Waterbird (original) (raw)

11 December 2012 @ 09:56 pm

22 September 2012 @ 09:35 pm

JKR talks about The Casual Vacancy (and other stuff) in this interview with the Guardian. Sort of made me much more interested in the book than I was after hearing the initial blurb a few months ago. It's out on the 27th. Anyone queuing to buy it?

I now have an AO3 account! Yay! Signed up not too long ago for the beta and was informed that I was something like 1900th in the queue and could expect an invitation in about two years, so this morning's email was a nice surprise. Now for the challenge of finding the time to figure out how it works and uploading my not-exactly-sizeable ouvre of fic.

I've noticed lately when I comment on an LJ post that the comment ends up with an icon different from my default, even though the default shows up in the comment draft. Anyone else experiencing this or know what's going on?

My husband rang me the other day and said he was going to be meeting with someone called Katie Bell. "I know I know that name from somewhere. Do you have any idea who she is?" he asked.

Hee hee. "Um, chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team?" I said. "Draco Malfoy almost killed her with that poisoned necklace."

Since then, we've been joking endlessly about this meeting with Katie. Well, whenever he brings it up, I fail to resist joking about it.

"I still have to figure out where to meet her," he'll say and I helpfully suggest the Leaky Cauldron. Or "I have to get in touch with her about that meeting," and I tell him to send an owl.

Poor Katie must get this all the time.

I, OTOH, have so little headspace for fandom these days that I am probably much more amused by this than I should be. =)

09 January 2012 @ 03:46 pm

I didn't manage to get much writing done last year, but I did spontaneously dive into the slythindor100 25 Days of Harry and Draco fest .. at least for the first week or so until RL clobbered me yet again. It was fun to write without much planning and just see how things developed according to the prompt each day.

The little story that emerged isn't really finished (it's pretty significantly missing the H of H/D) -- I have some ideas about where it could go from there, but I honestly don't know if I'm going to invest any more time in it. I think it can feasibly end where I left it, though, without feeling incredibly unfinished. Maybe?

