Black and Blue

Myspace Happy Birthday Comments & Graphics

Happy Birthday, my dear! Thank you so much for all the lovely things you do for fandom, not least being the mastermind behind the_new_library and tnl_awards. In honor of the occasion, I've written you a drabble a series. A very, very smutty drabble series. Actually, it has no plot whatsoever.

Where else but on the internet can you essentially say, "Happy Birthday! I made you some porn"? :D It's humorous porn though, or at least I hope it is.

Anyway, it's basically the 'missing' lemon that comes between my previous drabble series, Backwards and in High Heels and What to Expect When Your Husband's Expecting—in other words, now you get to find out just how Severus got himself in that situation. Obligatory warning for gender bending here!

Er... I hope you enjoy it. If you hate it, I'll write something else for you! I hope your day has been as fabulous you deserve.

It's hideously hot and humid here. Not great breathing weather, so I'm not spending much time outside if I can help it. It's just the sort of air that sticks to everything and makes you feel filthy the instant it touches your skin. It seems as though everybody is moving in slow motion, probably because the heat has sapped all available energy.

Because of the very hot weather, I've held off for a few days on making my Pay It Forward gifts, although I do have the stuff for them. I hope to get them done this weekend when the air's a bit cooler, so those of you on the list can look forward to seeing those next week. ~crosses fingers~ (By the way, if you're interested in being on the list, I have two slots left here.)

Next, I have things to squee about from portus_envy, where I've received lots of beautiful things to share, and I've written something, too.

Written for me or my prompts:

*darkheartwalsh wrote Solitaire for me, in response to my prompt for a Dark!Hermione. The resulting story is darkly beautiful and evocative and heartbreaking, with a fairy tale quality that calls to mind the real fairy tales--twisted, disturbing and lovely.

*lady_rhian wrote the final installment in her drabble series, "The Birthday," for my prompt: The Tango. I asked for a tango, and she certainly delivered all that and more: lush romance, sexiness and sly humor. It's perfect! (Though you will, I suspect, be quite jealous of the way Hermione gets to spend her birthday. *g*)

*dreamy_dragon73 wrote a delicious SS/HG/LM ficlet for me: Trinity, which uses the prompt I gave her (ribbons) in an extremely clever way to perfectly illustrate the dynamic that really makes an OT3 work. It also features pouty Lucius, while Severus and Hermione drool over books. Lovely!

I also wrote a Snuna ficlet for lorena_snape: The Power of Your Intense Fragility. The prompt was for something Snape-centric, DH-compliant and angsty/realistic, and since she also mentioned liking rare pairings, Luna found her way in the mix, too.

And lastly, I have stolen the 3 Variable Funny Test from mundungus42 because I found it... well, funny. ( I'm funny? Funny how? Like a clown? Do I amuse you? )

That sounds just about right to me.

I don't really have an appropriate icon for squeeing, but just imagine that I do, okay?

The awards at tnl_awards were announced today and... I actually won. "Come Undone" won as Best Slash PWP.

I'm shocked. And stunned. Really, really happy, though. *g* I'd never been nominated for anything before, so I surely didn't think I'd win!



So I am very happy, and feel a bit silly about being happy about it, but that doesn't take away from the happiness. Thank you so much to anybody and everybody who voted in the New Library Awards, and to angelmischa for organizing the whole thing so wonderfully. There was a ton of work that went into these awards, and it was both noticed and appreciated.

Congratulations to the winners on my flist as well: lariope, camillo1978, drachenmina, angelmischa, juniperus, machshefa, mad_queen_mab, odogoddess, zeegrindylows, cecelle and juno_magic. What a talented bunch you are!

You know, yesterday I was feeling quite glum, but today has more than made up for it. In fact, I do believe I've exceeded the recommended daily allowance for squee-age. :D

How do I love thee, mundungus42? Let me count the ways... :D

Reason the first: She wrote me a fantastic quad-drabble for portus_envy, featuring Harry/Hermione/Severus, a pairing that intrigues me no end, and that almost nobody ever writes. But she did, and oh, it's so very good. Shifting POV's (all of them incredibly in character) resolve into a final drabble that makes me sigh with its loveliness. Go read it and squee over it and admire her genius: Tesselations (SS/HP/HG, Mature).

