Journey of the Featherless

( 10 Original fictions )

Take a look at this charming news from synecdochic about LJ's decision to make Gender a mandatory field and only allow the options 'Male' or 'Female.'

Even if I didn't have friends who identify as transgender or genderqueer, I'd still be disgusted by LJ's shortsighted and, quite frankly, hateful decision, because...what will our next mandatory binary choice be? “Black or White?” “Christian or Atheist?” How many ways can you imagine you being written out of the equation?

Read the relevant linked posts, consider changing your gender listing to unspecified' while you still can (if you haven't already done it), and consider – one more time – whether it might not be smarter to leave LJ once and for all.

This entry was originally posted at http://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/520163.html. | read comments at Dreamwidth. | How to use OpenID

Er, no, there weren't supposed to be two parts to the Long-ish Weekend Recs of yesterday, because then you all get overwhelmed and angsty and start wringing your hands about how you don't have time to read long stories, and then you just start scrolling by my recs and flipping me a rude salute on your way past. I hear you. But people need to stop posting Awesomesauce Stuff I Like, okay. :/ I promise to go away for... at least a few days after this. :D

Darkstar by Anon at hd_holidays (Harry/Draco, NC-17: some warnings on fic that are all very, very mild, IMO, 23K)
After the Ministry of Magic decides that Harry's Auror position is a liability, they offer him an alternative: become part of an international covert operations initiative. Joining the project means Harry must forsake everything he cherishes and learn things he never wanted to know about himself.

Here is something about me you might not know: I adore the Jason Bourne series like crazy. CRAZY. This? Is HP meets Bourne. a;lskjdfl;sj. The action-adventure superspy plot of it had me totally riveted, and the universe the author develops is way cool and very well done. In one of the opening scenes, we see Harry's death reported in the Prophet. From there, he disappears underground in an unnamed city to take up his new training, back to basics, with an international special ops force that doesn't want Harry Potter, Expelliarmus expert with a conscience that can only get in the way; they want to create Harry Potter, gun-toting hit wizard who won't think twice about taking out the Minister for Magic if given the order. Hell yeah! Meanwhile, Draco has already been with this agency, Darkstar, for some time, and listen, every time he's onscreen the entire story pretty much ignites into giant flames of oh God, I don't even know -- sexual energy, assassin energy, authority energy, everything. Harry is amazing, the supporting cast is wonderful, but Draco not only completely steals the show, he gets it on its back, makes it beg, and then shoots it in the head.

... so to speak. :D I do have some minor quibbles with this story, such as a glut of exposition at the beginning that I wanted to slice out with a sharp scalpel, and a few lingering questions about the universe as a whole and how it works. But overall it is so insanely cool and well characterised and erotic as hell and so very, very memorable, that I find I can't dwell too much on a few little things. Persevere past the opening sequences and it becomes very awesome, very quickly. :)

Theft of Assets, Destruction of Property by helenish (Neville/Draco, NC-17, 23K)
Surely it is a mistake to allow a single youthful indiscretion to cloud an already promising career.

Grah, I've been meaning to rec this since I first read it about six weeks ago now. Many of you have probably already seen it by now; if not, I highly recommend setting aside some time for it. It's like nothing I've ever read before. It was conceived several years ago, the author says, and only finished this fall, but it definitely reads like pre-closed-canon fic. Both Neville and Draco are a little bit different than one might expect, but still entirely themselves. Well, perhaps I should amend that: for the fic to work, Draco is necessarily a bit lighter than I usually see him, but there are also reasons for that. In the end, it worked for me just fine. Neville is wonderful, and the world Helen creates surrounding Auror training as a mirror of graduate school, in a way, with Neville having to study his head off just to keep up, was a fascinating take on the training.

This is part forced marriage fic, part hurt/comfort, and part meta, to me -- on what, though, I'm still unsure. There is commentary on the possibilities involved in arranged marriages, I think, on the social currency attached to virginity, and definitely commentary on domesticity and gender roles. Helen beautifully captures a strained relationship in which one partner works outside the home and the other feels lonely, isolated, and unable (or unworthy) of his/her own work, and does it all from the vantage point of an m/m relationship. It's refreshing and nicely subversive, I thought, although I also found it a bit unnerving at times, because, does it only reproduce heteronormative gender roles? IDK, maybe I'm overthinking it. It's a fascinating study of all these issues, though, as well as just a beautifully told love story. It's hard to pin it down, but I love how it transcends genres. It's a story that will stick in your head for a long, long time.

