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Fic: Accepting Breakfast
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 11:27 pm
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Fic: Finding the Perfect Tree
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 09:28 pm
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 09:46 pm
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*is rather grumpy* I ordered HP&HBP on Blu-Ray from Amazon, in thanks for their generosity for refunding the cost of the stolen BR player, and it won't be shipped out until next week. MAJOR FAIL, amazon.
( In which I continue to bitch about Boy2, aka Slacker Boy )
It's raining heavily right now, not snowing, dammit.
*~*
Y'all are likin' the Jim/Bones silliness I've been posting of late. I cannot tell you how much of a boost that is to this old gal's soul. Thanks! There are a few more I'm cleaning up and will post later.
Well, I really like this timed-writing challenge thing. It's kinda like that 'write or die' program, only your words don't disappear if you exceed the time limit.
So, how about an Advent/Holiday ficlet challenge for the old broad? The first 5 who respond with a one-word or short phrase, holiday oriented--let's keep this festive--one or two characters in 'Harry Potter' or 'Star Trek XI', and I'll write you a ficlet--it may be funny, wistful, smutty or gen. I'll write them over the next several days. And if I don't absolutely fail at it, I'll try another round next week.
Yay/Nay?
*~*
I'm taking myself off to the showers. YAY!Current Mood:  okay |
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Slogging ahead
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 08:28 pm
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Whee! Thank you to ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) cruisedirector and ineptshieldmaid for the delightful holiday cards - which arrived yesterday, but I'm kind of dilatory about actually looking through the mail sometimes. *is embarrassed*
( Done dids today: )
Didn't get any grading done (I know y'all are surprised), but I did check the professional email to make sure no one was trying to reach me in panic. Will grade tomorrow. Here's today's ficlet:
- Hidden [Aragorn/Denethor, adult]: Denethor is inexplicably attracted to his father's new captain. Here at IJ.
Current Mood:  busy Current Music: Juno pulling the fuzz off a tennis ball |
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AdventDrabbles #8
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 06:18 pm
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Help!
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 05:16 pm
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A question for my British FListers.
So, are there Christmas tree farms in the UK? *prays the answer is yes*Current Mood:  still working, OMG! |
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Drabble: Insistent
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 11:20 am
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[Ficlet] STXI: "Bourbon"
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 09:09 am
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Title: Bourbon
Author: ![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) abigail89
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: R-ish
Word Count: 237
Prompt/Challenge A different breed of bourbon. on bridge2sickbay.
( Bourbon )Current Mood:  sleepy Current Music: David Gray: "Jackdaw" |
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[Ficlet] STXI: "Bourbon"
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 09:09 am
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Title: Bourbon
Author: abigail89
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: R-ish
Word Count: 237
Prompt/Challenge A different breed of bourbon. on bridge2sickbay.
( Bourbon )Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: David Gray: "Jackdaw" |
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Fic: Promises Fulfilled
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 10:27 pm
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On the first day of finals week, my students gave to me...
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 10:00 pm
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A whole bunch of papers and quizzes to grade. Um, yay?
Have graded one set of quizzes. The second set's deadline is midnight tonight, so I'll get onto those tomorrow (they don't take long) and then start in on the papers Wednesday. Also dictated almost 2K of Yuletide fic (am trashing the first attempt, but I think this one might go somewhere). Finished wrapping all gifts that require mailing, although have not yet boxed them to ship. SO and I bought Juno a doghouse; may have to persuade her into it the first few times, we'll see. Cooked tuna cakes and cabbage (for tonight) and braised chicken (for tomorrow).
Now I need to reply to a colleague who's invited us to dinner on Saturday, and type up 3fan edits. That'll be it for tonight. Tomorrow: laundry, walk Juno, study for exam, take exam.
Ficlet today is a rarepair, yup, and one I'd never written before:
- Provocation [Dumbledore/Snape, adult]: It is not just for Lily's sake that Severus changes allegiance. Here at IJ.
