Sorry about the slowness. I had some oddball allergic reaction to something, and the antihistamine put me to sleep during my prime writing time. :eyeroll:

Anyway, Teddy was getting fairly isolated in his quest to learn the Maze, and both Ruthless and Harry called him on it. He's responded with a burst of sociability, writing to Harry and each of the Potter children individually (including a story he's bouncing back and forth with James, in which Sirius finds himself in a curiously maze-like jungle while treasure-hunting), chatting with Ruthless about her life, and most recently, following Victoire out after she's been in a snit with a fellow Gryffindor, and possibly Marie, though Marie just says she's in a "weird mood." He brings her food from the Great Hall, as she didn't eat.

An earlier version of this scene appeared as a ficlet. I'll change it as it seems necessary to do so. :)

Table of Contents and Summary So Far

( Teddy Lupin and the Daedalus Maze, Chapter Nine: Twists and Turns, pt. 3 )

Hm.

So, I have a question.

With the whole issue of misogyny and the growing irritation and anger that I'm seeing about it on my flist in relation to Supernatural, I have a question.

Are people writing in about it?

Because seriously, this is the sort of thing we might see action on if people speak up, but I haven't seen much mention of it. Unless they're doing it and just not saying anything, which I think would be a mistake.

We've been able to organise other campaigns, I'd surely think that we could get across loud and clear that given their actual demographic for the show, not the one they thought they would get at the beginning, they could make the writing a little less offensive.

Sometimes I kinda wonder why there -hasn't- been a call for just this on my flist.

Tonight I disocvered that it -is- actually possible to climb in through our kitchen window, if it's open a little bit.

Of course, I only discovered this because I had stupidly locked myself out this morning. -facepalms- How do I DO these things? I do not know. Well, I technically know, since it was because I had left my keys out of my coat pocket, so they didn't go with me to work. And I actually realised as soon as I locked the door this morning that I had locked myself out, I was just hoping that my room-mate would be home.

But luckily enough, I got in through the window. Am so glad that it was open, since I have no idea when James will be home, and Trevor's not home either.

Anyway.

The shower is dripping. It's very annoying.

I have so much TV to catch up on. Am I weird for kind of wanting to save up all of SPN so that I can just watch it right before next season airs? That's what I did last summer. Am such a spoiler whore. -g-

I am incredibly, profoundly sleepy right now. Meta tomorrow, but this is the first time in a while that I wanted to rewatch an episode immediately. I usually need a few hours to mentally process before rewatching.

Can we just have a quick moment of group squee for tonight's BSG? ( A few very random thoughts. )

BTW, next week should be interesting, since someone posted on TWOP that the UK's SkyOne channel lists "Sine Qua Non" for next Friday, whereas the U.S. (and presumably Canada) is skipping it for Memorial Day weekend. This means that the next three episodes might be available online a full week before they're shown over here. Hmm. I'm assuming that SciFiUS will find a way to get around that and/or postpone the UK airdates, because I cannot see them being happy about the season finale being leaked a week early. Not that I'd mind too terribly much. :)

So the RPF DRABBLE-A-THON THING is closed for business. I'll do a master list in the near future. And we'll have to do something like this again. It was really fun. And really amusing to see how many people want David Tennant and Billie Piper to make out. In their free time.

Currently, I am writing another Iron Man fic. Weird. Because I planned to do some Bones. But anyways. Requests! I want to do something new and not let be House-fic. So request something that isn't House. And no RPF. I'm oddly RPF-ed out this week.

Except for lesaut's future Chris Martin fic. That I want to read.

This might be the soundtrack to something -- actually, I'm pretty sure it is. Hope so, anyway.



and we're always going home
(because "closure" is a stupid word anyway)

anais mitchell - before the eyes of storytelling girls
chromatics - running up that hill
nirvana - come as you are
ani difranco - coming up
r.e.m. - maps and legends
elbow - leaders of the free world
stereophonics - maybe tomorrow
peter gabriel - signal to noise
radiohead - videotape
the frames - rise
a silver mt. zion - built then burnt [hurrah! hurrah!]
patti smith - kimberly (live)
bob dylan - every grain of sand
melanie sifka - ruby tuesday
david bowie - strangers when we meet

Also, jesus hell, if I were any less motivated right now I don't think I'd be breathing. Gah.