All right, long!fic, begone with you! I'll focus on one-shots for the rest of the week. Maybe. ;)

I'm very behind in reading for hd_holidays and, well, every other fest in the world, but I thought I'd go ahead and post this. :) This time I've included brief comments for what I liked about everything.

( Get your recs! )

My latest batch of rec posts:

Quick Art Recs: Several HP, one ST

Quick Recs: HP Fic and Art: 3 HP fics, 2 HP pieces of art, and one that's both!

Star Trek Recs: Fic recs and a few happy-making ST posts


What's this post about?

Unf. *raises head blearily* So, the S.O. and I went to a holiday party last night. You know the kind: too many people you don't know; too little energy to make chit-chat with them; too many warmed-red-wine-and-cinnamon (?) concoctions freely flowing that make it all more bearable... And so I woke up this morning with a teeensy bit of a hangover, methinks. Fortunately! Had nothing planned, so I gathered the warmest blanket in the house, headed to the couch with the laptop and coffee, and clicked on the first thing on my f-list. Which happened to be AWESOME. Here:

Portrait of a Headmaster by Anon at hd_holidays (Harry/Draco, NC-17, 21K)
When Death Eaters find their way into the Hogwarts portrait collection, the Headmaster is forced to work with the Head Auror to find a way to protect the castle, including their own children.

First of all, what, is this the deliciousness of hd_career_fair all over again? Draco is the Headmaster of Hogwarts, okay, and that drew me in right off the bat. It's a great characterisation of him: quietly authoritative but also inwardly uncertain at times: just as I imagine he'd be. The second thing that drew me into this story is the tremendously inventive and magically-creative plot about portraits. If you like your HP fic to get all creative with the magic of the canon 'verse, I think you'll like this story. The magic is fabulous, including a wonderful sequence that gives the reader a sense of what it's actually like inside the portrait world, and how it actually feels to move between portraits. So cool! And the third thing I liked about this story? Ooh, Harry Potter, you goddamned god of sex and Auror-ness and magic, you. GODDAMN. The chemistry between Harry and Draco just sizzles, both in and out of the bedroom. A wonderful Saturday afternoon hangover fic. :D And, you know, a wonderful fic all 'round, for other occasions, too.

A Romance by Anon at Snupin Santa on lupin_snape (Snape/Lupin, NC-17: non-magic AU, 35K)
Prompt: a non-magical AU, supermarket-aisle paperback romance with unusual careers.

This is the story I mentioned last month that I'd got a sneak-peek on, and which had made me fall in love with Snape/Lupin all over again. Eeee! Although -- *stern glare at author* -- the title and "summary" aren't as enticing as perhaps they could be, trust me that this story is worth its weight in gold. It's a non-magic AU with Lupin working in the train yards of a dusty American town when Snape, the more upper-crust new guy, arrives to join the team. The chemistry between them instantly ignites, but that's only the beginning of a long journey they have to undergo before they might be able to be together. Along the way, they have to get over some issues in both their pasts, a series of headdesky misunderstandings, issues regarding being out as a gay man in a small town and a working class community, and... a cat (named Hairy) who isn't quite ready to give up his share of the attention in the house. :) It's a beautiful, easy-to-read tale that will suck you into its 'verse right from the opening scene. The train yard setting just blossoms around you until you come to love the job as much as Lupin does. If you like non-magic AUs in which the canon characters appear in unexpected ways, I think you'll also like what the author has done with several familiar characters in this story. Another wonderful tale to sink into on a lazy winter weekend. :)

Off to catch up on comments, oi. :) We're getting around that time of the month when comments drop off a bit at fests, so if you read something you like, be sure to drop a line to the author to put their anon mind at ease. :)

( 11 Original fictions )

( 9 Original fictions )

rageprufrock's Drastically Redefining Protocol series from Merlin fandom updated.

Gah, it's already so hard to keep up with recs! Damn you, December. :) I keep reading awesome stuff and compiling these sort of thematic-based recs lists in my head, rather than fest-based; like, I've read a couple of good infidelity fics, and a couple of good non-magic AU fics, etc. But before I can code them up, I get distracted by more new and shiny. Heh. Well, the month is still young, I suppose... Here are three that I fell in love with just yesterday, two of which aren't even for fests! What? People are just posting regular non-fest fic this month? Who knew? :)

someday you'll get your happy ending by angeldylan628 (Harry/Luna, PG-13: EWE, 3K)
summers were always miserable, but she's teaching him that things can change.

