Debunked: Omg The Lion King is Hamlet

Tomorrow night I am going to see a live-streamed version of the play Hamlet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Be jealous.

In honor of getting to see my favorite play of all time, I would like to address a popular myth that absolutely fries me. It is the myth of

"Omg The Lion King is totes a retelling of Hamlet"

I would like to unmask this ridiculous falsehood by replying

"Bitch no it is not"

And, of course, providing evidence to that effect. So here we go.

WARNING: SPOILERS. I assume you know the story of The Lion King and don't mind some ruined "surprises" in Hamlet, but I believe there is a special circle of Hell reserved for people who spoil stories, and I am all about not going to Hell. So proceed at your own risk.

Similarities Between Disney's The Lion King and William Shakespeare's Hamlet

1. Both stories revolve around royalty. Congratulations, you have identified two works that feature royal families. This is only like one of THE MOST common elements in literature, and basically the MAIN element in classic Disney.

2. In both stories, the uncles kill the fathers in order to take the crown for themselves. This is a much better parallel, but, again, it's a common theme in stories. The little brother who wants his big brother's crown is pretty much a classic plot line.

3. In both stories, the ghosts of the dead kings appear. This would be a pretty convincing similarity if their roles weren't vastly, vastly, fundamentally different. See Differences...

Differences Between The Lion King and William Shakespeare's Hamlet

1. In Hamlet, the Queen Gertrude is involved in plotting King Hamlet's murder; in The Lion King, Queen Sarabi is clueless and loyal to King Mufasa.

2. In Hamlet, the uncle and the queen get married--rather quickly. In The Lion King, Scar and Sarabi never seem to have a positive relationship.

3. In The Lion King, the uncle frames the son, Simba--and Simba DOES play a role in King Mufasa's death. Yeah, it was Scar who orchestrated the whole thing, but in Hamlet, the King's death is presumed to have been from natural causes. Hamlet isn't even implicated.

4. In Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet are discouraged from marrying. In The Lion King, Simba and Nala are betrothed.

5. In The Lion King, Simba genuinely feels guilty for his father's death and flees. In Hamlet, the son sticks around and actually develops an investigation plan. Yeah, Hamlet goes to England for like four seconds, but that is not his idea, and he comes back ASAP.

6. In Hamlet, the love interest, Ophelia, goes crazy and dies. In The Lion King, Nala is a feisty and persistent character who makes Simba man (lion?) up.

7. The secondary characters are all completely different. Pumba and Timone are on Simba's side; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's job is basically to spy and tattle on Hamlet. Nala doesn't have a brother (Ophelia has Laertes). Nala's father isn't in the picture at all (Ophelia's father is adviser to the king). Simba doesn't have a strong confidante who actually survives the play (Horatio).

8. In Hamlet, there is no Rafiki character.

9. In The Lion King, the ghost of Mufasa appears to Simba to give him strength and hope. In Hamlet, the ghost of King Hamlet appears to Hamlet to demand vengeance. Mufasa encourages peace; King Hamlet brings unease and frustration.

10. In Hamlet, everybody dies at the end (I mean, it is a Shakespearean tragedy). In The Lion King, it is pretty much happily ever after for everyone except evil Uncle Scar (and the hyenas).

And there you have it.

So next time you hear people say "Omg The Lion King is Hamlet," please slap them for me. And then make them read this post.

Sincerely,
Such a Nerd

Teen Fantasy Ten Things

Ten Things We Learn from Teen Fantasy Media

1. A good enough one-liner gives any teen the right to walk away from his or her parents.

2. Villains you have killed are more dangerous than live ones. Why? Because they're never ACTUALLY dead, so believing they are just makes you vulnerable to surprise attacks.

3. If any two characters share a smile and a look that lasts longer than three seconds, they will have sex together at some point.

4. No one ever actually hates/ stays mad at someone forever.

5. No one is ever actually an orphan. It's just a loophole so that a long-lost parent can show up later.

6. It is totally possible to fall in love with someone knowing nothing more than their species (human/vampire/werewolf/witch/alien/etc.) and how many visible ab muscles they have.

7. If you open a closet or refrigerator door, there will be someone standing behind it when you close it. (You are also obligated to gasp daintily, briefly shut your eyes, and murmur,  "You scared me.")

8. Sex never complicates anything. It will never be distracting or dramatic, and actually fosters intellectual development as a couple.

9. There will always be a love triangle. If there isn't one now, then brace yourself, because it's coming.

10. All girls go to bed wearing full makeup and bras.

But ultimately, everything will totes okay, as long as you and your significant other make each other's love the most important thing in the world.

