You're a boomerang you'll see

Books, Books, Books...

Mon, 22 May 2006 22:50:51 GMT

So, I was discussing this list of the best books in America put out in the last twenty-five years. I can't remember who published it, possibly the New York Times or the New Yorker or something... But anyway, it made me long to make a book/author list of my own. These books are not all American, they were not all written in the past twenty-five years, and many of them are children's books. However, they are dear to my heart, and I wanted to acknowledge them somewhere.

Patricia C. Wrede's The Enchanted Forest Chronicles
These were the first chapter books I ever read, and I will always adore them. They are hilariously funny, feminist (as was most of the literature I read as a child, because I was surrounded by lots of very strong women) without being all about feminism, and just all-around wonderful. They have it all: runaway princesses, dragons, wizards, enchanted forests and kings.

All the Tamora Pierce Books
Tamora Pierce's Alanna series was the second chapter book series I ever read. They share many of the qualities that I loved about The Enchanted Forest, but they are very different in a lot of ways. They're more serious, but I love them all. Although I haven't read her newest book, and this is not actually the kind of book I would be interested in reading now, I often reread her older books when I have the time. They are so worth it, really.

Assassin's Apprentice and Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
Although these are the only two books by her that I have read, they are amazing. The writing is beautiful, and the plots are fantastic. The endings are the best though. These two books have probably the two best endings I have ever read. They will break you, but you won't mind because you will be too awed. And the Fool is just. Perfect. I really need to read the last in this trilogy, but I lost it and I don't want to buy a new one.

The Chrestomanci Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
I guess my taste in books often does go towards YA Fantasy and Comedy. This series is definitely both. It is so wonderful, though. Every time I read these books, I laugh and grin and they make me happyhappyhappy. I have tried to pick a favorite; I have concluded it is impossible. All four are equally wonderful.

Hmm... I guess that's about it for now. More later, though.

It's been a while...

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 02:12:34 GMT

So, yeah. There was school, there were sports, there were extracurriculars. It is amazing how little time there can be in twenty-four hours. Anyway, I'm probably not going to be writing much here, except when I occasionally post fics, but I'm keeping the journal up cause I like it for joining communities and stuff. Also, you know, posterity and stuff.

But, today I'm posting some recs, partly so I will remember them and partly for whoever out there who may be looking at this. They're multifandom, and at all sorts of different sites. They are all also wonderful, I promise.
So...
Great Fics I've Read This Year

If You've A Ready Mind by Maya Oh. My. God. And I thought Underwater Light was good. This is hilarious, it is sweet, it is ohsocute. Draco is a Ravenclaw. Harry is obsessed. Everyone must read this, even if it isn't finished yet.

Trick/Treat by Anne Marsh A West Wing fic. Josh/Sam, futurefic. NC-17. So hot you will spontaneously combust and not care till after you finish reading. There is roleplaying and Sam. Wears. Leather.

In Threes by Jai Brokeback Mountain fic! I have to admit, I haven't seen the movie yet, but I did read the short story. I was too afraid of any changes in the story to watch it, and also I was worried I would cry, and I don't cry in public if I can help it. But anyway. NC-17, Jack/Ennis, PWP. Three times in one day. So veryvery hot.

Turning Universe Fics by Jae Gecko
It occurs to me that I read too much porn, and so this (very long) series is mostly plot-based, heatbreakingly beautiful, and, well, just hearbreaking in general. It's West Wing, Sam/Josh, various ratings, lots of angst. But it's so beautifully done. I must admit some of it gets a little dragging, but persevere! It's gorgeaus.

Poetic Justice by Kylie Lee Veronica Mars fic. Logan/Weevil, probably about NC-17. I just recently got into vm fic, and I gotta say, I love this pairing mainly because, well, it's hot. So, yeah. Too much PWP. Oh well. This is good though. It's very good.

