Clever Boot's Closet

Puzzle Quest update

2009-11-27T02:16:23Z

Following up on yesterday's post:

MWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Fuck you, you two-headed son of a bitch!!!

*Ahem*

So, yes. I beat Dugog. That is all.

Puzzle Quest

2009-11-26T03:56:54Z

So, I got a Nintendo DS a little while ago. I got a few games which I'm enjoying very much (whee! Lego Star Wars: the Complete Saga is awesome!). But there's this one game that I've gotten fucking addicted to...

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords. I have no idea WHY it is so addicting, but it is. You do your fantasy-questing-fighting-zombies-learning-magic business, becoming a knight-wizard-warrior person, but you fight the battles by doing gem-swapping puzzles. My problem is that I've reached the first Boss and he's a fucking annoyingly unbeatable bastard and it's driving me crazy. I've played the round, like, 80 times and I CANNOT win! I've even looked him up on VG forums and apparently he's the most difficult Boss to beat in the game. I mean, WTF? Why would you put the hardest one first?

Anyway, his name is Dugog and he's a 2-headed Ogre. Anytime he so much as sneezes, he gets about 30 extra turns. I move once, he moves 20-hundred-thousand times, collects ALL the goddamn mana, slices my health points down to El Zippo... and then I get to move again. And then I die. Oh joy.

The game was fun and really not that difficult until him. Now I want to chuck the DS out the window. I may not be the world's foremost authority on gem-swapping, but I don't deserve this.

I hate you, Dugog.

NaNoWriMo Update

2009-11-06T05:16:01Z

We've reached the end of Day Five. The goal-to-date is 8333. I haven't quite gotten there. I'm doing okay. Not great, but not horrifically, either. So I guess that's something, at least.

Word count to date:
5171/8333

Yuzzah!

2009-10-27T06:24:19Z

It's that time of year again.

I actually remembered this year, so good for me. I'm all registered and I'm part of the local community team (sort of) and everything. So... here's hoping!

Anyone else doing it this year?

Merlin 2x03

2009-10-04T07:37:06Z

Initial impressions of episode:

-I'm really, really liking Morgana this season
-In spite of the Arthur/Merlin shipper inside of me (who is off crying in the corner right now), I'm really kinda of hoping that the chick Merlin's kissing at 1:15 in this vid is Morgana. (Plus, I'm still really, really curious about why he's crying at that moment, too)
-I loved seeing mini!Mordred again, wheee!
-It was nice to see the Arthur interaction with Merlin finally seem more like friendship again. It's been lacking so far this season, I found.
-Preview for next week looks kinda boring, seeing as I'm not a Gwen fan
-Aaaaaaand, final thought...

MERLIN, I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU PUNKED OUT ON HER!!!!! TELL MORGANA YOU'RE MAGICAL, TOOOOOOOO!!!! DO IT NOW!!!! YOU BIG WUSS, TELL HERRRRR!!!

*ahem*

And yeah. That's all for now.

New Blackberry (+ reviews)

2009-09-25T07:26:56Z

So, I got a new cell phone plan today. My old contract just ended and I had NO INTENTION of going back to my previous provider, so I went a'lookin' for a new one. I found a plan which I think I'll do quite well with. And also got a new Blackberry, which I am delighted with. XD It's red!

Aside from that, reviews for stuff I watched in the past week and a half:
How I Met Your Mother, Season 5, Ep. 1-
Loved it. I'm a huge Barney/Robin shipper and was absolutely delighted. Also, the Indy!hat&whip made me giggle. Repeatedly.

Merlin, Series 2, Ep. 1-
I enjoyed it very much, especially the convo between Merlin and Sigan near the end, b/c it made me want to hug Merlin and never let him go. It didn't really feel like a new season, though, I have to say. It just kind of feels like the next episode of Series 1. Which is fine, but I think I was expecting this series to feel... I dunno, more intense than last year or something. Possibly I've been reading too much slashy fanfiction.

Fringe, Season 1, Ep. 1-9-
I've recently started renting season 1 of Fringe from Blockbuster, one disc at a time. I'm liking it more than I ever thought I would. This is most likely due to Joshua Jackson's portrayal of Peter Bishop. I have been in love with Joshua Jackson since I was tiny and he was in the Mighty Ducks movies, so I am very happy that he's actually gone on to make a decent name for himself now that he's all growed-up. But that's beside the point.

I like Fringe. I adore Peter and, most especially, his interaction with his mentally-unstable father. Walter introducing himself to Astrid for the third time and forgetting his own last name, only to have Peter fill in the blank for him and then say, "Don't mention it"? Priceless. The show is sort of filling in that gap that X-Files used to be in. And JJ Abrams working on it probably doesn't hurt, either. I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

...I miss X-Files. *pout*

Annnnndd Supernatural, Season 5, Ep. 3
I am utterly and completely infatuated with the Dean+Castiel parts of this episode. They were AMAZING and hysterical and I REALLY, REALLY think that Dean dragging Cas to whore-houses should become the show's new theme. Also, I imagine that Dean/Cas shippers will have a field day with it.

On the flip-side, the Sam storyline makes me weep inside. The Lucifer thing at the end does not surprise me, but it makes me wary about what Kripke's planning to do with it. I hope he's careful.

Also, Sammy needs a haircut. Though, admittedly, shirtless!Sam is gorgeous, too-long hair or not.

That'll be all for now. :)

Best. Emmys. EVER!

2009-09-21T07:46:06Z

So, for those of you living under a rock, Neil Patrick Harris hosted the Emmy Awards earlier tonight. And he was AWESOME!!! Seriously, he really, really was - I'm not just saying that because I want to have his and David Burtka's adorable, Broadway-actor babies. Anyone who wasn't watching, I pity you.

And, of course, there was a special interruption mid-show, featuring some familiar faces (XDXDXD!!!):

Side-note: They DID win, if anyone's wondering. For Outstanding Special Class Short Format Live Action Entartainment Program (or, to quote Joss Whedon, "the award for Most Incomprehensible Category"), which you can see Here. ;P

Fic: Friendly Intervention (Part 1 of possibly 3-ish)

2009-09-18T04:50:59Z

Title: Friendly Intervention (Part 1)
Author: cleverboot
Rating: PG-13 for language
Pairing: Sirius/Remus (pre-)slash, minor James/Lily
Timeline: Autumn of the Marauders’ 7th year
Summary: In which James is highly obnoxious, Sirius doesn’t quite get the point (and frankly has no intention of trying to get the point), Remus is just a little bit confused, and Lily’s hypothesis that all boys are dumb is proven correct.
Disclaimer: Not mine, which makes me sad.
Author’s Note: Posted to remusxsirius. So, this is sort of a sequel to Confessions Between Friends. You don’t HAVE to read that first by any means, but it would probably be helpful. This story… got longer than I though it would. I’m thinking it might need to be posted in two or three parts…
Feedback: is loved and cherished like a small and adorable pet! ^___^

*****

“You really should tell Moony that you fancy him,” James said one night, as he lay on his back on the cold flagstone floor on the top of the Astronomy tower. Sirius snorted.

