Title: Unknitted
Wordcount: 1243
Rating: PG
Summary: I was alone and freezing, still trying hard to understand you.
Warnings: Angst, songfic
Beta: minnow_53, who fought and argued with me as all good betas should : )
Notes: Based on Stay Out of Trouble by the Kings of Convenience.

( It was Sirius’s old Gryffindor scarf, gold and red and knitted with lies about courage and love.Collapse )

Dude, everyone check out nekare's Exhibitionism (R). Because:

a) It's hot
and
b) Girl's got a way with words:
it’s all down to physics, it seems, inertia keeps pulling them together, momentum won’t let them stop, magnetism keeps them close with their opposite poles

When I first started reading male/male slash, I always used to get a bit of a shock when any of the characters would describe themselves as ‘gay’. “They’re not gay!” I would mentally exclaim. “They’re just characters we’ve put in a homosexual relationship!”

And then I would think, “Well, they’re in a relationship with a member of their gender and engaging in sexual acts with them – I would think that was pretty damn gay.” But, as many people hesitate to call Marlowe or Alexander the Great ‘gay’, because that was an identity that simply didn’t exist in their cultural periods, so too would I hesitate to call any character in a slash piece ‘gay’ (unless they’re gay in canon – but then is it still slash if it’s canon? A question for the ages, and not this piece).

( I think my main problem with calling them ‘gay’ mostly comes from the fact that slash is not an accurate representation of gay sexuality.Collapse )

Anyway, these are just the ideas I’ve had rattling around in my head for a while now. I could be totally wrong, but this is what rings true for me. If you’ve got any opinions, I’d love to hear them.

This is a bit ranty and might step on a few people’s toes. I don’t know. It’s about fanfiction.

I like fanfiction, a lot. I’m a huge supporter of it, because I think it’s one of the most respectful things you can do to a creative work – love it so much that you want to write between it and before it and after it. Imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery. I think it is, in many cases, the lifeblood of a fandom – it’s what keeps things going, long after new canon for the fandom has stopped being produced.

So, late last night (very late) I was browsing the FAQ at JasperFforde.com when I came across the ( following questionCollapse )

crossposted to liadlaith, fangirllia and thursdaynext

I've got about 4000 words of my Harry Potter/Thursday Next crossover . . . it's about half-way through, maybe less. And already I hate it.

The problem with this fic is that it's so long. For one, it's a crossover with a very obscure fandom, and who's going to want to read something long and sprawling that's likely to be half-indecipherable to them? Also, I suck at long stories. I mean, I really do. I lose the sense of it, the plot. My writing becomes thin and threadbare, with moments of plump, fat, good writing, but mostly . . . boring "He did this and then he did that and he said this." This is why I'll never write a novel. I'm good at short stories that get in there, punch you in the face, and then leave. Stories that want to engage you witty banter and fancy footwork end up getting tedious and falling on their faces.

I just did a re-read and honestly, Sirius can't decide whether he's angry or not. The problem is that the plot keeps requiring him to change his mood. And you know that could work, if I wrote it believably enough, he could be a bloody moody bugger. But I suck at it. I'm just flipping a light switch on and off here, when I should be adding fuel to the fire slowly and pouring water on it gently.

Argh.

All my good metaphors are in my meta-commentary : P Time for bed.

Title: I Am Become As Sounding Brass
Word Count: 4,495
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Remus is a jerk and Sirius is sensitive, but who can be mild-mannered in the face of abject poverty?
Warnings: Angst, Bible references
Betas: minnow_53, kabeyk
Notes: Written for kyasuriin in the joint_gifts fic exchange. The prompt was: Post-Hogwarts drawn out UST (with an eventual happy-ish ending). It would be nice (but not necessary) if it included one (or more) of: awkwardness, semi drunkeness, Remus moving in with Sirius, mild jealousy & James figuring it out first. I would appreciate it you left out: any violence (including fight!sex) although a little bit of angst is fine (if not encouraged). Any rating is fine.


( A Hogwarts education is about as useful to a werewolf as shoes are to a merperson.Collapse )

I was reading this story of profcricket's today, and I came upon this passage:

“No, but I couldn’t pass up the extra ‘D,’ not with the Potters going around with ‘Défenseurs de’ on their crest. Defenders de what, incidentally?”

Now James waved a casual hand. “Anything. Everything. You name it, I’ll defend it.”

This has got to be one of the best bits of fanon I've ever seen. It's just so appropriate, don't you think?

Now it's got me wondering - what are the other Houses' family mottoes? I have a vague idea that the Weasleys have one in canon, but what about the Longbottoms? The Malfoys? As this is fandom, it's our duty to supply what we don't know - so what do you suggest?

active_apathy has set up a community called apathy_books. The point of which is to get Harry Potter fans reading Garth Nix’s The Old Kingdom and The Keys to the Kingdom trilogies, and her (or any other Garth Nix fans not already sucked in by Ms. Rowling) reading the Harry Potter series.

Garth Nix is a great writer and his books are fantastic – I think most Harry Potter fans would enjoy him, so if you haven’t read any Nix, this is a great opportunity to discover him. If you’re already a fan of both Nix and Rowling’s work, then join to help facilitate discussion.

Thanks!

(crossposted to liadlaith and fangirllia)

---

These are the story series I’m following on blanketforts, because they are good and I love them and you should love them too:

busaikko always has an interesting take on the Potterverse, and Spy vs. Spy isn’t any different. It’s only in it infancy at the moment – a few days have been missed – but it’s already looking fascinating. Set during the first war.

rosemaryandrue surprised us all with her scarvesnhats debut, and despite claiming she’d left the fandom, has come back with this as-yet-untitled series. The character dynamics are brilliant, the storylines compelling and the humour spot-on. Set post-Hogwarts, during the first war.

schwarzbrille’s series (which she hasn’t archived in her memories yet, but there’s a link to the most recent post here is by turns tender, sweet, hot, loving, angsty and sad, but above all hopeful. Set in about 1980 (I think) it details the start of Remus and Sirius’ relationship, and the intensification of the war.

I was also reading omgsubtext’s series, the most recent post is here, but I think this one may have fallen over and died.

Constant Satellites

This also got posted in joint_gifts today, and it's a lovely fic which tells a great story. The characterisations are great, and I love the way Sirius and Remus keep dancing around each other. James also makes an adorkable appearance.

The Never Ending Task of Holiday Miracles

This is the story written for me in the joint_gifts exchange, and it’s a lovely, sweet little Bring Back Black fic, which actually made me (sort of) like Remus and Tonks’s relationship! But don’t worry, it’s a happy and appropriate ending : )