Graffiti by alyse Stargate SG-1 fic. Daniel/Jack. NC-17. Probably the best pwp I've ever read. Daniel explores the marks on his body the morning after he and Jack have sex (for the first time, I'm pretty sure). But, it's not just really hot. It's also really beautifully written. And it's so Daniel. Just - Go. Read.

So that's it for now. More later, possibly, or maybe I'll do book recs next time I'm here (yeah, whenever that is...). Or movies. Or tv! Oh, decisions...

Sun, 30 May 2004 03:42:30 GMT

I never do memes - I don't really see the point of them usually - but I had to post something and real life is both boring and depressing. The only good thing was I got to watch Troy tonight.

I will sum it up quickly: Brad was pretty and often covered in oil and sweat and often naked. Orlando was pretty and often wearing skirts. The girls were pretty and often wearing nothing at all. Achilles and Patroclus are in love. That is all.

So now the book meme. Like I said, I don't usually do memes, but I like this one. As Lasair said, there is something satisfying about going down a long list of books.

(Bold the ones you've read, then add three at the bottom)

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernières
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's / Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The d'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Misérables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. George's Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon (Same book as Outlander - the book was listed twice, so I've removed the Outlander entry, 361, and replaced it with one of my three new entries. -lasultrix)
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlotte's Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winter's Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winter's Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
262. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Black Bird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Jester
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen God's Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setter's Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookman's Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magic's Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magic's Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magic's Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lion's Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucault's Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis, Octavia Butler (Dawn, Adulthood Rites, Imago)
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)- in Latin, even
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. The Moor's Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howl's Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. If On A Winter's Night A Traveler by Italo Calvino
356. Soul On Ice by Eldridge Cleaver
357. Shackle and Sword by Alanna Morland
358. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
359. A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle
360. The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L'Engle
361. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow, Peter Høeg
362. Prey by Michael Crichton
363. Timeline By Michael Crichton
364. Summon The Keeper by Tanya Huff
365. Naked In Death by J.D. Robb
366. Through Wolf's Eyes by Jane Lindskold
367. The Firebrand, Marion Zimmer Bradley
368. Dragon Prince, Melanie Rawn
369. Grail Prince, Nancy McKenzie
370. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner
371. Waiting for the Galactic Bus, by Parke Godwin
372. The Mote in God's Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
373. Death of a Nightingale, PD James
374. Rabbit, Run, John Updike
375. Luck in the Shadows, Lynn Flewelling
376. Gossip Girl, Cecily von Ziegesar
377. You Know You Love Me, Cecily von Ziegesar

My Harryficathon Piece!

Fri, 16 Apr 2004 00:51:52 GMT

Okay, here's my piece for the Harry Ficathon! Hope you enjoy!

Author: eleret
Title: A Loony Proposal of Marriage
Rating: PG
Who you wrote it for: elucreh
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, or this universe. They are owned by J.K. Rowling, and I’m just borrowing.
Author’s Notes: Well, at first this pairing stumped me a bit, but once I started writing I had quite a lot of fun! I really hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It’s very silly, and not really at all serious, but it was fun!

A Loony Proposal of Marriage

Harry Potter has faced the Dark Lord numerous times. He has been through more than his fair share of battles. He has survived Severus Snape and Dolores Umbridge. He has even braved “Mad-Eye” Moody and become an official member of The Order of the Phoenix. And yet, Harry thinks, I have never been through anything which has prepared me for this.

You see, Harry has a deep and troubling problem. Harry is in love. Harry is deeply, madly insanely – definitely insanely – in love. With the wackiest, craziest – definitely craziest – most beautiful girl he has ever met. This shouldn’t be a problem, really, Harry reflects. It should all work out just wonderfully. But it doesn’t work out wonderfully, because nothing ever does for Harry.

