laceblade

A Young Radical's Guide to Love by blamebrampton - "Memories of the war are still fresh, which is all the excuse Decent People need to do appalling things. In this quietly waged conflict, Draco Malfoy is happy to be on the right side of things for once, and even happier to find he’s not alone."

After the books, the Wizarding World tries to go back to normal as best it can. Trying to make up for his past deeds, Percy Weasley uses his position at the Ministry of Magic to issue arrest warrants for friends/family of former Death Eaters - whether they're actually guilty of any crimes or not. A sort-of-coping Draco Malfoy eventually meets up with Auror Potter, & things go on from there.

INSURRECTION. THE ENFRANCHISEMENT OF WIZARDS. A POLITICAL CAMPAIGN. A LOT OF TEA. PEOPLE BEING NICE TO KREACHER. PEOPLE ENJOYING THEIR FOOD EVEN WHEN SHIT IS HARD. EVERYONE WORKING TOGETHER OVER BOOKS AND LEGAL BRIEFS. THE INNER-WORKINGS OF BUREAUCRACY.

BASICALLY EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED IN AN HP FIC.

It was amazing. My ranting doesn't do it justice.

Charmed Life - I do like this world of magic, & the Chants, even Gwendolyn.

I usually dislike plots that can be resolved by two people simply talking to one another, so I spent most of the book just wanting Cat to TALK to Chrestomanci. Still, I like the world & more importantly, the writing, so I'll be reading more.


Alias, Vol. 2: Come Home - Still really enjoying the writing in this series, which is about Jessica Jones, a former super hero who's now a detective.

The use of frames/etc. is a little different, and I'm interested to see how it translates to TV when the Netflix show based on this series gets made. In the meantime, looking forward to volume 3.


For the Public Good by blamebrampton - This was recommended to me on twitter so long ago that I can't remember who recced it >_<
"Harry is loaned to the Muggle government to assist relations between the two governments after the London bombings. When his counterpart in the Communications team comes to him with evidence of a plot to expose wizarding Britain, he is all ears. And only in part because the messenger has such a familiar voice."

The counterpart in the Communications team is, of course, Malfoy. This takes place post-canon, & I really liked it. Catnip for me, sort of - tons of politics & bureaucracy, I actually found the Harry/Malfoy pretty sweet, & it was funny, too.
I'm going to look for more by this author.

Read
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - I've never liked this book as much as many others have. I find the Triwizard Tournament irritating, as well as all the fighting that Ron & Hermione do.
It's lolarious to me that Harry/Hermione shippers could read this book & not see Ron/Hermione coming miles away.


Reading
Twelfth Night - I actually started this some time last week, & read the first act & a half. It's one of my favorite Shakespeare plays. I got sick reading it on the bus (queasy-making sharp turns!), and although it's not the play's fault, I've sort of set it aside.

Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand - Kitty's hanging out in Vegas! I'm interested in this book because meganbmoore said something happens that turned her off from the series for now, & littlebutfierce said something happens they were afraid about but it ended up being okay. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IT IS?! I turn to this when I get Harry Potter'ed out.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - This has always been my favorite Harry Potter book, & I get really defensive when people make fun of it.

idk. I love the idea of Dumbledore's Army - a group of students banding together to teach one another Defense Against the Dark Arts because their teacher is a mole from the government who only teaches them theory, & refuses to allow them to actually perform spells in her classroom.
Risking expulsion, they meet regularly to do it anyway.

I loved learning that Sirius came from a family of dark wizards, and he was an outcast.

I really like Rowling using The Daily Prophet to show how much the media affects people's perceptions of reality, how it can be used to manipulate a populace. I love the Ministry of Magic refusing to accept the reality that Voldemort has returned, and that the Order of the Phoenix exists to counter-act Voldemort - and having to do work against the Ministry while doing so. I LOVE the pompous self-righteousness of Cornelius Fudge and Percy Weasley.

Dolores Umbridge has long been my favorite villain because she's the most realistic.

Much like how the dementors, which appear earlier in the series, are Rowling's representation of depression (they suck out happy feelings & leave you cold), I find the loathed occlumency that Harry has to endure reminiscent of therapy. Being told to empty his mind of emotions/thoughts is like meditation used to fix anxiety, & it feels impossible to him. Having his mind attacked over & over & having him feel like it's doing more harm than good is like talk-therapy, IMO. Reliving his worst moments.