Reason the second: I got a package from her today! And it had a wand in it! And it's all miiiine!

Seriously, it's really beautiful, and it completely made my day. I can't stop admiring it!

Would you like to see its awesomeness? Would you? ( Then click here for pic spam! )

Thank you so, so much, mundungus42! ~glomps you~ I am ever in awe of your multiple talents. (Also, of your mad packing skillz. My OCD tendencies were very impressed with the neatness of that box!) You are a true treasure, and I hope you know that. :D

Also, just for everybody's edification, here's a picture that I took over the weekend, after a rainstorm. It was such a striking sight that I couldn't resist trying to capture it on camera: ( Raindrops on cobwebs... )

Last but not least: welcome back to those of you returning from Portus (I've missed you!), and welcome for the first time to those new friends I've made through portus_envy. I'm happy you're all here. I look forward to catching up with my old friends and getting to know my new ones!

Okay, really the last thing: I've made a vow to myself that I'll try to attend a con next year, because I figure that if I have a year to plan (and get my immune system up, and try to save some dosh), then maybe I can make it happen. The question is... will any of you be going? If so, where? While the con programming sounds like fun, my real attraction is getting to see my flist in person and appreciate them all as real people, so if nobody on the flist is going to be there, then there's not much point to going.

You know, I really can't believe I was worried that this week was going to be dead. I've been blown away by the response we've had on portus_envy, and for those of you flisters who are coming back home now, I do urge you to check out the comm when you return. There's been an explosion of creativity, and I'm so proud of the way people have stretched their boundaries, formed new connections and generated a tidal wave of good work. It's a great thing to watch.

It's times like this when I really, really love fandom. ~hugs Portus Enviers~

Of course, I'm also dead tired. This mod stuff is hard work! I solemnly vow to never take the awesomeness of mods for granted ever again.

I don't think it would be very seemly of me, as a mod, to pluck out stuff for recs; it's all fantastic, and I urge you to read/enjoy it all. However, I'll take some time to point out those fabulous pieces that have been written for my prompts, and the pieces that I've managed to post so far.

Written for me or my prompts:

*juniperus wrote a beautiful, moving Severus/Minerva piece, When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best (SS/MM), based on my prompt of "an apology."
*machshefa (who is amazing in so many ways) wrote a delicious drabble for my prompt of "SS/HG, playing hard to get"in her drabble series, Transported (SS/HG).
*ferporcel wrote the enchanting Nymph (SS/LL) for me, based on my request for Snuna, and the prompt "blowing bubbles."
*On Insane Journal, angela_snape wrote a grin-inducing drabble for my prompt of "Snarry and a road trip": A Muggle Holiday.

I wrote:

*Strange Alchemy (SS/LM, Mature), for mundungus42, who requested sexy, languid Severus/Lucius.
*The Lady in Red, or: How Severus Snape Finally Got Lucky (SS/HG, PG-13), for dreamy_dragon73, who asked for SS/HG involving a slinky red dress.
*Détente (Severus/Harry, PG-13), for angela_snape, who asked for Snarry, chocolate and suggestiveness, and got something that has Severus, Harry and chocolate, but somehow wound up being more gen/pre-slash after it got all tangled up in Severus and his unresolved issues.

Whether you've partied at Portus or portus_envy, I hope you've all had a brilliant weekend to remember. portus_envy won't be going away, even after Portus is finished, because so many people are still writing to prompts and having fun.

...besides, Terminus is coming up, and not everybody can go to that, either. *g*

Inconsiderate bastard. I haven't found the culprit, but after examining the clues, I have figured out that the thief is cunningly wearing a shade of lipstick uncannily similar to my own, in hopes of covering her/his tracks.

It's a clever plan, but my dazzling intellect isn't fooled. ;-)

Anyway, while I go rummage up another pot and marvel at how a slow week got turned into a dizzyingly busy one, here are a few things for you to enjoy at portus_envy, if you haven't already stopped by.


*Scoffy wrote a magnificently clever and hot PWP for me, featuring SS/HG: Stuck. It's sexy, it's lovely and I love it to bits! Getting locked in dark rooms should always be so much fun.