~Stephanie

P.S. This is also the 600th post! Noice. Thanks for sticking it out with me :)

Baby Name Perfection

Some of you may know that I used to be obsessed with baby names.

Some of you may know that secretly, I still am.

Naming characters is often the hardest part of a story for me, and yet I CANNOT ever be satisfied with a stand-in name so that I can keep writing. {This problem has derailed more than a few stories.} The past couple of years, I haven't been writing nearly as many stories though, and when I do, I often leave the characters intentionally unnamed. Adds mystery. Saves time.

As far as real-life goes, I've kept a running list of potential baby names since I was about seven years old. However, for some unknown reason, I've stopped doing that lately. Until a few days ago, I had zero realistic girl name possibilities, and only a handful of old standby boys' names {Joshua, Caleb, Daniel, Matthew}.

But then my brain randomly clicked into High Gear Analytical English Major and I settled on two perfect girls' names. Not only do I love the names, but they double-handedly satisfy fifteen separate salutes to friends, family, and fiction. And they're not even ridiculous. {The names, I mean. The explanations are, naturally.}

And here they are.

Shut up. What do YOU do in your spare time?

~Stephanie

About that Current Obsession...

[<----- Vote, fool. I need feedback.]

As you might have noticed, one of my {CurrentObsessions} (look to the right. That list. There. Yeah.) is "falling in love."

At first, I almost hated him. He was selfish, inarticulate, sloppy, and basically unintelligent. He also did drugs, which puts anyone at the bottom of my favorites list. He didn't appear to possess a single desirable quality. This went on for a long time.

I don't know when it started to change. I know that sounds cliche, but it honestly felt like one day, I just realized that my feelings were different--powerfully different. His eyes looked beautiful.

He made some very key lifestyle changes. They revealed a heart of audacious strength and fierce loyalty, but it wasn't like that flipped a switch in my mind. It did feel kind of sudden, but I think it was gradual.

I started to see streaks of genuine honor in him, and then those streaks turned to bold stripes, which melded together and formed a final, proud, loyal, honorable soul. Suddenly I noticed his words flowing smoother, his intentions growing truer, his priorities getting straighter.

Even in the face of horrific situations, he stood his ground. Out of honor, he protected even those who didn't even deserve his loyalty.

His whole demeanor has changed. Instead of radiating "punk," "junkie," "twerp," and "weasel," he now radiates qualities like authority, cunning, loyalty, and resourcefulness. Every action he takes, every word he speaks, I respect.

After his initial, long-lasting poor impression, I never expected to find him sexy. But I do. His eyes are fierce; his walk is confident; his voice is hot. I must confess:

I, Peripeteia readers, am hopelessly in love with Jesse Pinkman.

~Stephanie

P.S. Absolutely no potentially spoilerific comments, people. I'm only in Season 4.