Which brings us back to his problem. Harry is in love with Luna Lovegood, which is almost explanation enough. Unfortunately, there’s more. Harry is in love with Luna, and he wants to ask her to marry him. Harry has never been so sure about anything in his life. And he is pretty sure – or, well, fairly sure – that Luna feels the same way. At least, she seems to. She has told him she loves him. Of course, she has also told him about Gorkles and Snatchtruphles and many other things which Harry is quite sure do not exist.

But Harry hopes and prays that she loves him too, and he knows he has to ask. Voldemort has been dead for a year, and Luna has just graduated Hogwarts. Harry is settling into life training as an Auror, and he wants a family. He wants a blond haired, green eyed, crazy, loony family with Luna. He knows he has to ask her soon. He even knows how to ask her. He worked it out with Hermione, who smiled and gushed over how perfect it would be. Harry knows she is right – Hermione is very rarely wrong. And you’d think it would be that simple, but it isn’t.
Whenever Harry tries to start talking to Luna about the future, or what they want to do with their lives, or anything remotely relating to the topic of marriage, Luna tells him about the lovely Gorkle-hunting trip she’s going on with her father this summer. And when Harry thinks about Luna being all the way across the ocean, in America, for the whole summer, he feels a little faint and panicked.

And so, he develops a plan. He is going to ask Luna’s father to postpone the trip a few months, so he will have more time.

He arranges to meet Luna’s father at an obscure café off of Diagon Alley called The Spotty Teapot. Ever since the war, Mr. Lovegood has been quite paranoid about Ministry spies and Death Eater spies. Harry suspects he should not have allowed him to watch so much of The X-Files, but it had seemed like a good bonding experience at the time. In any case, Harry enters the spotted purple and yellow café at exactly twelve. He sits down at one of the turquoise and orange striped tables and orders a tea and a sandwich. Mr. Lovegood shows up at twelve-fifteen, wearing dark motorcycle goggles that make him look a bit like a bug and a long, violet trench coat. Harry was alarmed when he first saw the ensemble, but now it seems almost ordinary. Especially since Harry has gone color-blind from the neon green walls of the café.

“Horatio!” Mr. Lovegood has a great many aliases for Harry. Harry has a game of guessing which one he will use. He can’t tell whether Mr. Lovegood is just very paranoid about someone finding out who he is, or whether he just can’t remember Harry’s name. However, as Luna has taken to imitating her father, he suspects the former.

Harry nods and answers with, “Hello Mr. L-”

Only to be interrupted by a bright, cherry red, gloved hand clamping over his mouth. Mr. Lovegood whispers hurriedly, “Horatio, you know my name is Alex Limburg, don’t you? After all,” he explains, looking around in a paranoid manner, “you never know who might be listening, looking…” he trails off, and Harry has the distinct impression that his eye is twitching, even though he can’t tell behind the motorcycle glasses.

“Right,” Harry says, thinking that all the paranoia and weird names are more than enough to attract attention, “Hello, Mr. Limburg. It’s good to see you. Tea? Sandwich?”

“No, no. I never eat or drink anything in places like this, Horatio!”

“Right.” Harry suspects he should not have let Mr. Lovegood meet Moody either.

“So, what did you want to talk to me about? What is so pressing? It’s nothing…bad is it?” Mr. Lovegood looks for all the world as though he thought a bunch of men in dark suits were going to burst out with guns and yell at them to keep their hands up.

“Um, no, I don’t think so,” Harry answers. “I was just wondering about your trip to America.”

Mr. Lovegood’s eyes light up. “Oh, yes! I have been looking forward to that.”

“Yes,” Harry says, feeling terribly guilty now, “but I was wondering – um, I know this is quite a lot to ask – but, well, would you possibly be able to postpone it a few months?”

Mr. Lovegood appears outraged. “What?! I couldn’t possibly. Why on earth would you want me to? I mean, you are coming with us, aren’t you? I had thought you were looking forward quite a bit to it as well. You were, weren’t you?”

“What?” Harry asks, confused. Luna has said nothing about him coming with them. Perhaps she has just assumed, though. She does have a tendency to do that. “Um, I am?”