*foudebassan wrote a scorching hot (and side-splittingly hilarious) SS/HG/LM story for me: House Arrest, to my request for a smut/comedy romp with a scheming Hermione getting the better of scheming Severus and Lucius. Again, I adore this--but don't read it while you're drinking something, unless you're prepared to deal with damaged keyboards. ;-)


My own offerings:

*A Suitable Arrangement for chillit, (Neville/?, PG)
*Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered for closetravenclaw, (SS/HG, PG-13)
*Kindred Spirits for 4inshining's request of Snape/Gregory House. This is a repost of the drabble trio I wrote last year, but more will be added very soon, so stay tuned.

There's more to come today, both from me and the very talented Portus Enviers! If you've somehow missed the awesome output of the last two days, here's our Day One Digest and the Day Two Digest. Enjoy!

And now I am off for that coffee...

What a strange day it's been, these last 24 hours!

Went from feeling mopey about Portus to being inspired by people's creativity, and now we've got portus_envy up and running on both Live Journal and Insane Journal! I'm excited that people are already joining and starting to post. I also spent the morning putting together a mirror asylum of the comm for those who exclusively use Insane Journal, so whew! I feel like I've hardly had time to breathe. But please, keep joining, posting and pimping! The more people who get involved, the more fun to be had by all.

Also, my mother just called me with some wonderful, wonderful news. As some of you know, she graduated at the top of her college class back in December, after going back to school. She got a job after graduation, but it wasn't what she wanted; it was just paying the bills. About two weeks ago, she put in for a dream job at a University (not mine) in the Arts and Sciences Department. On Monday, she went for the interview, after I spent the weekend trying to pump her up and get her ready. By yesterday, she'd convinced herself that she'd bombed it, despite all my assertions to the contrary.

This morning, they called her and offered her the position. Naturally, she said yes.

Then she called me and sobbed into the phone.

I'm so proud of her and happy for her! She's absolutely earned this, and I hope she enjoys the hell out of this. I think she'll be perfect in the job, especially as she'll be relating to students. They're going to love her.

In conclusion: today is a good day. Also, the sun is shining.

Also, somebody appears to have drunk all my coffee. Who could have done that? ~looks innocent~

Left Behind? Bored? Suffering from Portus Envy (or Snapefest Envy)? Well, we've got the cure.

You may not be going to Portus or Snapefest, but that doesn't mean you can't have any fun this week!

As thrilled as we all are for our fandom friends who are enjoying the festivities in Dallas (and really, we are thrilled), that doesn't mean that those of us who are missing it have to miss out. Instead of sitting around and feeling sad and allowing LJ to slow to a crawl this week, why not channel all that frustration into some fabulous creativity? There are tons of talented people who won't be at Portus this week, and if we put our heads together, we can entertain one another quite well. Already, a number of brilliant drabble challenges and other special projects have been proposed.

That's where portus_envy comes in. Let this community serve as your nexus of entertainment. We aim to showcase all the challenges, stories, art, icons and more that are produced by your fellow Portus outcasts. Offering to write custom drabbles for those with Portus Envy? Post your offer here! Have you come up with a fun game for others to play? Post it! If you're moved to start a special project, write fic, create icons, drabble or drawble this week, then please feel free to post a link or announcement here, so that others can see it and enjoy. The more people that get involved, the better!

So if you're looking for a good way to pass the week, looking to commiserate with fellow fans or are interested in meeting new and different people from all corners of the HP fandom, then come surf portus_envy and see what's going on! As far as we're concerned, this is our own sort of party, and we're planning to have plenty of fun at it.

Please, come join the celebration! We'd be delighted to have you all--any ship, any corner, as long as you're interested in Harry Potter fandom and want enjoy the creativity.

Enjoy the community and spread the word!


For those of you who no longer use Livejournal, or no longer wish to use it, a mirror community has been arranged at portus_envy. Please feel free to check it out, join and start posting, if you're interested.

Or, as machshefa so accurately termed it, "Portus Envy."

Mostly, I'm just feeling rather bummed that I won't be able to be there and meet all you lovely people, but it also happens to coincide with the end of the big project that's been occupying me ("I F***ing Do"), while many of my RL friends are busy/vacationing/occupied with troubles of their own and LJ will probably be sort of a dead zone while half the flist is at Portus. It's just sort of an unlucky confluence of ugh-ness that's got me feeling very broody. I'm sure it will pass, but at the moment, it's unpleasant and most likely, so am I.