Total word count: about 1430

( Part 1: Hyde Park Collapse )
( Part 2: Mayfair Collapse )
( Part 3: Covent Garden Collapse )
( Part 4: Seven Dials Collapse )
( Part 5: Soho Collapse )
( Part 6: Fitzrovia Collapse )

~~~

And here's the first drabble I wrote for the fest. I envisioned this as a stand-alone one, and it's sort of as fluffy as it gets with me.

( Talking to the Dead Collapse )

03 January 2012 @ 09:55 am

I've got a RL friend who I knew was a fan of the Harry Potter books, but when I saw her over Christmas, I began to wonder if she might need bringing in to the fandom. *bounces, cautiously*

She brought HP up several times: she wants to do the HP walking tour next time she's back in London; she visits "the Harry Potter website" (Me: "Um ... which one? " She: "J K Rowling's site"); and she wants to get in to Pottermore when it opens to the public.

So ... I started thinking that think she may indeed appreciate an ever-so-gentle nudge into fandom. I mean, it might save her from re-reading the Twilight series yet again (yes, she guiltily admitted getting hooked by that one but I shall view it as another hint of her fandom potential.)

If I were to casually drop her an email and say, "hey, if you're looking for a Harry Potter fix, take a look at this" what do you think I should point her to? I think a nice piece of gen would be good to start with, but it's so long since I've read any. Can anyone recommend a good post-DH canony genfic? And how about art? I'm thinking of sending her this one: The Prince's Tale, but if anyone's got any other ideas, please point me. I've been out of the loop for such a long time now!

Thanks!

16 November 2011 @ 10:23 am

I had the brilliant idea to make a photo collage of Baby Bird to send with my Xmas cards this year. Only problem is that I'm a bit clueless with Photoshop.

I found a guide on how to create a collage, but despite using high-res images, the actual collage comes out really low-res. Does anyone know how I can fix this? Do I need to set the resolution on the collage file at a certain level? Do the images I'm using have to match that resolution? Or is there some other trick entirely?

Thank you, thank you to anyone who can help. I will be eternally grateful.

10 September 2011 @ 09:26 am

The lovely catsintheattic has written me an awesome little ficlet called Too Late Is Like Never. For a glimpse into Draco's mind when he faces Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower, and in the aftermath, go read it right now.

Thank you so much, Cats! <3

16 August 2011 @ 09:16 pm

I feel like making a poll. =)

2 What device(s) do you use to read ebooks?

Other (please specify in a comment)

3 Do you buy ebooks or just read stuff that's available for free?

I only read free content, such as fanfic and classic novels.

4 Will you buy the Harry Potter ebooks when they become available on the Pottermore website?

Yes, but only certain ones, not the whole series.

Maybe, I haven't decided.

No, I'm happy with the print editions.

No, I don't really care about HP anymore.

5 Did you get in to the Pottermore beta?

6 If you got in to the beta, have you actually be allowed in to the Pottermore site yet?

7 If you have gotten in to Pottermore, what did you think?

OMG so amazing I don't even know where to begin!!!!

Not as great as I had hoped/expected.

Other (I will maybe explain in a comment)

8 What was the first piece of fanfiction you read that made you think, "Wow. This fandom thing is pretty cool. Must have more."

9 What was the last/most recent piece of fanfiction you read that made you think, "Wow. This fandom thing is still pretty cool. Must have more."

10 What was the best piece of original fiction you read recently?

14 August 2011 @ 11:09 am

Off to see Deathly Hallows 2 at long last! Yay!!!!

01 August 2011 @ 06:57 pm

I love reading the H/D Holidays sign-up posts. One, they get me incredibly excited about all the excellent fic that will be posted in December and two, it's such fun to see what people want (or don't want) in their H/D.

I wish I could participate in some way -- either writing (if the whole fest/exchange thing didn't stress me out so much) or beta reading, but at the moment, RL commitments are demanding every moment of my time. I haven't even seen DH:2 yet. Maybe in a few months, though, things will have settled down enough that I could maybe beta something. That would be fun. =)

01 December 2010 @ 04:23 pm

Going to see Deathly Hallows tonight. I'm cautiously optimistic that this one isn't going to suck quite as bad as the others. Very cautiously optimistic.

Starting the day with a bunch of emails announcing the start of hd_holidays was an excellent way to begin the day. I would very much have liked to stay home and read. Instead, it was out into the freezing cold, leaving my packed lunch and breakfast porridge behind. Running too late to make it to the gym, too. But there was cake at work this afternoon and HP tonight, so the day's working out alright after all.

How are all of you on this first day of December?

20 October 2010 @ 09:15 pm

I love the It Gets Better Project so much. There's so much hope behind every single one of the videos I've seen, and the message is really applicable to anyone who's in a dark place, thinking things will never get better. They always do.