Amazingly enough, the two of them were actually on the Astronomy tower in order to do Astronomy. Their most recent night-time practical class had been during the full moon and, not willing to miss Moony’s transformation, his three friends had claimed a deeply unpleasant and – due to a collective lack of imagination – very contagious illness and skived off. Remus and Peter had done their make-up assignment a few nights back, but Sirius and James had gotten detention on short notice and hadn’t been able to make it out until tonight.

“For the sixteen-hundred-and-thirty-second time, I don’t fancy Moony,” Sirius protested emphatically. Yet again. For all the good it did. Which was – apparently – none whatsoever. He always endeavoured to be very firm when saying it, despite the fact that it may not have been precisely honest. Per se. “You’re the one who seems to want to keep bringing it up,” he observed, in an attempt to change the subject. “I’m starting to think YOU might fancy Moony.”

James grinned. “Oh, Pads, you needn’t get yourself all worked up and enraged with jealousy. I would never do that to you. I’m a nice guy. I wouldn’t steal the boy you’ve so obviously had your eye on right out from under your nose. Even though I totally could, if I wanted to. That’s not gentleman-like behaviour.”

Sirius rolled his eyes. James eyed him critically. “Well, if you’re going to be that way, what’s wrong with Moony, anyway? Is he not good enough for you or something?”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Sirius muttered.

As was par for the course, James went on ignoring anything Sirius might be saying that he didn’t want to listen to, despite the pretence that he was asking his friend a question. Sirius figured he just wanted to hear himself talk, most likely because he still seemed to be under the delusion that he was actually funny.

“I mean,” he continued, pretending he hadn’t heard Sirius say anything, “aside from his furry little problem, his occasional annoying rule-abiding tendencies and the fact that he becomes an obnoxious Scottish nationalist whenever he’s drunk, what in particular is so unappealing about him as to put him so far beneath your notice?”

Sirius sighed, highly irritated and utterly, completely unwilling to discuss this particular topic. “You are a pillock, and I am ignoring you now,” he announced.

“Yeah?” James replied, rather snootily and childishly, in Sirius’s opinion. “Well, I think you’re a pillock and that you’ve got the hots for Moony, but you don’t want to admit it because you’re SCARED to. Like a little girl. So there.”

“I am too busy ignoring you and mapping out constellations like the good and studious young man that I am to have any idea what you’re talking about,” Sirius declared, somewhat louder than was necessary.

“Like a weeping little girl with pink ribbons in her pigtails,” James added cheerfully.

“You’re a bastard. And also, I’m not scared of anything.”

“Pink ribbons AND holding a lollypop,” came the conclusion.

“I will kill you, Prongs,” Sirius said, eyes narrowing.

And that only succeeded in making the obnoxious, obnoxious grin bigger than ever. “If you kill me, I’ll just come back and haunt Moony so that I can tell him all about how much you looove him.”

Sirius didn’t reply, but he did glare venomously, fighting against the eye twitch he’d started developing recently whenever James started mentioning “love” and “Moony” in the same sentence. It had been happening rather a lot lately. He turned back to his star map, fiercely and tensely marking and labelling the relevant constellations, while James continued grinning at him. Eventually, he softly starting to sing: “Padfoot and Moony, sitting in a tree; K-I-S-S-I-”

Sirius abruptly stood up, which actually succeeded in making James shut his stupid mouth.

Content that he’d done all that he could map-wise on top of the tower for tonight, Sirius rolled up his parchment and put it in his bag. “You about done?” he asked James as he slung the shoulder strap over his head. The other boy was still stretched out on the floor, parchment and other belongings scattered around him, having been too busy being an annoying fuckhead to keep up with his work for the past few minutes.

“Oh, I’m pretty close,” he answered blithely, unconcerned.

“Good,” Sirius said. He promptly pointed his wand at James’s parchment and calmly said, “Incendio.” He then turned around, strode down the stairs and left the tower, heading back towards the common room and ignoring his friend’s shouting and cursing behind him as he attempted to put out the fire that was devouring his already-late schoolwork.

“You utter, utter bastard! Bloody, fucking hell, oww! I am going to feed you your own head, Black!”

*****

Sirius huffed his way into the common room, not nearly so calm and collected in appearance as he was telling himself he was. James Potter was really starting to piss him off. So what if he enjoyed spending time with Moony? Or if he found him attractive? He was gay, he was allowed to appreciate the aesthetic appeal of his friend in his own mind if he fucking well FELT like it, and it was none of Prongs’ goddamn business, thank you very much.

Remus noticed Sirius enter from where he was sitting on the floor by a low table in front of the fire, studying with Lily Evans. He waved and smiled in greeting, which Sirius responded to by nodding in his direction with an obviously-forced smile in return before he hurried out of the common room and up the stairs to their dormitory. Remus frowned. “Am I paranoid or is there something up with Sirius?”

Beside him, Lily was going over her Arithmancy notes, thoroughly absorbed as she studied in anticipation for the quiz they would be having the next day. “Hmmm… yeah,” she replied, obviously not paying attention. Remus rolled his eyes and rapped on the edge of her text with his knuckles and pulled it a few inches away from her. It caused her to actually look up at him, but she didn’t appear pleased about it.

“What do you want?” she demanded. Clearly, she wanted him to get to the point of whatever he was bothering her about quickly, so that she could get back to her notes.

“I was asking if you know what Sirius’s problem might be?” he asked with exaggerated slowness.

Lily snorted and snatched her book back, immediately burying her nose in it again. “He’s insane,” she stated simply.

Remus sighed. “No, I meant besides that.”

He put his arms up on table between them, folding them down together and propping his chin on top of them. He looked at Lily expectantly, but said nothing more. Exasperated, Lily mentally damned his non-intrusive and frustratingly effective methods of getting attention, and slammed her book down on the table again.

“Well, I don’t know, Remus,” she said, making no effort to hide her irritation. The interruption in her study time was quite enough on its own. Interrupting her studying in order to talk about Sirius Black... Well. “He’s a childish maniac who has got most of the school hypnotized into thinking that he’s hilarious,” she said decidedly. She shrugged. “What do you expect me to say? I can’t say as I’ve taken particular notice of any peculiar activity on his part recently, but as I usually endeavour most whole-heartedly to ignore him as best as I possibly can, that’s not really saying much.”

“Yeah, but…” Remus sighed, not really sure what he was trying to get at. He leaned back, away from the table and scratched the back of his head as he thought it over. “He’s been acting very strange recently,” he attempted.

Lily shrugged again, unconcerned. Her attention was clearly straying back to her notes. “If you’re that worried, ask James. The two of them do tend to share just the one brain between them.”

Remus’s brow furrowed with something that was almost like confusion, but with a touch of irritation as well. “I would ask James, but lately whenever I try to talk to him, he just grins at me madly and cackles to himself and doesn’t really answer anything I say, except occasionally in riddles only he seems to understand.”

“This is different from the usual… how, precisely?” Despite the words, however, it was clear that the mention of her boyfriend’s behaviour had finally succeeded in catching Lily’s attention.

