Of course, the Avenue Q cast could not let that go unchallenged. And thus we have We Will Rock Q.

 
And then finally, my mother yesterday sent me this:

 
So there you have it: Muppets, Puppets and Queen. What do you think?

Apologies to Gemma Arterton, Ingrid Michaelson, Ed Westwick and Shunsuke Daito. Also David Bowie.

My brain: “I can see… everything!”

Then once the lions were finished I went back to sleep to be woken up by gibbons at 5.30am. Yeah.

One of the upsides to the trip though? I got to feed the giraffes. Like this:

The aim was to get her to lick your face while you did that. Sadly (???) that did not happen.

And there we go.

Me: Can I get up now?
Them: Not yet! I’ve still got to draw your tail!
Me: My what?!

Note my batwings and the “bomb that is on fire and about to land on [my] head”.

… when I looked over what I wrote yesterday.

(Well, the main expression as the other one was “oh god the blood” XD)

Every time I see that, though, I just want to yell back, “BUT MINE AREN’T IN HIGH SCHOOL!”

 
Delia’s over eighteen for a reason people. Just as Daniel looks about twenty-five.

Definitely not in high school, y’all.

Oh, and mine also have fangs. Coz the biting is the fun bit, right? I like my vampires grey and walking penetrative sex metaphors.

In other news, I’m wading my way through some awkward scenes for Lionheart – they’re awkward because my brain wants to get to the awesome scenes but I know I have to do these scenes for context, world-building and to start peeling away at the backstory of a main character. Also, everyone needs a wash. Gross. So we’re going to be taking advantage of that.

Plus I am having fun having unintentional (but appropriate) subtext pointed out to me by my betas.

Anyway, I’m at 39 000 words, so expect a “Yippee! Halfway there!” post very soon. In the meantime, some early form of celebration in the form of a new layout. The tag line is going to be my new motto to keep me motivated and positive.

As per usual, if there is something borked in the layout and I haven’t noticed, drop me a line so I can fix it right away.

And it made me think, on characters, author appeal and funny.

Now, while one of my vampires (the adorkable perfumer-slash-assassin Daniel) does have a preference for brunettes, it’s more a case of a particular brunette. It’s made very clear that Charlie’s weakness is redheads, while Lauren’s current partners have leaned more towards brown/black. Rivka’s longterm³ lover (the one she turned) is a blond.

As for Jared and Athanasios… they’re like Captain Jack Harkness. Anything with a zip code.

But really, in the end the only colour that really matters is red… because when it comes to vampires, it’s what’s inside that counts.

1. One of many variations on the theme, actually
2. Correct me if I’m wrong – I’ve only read the first three once, and it was over a year and a half ago, closing in on two.
3. Think centuries

Unfortunately, Twitter has a limit of only 140 characters. So when I cut down the fragment I wanted to post, it ended up having an… alternate interpretation.

“Unless it’s bigger on the inside?”

“”That it is,” he said, sliding his hand inside so far it went up to his shoulder.

As you can imagine, removing the context took it into what could be interpreted as Rule 34 territory.

Here is what the scene actually looks like, when it has context – as allowed by being able to have more than 140 characters.

“Nah, no problem,” Will replied. “You’re able to carry all your baggage?”

Leander reached under the table to pull out a shoulder bag. It was a smooth, black leather, with several pockets on either side and a long strap to carry it with. “This is all I have.”

Will scoffed at the sight. “No way you have all your stuff in that. Unless,” here his eyes narrowed, “it’s bigger on the inside?”

Leander flipped open the flap that covered the main compartment. “That it is,” he said, sliding his hand inside so far it went up to his shoulder. It was impossible for it to fit in the bag without some magic cast upon it.

And this is why context matters. Because without it, even I have naughty-tinted glasses.