“Why, yes, of course! I mean, after Luna told me you were getting married, I had just assumed that you would be coming with us. You can come, can’t you? Luna would be crushed if you couldn’t. I believe she wants very dearly to get married ‘Las Vegas’. We suspect that there may be a numerous amount of Gorkles around that area.”

“Oh, yes!” Harry says, head whirling in confusion. He doesn’t think he’s proposed to Luna already. Perhaps in his sleep…? “Um, no need to postpone it, of course not. I – I’ve got to go now, though. Sorry, Mr. Lovegood. I’ll – I’ll be seeing you.”

Mr. Lovegood shakes his head in exasperation. “It’s Mr. Limburg! You never know who might be listening!”

***

Luna is sitting in the living room, humming and reading a large volume on the mating practices of House Elves, when Harry gets home. She smiles at Harry as he walks into the room and sits beside her, closing the book.

“Hello, Horton!” she exclaims, kissing him.

“Hey,” Harry says, not sure how to phrase what he wants to ask, “um, Luna, did I ask you to marry me?”

“No,” she says matter-of-factly

“So, we’re not getting married?”

“Oh, we’re getting married, Harry,” she explains, using his real name for once. “You see, I could tell you wanted to ask me, but I wasn’t sure you were up to it, so I just made the decision for both of us. I do hope you don’t mind.”

Harry does mind, a bit. But then he remembers how he was going to ask her, and he realizes how completely wrong it all was. It was right for a girl like Hermione or Cho, but not for Luna. And that’s what he loves the most about her: how wonderfully different and unique she is.

“No, Luna, I don’t mind. But, erm, I think I should do this usual way as well. You know, just for ceremony’s sake.”

“Okay,” she nods happily.

“Luna Lovegood, will you marry me?” Harry asks, holding out a ring to her.

“Oh, Harry, of course! It’s a lovely ring, too! I suppose I was wrong – you didn’t need any help at all!”

“Well, I did need a bit, I think. Yeah, you helped quite a bit, I reckon.”

Luna nods. “So, Harry, how do you feel about Las Vegas? I hear they have lots of Gorkles there…”
And Harry has never been more in love with her.

The End.

My First Fifteen Minute Ficlet

Sun, 08 Feb 2004 20:17:22 GMT

Here's my first response to this week's Fifteen Minute Ficlet. I've wanted to do this for a while, but I kept forgetting. So, I figured, since I remembered this week, I'd give it a try.

Title: Submitting
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: G
Summary: Harry's not strong enough to take care of the world, so instead he'll just let it go.
Disclaimer: All of the characters and the univers of this story are owned by J. K. Rowling. I'm merely borowing them for no profit.
Time: Around fourteen or fifteen minutes.
Word: Submission
Length: 526 words

Harry knows what they all want. He knows why they look at him with those pained looks. He knows why Voldemort is so obsessed with him. It all has to do with power. It has to do with control. They all want him to take control. They want him to take care of them. They want help. They don’t think about what he wants. People are selfish by nature. They want to submit to him, give him the reins, let him lead. Even Dumbledore, who is so strong, whom Voldemort fears – even Dumbledore wants, in the depths of his heart, to submit, to let Harry take control. To make Harry the strong one. Harry has never wanted that, and he will never rise to them. He won’t let them submit and he won’t submit to them, either.

Voldemort wants the opposite. It’s almost refreshing, after the tons of people – the Ministry, the Weasleys, Hermione, everyone – who want him to take charge. Voldemort wants him to submit. Voldemort wants him to lose. Voldemort wants to take away his control, to strip him of his strength. Voldemort will never submit, Voldemort will never try to get him to be strong. Because Voldemort wants him on his knees, sobbing and dying. Voldemort wants to take away his soul, and at the moment Harry’s happy for it.