You know what I love? I love when I cook something and Nai says she hates it, but then she cleans her plate and ASKS FOR SECONDS. Yep, that was totally nasty, wasn't it, kid?

Also, she's going to a birthday party tomorrow (of course), so after a lot of back and forth at the toy store, we finally both agreed that a gift card to Claire's would be best. Whenever the girls are together and I take them to the mall, we always wind up in that store, and they both love it. It is perfect for tweens, I guess.

Please do not tell Nai that I referred to her as a tween. She swears she's "almost a teenager," and I really could not deal with her knowing I referred to her as a tween. It'd just be badness.

I got my stimulus check today! And I totally stimulated the economy by...buying a bunch of stuff (birthday card, gift, bible cover, GAS) that I was going to have to buy already. Huh. But now I can pay for stupid traffic school and order this stuff I want to try. One of which doesn't really stimulate the economy, but the other that does. So I guess that's good.

NUTS. I totally just made a meeting for stupid 1 p.m. on Monday and that means I'm going to have to miss my WW meeting and I really wanted to go. BOOOOOO. Maybe I can get my friend to give me a ride to school. Hmm. Otherwise I will cry big fat emo tears. I promise.

So. I've been thinking about this all day, off and on, and I have to get it off my chest...

The Supernatural season finale sucked.

( No Rest For the Wicked, no satisfaction for this viewer )

So lately I have been missing the internet, kind of like whoa. Because when you don't have the internet at your disposal, what do you do when you want to talk about the latest episode of _______ and the best you can get out of your real friends is "Boy cute!! Can't wait for next week!"??? And what do you do when nobody likes what you like?? The internet are great for that! If something is too embarassingly nerdy for normal people to talk about, probably everyone online is reading/watching it! On the internet, ghosts/spaceships/evil robots/time travel/magic are really cool, and you are really cool too!!

So I decided to revisit my old livejournal, and realized that things seem to be a bit different nowadays. What happened to just joining a community? And maybe someone would visit your journal and make sure you were actually real, but that's pretty much it. Now there's requirements! But... there are enough of those in school!

I feel oooooold. :( The sophisticosity of the internets has passed me by.

(Or maybe I feel young. Because when I was but a young thing, I was all, "I don't drink, but let's talk about books!!" Now it is like, "Your unnecessary requirements are elitist and childish. Thanks to this, I will forgo your sophisticated discussions with a side of flamewar to put on a sheet and drink crap beer. Hooray for mass culture!")

 


Oh and one thing about Ugly Betty

So, today's the graduation of my most wonderful inlovewithnight who is graduating with her Master's Degree, which is something to be pretty amazed by, especially because it's in political science, and the excerpts she posts from her books make me tilt my head and go "huh?" which means she is very smart.

Congratulations! You've worked hard and been pretty amazing, and I'm very proud of you! ::twirls you smartly::

I'm such a dork.

Totally watched them on The Today Show.

Was griping about how it's embarrassing 'cause they're, like, eighty years old now and whatnot...

And then I turned into a GRINNING FOOL.

They're so adorable. I could just SMOOSH THEM.

"Lalalalalalaa tonight..."


And, not for nothin'.. I know they pre-dated Popslash, but now that they're back, does that mean they can be party to the dubious honor?

So, I've spent the night looking at pictures of the Truckers from 2003 until now. I have a few things to say:

• GodDAMN Mike Cooley.


• Do Mike and Patterson have ugly shirt contests?


• When they're on tour, do they make the bus/van stop so they can buy more really ugly shirts at the Salvation Army stores along the way?


• GodDAMN Mike MOTHERFUCKING Cooley.


• Do they realize that 2004 was a long time ago and so they should come to Seattle again?


• Shonna is so goddamn hardcore


• This is now my new best friend.


