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Below are the 25 most recent journal entries recorded in the "painless_j" journal:

[<< Previous 25 entries]

July 15th, 2008
11:01 pm

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 12
Kaliningrad is lovely. The three days of my stay here have been very enjoyable. In the evenings while my friend is drinking with his other friends, I read, a little.

One piece of old classics, Poe no Ichizoku )

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July 13th, 2008
06:53 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 11
More Naono Bohra and Mizukami Shin today, and Tokaido HISAME.

I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow morning for two weeks. I don't expect to be online much although I'm taking my laptop with me. Will be available via email. See you!

Ren'ai Nenrei, A Bird in a Dream, Hohoemi no Nichijou, Tokaido HISAME, Zenmon no Taro, 1000 years )

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July 11th, 2008
06:33 pm

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HP rec: Potter Shaped Malfoy, by anon (AS/S, R, novella)
Potter Shaped Malfoy, by anon #
Albus Severus/Scorpius, R, ~33000 words. Summary: The war’s long over but everybody still hates the Malfoys. Everyone except Al Potter, that is. Can friendship between the son of a Death Eater and the son of the Chosen One work? Can it last?

I can't say I completely believed in the premise (that everybody still hates Malfoys, especially to such extent). Another thing that wasn't quite to my tastes was that the story was a bit too straightforward in a couple of situations, as for me. Other than that, it's a very enjoyable and very thorough look at the relationship that starts when the boys are first years, goes on with ups and downs (and what downs they are!) and comes to love in the end. Scorpius is wonderfully done here, that is, he's written in so much detail and with such loving attention that he comes alive, with his vulnerability and defenses, his suffering and mistrust. I hated Albus for a while there although it was clear to me from the beginning why he did what he did. The story never becomes soppy, even though it could at many points but remains pleasantly emotional. It's vivid and has some interesting magic that seems very fitting for JKR's world, from my point of view. Nice longish reading!

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04:55 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 10
Today's issue is almost entirely (with one exception) devoted to Naono Bohra. I'm busy with layout managing and very tired, so I'm reading what I'm more or less sure to like or at least enjoy.

More stuff by this mangaka can be found in lj comm naono_bohra or via The Naono Bohra English scanlation database.

She may be not the greatest storyteller. Her stories are often a bit too simple or go astray somewhere in the middle. But she's for sure one of the most interesting ones I've read. I like it how she gently (and sometimes not gently at all) pushes the limits of cliché and my reader's comfort zone. I like her themes: disability, age gap or big social standing differences, etc. I like how she plays with traditional seme/uke types. I mean, looking at her characters, you can't be sure that the older one or bigger one would be a seme, and vice versa. And I absolutely love how she draws bodies and sex and how kind so many of her manga are. So lovely...

Behind the cut are five manga by Naono Bohra Boku dake no Kimi, Kimi dake no Boku; Fingertip's Love, Mogura to Taiyou, Sin is Above Skin Level, Covetous You, Insensible Me, and Mugen no Roukaku by Mizukami Shin. Mind that one cover has a naked bum in it )

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July 9th, 2008
07:55 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 9
One story with a blind man and cats that I liked a lot and several more that I didn't much care for )

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06:26 am

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Happy belated birthday, Parlophone!
To my dear friend whose birthday I missed in a most shameful way:

I love you! I wish you a nice year instead of day. Let it be full of fun things and let your friends be better than me yesterday!

Have some e-tapas from a nice bar )

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01:21 am

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HP recs: two AS/S fics
I still shake my head at myself how I overdosed on HD and, partly, Snarry. It was a stupid thing to read all of the HD Wordcup fics, quite a few HD Inspired fics, and then jump right into Big Bang. I should have waited a bit, but I can never put it off if there's shiny on offer. So I found myself opening the fifth HD novel, reading a page or two, and groaning to myself, "Oh noes, I can't!" :) How you OTPers live I can't imagine! I need to switch from pairing to pairing, otherwise I have a feeling that I've overeaten.

Anyway, right now I'm reading Albus Severus/Scorpius fest fics (which could end with the same kind of overdose, yeah).