I like the grownups refusing to tell Harry what was going on, and how angry he felt about it. It really captures what it feels like to be 15 & have adults treat you like a child.

It's the first book where Ginny can really speak in front of Harry, & I love the revelations that she's a good witch, that she's sarcastic, that she fights with her mom to be treated like her older brothers when they get to hear info & she doesn't. I love her telling Harry off for sulking because he thought he was being possessed by Voldemort instead of just coming & fucking talking to her.

It's the first book where Ron & Hermione are really with Harry for the end-of-the-book battle, and what's better is that Neville, Luna, & Ginny are there, too. And there's able to contribute because of the spells & confidence Harry gave them during their clandestine DA meetings.

ANYWAY. I'm about 2/3 of the way through this one, & will continue to haul it through my Harry Potter reread before joining 3 of my high school friends to fly down to Harry Potter World next week.

Thanks to everyone who's been reccing me HP fanfiction. I expect that once I'm done with my reread, I'll be loading up my e-reader with a bunch of fic, :) In the meantime, if you have more to rec, or haven't recced yet but would like to, please feel free.


Book-shaped space - via wrdnrd, There is a zine called Sonorous, which focuses on "feminist perspectives of Harry Potter." Here's their call for contributions for their second issue. I've just ordered a copy of their first issue, ;)

I was having some existential angst on Twitter/G-chat last night because I couldn't decide which Hogwarts house I would be in. WILL YOU SORT ME, FL?!

I promise not to judge those who say Slytherin, b/c I think some BAMFs could be in Slytherin.

Where do I begin?

Ryan was here Friday through Sunday, and we had a most excellent weekend, spent with friends and stores and restaurants. On Saturday, we visited Gretchen at the organic farm she's watching while the family is away. We made guacamole dip from scratch, which was exciting for me. I think that it's something I could make by myself! We also looked at the chickens, were given a brief tour of the farm, and then watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, as Ryan hadn't seen it yet. I still believe that it is my favorite of the Harry Potter films (which are still far inferior to the books).

By the way, Gretchen wrote an entry in her LiveJournal a while ago that I had meant to link to, and forgot. It is about coffee, and focuses on Starbucks versus fair trade coffee (actual fair trade coffee). And it is here. I personally don't drink coffee, but I feel like it's helpful to pass the word along.

We also traveled around State Street with Steph, including a walk inside of the Capitol building. I love showing people around the Capitol! Sometimes I forgot how awesome it is that I work there. OMF! Today at work, I volunteered to work during the Governor's State of the State address. It's going to be on Wednesday, January 23rd. So look for me on Wisconsin Eye!

So yes. This was in addition to many other happening, some involving Antoine. All together, it was a most enjoyable weekend, and I think Ryan and I both had an awesome (but still relaxed) time.

Sunday night, I ate a delicious dinner prepared by some of Antoine's friends.

And today was my first day back at work, which was nice. I also went to the library, and triumphed by collecting about 12 books that were on hold for me.

As well as making another career advising appointment.

And yet. I'm still notice the large gaping hole in my life, which is the lack of any sense of purpose or goal. Still, I made another career advising appointment, and at some point, I'll find something to waste time with in the interim. If writing doesn't end up being my "true calling" or whatever, it's going to take a while to find a way to be happy, I think. Shit.

If you haven't finished the 7th Potter book by now, it's your own damn fault. Also....it's not really a spoiler? Since it's not in the book.

J.K. Rowling has been releasing tidbits of information about the characters that never made it into the books, now that they're finished.

According to this article.....

DUMBLEDORE WAS GAY. AND IN LOVE WITH GRINDELWALD. I AM SO HAPPY. YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. OMG. REMEMBER IN JULY, WHEN I LOVED IT?

Fandom freakout is here.

Enjoy beautimous fanart!