All Remus could do was shrug. “I dunno, exactly. It’s like he’s teasing Sirius about something, but Lord only knows what. They’ve both been uncharacteristically close-mouthed on the subject.” Lily was actually looking mildly curious now. Remus glanced around, ascertaining that no one was paying very close attention to them and leaned towards her across the table again, speaking more softly than before.

“I told them that I, er, am not overly picky as to the gender of my potential partners recently.” He paused, looking at her closely to gauge her reaction. He was mildly surprised at feeling disappointed at the complete lack of one altogether. Clearly, this wasn’t a fact that came as a surprise to Lily.

“Uh huh. And?”

Remus felt somewhat disgruntled at that and wasn't sure why. Perhaps he’d just come to expect drama about the revelation at this point - his mother had stared at him blankly for a full minute before smashing a glass against the wall and then, acting as though she hadn’t done anything unusual at all, very calmly saying, “That’s lovely, darling,” and requesting that he hold off a while on telling his father. Pushing that feeling aside, he continued. “Well, Sirius has been acting oddly ever since. I mean, he’s said that the liking-boys-thing doesn’t bother him at all and James swears up and down that he’s telling the truth, but nothing else has changed since then. I can’t think what else it might be.”

“Hmm.” Lily’s eyes had narrowed and the look on her face had become calculating. “Interesting.”

Remus cocked an eyebrow. “Not quite the word I was thinking.”

“That’s because you’re male and therefore simple-minded in matters of behavioural observation,” Lily explained patiently. She gave him a comforting pat on the arm. “It’s okay, it’s just your nature. It isn’t your fault.”

He took a moment to consider whether he should feel offended by that or not, but decided to leave it be. “What do you suggest as a course of action then, oh Wise One?” he asked.

She smiled. “Oh, that’s easy. Exactly what I said to do, only I’ll be the one doing it instead of you.” At his confused look, she rolled her eyes. “I’ll ask James,” she clarified.

Remus was sceptical. “What makes you think he isn’t going to just act like a lunatic at you, too?”

The look Lily gave him this time showed very clearly that she considered him very dim for asking that question in the first place. The portrait hole across the room opened again as she replied, “They’re called breasts, Remus.”

“SIRIUS BLACK, YOU BLOODY, FUCKING FILTHY EXCUSE FOR A BEST FRIEND, GET YOUR CONCEITED, SELF-RIGHTEOUS, PANSY ARSE DOWN HERE THIS GODDAMN INSTANT SO THAT I CAN KICK THE FUCKING SNOT OUT OF YOU!!!”

Lily and Remus, along with the few other people who were still hovering around the common room this late in the evening all turned to stare at James Potter as he stormed across the room to the foot of the stairs to the boys’ dorms and bellowed at the top of his lungs. A distant but still clearly audible reply of “Fuck you, Potter!” came echoing down.

James glared up the stairs, made a rude gesture and abruptly gave up, apparently not in the mood for arguing anymore tonight. Instead, he turned, gave no notice to all of the people openly staring at him, spotted his friend and girlfriend, and came over to drop himself down to sit next to Lily.

“You know, I write home to my mother everyday, telling her how very lucky I consider myself, what with being courted by such a charming, elegant, mature young man and all,” she said wistfully. James grinned, put his arm around her shoulders and made an attempt to kiss her. She shoved him away and glared. “Get your filthy hands and your filthier mouth off me.”

Remus, too, gave him a look of disapproval. “You realize you’ve probably just woken up most of Gryffindor tower and all you actually succeeded in doing is most likely getting us both locked out of our dormitory for the night.” James shrugged, apparently unconcerned.

“I’m sure Lily would put me up for the night.”

Lily snorted and muttered, “In your dreams.” James leered at her and started to say something in reply, but Remus put his hands up in protest.

“Please stop talking. I’m begging you.”

James pouted in disappointment, but Lily and Remus both gave him very firm looks. “Oh, fine then. Be no fun.” He leaned back and made himself comfortable against the base of an ottoman. “So, what were you two talking about?”

“Breasts,” Lily replied easily. “Mine, more specifically.” James’ eyes widened impressively and Remus felt the heat flare on his face as he flushed red, but Lily didn’t pay either of them any attention. “As in James Potter will never be allowed to see them until he learns some proper manners,” she clarified. Mouth gaping, James stared at her as she stood up and gathered her books off the table. “And with that, I’ll be going to bed. Sweet dreams, dear.”

She smiled sweetly at James before turning her back on him to face Remus. She bent down, swaying her hips slightly as she did – and most certainly on purpose, since there was no conceivable way that she could not know that James was still gaping at her and blatantly staring at her ass – and gave Remus a chaste kiss on the cheek.

“Initial target is engaged,” she whispered to him. Remus raised an eyebrow at her questioningly, but she merely smiled back and winked. She then turned and strolled across the room and up the stairs to the girls’ dormitories.

As soon as Lily disappeared up the stairs – or perhaps more honestly, as soon as her backside did – James sighed, obviously still slightly dazed, but happy nonetheless. “I’m going to marry that girl,” he announced proudly.

Remus sighed and rolled his eyes. “For the record, you are also insane,” he stated.

James gave him a confused look in return. “Huh?”

Remus just shook his head. “Never mind.”

*****

To be continued...

whimper SPN! Nooo!

2009-09-18T04:16:22Z

Gah! SUN TV froze right before the climax of tonight's episode of Supernatural! *sob* On the positive side, we only missed a minute or two before we found another channel in our menu that has it. But still!

Other (vague, but somewhat spoiler-y) points:
-Castiel saying that God isn't on a piece of flatbread. OMG, I *heart* Cas! ^___^
-Dean's amulet! ='(
-Am I the only one who doesn't remember who the fuck "Rufus" is?
-Excellent use of Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky
-I kinda liked the Croatoan atmosphere of the episode. But that might just be me.
-Ellen's back, w00t! Loved her ordering Dean to put her on speed-dial
-I didn't mind Jo's return nearly so much as I thought I would. Weird.
-The red "steed" of War? Awesome.
-Sam... Bud, I love you, but I've gotta side with Dean on the non-trusting-you thing.

GDL!!!

2009-09-18T00:10:09Z

OMGOMGOMG! Whee!!! Everybody look, now now now! It's Gareth! And he's got a wonderful detective-y beard! XDXDXD

http://www.canyousaveher.com/

cleverboot @ 2009-09-15T00:37:00

2009-09-15T03:41:16Z

Dude. Catholics are insane. Did you know that they have patron saints for disappointing children? And file makers? And "frost, against"? I mean, I've got nothing personally against Catholics (though some of them have something against me), but seriously. Insane, the lot of them.

Update of me

2009-09-08T17:53:40Z

Hey all! I haven't been on for a while. Which is bizarre and uncharacteristic. You can blame RL and a new RPG for that one.

So lets see. Updates on me. Well, here's couple off the top of my head:
--Went camping a couple weeks ago. It was on Hurricane Bill (which was made of sucky hurricane-fail, btw) weekend. A Moncton radio DJ laughed and made fun of us when we called in the request a song and we told him what our weekend plans were. Joke was on him, I don't know if we've ever had a LESS weather-interrupted camping trip.

