Off to a good start!

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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.