Today was better than yesterday in terms of angst, so I guess that's good. Today at work, I got to go all the way up to the very top of the dome of the Capitol because my boss was giving a tour to a co-worker's family. It was so amazing. Inside of the rotunda, we were underneath the mural that you can see from the middle of the inside of the Capitol. I could have reached out and touched it, if I wanted to. Then, we went up to the topmost balcony and looked around outside. We were up much higher than when we were on the Observation Deck for the Fourth of July. Everyone looked so tiny from up there. We also looked at a ventilation grate that my boss said had been there since the Capitol was rebuilt in 1907 (or 1917, whatever). A lot of people had scratched their initials into the metal. Someone had written their name and the year 1933. I didn't have any sharp objects, so opted to carve in my last name and first initial, along with the year, with my ring.

Tomorrow, Antoine and I will be driving all the way Up North, bringing my friend Jenny along from here to Green Bay (and then continuing further north alone). I've downloaded the audio book version of Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass since we have so much driving ahead of us. Also, it's a pretty cool version - Pullman himself is the narrator, with a full cast for each of the characters. Sweet.

And, you know, there's the lake and the family and the Up North-ness of it all. I wish it wasn't so far away. I would go there every weekend.

Harry Potter. Because we will never be satiated.
Was the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows not enough for you? J.K. Rowling gives some more information about what happens after the books end. Obvious spoilers for DH are there.

Deathly Hallows fanart by Makani. Mild spoilers in the images (new character shown, plus one of the most amusing scenes in the book).

Okay, I have never been into slash before, but there are a couple of situations in this book (and I guess before, too - Sirius/Remus = probable) where it just makes so much sense. I love this couple! I won't say the names, 'cause it's a fairly big spoiler!

Fanfic and fanart for "The Rules of Being a Godson." Again, to give the pairing would be to give major spoilers, so I won't do it!

Lastly, J.K. Rowling reveals the character who was slated to die in Deathly Hallows and didn't, and also that she does plan to publish a Harry Potter encyclopedia. And the fandom rejoiced.

I don't think I've ever read or watched anything that made me burst into tears as much as reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows did. Honestly, I think I cried at least 15 times, with two good sobbing sessions. For reals.

Anyway, I'll write about things that don't contain spoilers, at first. Things that everyone can read. On Friday night, Nina, Isa, and I grabbed dinner at Pizza Hut. There, we saw a dude dressed as a house elf sitting with 3 other people. "Are you going to Barnes & Noble, too?" I yelled, and they answered, "YES!" Other people in the establishment tittered with laughter. Oh my God, I love this fandom (and I'm not even overly involved in it! I don't do the Harry Potter fanfiction thing).

At Barnes & Noble, there were adorable children dressed as characters, badass adults with amazingly accurate costumes, MANGA WAITING FOR ME TO BE READ. lol, there was a dude holding a specific color of balloons who was in charge of our numbered section once we were supposed to start organizing ourselves into a line. We gave him so much shit - I think he was like, 18. "So, you're going to tell us exactly when we can get behind you in line, right?" I asked.
"Uhhhh.....yeah. Yeah," he said.
"You'd better not be lying," I said. "This IS IMPORTANT."
"R-right."
"....So do you think Harry is a horcrux?" and then we had amazing conversations about our theories for what would happen.

All 3 local TV stations were there. I made an amulet at an activity table, and got a moon & stars painted on my face. I went up to people with good costumes and asked them to get their picture taken with me.

At the very end, we did a verbal count-down, and then once they started to pass out books, Nina, Isa, and I put our headphones on and listened to mp3 players so as not to risk getting spoiled. I did appreciate, though, that one Barnes & Noble employee scaled a stand-alone book-shelving staircase in the middle of the entrance, brandishing a copy of the book in triumph. AMAZING. I LOVE HARRY POTTER. We all yelled with joy.

During the car ride home, Isa read out loud most of the first chapter by the light of her cell phone. Once we got home, she knew that I had started at the same time, and was calling me about every half hour so that we could freak out, being like, "OMG! I KNOW! I KNOW!" I unintentionally fell asleep around 3am and then woke up at 8:00 and continued reading. I think that Isa called me about once an hour until 2:00pm, lols. It made reading it so much better, though! Especially in the beginning, we kept trying to come up with theories and such. The whole book has such a heightened sense of paranoia.