--I had to drop out of hsmbigbang, which devastated me a little, b/c I actually had most of a story done. I just didn't have time to finish the draft by the deadline. Boo. Oh, well. I'll end up posting what I've got on idontdance eventually, so it's not a waste.

--Went to the FREX (Fredericton Exhibition) last night with D. It was AWESOME! I totally have no voice today and that's perfectly fine with me.

--Following the trend of pretty much every other one of my old high school friends these days, a friend told me today that she's pregnant. This time with her second kid. Which I don't understand. She doesn't even have a happy marriage, plus she already got way delayed in her job training because of the time off she had to take b/c of the first kid. I mean, I think they're buying defective condoms or something. I just do not understand.

And in happy addition, I've got a good portion of the sequel (can I call it a sequel? Yeah, I suppose it is) to Confessions Between Friends done. I'll probably post it in two or three parts, not sure yet. I need to edit it a little, but the first part should be up soon! W00T!

Meme-thingy

2009-08-15T06:36:33Z

Blatantly swiped from cb_eaglemaniac

You must write your answers in your own LJ and replace any question that you dislike with a new, original question.

This meme "forbids" the meme filler-outers from refusing to tag people. If you want to do the meme, I hereby tag thee!

1. Who sleeps in bed next to you?
I'm a kicker who hates being hot when I sleep. Thus, the answer is No One (except teddy bears and assorted plushies because they can double as pillows)

2. Have you ever lied to a teacher to get out of a deadline?
Hmmm... the words "Hell, yes" come readily to mind.

3. What kind of magazines do you read?
I work in a large chain bookstore with its own magazine section. As such, magazines are the absolute bane of my existence and I detest them and everything they stand for. (...that said, I do occasionally glance through Entertainment Weekly--mostly because Stephen King is a columnist and I lurrrve him)

4. What's your occupation?
As mentioned in the previous question, I'm a customer "experience" rep at Chapters, a rather large Canadian chain of bookstores. It rocks my socks.

5. What's really creepy?
The ginormous spiders currently living on my balcony. *sadface*

6. Who is your celebrity crush?
Jensen Ackles, Mischa Collins and Eliza Dushku a little bit - Dollhouse is kinda made of awesome ;P

7. What's your current fandom/obsession/addiction?
Where to start? Uh, Doctor Who, Torchwood (though pretty much just pre-CoE these days), Harry Potter like whoa, Supernatural, Angel and HSM (yes, I'm a huge loser-dork. Sue me).

8. What are you listening to right now?
A couple things by Jem and "Love Will Come Through" by Travis

9. What are you most excited for?
Lola coming home and then camping, w00t!

10. What websites do you always visit when you go online?
LiveJournal... I dunno, the others tend to vary with my mood. Ooooh, Youtube! That's a constant, too.

11. What was the last thing you bought?
Chocolate from Rocky Mountain.

12. What was the cutest thing you've seen today?
My manager's two-year-old daughter... and cb_eaglemaniac's GDL picture. ^___^

13. Does the weather affect your mood?
Rather severely, strangely enough.

14. What is your zodiac sign?
Cancer

15. Do you want to learn another language?
I'm trying to up my French skills again (you wouldn't think seven years of immersion would dissolve from your brain so completely). And learning Welsh would be nice, though I don't know when I would ever get the chance to use it. Or learn it properly, for that matter. *pout*

16. 5 things you can't live without:
Friends, family, books, computer, sketch pad (and pencils).

17. Do you have any siblings?
Yup. I claim ownership over one Scotty-Boy, Extraordinaire.

18. What's something you'd like to say to someone right now?
I'm sick! I need sleep! I don't wanna work tomorrow and you can't make me! Waaaah!

19. Do you have to pee?
...Well, I didn't until you went and asked me. ;P

Oh, any for anyone who cares, I'm hard at work on my hsmbigbang fic and also on the much-demanded sequel to Confessions Between Friends. Yay for me!

...Yeah. Linda Harvey, you just made my list

2009-08-05T06:02:37Z

Holy Mother of GOD. Has anyone else read this bullshit?

http://www.missionamerica.com/

This is Linda Harvey "denouncing" the gay shootings in Tel Aviv. I mean, give me a BREAK. She gives you one or two lines of lip service at the start, the "this was very sad" stuff that everyone has to say, then goes on to spout practically the exact same things that the people who DO this fucked-up shit think. She is using this absolutely horrific tragedy as a platform from which to spout her hate-mongering.

What the hell is WRONG with people?

Ms Harvey, I would like to take this opportunity to hand some of your own advice right back to you: "This kind of bigotry has no place in a civilized society and is wildly irresponsible, unjust and inaccurate." And no, we 'deviant gays' are not the bigoted ones I'm talking about, you prejudiced, hypocritical bitch.

is happy!

2009-07-29T05:31:07Z

Wheee! cause_im_pretty always gives me the best news. Read and celebrate with me, Whedon fans!:

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/408446_tvgif24.html

Fic: Confessions Between Friends

2009-07-28T07:51:45Z

Title: Confessions Between Friends
By cleverboot
Rating: PG-13 for language
Word Count: 3900
Pairing: Pre-slash Remus/Sirius
Summary: "...I mean, that can’t possibly be a normal segue into the typical ‘coming-out’ conversation, can it? When I say, ‘Lily Evans finally agreed to go out with me!’ the normal response from one’s best mate, one would expect, should be ‘Congratulations!’ But, no, instead of that, what I get, with no warning or work-up to it at all I might add, is, ‘I’m a poof’. I mean, couldn’t you have just told me over breakfast or something?"
Notes: Posted to remusxsirius. This is a one-shot, but I might write a sequel or other stories in the same ‘verse later on, should a bunny hop my way. Also, it’s currently unbeta-ed, so any and all mistakes are mine.

*****

James blinked. And then blinked again. And then he stared at Sirius as if he had a pair of lobsters hanging off his ears. He opened and closed his mouth several times, soundlessly, as though starting to say something but changing his mind before any actual words came out. Then, finally, he demanded, “What!?”

Sirius gulped. Actually gulped. "Um," he said. "Well… I said that I’m--"

James shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "No, I, I heard what you said. Trust me, I heard you. I just… I… uh…" He trailed off, and then shifted around in his spot on top of Sirius’s bed, until he was leaning more fully against the headboard, obviously deep in thought. He didn’t look at Sirius, but instead stared intently into the depths of the bottle of butterbeer in his hands. Sirius picked at a couple of loose threads on his blankets anxiously, but didn’t disturb his friend’s contemplation by talking. James clearly needed some time to adjust right now and Sirius was willing to give it to him.

After a bit, James finally looked up from his bottle, apparently coming to a decision about what his reaction was going to be. He gave his best friend a disapproving look. Sirius sighed, discouraged. "I’m really sorry, Prongs,” he said quickly. “I swear, it’s not something I’m happy about or anything and if I could change it, I would, but I felt like you deserved to know--"

James shot him one of his patented ‘you-are-such-a-fucking-moron’ looks before rolling his eyes. "You don’t actually think I care that you’re gay, do you? Merlin’s tits, you’re an imbecile sometimes."