Never Trust A Slytherin, by anon (you have to be over 18 and join the comm) #
Albus Severus/Scorpius, NC-17, ~12,500. Warning(s): Swearing, explicit sex, first time, underage (both boys are 17). Summary: Al grinned. It would be the crowning glory of his final year – the one thing that would prove, once and for all, that he was not his dad in any way, shape or form. He would seduce a Slytherin – the son of his father's great enemy – and prove to Scorpius Malfoy his perfect trust in him. How hard could it be?

This one is all sorts of fun and lovely, and very hot. Albus has a spreadsheet of things that make him different from his father, colour-coded spreadsheet even. He has nearly a hundred items on it ticked but everybody still treats him like his father's clone. So he "very cunningly" decides to Trust A Slytherin, for which purpose he picks the son of the person his father mistrusts most and signs his Slytherin younger sister for help. See what I said at the beginning of this rec? Yep, all of those. I have a smile on my face 'cos I'm remembering the fic as I'm typing this rec. Very enjoyable!


Snatched, by anon ##
Albus Severus/Scorpius, some background older-gen canoodling, Hugo/OC; R, ~31,000. Summary: Scorpius Malfoy has always brought out the idiot in Albus Potter. For the past seven years they’ve dealt with this through a cunning application of denial. Now James Potter’s life is being threatened, and everything else is swept to one side as they try to beat the most literal deadline any of them have ever faced.

This is one of the most dynamic, plotty fics I've read in a while, and also a most original mix of magic and Muggle by way of magical television. I've seen a few attempts at creating it in various fics but I liked this one best. You can see how a magical TV news team works at the time of a crisis, and at the same time, how magic could be used in this area. You can also see what moves those TV people and what they do when their personal and professional interests come into conflict. It's utterly fascinating and believable. I also loved who was the initiator of the bloom of new technology in the magical world. Another thing to praise is characters and their relationships: be they work or family or friends, they are so different, so credible, so interesting! And then there's politics! It's 30K words to read in one sitting 'cos you won't want to step away. Absolutely loved it!

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July 7th, 2008
07:41 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 8
*Shows off her new icon* Is Hikaru from Miyamoto Kano's Hydra, made for me by RedDwarfer (thanks again!)

A manga by Naono Bohra that I liked, Yatteranneeze, Crimson Spell, The Ice-Cold Demon's Tale, and more )

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July 5th, 2008
10:36 pm

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 7
Junjou Romantica, talking penises, a lovely style of drawing people, and more )

I need to learn how to use IRC. And I need to make a Hikaru icon -- only Viki will understand me *sobs* :D

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July 4th, 2008
11:10 pm

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Yaoi reading diary. Vol. 6.1
Addendum to the previous yaoi reading report:

- after watching Hydra/Rules by Miyamoto Kano in my head for two days non-stop, I decided that it equals my ##.

- geoviki has posted her guide to reading Hydra/Rules stories. Yay!

Things to come: more yaoi reviews and AS/S recs.

Btw, Rushlight has posted a new interactive novel and I have three more Big Bang H/Ds to read, but I've severely overdozed on HD and long fics, so I'm putting them off for later, meanwhile looking at pretty, i.e yaoi.

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July 3rd, 2008
10:42 pm

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This day in history of pj
Stealing this meme from bethbethbeth.

Sooooo...

July 3, 2007: posted PSOH/HP rec: Berlin, by Delphi; Grandpa D/Albus, PG and five Snape/Harry recs, four of them from Snarry Games.

July 3, 2006: posted Another pointless observation about villains having bad teeth.

July 3, 2005: 17 recs of fics under 20K words (OMG, I'm scary!) and Bandwidth and intellectual property theft report, i.e. report of trying to shake some manners into people from a Russian forum who hotlink art. Sorry, that offer of mine doesn't stand anymore; I don't have the free time now that I had then.

July 3, 2004: Reading rant and bitching, and some LJ links. Several rants in one, and even though my English of then makes me cringe more than my current English does, I still agree with myself in general. Surprising, that :)

July 3, 2003: nothing. But in two months, I'll create my LJ :)

I find that I like my LJ. Do you like yours? Has it turned out as you wanted it to? Do you reread your own posts? I do. Discover lot of interesting things that have been completely erased from my mind since.