One Percent

I wrote this randomly one afternoon in July. I like it, but I don't know what's going on yet.
~~~~~~~~
“Are you okay?” Erika’s voice registered as irritated and impatient. The syllables assaulted my ears, causing a tender soreness that immediately engulfed my mind.

Sure, I was fine. Aside from the screeching pain in my head and the fact that my peripheral vision had turned to emptiness. Despite the panic rising tangibly in my being, I was fascinated by the vision loss. It wasn’t darkness closing in. It was like the world ceasing to exist, sinking into vague splotches of nothing.

“I’ll be right back,” I mumbled, pushing past my sister. “I’m fine; just one sec.”

I closed the door of the tiny hall bathroom behind me and crouched in front of the toilet taking deep, shaky breaths. I made my mouth into a small O and shut my eyes. That didn’t help. The sensation was disconcertingly similar to how the world was starting to look with my eyes open.

“They said this would happen,” I whispered evenly to myself. “99% certainty. If anything, this ought to make you feel more at ease. Everything is going according to plan. You’re fine. You’re fine.”

“Elodie.” Erika’s voice slammed into me like a sack of flour: dull and heavy. I winced.

“Erika,” I returned. My voice still sounded strong, I noted with surprised satisfaction. “Can you just give me a moment of privacy? Is that honestly too much to ask?”

“Are you kidding me?” I could picture my sister with her hands on her hips and her left eyebrow peaking. “Look in the mirror and say that!”

A frown pinched at my nose. “I don’t think you’re using that accusation correctly. I always give you space when you ask.”

“No!” Erika cried. I heard the light slap of her giving her bare foot a stamp. “Literally, Elodie. Would you please just look at yourself?”

I snorted inwardly, which somehow sent a wave of nausea flowing over my core. I don’t know, would I look at myself? I wasn’t sure how much of my vision was left.

I opened my eyes a squinty amount, and found that I could see only the toilet and none of my surroundings.

“Seriously,” came Erika’s voice. She sounded breathy and nervous now. “I’m serious, Elodie. Look, if you haven’t already.”

At least I think that’s what she said. I know I heard some Erika Voice sounds, but I might have just manufactured the actual words. Everything was starting to feel very grainy and irrelevant. Nevertheless, I pushed my rubbery legs into a standing position and shuffled to the mirror without bending my knees. I gasped silently.

My skin was translucent purple and shrinking. It pulled at my eye sockets and mouth, giving me the look of a sour Asian beggar woman. Well, a purple one. It pulled so hard on my nose that I realized I was having trouble using it to breathe. I watched as my ears tucked themselves to my head and my forehead started to split.

This was not what they said would happen. This was not part of the plan.

My last thought was So this was the 1% chance

~Stephanie

Dream 112

PC and I were running away from our captors or some evil corporation. Sometimes we were in a car, sometimes on horseback. Either way, PC was driving. {Sometimes we were Darren and Paige though. A lot of the time actually. But we were also still Stephanie and Sam.}

I think we had been arguing, or maybe it was just leftover tension from being captured. I dunno, but as we got farther away, the tension/anger began to subside. We started to like each other and feel like a team again.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that the sky was blanketed in horrendously beautiful, dark charcoal-colored clouds. It filled me with chilled awe and fearful adrenaline. And there was a tube-like piece of cloud beginning to reach down towards the ground…

“What is that?” I said to Sam, pointing.

The answer came to me right as he said it: “It looks like the beginning of a tornado.”

The wind began to pick up. I think I could feel it. We were kind of scared, and tried to drive/ride faster.

The cloud stopped looking like a tornado really and became a chubby cylinder with a little cloud stick poking out from it on the bottom right side. But I guess it was still a tornado.

I suddenly spotted a helicopter in the sky. It was the evil people; they were out looking for us. Fear pulsed through me. They were so close. They were about to see us. But then I had a great thought: maybe the helicopter would get sucked into the tornado.

“There’s one of the helicopters,” I told Sam. I don’t exactly remember the exchange between us, but it came down to the fact that even though he really wanted to watch, he had to look where we were going {‘cuz driving}, so I’d have to describe everything to him.

So I did. I described everything really thoroughly and poetically as the helicopter flew straight into the tornado and started to drop and shift around in the sky.

Then there were suddenly tons of shooting stars, white and beautiful. They streaked through the sky around the helicopter, and I jokingly thought maybe they’d hit the helicopter, even though I knew that wasn’t really how sky worked XD

But then that happened. Suddenly the stars were—and maybe had been the whole time—balls of fire, probably about the size of a basketball. They rained down mostly in the relatively near distance behind us with the tornado and helicopter, but some fireballs dropped close enough to us that we were alarmed.

