How It Feels To Be Writing Right Now.

Cowboy of the Opera

He uses a lasso, how could I not? When I found out that Ramin Karimloo's Phantom has a fancy hat, it settled the matter.

I recently found out Love Never Dies exists and will be spending the rest of my life pretending it doesn't. This is what I believe Erik would do if he went to America. He'll be fine, lots of train tracks to blow up.

More Phantom cats here, human Phantom drawing here.

Yes, this actually happened. Weeeell, first part did. But Kerik was hardly going to admit he got kicked out of bed by Ayesha, so my point still stands.

The most hinged unhinged thing to happen in the last section of Kay's Phantom. I rambled about Kay's Phantom here, but I had beef with it so fans, skip it and have a gander at Phantom cat comics instead.

This vampurr feels like she's just been sucker-punched with a potato sack of garlic.

2024 probably thought it was too good to me and HAD to go out with a Parthian shot. Well, at least I got to finish a good vampire podcast in one sitting. Happy New Year, people.

Romance authors, we have beef!

I came across this while turning off my brain with Kindle before sleep. I became very awake.

Where to start? Christine Daa? seems a good place. Then there's Musique D'ange. My French education is rolling on the floor in agony.

And which part, please, is this unique? I've seen one too many attractive Phantoms for my sanity lately, so I'm getting out the beef. I won't argue with people's interpretation of fiction, to each their own, but I DO have a problem with people taking away Erik's right to be unattractive.

Dracula is fair fodder. Appeal is part of his monstrosity, although I'm not happy with how attractive they make him as it distracts from the fact that he is supposed to be hated by his victims when they are lucid. (All hail Eggers' Nosferatu.) But Erik? Author, you crossed a line with me using Erik's name. Your rightful portion is Mr Y. Take him and welcome. I take it personally when people fudge around with Erik's reputation. Leave my cellar gremlin alone to be amoral in a way that is actually portrayed as amoral instead of an extension of his dark broody attractiveness.

Honestly, so many "morally grey" characters in fiction are actually "morally dark and handsome and does horrible things in the name of love." Not the same, shouldn't be taken as the same.

Bah, sorry about that. If you didn't hate it, my rambles about other POTO adaptations here

You know I just had to!!

01.     pockets.

02.     bag   /   purse.

05.     closet.

06.     bedside table drawer.

07.     medicine cabinet.

08.     wallet.

09.     “junk” drawer.

10.     pantry.

13.     to do list.

15.     bookcase.

Thank you for the ask!

1. Pockets. Pierce carried a little scent bottle of dirt because vampires need to rest in home soil, I like to think it's like a comfort object. Also, tiny rat cookies he probably forgot about. Sarah has her folding knife with 100 different tools in them, mostly pointy stabby things. Cat often doesn't have pockets because she wears impractical clothes.

2. Bag/purse. Pierce has a little chainmail rat purse. It's full of spare change and the odd antique gold coin. Sarah's is full of murdery things like travel-sized stakes and lipstick. Cat is unpredictable but totes food like a hamster.

5. Closet. Pierce has a lot of grey and white suits and fancy waistcoats. He also has many skeletons and straw hats, but we don't talk about those. Sarah has ball gowns, walking suits, and riding habits all in black. Cat describes her wardrobe as "if a hoard of goblins are set loose in an alt thrift store."

6. Bedside drawer. Pierce technically doesn't sleep in his bed, but he does lie there when his partners want him to, and he reads the novels he keeps in the drawer until they falls asleep and he can go around his nocturnal vampire business. Sarah keeps a crucifix, a revolver with silver bullets and another with regular ones, matches and magazines. Cat keeps candles, pen and paper, sweets and her ebook.

7. Medicine cabinet. Pierce and Sarah both keep brandy in their medicine cabinets like good Victorians. Cat has more modern amenities and chocolates for emergencies.

8. Wallet. I have the feeling Pierce is always losing his. Sarah, no-nonsense coins and the odd cheque. Cat's is stuffed with old receipts and always short on change.

9. Junk drawer. Pierce has a lot of half-written love letters and probably some hate mail he couldn't bring himself to burn. Sarah doesn't have one. Cat's whole flat is basically a junk drawer.

10. Pantry. Pierce and Cat live in the same house (he's her landlord) and Pierce isn't the kind of vampire to keep dead bodies around, so the pantry is full of Cat's doubtful food shopping choices. Sarah lives in a small flat with no pantry

13. To-do list. Pierce: Meet clients and kill people. Sarah: Meet clients and kill people and possibly go shopping. Cat doesn't have one because she is a chaos gremlin.

15. Bookcase. Pierce: Many Victorian banned and censored books, some vinyls, little statuettes, and old letters. Sarah: Old magazines and religious texts, very pompous but dusty, sometimes used for throwing at vampires in a pinch. Cat: enough candles to be a fire hazard, novels, huge art exhibition catalogues

Too tired to draw, so I'm whipping out this old thing. It's me and the geniuses I share joint custody of a braincell with - @blackforrestpunk and @vladimirsangel . If you feel particularly un-brained today, it's probably my fault, I was forced to pummel the braincell because of a series of circumstances that led me to interview a vet and snail around on public transport for hours. But I had pizza, so that was all right.

(See here for context)

Somehow, these long minutes make me depressed instead of impressed because usually when I put my headphones on, it means something is feeling too much.

The rest of my top songs list has no significance because I'm stuck on free shuffle mode, but Fortnight I did play on repeat. It's the song I sing to myself when I'm panicking.

Of course my comfort song contains lyrics about murder.

Very proud that Webber made the list. After all, I only recently became Phantom-obsessed.

When I say I was bouncing off the walls and crawling around the ceiling when I got the comm, I mean it! I'm so happy my love for it translated! And Happy Nosferatu is going to be my new seasonal greeting now

I swear I have never been this excited about an advent calendar and just in case it wasn't clear I am a grown adult but I am bouncing around like a child.

@purrlockswatson made such a beautiful advent calendar already and then this. THIS.

Aurik has a yellow hoodie. His favourite colour. He's going to the movies. One of his favourite things. He's meeting for the first time a vampire who looks a bit more like him (Count Orlok) and that vampire is a movie star and they're watching his new movie and they got the big novelty coffin popcorn bucket and they got to bring the pet rats and and and....

It's so lovely. Merry Christmas to all who celebrate and Happy Nosferatu to everyone in general.

Fictional love interests, we have beef!

Guess what suckers, my application to be the lady lead in a novel has been rejected again. Maybe because I tormented the gentleman lead for wearing a dark t-shirt and jeans.

What do you mean the best I could hope for is an Armani suit?

Villain arc it is, then.

(In all seriousness, I have nothing against people who dress like this. What gets on my nerves is that there is only one type of "attractive" on the fiction market. It's true, "don't like don't read," but I'm having a hard time finding writing I do like because they're all copycats of each other - yet they all try to frame those leads as "special," "The One," "the Exception," "he's not just A Guy" - actual phrasing I've seen in an actual publication - and it just gets tiring and puts me in a sarcastic mood.)

You'll tell them, Pierce. Show them those, um, ballet flats.

The Phantoms meet Love Never Dies Phantom. They are Unamused. I refuse to accept that this Phiasco Phantom is the same entity as the Phantom from the original musical.

I said I'll be pretending LND doesn't exist for the rest of my life. I lied. I watched it yesterday. Lying is bad.

All my Phantom cats here!