Current Mood:  lethargic |
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AdventDrabbles #7
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 08:33 pm
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Fic: Stockings Stuffed With Care
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 05:47 pm
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H/D Fic Rec
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 01:25 am
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I just finished a most wonderful, long H/D fest fic. I'm talking about From Ashes Reborn (H/D, NC-17, Word Count: 34,000). (Summary: Harry and Draco's relationship didn't simply die out. It was reduced to ashes. Years later, Draco is teaching at Hogwarts when Harry arrives in search of Fawkes. Can Draco make their love burn bright once more?)
It's Epilogue-compliant but the next gen kids don't get much screen time. Other delicious characters do, like Snape (!), Lucius, Ron, Goyle and Teddy. And Augusta Longbottom. :D The story is one chain of hilarious misunderstandings, and the overall feeling is lighthearted and funny even with the more serious undertones. It's a really fun and entertaining read! Recommend it muchly.
Excerpt: "I'm sorry, Draco, but Ron's not allowing you to examine Sparky." Harry said as Ron scribbled out a note of authorization and handed it to him.
"Why ever not? It's because he hates me and thinks I'm a prat, isn't it?"
"That's not it," Harry argued.
"I do hate him and think he's a prat," Ron mumbled.
Harry shot a quelling look at Ron, then turned back to Draco. "If the newspapers or the Macaws got wind that he'd allowed a Potions Professor access to the dead Phoenix, there would be accusations that you'd harvested feathers and such."
"The very idea!" Draco said.
"I know," Harry said. "It's insulting to think that you'd do such a thing."
With a huff, Draco stood. "I think it's high time I left." He didn't swirl his robes as much as he usually did as he didn't want the various collection jars he'd shrunk and stowed in his pockets to clink together and ruin a perfectly good exit.
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Recs
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 06:15 pm
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Moar recs. For those keeping track, these two completely blew my mind and are both going on my list of stories to put in the vault to be stored for all time. Yes, really. They are that good.
His Father's Son by rickey_a (Albus Severus/Scorpius, Draco, NC-17, 7K)
Scorpius Malfoy tries to find his own way in the world.
Okay, so, first of all, you can't tell a single thing from that header, really, which is not the author's fault. I sympathise, to which any of you who might have read my Albus genfic last month could attest. "Al wakes up and has a nice day," or whatever the summary was, doesn't tell you a goddamned thing. But in that case, I hope it was evident by the end why the summary couldn't really be any more specific. Same applies here. It's nearly impossible to review this story without giving away the farm. At heart, it's a lovely teenage romance story between Al and Scorpius. Underneath a few layers, it's also a slightly unsettling Malfoy family drama. Underneath a few more, it's an incredibly clever play on all the elements that make the Potterverse so compelling in the first place: the magic, and all that entails. This story eventually takes one crucial scene from canon and flips it completely on its head. You will never read that scene the same way again. You might not ever read these characters in any other fic the same way again. I don't think I will. This universe is now the only one I can see for them. It's astonishing how Rickey did it, really. Absolutely stunning, in terms of narrative construction, in terms of characterisation, and in terms of a plot that could not be more brilliant. I'm being vague, I know, but trust me. It's an unbelievably well-crafted story. Damn, I can't even use one of the tags I want, without spoiling it! :)
(edit: Ah, I see I should clarify: this was originally written for hp_darkfest, so it has some dark themes, but I didn't mention that originally because tbh, assumptions about what might be in it are what kept me from reading it for the past 6 weeks since it went up. It's maybe a shade darker than anything that happens in canon, but not much, IMO. There are spoiler warnings on the fic, if you need them, but I beg you to try it without reading them. It's not about sexual abuse or gore or anything. But, of course, YMMV, and I don't want to lead you into blindly reading something outside your comfort zone. :)
Give Chase by Anon at ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif) hd_holidays (Harry/Draco, NC-17: EWE, some D/s, bondage, 6K)
All Draco knows is that he can’t stop running.
