hogwarts gone wild

Oh, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter.

You're demanding and abusive and your sometimes contradictory canon occasionally makes me want to kick puppies in the head, but I love you and I'll never, ever leave you. I may consider it now and again, particularly on cold, windswept nights when the rain is battering at my windows and you've drank away the rent money again and my inability to finish a story has left me feeling tired and undesirable, but I'll never actually do it. I tried that one time, I really did, but I made it as far as the corner liquor store before realising that you really do love me, almost as much as I love you, even if you have an awfully funny way of showing it.

I'm sorry about the terrible things I said the other night. I was angry. I didn't mean it. How about I make lunch while only wearing knickers? After we eat, we can watch The Breakfast Club and cuddle on the couch.

*

Here. Have some recs of the Bandom persuasion:

Everyday Mysteries in the Summertime is one of the first Bandom fics I read. It's also one of the first AU's I read -- it is, in fact, the AU that made me realise I should give the whole Bandom AU genre a fair shot. It's a Mikey/Pete wherein Gerard and Mikey work at a gas station, and its full of wonderful things like Frank and heat and ordinary tedium, and I loved it. Loved. When I finished it, the only thing I wanted -- other than to have written it myself -- was for there to me more of it to read.

Yes, well. wax_jism is an evil genius. The other morning I woke up Nightswimming, a deliciously hot and deliciously long Frank/Gerard sequel. This involves rain and ordinary tedium, and Gerard drinking too much and Frank trying to navigate around his mother's boyfriend, and it is simply spectacular.

Then:

A day or so later, jjtaylor wrote Buy Handmade. This is another AU, a Frank/Gerard wherein Frank and Mikey work as IT consultants and Gerard is, essentially, Gerard, but also there is Bob and Ray and fresh-baked bread.

This. Wow. The only thing I can say about this is that it's flawless. The sex is hot like burning, and the slow, delicious build-up is even hotter. This fic also slapped me up the side of the head, to the point that I had to go sit on the couch and veg for awhile. Frank spends the opening run nursing a resentful dissatisfaction about his job, and it's the same, exact resentful dissatisfaction I've had about -- well, all my jobs. And, for the exact same reasons: Frank realises he wants make things. He wants to work with his hands. He wants to create, and yeah, I realised that about myself a long time ago. I'd just never thought about it like that -- like, coherently -- and it was a little startling and awesome to see it all laid out in print. I hate my current job less that I've hated the others because at the end of the day I am working with my hands to some degree, but there's no real creativity behind it. When all is said and done, I'm dishing out espresso and milk to faceless people who, for the most part, don't care who's making their drink, as long as it gets made.

Thing the first:

Here's To the Night We Said Goodbye by themostepotente and ships_harry. [Remus/Sirius, R]

Penny wrote this for me nearly a week ago, and it is absolutely beautiful. Beautiful. It also has art that is so gorgeous that I could not stop staring at it. Could not. Thusly, go forth and read and view. I love it to bits, and you probably will too.

Thing the second:

I'm having difficulty sending emails with attachments. And by difficulty I mean I simply cannot do it. I send them, and gmail tells me they are sent, but they never reach their intended destination. Also, copies of these allegedly sent emails do not appear in my Sent Mail folder, which means I cannot verify that I've sent them to the right address, nor can I prove that sending them was not, in fact, some really just some wild hallucination on my part.

I had this problem with smutty_claus -- for whatever reason, my computer gave merry_smutmas a pass -- and I'm having the same problem now with hpvalensmut. I'm going to deal with it the same way I dealt with smutty_claus, but I'd like to find a solution before my other fic fest deadlines rear their ugly heads, so I don't keep commandeering the computers of my family and friends, armed with a diskette of gay porn and a slightly panicked look in my eye.

Anyone? Bueller?