Here's a great video from Google staff. I want one of those Android pride shirts!

So the I Write Like meme that's going around like crazy today? I did it this morning by entering a short excerpt from one of my fics. It told me I write like J K Rowling.

Then I changed all the Harrys and Dracos in the excerpt to Mike and Dave and for the otherwise identical excerpt it told me I write like Stephen King.

I did the name change thing on another excerpt and got JKR again, then Margaret Atwood.

The result on a third sample with only one mention of Draco in it and no other HP names was that I write like H G Wells.

Lol, I'd never noticed just how subtly the writing of these four authors differed. =)

I know this issue was floating around a few weeks ago, but I clearly wasn't paying attention. I guess I thought it could never happen to me!

Is there a way to change the new ten-posts-per-page default that LJ seems to have shifted to? I've checked journal settings but didn't see anything. Thanks!

*waves* Real-life busy-ness has reduced me to lurkerdom recently, and while I should be taking advantage of the long Easter weekend to do some writing, I'm instead drinking wine and making polls.

Which of the following do you read on regular basis?

Fiction (novels, comics, graphic novels, etc)

Which one of the following do you read the most of?

Fiction (novels, comics, graphic novels, etc)

Which of the following do you wish you read more of?

Fiction (novels, comics, graphic novels, etc)

Which of the following fiction genres do you read?

Literary fiction/Classics

Which of the following factors most influence your reading choices?

Characters featured in the work

Recommendation by friends

Recommendation by professional reviewers/writers

Which media do you read in?

Of the things you've read in the past six months, which one work would you most emphatically rec?

Which author's collected works would you take with you on an intergalactic journey?

28 February 2010 @ 05:06 pm

Just doing a bit of drabbling on this rainy, rainy weekend. Come on, spring!

Title: Survivors
Author: waterbird
Rating: PG
Word Count: 225
Summary: Harry dreams, and the survivors fall.
Author's Notes: This was supposed to be a drabble for hd100's 'dream' prompt, but it got too big. Cross-posted to 100quills for the 'image' prompt.

===

All summer long, Harry dreams, and the survivors fall. First is Hermione, swallowed by a Hagrid-sized Monster Book of Monsters. Then Ron, pinned by the sword of Gryffindor beneath a frozen, impenetrable pool of Butterbeer. Another time, Ginny chases after him, crumbling into brittle broomstraw as she runs.

Luna, Neville, George, McGonnagal ... everyone enters the stage of Harry's dreams once to die a single, spectacularly absurd death. Everyone except Malfoy.

Malfoy is there night after night, slipping from Harry's grasp and tumbling into the Sorting Hat, which offers to free him only if Harry will sing the Hogwarts school song in Parseltongue. Madam Malkin scolds him when he says he can no longer speak it and stitches the Hat closed with spider silk and a needle made of Basilisk fang before dropping it into Dumbledore's pensieve.

On such nights, Harry ignores the Dreamless Sleep at his bedside and lies in the darkness, fingers clenched painfully around the ghost of Malfoy's hand. He knows that Malfoy, like the others, is safe, yet the dream persists.

One night, as he uncurls his aching fingers, Harry sees for the first time something cruel and unacceptable about the emptiness of his palm. And he realizes that safety is the last thing he wants for Malfoy. Because if Malfoy doesn't need saving, how else will Harry ever get to touch him again?

20 February 2010 @ 07:52 pm

A bunch of writers share their rules for writing fiction. Featuring words of wisdom from Sarah Waters, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, Will Self and more.

11 February 2010 @ 01:08 pm

A welcome diversion from a much too busy day:

Tom Felton discusses Deathly Hallows, redemption and Draco's 'bond' with Harry.

"Harry and Draco almost have a bond, and they save each other's lives on numerous occasions," he said. "It's a really weird love/hate relationship. It's great that it's left to our interpretation of how and why this is all happening.

Indeed.

17 January 2010 @ 12:26 pm

I'm making a few adjustments to my flist. I just did a tiny trim, mostly of people with whom I never interact or who seem to have abandoned their LJs or moved on from HP fandom. Nothing personal at all, and no offence taken if anyone wants to drop me.

I'll probably also be friending a few people I've meant to friend for ages (mostly HP writers), so if you've just been added, it's most likely because you created something amazing.

10 January 2010 @ 09:34 pm

Today I wrote the porniest thing I've ever written.

31 December 2009 @ 11:48 am

My annual year-in-reading list, now, for the first time, with categories!

FICTION
My favourites of the year:
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Set This House in Order by Matt Ruff
The Gone Away World by Nick Harkaway
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Breath by Tim Winton

In-between books:
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
M Is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman (shortstory)
Buffy Season 8, vol 3 & 4 by Joss Whedon, et al