The fireballs started to hit the helicopter. The helicopter didn’t catch on fire right away; it just kind of spun a little and started to fall. A panic budded in my chest. If it exploded, would anything hit us? The helicopter caught fire and started to go down.

“Um…” I began. I’d been describing everything, but suddenly the words were lodged and confused inside of me. I didn’t know how to address the danger in the most helpful way. PC didn’t yet know what was going on, and every second wasted was a second he’d like to have to consider the situation. “It’s going down,” I finally said. “It’s going to crash.”

That was good for us. But…

“Oh god,” I said. The helicopter slammed into the midst of some industrial buildings, where the evil people’s headquarters were. It crunched into the architecture with a chunky, tangible force the is the color blue to me.

“Brace yourself!” I yelled to Sam, although I don’t know how we were supposed to do that. Basically it amounted to us trying to get away faster. Suddenly we were on foot, holding hands, pounding our steps into the ground with as much panicked force as we could possibly drive through our heels.

The helicopter’s crash plowed out a crater in the ground, sending out a slow-motion shock wave of blue energy and orange fire. The wave leveled everything it touched.

Suddenly everything was in slow motion. We gripped each other’s hands with a rough desperation. I felt the wave of energy and heat coming closer. I knew it was dangerous, but I already felt victorious. I think I smiled.

The terrain in front of us changed. Suddenly it was tons of hills/mountains covered white pebbles, and we were giants compared to it. We had to be careful not to step in the rivers and passageways between mountains, because our feet would get caught in them

~Stephanie

I'm Robin :D

Which I am very okay with.

Robin 65% The Flash 65% Green Lantern 60% Hulk 55% Superman 50% Catwoman 50% Supergirl 46% Spider-Man 40% Batman 40% Wonder Woman 36% Iron Man 30%

Young and acrobatic. You don't mind stepping aside to give someone else glory.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

~Stephanie

Why Batman?

Some of you may know that I like Batman.

Most of you know that ^that^ was the understatement of the century.

I like Batman so much that I'm tempted to say I actually love him. The sad thing is, if he were real, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't like me that much. Aaron says it isn't personal; Batman doesn't like anyone. I guess that's true, but he loves Alfred and Robin, right? {And then there's Catwoman, but UGHDON'TGETMESTARTED.}

Batman and Superman are without a doubt my favorite heroes, and as I said last week, if you prefer Superman, that's fine with me. However personally, I decided that the Dark Knight was my hero of choice about two years ago and uphold that choice to this day. Why? For six very good reasons.

1. He has a passion for justice.

All my life, injustice has outraged me. You believe he's guilty just because that kid says so? You're letting her off the hook just because she's bawling? You think it's okay to steal just because it's for a good cause? No, no, NO!

As I've matured, I've realized how much broader the scope of injustice is. I'm a passionate patriot and I think allowing injustice to stand in America is a CRIME. It is a crime to murder, steal and cheat, but it's also a crime not to confront those offenses. It's the duty of Americans to uphold her values with our own lives.

Batman embodies this passion--even when it's difficult. Which brings me to point number two...

2. He doesn't let personal issues get in the way.

Before you wet yourself laughing, let me clarify. Yes, the whole reason for Bruce Wayne becoming Batman is a personal issue {his parents being killed}. However, as Batman, I think he does a great job of upholding justice and disregarding personal drama.

3. He has a past.

Superman is cool. However, he grew up on a farm with a great family, whereas Batman grew up in a gritty city as an orphan. Batman has something to remember, something use, something to fight for in his past.

4. He does not have powers.

Hopefully this thought has already occurred to you, but...Bruce Wayne is just a normal guy. He's not from Krypton; he's not an Amazon; he hasn't been hit by lightning. Most other heroes are SUPER. They've been blessed with unusual power, and therefore are more obligated to give back to society.

Bruce Wayne didn't have his destiny spelled out for him. He decided he wanted to fight crime all on his own, and he made it happen.

Which segues nicely into reason five...

5. He's extremely resourceful and intelligent.

Batman uses the resources he has to make what he needs {or at least delegates Lucius Fox to do it XD}. He realizes that the best solution to every problem is not ALWAYS "punch it in the face." He uses his brain as well as his brawn. He also makes me laugh sometimes. I like the time when Robin was trying to get him to watch "It's a Wonderful Life," and Bruce was like, "-_- *sigh* It's not relentlessly cheerful, is it?"

6. He's dark.

Let's face it: I prefer a dark, brooding vigilante to a wide-eyed, wholesome hero. I would have crushed on Batman over Superman even without all these awesome reasons. The reasons aren't why I fell in love with Batman.

They're why I'm STILL in love with him two years later.

~Stephanie

Superman Wins

{Disclaimer: I'm WAY not an expert on superheroes. Like at all. Like sometimes I feel bad for even talking about them because I know so painfully little compared to what there is to be known. So yeah. I realize this.}

