I haven't read fic in a while but I got in the mood the other day and after perusing the Daily Snitch for hot recs, I found this author:

floweringjudas

I read a couple of her stories, including the "hot rec" The Grandfather Clock and guys. Seriously.

She writes such GENUINE characters. Even though I would have normally NEVER read a Percy/Teddy fic, I really loved this one. She understands the nuances of UST just the way I like it and really makes the characters feel like real people who do stupid crap and learn lessons.

I think my favorite one is this Dumbledore/Grindelwald one-shot As Schoolboys From Their Books. I adore that pairing but every fic I've read comes off a little too distant, I think perhaps because of the historical time period? Anyhoo, hers comes off perfect, reflects the period (as much as you can in a one-shot) and hits perfectly on the kind of relationship I'd imagined for them. Plus there's Shakespeare. How can you go wrong?

So I had signed up for a couple Christmas season exchanges and ended up having to drop out of both of them due to RL drama. Well, that's not quite right. I actually finished art for one of them. It was super late (thanks RL!) and once I finally finished it and sent it in, wiping my forehead in relief, it came back to me with the message "Um, sorry, but this is a rated R+ exchange. Could you make it smuttier?"

This has never happened to me before. Disappointed in myself and my apparent total loss of perversion (and complete lack of rule-reading skills), I bowed out of the exchange with my dignity barely intact.

So now I have this art that I can't give to anyone! So I suppose I will give it to whoever is watching out there...

Title: The Battle of Hogwarts
Pairing: Neville/Draco
Rating: G -- o(_ _);o
Notes: What was going on at Hogwarts all year when Harry and Co. were off spelunking in the forest? Apparently, a Malfoy/Longbottom romance...

( The Battle of Hogwarts )

Title: Potions with Blaise and Draco
Pairing: Blaise and Draco
Rating: G
Notes: Potions and prissy rich boys don't mix. Gift art for *orbthesela on deviant art.

( Potions with Blaise and Draco )

Title: Sirius on Fire
Pairing: Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Sirius (kinda)
Rating: G
Notes: My submission for the HP Art Project, OotP: Chapter 14.


( Sirius on Fire )

Title: The Lupins
Pairing: Remus, Tonks, and Teddy
Rating: G
Notes: Teddy only has one photograph of himself with his parents...


The Lupins by ~princesskariboo on deviantART
Click for larger view!

I hear tell that Steve Vander Ark lost his suit with Rowling. You know, as much as it would be cool to see him make some money on that incredible wealth of information he has spent years upon years collecting, I think had he won the suit, things in fandom would have changed. If nothing else, the lexicon may not have been online for free anymore. And I'm cheap. I like my fandom free and floating online, just a click away. If it went into a book form, I'd have to use things like an index. Gross. No more Remembrall search.

I think if he had won, I would have been very scared that fic authors would starting charging for their fic. And that would be all kinds of dumb.

EDIT:

WTF. Is the lexicon down now?

I am listening to Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls. MUCH LOVE. Listening to "Open at the Close" and he has this lyric "Ginny please don't you cry, because I'll always love you" and the song just rips at the heart, it really does.

But then I started thinking and I didn't feel that kind of strong feeling of tragic love in Deathly Hallows at all. I dunno, maybe being a slasher made me just ignore any and all writing suggesting Harry is in love with anyone other than Draco Malfoy, but I was reading back at that part when Harry is walking out to his death and sees Ginny. He has a strong urge to stop because he wants her to talk him out of it, but he doesn't really have a concern about never seeing her again, or what her life might be like without him. Never getting to say goodbye, never getting that one last kiss. None of this crosses Harry's mind.

And that is why I don't believe in the epilogue.

I was reading an article in the New York Times about a French Bill being considered that would allow authorities to charge webmasters of pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia sites that share tips on on crash dieting, binging, vomiting and hiding weight loss from concerned parents. I got to thinking about the fine line between freedom of speech and the point when what you're saying has the potential to harm other people.

For instance, I'm sure that if there were a website where a murderer had gotten tips on how to kill his victims (I mean that the site bluntly listed ways to kill people and exactly how), the prosecution would attempt to charge the webmaster of that site as an accomplice. That seems to make sense to me.

I think this kind of description, of websites that share unadorned tips and techniques with people on acts that will harm them or more importantly, nonconsenting others, shows an important difference between potentially harmful information and the kind of information that is included on slash websites that focus on things like non-con, rape, incest, and chan. Fanfiction tells a story - they're not always amazing stories, they aren't always particularly thick with plot (PWP <3333), but they are stories. They are not lists of techniques to entrap unwilling sex partners. They are not written to help potential pedophiles entrap and assault children. They are written for the fulfillment sexual fantasy. They are distinctly fictional.

I'm not saying that adult fanfiction shouldn't be censored (we do a lot of self censorship!) or warned against for those who don't know what they're getting into, but I do think that it is not hurting anybody and thus should not be banned or illegal. It is the responsibility of those who read it to separate fact from fiction - and if they can't, it is not the responsibility of the author for putting it out there in the first place. People should be held responsible for their mistakes without making excuses and blaming others.

And that's the difference between the sites which actively encourage harmful acts (like pro-ana etc.) and sites which use them in the context of storytelling. Would you support censoring a novel about a girl's struggle with anorexia that happened to entail the details of the techniques she employed? I suppose some would, but I wouldn't. It's not the same thing. I enjoy having the option to think and decide for myself instead of someone choosing what is appropriate and inappropriate for me. Especially now that I'm decidedly NOT a minor.

In conclusion, I am so late in this whole lj censorship issue. Like practically a year late. And this is probably not even what that was all about. Ah well... :P

A week or two ago I went to go see Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys, who were performing at my college. One of the kids from my school has his own Wrock band called Struggle of a Muggle and he was so AWESOME. So I am plugging him.

Struggle of a Muggle - Myspace

It's acoustic and there is a kazoo. He sings about reading Harry Potter as a Muggle who tried his best to sneak into Hogwarts. "Dumbledore" is so catchy and delightful! I relate to his music on a very personal level, being one of those who really grew up with Harry Potter (I began reading when I was 12).

You should check it out ^__-.

I just realized I spell Marauders wrong. Wow. I am lame.

Lessons learned, I guess. Shows how much I pay attention to spelling e__e.

This was drawn for the fall installment of hpslashnotsmut, for cadillacaro. The wonderful and glorious maraudersaffair wrote a fabulous Harry/Teddy fic for me, found here.

Title: A Secret Passion for Divination
Pairing: Lily/Trelawney
Rating: G
Notes: There is a very specific reason why Lily keeps taking Divination even though she's pretty sure it's complete rubbish.
A Secret Passion for Divination