Thank you ...

... to whomever gave me 2 months paid Live Journal time. I don't know what brought this on, but I appreciate it. I promise to make use of it with many silly polls.

Ron Ficathon - a lingering sense of foreboding

As many of you have read, I've been having a horrible time with my Ron Ficathon story. Like a lot of the slashers on my friendslist I had sort of assumed the Ficathon was slash-centric (if not solely slash), though a quick glance down the challenges would have answered that.

A few of you know I've been sort of... stuck... since leaving hp_dungeons. I've ingrained a few bad habits (over-reliance on deep penetration POV, not enough visual description), shaken up a few of my strengths (good story structure - impossible to do in an RPG, and fresh plots). I'd written Percy for so long, everything was coming out sounding like him. Plus taking literature classes has a bad way of causing you to stand outside your writing and judge, judge, judge. You can't stand outside your story and write.

This has all made for a miserable Icarus trying to write again.

Throw into this the Ficathon:
- I was asked to write Het.
- Ron/Hermione.
- Keep the focus off the relationship (moi? All stories are relationships! That's where plots develop).
- And I was given a very complete, detailed and specific plot bunny that was of no interest to me whatsoever.
- All about Quidditch? I hate sports.

I did finish it. It's about 20 pages (complicated plot). It came to life for me with a little flip humour, some moral dilemmas and a lot of magic. And I happily tore the Quidditch world (and shitty jobs) to shreds.

I do like it, though I think it needs work (thank you my lovely betas).

I incorporated everything she wanted; was pleased with myself. Now I just checked her LJ...

Looking at it, my guess is that our tastes are so radically different that it's not something that she'll particularly enjoy. Too dark. Too mean to Quidditch. Still too relationship-centric.

UPDATE: Just heard from her. She's read my stuff before, and is thrilled I'm writing her story.

*Icarus beams and is overwhelmingly relieved.*
*Thinks about it. Panics. What if she hates the story?*
*You're sick of my neurosis about this by now, aren't you?*

Sucking up to the Snape Fans... Minx!

Er. I don't mean miraminx is sucking up to the Snape fans. Um. Anyhow.

You know the rules, this is informal and my choices are a little random. Vote for your favourite fic or write in the better one and you call yourself a fan your preference. No bashing one story over another please, that's what hpbnfdm_lives is assuredly not for. Edit: Right, I forgot. Do tell us what you like about your favourite.

A Good Buy
For Services Rendered
Lost Feeling
As Black As He's Painted

Well, I had to include her Remus/Sirius! It wouldn't be representative otherwise. *Icarus dodges tomatoes from the Snape fans.*

Oh well. Let the write-in's commence.
ETA: Well that didn't take long.

Dead Till I Be With Him
A Little Out of Tune
Till Break Of Day
Kitchen Raids

The voting is now closed. The results are here.

The fine print:
Previous votes are Anna, Maya, Amanuensis, Rushlight, Sushi, Aspen, Cybele, and Cassandra Claire. Void where prohibited.

Explanations to the boyfriend

So just why does it bother me when I'm working and he isn't, even though he has rent covered and all the money he needs?

"It just seems so horribly unfair that you get to stay home like a child, while I have to go to work like an adult."

A 36-year-old and a 43-year-old. (And no, he's not younger than me.)