Amusingly (in the sense of 'cosmic irony'), even the sun is refusing to cooperate and cheer me up! It was sunny when I woke up, but the sky's become progressively darker and gloomier since, and we're due for thunderstorms the rest of the day.

One thing's going right, however, and that's my garden. Today was the first day the lilies decided to bloom, so that's a nice surprise. I decided to take snap a few pictures of the lilies and Sweet William while the sun was still semi-decent, so if you're interested, here are ( pictures of how my garden grows )

I hope that all of you at Portus have a safe trip, a fabulous time, take lots of pictures and please, please post them so that those of us who can't be there in person can enjoy it vicariously here. It will be appreciated! :D

had a wonderful 4th of July, and hope the rest of you did as well. I had some family and friends over, including the Godkids, and we laughed, listened to music, soaked up the sun, played croquet and lit some sparklers. We stayed out after dark to watch the glittering displays by neighbors whose fireworks were larger, more impressive and decidedly more illegal than mine, and the kids were completely awestruck.

We also ate and drank very well! The menu:

*Homemade guacamole with equally homemade corn chips
*'Georgia Caviar' dip, made with black-eyed peas, jalapenos and diced tomatoes.
*Grilled corn on the cob with fresh herb butter
*Scallion-Shitake Turkey burgers, seasoned with garlic, ginger, sesame oil and tamari, and studded with diced sauteed shitakes and scallions.
*'BLT' Salad, made with Boston lettuce, fresh grilled tomatoes and grilled bread that was then cut into croutons. It was dressed with a sprinkle of bacon and a white wine vinaigrette with minced shallots.
*Blackberry-peach streusel-topped pie
*Berry Cheese-cake, which featured a golden butter cake layered with raspberry puree and fresh blueberries, and then topped with cream cheese mousse. I decorated with more raspberries and blueberries, in the shape of a patriotic 'quilt.' (Did this in a 13 x 9 pan, because it's easier for outdoor events than a layer cake.)

Everything came out fairly smoothly (aside from some tears shed over the shallots), and I was especially happy with the cake. It was sort of my twist on my Grandfather's classic berry cheesecake, and I wanted it to be special. For all that we weren't related by blood, I have a lot in common with him, including a sarcastic bent and a love of cooking. He passed away nearly twenty years ago, but the 4th of July will always be his day to me; his birthday was on July 3rd, so we always celebrated his birthday on the 4th of July with his favorite berry cheesecake. I like to think he would have approved of my adaptation!

Here are a few photos of the cake: ( Cake pic spam )

After everybody had gone home and the mess was cleaned up, I was inspired by the starry night and the moon outside to work on a moon-themed Severus/Luna drabble I'd started for duniazade a few weeks ago. I sat down and wrote about 95% of an actual Snuna story--turned out there was more than could be contained in a drabble! Look for that to be posted soon, after I tighten it up and give some polish.

I hope you all enjoyed yourselves yesterday, and continue to enjoy yourselves this weekend. I'm off to Partridge Creek now to meet my cousin for lunch and shopping--it's time for me to start phasing out my old 'college student' wardrobe and start expanding my professional wardrobe. I already have a nice core of billowy black coats and stompy black boots, but I do need to find something to wear in warmer weather.

Graphics for 4th of July Comments


I've been busy cooking all morning, and my guests will be here any minute, but I want to take the time to wish all of my American flisters a very safe and happy Independence Day. May your picnics be delicious, your fireworks spectacular, your watermelon juicy and your weather nothing but pleasant!

For all of my non-American flisters: have a very happy Friday, and I wish you all wonderful weekends.

Well, now you can. At least, you can if you place the highest bid on my offer for livelongnmarry, which is a fandom-organized auction site designed to raise money in support of equal marriage rights.

I've offered to write a minimum 5,000-word story in either the HP or PSoH fandom, and for the occasion, I'm opening myself up to any pairing/prompt/rating the winning bidder wants to see (except for BDSM/heavy kink/darkfic). If you'd like me to write a Snape/Luna that features them hunting for Snorkacks in the Andes mountains, or a Slughorn/Hooch set in the Chamber of Secrets, or a Filch/Hagrid set in a historical AU, then now is your opportunity to crack the whip!

