angelheaded hipsters

Still alive!

I have managed to get my family in a cab, through the Art Institute Museum including the Apostles Of Beauty exhibit, into Terzo Piano (the super-swank Art Institute Museum restaurant), out of the museum, back into a cab, through the line at Starbucks, and back to the hotel without breaking anything. I WIN.

My parents have no clue how to cope with the winter-mix of snow and rain we're getting. To be fair, they're not exactly used to it.

Mum: Well, we're from Texas.
Cabdriver: I bet when it snows like this in Texas, the whole city shuts down.
Me: When it snows like this in Texas, the end is nigh.

I had what I think can only be called a MEAT SAMPLER, at Terzo Piano. It's a trio of small burgers, served with fries, but the burgers vary: one is shrimp with some kind of spice sauce, one is lamb with feta cheese, and one is beef with Wisconsin cheddar. It's a surprising amount of meat, and ridiculously delicious.

We're off to get some culture in us tonight, and then tomorrow we'll be building a Christmas Tree from cookies, possibly buzzing my place to pick up the presents I left there, and generally goofing off. It should be AWESOME.

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

So, I can't decide if it's cool or not to point out these first two stories together. I hope the authors aren't offended, because obviously I enjoyed them both immensely but also couldn't help but notice that they are very similar in premise. I think many of you have already read one or the other, depending on your pairing preferences, in which case, you might just want to check out the other one, too, if you like this theme.

The Song of Surrender by Anon at bestmates_xmas (Harry/Ron, NC-17: rope bondage, EWE, 13K)
When Ron catches Harry in a compromising and confusing situation, he does the only thing he can—help Harry.

I love stories that explore kink from a psychological perspective, trying to get at what drives the characters to enjoy whatever it is they enjoy. This story does that beautifully. Two quiet, lovely scenes from Harry's POV bookend the fic, but apart from those, the reader follows Ron's POV as all of us, Ron included, try to understand why Harry has been tying himself up at night. I loved the pacing of this story as this new discovery between Harry and Ron affects their friendship (they aren't in a relationship when the story begins, btw). Hermione is also very real as a supporting character. Harry himself through Ron's eyes is just beautiful, but it's Ron who really shines in this fic. Gently coming to terms with feelings he'd never let himself have before, he anchors everything with the sentiment in the summary line: all he knows is that Harry needs his help, and he'll do anything for Harry. *swoon* A beautiful romance story filled with very real complications and just enough kink to ignite the screen in a slow burn.

Celle Qui Sais Vous Garrotter by Anon at hd_holidays (Harry/Draco, NC-17: rope bondage, EWE, 4K)
Two orgasms and Harry's hand resting tentatively on his hip and Draco still felt wound tight, aching somewhere too deep to rub away.

[First, the author is aware of the typo in the title, so please don't bother complaining about it; mistakes happen, and also, she can't exactly fix it right now. Thx. :) ] Unlike the one above, this story begins with Harry and Draco already in a relationship (although a tentative one, based solely on sex). Like the other, though, it also features one party unwittingly discovering the other in self-imposed bonds and flipping out a little bit. :) Reading them back to back, I couldn't help but compare the pairing dynamics, and because of the pairings, the two stories end up being quite different, I think, despite similar premises. As Harry's best friend in the story above, Ron can't imagine not helping him in any way he needs. In contrast in this story, we get Draco's POV, as the one doing the self-bondage, and his desperate need to keep it private and push Harry away is really heart-wrenching. As an antagonistic pairing rather than a BFF pairing, the tension here has to do with Harry and Draco still struggling to trust each other in the first place. I loved how Draco's vulnerability came across here; I could really feel his horror at having Harry discover and want to be a part of such a private thing for him.

Both these stories are excellent, and again, I hope the comparison doesn't annoy the authors. Maybe I'm the only pairing whore interested in reading both of them anyway, IDK. I couldn't rec one and not the other, though; they both delighted me in slightly different ways. ♥

And two more stories I loved this week -- humour this time!

The Contest by Anon at bestmates_xmas (Harry/Ron, NC-17, 7.5K)
A friendly little contest between friends. Are you master of your wand?