I apologize in advance. Those of you who regularly read my blog already know this, but my first reaction to anything that I like is uncontrolled squee. So, that's what you'll get. :)

( Here are my thoughts on the book. THERE ARE SPOILERS. EVERYTHING IS SPOILED. EVEN LITTLE THINGS. IF YOU HAVE NOT READ, DO NOT CLICK. )

Well, that's enough for now. SO MUCH LOVE. SO MUCH SQUEE.

HARRY POTTER IS SO INTENSE.

Holy crap. So, firstly, I had had my book reserved at Borders. But, my work friends Nina and Isa convinced me to get it at Barnes & Noble instead (then I could use my car to drive them!). This morning, I received an email from Borders about how they're giving out nice posters, glow-in-the-dark wands, and etc. Barnes & Noble better have good stuff, that's all I have to say!

This afternoon around 3:00pm, we called Barnes & Noble to check and see if we could show up at 9am Friday to pick up a wristband that would secure us a place in line. We were informed that they would begin handing them out at 5:00pm Thursday (as in, this day). There was a mild freak-out in the page room (yes, we called from work). Then, we left work early (lols), took the bus to my house, and then Nina's boyfriend picked us up and drove us all the way to West Towne Mall to get our wrist bands. It turns out that they started handing them out before 5:00pm because the line outside was blocking the doors to the ShopKo next-door. So, despite getting there shortly after 5:00pm, the numbers on our wristbands are like, 340 or something.

I think we're going out for dinner tomorrow night, and then heading to Barnes & Noble. Yes, I will wear my cloak and not put my hair up, and thus will be Hermione.

I feel pretty crappy tonight (physically), but I'm glad that I stayed up late so tomorrow won't suck as much. I'm staying home from my internship so as to not feel sickly.

Tomorrow, I hope to sample "wizard drinks," read manga for free, get my face painted, "Make my own amulet," get sorted, and beat 12-year-olds in Harry Potter trivia. Interestingly enough, one of my co-workers who is younger than I am will be staffing the event. I will be running around squealing like a little girl. I'll stay up reading as late as I can.

I really don't know how to describe my excitement. I remember discovering Harry Potter in middle school, I think. I love this series. It's true that most of the characters don't have a whole lot of depth to them, but J.K. Rowling has a definite knack for plot, and such a nice way of weaving words to tell a story. Most people don't like the protagonist himself, Harry, but I do. Particularly in Order of the Phoenix, his rebellion against adults and exasperation at their refusal to clue him in to vital information that would help him resonated with me a lot at a time when I was in high school, didn't hold much respect for my teachers, and was sick of being treated like a child by my parents. Not even that, and I know I've said this before, but it is amazing how universal this is. I mean, I am the frigging president of my university's Anime Club. I know what it's like to meet random people and be like, "OMG, you love this obscure series? ME TOO!" But with Harry Potter, every single person I've ever met has at least heard of it, and most have at least seen one of the movies. The lucky ones have read the books. Some are sci-fi geeks, some are my co-workers who would normally mock me (in good fun) for my geeky tendencies.

And for God's sake, Steph, if you do not read books 5 and 6 and then 7, I swear to God, I might kill you. You love this series; the books are better; half the questions you asked me in your last email were ANSWERED IN BOOK 5, KTHX.

If you love the movies, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE READ THE BOOKS. They are 5,000 times better.

Starting now, I'm staying away from any news site except for The Wheeler Report, and not checking my LJ friends list. Sorry, I don't trust all of you, ;) (although I do trust most of you!)

Once I get the book, all time will be devoted to reading it and eating. After that, I'm finally reading all of the spoiler reports that were on the Internet, and seeing how accurate they were, and having some lols about it. And then, of course, writing huge blog entries about it. I am a tad nervous, because I really didn't like Half-Blood Prince at first. It took me a while, because it really felt like fanfiction at first. Now, I read all of book six as set-up for seven.

I am sad that the series is ending, yes. So many of my online friends I know from Kell Yarwood's old messageboard, WOFS, and I think the one thing we all had in common was Harry Potter. We've been swapping theories and impressions on movies/books for what, five years now? I'm glad to have met all of you (and yes, rest of my LJ Friends list, all of you, too!), and I hope that we can find another fandom together.

J.K. Rowling, please publish your rumored encyclopedia after book 7! There are so many back stories we need to know!