I stumbled across this yesterday and instantly fell in love with it. It follows Harry out of the Battle of Hogwarts and into his new life where, as one might expect, he's having trouble adjusting. Luna is the only one who understands. Well, that's just canon, right there, and exactly why I like this pairing in general. :) I called this fic quiet in my comment to the author, and that's what makes it so successful, to me: it's fairly angsty but remains just this side of overly-emo. The language is beautifully sparse, the action tightly contained, and much of it is left between the lines for the reader to infer. A very different piece than much of what I've read lately, and I adored the originality of it as well as its pretty prose.

Champagne and Business Cards by leashy_bebes (Teddy/Scorpius, NC-17: distant cousin-cest, if that bothers you, 7K)
Yet another high-society dinner, another boring night of showing his face and talking to the right people, but Scorpius is about to learn that these things don't have to be all champagne and business cards.

If you like next-gen fic, hopefully you already know never to miss any of this author's posts. If you don't generally go for next-gen... well, it's not up to me to convince you. You might read this as almost original-character fic, in that case, but it's some damn fine erotica either way. It actually gave me a bit of a Charlie/Draco vibe, which is not meant to be an insult to the characterisation -- I like Teddy and Scorpius just fine -- but I do think this fic succeeds on many levels, one of which is in broad appeal regardless of who the characters are. If that makes sense. *reaches for more coffee* Anyway, umm, what I mean is, you start with two bored 20-somethings at a Ministry function their families have forced them to attend, and this is what you get when they sneak off to do naughty things together. A simple premise, probably a PWP at heart, but also so much more. The chemistry between them just ignited not only my computer screen but my entire house, okay. Pardon me while I go reread this like a million times until I figure out how she did it. :)

Fix by Anon at hp_cestfest (Draco/Bellatrix, NC-17: incest, 1.5K)
How do you fix magic?

Ohhhh, this one is just exquisite. Gorgeous prose, a series of moments slotted beautifully into HBP canon, a very eerie and perfectly IC Bellatrix, a dream-like quality that leaves you a little bit unsure if any of it really happened, and just, a;lksj. Short and punchy, this fic draws you in right from the beginning and doesn't let go. I adored the originality of it, and did I mention the pretty, punchy prose? Everything she touches has a pulse until she stops it. a;klsjdf. Utterly love this!

See something you like? Even if LJ is hoarding the notifications, go on and leave a comment anyway! The authors (and artists, of course) will appreciate it. I feel like after a couple of years of us all wringing our hands over comment-declines during December fest season, this year has actually been quite good -- at least from my vantage point. I see a tonne of people commenting and recc'ing again this year, which is wonderful. *clings to HP fandom* See? We're still not going anywhere! :)

Savely returned from France. Had planned on writing massive amounts of Holiday drabbles and managed none, but will correct that and (hopefully) flood my flist with drabbles tomorrow. :)

What did I miss?

( 8 Original fictions )

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 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!

Hey everyone!

We're not in a dire need of pinch hitters, but I do need one fic written in the next week. If you can pull together something good and possibly porny in short time, email me at bewarethesmirk@gmail.com.

Savage by Anon at hd_holidays (Harry/Draco, NC-17: some violence, 19K)
In a post-war world that lives in fear and ignorance of werewolves, Draco Malfoy has taken every step to keep his condition hidden. When the delicate balance of his life shatters in a single moment, it is Harry Potter alone standing in his defence.

ALERT: H/D HAS WEREWOLF FIC. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS. a;lskdjf. Remus fen all over my flist, if you don't actively hate H/D, head on over and check out this fic. (Er- and everyone else, too). :) It does all the things I love about werewolf fic and then some, and it does it with Draco as the werewolf. It's canon-compliant, completely plausible in the universe it establishes (oh hi, Greyback skulking around Malfoy Manor during the war, RIGHT?), and the sex scenes are hot as hell. There is also a wonderful scene between Draco and 10-year-old Teddy, who is also a werewolf (which is very nicely explained), a fantastic OC in the Ministry, and one Harry freaking Potter who works for werewolf rights and is all about saving the world again, and just, a;slkdjf. Fantastic story.

The Distraction of Attraction by Anon at bestmates_xmas (Harry/Ron, NC-17, 6K or so)
Harry discovers the perfection of Ron's derriere.

Looking for some lighter fare? Oh my God, I was stuffing my fist into my mouth to keep from laughing out loud at this one. Wonderful characterisations of Harry, Ron and Hermione as they try to complete an Auror-training assignment that features one irritating catch, courtesy their instructor: they all have been hexed with a distraction to keep them from completing the task. Harry's is... Ron's arse. *dying* This is a terrifically well-constructed fic, plot-wise, in addition to just being funny and cute and awesome. :)

Winter's Day by Anon at ficadron (Ron/Draco, PG-13, 2K)
Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice.