AHAHAHA. You North Americans of a certain age, at the very least, will all recall the infamous Seinfeld episode on which this fic is based. With flatmates Hermione and Neville in on it, too, Harry and Ron embark on a contest to see who can stay... well, master of their wand, so to speak, the longest. Ron's POV is delightful. This is one of those stories where I wanted to quote back a zillion one-liners to the author; it had me snorting into my coffee every three sentences. But underneath the humour, it's also got more depth to it than I would have thought, as Ron struggles with his feelings for Harry. A wonderful, light read if you need some humour this week. :)

Mad Wolves and Englishmen by Anon at snupin_santa (Snape/Lupin, NC-17, 17K)
When two quarreling Order members are sent on holiday together, they quickly discover that Albus Dumbledore is a strong believer in 'bonding through adversity.' In this case, 'adversity' is a town called Purgatory, Texas.

No, it's not AU. :) Following the events at the end of PoA, Dumbledore decides the two enemies need to make up a little bit. So he tricks them into touching a Portkey that sends them to a bed-and-breakfast in the middle of Texas... in the summer. WIN! Yeah, the scenario is a bit cracky (okay, a lot cracky), and this kind of setting isn't always my kind of thing, BUT, it's incredibly well executed here. There is wry humour, hijinks that somehow never go over the top, a Snape POV that had me cackling like mad, a Lupin who takes to cowboy life like a fish to water, and a couple of local OCs who almost steal the fic. The Wizarding/Muggle universe the author creates in this locale is also really cool and very well thought out. It might not be the most, um, plausible fic out there, but by the time you're into it, I dare you to care. It's tremendously good fun, with some steamy romance along the way. I loved it. (And I have a sneaking suspicion of the author, hee).

I know, many folks are very busy this week with the holidays, but if you do find time to do some reading or art viewing, try to leave a little comment for the author or artist! It's the gift that keeps on giving, and such. ♥

I woke up this morning and wondered why I couldn't move my arms properly. Had I slept wrong? Was I sick?

OH NO, I just took a cramp after moving a bajillion boxes yesterday. :D

We spent the evening in, watching Holstein decide that my shirt sleeves were evil and mocking the evening news. I also discovered that I left ALL THE PRESENTS I bought for people in my flat, so at some point today or tomorrow we have to go back to my flat, BRAVING THE THREE PERILOUS INCHES OF SNOW, to get my gifts for everyone.

In our family it's been a tradition since I was tiny that on Christmas eve you get to open two gifts, which are invariably a book and a pair of pyjamas, so you can read yourself to sleep waiting for Santa, and on Christmas morning you're in nice new pjs for present-opening. Last night, despite it not quite being Christmas, Mum gave me fancy new flannel pyjamas, and instead of a book I got a stuffed sock monkey.

Oh family. Never change.

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First off: eeee! *glomps teary_eyed2* I was not expecting any fannish mail this Christmas, but your card arrived this afternoon and totally made my day. Thank you!! ♥

Happiest of birthdays to arlad (today) and 1297 (tomorrow) -- hope your birthdays are as special as you ladies are. *hugs*

Have some recs.

( HP Fic and Art )

( ST Fic, Art, and Vid )

In case I don't post again before Christmas, I hope those of you who celebrate have a wonderful holiday. *hugs flist*

WELL THAT WAS AN AFTERNOON.

My family arrived at my place and I told them, and this was my mistake, "You're going to have to go down the street, turn around, and pull up to my place so we can unload."

They got stuck in the snow at the end of the street.

Three inches of snow.

In a four wheel drive pickup.

I MIGHT HAVE LOLED. And then spent forty minutes helping push them out.

Anyway, we got my new hideous chair and my bookshelf up to my apartment, took the rest of my stuff to storage, dropped off the U-Haul trailer, and made our way downtown to the hotel. It took us two trips to get all the luggage to the hotel room, because everything my parents brought is in tote bags. Apparently they've sworn off luggage? I don't even know.

But we are here in the hotel now, safe and warm and awaiting room service. We were upgraded, which rocks the house; it means that the room I'm sharing with Emmy is just a room, but if we go next door my parents have a PALATIAL SUITE we can all hang out in.