- The Beginning of Be Mine by anon. [Harry/Snape, NC-17]

This fic is spectacular, end of story. It's got brilliant writing, a brilliant premise, and brilliant characterisations -- never mind the banter, snark, and hot hot sex. Snape is wonderful in this, Harry is equally wonderful, and I just adored the cameos by Remus, Regulus, Draco, and Neville. Did I mention the premise is brilliant? I can't get into it without completely ruining everything, but yeah. Brilliant.

- The Haunting of Grimmauld Place by anon. [Ron/Sirius, NC-17]

Christ. Last April or so, I wrote a Ron/Sirius fic simply so I'd have one to read, and now merry_smutmas has given me two in a month. This post-Azkaban Sirius is so quietly perfect it made my skin crawl -- he's confused, disconnected, and more than a bit dirty, and Ron is just wonderfully... awkward.

- A Soliloquy in Eight Words by snegurochka_lee. [James/Snape, NC-17]

Oh, God. You all know I'm a sucker for James/Snape, but this is exquisite. It's AUish, in that it supposes Snape was in love with James all those years, rather than Lily -- which, as it turns out, is a fic premise I didn't know I wanted to see until I was reading it with my face pressed to the monitor. This is the kind of AU I revel in; the kind where the flawless writing makes the deviation from canon a perfectly plausible situation. Lee did a fantastic job of fleshing out the early James/Snape friendship, and I am amazed at how she managed to stand James on his head and keep him completely in character.

Happy Christmas and/or Any Ordinary Tuesday.

In other news, you should go read this right now:

Map of the Problematique by sullensiren. [Remus/Sirius, NC-17]

Welcome to the flat that James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter share, and that Lily patronises on occasion. The flat has rules, and not only are we told what these rules are, we learn exactly why they are put in place. This is completely and utterly fabulous -- the voices, the dynamics, the R/S relationship, everything. These are my boys, from the green take-away to the thoughtless nudity. This fic is funny, sweet, and sad at once, and all around, just wonderfully done. The rules themselves are hilarious, and bonus points for fantastic visual aides.

Big hugs to those who listened to my working-on-Christmas-Eve whinge. Your good vibes went to a good cause; I was switched to a morning shift, which I just finished.

Allow me to point you to a few shiny things -- mostly art, as I'm horribly behind in the fic department:

FIC:

- but he frowned like thunder and went away by jamesly. [Remus/Sirius, PG]

This is wonderfully bittersweet and painful. Here we have a Remus/Sirius relationship that didn't work out, and it's perfectly achy, because if a Remus/Sirius relationship didn't work out, this is precisely how and why -- because of boyish bravado and an inability to communicate. Actions only speak louder than words when the person on the receiving end is willing and able to listen.

- Goat Song by anon. [Aberforth/Snape, NC-17]

This is fantastic. Simply fantastic. It's the peek inside Aberforth's head I've been wanting since DH -- complete with commentary about Albus. Snape is wonderfully done, and the writing is amazing.

If you want more fic, snegurochka_lee and themostepotente have recs here and here.

ART:

- The Ecstasies of Flying, Floating and Falling by anon. [Harry/Draco, R]

This is far too beautiful for words. Far too beautiful.

- A Snaco Vignette by anon. [Snape/Draco, NC-17]

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

- Ink Stains by jadis31. [Remus/Sirius, PG-13]

This is an illustration for wook77's Life Through Ink Stains, and it is love.

- Which One, Sir? by kasche. [Remus/Sirius, PG]

In case you haven't noticed, kasche is quietly buying my soul, one image at a time. See things like Mirror in the Bathroom for details. This is gorgeous. I want to keep Remus' perfect little arse for myself, and the look on Sirius' face is priceless.

OTHER:

- pir8fancier has a very interesting post about the difference between HP and LotR here.

FIC:

- Increments of One by anon. [Charlie/Harry, NC-17]

Honestly, Charlie really isn't my thing. That being said, this fic really struck a chord with me. I absolutely adored the format. And the trip to Romania. And the almost-but-not-quite relationship that arose from, and the ridiculously awkward conversation that came about when Harry and Charlie were finally forced to face up to it. Possibly because I've been in one of those relationships, and it resulted marriage one of those ridiculously awkward conversations.