You might have noticed that Superman beat Batman in the "favorite heroes" poll I had up last week, 14 to 9. You might also know that I am wildly, madly, intensely {but not creepily or anything >_>} in love with Batman.

So you can imagine my response to the voting results, right?

Actually, wrong. I'm completely fine with Superman winning.

See, when I created the poll, I knew Batman was without a doubt my favorite hero. However, I also knew that if another hero were to win the quick popularity contest, it should be Superman.

Normally I'm really dogmatic about this sort of thing. Jeremy Sumpter is hotter than William Moseley, and you''re just WRONG if you think otherwise. The Twilight books are better than the Twilight movies and you're an idiot if you think otherwise. Sauron is a better villain than the Emperor, and I will heatedly argue that point with you for a long time.

Etc.

But when it comes to Superman beating Batman in the poll...

It's okay.

Batman is my favorite for a lot of reasons, but Superman is so amazing that when he won, I just had step back and nod. It felt okay to me. It felt right.

Superman is great. He's incredibly strong, but somehow manages to stay Good. He's smart, but somehow manages to stay humble. The world is evil and retarded, but somehow he never gives up on it. He's powerful and brave and earnest and kind and somehow manages not to be the sissy kind of good that people despise. {Well, in my opinion, at least. I guess that could be open to debate.}

Superman is the most genuinely good person I "know." How can you NOT love him? He's just freaking fantastic.

So that's why I don't mind that Batman lost to Superman in the poll. Because Superman seriously is amazing, and anyone who prefers him to Batman is still absolutely all right in my book. Clark Kent would make a better friend than Bruce Wayne any day. {<--- admitted more reluctantly than you can imagine.}

Of course, this isn't saying anything about which hero would win in a fight.

Although, seeing as Superman is sort of indestructible, it wouldn't be much of a fair fight.

Unless Batman had kryptonite or something, but that seems a little below-the-belt to me too.

Ahaha.

~Stephanie

Book Tag

{This tag was stolen from Shena a while back :3}

{Btw, the girl I had in mind when I wrote Cynic just broke up with her boyfriend. I strongly disliked the chica anyway, so even though I know it's horrible, my inward emoticon went "IN YO' FACE!" when I found out. >.< I have got to work on not being a jerk.}

1. Favorite childhood book?
{I interpreted “childhood” to be like 10-12} The Thief Lord, On to Oregon, Homeless Bird

2. What are you reading right now?
I just finished “The Year of the Hangman,” which is a story about what could have happened if the British had won the Revolutionary War. {That’s what it’s supposed to be about anyway.} I’m about to start "Midnighters," which sounds fascinating and it's by Scott Westerfield, so I'm excited.

3. What books do you have on request at the library?
None. But I have about twenty that I want to eventually read.

4. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Green Angel, The Year of the Hangman, and Midnighters.

5. Do you have an e-reader?
Not really. My family shares a Kindle, but I haven’t gotten into it. I thought I would LOVE having one available, but I pretty much never use it.

6. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
It depends. I used to read like three at a time all the time. Now I usually go with one new book and one old, comfortable book at a time.

7. Can you read on the bus?
I usually get carsick when I read on the road.

8. Favorite place to read?
Anywhere. If it’s a good book, nothing will stop me.

9. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No. No. No. No. NO. I used to, really badly. But now just a turned down corner makes me cringe.

10. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Hm. Occasionally. But usually only in school books, and ALWAYS in pencil.

11. What makes you love a book?
The characters must be complex and likable; the plot must be well-planned and reasonably unpredictable; it can’t have unnecessary filler.

12. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
When it has all the aforementioned!

13. Favorite genre?
Fantasy, probably, but it’s hard to find fantasy books that I love anymore. I’m definitely over the whole paranormal-romance thing. I enjoy new spins on old ideas, like redone fairy tales and behind-the-scenes historical fiction.

14. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
If it was a bad book, I give it a bad review. Charlie don’t care if a book has sensitive feelings.

15. Favorite Poet?
Dr. Seuss, John Milton, Shakespeare. I’m not very familiar with poetry, but I can tell you for sure that I love and respect those three XD

16. How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time?
I usually go to the library once a week and check out two books. With school, that’s about as many as I can hope to finish in a week, if that many.

17. How often have you returned books to the library unread?
Almost never.

18. Favorite fictional character?
Heh, I just did this for a college application :D
Hector, “The Iliad”
Aragorn, “LotR”
Samwise Gamgee, “LotR”
Jason Bourne, the “Bourne” trilogy
Batman
Anne Shirley, “Anne Shirley”
Darth Vader
Hamlet
Betsy Ray, the “Betsy” series
Lois Lane
Tex, “Tex”
Tessa, “Infernal Devices” trilogy
Will, “Infernal Devices” trilogy

19. Favorite fictional villain?
