Draco Crescendo

For the moment, I think my mom's email to me says it all:

Happy Turkey Day! Though since I'm having pork roast and you might have ham, I could say Happy Pork Day. But that just sounds vaguely dirty.....lol.

You are, without a doubt, one of the best and smartest writers in this fandom. You can make my heart ache for characters and pairings I would normally not give a damn about, and write kinks that don't generally interest me in ways that leave me begging for more. Your smut is hot enough to burn my whole bloody apartment building down, but it's never a mere PWP. Your stories, no matter how short or porny, always say something -- about a character, a pairings, a situation, a possibility -- and the message is always interesting.

I don't want to just gush about your writing, though, because you're so much more than a collection of fics. I think what's most remarkable about you is that you're a genuinely nice person who loves fandom for all the right reasons. I've seen that you enjoy meeting other talented people around here, getting to know them, and interacting with them. Your enthusiasm for reading/viewing, reccing, and participating in fandom in general is wonderful to see. I love your posts full o' squee. Oh, you can get your snark on with the best of 'em at times. ::grin:: But you're also one of the most supportive, generous, and approachable people I've met. Don't ever leave, eh? It's people like you that make HP fandom the awesome place that it is.

Happy Birthday, Lee!!!

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

You're another one of those people who's just been around forever, and without whom this place would feel oddly empty. After all this time, you still have so much enthusiasm, and do such a tremendous amount for the fandom and your ship. It's likely that you often don't receive the appreciation that you deserve, but I want to thank you for all your hard work. Thank you, also, for reading and commenting on my fic, and for being supportive in general. And while I'm at it, thank you again for the completely rockin' Snack fic you wrote for me last year at this time (yeah, I remember)! LOL You're a super mod and organizer, a fantastic writer, and on top of all of that, you seem to be an incredibly interesting and nice person. I'd like to know you better, and I really should make an effort to comment on your journal posts more frequently.

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

So apparently my mother's side of the family - the only family I've been in contact with these past two years - is falling apart as we speak. I don't mind so much because of Things I will summarise behind the cut, but my mother minds very much, which is why I'm very very angry about this.

( tl;dr about Jules' family which you might or might not want to know - touches some sensitive stuff )

I'm thinking it's getting clear why I'm not so hot on the family stuff.

Now this feels a bit better. A tiny, tiny bit.

It's about that time, right? If you want a holiday card from me, comment with your mailing address (comments screened). I still have the mailing info of those who've given it to me in the past, but if your address has changed, make sure I have your new one! I sent out 40 cards last year; let's see if I can make it 50 this year. :D

Ha. I remember you from a lot farther back than you probably realize. I was already reading your LJ before I ever shambled my way into HP fandom, and honestly, your fic is probably at least partially responsible for my being here. So damn you thank you for that!

You're a wonderful musician and artist, a positively brilliant writer, and you're 100% a performer in everything that you do. You have a large and captivating presence that draws people into your orbit. I love seeing your posts, whether they're fic or a rant or a story about your cats or just what you did that day. You have a way with words that makes it all fascinating. I envy that, as well as your willingness to put so many of your thoughts, opinions, and beliefs out there without reservation. One day I'd love to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with you over coffee, 'cause I think it would be a highly interesting and entertaining experience.

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

I had a blast meeting you for the first time and hanging out with you at Sectus -- and my god, was that really more than two years ago?? You're a hilarious and spirited person to be around. Your brain is a seriously crack-addled place, and I'd love to be able to see inside it, but I expect I might go insane from the experience. Rather like what happens when one looks upon Cthulu.

As one would expect, you create some of the most cracktastic art in the fandom. But you also do some seriously delicious pr0n, and some very poignant pieces as well. Your diversity is wonderful. Your art is incredibly complex and gorgeous, and your style so distinctive. Your work is uniquely your own; please keep doing what you're doing!

You already saw this, but for everyone else's benefit:

Jin was a fanartist expert,
Who drew crack and porn most overt.
"I'd come out of the gutter,"
She said, "but I'd rather
You all joined me down here in the dirt!"

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

I've wanted to do one of these about you from the beginning, but I think I've been putting it off because I'm not sure what I'm going to write. It's not that I don't have anything to say about you, or that I don't have plenty of thoughts and feelings about you. But those thoughts and feelings are complex and multi-layered, and you're complex and multi-layered, and I'm not sure where to start.

