Just watched The G...

Just watched The Goonies for about the 100th time, with lord_vandemort. I never get tired of that movie! I must have watched it continuously, ages 8 through 11.So I made a Goonies Is Love banner. Feel free to take & credit!The Goonies is LoveBy redpiratemel

I'm searching f...

I'm searching for a few enthusiastic HP fans who WILL be attending Lumos 2006 in July, who have some kind of academic or professional background in gender studies, womens studies, sociology, etc, AND who would be willing to help guide/lead a Roundtable discussion in these themes:As related to HP fanon:Identity, expression and relationships - lesbian, genderqueer, transgender...Something of the like.If you're my person, or you know someone, please email me at redpiratemel at hotmail dotcom. THX!!

I am drafting 2 p...

I am drafting 2 proposals for Roundtable Discussions at Lumos - yay! Now I desperately need the help of my wise and kinky flist. Please take a second to caress the ticky boxes below and bring my decisions to a head. *snigger* (Mind in the gutter now? Excellent.) Seriously, I'd like these Roundtable Discussions to be very fanon-positive, sexuality-positive and affirming the great things about Femslash and Genderswitching: love, acceptance, diverse identities, freedom to be in love, and expression of self-identity. Personally, I think it's amazing that slash, femslash and genderswitching have found such acceptance within our fandom, even if the vehicle is smut (or gen!), when in our culture at large homophobia and transphobia are still frightening realities. Anyway, onto The Happy...Poll #649165 Lumos Roundtable Ideas
Open to: All, results viewable to: AllLet's say you're an uber-fan of gender switching at Lumos. Which workshop title appeals?

View Answers"Under the Switching Spell: Fanon as a Catalyst for Genderqueer Expression" 6 (40.0%)"Playing with Polyjuice: Magical Mechanisms for Exploring Gender Identity" 11 (73.3%)Genderswitching?!!!! I check all the ticky boxes, for JOY! 3 (20.0%)

This w...

This weekend I'm working on my witchwinter sketch. I do love the femslash.

Does anyone know of any Valentine's Day fic/art fests or exchanges going on? I would love to join in one! On that note, I think I'm going to do V-day sketches for my flist. I'd really like to cover as many
pairings as possible, then put them on shirts later. But I can't do it without your help!

I'm holding my very own ♥ V-Day Ultra Fluffy!Ship-Fest ♥
The first 14 pairings to be named will get a special Valentine's Day sketch from me!

Reply here with your absolute fave OTP or threesome in the HP fandom.
Give me a specific rating! I won't be able to put it on a shirt, mind you, if something nekkid is included, but that's okay!

Name some element to be included that is particularly "fluffy" e.g. holding hands or candy boxes. Literally "fluffy" is okay too, e.g. feather boas.

All 14 sketches will be done by February 14th and posted on artpirate (so go monitor if you sign up!). I expect that some
people will have the same OTP/3, and that's fine. Yes, I'm doing this
because I'm a sucker for romance and I thrive on assignments. ETA: Only 8 giftsketches left...

Lumos Proposal Ideas

HULLO anyone out there who is going to LUMOS or thinking about it... *g* I want to discuss a couple of things. First off, please skip on over to bekkio's LJ for a quick poll on submitting a proposal for Lumos here. Next, because I don't have enough to do already, I really do want to submit a proposal for a panel or roundtable. One thing missing from all the lovely programs I attended at TWH was something truly interesting about Femslash or anything genderqueer in our fandom. It's no secret that the (born) male characters get a lot more attention in fanon, and arguably in canon. But Femslash is still a strong faction, and is often the place where girl/girl relationships get the spotlight. On a similar note, how fun is it to write/draw HP chars as a different gender than the one we assume? It's liberating, and it allows us to explore parts of characters' (and our own) identities and situations that we can't do while writing canon. I have several ideas swimming around in my head, and I just need a little grounding.I'm all talk and ideas here - I'd love to meet up with a few other interested parties to really put something together and submit it. Something with substance, beyond "woot!femslash!". I'm posting this public if you'd like to rec this entry to someone you know has been talking about the same thing, or perhaps already has plans to do just this. Thanks, y'all!

Fixed?