• You realize that I'm going to be worse to live with/deal with once I actually see them live, right?

take your quarters for the open highway
music for when you're stuck in a car, fall asleep, and wake up to. you think 'what the hell' and then realize, it's only been twenty minutes. happens to all of us.


the kills - black balloon
joe dassin - et si tu n'existais pas
mates of state - blue and gold print
blood red shoes - it's getting boring by the sea
death cab for cutie - it's getting boring by the sea
gowns - when it burned
michael yonkers - i talk in night
phoebe killdeer and the short - never tell a lie
ojos de brujo - ley de gravedad
blood on the wall - you are a mess
paul curreri = why i turned my light off
the bees - stand
emily haines & the soft skeleton - telethon
malajube - pâte filo
phoebe killdeer and the short - looking for a man
the raveonettes - the beat dies

download all tracks here.
banner by ixlovexboyd.
for falseeeyelashes.


+1 It's totally and completely not my fault that I wrote rpattz/kstewart. Really. Could've been the paint fumes. Or the Dew.

it’s huey lewis & the news, idiot
She’d like to think she’s a good actress. Getting there. Whatever. And it’s no surprise that she’s learning – you do a fabulous script. You do a popular movie. It worked for Gosling. And he got laid for a couple years too. robert pattinson has great hair. you should sue him. rpf. kristen stewart/rpattz. 1122 words, pg13.

note: unbeta'd. okay. this is so not my fault. at all. at the very least, i dedicate this to glassbomb. because she’s really convincing. and awesome. and stuff. and, yes, deadduck008. mountain dew was involved. shoot me.

( & )

Okay, this is a drug habit that I would actually love to have. Like, I'm not even kidding. Mostly.

I purchased the Cuisinart ICE-20 ice cream maker recently through amazon.com. I have tried to use it twice this week and both times the ice cream turned to soup. It never thickened.

Maybe I am using the machine incorrectly, but the instructions were extremely basic. The (cheap, plastic) cover is supposed to lock and it doesn't. Maybe that's the issue.

But if the machine is broken or defective, what are my options? I have a warranty on this item. I filled out the little card and everything. Has anyone ever tried to actually use the warranty on an appliance? What's the procedure?

I'm so disappointed! This thing was so well-reviewed on amazon, and I was really looking forward to homemade Ben and Jerry's...

Via greycoupon:

(Credible) Rumor has it that after S4 is finished, BSG will shoot three TV movies back-to-back.

The guy with this info has been right quite often in the past, though we don't have any more details yet. If this is true, then I'm ... not 100% enthusiastic. As Indi just said to me, "I want the show's ending to be a period or an exclamation point, NOT an ellipsis!"

TV thoughts in brief...
1. Freddie Rodriguez had the most romantic line of the night on Ugly Betty.
2. Jared Padalecki is so gorgeous with his head tipped back and his dimples flashing as he laughs.
3. I haven't watched Lost since last season's finale, don't know what the fuck is going on, and all I've registered is that Sawyer held baby Aaron. GUH. :::ovaries explode::: But, I'm just sayin', if that baby is five weeks old, I'm 12. And I LOVE how the pudgy little cutie is Casper-pale when everybody else has a severe tan.

And now fic!

Title: "The Greatest Show on Earth" 1/1
Author: monimala
Fandom: Iron Man
Rating: R for language and sexual content
Word Count: 725
Disclaimer: Still not my characters. Make mine Marvel!
Summary: Follows Snapshots From the Gawker Stalker and The Masochist Says 'Hurt Me'. Tony/Rhodey slash. Jim's always gone when the sun rises.

( Read more... )

Should I be worried that boosette hasn't checked in yet? She should be back in Cali by now, right? Does it take more than five days to drive clean across the country? *has no idea* I've never been west of Birmingham, actually.

I also read a book! A fictional one! Shocking, I know. It was even a fantasy book! Nowadays I mostly shun fantasy, but Runemarks was a gift from Little Miss Ten Whole Years, so I didn't really have choice. And it really surprised me how much I actually kind of loved it! It's a kid's book (I'm not really sure what it says about me that all my favorite fantasy novels are children's books?), and it stars a very resourceful heroine. The world building is based heavily on Norse mythology, which might be one reason I liked it so much. I know very few Norse myths, so the idea of the World Tree, the pantheon of gods, and the system of runes were all entirely new and fresh to me. It's set after Ragnarök (which is the armageddon prophecy of Norse mythology), and the main conflict is about the old guard versus a new Order that is very Orwellian and also kind of Christian? It's interesting! It's written irreverently, which is how I like my fantasy, and it's got this fantastic character -- Loki, the trickster god -- who reminds me so much of Captain Jack Sparrow. He's charming and witty, but he's also an unbelievable coward with an innate sense of self-preservation.