Perhaps it's easiest to begin with the music angle, because I knew you as a musician before I knew you as a friend. I've always thought you were a very talented musician with a amazing voice. Over time I came to see the genuine love you have for it -- for the music itself, and the creation of it. I think you're one of those people who makes music because you just can't not make music; it's just an intrinsic part of who and what you are.

I'm grateful that I've had the opportunity to get to know you beyond that, however, because you're one of the most singular and original individuals I've met -- and I've known a lot of unusual folks. There's just no one else out there remotely like you. You're intelligent, diverse, witty, fun, loyal, determined, and about a zillion other adjectives I could list. But listing them is fairly pointless, because a collection of words can't adequately describe the overall sense of you that exists in my head. So, er, I might as well just stop trying and tell you that you're seriously awesome and totally one of the cool kids. ;)

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

By now everyone should have received their assignments. If you have not, please contact us immediately so we can resend it. If you have received it and have not confirmed with us, please do so now. We're still waiting on approximately 20 people to respond. We want to make sure each and every person who signed up is still planning on participating, and that they're able to fulfill the assignments as requested. If there are any problems or concerns with what you received, we need to know now. We're more than willing to work with you, but we need to know that there is a problem before we can solve it.

After months and months of not touching the keyboard, thanks to mini_nanowrimo, I'm back to writing daily. Each day in November (so far), I've managed to write at least 100 words. Go me!

But that's not the object of this post.

I've been thinking about what to do when Mini Nano is over. How to kick my butt and stay with the writing daily? And I've come up with an idea:

Is there anyone who'd like to open up a writer's group, so to speak (via email or whatever), where we can report our word counts, keep each other on track, and squee about our writing? I was thinking maybe we could give out prompts if someone fails their target or some such. What do you think, anybody for it? *puppy eyes*

You've been a fixture around the fandom for ages, and the place would feel terribly empty without you here. You have so much enthusiasm for fandom and put so much into it, from writing to reading to reccing to running fests. It's really fantastic and inspiring to see.

Of course, I love seeing your posts whether they're fandom-centric or not. They're always interesting, and I'm impressed by what an intelligent, diverse, and involved person you are. In addition to all of that, you're nice, friendly, caring, and approachable. You're one of the people who helps to make fandom feel like a community to me, and I appreciate that more than you can imagine. Thanks for everything!

Happy Birthday!!!

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

Also, OMG, two-thirds of the way through the month! I can't believe I've lasted this long...

Christ in a crock pot, Cel, I wish I were half as together as you. It seems like you spend nearly every waking hour being productive in some way, and damn, I admire and envy that. You're one of the most motivated and down-to-earth people I know, and clearly a force to be reckoned with. You're also one of the most bold. You rarely hold back from stating your position on subjects in the most direct terms, and while I might not always agree with what you have to say (although I probably do at least 80% of the time), I appreciate your courage and honesty. You seem to have the same sort of confidence in your writing. You're probably the least likely person on my f-list to wibble about whether a fic is up to par. The confidence is entirely appropriate, though. You're a talented writer who write some of the most entertaining and captivating fics I've read.

Beyond all of those things, though -- or perhaps in spite of them -- you're genuinely nice, friendly, and a lovely person to be around. It's unfortunate that's I've been a little out-of-it and brainless on the occasions I've been able to see you. I hope I have another opportunity to prove I'm not always floating around in outer orbit. ;)

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

Once I finally had my snapelyholidays fic submitted, I turned to helping ragdoll sort out assignments for wizard_love. WOW, that was quite a task. Nearly everyone requested a range of pairings, so it wasn't really a matter of matching the Snermione people together or the Luna people together; we had to look for specific pairings in common and make sure the types and degree of kinkiness were a good fit and and and. Yeah, it took a while.

We got all 67 assignments sent out yesterday evening and on time, though. Of those, 43 have already reported back to let us know they've been received. So far everyone sounds happy (some of them very, very happy) with their assignments, which is awesome. One person felt that they didn't get a good match, but we did some juggling and fixed that problem right away. So all is well on that front.

In other news, we've started getting a few things in for daily_deviant's Kinky Kristmas, and OMG! December on the comm is going to be awesome. I know there will be tons of holiday fests happening, but you all really want to watch Kinky Kristmas. Trust me.