Anyone else been having a serious problem with comments and replies being emailed to you? Well I had it pretty bad - I'd get about half of mine for some reason. Suddenly I think LJ has fixed the problem. So, erm, if I commented in your LJ, and you replied several weeks ago, chances are I'm just finding out. Uh... thanks!I ditched work early today because I was *genuinely* not feeling well. Dunno if it's going to look bad to my boss, who's been in constant meetings anyway. lord_vandemort took me out for chinese tonight, and it was yummy. Speaking of, she took me out last Friday to see GoF for a second time. Wow - there were so many things I didn't catch the first time around!! It must have been the 2,000+ fangirls squeeing at the top of their lungs. Snape's line to Harry seemed less like a pick-up line this time...sorta. Hermione seemed less uppity than I remembered. Still, loved it. ♥

Ack, tired

35,144 / 50,000(70.3%)

Bleach my hair a...

Bleach my hair and call me Lucius, because I'm in a pimping mood. I just read the MOST hilarious GoF film recap ever. Please go here and read now! I don't know you, funny ass author, but I respect your brilliance.

I KNOW there are...

I KNOW there are Rita Skeeter fans out there on my flist. If you're one of them, and Rita rocks your socks, then please go now and join the Rita Skeeter Fuh-Q-Fest at ritaskeeter_. Ta ta!

LJ design help, anyone?

I am in serious need of a kind and lovely soul who would like to make a SWANKY livejournal background, etc for me. I did a style on my own, but it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, and I realized I'm not that good at it. I promise to glomp you and love you and pimp you widely if you'll grant my wish. *flutters eyelashes* Please? Pretty please? As a reward I WILL draw you the smut of your choice, guaranteed this time to be NC-17. Any HP pairing.

At long last, my GoF review!

