Whirly joy and rambly recc-ing
And there was joy.
Last night, as I was chatting away happily with the fabulous dragonmuse, I had an Epiphany. It is quite tragic that no one was there to see my face at that moment, because it must have been hilarious. My chin almost hit the ground. A lightbulb may even have materialised above my head. My shock was that extreme.
The Epiphany was this: Serenity had been released on DVD here on Friday, and I had been so caught up in fic-writing flailage that I had forgotten.
This was closely followed by the Realisation that I had less than an hour left before all the shops closed for the rest of the weekend.
The ensuing scene somewhat resembled something out of the film Run, Lola, Run, which some of you may have seen (I recommend it!), only with less fabulous hair. In a race against time, I chased across Berlin seeking a shop that was still open, stocked Serenity, and would sell it to me.
The woman at the till in Saturn may have been a tad alarmed by my crazed eyes as I paid, but that was really the least of my concerns. Cackling, I returned home with my treasure and settled down to watch. And re-watch. All was fabulous with the world.
This morning I sat down to read the remainder of lightningwave's fabulous AU series. You may remember me mentioning this fic before, after mary_re, fandom crackdealer extraordinaire, recced it to me a few weeks ago and it stole my sanity. I stopped reading along with the updates a little over a week ago, as a) it was the end of the school year and I couldn't cope with the cliffhangers and trauma, and b) I knew I'd get no writing done if I was flailing about it, and I had a deadline to meet. This morning I discovered to my delight that the fourth story in the series, the AU of GoF, had been completed, and sat down and read my way through the remaining chapters.
So much love. I don't think I can even put it into words, but I will try, because this is my LJ and no one's forcing you to read, least of all me.
A great fic, to me, is not one that just blinds you with pretty words or clever concepts or unexpected plot twists, much as I love all of those things (and this fic has them all in spades). It's the one that leaves you with your heart in your throat as you read, where you get so caught up that you forget the world around you. It's the one that leaves you shaking and fighting for breath, it's the one that makes you laugh with wild joy and cry with the wonder of it. It's the one that reaches out and claims you and changes you.
I could list a thousand things I love about this fic - the insane coolness of the rituals and details of the magic, the best Narcissa I have ever read (and I did not think it was possible for me love her more, and oh, thank god I was wrong), the intricacy of the plot - but that's the real reason. It breaks me and puts me back together better than before.
I sort of recced it by implication a little while ago, but would like to do so again rather more insistently now. Books 1 to 4 are complete, and the author is apparently intending to start posting Book 5 towards the end of this week. The fic is insanely long, but I cannot reccommend it highly enough. It has just got better and better, and I sincerely think it is better than the original books. When you have some time, please consider reading it.
After reading the last chapter of book 4, I cried for a while and then became wildly, wildly happy. There has been much whirly dancing around my flat (which almost ended in disaster when I slipped on my freshly washed floor - after that I put on the moocow socks Dragon gave me for my Christmas, which have grips on the soles and allow me to flail with impunity, hurrah!). For the first time, I have slightly regretted not knowing Scottish country dancing. I feel I may be missing out on valuable whirly-flailing skills. Alas!
In short, my Sunday is going fabulously. Now I am going to eat my last remaining creme egg and decide whether re-reading for the gazillionth time or writing Narcissa/Lucius would bring me more joy. Perhaps I will do both. Hurrah!
Last night, as I was chatting away happily with the fabulous dragonmuse, I had an Epiphany. It is quite tragic that no one was there to see my face at that moment, because it must have been hilarious. My chin almost hit the ground. A lightbulb may even have materialised above my head. My shock was that extreme.
The Epiphany was this: Serenity had been released on DVD here on Friday, and I had been so caught up in fic-writing flailage that I had forgotten.
This was closely followed by the Realisation that I had less than an hour left before all the shops closed for the rest of the weekend.
The ensuing scene somewhat resembled something out of the film Run, Lola, Run, which some of you may have seen (I recommend it!), only with less fabulous hair. In a race against time, I chased across Berlin seeking a shop that was still open, stocked Serenity, and would sell it to me.
The woman at the till in Saturn may have been a tad alarmed by my crazed eyes as I paid, but that was really the least of my concerns. Cackling, I returned home with my treasure and settled down to watch. And re-watch. All was fabulous with the world.
This morning I sat down to read the remainder of lightningwave's fabulous AU series. You may remember me mentioning this fic before, after mary_re, fandom crackdealer extraordinaire, recced it to me a few weeks ago and it stole my sanity. I stopped reading along with the updates a little over a week ago, as a) it was the end of the school year and I couldn't cope with the cliffhangers and trauma, and b) I knew I'd get no writing done if I was flailing about it, and I had a deadline to meet. This morning I discovered to my delight that the fourth story in the series, the AU of GoF, had been completed, and sat down and read my way through the remaining chapters.
So much love. I don't think I can even put it into words, but I will try, because this is my LJ and no one's forcing you to read, least of all me.
A great fic, to me, is not one that just blinds you with pretty words or clever concepts or unexpected plot twists, much as I love all of those things (and this fic has them all in spades). It's the one that leaves you with your heart in your throat as you read, where you get so caught up that you forget the world around you. It's the one that leaves you shaking and fighting for breath, it's the one that makes you laugh with wild joy and cry with the wonder of it. It's the one that reaches out and claims you and changes you.
I could list a thousand things I love about this fic - the insane coolness of the rituals and details of the magic, the best Narcissa I have ever read (and I did not think it was possible for me love her more, and oh, thank god I was wrong), the intricacy of the plot - but that's the real reason. It breaks me and puts me back together better than before.
I sort of recced it by implication a little while ago, but would like to do so again rather more insistently now. Books 1 to 4 are complete, and the author is apparently intending to start posting Book 5 towards the end of this week. The fic is insanely long, but I cannot reccommend it highly enough. It has just got better and better, and I sincerely think it is better than the original books. When you have some time, please consider reading it.
After reading the last chapter of book 4, I cried for a while and then became wildly, wildly happy. There has been much whirly dancing around my flat (which almost ended in disaster when I slipped on my freshly washed floor - after that I put on the moocow socks Dragon gave me for my Christmas, which have grips on the soles and allow me to flail with impunity, hurrah!). For the first time, I have slightly regretted not knowing Scottish country dancing. I feel I may be missing out on valuable whirly-flailing skills. Alas!
In short, my Sunday is going fabulously. Now I am going to eat my last remaining creme egg and decide whether re-reading for the gazillionth time or writing Narcissa/Lucius would bring me more joy. Perhaps I will do both. Hurrah!