You can see my offer here, if you're interested, or know somebody who would be.

Whether you want to bid for my story or not, I'd urge you to also check out the other amazing offers that have already been listed on the community. There are some great things being offered, from stories by wonderful authors to baked goods to jewelry to... well, you name something material, and chance are fairly good it's being offered.

Bidding opens up 1 July and ends 15 July, so keep your eye out for whatever catches your fancy, and be ready to bid in service of a good cause.

I've been so busy and stressed the last couple of days that I forgot to squee about how thrilled I am to see so much of my flist represented amongst the New Library Awards finalists! But ShallyShilly made this wonderful banner and Angel Mischa just customized it for me, for my Best Slash PWP nomination for "Come Undone." See?



I'm still sort of shocked (pleasantly!) that my story was nominated, much less seconded, but equally thrilled. Thanks to whomever it was who nominated/seconded me.

I'm sorry I didn't get to shout this out earlier, but huge and hearty congratulations to all the nominees on the flist: angelmischa, camillo1978, drachenmina, emmeline33, cecelle, juniperus, juno_magic, lariopefic, machshefa, mad_queen_mab, melusin_79, pokeystar, pythia_delphi and sc010f. Wonderful work, all of you!

It's not actually raining outside, but the sky keeps being broody and dark and grumbling and rumbling worse than Severus in a sulk. I imagine it'll get around to being a spectacular cloudburst eventually. In the meantime, it's just making my head throb.

I feel good creatively, though, so I'm going to see how much I can accomplish in my free time today. I have half a "Wanderlust" chapter to complete, six drabbles remaining from the Drabble Meme, and a first chapter for a new SS/HG historical fiction-esque WIP that I'd like to polish off, so I can get started posting. Wish me luck! Dark storminess tends to inspire me.

Hope you're all well and not stressed and basically happy in what you're doing.

It's been months since I last posted a drabble collection, and I've got... oh, a fair few old drabbles saved up. So here's a post putting them all together in one place. As always, they're a mixed bag of pairings, ratings and sources--some are from snape100, others from various Last Word Challenges--but the common thread is Snape, Snape, Snape. Ratings range from G to PG-13, while pairings include SS/HG, Snarry, Snape/Luna and, in a first for me, Snape/Molly. There are also a few drabble duos and trios in this set. The drabbles themselves are labeled as to more specific content.

Enjoy!

( Drabbles behind the cut )

Seriously, I'm sorry for the spamming. Last post, I promise!

Title: Wholly to Be a Fool
Author: bluestocking79
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Eileen Prince Snape/Tobias Snape, whisper of Severus Snape/Draco Malfoy
Word Count: 9700
Disclaimer: These characters aren’t mine; they’re the property of J.K. Rowling. "since feeling is first" is by e.e. cummings and is also not my property.
Summary: At the age of 65, Eileen Prince Snape is as surprised as anyone to find that she’s finally developed an interest in being anybody’s wife or mother.
Author’s Notes: Written for femmequixotic for the inaugural round of the HP Beholder Fest. The story does require a slightly different reading than the usual for the Snape family backstory, but one that I think can be largely supported by canon. I especially owe thanks to my betas, Drachenmina and Duniazade, for being speedy, insightful, supportive and willing to call me out on my stupidity when I needed it. This wouldn't be half the story it is without them.


( Wholly to Be a Fool )

The Master List is up at hp_beholder, so I can now reveal that my contribution was the Eileen Prince/Tobias Snape story, Wholly to Be a Fool (PG-13), written for femmequixotic. Although I had to finish the story when things were getting really terrible for me, health-wise, I was thrilled at the opportunity to write for Femme, whose work is never less than gorgeous, articulate and moving. Her Snarry, "Gladly Beyond Any Experience," remains one of my personal favorites, so it was an honor to be able to write something for her.

( More nattering about the story )

My own gift was Cotyledon, fabulous little jewel of an illustrated story by trickofthedark, AKA Didodikali. It features Hooch/Slughorn, Snape/Pomfrey and Trelawney/Firenze, and it surpassed any expectations I ever could have had for the fest. It's a lovely, adorable piece, and it makes me grin each time I read it. Go and check it out, if you haven't! The illustrations alone are worth your attention.