I braved an ocean of 2,000 target demographicans and went to the midnight screening of Goblet of Fire last night. Whoa. The film was totally worth it...mostly. Spoilers, anyone?! *offers them at your OWN RISK*My reaction in one word: SQUEE. But there's so much more to it. I hope I can explain, having only slept 3 hours last night, so I'll give it a shot. I'm so beyond deliriously tired. Bear with me, but know that I loved it for what it was: entertaining as freaking hell.Neville! *guh* He wins at the whole movie. It should have been called Neville Longbottom and the Tournament Thingy. Not only did he become a shy, sensitive and buck-toothed hunka overnight, but his character finally got the screentime he deserves! How long have we in fandom loved Neville, and mourned over his oft un-glamourized rarepairings in fic? No longer, I predict. This film will do exactly for Neville what the CoS did for Lucius: turn him into a rising star of fangirl love.Slashy subtext! I can't go any further without saying that Mikey totally PWNS Alfonso in the "oopsie, did I insert a rather overt slashy subtext here?" category. Forget Draco's kissy origami love notes in PoA, was anyone watching the interactions between Ron and Harry in the first 20 minutes? How about Ron and everyone? How about EVERY MALE CHARACTER and each other? Wow. Maybe my mind is corrupted big time by my fanlove for slash, but I don't give myself that much credit. I have only one scene to point out to seal this deal: Snape accusing Harry of stealing from his potions storeroom. Snape used an actual pick-up line on Harry, just after Karkaroff exited scene. Tell me I'm wrong. I dare you. ;)Softy Snape! Hey, I'm just glad the ambiguously dark Snape, played by an aging but still rockin Alan Rickman, got some screentime. Still, he seemed less sneerful and more helpful in this film than the others. Probably not that important this film around, but he didn't seem like Harry's "enemy" in this one. Plus, the film did not call nearly enough attention to Harry discovering Snape had been a Death Eater. Harry didn't even blink an eye. "Snape? Death Eater? Mehh...It's all good. Ooh, Cedric's arse is looking fine today!"Tri Tournament Thingy! I was geniunely freaked out scared-off-my-arse for Harry during the first task with the dragon. Very good stuff. The underwater task was cool, but Harry used some random spell to save himself from drowning, and the whole thing was unsatisfying. The maze task was much like the tasks that the Trio had to go though in SS/PS (book) - pretty neat and interesting in the book, but fubared in the film. S'okay - the creepy maneating hedges were cool enough. But I really wanted the champions to be challenged, and far as I could tell it was just a game of "hey, don't get lost."Bunnies do GoF in 30 seconds or less! I'm referring to the bunny films website...y'know, that one. My major beef with the film is that this is exactly what GoF felt like. Squeeze it all in, forget about tying up loose ends. I know the book was way too long to get into 2 hours, BUT they coulda spared 10 minutes of edited material to bring closure to some scenes. Each major point just seemed to happen, then rushed onto the next one. Cut out ginormous and seemingly important chunks of the bookplot if you will, fine! But the parts you leave in, please give me transitions. Pleeease? Example: "Oh noes! Mad-Eye Moody is really Barty Crouch, Jr. on PJ Potion! Snape, point your wand to his head threateningly. THE END. CUT TO DUMBLEDORE'S LEAVING FEAST SCENE."Puberty is thy friend, trio! Possibly a sometimes-mean friend, but still: Could the 2,000 fans in the theatre have yelled any louder when Harry or Ron were stirring in their sleep? As if we, collectively as a fandom, weren't pervy enough - puberty had to come along and justify our love. Well, except for little Ginny Weasley who seemed to have aged, but not yet reached menarch. Here is my one totally superficial bitch - Harry's hair was not at all attractive. He looked like the hairstylist for the BeeGees attacked him with a can of hairspray. Ron's hair will be a "ack, I can't believe that was in fashion" statement 10 years from now - though the 20-yo guy in front of me in line had the exact same hair. He could have been Ron. Hermione and Vicki? The cutest and most satisfying budding-puberty element to this film in my opinion. Cho Chang might as well have been omitted entirely from the plot (but I am biased). See Neville comments above (grrowwl, wink wink). Harry was clearly in love with Cedric. Clearly. OMG I nearly died in the scene where Cedric tells him to go to the Prefects' bathroom with his egg. ::ded:: Later, when Moaning Myrtle (nearly) committed acts with Harry in the bathtub that only the kinkiest fanfics have dared to explore? My side split open, seriously.Draco who? Was Draco even in this film? The most I saw of him was exactly the footage we saw in trailers and film clips online. I ♥ Draco/Harry interaction with a passion, in the books. In the films...well, maybe Tom needs a year off to work on shrinking his forehead, do a little flyfishing. Sorry. I'm so bad!!!Superb acting! I'll save my comments about one Mr. Fiennes for last, but there were some other stellar performances in my opinion. Emma Watson easily out-acted the others, Rupert coming in second. She was a tad uppity at times (is Mikey to blame? hmmm) but each second she was on screen I was glued to Hermione. No, it's not just my fantasy...lol! The scene where Moody Crucios the spider and Neville wigs out while Hermione stands up for him was great. The actor playing Neville did okay there, but Emma acted up a storm. Nice job!And finally...The Ultimate Lord Voldemort! Hands down, Ralph Fiennes played THE BEST Voldemort I could have asked for. OMG, the man has acting skills. *has a moment of OMGness* I didn't even know what I wanted out of my film-version Voldemort until Ralph came along and told me what's what, baby. The make-up was right on. He was collected and commanding and powerful and weak and utterly evil all at the same time. Excellent choice, casting peeps! Sign that man on for the next 3 movies, STAT, or I will come to your house and Crucio your puppies! Plus, Death Eaters looking like the KKK at a satanic funeral: complete brilliance.That's it! That's my deliriously sleepy review of GoF. If you're reading this and haven't seen the film yet, just go see it! I absolutely loved it. ♥

GoF!

I can't believe it! I'm going to the GoF midnight screening tonight! Oh my...what have I got myself into? I'm not 18 anymore, not even in my early 20s. I have to be at work tomorrow at 8:30am, NO EXCUSES, and I probably won't be home until 3am. Erm, no problem - right? *nervous laugh* I ♥ you, lord_vandemort!So if anyone else in my area is going to the Arlington tonight, maybe I'll see you there. :D arifoxhawk and pirewyn, you are the smart ones waiting until this weekend. I still hope we can get together! If I don't feel like going to see GoF again so soon, then I'd love to have you guys over for dinner this weekend. Let's talk.The sad news is that I am not getting a lot of writing done at all. Ugh. I fail at keeping up.

I have this ...

I have this idea and I want to put it it out there for anyone reading (and please pass this on if y'd like).I post my fanart on artpirate, but ever so infrequently - I am just slow and I get distracted by things like NaNoWriMo. I'm thinking of opening up artpirate to anyone to post femmeslash art.Would you join or monitor a comm that was a gallery to post nothing but femmeslash fanart?Would a comm like this be cool or pointless, factoring in the other comms out there like hp_girlslash? Are there comms you already go to that you heart and love and all that for your femmeslash fix?I'd love your thoughts. ♥ Thanks.

4,212 / ...

4,212 / 50,000(8.4%)

Off to a good start!