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04:38 am

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Yaoi reading diary. Vol.6
A Miyamoto Kano that I liked a lot, three more short manga that I liked, and I coule that I didn't )

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July 1st, 2008
06:17 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 5
Neat e-freak that I am, I put up a page of my favourite yaoi and manga at my site. Two masterlists; everything I enjoy is to be added there.

Today's menu: one mammoth that I liked, a oneshot that squicked me half to death, and a couple of manga that were neither here nor there for me )

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June 30th, 2008
02:21 am

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PSOH squee repost
I decided to do it properly, so bear with me please :)

PSOH5

Pet Shop of Horrors ##
Mangaka: Akino Matsuri
Scanlated by: Eternal Sleep
Status: 10 volumes, licensed; sequel, Shin Pet Shop of Horrors, licensed, ongoing
Genre: Comedy Fantasy Horror Josei Mystery Supernatural
Summary: From Tokyopop: A smoke-filled alley in Chinatown harbors Count D's Pet Shop. The pets sold here aren't your everyday variety and the Count prides himself on selling Love and Dreams in the form of magical creatures that come with an exclusive contract. But buyers beware. If the contract is broken the Count cannot be held accountable for whatever may happen. A fascinating and macabre look into the very soul of human nature.

More covers behind the cut )

My notes: this is my favourite manga of all (well, so far). I love it to bits and pieces. You've probably read manga where the drawing technique was better, more elaborate, unique in the end. You've possibly read manga with a much more solid, tight storyline. I find though that it doesn't really matter. A story doesn't have to be perfect to be utterly enticing. And Pet Shop of Horrors (further PSOH) is. So. Freaking. Charming. )

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12:55 am

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Manga review: They were Eleven by Hagio Moto
They were Eleven
They were Eleven (11-nin iru! ; Juuichi nin Iru) (1975)
Mangaka: Hagio Moto
Genre: Drama Gender Bender Mystery Sci-fi Shoujo
Status: oneshot, part of Four Shoujo Stories
Warning: pretty bad scan quality; reads left to right!
Found: via Parlophone's recommendation
Summary: The elite Cosmo Academy attracts applicants from every stellar nation in the galaxy. One young hopeful is Tadatos Lane, an orphan esper from Terra. The final stage of the academy's entrance exam is a perilous mission simulation aboard an actual derelict starship. The applicants depart for the ships in groups of ten, but when Tada's crew arrives on the Esperanza, they are horrified to discover that they now number eleven. As the test progresses, things go awry and the atmosphere grows increasingly tense. The crew members begin to suspect sabotage, and Tada appears to be the likely culprit.
Read here.

My notes: there are several obstacles to overcome but if you do, this is a really captivating, wonderful story! Those obstacles are: a) the quality of the scan: it's a simple scan of the licensed English version, not cleaned at all; b) it reads left to right. I got terribly confused at the beginning and kept trying to read every other page in the wrong order. Then there are my personal misgivings: Sci-Fi is, arguably, my least favourite genre. "Space ship" for me is like "watersports" for some :) It doesn't mean that I won't enjoy a Sci-Fi story. It means that I'm extremely reluctant to read it. Parlophone told me how nice this story was and gave me the link to go read it. I went there, saw the bad scans and wrinkled my nose in displeasure. I decided to save all the pages to my computer to read at my leisure, using my keyboard for navigation, and got hooked while doing it!

The summary above is sufficient, so I want only to share my thoughts. I think this manga is a good example of coherent storytelling. You'll say "well, duh" but really, how many truly coherent manga I've read recently? Not many. Add to this that They were Eleven has a wonderful balance of humour, suspense, and angst, a fine balance between plot and character development, and you'll get a fine manga to read. The drawing is old-fashioned, but then it's a more than 30-year-old work! But the style overall is very pleasant, as for me. Give it a try!

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June 29th, 2008
04:17 am

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A very important announcement
Scoradh has finished Three Steps Back (R, Albus Severus/Scorpius, sequel to The Road Less Travelled), the awesomest next gen fic I've read. Rambo Dursley! If you haven't read it, run, don't walk!