- Everything Changes Now, Forever by anon. [Remus/Sirius, NC-17]

Good God, this is hot. Scorching hot. It has Sirius, and fightsex, and a fabulous, fabulous Remus. He's upset and angry and a little bit violent, and he's not about to take Sirius' shit, and I love that. Love. He's also a bit grabby, and a biter, and not afraid to push Sirius up against the wall. And Sirius likes that. He really does. He just doesn't realise it, because he's a stupid, stupid boy.

- Rise From the Ashes by anon. [Cedric/Teddy, NC-17]

Yeah, you read the pairing right. And it's really not the crossgen AU from outer space you're secretly accusing it of being. I can't tell you how or why that's so, because it'll ruin everything, but yeah. This is effing brilliant. It's got wonderful writing, and a lovely, fleshed-out characterisation of Teddy. Hufflepuffs for the win!

- How Ron Weasley Learned to Tolerate Kimchi and Draco Malfoy by anon. [Ron/Draco, NC-17]

This is really, really fun. Draco was great, and I simply loved Ron, and his confusion, and his almost resignation. And how he doesn't really understand what he's doing, or what Draco is doing, and how that's mostly ok, because Draco doesn't really care.

Art:

How Ron Weasley Learned to Tolerate Kimchi and Draco Malfoy by glockgal. [Ron/Draco, WS]

This is an illustration of the fic, and it is wonderful. The background alone made me drool, and never mind the gorgeous use of colour. Or Draco's hair. Or Ron's chops.

Have a quick pointer to something awesome:

- Aphelion by carmine_ink. [Peter, Remus/Sirius, PG]

Full disclaimer: this is one of the prompts that caught my eye during my eleventh-hour browse of rs_small_gifts. Aphelion means the point on the orbit of a celestial body that is farthest from the sun, and before I noticed the prompt was taken, I mulled it over in the direction of holiday fluff where Sirius is a force of nature and Remus has been pining for at least one full school term.

Yeah, well. Never mind all that. Go read this, instead.

This is a fic about Peter. It's so very quiet, so very still, and in it, Peter is crafty and capable. He discovers that Remus and Sirius are in a relationship and proceeds to use it against them in the worst way possible. Carefully, he takes the paranoia of war and turns it into discord. He manipulates them until they are uneasy, until they are barely speaking, until they are able to suspect each other of being the spy.

Sharp, achy, and wonderfully done.

Wonderfully.

My smutty_claus gift was posted!

- In Need by anon. [Sirius/Ginny, implied Harry/Ginny, NC-17]

This has a lovely psychological element to it, and I quite like the premise -- that Ginny, who feels ignored and abandoned by the others, is driven toward Sirius, who also feels ignored and abandoned by the others. Bonus points for putting the attic of 12 GP to good use.

MOAR FIC

- By Candlelight by such_heights. [Remus/Sirius, PG]

This is just sweet and fragile and perfect.

- Between Friends by anon. [Harry/Ron/Seamus, NC-17]

This is delightful. Humorous banter, good characterisations, and a pleasant looks at Seamus, who I am quickly falling in love with.

- What Makes All the Difference. [Seamus/Padma, NC-17]

I see you lot, eyeing me sideways. Don't let the pairing scare you. The characterisations of Seamus and Padma were wonderful, and the romance worked for me, but this fic is awesomecakes on a whole other level. This is the story about the leftover characters that I've been wanting since the release of DH. It details the situation at Hogwarts, and what the characters had to deal with, and gives believable motivations for their actions. Bonus points for Neville and Ginny, both of whom are made of win.

ART

- Big Damn Emotional Journey by seviet. [Harry/Ginny, PG]

This is a series of Harry/Ginny pics, and each one is effing gorgeous.