2,787 / 50,000(5.6%)

I want YOU for special favors

Attention flist!It has come to my attention that there are things I need, but cannot go about getting for myself. Plus some other folks at Lumos are looking for some help. So I'm issuing a plea for your talents. You may spread my plea far and wide.Knitters, ahoy! Myself and the members of the esteemed House of Ravenclare would like to commission some pink and silver House scarves, in our signature colors. Please don't confuse us with Sparkleypoo. If you do, we will politely set down our My Little Ponies or Anne of Green Gables book, apply lipgloss, then karate chop your thick head off like angry!Buffy.Graphic designers and other Illustrator or Quark talented peeps! Lumos 2006 is looking for you. Did you know that? They need some killer graphics for materials, and if you're chosen, you'll be so effing cool that thousands of fangirls will want to have your Mary Sue babies.Femmeslashers and gender-switchers! I want to put together a proposal for a workshop or panel at Lumos 2006. We need to represent. Don't leave me hanging. I'd be willing to organize this effort, though I'm not very good at the presentation stuff. Well..maybe, but we can talk later.

Suitcase explosion and fangirly squees

The Witching Hour completely rocked my fangirl purvy smarty-pants fic/art lovin' world!!! I'm back! Words cannot express how much I enjoyed my trip to the lovely state of Massachusetts. Wait, sure they can...Insane travel delays. Yellow school busses. HP fans dressed up and ruling the streets of Salem. In depth conversations about Ron and Tonks and Horcruxes. Drunken fangirls gone wild. House points for chocolate bribery. House points for other forms of bribery. Muddiest Quidditch match ever. Sorted into Gryffindor! Winning the Quidditch Cup. Losing the house cup to Hufflepuff, who was an awesome group. Hufflepuff!Snape and Gryffindor!Lucius and Draco. Cosplay at midnight. Staged Death Eater attacks at Harry and the Potters. Commenting to your fave fanfic authors in person. Mass sketch request lines. Summer!hot weather, followed by freezing rain for 3 days. Sleeping very infrequently. Coffee at Fuel. That gawdawful Boys and Girls Club smell. Sirius Black and The Secret Keeper outtakes. Meeting the Lumos M.O.M. and other people who have now convinced me to not only attend Lumos but pimp it for cash. Percy encounter! Explaining slash to a HS student. Meeting the coolest people ever. EVER.I reminisce fondly and yearn to be back there. I have to share with you some highlights of my experience at TWH. lord_vandemort and I arrived at the Sheraton Ferncroft on Thursday after a stressful drive back from Ptown (rental car fiasco, though Ptown was completely amazing!) and waiting nearly an hour for the Night Bus, which was just a rickety minivan (the 25 people behind us in line were very scowly as we hopped on). Missed the Halloween Parade downtown, but my complaints really end there. The rest of the time was amazing.ThursdayGot all gussied up in pirate garb for the Welcoming Feast, where I promptly met about 10 people from my flist or comms. The rest of the weekend seems like a really good dream, but I'll do my best to remember details. Oh, right, it's all coming back to me. That night after the Feast I went to the Harry/Draco Room of Requirement, the perfect way to start it off. I fangirl squeed and glomped my Owl Exchange penpal 24_centuries and one of my fave H/D writers wintermoon3 (and met her partner poetheather who was sitting right next to me!). Anyone else who was there - if you can remember all the amazing names in that room, comment and remind me! I also saw loads of people wearing the shirts I designed - not just the TT house ones, but some of the others ones at TwoNeptunes. I totally squeeed all over myself like a big dork.FridayWoke up late the next day but caught a few great presentations (and one that was just mehhh). A presentation on Lupin and lycanthropy as a metaphor for mental illness was very good, but the one directly after on chance/choice/paradox/destiny in HP was only so-so and kinda boring. I skipped out and made it to a panel on pureblood bigotry as a backlash against persecution. It was interesting hearing everyone play devil's advocate and talk about how wizarding families like the Malfoys might be justified in their 'bigotry', though nobody really could think of an argument that was persuasive enough. The audience kinda took over from the panelists at some point, arguing about class issues and history, and whether Voldemort wants to eradicate the Muggle and 'Mudblood' populations. (I personally think this is hogwash - he just wants to dominate them and cause them pain). The whole thing was very grey zone, which I love.The best part of that day was meeting up with the other rowdy folks from tonytoledohouse (now officially termed Gryffindor) at the Witches Brew Cafe for our Room of Requirement. The energy was high and the ladies were gettin' drunk (well, some of them, myself excluded). Everyone was awesome - I met up with brak4werewolves, allysonsedai, 24_centuries, marilla82, ressa6778, retro_mermaid, athenniene, tatiana422, hummingfox (were you there? i met you later on - v. cool), pre_raphaelite1 (who was a Slytherin crashing our RoR, but we forgive her). Tony Toledo showed up and we discovered he's the kind of guy who doesn't need a microphone. Afterwards I went to one of the best presentations by far, about the astrology in Harry Potter. The presenter was amazing and knew her shit. I was going to stay for a panel on Unbreakable Vows: Snape and Loyalty, but I had to run off to the Witch Museum (had tix in advance). Too bad, because I heard it got Row-Day! People were arguing back and forth, and I heard that slashers were involved. Can anyone fill me in on the dirt?! The Witch Museum was actually pretty cool. The tour group was left with a message of tolerance, and how fear breeds things like bigotry and hangings. Later on I went to a few fanfic readings by the lovely ellid and awelkin, which were fantastic. I plan on stalking awelkin until I get the fics out of her. *wink* I kept seeing her everywhere that weekend, but