Waaah! It's ended! Whatever I'll be looking forward to now? :(((

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12:08 am

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Yaoi reading diary, vol. 4
Five yaoi manga, liked two )

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June 26th, 2008
11:59 pm

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HP recs: two fics from the AS/S fest
A Wizard's Guide to Pocket Dwelling, by anon ##
Albus Severus/Scorpius, Albus Severus/other, NC-17, 16K words. Warning(s): Past (post-epilogue) character death discussed. Summary: Eight years after Hogwarts, Albus and Scorpius are flatmates in London. Albus is a bit of a disaster. Scorpius is in love with him, but remains an innocent bystander until he has a not so brilliant idea.

I betaed this fic and since then couldn't wait to see it posted, to rec. Because I loved it. It's a different, fresh, and somehow very real look at the post-war generation, which many commenters note. It's also my favourite fic from this fest (so far, but I suspect it will remain so). This after-war world isn't all smooth and joyful, in the kind of the fairy-tale ending that was hinted at in book 7. Everyone is pretty messed-up and the world on the whole bears the consequences of the war, in various ways. It's not a dark and hopeless tale, however. It's complex and emotionally detached and involving at the same time. That's not a paradox; you'll see when/if you read. The plot is moved very nicely by the gradual revealing of the present circumstances and past mysteries. Absolutely loved it!

Through Harry’s Eyes, by anon #
Albus Severus/Scorpius, PG, 12K words. Summary: Years of working as an Auror have given Harry Potter sharp observational skills. But when his son invites Scorpius Malfoy over to visit, will Harry see something he doesn’t like? Warning(s): Some swearing, kissing and implied sexuality, blatant attempt at POV cleverness, dubious success on said attempt; Harry and Ginny happily married.

IMO, this story is made by the POV (3d person). As I said in my comment, I really liked this Harry, and it was a pleasure to see him have a happy family life, for once. Harry observes his son's relationship with the young Malfoy for years, and comes to conclusions. Some correct, some completely wrong. There are lots of lovely and lively scenes, and it's a really lovely story on the whole. Very enjoyable!

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05:29 am

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Yaoi reading diary, v.3
Four behind the cut )

Meanwhile, they have finished posting Koi no Tsubo by Mizukami Shin in yaoi_daily, and this is so far my favourite yaoi manga (short review here), so it's now marked with a # :)

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June 24th, 2008
06:17 am

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Yaoi reading diary, v.2
Mizukami Shin and more )

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June 23rd, 2008
01:49 am

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Yaoi reading diary, part 1
Usual notes: that's for myself mostly because when I read much of something without jutting down notes, it all gets mixed and confused in my head. But feel free to peek.

Six yaoi mangas behind the cut )

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June 22nd, 2008
02:50 am

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HP recs: H/D Big Bang, post 2, and HD Inspired
Moscow has gone mad. It's nearly 3 o'clock in the morning, and my street is honking with cars and shouting. My friends report that it's the same all over the city. Damn and blast, I'm actually sleepy for once, but football is our everything :( So have some recs, since I can't sleep.

Ain’t No Friend of Mine, by tkp ##
Harry/Draco, PG, ~33K words. Summary: Draco has to face the truth of who he is. The truth has long hair and slobbers.

Draco gets turned into a dog by some [really interesting] magic, which you'll see explained later on. He tries to find a way to London, to somebody who knows him well enough to recognise him in the dog. A stray dog's life, as it turns out, isn't at all fun. His ears get pulled by kids, he gets rough treatment from other dogs, and he has to eat out of rubbish bins -- which he promptly pretends never happened. In one of the places he placed his hopes on to be recognised, he gets into real trouble and is rescued by a PI Harry Potter. Draco as a dog is amazing here! He's some sort of hound (I imagine him like this Saluki), and his dog-brain is at the same time very doggy and very Draco-y.

Potter rubbed his eyes and looked down at Draco. “I thought you would’ve let me know there was someone here,” was all he had to say.

What, like that’s my job here all of the sudden? Draco thought to himself. I just started today. Don’t I get a—I don’t know—an orientation? With instruction pamphlets, about how I’m not your doorbell or personal secretary. Also, éclairs.

Aloud, he barked.

The combination of the two brains is especially amusing when Harry takes the dog to his friends: see how his thoughts about Ginny, for example, fluidly shift and change depending on what she does.