- The Kiss by maria_abagnale. [Ron/Hermione, PG]

This is beautiful, and the level of detail is amazing.

FIC:

- What Has Been Lost by anon</b>. [Sirius/Ron, Sirius/Regulus, NC-17]

Sirius/Ron is one of my favourite oddpairs, and we all know how I feel about Sirius/Regulus, so of course, I jumped on this the moment it was posted. And it's flawless, people. Fucking flawless. Sirius is absolutely spot on -- as an unrepentant, disaffected, and rebellious teenager, and again as a unrepentant, disaffected, and rebellious adult whose prison sentence left him with a strange disconnect from reality. The Sirius/Ron bits are fabulous, and the dynamic between Sirius and Regulus made be shiver. They were almost... enemies under truce, only not really, and they attacked each other with haughtiness and sarcasm rather than vitriol and violence.

- Coming Clean by anon. [James Jr/Teddy, NC-17]

My indifference toward the Epilogue Generation continues to be worn away, as I have no defence against something this hot. Nghn. HOT. I'll take filthy banter and the possibility of getting caught for $1,000, Alex! This is also just wonderfully, wonderfully written. Teddy is enough like Remus to be recognisable while maintaining his own personality, and James Jr is a bit like Harry, a bit like James Sr, and adorable all around.

- A sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss by anon. [Lucius/Sirius, NC-17]

I quite liked this. It provided a plausible set up for getting Sirius and Lucius in the same room, and the banter between Sirius and Lucius is delightful. Bonus points for wallsex, well-written smut, and a nice dose of voyeuristic James.

- The Prodigal by midnitemaraud_r. [Remus/Sirius, NC-17]

This is an older fic I found courtesy of rs_prophet. It's an AU, which supposes that Sirius came back through the Veil during Christmas of HBP and arrived at the Burrow just as Percy and Scrimgeour were leaving. I know AUs aren't my usual cuppa, but I'm a sucker for a good Bring Back Black, and -- well, it's Lisa, and Lisa has such a gift for AU. Her tight writing and strong characterisations make the break from canon a believable exploration. This is wonderful, and Sirius' initial reunion with Remus may have melted me a little.

- Complete by heather11483. [Harry/Ron/Hermione, NC-17]

inell pointed me to this, and I am quite grateful. It has a smart Hermione POV, and the smut is fantastic -- I do love a wonderfully awkward first-time threesome.

ART

- Hold On by anon. [Remus/Sirius, R]

This is a series of pics, and they are all absolutely stunning. The last one nearly killed me, with the shoved-down trousers and their mouths and Sirius' hand stealing inside Remus' shirt and Remus' fingers lfdkaljdlfkjadflkjaldskjfalksjfd.

*ahem*

I totally know who drew this -- I'd recognise that gorgeous Sirius anywhere. *g*

- Untitled by glockart. [Bill, Fleur, Victoire, G]

This is beautiful. Fleur is beautiful. Bill is beautiful. And baby Victoire makes me want to cuddle things.

FIC:

- A Glass, Shattered by anon. [Harry/Draco, PG-13]

This is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. Non-linear formats don't always work for me, but this really did, and the writing is excellent.

- No Man's Land by ladyblack888. [Remus/Sirius, NC-17]

This is very sharp and bittersweet.

- 9 Ways Draco Malfoy Never Went Insane by furiosity. [Harry/Draco, R]

Oh, my. This is crack. Pure, unmitigated, F-brand crack. I almost pulled something, I was laughing so hard.

- Days that are over by sazzlette. [James/Sirius, PG]

This is an older fic I stashed in my 'to-read' folder and then promptly forgot about. Yeah, well. I suck, because it's awesome.

- you say that I treat you like a book on a shelf by penknife. [Remus/Sirius, PG]

Second verse, same as the first. This is another one I bookmarked for later and never got back, and again, I suck, because this is flawless. Absolutely flawless.

- The Thing About Pirates by penknife. [Jack/Anamaria/Elizabeth, NC-17]

Christ, I haven't read PotC fic in ages. This is humourous and wonderfully done.