usually in a different costume. I'm so glad I met you, btw! ♥Last stop in Salem that night was the Remus/Sirius shipper Room of Requirement at Salem Beer Works. Nothing beats a patio full of enthusiastic puppyshippers, lemme tell ya. Scurried back off to the Sheraton to catch Harry and the Potters perform, which was WAY more fun than I expected. Voldemort can't stop the rock, indeed. The Weird Sisters cancelled (lead singer had laryngitis, like I'm so sure). Boo! That's when we found Chris Rankin standing out in the hall. I managed to spot him when only a few fangirls were clinging to him like barnacles, instead of a huge herd. Pics will come, I promise!SaturdayWow, this summary is getting out of control! I'll abridge now. Went to a panel on HP: a slash fandom in context. We discussed how HP has affected slash, and vice versa. Since HP is my first majorly obsessive fandom, it really opened my eyes to how HUGE the HP slash fandom is compared to others. A little bit of ethics was discussed (i.e. chan, disclaimers, protecting underage viewers and vice versa), and how HP slash has kind of lent fans more freedom in exploring their slash love and kinks (i.e. incest, cross-generational). It was very fascinating. The presenters were top-notch.I went to the workshop that TwoNeptunes.com was a sponsor of (on fanfic vs. orignial work - one of many on that same topic), but it was a little unstructured to my dismay. The good part was that I met up with awelkin again, and we later discussed original work fitting into our RL and fan lives. V cool. Later: presentation by pre_raphaelite1 on queerness in HP and PoA. Yes, it was (distilled down) an academic exploration of Remus/Sirius in the film vs. the book. Very excellent presentation. I feel completely justified in my shipping now.Then I spent some time at the sketch/drabble booth. I watched ani_bester in action (she did some awesome stuff for people), and I took a Hermione/Luna/girl!Ron request for wintermoon3 and poetheather, which I plan on posting very very soon (when I finish) in artpirate. Just barely caught up with Quidditch players as they were leaving the very rainy and muddy field after the Final. Gryffindor won, but rumor has it that we cheated bigtime! Still, the glory was so lovely. Met up for dinner with the Pagan Potterites RoR. Again, lowsy service! What's up, Salem?! But the people were wonderful. I worked on my req sketch while holing up at the auction (by then it was pouring and cold). The auction was really fun, and I sooo wanted some of the items but I stopped myself. My little bag of goodies from TN went for $27! It was cool hearing people across the room giggle and squee over the "My Other Ride is Snape" sticker. THEN, though it was really late, I dragged my arse to the Muggle Studies Art Challenge and met the v. cool cunningplan. I drew a "comic" about Muggles and their strange pet-owning habits, playing up the humor about how we treat our familiars like children/royalty. I had to turn it in, but I wish I had that baby. Damn.The horcrux of the night was seeing a short film, Sirius Black and the Secret Keeper, starring a few of our very own Gryffindors (including Lucius Malfoy, aka Steph). Hey, I know my way around short and indy films from years of film fest experience, and this one was Grade A. Excellent stuff - I wish I had a copy!! It was "fanfilm", something I haven't seen a lot of. I'd love some recs to more fanfilm if anyone has them.SundayGreat stuff. Excellent panels. Let's see... Caught Vicky Dann's (Head of Hufflepuff) workshop on "Finish the freaking thing already: write your way out of any box". I ♥ you, Vicky Dann! And your house won the cup. I applaud you, even though we were in CLOSE second. Anyway, it was fantastic. I'm totally inspired to finish some of my fics and the novel I started last November/NaNoWriMo. Later I went to an absolutely amazing panel on heterosexuality and feminism in a m/m slash-centric fandom. They made the case for writing strong women characters, and gave us the disclaimer that no-one was trying to be anti-slash or pro-het in the process. Absolutely great. I'd love to discuss this one more with anyone who attended.Skipped out of that one early because I HAD to catch a panel on Tonks. I was thrilled to see a (small) room full of Tonks lovers, especially in this day and age post-HBP. I feel far more attached to Tonks now, and I want to write her like crazy. She has the potential to have so much dimension and to play a more integral part in book 6. I think that's the day I ran into foreword at the Hawthorne. Good to see ya, lady!That night was the Hallowe'en Ball! LV and I got snazzed out and hopped on the anti-formal yellow school bus. The PEM is a lovely venue, and the ball was fun. I have to take a sec and worship lord_vandemort for cheering me up (you know why). ♥ to you, the sexiest woman in a tux, baby. There was much dancing and merry-making. I saw Hufflepuff!Snape doing the badger dance (hey, ask a Puff what that's all about). When we got back to the Sheraton (which I must explain is about 20 minutes away from Salem and all the happenings, by yellow school bus) we caught the 'cosplayers' doing scenes and improv requests in one of the ballrooms. That was way too much fun. MondayLeaving Brunch. Saying goodbye. So sad. Then 20 hours at airports and in shuttle vans. That's the gist of it. A few of us from TWH had a lovely airport wait-around party, which was fun. We got to know the airport carpet very well. Oh, and I met bekkio, who patiently answered all my questions about Lumos, and who I hope I'll be seeing more of when I get involved! Plus, in a funny coincidence, LV and I ended up sitting right next to pre_raphaelite1 on the plane to LAX. Cosmic coincidences.Now it's late, and I have to rejoin the real world tomorrow. TWH was one of the best experiences of my life, and I think the reasons why were the amazing sense of community, and being immersed in a fandom that I adore. I'm going to try not to become completely miserable and depressed between now and Lumos! in July 2006. Giant *HUGS* to everyone I met there, and to all the people who made it possible. You rock!

