Beth Winter

Takarazuka is my mainstay for when I'm feeling down, but not every show is a gem. Since I've just giggled myself silly through El Halcon, I think it is one.

Fans of From Eroica with Love will recognise Tyrian Persimmon, Klaus's ancestor, and let's just say the show starts with the baby Tyrian stabbing the man who raised him as a son to facilitate the escape of the pirate he suspects is his real father. It gets downhill from there, because there's seemingly no depth Tyrian won't stoop to (though I admit Aran Kei looks very at home when throwing women on a bed and pinning them there). The revue has lovingly adapted Yasuko Aoike's penchant for creating memorable backup teams for her heroes, and therefore Tyrian gets not one but two male sailors who keep being posed in typical musumeyaku worship poses, and Asuka's Gilda has her posse of girl pirates.

But I have to admit I'm on the side of Luminous "Red" Benedict. Let's see - he's noble, rash and needs a knock on the head. He has a crazy pirate mentor, and he manages to "kidnap" Tyrian's ward only to get tackled by her as she giggles about (I think) how cool he is. (I believe this would be where Eroica gets his enthusiasm from.) And oh, Hoshigumi have so many lovely actresses there - Yuzuki Reon and Kazu Ryouka work beautifully together, it's such a pity that Kazu's retiring just before Chie becomes top. Other people I'll definitely keep an eye on are Suzumi Shio (she does anger very well) and Tenju Mitsuki - just a baby, but she's got the otokoyaku fire in spades.

The show is... more on crack than From Eroica with Love, which is an achievement. It chiefly earns this distinction via the appearance of the disco-dancing Queen Bess.

( Clip from the prologue, which does a good job of introducing all characters )

Just a quick note to let people know I survived Oberhausen, albeit with a damnable cold. In point form:

• Cologne and Düsseldorf are both pretty. And wet.


• The Roman-German museum in Cologne remains as amazing as ever.


• According to the guy in the theatre box office, Jan Ammann broke his leg.


• However, Kevin Tarte was not in good form on the Hamburg proshot. Now, he is. The difference is dramatic.


• I got to make him snicker onstage and got a picture with him at stagedoor.


• The Oberhausen run of Tanz der Vampire just got extended to January. And it's worth it.

Now, not to fall over at work. It's going to be a challenge.

*sighs* fyrie wanted. She got. 1500 words of vampire smut.

What you need to know: Francis is a Knight Templar. After the order's dissolution, he fled to a valley run by a family of good vampires. The goodness was guarded by a monastery with a magic cross. The monk Mikhail, driven mad by the fact the family's daughter preferred Francis, broke the seal and became an evil vampire. Through the River of Time (cue song), Francis searches for the jewel-roses that formed the seal. And in the palace of Louis XIV, he stumbles on a vampire plot.

TITLE: Entracte
RATING: R/NC-17
FANDOM: Seal of Roses: Vampire Requiem (Takarazuka)
PAIRINGS: Francis/Mikhail
WORDS: circa 1500

SUMMARY: In the night of Paris, Mikhail catches Francis unawares. He is made to regret it, if only for the sake of his dress.

Entirely fyrie's fault. Hankyu owns everything, Takarazuka Revue are goddesses, and needless to say, this is not quite pure and proper. (Beauty can be argued.)

( Between the acts )

We've had over a month of full-on, beautiful snow this year, more than usual - it's more common to have sleet or hard clumps of grey ice littering the streets, depending on whether it's too warm or too cold for fluffy snow. I took shameless advantage of it with my camera.

The first batch of photos is from Kiermusy again, the pine forest near the village.


( Four more photos from the forest near Kiermusy )

And these are from a recent walk in the Lasek Bielanski park.


( Snow-covered trees )

So, they finally revealed the costumes and some more of the casting. And dear me.

Sena looks like a gorgeous Death.

And a scary one too.

Kacha looks cute - she suits otokoyaku makeup better, but I love what they did with the eyes, and she looks like she's got a boatload of attitude.

Their attitudes in Wenn Ich Tanzen Will seem to be the correct ones.

I even like the idea of Kiriyan as Franz-Joseph. It's shaping up to be an interesting show.

See, this is how you do a dodgy children's anime right. They kept the pig. And oh, Gan-chan's pretty, I see now what the Arashi fans are on about :D (As is Doronjo. As I said, done right.)

This is the last cartoon I can actually remember playing at with my peers. We were eleven, and Above Such Things, but all someone had to say was "Yattaa, yattaa, Yattaaman!" to reduce us to giggles.

However I may personally feel about the LiveJournal staff layoffs, there's an official statement about them now.

Most of LiveJournal revenue is in rubles. Their labour costs were in USD. Economically, it's a textbook move, especially since they already have a Russian technical and product development team - who are paid less.

Best of luck to everyone involved, especially those who got the bad news :(

Ooops. Took a bit on those, since the reveal is around the corner. I've read haphazardly this year, and there are some old favourite fandoms where I still haven't read a single story.

Featured fandoms: 10 Things I Hate About You, Arthurian Legend, Fairy Tales, Hot Fuzz, Vorkosigan series, Lucifer, Merlin, Greek Mythology.

Note: there are no recs from my musical fandoms. This is because all Elisabeth, Tanz der Vampire and Romeo et Juliette fics are gorgeous, and because I'm a bit too invested there ;) See my previous post for the ones that were written for me in the Lord John, Elisabeth and Tanz der Vampire fandoms - I adore each and every one. There are also no recs of stories where I know the author - that's for after the reveal ;)

( Onto the recs )

I'm off to the seaside, and a happy winter holiday of whatever flavour to all :)

Also, Yuletide stories go up in two days. I ended up writing three full-length ones and one stocking stuffer, which is rather a lot, especially since almost all of it was written since Friday. And yes, there is one story that does not have my signature scrawled all over it, in a new fandom to boot. Can you guess which one it is?

Dear Yuletide writer,

( A guide, a map, or maybe just a few pointers )