And, obvs, the internet works.

I'm so glad we have no more moving to do.

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( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

Things that are making me happy this week:

1. As much as I enjoy giving and receiving at fests, you know what I also love? Seeing a gift go up that is all, "A gift for ____!" wherein "____" is the name of someone you totally fangirl but haven't seen around for awhile and had no idea was in the fest, and then you squeal like a little girl and frantically go through every entry at the fest trying to find their contribution in order to flap your hands over it. AND THEN FIND IT! I love that.

2. Beta'ing a Yuletide story that made me go all *happy sigh* over super minor fandom that possibly only the author, recipient, and me are interested in. :)

3. Making huge progress and being excited about Writing Project that has been stalled and guilt-making for a loooong time. Woo!

4. marguerite_26. But that's every week, really.

5. Advent drabbles/ficlets many of you are doing. Short bursts of multi-pairing fic! I love opening my flist in the morning in December and inhaling little!fic. I'm trying my hardest to always comment, but even if you don't see me, I am probably totally reading and flailing over your advent drabbles.

6. Recc'ers (and I don't mean, like, me, but rather, YOU). Authors and artists and readers/viewers/commenters are AWESOME, and so are this fest season's recc'ers. I appreciate it so much when someone takes the time to point at stuff I might like. *flappy hands*

Things that are making me sad this week:

1. My f***ing website. Can anyone with any expertise on these matters tell me what the hell is wrong with it? I don't think it's been working for months. Some good folks have pointed this out to me recently, but I figured it was just down for a few hours and thus didn't really try to do anything about it. But no, it seems to be down forever. For no reason. And slashcity just sent me the bill for 2010. Is this worth paying for? I notice from poking around at other people's sites who use slashcity that this is maybe just me. I cannot possibly be over bandwidth, I don't think, but then, I don't really know what bandwidth is or how it works. :/ And I can't even get into my admin console thing to check stats and maybe see what's wrong. Fail. I mean, all my fic is on LJ/IJ anyway, so maybe I can let the site lapse? I kind of liked having it all off LJ/IJ, too, though. Wah. HALP.

All right, off to do some more shopping. :D

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I kept meaning to make an LJ entry today, and then things kept happening in my brain, you don't even want to know. So instead, you get a list!

1. While my knee is healing rapidly (I'm a good healer, to make up for tripping on NOTHING, ALL THE TIME) I've had to shorten my gait, so it takes me like, five minutes longer to get EVERYWHERE. This is improving my balance however.

2. The slow-walking thing is why I'm glad that the mailman came to see me today and took the last of my Christmas mailings, because omg I did not want to walk to the post office.

3. Which in turn means I can get a cab home. Ooooooh. And clean the kitchen in preparation for The Arrival Of My Family.

3a. Five bucks says that the first thing Emmy says to me when she sees the collage I made of images you guys sent me is, "Why is there a naked man with a frying pan in the corner?"

I'm going to just have to tell her "Art is its own explanation" or something equally ridiculous because I often ask myself the same question, and have yet to find an answer beyond "It was there."

So as the year draws to a close, I thought I might talk about the television I have watched during it, and hear about other people's television. I have noticed that my year's viewing has a common theme - one of my favourite themes. Sensible Girls, and the Romantic Boys Who Love Them.

One thing I watched was the second season of Merlin. I have written up my thoughts on season one Merlin here.

MERLIN SEASON TWO

ARTHUR: My new contract states I must be shirtless at least once an episode.
GWEN: Now I am going to be a love interest, I am looking extremely foxy in several new gowns. I am never shirtless, because this is the BBC.
MERLIN: Nobody fed me over the summer, and I am feeling weak.
MORGANA: Nobody gave me any lines for the upcoming season, and I am feeling evil.

( Merlin Season Two, continued )

Since I am devoted to L.J. Smith, who at sixteen was my Twilight, I was certain to watch The Vampire Diaries. I saw the pilot at Comic Con, and was hugely delighted to see that the hero and heroine wrote their sad, sad diaries sadly in sync.

Then I saw more, and I have been most excellently pleased by it!

