possible problems for livejournal, a ton of hd_holidays recs, and much more!
last night i got halfway through s03e10 of heroes before i figured it was a good idea to fall asleep. just a few more episodes to go before i'm caught up! i'm all excited now, yay
to pay homage to my new addiction, i bought a heroes-themed calendar for my study yesterday, as well as a small half-blood prince desk calendar for my office. right now daniel radcliffe is looking quite serious while brandishing his wand at me, and somehow i've managed to not get distracted by the image! [the cheesiness of the photo may have something to do with this however].
i managed to wake up 20 minutes late this morning and still make it to work on time, although i suspect not bothering to fix my hair played a large role in that. i really wanted to call in sick though b/c i was feeling terribly lethargic, and not really looking forward to the big new project i'm involved with currently. still, i acted responsibly and showed up at 9am sharp like a good employee, and now i'm wishing more than ever that i could manipulate time so i could fast-forward myself hours into the future and just be home already!
on the plus side, i brought popcorn to work as a snack and have made all my colleagues jealous with the scent of its buttery goodness. and i managed to look through all the art submissions from hd_holidays during my break! i also finished what has easily become one of my fave fics from the fest [oo, alliteration!] in between working on my project. it's called for the public good and it befuddled me with its AWESOMENESS. like monsterrainbow mentioned in a previous comment, it reads a lot like terry pratchett's work but the dry wit and political details made me think of blamebrampton rather than any other established author. so if it turns out to be brammers' work, i'm going to be most pleased!
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MISC
1) *** massive layoff at livejournal headquarters may spell trouble for all of us? just make sure you backup all your entries with lj archive or the lj backup toolkit to be on the safe side! furiosity has been posting constant updates on this situation, so you may want to check out this post of hers.
2) neil gaiman posted a few panels of preliminary art from the 2-parter batman comic he's doing, whooppee! i am seriously drooling here..
3) for those of you showed interest in getting cosmetics from MAC, here's a coupon so you can save 25% off everything online! this offer is valid on orders shipped to US and canadian addresses only, and details can be found here.
FIC RECS
from hd_holidays, i give you:
1) for the public good: no surprises, yes? it's one of the most intelligent stories from the fest, has the typical english humour i adore so much, blends details of british politics and the wizarding world seamlessly, contains a healthy dose of action, adventure and mystery, and is a surprisingly quick read despite its 23.5k length.
2) hibiscus: this one has astonishingly beautiful imagery with so much detail that you'll like you've been to the place being described. it's incredibly bittersweet and is quite angsty so be prepared for that, although i wouldn't have the ending be any other way. i'm not sure why this story hasn't received more reviews b/c it really is a gem, and i've seen it recced on at least 2-3 times before.
3) more than blueberry scones: this one's a complete contrast to the fic above, in the sense that it's light and cheerful and will have you shaking your head in amusement once you're done. draco's a bit of a dumdum at times but his scathing inner monologue definitely makes him endearing rather than irritating ;) it's also a shorter read than the other stories from this fest - close to being 6k words, so it shouldn't take you very long to get through.
4) on the joy of fancy-dress: r/s with sirius as frank n. furter [gaaa!] and remus as james fucking bond [nnngfff!] omg, this was just so freakin' good. features sirius in requisite leather corset, snarky remus and a hot pink water pistol. yowza!
5) trust, charity & the fine art of incompetence by freudian_fuckup: it should come as no surprise that i'm reccing this b/c i think freudian_fuckup's one of the best writers around right now, and this story's no exception. both crowley and aziraphale are completely in-character, so you'll find them to be funny, adorable, witty and slightly insane. plus, in keeping with pratchett/gaiman tradition, there are footnotes!
ART RECS
these are the rest of my recs from hd_holidays. the full ART rec list can be found HERE.
1) all i need is your cooperation [NSFW]: like the summary states, auror!harry and prisoner!draco. with magical bonds and more!
2) happy christmas!: the boys look like little babies here and as so very squishy! the look on both their faces is to die for, awh! ♥
3) a turkey and some mistletoe [slightly NSFW]: very funny and cute comic strip with a unique plot.
4) harry and malfoy, ministry's yule gala 2008: i'm pretty sure i know who drew this b/c of how the boys look. love the expression in harry's eyes and draco is just so pretty with his pointy chin!
5) only friends?: i DEFINITELY know who drew this and i think it's a sweet depiction of the boys. i personally love this artist's work since her versions of harry and draco look close to what i imagine, and she's mighty talented with those paintbrushes!
6) christmas orange curse: hee hee, i love being able to accurately guess who might've drawn what! i'm almost 100% sure about this one too ;) it's probably one of the most hilarious pieces from the fest and i highly recommend it.
7) light my fire: this one has a very unique style and stands out from the other pieces for one particular reason - although the characters are always in silhouette, the artist still manages to convey their emotions and the feeling of need and desire.
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8) evil boy by leochi: this last one is not from a fest. she was trying to capture an evil/creepy scorpius or draco and created 2 versions of the same art. i personally think the boy looks more serious or sombre rather than evil, but i really like how it looks! leochi's asked her flist to write a short drabble based off the artwork, so if the painting inspires you and you feel up to it, go for it!
anyhow, i'm going to keep this one relatively short and sweet since i need to get back to the write-up the big boss wants to see before the end of the day, and also so i can finish a few more stories from hd_holidays