ESSCO! Please read the LJ-cut!

I have to process how I'm feeling about the smutty snaps cup meme I recently became involved in - jumping into what I thought would be fun like a complete git. Apparently, this is redpiratemel's signature learning style.Let me give you the disclaimer. I'm a naturally very silly person. I hardly take these kinds of 'orgies' seriously, and mistakenly presume that loads of other people get a hearty laugh out of it (comme moi) instead of an ego stroke or wankfest. However, not only did I feel just a teensy bit weirded out by the anonymous comments I got from who-knows-what-user, but I also felt like it wasn't quite right. I'm in a loving relationship with someone I adore, and I'm not sure it's fair to her. It may be 'virtual' and meaningless to me, but it had the potential to hurt feelings. No offense to anyone on my flist who did comment - but for all I know my commenters could have been some uber-creepy loser out there lurking around meme orgies. But please, no confessions!I don't exactly regret signing up for the meme, since I learned this entirely valuable lesson *sigh*, but I am uncomfortably embarassed and overwhelmed with this need to get super, sloppily SILLY about the whole issue. Who's with me?!Please join me in the first ever Excruciatingly Silly Snaps Cup Orgy!That's right, post here and pimp widely to your friends cuz I'm starting n snaps cup orgy that beckons you to post the silliest, most outrageously laughable attempts at sexy comments EVER seen on the face of LJ! What's encouraged? The following: funny props, not particularly sexy food implementation, giant squids, odd noises, impersonations of celebrities or fictional HP or other fandom characters, ridiculous settings, dirty talk gone wrong - YOU NAME IT! The only rule is: don't take sexy seriously, please, for the love of Merlin. For those of you, like me, who have little idea of what the hell a snaps cup meme really is, I believe it goes like this: Post a comment here, and then ideally pimp it to your friends list. People then get free reign to comment to your reply with whatever defines the meme (i.e. compliments, sexy talk, or in our case - ridiculously silly sexy talk).Erm, I have no idea if anonymous posting is "on". Just go for it!

Meet-up Comm Pimp!