Darth Vader probably. His cold, clever, calculating manner is just great. The best kind of scary.

20. Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation?
Whatever ones I’m reading, plus something from the “Lily” series, and possibly a “Farsala” book.

21. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
Like…16 hours? XD

22. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Everything On a Waffle, Sea of Trolls, and Shadow of the Wind. I’m still holding out hope for all of them, though. One of these days…

23. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
If I’m not really into a book, anything. If I’m really into a book, nothing.

24. Favorite film adaptation of a novel?
Lord of the Rings trilogy, Harry Potter films, The Chronicles of Narnia. The Hunger Games looks promising too, especially since Suzanne Collins {the author} wrote the screenplay.

25. Most disappointing film adaptation?
Eragon. That movie was a disgrace to filmmakers and story-tellers everywhere and should never, ever be mentioned in the same breath as the book. {EVER.} Inkheart was also an unmentionable atrocity, and Ella Enchanted didn’t follow the book at all. However, it was actually a good movie, just a different story, so that’s alright. Eragon and Inkheart sacrificed accuracy for…absolutely nothing.

26. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If it was unbearably tedious.

27. Do you like to keep your books organized?
Alphabetically.

28. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
What a question! Keep them! I’ve only ever given away one book, Wicked Lovely. A lot of people liked it, so okay, but I thought it was terrible.

I tag anyone who wants to do it. Let me know though, and I'll come read your answers :D

~Stephanie

The Cast

You've been reading a lot about the Fire Fairies now, so I figured you might share a least a modicum of interest in this.

There's this little nine-year-old girl at my church named Maddie. I've known her since she was about one. Having literally grown up with me, she knows all {ish} about the fire fairies. She was even one for Halloween one year, which I found enormously flattering.

Last week at church, we stayed late and I ended up creating intricate doodles of the names "Ember" and "Coal." She knows about them, and we got to talking. After a while she asked me,

"If it were a movie, who would you get to play Coal?"

That really got me thinking. I had considered the thought before, but YEARS ago, before I knew hardly any actors or even how to find them. So Maddie and Cassidy and I sat there at the table, coloring pictures, and puzzling over the cast of my story.

Maddie suggested Taylor Lautner, which wasn't a bad suggestion at all. I even considered it for a moment, but he wasn't right. Taylor's face is sharper than Coal's, and Coal's eyes aren't so squinty.

She thought of Robert Pattinson, who was a resounding NO with a gag reflex.

It wasn't until Maddie had left that the perfect Coal-actor came to mind:

Jeremy Sumpter.
I about fell down. He is the perfect Coal. He has Coal's sexy, mysterious face; his mischievous, piercing eyes; his slouchy, panther-like body. If I had to pick an actor for Coal, it would be Jeremy, hands down.

Of course why stop with Coal? Maddie's question sparked a new obsession with me. I went home and began madly Googling for the rest of my characters. It was difficult, and I'm not satisfied with all of them, but it'll do for now XD

Ember - Willa Holland

Willa looks daring, confident, and proud here, not one to be pushed around or even show much emotion. Originally I had Willa as Firefly, but after everyone's vehement suggestions against who I had as Ember, I decided Willa fits her better. Best decision ever XD She grows on me as Ember every time I look at her.

Firefly - Taylor Momsen

Firefly, Ember and Flare are sisters. I think I did a pretty good job of finding actresses that look like they could potentially be related. Although Firefly has brown hair, Taylor Momsen holds the sharp, controlled beauty and authority Firefly also has.

Originally, I had Taylor Momsen as Ember. Everyone I talked to who knows the stories said NO to that. Sarah said Taylor fit more with Firefly, and I really started to agree.

Of course, sometimes Taylor Momsen looks like this.

Which isn't Firefly at all. But you take what you can find XD

Flare - Victoria Justice
Flare's real-life counterpart would probably kill me if she knew I'd picked Victoria Justice to represent her. I didn't see it coming myself, but when I saw this picture, I stopped. I can see Flare in her. The mischief, the boldness, the hint of shyness around the corner... It's all there.

Comet - Chloe Grace Moretz
I think I got Comet about right. The cute, impish, almost stubby face of Chloe fits hers. Of course, Comet is a redhead, but I can easily imagine Chloe as a carrot top.

Flicker - Emmy Clarke

I had Ellen Marlow for a while, but I was really dissatisfied with her. I stumbled across Emmy just today and love her as Flicker! She has the sharp-featured sweetness and naivety of Flicker.

Sparkle - Kay Panabaker
Kay seems very alive, energetic and enthusiastic, just as Sparkle is. I'm pretty happy with this selection.

Star Dancer - Eden Sher
Poor Eden XD She gets to portray the irritating gossip that everyone loves to hate. Star Dancer CAN be a fun fairy to be around, but more often than not she ends up ticking someone off. I think Eden has the nosy, "off" kind of pretty look of Star Dancer.

Flame - Hunter Parrish