I really liked Harry here. Seeing how JKR's Harry is incredibly well-adjusted, what with his childhood and, well, everything else in his life up to 18, so naturally this fine guy is what we most often see in fanfiction 'cos, well, there's writing a character in character and all that stuff. Here, however, we can see a Harry as he could have been if less, I dunno, incredibly well-adjusted. Which means, rather maladjusted. He is rather inept, both socially and in personal relationships, and it's painful and amusing to see at the same time, but he's still not OOC, as for me. On the whole, I enjoyed the story a lot! Liked it best among the Animagus fest fics that I tried.


Nightingale, by michichu ##
Harry/Draco (Harry/Ginny off-screen), NC-17, novel-length, AU. Warning: This fic contains depictions of sexual dynamics that many readers may find extremely disturbing, and, well, traumatic. Summary: God loved the birds and invented trees. Man loved the birds and invented cages. -Jacques Deval

In my opinion, there's only one problem with this story -- a very small one, in this case. The problem's name is "blonde". The world is used consistently but it's the only epithet used. When it appeared first, I thought it would drive me crazy. But it turned to be really insignificant for me later. So I urge those who dislike "blonde" said about Draco as much as I do to turn a blind eye to it. Because the story is so worth reading!

It tugs on my heartstrings in all the proper ways, desirable ways even. There are two interwoven time lines: the AU sixth year where some events are the same as in the book and others are different and where Harry and Draco form a rather, ahem, unconventional relationship; the other one is present time where Auror!Harry has an on and off relationship with Ginny and where Draco is in St Mungo's mental ward. I don't want to say any more about the plot 'cos it would be spoiler on spoiler, let me just tell you that this story stirred so much emotion in me that I'm still turning it over in my head, having finished it a week ago and read another dozen fics since. It's disturbing and tender at the same time, it's devastating and soothing, it's funny and spooky. At some points, I couldn't say who of the pair was more insane; at others, I couldn't decide if I wanted to kick Harry or wrap him in a fluffy blanket.

Also, this was the story were the accompanying illustrations struck me really hard. Of course looking at all the wonderful artses was the first thing I did, before reading any of the fics. And of course all Big Bang fics have amazing illustrations. But in this story, art by Lilithium and the art for the ending by Sherant simply made me cry. They are wonderful on their own, but when you know what they are about, they are just so much more striking.


Boys Don't Cry, by Furiosity and Pixies ##
Harry/Draco, NC-17, novel-length, AU. Summary: After the eventful Christmas in Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts, his godfather gave him a badly wrapped package. Inside was something Harry could use it to get in contact should the need arise, Sirius said. Harry resolved never to use whatever it was -- he would not put Sirius in danger. When later that year Harry was shown Sirius in terrible danger, he did not think of using Sirius's last-minute gift. Hermione, however, did. This is the story of what happened after that.

This fic shows why I picked the plottiest fic in HD Wordcup and attributed it to F :) (and was mistaken but let's forget about that part, ok?) Because boy, can F do plotty! I'm not very familiar with Pixies's style but I guess that if this is the result, the collab has been very successful. The fic simply swept me off my feet. I've read the first couple of dozen pages (I'd printed it out) and then realised: oh my, I'm 20 pages in and I never noticed I had been turning pages. It's a very interesting AU that starts off the end of the fifth year and then incorporates certain elements of the following books, but not all of them. I think the authors walked the line between "too much the same" and "too much too different" really well. This is, in a sense, my ideal school age H/D fic: on the one hand, it's a really well-done schoolboy H/D that I missed since reading all those classics in my earlier fandom days, on the other hand, it works with all the seven books. Sirius and Kreacher were hilarious and tragic and lovely, Draco and Ollivander's niece were moving and vivid, and the very H/D OMG so hot! Wonderful story, real pleasure to read!

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June 13th, 2008
01:46 am

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HP rec: cat!Harry Snarry
Whee, I got another fic written for that cat!Harry prompt by gzee.

An Inconvenient Affliction, by drachenmina
Snape/Harry, NC-17, ~9300 words. Summary: Harry’s been kicked out by Severus and is having to share Ron and Hermione’s spare bed with Crookshanks. Who gets Kneazle Flu. Can things get any worse? Oh yes.