Sirius perked up at this, feeling a hint of hope blossom somewhere inside him. James continued to look at him as though he was mentally deficient. "I couldn’t give two shites who you prefer to shag, Pads, be it man, woman, house-elf or goat. Whatever flies your broomstick is fine by me. It doesn’t even surprise me now that you bring it up, if we’re being honest about the whole thing. You’ve had girls throwing themselves at you for years and you’ve barely noticed them, so I guess this at least explains a few things.”

Sirius just shrugged. James shook his head at him and went on. “No, I just want to know how long you ago figured it out and why you suddenly decided that just now, of all times, was the time to tell me? I mean, that can’t possibly be a normal segue into the typical ‘coming-out’ conversation, can it? When I say, ‘Lily Evans finally agreed to go out with me!’ the normal response from one’s best mate, one would expect, should be ‘Congratulations!’ But, no, instead of that, what I get, with no warning or work-up to it at all I might add, is, ‘I’m a poof’. I mean, couldn’t you have just told me over breakfast or something? Maybe with a bit of build up to it, to, like, mentally prepare me or something? You know, maybe something like, ‘Hey, you know what’s funny? The fact that oranges are the only fruit that happen to be called the same as what colour they are. Really, they should call apple juice red-or-green-or-occasionally-golden-depending-on-the-type juice instead, if they want to be that way. You know what else is funny? I fancy blokes!’ Would that have been too much to ask?"

Sirius looked down at his hands, watching them intently as he twiddled his thumbs. "Well, I just thought that it was something you should know. As my best mate and all."

James sighed and laid back, crossing his legs, making himself comfortable on the bed again and propping his open butterbeer bottle up to sit on his stomach. "I suppose that’s… considerate of you. Oddly and somewhat uncharacteristically considerate, really."

Sirius shot him a cautious look. "You really don’t have a problem with it?" he asked. James snorted.

"No. Why, would you like me to?"

"Well, no, but…" Sirius could feel the weight of worry slowly lifting off his shoulders. "I dunno, I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this simple."

"Oh, I daresay I’ll be taking the mickey out of you something wicked in days to come, don’t you worry," James warned, a dangerous, playful glint coming into his eyes. “But to get maximum impact from jokes made at your expense, I need someone else to laugh at them. And, judging by the fact that you still sort of look like you want to cry, I’m betting I’m the first person you’ve told, right?”

Sirius scowled. “I do NOT look like I’m going to cry. Also, you’re a total bastard.”

“It’s okay, though,” James insisted, smirking at him now. “I know that you fairy-types are known for being more in touch with your feminine side and all. And I want you to know that I’m always here for you.” He reached out and gave Sirius a gentle pat on the arm. “It’s okay to cry, Padfoot. I’m here to be your sympathetic shoulder.”

If looks could kill, the look Sirius gave his best friend would have had him chopped into bloody little pieces all over the floor. “This fairy can still kick your skinny ass.”

James condescendingly patted his arm again and said, “Awww.” Sirius reached and knocked over the butterbeer bottle that was still propped up on his stomach. The contents splashed out onto James’s face and shirt, causing him to curse and splutter. Sirius used his distraction as an opportunity and, with a great shove, he managed to push James halfway off the bed, causing the other boy to flail around widely in an effort not to go tumbling across the floor. With his right foot tangled in the sheets and his right hand grabbing on desperately while his left side hung helplessly in the air, he made an amusing sight and Sirius didn’t feel bad at all for laughing at him.

“I accept that this behaviour is just you lashing out because of your current emotional turbulence,” James declared grandly as he made a futile attempt to grab onto the bedclothes with his left hand. Sirius started kicking at him to try and make him let go of the sheets he was clinging to so that he could complete his rightful journey to the floor. “I accept and embrace that turbulence because I am your true, understanding and devoted friend! I accept every single facet of you as a person, even your absolutely disgusting foot odour and how you sing in your sleep!” Sirius managed to half-dislodge James’s foot and he slid another foot closer to the floor, which encouraged Sirius to start attacking his ticklish spots next. “No, no, no, NO! No! I accept you as the person you truly are, Sirius Black!” James fairly shrieked, simultaneously laughing at the top of his lungs and obviously beginning to have trouble breathing.

This, of course, was when Remus entered the dorm. The attack on James froze as both combatants looked up and grinned sheepishly when Remus cocked an eyebrow at them curiously. “I left my Potions book,” he explained.

There was a pause as he took a moment to fully survey them before he had to ask. “Do I want to know?” James and Sirius shook their heads. Remus nodded, went over to his trunk and took out his book, stated simply, “Alright then,” and then left the way he’d come, shutting the door behind him.

After another moment of silence, Sirius suddenly gave James one last big shove and his friend thudded onto the floor. “Ow! Git!” came the response and Sirius smiled serenely. All remained right with the world and he was relieved.

*****

With that, Sirius considered the matter settled, but James, of course, was not the type to be dissuaded when he set his mind to something. He had decided, somehow, in his ‘infinite wisdom’, that what Sirius really, truly needed in order to properly settle down into his ‘newly established life of poofery’ was a boyfriend, of all things. Sirius didn’t know what to accredit the delusional behaviour to—if it was because his best friend had finally achieved his own long-awaited romantic ambitions of dating Lily Evans or if it was just some misguided attempt to be ‘supportive’—but frankly, the other boy was driving him completely round the bend.

“What do you think of that Quirke bloke, in Ravenclaw? Whatshisface, Alvin or something,” James would ask randomly, or some variable thereupon, whenever the two of them were alone together. “You know, he’s the prefect the year below us. I’m 87% sure that he’s a shirtlifter, too. D’you be interested in, uh, you know. Getting to know him better?”

And Sirius would sigh, assure James that, yes, he knew who he was talking about and no, he wasn’t interested in coughGetting To Know Himcough, thanks but no thanks.

Inevitably disappointed at his friend’s lack of enthusiasm, James would pout for a couple of hours, and then be back at it again with another suggestion. Sirius couldn’t find it in himself to feel bad at the hurt looks James gave him whenever he shot him down anymore.

“I’m almost POSITIVE that Primus Gamp’s a bender, too” he was saying today. The two of them were making their way across the school grounds towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest for Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Kettleburn. Sirius rolled his eyes, but James took no notice. “I mean, how many straight blokes do you know who spent that much time on their hair and facial care routine every day? I mean, honestly?”

And as per the routine, Sirius sighed, having already started shaking his head long before James had finished talking. “Okay, one, I’m still not interested in anybody that you would ever think to suggest. Two, you have started reaching rather desperately for ideas and it’s pathetic. Just stop. Three, since you are reaching, at least put some effort into it. Primus Gamp? I mean, I wouldn’t get close enough to him to throw a dungbomb at him, if I could help it.” James scowled.

“I’m just trying to be supportive“—and there was that bloody, fucking word again—“because, despite the fact that the very idea seems to be completely beyond you, that is what best mates are supposed to do, Pads.”

“Well, how about next time, you can remember that I would consider you as being just as supportive if you were buying me liquor and chocolate instead, how’s that?” Sirius suggested.