ART:

- Lucius and Draco by xbloodsugarx. [Lucius, Draco, G]

This is just beautiful.

- We Three Kings by anon. [MWPP, PG]

Please stand by for Marauders goodness, complete with friendship, boyishness, and uncomfortable conversations about Lycanthropy. I know I'm a soft touch for Remus, but this made me warm and fuzzy. This also has a Peter that doesn't make me gnash my teeth.

- A Certain Night by anon. [Neville, Longbottom family, PG]

This is fabulous. It snapshots several Christmas Eves the Longbottom's shared, and it presents a wonderful look at Neville through the eyes of his parents, his grandmother, and his aunt and uncle. I was particularly drawn to the bits about Augusta, as she's a character who fascinates me in canon.

- Same Time, Next Year by anon. [Harry/Ron/Hermione, NC-17]

Ngnh. I do love a good Triofic, and this is smoking hot. I tend to be wary of first person POV, but this is tightly done, and Ron's voice is spot on. Bonus points for Hermione's blatant voyeurism and for Harry shagging Ron into the mattress.

- Fire Call by anon. [Bill/Tonks, Bill/Tonks/Charlie, NC-17, D/s]

I sort of was avoiding this. I've made my peace with Tonks, but I'm usually not all that interested in Bill and Charlie, and I've never been one for heavy kink. But gmth and midnitemarauder both recced it, and I trust their taste, so I gave it a whirl. And yeah. Superbly written. Also, hot. Holy fucking hell, it's hot.

I also think I know who wrote this. *g*

- Scarlet on the Tiles by mewling. [James/Snape, Sirius/Snape, R]

Right. This is in second person and has a non-con warning. Neither are my usual cuppa, but I'm a helpless sucker for James/Snape. This is just beautifully, perfectly ugly. The intensity had me shivering, and the end was a raw and glorious shot to the gut.

Oh, Sirius.

- Twelfth Day by ponderosa121. [Remus/Snape/Lily, R]

This is far, far too gorgeous for words. Remus' scars and Snape's mouth and the colour of Lily's hair. That's the best I can do, folks. Far too gorgeous for words.

- Welcome Home by ponderosa121. [Remus/Sirius, PG]

This is also too gorgeous for words. I want to fall asleep with Remus' jumper, and the look on Sirius' face makes my heart ache. Christ, but I've missed Ponds' art. I really have. Happily, she's alive and kicking on InsaneJournal.

- Rumours of My Demise by pennswoods. [Snape, PG]

This really struck me hard. I could not stop staring.

Allow me to point you toward some fabulous things I've read and viewed today.

FIC:

- Suppliance of a Minute by anon. [Dumbledore/Grindelwald, NC-17, warnings]

This is the Albus/Gellert fic I've wanted since JKR confirmed Dumbles' gayness I read Deathly Hallows. I loved this Gellert; the author did a wonderful job of fleshing out a character we know so little about. I was also very intrigued by this Albus, and the chance to see him as something other than the confident and manipulating headmaster. The prose is fantastic -- it's dated enough to set the tone without going overboard.

- Naughts and Crosses by anon. [Harry/Ron, NC-17]

This was hilarious, and it also hit my (not so) secret post-war everyone-works-at-the-Ministry kink. Of course, I think I like that setup because it allows for the characters to just wander into each other's offices and snark at each other. The banter between Harry and Ron was just fabulous, and I quite enjoyed the cameos by Seamus, Dean, and Neville -- Seamus in particular.

- The Price We Pay For Wings by anon. [Harry/Draco, R]

In complete contrast to Naughts and Crosses, this will break your heart. I loved the premise, and the fact that war was once again threatening to rear its ugly head. I loved the Harry/Draco, and I loved the insights into Hermione, Ginny, Albus Severus, and Scorpius' post-epilogue life. I also loved the way the author handled the backstory, in that she wove it into the narrative, rather than dumping it out in unwieldy chunks.