HULLO FRIENDS IN CALIFORNIA!I just created a comm for HP fans on the Central Coast. It's hp_calcoast - please feel free to join and pimp widely! I hope to start planning GoF line parties and other meet-ups.Yes, I need to feel the love. XD

Thank...

Thanks to minerva_fan for pointing me in the direction of a new comm, fantasywitches! I absolutely love it. Stop by for a look-see.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Minerva_Fan!

Dear minerva_fan,You made a noble request for some womanslash at hp_slashfantasy for your birthday, which was yesterday, and it's taken me a bit longer to finish this than I expected. Still, I hope you like. I love a good assignment - keeps the juices flowing.Enjoy!Title: Hold You InsideRating: R for choice adjectivesCharacters: Minerva McGonagall/Dorcas Meadows, references to Snape and Dumbledore.Notes: Takes place post OotP. I always wondered what the story from the first war was, if you piece together the hints from HP. If you don't remember who Dorcas Meadows is, check HERE. Thanks to my gf, best beta ever.Hold You InsideThe setting sun cast misleadingly warm bronze rays across the room as Minerva McGonagall sat in her chambers. She unfastened the top button of her robes, which came up well past the crook of her neck in proper modest fashion, and took the pins out of her sharply tidy updo. The hair fell upon her shoulders slowly, as though it were stiff from years of curling itself into a protective bun on Minerva’s head, and then untwisted in a long display of salt and pepper on her shoulders.With experienced fingers she separated the locks and ran a brush through them. It was her ritual – things tended to in order before retiring to bed – but it did little to distract Minerva from the thoughts at play in her mind that night. Voldemort had returned to power, and it would take all the support they could find to defeat him this time, her senses told her. It was going to be arduous. It had already been heartbreaking, those years ago. Witches and wizards were lost, people you tended to care about. Privately, Minerva was no less resolute in her courage to do whatever it took. But once the strategic planning meetings were adjourned, and members of the Order returned to their homes or wings of the castle, Minerva was alone. She gathered her long hair in her hand and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift to the past. Once, she had not been alone. Once, there had been someone by her side and in her heart, while outside the battle was raging on.Once upon a time, Minerva had discovered the truest thing she had ever felt.Though well past her school years, Dorcas Meadows was nearly twenty years her junior when Minerva knew her, in the years that marked the dawning of the first war against Voldemort and the Death Eaters. It was a time when peace among wizards was waning, and Minerva kept a safe distance from matters of the heart. It wasn’t spoken of just then, but everyone felt it – you weren’t sure who you could trust, or who you would have to turn your back on one day.“You’re Head of Gryffindor House, I heard,” called a familiar voice from behind her. Minerva turned on her heel toward the woman speaking to her. Her stern face relaxed and smiled imperceptibly at Dor, as Minerva addressed her on friendly terms. She was a bright woman who had been a member of the newly formed Order of the Phoenix for several months now. “Congratulations,” she grinned, and handed Minerva a mug of hot liquid, presumably tea. “I was a Slytherin myself, many years ago. You see, some of us channel our ambition for good causes.” Minerva could not agree more wholeheartedly. In her public life, Dorcas was an academic – a damned good one – who had quietly ascended the ranks of her staunch, gray haired mentors, experts who had written volumes of books on wizardry. She knew almost too much about theories on magical blood-lines and the patterns of those powers appearing within Muggle populations.Later, people wondered if this was perhaps the reason she had been slain personally by Lord Voldemort.Only Minerva knew the real story. The Order thought that Snape had been their secret weapon, spy for the side of good. Minerva knew that Dorcas was their real strength, because had been the only one capable of convincing Severus and the others that they were on the same side – and keeping them convinced.Accepting the earthenware mug, Minerva cupped it in her hands as though the warmth was a gift to her from this woman.It had been a cold night, even for September, and an intense meeting of the Order had left her drained. She lowered her eyes and gazed reflectively into the steam as she spoke. “Yes, Dor. I’m afraid it’s true,” said Minerva, taking a seat on a nearby bench. “I am officially a senior member of the faculty at Hogwarts.” She put a barely perceptible emphasis on senior. Minerva let half her mouth lift in a smile and met the other woman’s eyes. They were deep-set and of a complex hazel, yet still the most calming eyes Minerva had ever gazed into, she thought to herself. She sipped the warm drink Dor had given her and was taken aback by a flavour she hadn’t been expecting – chocolate.“Cocoa,” Minerva confirmed aloud, not meaning to sound as puzzled as she had. Dor let out a soft laugh. “Minerva, you sound so surprised,” she said, her hazel eyes suddenly flickering with amusement. “I find that cocoa is best for odd seasons like this. Keeps the warmth inside you.”That night was the second time Minerva had taken particular notice of Dor – of her laugh and her ways. “If it wasn’t for you, some of the Order might have driven that young man away by now,” said Minerva, pulling her tartan shawl around her shoulders tighter. The night air was chilly. She shook her head slightly. “And even now…Dor, it was kind of you to take him under your wing. I sense he will respond well to someone he respects.”“Severus is willing to help the Order achieve our goals,” Dor said, stringing logic together. “He was a pupil of yours, wasn’t he?”Minerva raised a brow at Dor and sipped her cocoa. “I trust Albus absolutely, end of statement, however much danger we might find ourselves in from this decision.”Dor gently coiled herself at Minerva’s side on the stone bench. The moonlight made her dark eyes look fathomless. She was, as Minerva would later poignantly recall, svelte, graceful like a fawn, and soft-spoken. Yet when it came to expressing her views on subjects – such as the Ministry’s medieval approach to the Dark wizard and witch-hunt – Dor’s words flowed passionately, like fire. It was this quality that stirred the embers in Minerva McGonagall, and ignited within her like a searing white flame.“Can’t you see, Minerva?” said Dor, only inches away from her face in the darkness. “The Order has the upper hand now. That Severus knows the ways of the Death Eaters is our strength now. We will come out of this alive.”Never had Minerva met a witch with such tremendous intellect and an uncanny power to get to the heart of the matter as Dor. Oftentimes after the secret meetings of the Order had concluded for the evening, and sometimes well into the dark morning, Minerva and Dor would still be engrossed in spirited conversations. Later, other things than their talks on politics and philosophy and magic would take them early into the morning. The first time they’d kissed was that night Dor had offered Minerva cocoa, right there in the darkness of the back porch at the home of the Longbottoms. Dor had made love to her a few nights later, after they’d spent half the evening debating the sociological effects House separations had on students. She had only halfway seen it coming, since Dor had a way of slithering in to your most vulnerable place and holding it out for you to see – Look, this is what you are – before you realized she was that powerful. Their lovemaking lasted half the night, and by morning the two women were spent and groggy and high on this one good, sacred thing they had that dark magic couldn’t take away.Minerva had loved this woman, more than she’d ever been able to tell Dor before she was murdered.She removed the wire-rimmed glasses from her eyes. In her reflection they appeared much-aged since those days with Dor. Had it been that long? No, only a fraction of a lifetime, thought Minerva. Back then Dor had been the keeper of Minerva’s fire. Even in her death, her words still kept Minerva moving forward – not toward what was good and right, but what made sense.We will come out of this alive. They had, because Minerva always held her close, inside.Cross-posted to hp_slashfantasy and hp_girlslash.