I have to thank bethbethbeth profusely for holding the fest and being so understanding with my difficulties. She's a fabulous mod! I also need to thank drachenmina for the lightening-quick beta/Brit-pick and duniazade, not only for the beta but for once again gracefully serving as my muse. She's improved the story immeasurably just by inspiring me in many ways, and I can't thank her enough!

Please go check out the Master List here, and have a good time browsing and reviewing! There were some wonderful things produced, and they deserve to be recognized. You won't be sorry!

Graphics for Happy Birthday Comments

Happy Birthday, melusin_79! I might have an itty-bitty something to post for you later, too. In any case, I hope today's a lovely day for you.

I'm in the midst of sorting through all the things that I've missed, and what totally wonderful thing have I found? My gift for hp_beholder: Cotyledon! And yes, it is very squee-worthy. :D

I have had the stupendous luck to be gifted with fic AND art; both are superb. The story is illustrated throughout with charm and wit and skill, and I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say that the author/artist's style is pretty immediately recognizable for its wonderfulness when you see it. The story itself is sly and hilarious and downright adorable, with just the sort of sweet-tart banter and inspired details that I adore in a story (Duelling as foreplay! Armchair Slughorn! Hooch asleep on her broom! Secret Slytherins!). It's set directly after the Battle of Hogwarts, and the main pairing is Slughorn/Hooch; if that sounds odd to you, well... seriously, just read it. It's fantastic, and the author not only makes it work, she makes it so cute that you wonder how you never thought of this fab pairing before. Better yet, there are hinted-at side pairings of Trelawney/Firenze and Poppy Pomfrey/Snape, with perfect characterizations of all involved.

Perhaps best of all, the piece lets a cast of unexpected Slytherins have their moment to shine, and it also makes you feel very happy when you read it. It put a huge smile on my face, and I defy anybody to read it and not be thoroughly charmed. Now go, read! It's great!

I've also had a chance to see a few other wonderful offerings at the Beholder fest, and I can quickly rec two really wonderful offerings. ( More recs for art and fic )

Sorry for the spammage, but after commenting on bambu345's plans to make a delicious-sounding Tzatziki Potato Salad, I got a few requests for my own standby potato salad recipe. You asked, so here it is! It's insanely simple to make, and, I must admit, quite delicious. It's not healthy, but then, that's not really the point of potato salad, is it? I adapted it from an issue of Bon Appetit that I bought at an airport some years back, while my flight to Denver was delayed. The minute I saw this recipe, I knew it would be yummy. Frankly, you can't go wrong with Gorgonzola, bacon and mayonnaise. *g*

Enjoy!

( Gorgonzola-Bacon Potato Salad )

But I'm doing it anyway. I've been so busy with my behind-ness that I haven't properly pimped my two wonderful fests; I plan to rectify that now.

First of all, HP Beholder is already posting on IJ, and if you aren't watching this fest, you should be. It's devoted to giving some love and affection to the HP characters who tend to be left out because they're considered to be too old/evil/ugly/not nice, and the participants have done amazing things with lesser-known or liked characters! There are already some fabulous stories and art pieces posted, with more to come, and there's something for everybody: het, slash, femslash. (I don't have time for recs just now, but rest assured, they will come.) I'm absolutely thrilled to have participated in this one, and I hope you find as much enjoyment in it as I do. Special bonus: many of the stories involve Snape, even though he wasn't on the 'undesirable' list. Hmm, funny how that happened... *g*

Go here to check it out and give the participants some love for their unique and thoughtful contributions! bethbethbeth is even posting regular round-up posts of everything that's been posted each week, so it's easy to catch up if you've missed something.

As for my other fest... well, I think this tasteful banner says it all:



The Snarry Games officially open tomorrow, and they are going to be fantastic. Team Phoenix will naturally be more fantastic (heh), but with all the talent involved here, I feel fairly confident that both teams are going to provide some amazing new stories. Come check it out, and don't forget to vote for Team Phoenix! (Special thanks to alisanne and unbroken_halo for the fabulous banner.)

In non-pimping news, I have actually met one of my deadlines! Squeeee! ~bounces and wheezes~ Now I just have one more to go...