It's by Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat. I've never actually read Chocolat, but I've seen the movie (which stars Johnny Depp, coincidentally), and while it was mostly forgettable, I do remember that it was a friendly sort of movie, in that even the provincial townspeople were an important part of the story, and that definitely carried over into Runemarks, which pleased me. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Also, rock on California!

Skins 209: thoughts! As I watch, more or less.

( hello, my treacherous friends )

Going to climb Snowdon (Wales) over the weekend. See you guys soon <3

so this is almost domestic
the kitchen becomes her favorite place. she never said she had this figured out – he doesn’t come with a manual. iron man. tony/pepper. general movie spoilers. 1464 words, pg.

note: for captaincatapult. anna, this is not your birthday fic. but a progression, lol.

( & )

Distractions are great, distractions are good. :D More Top 5 answers.

curiositykate gave me Top 5: websites. In no particular order:
01. Last.fm;
It has really changed my taste in music by exposing me to new artists and genres. This has been especially helpful when I recently started listening to music in other languages; I'm still learning out what's popular in other cultures so seeing that a person who likes the group S.H.E might also like BoA makes me want to hear what she sounds like. And so on & so on. (I mention it a lot, but I'm here if you're interested in adding me. ;))
02. Promosquad;
I have a love-hate relationship with this site -- the site admins alternate between being around & actually doing their part or they are absentee & things get behind. They've been keeping up so currently they're in my good graces. :P Promosquad is basically a song testing website. You listen to new/current music & tell them what you think of it. You also rate artists. You get points for all this & there's multi-tiered prize redemption. The prize redemption is the tricky part -- you will get your prizes fast, have to wait for them a bit, or you won't get them at all. I've gotten the last four prizes I've ordered in the past year, but YMMV. I'm in for the prizes (saving up for a $30 Amazon card now), but getting to hear stuff from new artists & new stuff from old artists makes it a breeze. (If you would happen to want to join, I get 5 points if you sign up with this link. Just putting that out there. :P)
03. MegaUpload;
It's become a regular part of my life. I spend lots of time using their website, especially during Happy Hour. ;)
04. Gaia Online;
I don't play on Gaia as much as I used to or would like to, but that's because of problems on my end (ancient computer, ancient browser, new site design that makes loading take forever). It's an awesome time-waster -- especially if you're into 'cute' stuff like dressing avatars, anime, & flash games.
05. LiveJournal;
Do I even need to explain? *hugs entire flist*

silvercobwebs gave me Top 5: Willow scenes/moments. My OTP definitely shows. :D ( Less talk, more screencaps! )

And I'll end this with the rest of mana1023's nifty prompts, starting with Top 5: tv shows.

01. Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There are many things I dislike about the show but it honestly changed my life. It is what got me looking for things online, it was my first internet-based fandom, I met a lot of my close friends through the fandom, & it introduced me to one of my favourite actress of all-time (Aly, duh!).
02. Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. This is another series that has changed my life. The Japanese version was my first experience fangirling a jdrama & it opened me up to a lot of things: other jdramas, fangirling the individual actors involved, listening to more Japanese music, and then there's the Taiwanese version (with its connections to S.H.E & Fahrenheit). One of my dreams has always been to learn Japanese & Hana-Kimi has really motivated to work harder to achieve that. That probably sounds a bit lame, but it's the truth.
03. Doctor Who. Without counting Eccleston's tenure as Nine, this would be a 'Top 10' instead. His performance as the Doctor & Billie Piper's Rose was some of the best acting I've ever seen. Their interactions, their pure chemistry. Sometimes we talk about how certain shows have 'perfect seasons'; for some people, it's Veronica Mars s1 or maybe Heroes s1. Season 1 (or 27) was that 'perfect season' for me.
04. Sailor Moon. If Hana-Kimi is my motivation, this was my introduction. I even have warm & fuzzy feelings for the awful dubbing job because that's what I fell in love with. It may sound silly but this anime really made me believe in the concept of 'true love'. (Okay, yeah, this is really corny. *facepalm*)
05. I've had the hardest time deciding what to add here. I was thinking maybe Bones for how it made being overeducated cool again or perhaps Stargate Atlantis for making science geeks cool again (and even then I can think of a dozen other shows that have been doing the same thing). I can't decide on any one more to add. *sigh* So, I guess this has been a 'Top 4' list instead.