Le Morte d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Mallory
I, Coriander by Susan Gardiner
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Acimin

Books I want to protect you from:
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
The Gathering by Anne Enright
Endearing Love by Ian McEwan
Small Island by Andrea Levy

NON-FICTION
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen
The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton

Still not as much reading as I would have liked, but an improvement on last year at least.

Any suggestions for my 2010 list?

24 December 2009 @ 09:33 pm

Two H/D drabbles set on Christmas Eve and meant to be read together. Far, far from fluff. I hope you'll forgive me.

Title: Frozen
Author: waterbird
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~150
**Summary:**The last thing Draco wanted right now was to feel.
Warning: Implied infidelity
Author's Notes: Written for the 100quills 'snow' prompt.

===
( Draco's feet and fingers were numb, but he'd not use a warming charm. Not with Potter waiting at the gate ...Collapse )

Title: Breathing
Author: waterbird
Rating: PG
Word Count: ~195
Summary: This moment was his.
Author's Notes: Written for the 100quills 'breathing' prompt.

==
( 'Quite a busy Christmas Eve!' the Healer said.Collapse )

08 December 2009 @ 10:01 pm

Thank you to everyone who sent snowflake cookies the other day. So lovely! I was really touched that you thought of me. ♥

I have no cookies to share, but I thought a few recs might be welcome, especially if anyone is already feeling overwhelmed by all the fest fic. I'm actually completely caught up on hd_holidays – and no one is more surprised about that than I am, believe me. I'm so excited about all the good stuff yet to come, it's almost ridiculous!

So here, in order of most recently read, are my favourites so far:

• Fragile Pleasure Here on Earth I Find – If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for Angst – and this fic delivers big time: It's gorgeously written, teeming with layers of pain and longing and loss in a post-war world in which everything isn't just fine again.

• Secretary Tuesdays, or: Things Unspoken – A fun, clever, well-paced fic with Draco serving as secretary to the new Head Auror. A delightful read that had me laughing out loud. The H/D banter seemed, at times, very Mistfulesque. Nice.

• Give Chase – A frenetic piece that had my heart pounding from beginning to end, featuring a confused Draco and a very hot kick-the-door-down sort of Harry.

• Savage – Believe it or not, I've never read a werewolf!Draco fic before this one, but if they're all this good, I'll be hunting them down. An excellent story, very well written, with some very hot sex thrown in as well.

• Observations – Very nicely constructed Auror!fic with some excellently written action scenes. And good sex, too.

• Symbiosis – A really enjoyable Year 8 story with great character dynamics all around and a Hogwarts that feels like ... well, Hogwarts.

21 November 2009 @ 07:27 am

Good morning, flist. Here's a little pre-breakfast reading, with the warning that some of it is as bad as the intro suggests. I'm guessing the last one in the list was actually trying for the distinction.
The bad sex factor: extracts from the prize shortlist
Strictly for readers of a robust disposition, here are some of the passages highlighted for particular attention by the judges of the Literary Review's 2009 bad sex in fiction prize

Right. Now, tea.

15 November 2009 @ 08:06 pm

OMG, look! First drabble in ages and ages! Definitely feel like I'm still warming up, but here it is:

Title: Ready
Author: waterbird
Word Count: 100
Characters: Draco, Luna
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Written for the hd100 "Someday" and 100quills "Gold" challenges.

( Bellatrix sends him down.Collapse )

21 October 2009 @ 07:59 am

15 October 2009 @ 05:18 pm

Just saw this ad on Craigslist.

In short: "A female owned company launching in about 2 weeks ... a place where women can go and express their innermost feelings, thoughts, desires." The site will include "mature themes" focusing on characters that are "already part of main-stream media".

This could either be somewhat interesting or the making of some serious fandom wank.

07 September 2009 @ 08:01 pm

02 September 2009 @ 08:25 pm

A confession, which I'm sure won't surprise any of you still paying even the most remote attention to my LJ: I have not read a fic in ages. Maybe not since Drop Dead Gorgeous was completed. BUT when I saw geoviki reccing fahye's The Game of Kings, I made a mental note to take a look at it very soon. At ~6500 words, it wouldn't require a whole lot of my oh-so-precious time and, well, if Viki liked it enough to rec, then that was all the reason I needed.

I am so, so glad I read it. The writing is fantastic – I would go so far, in fact, as to call it flawless – and so very intense and moving. You won't even notice that it's written in second-person PoV, it's that perfect. Fantastic characterizations, voice and insight. A phenomenal retelling of HBP. I know most of you guys will just love it.

Apparently, Fahye doesn't even play in the HP sandbox normally, but I so wish she did. All of her fic is archived at fahye_fic, and there seems to be lots of Merlin, so for Merlin fans who don't know her stuff, I bet it's well worth checking out.