Maybe that’s why he goes to him. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t return to Hogwarts for his sixth year. Maybe that’s why he’s given up. He doesn’t want to give up – but he doesn’t want everyone else to either. And he knows that if he takes control, no one else is going to do anything. They expect so much of him, and he can’t do any of it. Maybe that’s why he goes to Malfoy Manor, where he knows he can find Voldemort.

He knows he can’t win, not with Voldemort. But he also knows he won’t lose. He doesn’t have to find Voldemort. Voldemort finds him. He doesn’t like to submit to Voldemort. He doesn’t like the Crutiatus Curse. He doesn’t like torture. But he can’t be strong for everyone else. He can’t let them submit to him. He can’t let them try to give him all of their power. And so he goes to Voldemort with open arms and a screaming soul, thankful that one person on earth doesn’t want him to be strong. Thankful that someone wants him to break.

Harry knows what everyone wants. They want him to let them give up. They want him to take care of them, because he’s an idol and a superhero. But Harry can’t do that, because he can’t be that strong. Harry’s only a little boy, and he doesn’t want to be strong. And so he goes to Voldemort, night after night, because sometimes being weak, even when he hates being weak, is better than having to be stronger than he can be. Harry goes to Voldemort and he lets Voldemort hurt him and tell him how he’ll never be anything, because submission is his only option. And it’s better for one hero to submit than for a whole world to submit.

Hope it's enjoyed!

Flashficathon Fic!

Tue, 27 Jan 2004 18:34:10 GMT

Here's my entry for the Harry Potter Flashficathon.
Written for lunacy, who wanted Harry/Draco or Sirius/Remus. The requirement was first time bad sex.
Notes: This is one of the hardest stories I've ever had to write, not because I don't like the pairings - they're my two favorites, actually - but because I am very horrible at writing any sort of first time sex. Therefor, sorry, it's not very graphic or very long. Still not completely satisfied, but deadlines had to be met. I can't remember how many different versions I did of this. I tried both pairings, all points of views, and several genre's. Unfortunately, I deleted most of them. This one happened to be the one I was able to complete and liked the best. Hope it is enjoyed!

What He Hated
By Eleret
01-27-04
Rating: PG-13? R? Somewhere in between, I guess.

Remus hated awkwardness. He hated uncertainty. He hated being nervous. He hated being vulnerable. And that night had been all of that. At the time, he had thought he’d hated it, too.

It had been the first time for both of them. Mostly, it had been desperate. Remus hated desperate acts, too. It had been their fifth year and they had been awash with odd hormones. They had been experimenting for a while, with girls. Maybe, in Sirius’s case, with boys as well. And they had been ready to go further. They had also consumed several too many Butter Beers – not enough to be really drunk, but enough to have lowered their inhibitions and made them a bit fuzzy.

It hadn’t really been talked over – Remus wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He had been glad the day after, when he had been burning with mortification at having had sex with Sirius. Sirius had been talking rather drunkenly about some girl or other. Remus hadn’t really been listening. And then Sirius must have come to some conclusion which Remus didn’t remember, because he’d leaned over and looked at Remus for quite a while. After a few minutes, Remus had noticed the look and had turned his head to look back at his friend. He had wondered what on earth was going on when he saw the look on Sirius’s face. And then Sirius had kissed him.

The foreplay had been sloppy, both from being slightly drunk and just being inexperienced. Not too bad though – Remus could remember that it had been all right. It had been clumsy, though. Remus didn’t like being clumsy very much either. It made him feel uncertain, nervous and generally uncomfortable. It hadn’t been uncomfortable at the time, though, because they had been beyond that.

Kisses and gropes on the couch in Gryffindor tower had slowly progressed. It got a bit fuzzy then, until they were up in Sirius’s bed. And then, unfortunately, it got very clear. Sirius hadn’t looked lovingly into his eyes. Remus wouldn’t have looked back if he had, anyway. Sirius hadn’t asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this. Remus hadn’t even thought about that until later. He certainly hadn’t asked Sirius. It had just naturally progressed.