Also, random point: I always imagine Harry Potter as cartoon characters (too much anime? Maybe). In my mind, Harry Potter is a cartoon drawn by makani. (Full-view it! Sirius is hawt, as he should be!)

My Internet friend Bethany said it best when she said, "No matter how the story ends, Harry lives."

Holy crap, I have so many windows open that it has now become necessary for me to blog quickly before I try and fall asleep right away. I work bright and early tomorrow!

Anyway, link-spam first.

Harry Potter
Firstly, I was reading some Q&A over at J.K. Rowling's website (yes, she actually answers the questions). I will link to ones that I found intriguing.
Link 1. (It was said somewhere in an interview that a character who had previously displayed no magical qualities would do so in book 7. Thus, my guess is Dudley.)
Link 2. (SPOILERS for book and movie #5)
Link 3. (Spoilers for book 5; wasn't in movie. I hope this means that the dead Order of the Phoenix will fight the Inferi or something. It would suck a lot if they became the Inferi.)
Link 4. (BUT WAS SOMEONE ELSE??)
Link 5. THIS HAS BEEN KILLING ME FOR LIKE, 2 YEARS. WTF IS UP WITH PETUNIA?!

I liked the write-ups two of my LiveJournal friends made about the fifth Harry Potter movie. Obviously, spoilers for movie/book 5 behind the cuts. mon_starling's thoughts, and snowystingray's thoughts.

Mugglenet's list of loose ends that should be tied up in book 7. Obvious spoilers for book 6 are there.

Race
Another post on the Transformers movie, with a lot of conversation in the comments. I find everyone's comments very insightful. I still have no desire to see the movie, and am glad it's not my childhood that's being messed with. :P

An essay: Helpful Hint for the Colorblind: BE LESS BLIND

Racism on an International Scale, a post and link roundup by Oyceter. It focuses on the mentality held by people in other countries that "racism is not a problem there," and is only a huge issue in America. Oyceter points out that more often than not, the person making this claim is a member of the race in power in the country in question. Interesting thoughts, links, and comments abound.

Oh yeah. Me
What else has been on my mind? Oh yeah. What the heck has been up with the Romeo x Juliet anime lately? I'm through episode 11, and it has been teh lame lately. I feel like I'm forever waiting for something awesome to happen to live up to this amazing premise, and it never does. It's like watching Last Exile or something. Also, what happened to the gender-role inversion? I literally laughed when Romeo promised to protect Juliet. Like, wtf.

On Thursday night, Steph came to visit me! We went out with my co-workers, talked endlessly, woke up and shopped, ate some foods, and generally had an excellent time. I've missed her a lot, and I found a birthday present for Dylan. We celebrated his 6th birthday on Sunday, when I was at home at my parents' house. Everyone seemed to have an enjoyable time.

My sister's cat had been MIA for nearly 3 weeks. It had gotten out the back door, and hadn't come back. I had been mildly mortified because Olivia, my 8-year-old niece, kept saying things like, "Our cat is gone right now, but she is coming back!" and I was all, oh God, they will be traumatized. But on Saturday, someone who lives a block away from my sister's house called, and said that they had found it. So, now they brought it home, much skinnier than she had been before. Now, when I pet her, she is docile, and doesn't randomly bite my hand any more.
Amelia (my four-year-old niece) sat on the couch while the cat sat on top of the head rest. "Kitty, my kitty came home," chanted Amelia, resting her head against the back of the couch. The cat stretched out a declawed paw and rested it on Mia's forehead, intermittently moving the paw back and forth, caressing the top of Mia's curly head. WTF, motherly cat love!

On Saturday, my extended family and I attended a wedding for my cousin's step-daughter. It was at a country club, and was gorgeous. We stole cake before we should have, took over the dance floor, sat on the balcony and waited for Brewers results on my cousin's cell phone, laughed at inappropriate moments, stole sand dollars off the tables, and my mom and sister each stole a floral centerpiece from a dining table. Mostly, though, was that dancing thing. Really, there are so many girls in my family - from age 4 to 64 (my mom), we pwned it. It was amazing. I only wish Antoine could have been there, but it's okay. I think he's coming Up North with me in two weekends! OMF!

THE LONGEST POST EVER IS ENDED.