- A Black Register by anon. [Remus, Andromeda, PG]

God, this one aches. This is the fic dealing with the aftermath of the Potters' death that I've always wanted to write. Remus' devastation is so perfectly heart-wrenching, and Andromeda was a perfect addition. Remus/Sirius shipper that I am, I tend to think of Sirius' arrest in terms of Remus and only Remus, but of course Andromeda would've been effected by it. Of course.

- This Widening Bed (This Bed Has Seen it All Remix) by shaggydogstail. [Remus/Sirius, PG-13]

This is an older fic, and I'm grateful to rs_prophet for bringing it to my attention, because it's effing flawless. I love fics like this, where a character's relationships are presented in vignettes that focus on an item they all shared -- whether that's an object, or a place, or a season, or a specific emotion. This has wonderful peeks into Sirius' friendships with James, Lily, and Peter. The section about Harry will melt your heart, and the Remus/Sirius is wonderful and warm.

ART:

- These Ninteen Years by anon. [Harry/Draco, R]

Quite frankly, this is one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a long time. It's a series of pictures depicting the nineteen years preceding the epilogue, and they are just gorgeous. The Harry/Draco killed me dead. So did the baby. And the coffee cups.

- You Can't Escape by anon. [Remus/Snape, WS]

I quite liked this. Remus is absolutely breathtaking.

- Nineteen Years Later by seviet. [Potter and Weasley families, G]

This is a snapshot of the epilogue, and it's absolutely perfect.

--

Also, there's a Snap Cups meme, and once again, I caved and tossed my name in.

Well, my gift was posted on merry_smutmas, and it's a fucking winner.

- Shadowmancers by anon. [James/Sirius, NC-17]

I've read it three times, and I'm still bloody incoherent. No, really. I'm completely speechless. It's got solid characterisations, a clever premise, and the porn is smoking hot. Hot. Positively scorching, and chock full of desperation, neediness, and the sort of mindless rutting that makes me shiver. Also, there is Regulus, and banter, and a revenge plan that backfires, and shadows. Good Lord, the shadows. I've been reduced to squee and flail.

I am dying to know who wrote this for me. I also want to know which one of you lot told her all my secrets.

*dead*

While I have you here, behold today's Christmas crack:

( this is what happens when a good santa goes bad )

*still dead*

*twitches with porntastic holiday glee*

Have an art rec:

Can't Resist Those Potters by anon [James Jr./Teddy, NWS]

My interest in the epilogue generation is tenuous at best, but this sort of thing continues, I might just start caring. Effing hot. Teddy is delightfully punk rock and James Jr. looks just enough like Harry only he really doesn't, and the TIE OMG l;jdlfjsasdkjfskdjfsdjf YES.

Also, have some more Christmas crack:

( and verily, jesus went forth and spake unto the masses )

Is tinypic being a psycho hosebeast for anyone else?

I promised myself no more memes, but this one looked like fun, what with the surfeit of anonymous fics we shall be having shortly. Also, I never pass on an opportunity to poke fun at my own writing.

10 Ways You Know You are Reading a Fic by xylodemon:

( sirius' relationship with his clothes has always been casual )

I'm sure I missed something. <.<

--

Since I have you here, allow me point you to some fic, newly posted:

Undercover, by trailingoff
HP | Remus/Sirius | R

See, I wanted a nice, long Remus/Sirius fic before bed. I was all set to read Combat Rock for the second time today, and then this turned up. I mean, I read Combat Rock again anyway, but this is also fantastic and you should go read it now.

--

Also, the long-suffering and much-neglected rs_prophet is back in business. Under new ownership, of course, because I shouldn't be trusted with the care and feeding of a house-plant. I handed the whole hot mess over to wook77 and thescarletwoman, and it's already got two new issues.

This is incredibly early.

Numerous people on my flist have threatened to post Halloween fic at some point this evening, and while I am tempted to wait until they make good, I have shit to do tonight.