As per usual when he was presented with an idea he had no intention of listening to, James pretended that he hadn’t heard a word Sirius had said. Soon enough, he was stuck back in his own thoughts. He was chewing on his bottom lip and ruffling the hair on the back of his head absently. Sirius was hopeful that he would continue his silent contemplation for the rest of their walk to Magical Creatures.

“Well…” James started again slowly, approximately thirty seconds later.

“Dammit,” Sirius muttered.

Again, his friend gave no indication that he had heard him, though Sirius would have bet good money that he had. “I don’t know if this is a viable suggestion or not…” he went on, albeit hesitantly, and Sirius started listening more closely because James was not a normally hesitant person and it was making him curious. “But have you considered… Well, I mean, have you given any thought to—well, to Moony, at all?”

For just a second, Sirius’s brain short-circuited. The signals between his mind and his body went haywire, causing him to stumble and then trip outright. Very quickly, before his brain had even finished rebooting, Sirius found himself sprawled out on the ground, robes grass-stained, palms scraped and bleeding from his instinctive and mostly unsuccessful attempt to protect his face from damage when he fell. He pushed himself up carefully, wincing at the pain in his hands, and glared up at James, who was looking at him with rather more amusement than Sirius felt could possibly be warranted.

“No, I have NOT considered Moony,” he stated, pissed off that James could so nonchalantly speak aloud possibilities that Sirius had spent vast amounts of time telling himself he wasn’t even allowed to think about silently in his own head. “What’s wrong with you? He’s our friend, in case you haven’t noticed, fuckhead. Plus, he’s not gay.”

James reached down and grabbed his arm, yanking and helping him up off the ground. “He COULD be gay, you know,” he replied.

As soon as Sirius was back up on his own two feet, he shoved James away and continued to scowl at him fiercely, in between the moments when he picked dirt out of the scrapes on his hands. “There has been no evidence whatsoever to indicate Remus is queer, Prongs.”

James brushed his own hands off on his robes and hefted his bag back onto his shoulder since it had slipped off when Sirius fell on his face, giving no sign that his friend’s lethal looks were bothering him in the slightest. “Well, maybe so,” he admitted. “To be fair, though, he hasn’t ever given any sort evidence that he’s straight, either. He’s very vague and noncommittal in general whenever talk about relationships comes up.” He shrugged and started walking towards class again. “I’m just saying, you know. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. I mean, you already know he’s a pretty cool guy, he puts up with all of our, frankly, ridiculous behaviour with the patience of a saint, he’s not completely hideous or anything, and he always has copious amounts of chocolate hidden about his person that he’s usually willing to share. I know if I were looking for blokes to shag, Moony’d be decently high up on my list, that’s all.”

Sirius huffed and trailed reluctantly after him towards the class, which had just come into their line of vision along the Forest’s edge. “I hadn’t given it much thought,” he lied testily. “Besides, it doesn’t matter one way or the other. Remus is my friend and I’m not fucking around with our friendship again, not after the Shack incident. We’re not talking about this anymore.”

James studied him carefully for a moment and Sirius started to feel nervous, as though he might see something in his face that Sirius was desperate to hide, but soon enough the other boy looked away and shrugged again. In a voice that was, perhaps, just a tiny bit too casual, he responded with a simple, “Yeah, alright. If you say so.”

Possibly more anxious now than before, Sirius narrowed his eyes warily, but James didn’t even look at him again until they’d reached the rest of class, and that was only to grin and wink at him in response to Professor Kettleburn’s highly sarcastic greeting. “Well, well, if it isn’t the magnanimous duo! Misters Black and Potter, we are so very flattered that you could find the time in your busy schedules to deign to visit the class!”

And James grinned and Sirius felt himself grin back, and he replied to Kettleburn with a cheery, “Not a problem, sir, we’re always happy to oblige a fan,” losing ten points from Gryffindor in the process. Then they settled down to discuss the mating habits of glumbumbles and, as far as Sirius was concerned, that was the end of that.

*****

Except, apparently, that wasn’t the end of that for James.

He allowed Sirius to think that the matter was closed for a couple of days. But that Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend and, as luck would have it, also the day of the first snowfall of the year. So, since all the older students were going to the village and all the little toerags who were too young to go had swarmed outside for snowball fights and such, the Marauders decided to enjoy the rare occasion of having their common room to themselves in order to lounge around inside.

Sirius and Peter had constructed and charmed a seven-foot long mini-Quidditch pitch on the floor in front of the fire, mostly using rolled up pieces of parchment to form two-feet-tall goal posts. Then, they used levitation charms on a single book each to serve as a paddle or an “Keeper” to try to block the other from chucking crushed up balls of parchment—or occasionally rocks or candy wrappers or anything else they happened to find within arm’s reach on the floor—through their goalposts. They had charmed the posts to play various loud, cheerfully obnoxious fanfares and songs and to set off a tiny fireworks display every time a goal was scored and were feeling rather proud of themselves.

Remus was purportedly working on a Runes essay, though what he was actually doing was keeping score of both points scored and blatant fouls committed in the floor-parchment-Quidditch game. James was systematically applying sticking charms to every single page of a copy of the Standard Book of Spells Grade Five which belonged to the new young Prefect who had ratted him out to McGonagall last week for doing some prank or another and gotten him a detention. It took him about 15 minutes to finish going through the entire text, during which time the floor-parchment-Quidditch score had gone up to 320-50 for Sirius (though the tally of fouls was roughly just as high), after which he put the book down on the sofa next to where Remus was sitting and then sat down heavily on top of it, bouncing up and down on it a few times, just to make sure the charms had all the help they could get.

“That should do it,” he announced proudly, pulling the book out from under him and tossing it carelessly under a chair across the room, in the rough vicinity of where he’d originally found it. “We’ll see if that prig Jorkins can tattle his way into getting his book to open ever again, shall we?”

Remus rolled his eyes and Peter finally scored his sixth goal, causing the William Tell Overture to blare and pink and purple fireworks to erupt from the center of the ‘pitch’. “That was very mature of you, Prongs,” Remus said, speaking loudly to be heard over the music and the crackling of the small pyrotechnic display. “Really, it’s a pity other Head Boys in days gone by weren’t so responsible and adult as you are. Truly, it’s very sad.”

In reply, James gave him a cheeky grin and said, “I know, it’s really very tragic.” He settled into his spot on the sofa, getting comfortable, and leaned over slightly to check out the game stats that Remus had scribbled down on the parchment in his lap. “So, how badly has Sirius been fouling Petey today?”

“He’s practically a fully fledged Falmouth Falcon by now.” Hearing this, Peter pouted and nodded.

“It’s true,” he stated. He then threw a ball of parchment directly at his opponent’s forehead to punctuate his point, causing Sirius to squawk and loudly declare that he had just been fouled, too, thank you very much. James smiled, almost like a proud father, and Remus shook his head ruefully.

The ‘Quidditch’ match on the floor began to escalate as Sirius and Peter stopped aiming quite so carefully for the goals and started just randomly chucking things at each other. Remus chuckled at them, wondering why he bothered trying sometimes, and that was when James sprang it on him.