Clothes had been removed, although not without enough fumbling to make Remus wince, thinking back on it now. Two of the buttons on Remus’s nice white shirt had been ripped off because Sirius couldn’t figure out how to undo them with his fumbling fingers. Remus didn’t like fumbling. Remus had given up on the fancy clasp of Sirius’s robes had had ripped them. Fortunately, Sirius had never seemed to mind. Remus’s ears went red in recollection, imagine how he would feel if Sirius confronted him about it!

The pants had been much easier to remove for both of them, but they’d been a bit unsure about what to do once they actually were naked. There had been more kissing. Sirius had trailed a line of kisses down Remus’s neck, which had been very nice until Remus realized where their final destination was and in a panic pulled Sirius back up to kiss him again. Remus figured that at that point some of the alcohol must have been fading. He had started to feel a bit uncomfortable, anyway. He was nervous – the most prominent though in his mind was, “What on earth do we do now?”

After that, mercifully, Remus’s memory blended again. He had probably subconsciously blocked it. Moments in time stuck out sharply, much as he wished to suppress them, but it was more like a scrap book now than a muggle movie. They fumbled, they squirmed. Remus remembers clearly, through a hot flush on his cheeks, that it was very messy. No finesse at all. He knows he shouldn’t expect such things, but he can’t help expecting everyone to be perfect – perhaps it comes from being so imperfect himself.

He remembers blunt fingers on him, rubbing over ribs and scars. Ghosting past his navel and on down. He would remember whimpering, except he had blocked it firmly. He would like to believe he doesn’t whimper. He does remember that when he reciprocated for Sirius, Sirius didn’t whimper. He doesn’t know whether to feel disappointed or relieved about that.

Remus couldn’t look at Sirius for a week. Sirius firmly refused his eyes as well. After that, it seemed to fade a bit. They slowly drifted back together, becoming friends again. They never talked about it – not once. Sometimes, Remus thought they should have. They should have made things clear – did they want to do something about this or not? Should they forget about it or try some more? – but instead they had just let it fall away, trying desperately to forget about it.

Remus spent the rest of his fifth year wandering between discoveries of the sexual sort and berating himself for being so silly. Sometimes, he had wanted to talk to Sirius, sometimes he’d wanted to kiss him. Most of the time, he had wished he had had sex for the first time with someone he could forget about.

Remus hated the awkwardness of it. He hated the way they’d been so innocent, and so silly. He hated that things would never be the same. When you have sex with your best friend, and then refuse to acknowledge it or even think about it, you know you’re well on your way to ruining a friendship. He hated that he knew – knew – they both wanted to be more than friends, but that he couldn’t figure out how to say anything or act on the knowledge. And most of all, Remus hated how he didn’t really hate that night at all anymore.

Remus was in the middle of sixth year. A year ago, he’d thought that having his first time with Sirius was the worst thing in the world that could have happened to him. Now, he wished they could do that again, again, again. Because now, Remus hated the pain, the betrayal, and the knowledge that it was partly his fault so much more than he hated uncertainty, vulnerability, nervousness, awkwardness and desperation.

Remus hated the way Sirius didn’t smile. He hated the way looking at Sirius made him want to cry. (He was glad he didn’t cry.) He hated how James wouldn’t talk to Sirius. He knew he should hate Sirius, too. Sirius had been stupid. Sirius had been cruel. Sirius had endangered all of their lives.

Remus hated everything that had happened since that night in fifth year. Strangely enough, he didn’t hate the night, he didn’t hate Sirius, and he didn’t hate the uncertainty of everything now. And maybe after this big mistake, he could somehow manage to express what he felt instead of letting fall away and be forgotten.

