full disclosure, i’m very unknowledgeable about russian names/nicknames - i found it to be my only struggle with this otherwise beautiful enchanting story. i’ve put together a rudimentary guide to the various names/nicknames of the characters from what i can figure out (thank you seema for the idea and geaniebaby for collaborating!!!!!!). hopefully it’s all correct, i’m picking up some patterns but i’d love to edit and learn more about the naming conventions here if anyone has the insight!

pyotr (father) marina = marushka (mother) avdotya = dunya = dunyashka (old nurse) anna (step mother)

kolya = nikolai (oldest/1st son) olga = olya (oldest daughter) sasha = sashka = aleksandr (middle/2nd son) aloysha = lyoshka = aleksei (youngest/3rd son) vasilisa = vasya = vasochka (youngest daughter) irina = irinka (half-sister)

morozko = karachun (demon of winter) throwing gosudar in here (meaning “majesty”), can be found in glossary

-shka/chka (seems to be added to names as a term of endearment)

Hi everyone,

I'm Shannan, the creator (feels funny to say that haha) of this quest. I made this quest because I feel like I keep noticing how often the books that move me, spur me into reverie, make me feel weird in the best way...they have whispers (or full on screams) of the Fairy Tale in them. I'm not just talking simple reimaginings with obvious breadcrumbs, but also getting down and dirty...think: the bones of a tale as scaffolding for something stranger, more personal, heightened aching, and deeper meaning.

Sometimes it’s a full-on retelling. Sometimes it’s just the echo of a spindle, a locked door, a forest that won’t let you leave unchanged...

I think fairy tales survive beyond binary moralities and don't just run on nostalgia alone. "Fairy stories" like Tolkien put it...stretch like silly putty (but like, glamarous shiny silly putty with mermaid colors). T

They hold everything we don’t know how to say directly. They let us talk about power, inheritance, shame, survival, longing, transformation. They let us tell the truth sideways...and god damn it, but they're freakin' fun.

So I wanted to ask...if you’re here, doing this quest with me:

🌙 What kind of retellings speak to you most -- grim, cozy, surreal, angry, romantic, eerie? 🌲 Which retelling surprised you by giving you something you didn’t know you needed? 🕯️ And what story -- fairy tale or otherwise -- do you wish someone would rewrite? Or that you want to rewrite yourself?

Just come as you are, with your fave books and/or half-formed thoughts. I’d love to hear what brought you here.

I didn't read McCurdy's memoir as I was just a little too old for iCarly when it was airing. So I wasn't super familiar with any of her acting (though I have since read more about the traumas she was put through). Her writing in this book is GORGEOUS. Not in a flowery, lyrical way, but in a gritty truthful way. There is also a very smart and subtle way that she is making points throughout the start of the book. Will definitely be picking her memoir up after finishing this one. She is really talented!

to be completely honest I did not pay attention to the dates so I’m really glad that there was enough reference to how time had passed to keep me in the loop

"I think we're just figuring out how to survive a world on fire..."

Help, this is scary relatable right now.