“So, Moony,” he started out innocently, keeping one watchful eye on Sirius. “I’ve got a question for you.”

Remus tilted his head inquisitively. “Yes?”

“Do you think you could ever shag a bloke?” James asked. Remus blinked in surprise and on the floor, the parchment-Quidditch-turned-aerial-assault match came to a screeching halt as Peter and Sirius both stopped throwing things at each other and turned to stare at James, the former somewhat stupefied and the latter with angry disbelief all over his face.

Remus blinked at him a few more times, obviously confused, before he answered. “You aren’t propositioning me, are you? If you are, I’m going to tell Lily.”

James shook his head, as calm as though he had just asked for an opinion about the weather. Sirius fought back the urge to light his stupid hair on fire. “Nope. I’m just curious.”

“Oh.” Remus cleared his throat and scratched his head. Neither James nor Sirius missed the fact that his face was slowly turning very red indeed. “Well, uh. I guess, well, I mean…” His right hand flew up to his mouth and he started chewing anxiously on his thumbnail, something Sirius hadn’t seen him do in years. “Well, I suppose it’s not completely outside of the realm of possibility,” he murmured around his thumb.

James eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and Sirius felt his heart skip. The entire subject was brand new to Peter, though, and he didn’t notice either of them. His eyes were trained solely on Remus. To say he was shocked may have been an understatement. “What?!”

Remus shrugged, and apparently decided that he was going to try and pretend like he didn’t notice how very, very awkward the conversation had become. “I’m not really in a place where I’m actively searching out partners, of course,” he explained. “But if there was an interested party, well, I don’t suppose I would personally care one way or the other if they were male or female. I’m…” He paused for a moment, searching for the right way to say it. “I suppose that I’m open to the possibility,” he eventually concluded.

There was a moment of shared, contemplative silence as they all turned those words over in their head—including Remus, who nodded to himself when he decided that, yes, he had properly communicated the basics of what he’d been trying to say.

“That has got to be the most boring way possible of admitting that you’re bi,” James announced. Peter nodded in agreement.

Remus merely shrugged. “Well, I’m a boring sort of person.”

“I thought you did fine,” Sirius muttered, trying to hide his irritation at James, but not succeeding very well. “Considering how pointless and insensitive the question was.”

Remus frowned, not understanding what Sirius was so cranky about. Peter still looked more than a little confused. And then James shot him a gloating, triumphant look and Sirius couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up suddenly, unable to look any of them in the eye, muttered something about maybe taking a nap and then strode away and up the stairs to their dorm.

Remus stared at his back as he left, completely lost. Not noticing his friend’s expression, Peter asked, “So… have you snogged many blokes, then? Anyone we know?”

Distracted, Remus replied with a vague, “Not really,” before turning to James for answers. “What’s wrong with him? I didn’t think he would have a problem with it.”

James carelessly waved off his friend’s worries. “No, no, no, he’s fine with it. Pads is a very accepting kind of guy, you know that.” Seeing that Remus still looked doubtful, James grinned at winked at him. “He’s just never been this happy to be wrong before and he doesn’t know what to do about it.”

Remus didn’t feel any less confused.

Umm... methinks RTD should rethink talking. Ever.

2009-07-25T00:32:54Z

Dude.

http://community.livejournal.com/torch_wood/5176208.html?thread=39994512#t39994512

Okay, I love Doctor Who. I love Torchwood. I'm also a fan of QaF, UK and US versions alike. I am, and have been for quite some time now, an RTD fangirl. But DUUUUUDE. The words "Smug", "Fucking" and "Bastard" come to mind here.

I mean, it's one thing to kill off Ianto. You can say it's for the story, blah, blah, fine, whatever. I can accept that you killed off Ianto (well, you know, with time). But dude. You do not diss Your Own Fans. That is just NOT COOL. Without fans, you get cancelled. Without fans, you don't get more seasons.

So, you know what, Mr Davies? I AM going to go watch Supernatural. And you know the funny thing about Supernatural? Kripke and Co actually pay ATTENTION to their fans and the feedback they give. They love their fans. They even, on occasion, insert little fan-tributes into the actual episodes ("The Monster at the End of this Book", anyone?). And guess what? Their fanbase gets bigger every single year. So no, Mr Davies, I will not be watching Torchwood series 4, even if it does get renewed. I will be watching the pretty boys on SPN instead, as you so helpfully suggested, because YOUR fanbase just got one person smaller. And not because of you killing of my favourite character or anything whatsoever to do with your writing, but because you obviously don't respect people like me, so that's fine, I don't respect you anymore either.

Also: Fuck You, you sanctimonious, condescending prick.

11th Doctor!

2009-07-22T07:50:58Z

W00T! The Sun's got a bunch of behind-the-scenes pics from Doctor Who series 5, which started filming yesterday. Enjoy the wonderful awesome epic-ness with me! (But be warned, there's sorta-kinda-mild spoilers within... sort of)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/2544807/Filming-begins-on-new-Doctor-Who.html

I know that people are already making fun of the new costume, but I'm willing to give it a chance. I'm thinking it'll grow on us. Anyhow: Huzzah!

Fic Recs

2009-07-21T09:23:51Z

Mixed Fandom Fic Recs (Updated July 21, 2009)
Primarily for my personal use and reference purposes, this list will be prone to change and updates at any given moment. I encourage anybody who happens to stumble across this to read everything listed, because they’re awesome, but that is just my personal opinion. None of the stories were written by me, and some of them might be rated R or NC-17, so consider yourself warned. Enjoy!

Fandom: Angel
Second Chances by Brenda
(Gen, PG-13, set post-To Shanshu in LA. Summary: When Giles needs the help of a still-convalescent Wesley with a translation, the battered detectives of Angel Investigations reluctantly return to Sunnydale. Meanwhile the Scoobies find that Cordelia and Wesley are not exactly as they remember them.)
Very possibly my favourite Angel fic ever. I've got a thing for whumping Wes, I admit it. *luvs*

New All Over (aka Little Wesley) by elgrey
(Gen, PG-13, set in Buffy S3. Summary: When Wesley intercepts an amulet sent to Giles, he is changed from an annoying adult Watcher into an eight-year-old boy.)
The cute and wonderful of this story nearly kills me, seriously. The scenes with Ethan are especially delightful.

Childish Things (aka Angel Kids) by elgrey
(Gen, PG-13, set AtS S2/Buffy S5. Summary: When Angel’s associates at Angel Investigations are turned into children, he seeks the help of the Sunnydale crowd in finding a cure.)
More adorable Wesley!whumping, plus the image of a four-year-old Gunn. Sweetness overload. ;P

Or, you know, anything by elgrey, because it is ALL awesome.

Or, on the slashy (generally A/W, and occasionally NC-17 rated) side of things, anything by The Brat Queen. She's a great writer who will keep you enthralled in the story, even when you're reading something that you would normally consider complete and utter crack!fic.