Short and incredibly lovely, this fic gives us a brief glimpse of one cold winter day as Ron and Draco work through an unnamed problem in their relationship. Not really a conversion fic, if you don't believe they'd ever be together in the first place, but an incredibly touching look at what must be a difficult relationship, if you do. :)

One Step by Anon at ficadron (Ron/Draco, NC-17: AU, past abuse that is heavily implied as sexual as well as physical, 13K)
My summary: Bill and Fleur both turned to look sharply at him. "It's all right," Ron said quickly, not wanting his brother to think that he had put him and Fleur - or their home - purposefully in danger. "He's not armed. He hasn't got a wand. He… he's defected. I think. At least, that's what he told me."

Gah, I didn't even know about this fest until yesterday, and then was doing recsletter stuff and fell in love with two stories from it. a;lksj. :) This is completely different from the fic above, but just as well-written and compelling. It's a bit AU from DH, but also fits very well into canon. Set after Ron leaves Harry and Hermione, it supposes that he finds a recently-escaped Draco in the forest and brings him to Shell Cottage to recover. The banter between them is some of the best I've seen for this pairing, tbh: harsh, horrible insults, but also a shared sense of camaraderie, and just, yeah. Incredibly well done. The ending is terrific, too.

Also! Remember how I was talking about Kinky Kristmas at daily_deviant the other day, and how I'd put prompts in and stuff? I've already got two fics out of it! *dances*

Give Her What She Wants by Anon at daily_deviant (Draco/Hermione, NC-17: BDSM, 4K)
Hermione missed out on the dinner party because she was otherwise occupied, since Draco gave her exactly what she wanted and more.

So, I was writing for hd_career_fair and fell a bit in love with the idea of Dom!Draco, and then this prompt happened. :D I have a soft spot for filthy Draco het, what can I say. Don't judge! :) Smoking hot fic, this is, with some great work with exhibitionism and voyeurism and nnnrf, the relationship between Draco and Hermione is amazing. And the ending melted my little heart. :)

What is Right by Anon at daily_deviant (Harry/Scorpius, NC-17: infidelity, 5K)
While looking for Albus, Harry learns something about his son’s best friend he was probably better off not knowing.

Infidelity!fic win! I love this pairing for that theme, I really do. Here, Harry and Scorpius are on a road trip together, locked in small motel rooms, and really, they're only human. What do you expect to happen?! :) *swats Harry* Don't look so surprised. The kid is fit, okay? :D But it's not all PWP; there is a nice bit of angst to it, and Scorpius, bless him, will surprise you a little bit. Wonderful story.

Thank you, my mystery authors! Remember for all of these, or anything else you read/view and enjoy, a little comment telling the creator you liked it is the best gift this holiday season. :)

I am off to put up my Christmas tree now!!!! ♥

Did you see where I said "spoilers" above?

Spoilers (in comments)

( I'll say it again...spoilers )

Merlin, Morgana/Nimueh, ~350 words, NC-17
Warnings: explicit rimming, straight-up PWP, nasty
Summary: There are many ways to be fucked.

Hey, I needed a break from writing fest fics. And b_hallward seems to like this pairing. *g*

( Like This )

Here, have some recs! :D I'm in the process of reading several hd_holidays fics at once (current mission is to finish Savage), so if there's not a fic here, it's just because I'm behind. This is more a reflection of what I've had time to read and liked. ♥

Also, remember to check out the postings at snarry_holidays and comment, if you can!

Sorry if you saw this earlier - I posted on LJ first and now crossposting to IJ and DW.

( Merlin RPS )

( HP Non-Holiday Recs )

( HP Holiday Recs - numerous fests, pairings, etc. )

A quick update of my multi-fandom recs page (14 HP stories, 1 Star Trek-Reboot, 1 True Blood, 1 White Collar) can be found here at 'Recs Recs Recs: a work-in-progress'

I've made thirty or so random URL changes, as I always do (this time concentrating on alternate links for stories that had been hosted on geocities), but if you see a broken link and know where that fic has been re-housed, please let me know!

(Note: The next recs updates will be the massive holiday fest ones, which I won't be posting until after the author reveals.)

This entry was originally posted at http://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/519565.html. | read comments at Dreamwidth. | How to use OpenID

( 3 Original fictions )

With thanks to my "close and personal [twitter] friend," Stephen Fry, for the link:

West Side Story for the internet age

This entry was originally posted at http://bethbethbeth.dreamwidth.org/519363.html. | read comments at Dreamwidth. | How to use OpenID