( Vampire Diaries so far )

My flatmates and I bought the box set of Bones and watched it together, drinking cups of hot chocolate with ice-cream in them.

SARAH: I dunno. I love Partners Who Fight Crime an awful lot, but I'm just not sure I can take FBI Agent Angel.
DR BRENNAN: I am a lady who would rather poke around in human soup with bones floating in it than think about her feelings! Also I enjoy casual relationships and am bad at being charming.
FBI AGENT ANGEL: I am pretty good at being charming, and I am in touch with my feelings. I am not as smart as you but I am totally comfortable with not being a crazy genius!
DR BRENNAN AND FBI AGENT ANGEL: Together we goofily fight crime.
SARAH: The truest loves are found through goofily fighting crime. NEXT BOX SET PLEASE.

In summary, I love Sensible Girls and the Romantic Boys Who Love Them. I also love things that are kind of ridiculous. What kind of thing do you love?

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

So, my parents and sister are driving cross-country to Chicago for the next two days, in order to bring me the stuff I left in storage with them when I moved here. They're also bringing me The Best Chair Ever, which my mother acquired sometime in the 70's. It has bright-orange nubbly upholstery, and is almost unbearably comfortable. I am very excited to own a hideous comfortable chair.

What I had not anticipated is that my parents would not pack things with which to entertain each other while they are on the road (I have no doubt Emmy is glued to her headphones and hopefully struggling through the last of The Great Gatsby for school). As the dog -- who they're bringing along, apparently in a padded box mounted on the dashboard -- is asleep, mum's primary source of entertainment is texting me.

I love them. I just have to remind myself sometimes.

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DEAR INTERNETS,

I NEED MAILING ADDRESSES FOR DISTRIBUTION OF CARDS AND PRESENTS. IF YOU GIVE ME A MAILING ADDRESS YOU ARE DEFINITELY GETTING SOMETHING FROM ME, THAT'S HOW I'M DECIDING THIS.

COMMENTS ARE SCREENED, OR YOU CAN EMAIL howlsoftly@gmail.com FOR GRATE EKSPEEDYENCE.


PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE LATE, THO. HOPE Y'ALL'RE OKAY WITH THAT.


HUGS AND KISSES AND CAPS,
KIRBY~

I've been wrangling this post over and over in my head for about a month now, perhaps a little longer, and it's still just plain messy, so I'm going to plow through and see what I can make of it.

At the start of November, a friend of mine died. Her husband's wishes are that there be no memorial post, so I'm not going to talk about who; if you knew her, you've heard by now, and if you don't know who, then you needn't worry.

K and I met via the Whofandom earlier this year, while I was working on Nameless, and we shared an interest in digital publishing and its effect on the wider world. Not to make this all about me -- though grieving usually is about the survivors -- but she was instrumental in opening my eyes to some things about writing, and my writing in particular, that I hadn't considered.

She sent me an essay on Nameless that she'd been working on, examining the use of geography and space in the novel. It was a brilliant piece of work standalone, but it brought home to me the fact that this story wasn't just being read by the Cafe or talked about it amongst people I knew. It was out there, in the world, and people were reading it and forming opinions that had nothing to do with what I thought or felt. People were analyzing what I did and finding things in the writing I hadn't consciously put there, but which were there anyway -- the same way I did in school with books I read and plays I worked on. To be the subject of that focus is at once thrilling and frightening, but endlessly educational.

She made me feel -- as the VOYA review and many people have done since, but with her, it was the first time -- like a Real Published Writer.

I've since learned through a mutual friend (to whom I am indebted for maintaining communication when K's eyesight failed her, and sharing in the mourning) that she had a wide array of literary interests and that I was in extremely respectable company under her eye. I'm glad to have known her and the thoughts she had on my work. She had notes on The Dead Isle too, which I expect to have in due time, when the sorting and sifting and other work is done. I'm very much looking forward to hearing what she said about it.

Um, there's no real point to this post, really, except to say that K did this thing for me, and was a friend. I want to put out there in the world that I miss her, I wish I'd known her better, and I wish I'd known her longer. Grief is natural and fades, and I'm okay; but I wanted to say it, so that it's there.