It's totally a shipper's fic, and established relationship too, which I don't usually care about. But it's also a cat!Harry sitcom which is exactly what I wanted to read, on that prompt. It's hysterically funny. tuna 4 tea was my undoing, and the blowjob and the bath, gosh, I laughed until I cried! Wonderful light comedy!

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June 11th, 2008
02:41 am

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HP recs: Snarry Games, post, I suspect, the last. Probably.
Learning to Speak, by ThreeSidedOrchid (synn) #
Snape/Harry, PG-13, ~10K words. Pre-slash. Genre(s): Romance. Prompt(s): Ashes of Youth, St. Mungo's. Summary: "Most men spend their lives trying to either brush off the ashes of their youth, or rekindle them. The truth is that the only way to move forward is to accept them."

Snape accidentally receives a letter addressed to ... well, no-one actually. On a whim, he replies, thus beginning a correspondence with one of a war heroes kept in St Mungo's special ward. Corresponding with an unknown person is an old cliché but it's a very pleasing story, not the least of all thanks to Twit. What a wonderful OOC, meaning Original Owl Character (to use a 'term' by... Sinick?)! Totally made me melt! I also loved Harry floating on his broom and pushing from the walls and magical snapdragons. Lovely story, very warm, pleasantly romantic, with a nice, unhurried pace.


Exegesis, by Femme ##
Snape/Harry (other pairings mentioned), NC-17, ~49K words. Genre(s): Alternate Reality and Romance. Prompt(s): The Root of All Evil. Warnings: minor character death, religious/theological elements. Summary: Every culture has their tales regarding creatures of the night.

Pretty awesome, as for me. Plotty, original, well thought-out, and wonderfully executed. This is a vampire fic unlike any I've read in HP fandom. Firstly, it's a Muggle AR. Secondly, a Muggle AR where Snape is on the brink of becoming a Catholic priest in Boston. There are thirdly and so on, but they are spoilers, so they are white on white: Harry's a hereditary vampire hunter, a descendant of Bram Stocker, and Lucius Malfoy is a vampire. That's just a teaser. The plot is far more interesting and complex than that!. Muggle AR and vampire!fic are among my least favourite genres of HP fics but wow, how can it keep being so when the fic is that brilliant! It simply swept me off my feet. The melding of canon and AR is incredible. Just see the roles chosen for the characters, learn the story behind the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore's personal history or watch the scene of the final battle! The details are very thoroughly researched, the characters are spot-on, believable and recognisable yet unique. Snape made me fall in love with him again: his search for the elusive faith, his struggles, his self-digging and honesty, his belief and cynicism, his upbringing, what's in his blood, in the end! The writing is so effortless and so striking, like a haunting, beautiful song. Absolutely stunning!

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(6 comments | Leave a comment)

June 9th, 2008
04:34 am

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HP rec: AS/S fest again
The Game of Love, by anon #
Albus/Scorpius, light references to the following: Albus/OFC, Albus/OMC, Albus/Teddy, Scorpius/Rose, Scorpius/Lily; hard R, ~26K words. Summary: Love is whatever you make it to be.

This is, essentially, a coming out fic. I don't usually like those, with all their angst, but I liked this one a lot. The author just made this world too memorable to skip. Take all these complicated family relationships: a very strained one between Draco and his wife, a sort of reversed one between Scorpius and his parents where he behaves more like an adult than them and has to play a distant relationship counsellor for them, when he doesn't much like them as people besides. Or take Scorpius's quiet fanboying of Harry Potter. Or Albus's very close bond with his father. Another thing I liked a lot in this fic is that we see Harry and Draco's generation through the eyes of their children. Do you get what I mean? In too many a next gen fic, Harry and Draco are basically the same as in a H/D fic; they sort of grab the focus of the fic. Here they are 'boring parents', of sorts. They aren't the focus, they aren't very exciting or interesting. I was thinking while reading that Draco reminds me of Lucius as seen in some H/D fics, not in details but in the principle of showing him. And without homicidal plots. Complex, interesting relationships, well fleshed-out characters, angsty and funny moments, hot first time sex. In other words, it has everything I want from a story. Wonderful!

More recs, H/D and AS/S, in the previous posts today.

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