Like Trick or Treating.

Stop laughing.

And yes, I am going door to door with my son as the BROOMSTICK MASTER.

Then, I am going out to dinner to celebrate the birthday of one of my woefully unfuckable male friends.

I'll shut up now. Withou further ado, fic.

• Things I Read Today:

Remittance Man, by tekalynn. Sirius/Regulus, NC-17
Bonding Experience, by florahart. Fred/Harry/George, NC-17
Enough, by gblvr. Remus/?, Remus/Severus, R
Snow, Remus/Sirius, PG
The Horror of the Shrieking Shack, by fleshdress. Remus/Sirius drabble
Cherry Delight, by mizbean. Harry/Draco drabble
Two drabbles/ficlets by anise_anise. Lucius/Draco and Harry/Remus, both R
Alternate Functions of the Snitch, by florahart. Harry/Draco, NC-17

On the het side:

Moving, by tarie. Hermione/Ron, R

• Things For Your Sweet Tooth:

Cookie, from Lacoon's Children, Year Two, by copperbadge.

• Things That Made Me Squee Like a Bitch:

Ex Animo, by _cee. Remus/Sirius, PG

Good Lord. There are no words. JUST GO.

• Things I Dug Out Of My Booksmarks Because They Make Me Smile:

Memento Mori, by shaychana. Remus/Sirius, NC-17

Things That Caught My Eye:

deirdre_riordan has screencaps of what's behind the door on JKR's site. Possible spoliers for HBP.
dorrie6 has a list, of notable, mulit-fandom authors.
cariel has trio icons.

• Your Chance To Pontificate:

emmagrant01 talks about betas on novel_fanfic.

• People Desperately Needing Fic:

setissma wants Harry/Draco and Harry/Ron fics wherein everyone is broken and fucked up.

ETA: LIVEJOURAL CAN TAKE ITS *566 ERRORS* AND SHOVE IT.

I am excited. Why, you ask? Because I am writing. As in, fic.

I did stop by the latest post in news, mostly for the lulz.

Paid and permanent users have been given a coupon for a free virtual gift. I'm tempted to send LJ a bad report card, or take a page out of reddwarfer's book and give them a detention slip.

[ETA:] Oh, LJ. Deleting your v-gifts off announcements's userinfo doesn't mean we can't see them.

[ETA 2:] This comment is made of win.

To ensure this post is not a complete waste of space:

Snape by lizardspots
HP | Snape | G

Untitled by calyxess
HP | Harry/Snape | PG

Also:

Sign-ups are open at merry_smutmas.

starkiller posted a list of rarepair recs.

drusillas_rain wants comfort fic recs.

regan_v is talking about Draco.

pir8fancier is also talking about Draco, and has some things to say about POV here.

I'm almost done with the meme results. Almost, but not quite. As it turns out, I have a lot to say on some of these topics.

I will therefore tide you over with the following things, which are shiny:

Mirror in the Bathroom by kasche
HP | Remus/Sirius | PG-13

A series of pictures that are sweet and delightfully almost-naughty.

Stay Close to Me by mudblood428
HP | James, Remus, Sirius, Lily, Harry | G

This made me weep. Weep.

Untitled by malfoymation
HP | Albus/Scorpius | G

Lovely.

Big Damn Anvil by seviet
HP | Ron/Hermione | PG

Very, very sweet.

Harry by glockgal
HP | Harry | G

One word: OMGPERFECT.

Also, scoradh updated The Road Less Travelled.

I'm working an answering the comments to the latest post in hogwarts_today.

They're making me a little sniffly. The understanding and support is overwhelming, and really, that newsletter means a lot to me. A lot. I fuss about it sometimes, and there are days when it's a chore, but when it gets right down to it, I wouldn't give it up for anything.