I'm so looking forward to the holiday fests this year!! …Is it too early to switch to my holiday default icon..?

You're a bit of an irregularity on my f-list in that you're one of the few fandom people I think I came to know personally before I was really very familiar with your writing and art. Our "usual" pairings don't have much overlap, so I don't think I'd seen a lot of your stuff before we met at Sectus. I've made a point to read quite a bit more of your work since then, though, and I'm glad I have. You're a great writer, your characters are complex and interesting, and you do dark and creepy just as well as light and warm-fuzzy. You have a lot of talent and a huge amount of motivation, and absolutely deserve to be ridiculously successful. On a more personal note, though, you're a lot of fun to spend time with, and I hope we'll get to see each other again eventually. I don't keep in touch like I should, but you come into my mind a lot. You are made of 100% pure awesome.

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

All assignments are done and we will be sending them out to all of you over the new few hours. Please look them over carefully and let us know that you've received them and are okay with the assignment. If you have any problems, questions or concerns, please contact us immediately so we can sort things out. Also, if you do not receive any assignment from us by Friday, November 20, please let us know right away. Sometimes the emails have been known to go astray or wind up in spam folders or get eaten by the Internet.

As always, our contact email is Wizard.Love@gmail.com.

We're really excited by the wide variety of pairings and requests and can't wait to see what each and every one of us comes up with for us!

LONDON IN EARLY JANUARY, YAY! HAVE FLIGHTS AND PEOPLE TO MEET. SO ECSTATIC! *dances*

Okay, on a slightly saner note: apparently you can forget how to write porn. It's painful to admit, but it is so - I've become rusty with the writing. On that note I ask that you rec me your favourite quick-and-dirty PWPs (HP, SPN, CW RPS, Merlin)! Please? *puppy-eyes*

Also, I can haz more triumph today: for my BA I have to attend this stupid course Pronunciation and Intonation - British English. Now the first time I was there the prof asked me whether I'd spent a year in England, which in itself is very much "!!". She was quite surprised when I told her I've spent four weeks in London, yo. Then she told me I might get an exemption from the course, I'd just have to send in a few mp3-files and then she'd judge. I got my course mark today: 1.7, which is an A-, which is pretty fucking fantastic - I don't have to attend the course any longer. HAH, take that! :P

The snapelyholidays Fic That Ate My Life has been submitted!!! \o/

I ♥ My Betas!!!

They pointed out lots of great stuff and made some fantastic suggestions. It took me three days to edit and revise the beast. LOL

I'm looking forward to seeing this one posted. :D

...Did I mention that I ♥ my betas??

You are a phenomenal writer. Fandom-wise, you were one of my favorite Snarry writers and one of my favorite Harry/Draco writers, which is something of an accomplishment, I think. However, your original writing is just as compelling and memorable as any fic you're produced. So while I miss seeing fic from you, I don't really feel like I'm missing anything, because I get to read your original work now, which is very exciting.

Before I met you in person, I thought you were incredibly sweet, smart, generous, and supportive. After I met you, I realized that you really are all of those things, but you're also bawdy, lively, hilarious, and an absolute hoot. You're one of the most all-around awesome and strong people I know. Don't ever change! I hope our paths cross again one of these days, 'cause I definitely haven't had enough of you. ;)

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

You've been around the fandom forever, and even though RL's kept you from being as active lately, you're just as much a fixture to me as ever. My f-list would seem weirdly empty without you on it. Your art is so distinctive and gorgeous; dark, erotic, and ethereal. You can say so much through expressions, textures, and colors. I think your intelligence shows in the deep intensity of your artwork. Beyond that, you're a smart, interesting, and genuinely nice person. I hope I continue to have the opportunity to get to know you better, and it would be completely awesome if our paths crossed in the not-so-virtual realm one day. ::crosses fingers::

Happy Birthday!!!

If you don't know what the heck this is all about, the explanation is here.

Because of a conversation I'm having with lesyeuxverts and eeyore9990:

WORST WORDS TO USE WHILE WRITING A SEX SCENE.

Bonus points for examples of usage and brownies for bad!comment porn.

Lyv has offered up 'pustulant,' but has not yet used it in a sentence...

GO!