I just. I can't even. *flail* The sheer originality of this fic is amazing in itself. I've never seen anything like it. It plays on every Potter/Malfoy rivalry you can think of, especially Auror/suspect, and crafts an ongoing game of CHASE as the basis for a slowly evolving D/s relationship. Like, running through the streets kind of chase. Maggie mentioned her running kink in reviewing this fic, and yeah. Seriously. The action sequences are incredibly well written, and that cannot be easy. By the time you finish it, you'll be panting yourself, charged with adrenaline and ready to take off down that alley once more to try to get away. It's exhilarating. Both men are wonderfully characterised, but the way we see Harry from Draco's POV especially got under my skin and tugged hard. “Malfoy.” The hairs on the back of Draco’s neck stood on end. “Why the fuck do you run when you know I’ll catch you?” al;ksjdfl;askdfjl;askdf. Fresh and original and hot like burning and tense and adrenaline-fuelled, and just, wow. Amazing story.
Read? Liked? Think I'm on crack but read and liked something else instead? Either way, go on and leave a bit of feedback for a hard-working author or artist today!Current Mood:  impressed |
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A bunch of thank yous.
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 04:02 pm
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Animated film rec: 9, sort of vs. Dragon Hunters
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Dec. 8th, 2009 @ 12:10 am
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9 []
Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images.
Runtime: 79 minutes.
Director: Shane Acker
Summary: When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. |
My notes: BFF ordered me to watch this film 'cos she had seen a couple of scenes from it and fell in love with the visuals. So I did.
I liked it fine, especially the visual side, yes. Landscapes, the dolls, those factories and machines. If you like steampunk, go for it! I did find it very, very pleasant for the eyes. Not quite an eye candy 'cos it's all greyish-brownish and raw and dusty but it looks really nice.
I even liked the story for the most part. It's quite charming, and the story of a small individual becoming a hero in order to save the world, figuring things out, gathering courage and strength, well, it's cliché of course but it's a sure win as far as modern action/adventure goes. But at the same time, I found it annoying. I mean, if you have such a well-established heroic cliché, there's no need to make it even more cliché it by making the villain a Hitler in such a non-metaphorical way. I mean, sometimes it's OK to believe that your spectators aren't completely stupid, so there's no need to put things in their mouth and chew for them. Sometimes you can create a more far-fetched metaphor, say, as Tolkien did in LotR or as Hiromu Arakawa does in Fullmetal Alchemist, and your audience will get it. Or on the contrary: make him Hitler, no a Hitler-like something. Don't dance around trying to side-step every dangerous thing.
Another thing that annoyed me was 7 at the very end of it. The dolls are more or less sexless, more boy/men-like than girl/woman-like but whatever. I liked it that the story wasn't about love, that it wasn't about how family saves everything -- which, let's be frank, Hollywood feeds us so much as to make one want to stay single forever. But then [spoiler]7 acquired some distinctly lady-like expressions, nearly batting eyelashes. WTF? Will they now hold hand and knit baby dolls or something?[/end spoiler]
And this leads me to the following. I liked Dragon Hunters much better (my review). They are seemingly nothing alike, Dragon Hunters and 9. It's just that they both are about small people saving the world and that something in the animation looks similar to me. So, while I'm ready to rave about Dragon Hunters for ages, this review is about 9 and regretfully, I'm not prepared to squeal about it. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, it's a real pleasure for the eyes. But I expected more. The animation made me expect more originality from the plot, and it might be completely my fault that I was so ready to fall in love but in the end, merely liked it. But like it I did. Give it a try!
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Weekly Fic Wrap Up
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
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Time for the weekly fic wrap up. All the fests that are posting now are making it really hard to keep up not only with reading, but with WRITING! *sigh*
Anyway, here's my stuff from this past week:
( Ali's list of fics: November 30th thru December 6th )
Here's what's coming up:
( Ali’s list of WsIP )
I have to thank everyone for the FABULOUS response to adventdrabbles so far! It's not too late to contribute prompt ideas (please go to this post and do so). If you have a couple of minutes and you don't want to read something long, do go and check out some of the submissions. I can honestly say they have been great. :)
Also, just about every fest in existence is posting at the moment, lol, so no one can complain they don't have enough to read. I am knee deep in writing, so if you have recs, pass them on, k?
Now to go look for my muse...Current Mood:  relaxed |
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Snowflake time!
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Dec. 7th, 2009 @ 04:40 pm
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Fic: Promises Delayed
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Dec. 6th, 2009 @ 10:24 pm
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hopeful
determined
accomplished
thoughtful
cheerful
grateful