That wasn't an easy post to make, and it wasn't a post I wanted to make. But in the end, I felt like LJ had backed the newsletter into a corner. And, according to the post violet_quill made earlier today, I was right. I don't want anyone to think hogwarts_today is disappearing, because we're not. We just need to hammer out an alternative that lowers the risk of suspension for everyone involved. And honestly, I think we're pretty close to something. Something that just might work.

Back to violet_quill's post, it seems I was right about something else: commenting to news or lj_biz about this mess is just pissing in the wind. If you want answers, you've apparently got to open a support ticket. Which is wrong. Very, very wrong. If LJ/6A wants to make asinine decisions that effect the entire userbase, they need to man up and announce it to the entire userbase. violet_quill's post has been linked from one end of fandom to the other, so the HP fen know what's going on, but what about everyone else? What about the next artist who links their Link/Zelda manga from DeviantArt? Or the poor sod who wants to show his friends the boobie pics he found on some chick's MySpace?

( more waffle on the scary idea of moving house )

Speaking of which, if you are considering moving house, don't forget to check out my Friending Frenzies at GreatestJournal and InsaneJournal. Comments are still trickling in, almost a week later. Stop in if your looking for old friends, or want to make some new ones.

I finally checked out snapetoy's instructions on how to crosspost to multiple journals with Semagic, and I'm really glad I did. I'm now slowly transferring some of my old posts over to my GJ and IJ, and I've encountered minimal fuss. IJ forgets to tag every third post, but fixing that is preferable to crossposting through the web interface by hand.

If you've suffered through all this waffle without complaint, you deserve a reward, so have some recs:

Seven Photographs by casirafics
Harry Potter | Various | PG

If you've been looking for something that explores the aftermath of DH... well, here it is, and it's beautifully done. Absolutely heartbreaking, but also hopeful, because the survivors are picking up the pieces and moving on.

Also, scoradh updated The Road Less Travelled. This fic continues to be awesomecakes, and scoradh's ability to create believable, three-dimensional OCs continues to astound.

Mostly Remus/Sirius, today, thanks to the pornathon for anniesj's birthday.

• Things I Read Today:

Doubt the Curve of the Earth, by starstillwonder. Remus/Sirius, NC-17
Undone, by librae. Remus/Sirius, NC-17
To See The Human Soul Take Wing, by maeglinyedi. Harry/Remus/Sirius, NC-17 (WIP, sequel to Of Wolf and Man)
Light Fantastic, by regala_electra. Remus/Sirius, NC-17
In The Library, by hesychasm. Harry/Hermione/Ron, NC-17

• Things That Have Been Updated:

dorrie6 postes seven Harry/Draco recs to fic_fairy.

• Things That Made Me Squee Like A Fox Bitch:

Queer, by switchknife. Remus/Sirius, NC-17

Wherein Sirius opines *I am turning into Kreacher*, and we learn that the Slytherin word for *worried* is *suspicious*. Even when writing comedy, switchknife is brilliant.

Shifting Sands, by shaychana. Tonks/Various, NC-17

OMFG. During the war, everyone is broken, and Tonks puts her *ability* to use in order to hold them together, only to start falling apart, herself.

shaychana pairs Tonks with various people; Harry, Remus, Snape, and the situations are very believable-- the people they ask to see, their reactions they have upon seeing them. This is just wonderful, and painful at the same time.

• Things That Caught My Eye, Now With Icons:

flessan has a Harry/Draco wallpaper.
oppositeworld has six Snape/Lupin icons.
he_dreams_awake has Remus/Sirius icons.
raelala has Remus/Sirius icons.
angeline_dark has various shippy icons.

• Your Chance To Pontificate:

emmagrant01 talks about the Three Act Structure on novel_fanfic.

• People Desperately Needing Fic:

magicofisis is looking for Luna fic.
blue_raven wants James/Snape fic^[1]. Her journal is f'locked, so if you happen across some, go ahead and comment to this post^[2].


^[1] Yes, she does. Really. And no, I can't imagine why.
^[2] Or else, I will have to write her some, and I am not sure I can do that.