mana1023 gave me three more prompts, but I think I'll only do one more. The other two (which are ships & characters -- I think that with my responses here & here, the answers are fairly obvious. (And also, I can't think of much more to say. I suuuuuuck.)

So, finishing up this meme, Top 5: movies you want to see this year.
01. Twilight. I wasn't all that interested initially, but Robert Pattinson's hair is compelling me. It dazzles! XD
02. The Accidental Husband. I mean, c'mon. It's Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, & Colin Firth. I may not be able to walk after seeing it. ;)
03. Fanboys. This might be really good, this might be really bad. I just hope it's interesting.
04. The Incredible Hulk. I only recently saw the trailer for this & Edward Norton was fantastic in it. (I can't remember if Liv Tyler said anything or not, but she did look nice at least.)
05. Speed Racer. It might be lame, but it looks gorgeous. I'm shallow. *shrugs*

my sister went into labor last night and had her baby boy at 11 this morning. He's technically a premie and he was breathing strangely so they had t

"The California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples," Chief Justice Ronald George wrote in the majority opinion.

Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry "will not deprive opposite-sex couples of any rights and will not alter the legal framework of the institution of marriage," George said.

In addition, he said, the current state law, enacted in 1977 and reaffirmed by the voters in 2000, discriminates against same-sex couples on the basis of their sexual orientation - discrimination that the court, for the first time, put in the same legal category as racial or gender bias. (State Supreme Court says same-sex couples have right to marry by Bob Egelko, SF Chronicle)

The complete text of the decision is available here. It's 172 pages long but the writing is very clear, and I can't resist quoting one of the many lyrically logical passages here. ( Bulleted for legibility... )

You guys. I...well. The internet is strange.

NSFW. You never know what you're going to run into when you're looking for stuff that really is meant in the most innocent of ways. All I wanted was a non-sexual picture of a boy/boy couple for something. Also? As much as I enjoy the penis? It's pretty damn funny looking.

More gratuitous porn tonight, I hope. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. Lots of errands accomplished, so that's a yay.

CALIFORNIA, FUCK YEAH!

State Supreme Court Overturns Ban on Gay Marriage

\m/

This may be short-lived (oh, for the day when Northern California becomes the 51st state and I don't spend every election-morning-after scowling at the county breakdown of votes which inevitably shows the Bay Area in ridiculous contrast with the rest of the state. Which is impressive considering it is a blue state regardless.) but, man, I remember hating on Prop 22 back in 10th grade, I remember the magical month of marriage in 2004, when a friend of mine's two mommies got married, and I remember how abruptly that ended. How gay marriage, and Gavin Newsom's decree in particular, ended up being a rallying point against progress. So, this may not last, and this may cost us* — but while it does, this is the most legit same-sex marriage in California has ever been, and that's a nice slap in the face to the haters.

:)


*enough to swing the national sentiment back to McCain? I don't think so; he's on record as letting the states decide. This battle's going to come sooner or later. Sooner or later our side will win.


ETA: Oh, Mick LaSalle. Do your faily wonders never cease? Yes, it is kind of silly for Prince Caspian to be all about battle when the actual battle in the book covers about, no seriously, two sentences. But when, Mick LaSalle, was the last time you read Prince Caspian? What the fuck are you complaining about PC losing its "rich fantasy" and Christian allegory (which is a whole other level of wtf)? Prince Caspian is like: Pevensies wander around, Pevensies take a really long walk that lasts at least three chapters, Caspian tells his story, more walking, Reepicheep is awesome, distinctly pagan-esque funtiems with dryads and kids turning into pigs, two-sentence battle, Pevensies go home. THERE IS NOT A LOT TO IT. And yes, kids grow. Which is terrible, if you're Aslan or Mick LaSalle. stfu.