God, he's hot. But so is Flame, even though he's not a very likable character. Hunter has the sharp, pale, dangerous air that Flame shares.

Blaze - Taylor Lautner
I'm not sure about this. The more I think about it, the less I'm sure. Hm. No. Blaze is dark, yes, but not so square, and his eyes aren't so squinty.

Smolder - Frank Dillane
Smolder isn't a main character at all, but I see him as Frank Dillane. {Tom Riddle, in case you were agonizing over where you know him from.}

Caroleena - Abigail Breslin
Ah, Caroleena. You haven't met her yet, because I haven't rewritten her yet. She's a beautiful Woodland elf girl. Ember hates her.

Darbon - Jimmy Bennett
You haven't met Darbon either. He's Caroleena's younger brother, so he's also a Woodland elf.

Pyros - Freddie Highmore
Pyros XD He's one of the Fire Lord's pages. I don't remember if you've met him or not. He's extremely minor.

And last, but certainly, certainly, certainly not least, the Fire Lord.

The Fire Lord - Ralph Fiennes

I actually forgot to cast the Fire Lord. Like, he completely slipped my mind. Sam's the one who remembered, and suggested Ralph, and he's PERFECT.

Does he look familiar to you? Look at his eyes. Yeah. It's Lord Voldemort. I know it might seem cliche that he's exactly how I pictured the Fire Lord, but in my defense I wrote the Fire Fairy stories long before Harry Potter crossed my mind XD

So there you have it. The Cast of the Fire Fairy Story :) Hope you found this interesting and helpful. I always like to be able to put a face to characters.

~Stephanie

Check the Label

I was looking at the labels to my posts the other day, analyzing the trends. Here is what I have discovered:

I am not Sick much.

I talk about God twice as much as I am sick.

There have been three Holidays since I started blogging, and three holiday posts. Right on.

Although Writing is my life, I post about Pictures exactly four times more often than about Characters.

The label "Hott Guys" appears slightly more often than the label "Thinking." Hmm.

I have posted six times more about someone else's book than about my own.

But I was relieved to see that there are more Book posts than Movie posts.

The number of posts on Friends is nearly double the number on Family.

I have managed to refrain thus far from creating a "Brothers" label.

There is only one post concerning Work, School, or Shopping. Lawl. I'm lazy.

I talk about Books twice as often as I talk about Reading. How does that work exactly?

The second largest label is "Random."

And I talk about myself more than anything.

Sometimes, I wonder...

Yep. I just wonder. I guess I should slap this post with a Thinking label. Or a Label label.

You know what, I'm gonna label this post with everything >:D

~Stephanie

Character-Sexist

I think I really might be. But not against guys. Against girls. And if you know me, you know that's completely counter to my personality.

I, as a girl, can do anything. And if you tell me I can't, I will glare at you and defend myself with cold logic and prove you wrong.

But.

I hate girl characters. Books, movies, life. I just do not. like. girls. I never have. In fact, if you're my Functioning Best Friend, Cassidy, you have to sit through movies with me and listen to my gripe under my breath about what a stupid, weak, idiotic ninny every female romantic interest is.

The other day I had a lot "free time" on my hands {meaning I didn't want to be doing what I actually needed to be doing}. I decided to make a list, just to see if my suspicion was correct. I made two lists and called them "Female Characters I Like" and "Female Characters I Do Not Like."

The lists came out disappointingly close actually, with me liking 22 and hating 28. I sat on the couch and puzzled over what that was. I knew for a FACT that WAY more often than not, during kissing scenes I have to hide my fact in absolute disgust and abhorrence. So why did my lists come out so close?

Then I figured it out: I did dislike more female characters than I like, yes. BUT. The REAL difference appears when the girls are the love interest for the guys.

So I made two new lists entitled "Female Romantic Interests I Like" and "Female Romantic Interests I Don't Like."

Notes:

1) To qualify as a "Female Romantic Interest," the girl must not be the main character. I counted only the girls who played opposite male MCs.

2) If I didn't have a strong opinion one way or another, I didn't put the character on either list. The lists were for my strong opinions only.

I am now, as you've probably already guessed going to show you the two lists.

Female Romantic Interests I Like

1. Sarah {I Am Number Four}

2. Lois Lane {Justice League}

3. Hermione {Harry Potter}

4. Mistique {X-Men: First Class}

5. Marie {The Bourne Movies}

Female Romantic Interests I Don't Like:

1. Arwen {Lord of the Rings}

2. Nasuada {Eragon}

3. Arya {Eragon}

4. Sarah {Newsies}

5. Padme Amidala {Star Wars}

6. Jocelyn {A Knight's Tale}

7. Anabeth {The Lightning Thief}

8. Irene Adler {Sherlock Holmes}

9. Elizabeth Swan {Pirates of the Carribean}

10. Isabel {Ocean's 12}

11. Sally {Cars}

12. Prudy {Support Your Local Sherif}

*clears throat somewhat awkwardly* My suspicions were strongly confirmed. I do not like the girls who fall in love with the main guys.

I'm still not EXACTLY sure why, but I think it has something to do with their two-dimensional personalities. The girls aren't complex enough to be interesting or real. Either they're mousy and despicable {Sarah} or too badass and hard to be realistic {Arya, Anabeth, Adler, Elizabeth}. Can't we find some middle ground, people? Not all girls are either huddled in a corner or cussing up a storm cutting out some guy's spleen with her jeweled dagger. Some of us possess an APPROPRIATE combination of self-preservation and attitude.