Fandom: Merlin
Drastically Redefining Protocol by rageprufrock
(A/M, NC-17, present-day!AU. Summary: In which Prince Arthur meets Merlin, and all hell breaks lose.)
Not the first present!AU I've come across, but by far the best. I don't think that there can be too many people out there who HAVEN'T read it yet. Merlin as the almost-certainly-not-entirely-stable medical intern is an absolute joy to read, and present-day Prince Arthur's not so bad himself. Plus, the "messages" and "articles" that rageprufrock has got throughout the story definitely add a whole bunch to the narrative. A must-read.

The Crown of the Summer Court by astolat
(A/M, R. Summary: "The king sent me to get you," Merlin said, with a tone that implied strongly that he wasn't rolling his eyes where Arthur could see, but just wait until his back was turned. "He said you're to get changed into formal clothes and meet him in the Great Hall, there's a delegation coming from the Summer Court.")

Despoiling by astolat
(A/M, NC-17. Summary: In which various people become various things they weren't before./"But I didn't do anything to her honor!" Merlin said./"Don't say another word, Merlin, I refuse to even defend myself against such accusations," Morgana said./"Yes, but, I'm the one in the dungeon," Merlin said.)
astolat is definitely one of the best writers in the fandom, so even though a lot of it is quite long, anything she's written is worth a read. These are just two of my personal favourites.

The History of Two Conversations (On Paper) by takadainmate
(A/M, PG-13. Summary: Books are defaced. But it's all for a good cause. Really.)
I love the interaction in this one, not just between the boys, but with Gaius, too. Totally reminds me of e-mail and LJ messages that have gone on between me and mine. Great read.

Quickening Days by fahye
(A/M, R. Summary: In which dragons & ghosts & prejudices are confronted, Merlin wears a hat (twice) and a dress (once), Arthur breaks some crockery (lots), there are more pranks than pillowfights but at least one of each, and many secrets are revealed.)
First Merlin fanfic I ever read and it remains one of my favourites. Imagine Groundhogs Dog--but in Camelot--and you've got the basic premise behind this one. Really sweet and often very funny, I highly recommend it.

On a completely unrelated side-note: I actually got around to updating my RPG Experience page, finally. I've been telling myself I'd get around to it for months now. World's biggest procrastinator = me.

Random rambling

2009-07-15T17:53:48Z

Dude. Totally did the midnight premiere for HBP last night. It was AWESOME. Seriously, watch it. It's prolly one of my favourites out of the movies. I may need to watch again (or maybe again after that) to be sure, though ;P

On a side-note: Neil Patrick Harris is the king. Not for any particular reason, he just is. *NPH!luv*

cleverboot @ 2009-07-12T22:47:00

2009-07-13T01:51:11Z

Okay, minor non-spoiler-y question about Children of Earth: Why does everyone keep referring to Rhiannon and Johnny as being "the Evans family"? It's very clearly shown in both the episode credits and on IMDB that their last name is Davies. What did I miss?

Also, hsmbigbang submission word count = About 800. I need to work harder, faster. Blah.

Edit: Two links that will put a smile on ANYONE's face, mwhahaha! The Torchwood Innuendo Squad Parts ONE and TWO (I'm especially fond of 2)

Children of Earth: Day Five

2009-07-11T08:21:47Z

So, now it's over. I'm still processing my own feelings about the series as a whole in my head. These are mostly initial thoughts that I may or may not expand on at a later date.

Children of Earth, purely from a storyteller's perspective, was really good. The story was enthralling and compelling and there were lots of explosions and gunfights and, if I hadn't had prior emotional investments in the characters, I know that I'd have found it very entertaining as a sci-fi story.

As a fan, though... I watched the first season of Torchwood before I'd ever seen ANY Doctor Who. Watching that season was what prompted me to start DW and to re-watch and continue watching Torchwood. And how did I get drawn into Torchwood in the first place? I stumbled across a clip of Ianto on youtube. And then I thought that he looked like an interesting character, so I figured I'd check the show out and figure out what the guy's story was. And that part of me, that part that still sees Ianto as my anchor into this particular delightful (and cruel, cruel) world of time-travelling and adventure, is still completely and utterly devastated. I really don't think I can get over Ianto's death. I won't be able to watch Torchwood if it goes on. I know everyone is saying that, but Ianto (alright, Jack/Ianto was a major factor) was the reason I watched the show. And with no Ianto... *shrug* There's no draw anymore.

A couple notes on Day Five, just so as I can honestly claim that I made them:
-I really did feel so bad for Frobisher. So, so bad.
-I called it early, and I was right: PM = complete and total douche
-Oh, God, PC Andy. I love you so much. WHen you tore that uniform vest off and joined in the fight, I was so proud of you. That right there demonstrated why everybody in this fandom seems to love you. You're wonderful.
-Ianto's family... I still just adore them. Absolutely. Though, the fact that Ianto's dad wasn't actually a tailor threw me more than I'd care to admit.
-Gwen had SO better be naming that kid after Ianto or something. Like, seriously.
-Jack... dude, you've just been through hell this trip and I am so glad I'm not you. I think RTD secretly hates you. I'm so sorry. *hug*
-Alright, I admit it. Lois, after reserving judgement on you for so long, I've finally reached a conclusion: I deem you worthy. Bridget Spears and Agent Whatever-her-name-was also proved themselves there at the end. Ladies, you're acceptable supporting characters.

So, yeah. That's all I've got.

cleverboot @ 2009-07-10T15:12:00

2009-07-10T18:18:06Z

I desperately needed something to help cheer me up and cause_im_pretty found it for me:

Rejoice in the pretty with me!

CoE: Day 4

2009-07-10T03:17:15Z

Oh God. Oh God, ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgodnonononononononono...

They did not just do that. Oh, God.

Edit: Alright, here's the deal. I am still sobbing. Ianto is and always has been my favourite character. And I am in complete and utter denial about this. Gareth is listed as being in the next episode on IMDB, so as far as I'm concerned, he's coming back somehow. He has to because I said so. Call it denial if you want, but I am much happier in my denial than I was before I realized I was in possibly-possibly-not-denial, so this is where I'm staying until I am proven wrong beyond any reasonable or not-so-reasonable doubt.

Also, I totally hope RTD realizes that no one is going to watch this show if it's just Jack and Gwen left. Yeah.

Russell T Davies, I fucking hate you!!!

...

Totally in denial.

I eventually found it: http://www.sidereel.com/Torchwood/_watchlinkviewer/2474

Children of Earth: Day Three

2009-07-09T02:44:40Z

Not a whole lot to say today.

I have to admit, you could definitely tell it was the hump-day episode. On the whole, it was still awesome, but there wasn't really anything in particular that stood out for me.

-Everyone stealing stuff at the beginning was great fun. Ianto getting coffee and clothes was especially entertaining.

-Jack ruined my Janto buzz by running off, that bastard. grrrr. Poor neglected Ianto.

-Return of the Martha!lenses, huzzah!

-As for the end, I want to hug Clem and smack Jack a little. Giving children to aliens? Bad Jack! Bad! *newspaper smack!*

Annnnndd... yeah. Not much else to say. Honestly, though, I think my brain is still reeling from yesterday's ep, so a calmer episode today is probably a very good thing. Let's us get perpective and all that.