(For those of you that haven't read a million MLS movie reviews, he has this incredible talent for making his reviews sound totally well reasoned, only to actually be incomprehensible when you see the actual film. He is like a magician of wtfery. Ugh.)

ETA2: Here's a much better review of Prince Caspian from Slate. Susan becomes a fierce archer while demurely evading Caspian's moony gaze <333, especially after reading an interview with Andrew Adamson where he was very clear that he wanted Susan to be a warrior in purposeful opposition to Lewis's "wars are ugly when women fight" BS. <333

...

How has this entry gone from being about civil rights to being about Narnia? *buries head in hands*

Last night, I tried the same thing as Tuesday: slept 5:30-11:45, then took a few hours' nap before I had to get up for work. Yeah, it's totally ridiculous, but from what I can tell... IT WORKS. This morning I feel fabulous. I know the problem was 90% mental -- I couldn't make myself go to bed at a normal hour, and I kept pushing it later and later... with awful insomnia once I did go to bed. The new schedule won't be realistic every night, but I'm going to keep to it as much as possible.

Oh, I meant to link to the latest episode of This American Life: "The Giant Pool of Money". I've been clueless about the mortgage crisis, and this explains it in TAL-style. And the previous week, "What I Learned from Television", is awesome, with Sarah Vowell on TV pilgrims, and Dan Savage talking about the perversity of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

I'm also quite cheerful because I'm nearly done with the post-Demetrius "five times" fic. Since I'm feeling share-y today, here's one of the ridiculously sappy scenes. ( Babyfic warning! )

( Brief and shallow Life on Mars thought, could be construed by some as spoilery. )

Also, I love Annie Cartwright more than should be humanly possible.

This is so staged, but I will be watching:

Exiled!

In other MTV reality show news, I really really hope they do a The Paper reunion show. This week's episode made my life. The part where Adam has a meltdown and starts crying juxtaposed with the "Most Dramatic" tag at the end (not in the clip) brought the serious lolz.

Poll #1188157 tv questions
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

The Gormogon killer is...

Just how creepy is David A.?

Favorite episode for Blair hair accessories?

How OTP are Cristina and Meredith?

PS I still have pretty pretty dvds for sale.

So I've been a little stressed, emotional and bitchy lately. I'd blame that time of the month, but it's not. I think I'm just stressed, emotional and bitchy. Add to that a to-do list of doom, and you've got one tired Laura.

THURSDAY:
Buy stuff for posters
Costco - snacks for Saturday's baseball game
Call AT&T about text plan as people keep texting me.
Talk to current PTA president about doing a incoming/outgoing president luncheon with principal.
Make posters for dance
Buy shower present for moonpuff
Get shower games/decorations ready withaigooshesays
Go to Display and Costume to buy tulle for wedding stuff
Assembly at school - bring camera for PTA pictures
Go to post office.

FRIDAY:
Work

SATURDAY:
Baseball game for kidlet - bring snacks
Get balloons and other stuff for shower loaded in car
Go to shower
Run games at shower
Craft night prepping favors for wedding

SUNDAY:
Spend day plotting out summer agenda for PTA.

MON/TUE/WED:
Work

WED NIGHT:
Pick up inlovewithnight OMG!

So, they're not all done, but here's the first round.

For elzed - ( “Lee/Kara” )

For grammarwoman - ( “Helo/Racetrack” )

For inlovewithnight and nolivingman - ( “Lancelot/Guinevere” )

OMG. I have been insanely busy since Sunday. Apparently, starting a new semester will do that to me. Especially when I have to teach every single day of the week.

I am trying to be a Good Teacher, so I am just doing so much. For example, I've done TWO power point presentations, and I have another one to do for tomorrow. Why? Because I am not merely leading discussion, but TEACHING. Apparently. The first one w