And then there are the girls I just find stupid and annoying {Padme, Jocelyn, Prudy.}

And then there are the girls that I just freakin' don't like and I don't know why {Arwen, Nasuada, Sally}. I just don't know. But I do not like them.

What about you? Are you character-sexist?

~Stephanie

Being a Writer

I love it. But it's not the romantic gift it's cracked up to be. I'm sure a lot of you know what I'm talking about.

Being a writer is more like a mental illness than a gift.

When you're a writer, writing isn't really something you can just "not do." I mean, you CAN just NOT WRITE, but then you end up waking up in the middle of the night with your eyes like this O.O thinking, "Oh my god, oh my god, where is my notebook, where is my notebook" and fly out of bed and knock your lamp off trying to turn it on and tear your room apart looking for it. Because you had this one line that sounded good in the dream you were having and you might be able to use it sometime.

Or, you're just living life, maybe babysitting, and you get on the kids' tire swing. Sudden the warm breeze is just right and the sun hits your leg and the tree you're under seems perfect and the way the tire swings is spelling one thing to you: STORY IDEA. And yet here you are again without your notebook so you must as calmly as possible ask the kid you're watching if he has any notebook paper available please???

And, for the record, getting a story idea isn't always {or ever} accompanied by that delicious, dreamy look writers get in movies. You know, as an idea gently floats through their mind and they reach for a neat stack of paper and a quill pen.

Actually, getting a sudden story idea feels a lot like wetting your pants.

It's urgent, unexpected and embarrassing, especially if your eyes do the aforementioned thing {O.O}. For me, when an idea hits me like that, it's like a window has been opened to my soul, bright and blue and pure, and I'm afraid everyone can see into it. I feel the physical urge to cover myself.

{This is giving you a whole new appreciation for the mental illness metaphor I used earlier, isn't it?}

Then, if I'm with other people, it's awkward because 1) My eyes just did the bullfrog for no apparent reason and so 2) I have to play it off with some unconvincing excuse because 3) when that Soul Window is open my lying skillz are way incapacitated and 4) I'm also having to hide the fact that I desperately want to GET AWAY FROM YOU and write.

Then there's also the frequently referenced problem of the voices in your head.

Yeah, I don't get that. The only character who won't shut up is Ember, and she's basically an independent form of myself, so...yeah, however that works.

Buuut anyway you slice it, dice it, or look at it, we writers...

...are NOT normal.

~Stephanie

Question

So, I was wondering. On a scale of yes to no, how interested would you be in reading bits of my stories?

~Stephanie

Darren

Thanks for following, Polka Dot and Samarah!

First off, I stole this tag from Lily and the picture from Cassie Anne XD

Character tags are my favorite, being a writer and all. Basically what you have to do here is come up with a character {or use an existing one} and answer the following questions about him or her. Eaaasy.

{Character Tag}

1. What is his/her full name? Darren Arius Blackburn-Lonwyn {Hey, you said FULL. He only ever goes by Darren Blackburn though.}

2. Does his name have a special meaning? *gasppp* I have never, ever done a tag that asked this question. I can't believe this! Name meanings are SO important to me, but I never have a good place to talk about it. Sweet. "Darren" means "small great one."

3. Does your character have a methodical or disorganized personality? Well, he's a teenaged guy, so how methodical can he be? XD Generally, he's a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants type, but when the situation calls for it he can cowboy up and make a pretty good plan.

4. Does he think inside himself more than he talks out loud to his friends? (more importantly, does he actually have friends?) Darren is an out-loud thinker. Even if he doesn't necessarily want people to comment, he works things out better when he can hear himself. He definitely has friends. He was always the "popular" type.

5. Is there something he is afraid of? He doesn't like being out of control. Whenever he's in a position where he can't do something or when someone else is calling the shots, he gets uneasy. His biggest fear is somehow causing someone he loves to be hurt. He beats himself up about things.

6. Does he write, dream, dance, sing, or photograph? He does not. He's the athletic type.

7. What is his favorite book (or genre of books)? He doesn't read a WHOLE lot, but he enjoys it when he does. He like action-suspense type books, or books about wars.

8. Who is his favorite author and/or someone that inspires him? He's always found soldier stories inspiring: men who showed courage in the face of danger and pulled through while staying loyal to their country.

9. Favorite flavor of ice cream? He's not picky, but Moose Tracks is a favorite.

10. Favorite season of the year? Spring. He loves baseball.

Anyone who wants to do this, have at it. And lemme know so I can come read it :D

~Stephanie