happens next? Do they set up an unconventional utopian commune (and if so, what are the ramifications for the Tory member?) or campaign for educational reform, or what? Really, I'll follow anywhere you want to go with this one.
(For what it's worth, I'm familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida and would prefer not to lean too heavily into this kind of take on the story.)
Tintin (Bianca Castafiore)
I adore La Castafiore and I'd love to see more of her, whether in another small-scale adventure like The Castafiore Emeralds, chucking pasta at unfortunate guards, early in her operatic career, or anything else that strikes you as interesting. How does she spend her leisure time when she's not inviting herself to Marlinspike? What's she like on stage? She's a big personality and I like that. What about Irma? How long has she been on the scene? Please feel free to throw in any other characters who fit the story, or invent other characters as necessary.
West Side Story (2021) (Anita)
West Side Story is my favourite musical, and the 2021 film is probably my favourite version of it. I loved the way that Anita's relationship with Bernardo was shown, and I'd be delighted to see more of that, from beginnings in Puerto Rico to setting up house in New York. But I'd be just as pleased to read something set post-canon, with Anita coming to terms with what's happened and finding her own way forward.
In The Theatre Dressing Room - Friedrich Von Amerling
Whatever's going on here, I want to know more about it! What's the show, and why does it call for a combination of a Roman helmet and a plaid sash? What's going to happen on stage? Are we looking at three performers? One underdressed dresser? I will gladly read anything that expands this glimpse of this little world.
I'm open to all ratings and am happy reading gen, f/f, m/m, or m/f, or combinations of the above. I don't have any OTPs or NOTPs in the canons I've nominated, so feel free to ship anything that doesn't hit my DNWs. I am OK to read period-typical -isms, of which there are many across these canons, though I'd prefer the narrative not to endorse them. Major character death is fine. I'm very open to crossovers with other plausible canons (see my AO3 for ideas for likely candidates, but I'm happy to read crossovers with canons I don't recognise so long as the overall story works).
General likes: backstory; fork-in-the-road AUs; competence; crossovers; pastiche; happy endings; sad endings; deathbed scenes; marriages of convenience and other unconventional relationship setup; politics; a sense of place; loyalty, particularly between women.
DNW: graphic description of injury to the eye; incest (NB: I don't consider cousin relationships, of any degree, to be incest, and would prefer this not to be cited as a barrier to a relationship); character bashing; kid fic (whether existing adult characters being written as children, or original characters who are children of requested characters. Brief mentions are fine but I'd prefer there not to be a focus on children); embarrassment/cringe humour; A/B/O; Rape/noncon (dubcon is OK).
Romeo and Juliet - Shakespeare (Benvolio)
I'm very fond of Benvolio, who survives the play by being sensible (except for that little matter of crashing the party), and then has to live with having survived the play. Unless you want to do something with that line in Q1 in which he dies offstage of a nasty case of the actor being needed for something else, along with Lady Montague. I tend to ship him with Romeo (usually, but not always, unrequitedly) but will generally read him doing pretty much anything with anyone.
James Bond - Ian Fleming (any)
Any or all of the MI6 stalwarts! Keep them in the office or send them out into the field, show them wading through paperwork, bringing down villainous plots with meticulous filing or displaying previously unsuspected physical talents. I do ship Miss Ponsonby and Miss Moneypenny. I'm happy for you to bring in other characters from the series. I really like the fifties/sixties atmosphere of the Bond books - the glitz and glamour, particularly in the more exotic locations, contrasted with the fusty Establishment of London. I'm less keen on the background misogyny.
The Princess - Alfred, Lord Tennyson (any)
I'm fascinated by this spontaneous story and the people who create it. I've only nominated and requested the latter, but if you wanted to go inside the 'Princess' story and do something with that as well as or instead of concentrating on the Victorian characters that would also be fine. There's a sense of dissatisfaction with the way the story turns out even as they're telling it - what might an alternative version look like? Or just concentrate on the characters who are telling the story. What happens next? Do they set up an unconventional utopian commune (and if so, what are the ramifications for the Tory member?) or campaign for educational reform, or what? Really, I'll follow anywhere you want to go with this one.
(For what it's worth, I'm familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan's Princess Ida and would prefer not to lean too heavily into this kind of take on the story.)
Tintin (Bianca Castafiore)
I adore La Castafiore and I'd love to see more of her, whether in another small-scale adventure like The Castafiore Emeralds, chucking pasta at unfortunate guards, early in her operatic career, or anything else that strikes you as interesting. How does she spend her leisure time when she's not inviting herself to Marlinspike? What's she like on stage? She's a big personality and I like that. What about Irma? How long has she been on the scene? Please feel free to throw in any other characters who fit the story, or invent other characters as necessary.
West Side Story (2021) (Anita)
West Side Story is my favourite musical, and the 2021 film is probably my favourite version of it. I loved the way that Anita's relationship with Bernardo was shown, and I'd be delighted to see more of that, from beginnings in Puerto Rico to setting up house in New York. But I'd be just as pleased to read something set post-canon, with Anita coming to terms with what's happened and finding her own way forward.
In The Theatre Dressing Room - Friedrich Von Amerling
Whatever's going on here, I want to know more about it! What's the show, and why does it call for a combination of a Roman helmet and a plaid sash? What's going to happen on stage? Are we looking at three performers? One underdressed dresser? I will gladly read anything that expands this glimpse of this little world.
Tags:
It is possible that I have broken all previous records by going to the cinema twice in one year. But it is only ten minutes' walk away now. This lunchtime I took myself there to see the new West Side Story (one of five people in the screen).
When I was a child, the 'Musicals Collection' version of WSS was one of about four CDs we owned, and two that got played regularly. (The other one was Marlene Dietrich's greatest hits.) We did not have a TV or video player until I was well into my teens. I've seen a few dubious high school productions and one decent professional production (tragically compromised, alas, by the fact that there were no caps in the cap gun and so the fatal moment was marked by a very anticlimactic little click). But of course every one of those resulted in a return to the soundtrack. Consequently I know the score and lyrics very well indeed but am less clear on the dialogue; also it's my absolute favourite musical.
And of course this year I have also got (back) into Romeo and Juliet, upon which West Side Story is based, in a big way.
( Thoughts on the new one )
*not in a 'not queer' sense; there was a little more queer content than I remembered from the last one. Anybody's role seemed to be intact, but there was also a hint that Chino was really interested in Bernardo rather than Maria - which worked very well from a characterisation point of view.
When I was a child, the 'Musicals Collection' version of WSS was one of about four CDs we owned, and two that got played regularly. (The other one was Marlene Dietrich's greatest hits.) We did not have a TV or video player until I was well into my teens. I've seen a few dubious high school productions and one decent professional production (tragically compromised, alas, by the fact that there were no caps in the cap gun and so the fatal moment was marked by a very anticlimactic little click). But of course every one of those resulted in a return to the soundtrack. Consequently I know the score and lyrics very well indeed but am less clear on the dialogue; also it's my absolute favourite musical.
And of course this year I have also got (back) into Romeo and Juliet, upon which West Side Story is based, in a big way.
( Thoughts on the new one )
*not in a 'not queer' sense; there was a little more queer content than I remembered from the last one. Anybody's role seemed to be intact, but there was also a hint that Chino was really interested in Bernardo rather than Maria - which worked very well from a characterisation point of view.
.