X-posted challenge fic

I'm posting my entry for the hogwartsrejects Giant Squid drabble challenge.Woot Ravenclare!Title: The Land of Mer-SuesWarnings: longer than 100 words, sarcasm, and on-purpose OOC-nessHarry had a perplexed look on his face when Draco kicked him out of his jade silk-sheeted canopy bed the next morning. "That's the last time I go to a Halloween Ball transfigured into a girl! Ugh," he snarled and wiped the black eyeliner off his pale lids. Harry gathered up his clothes and stormed away, murmuring something about 'Should have known better..' When he was gone, Draco sighed and swooned like the secret nancy boy he is, thinking "I can still smell him on me..." Deciding that this bittersweet reminder was no good, he rushed down to the lake to wash off Potter-pheromones.Draco jumped in and let his body sink downward, looking around the murky green water nervously for signs of a giant squid. Suddenly, a pair of glowing violet eyes greeted him instead. They were attached to a pretty face with volumes of black red-highlighted hair drifting in the water, and furthermore to a young girl whose bottom half had gone all fishy. Sparkly purple scales at that.The mermaid pulled a startled, flailing Draco above water and giggled at him. "Hello," she beamed at Draco.Draco furrowed his brow skeptically. "I thought merpeople were supposed to be green and ugly," he said."You don't know me, but I'm Harry Potter's long lost mer-sister, Nepenthe," she said.Draco screamed and fled the lake as fast as he could, running through the grounds wet and starkers. Harry was everywhere; there was no escape. He would just have to resign to his fate, he decided. It was time to denounce his Malfoy heritage and join the Order as a spy.