Wow, it's been a wicked long time

Wed, 14 Jan 2004 00:55:13 GMT

So, I haven't posted in, like, forever. Yeah. I can only plead it having been too cold here to move my fingers. Christmas passed as usual: mostly good, except for the relatives. I mainly took my cousins to lots of movies to keep them occupied. We watched the entire fifth season of Buffy, Alex and Emma, part of season one of Alias (which, by the way, I'm in love with - my sister gave me the first season to me for Christmas, and I'm renting the second season from the local movie store), RotK two times, Peter Pan, and Mona Lisa Smile.

I liked the fifth season of Buffy. It wasn't the best, but it was okay. I love Tara dearly, and am also very fond of Giles, Willow, and Dawn. Spike alternated between funny and pathetic. Buffy was great, but is not my favorite character for some reason. And everyone else knows this already and has for several years because they are normal people with television who don't have to wait 'till the season comes out on DVD.

Alias, as I've already said, was great. I am possibly in love with Vaughn and definitely in love with Jack Bristow. I also love the way Jack and Sidney interact. Their relationship is definitely my favorite of the show, although Sark/Anybody is also good, as Sark is very sexy.

Alex and Emma just amused me. It was surprisingly sweet and humorous.

Return of the King was just brilliant. I loved everyone, especially Eowyn and Faramir, who are also my favorite characters in the books. Gimli was also great, the hobbits were wonderful, as usual, Gandalf was superb, and Legolas was pretty. It was a wonderful movie, and I could probably write a more comprehensible review given time...but oh well.

Peter Pan was great. I fear I am the only one who saw the obvious slashiness of Peter/Hook. I have been searching for some fics, but apparently none exist. I also just loved Peter in general. He was great, and very cute. Also, the "I do believe in fairies" thing was amazingly well done.

Mona Lisa Smile was good. Not my favorite movie ever, on the whole, but pretty okay. Also, it had three of my favorite actresses in it, which was enough to endear it to me.

Besides watching movies, I have signed up for Lasair's Harry Potter Flashficathon. I will probably never finish it, but I intend to try my best. I also finally finished my entry for the first wave of the Percy/Oliver Fic Carnival.

Last of all, I have a rec. It's an absolutely amazing original fic called Butterfly Wings and Useless Things which I have just finished reading. It made me cry for a good ten minutes, mostly because it was so sweet and painfully true to real life. But oh, so good!

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 22:53:07 GMT

Waaaaaaah!

Am in tears over the results section of a science lab. It DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE! The graphs are so confusing and I can't figure out how or what I'm supposed to be explaining! I can't stand science! My poor little brain just cannot handle that amount of dull, unemotional, impersonal writing. I get headaches and cannot function! And also I've known about it for weeks but am only just starting it now, the night before it is due! Woe, woe is me, for I am a horrible procrastinator!

Also, the book Johnny Tremain, which we are reading in history, reads exactly like a bad slash story.

I quote: He is leaving me-and he doesn't care-thought Johnny.
"Perhaps I'll go too," he offered, hoping Rab would say, "I'd give everything I've got-even my musket-if you could come," or merely, "Fine, come along,".
"No, you can't," said Rab....
"And there's not one reason why I can't leave for Lexington too, except you don't want me."
He knew this was not true, but he could not help badgering Rab, trying to make him say, "I"ll miss you as much as you'll miss me."

It amuses me immensely. Scenes like these, especially between Rab and Johnny, are dispersed throughout the book. I am half tempted to write bad fanfics, but I won't. I will not fail science!

Sun, 26 Oct 2003 03:03:20 GMT

A scene I was just recalling from a few weeks ago: MARTY, a boy in my class, and NOAH, another boy in my class, are playing teatherball as LINDSEY, one of my friends, NINA, another of my friends, and I watch them.

LINDSEY: You know, teatherball is sort of a territorial sport, isn't it?
NINA and I: Huh?
LINDSEY: Well, I mean, it's really competative it's like...like a competition to see who's the top male. Marty's definitely the top.
ME: Hahahaha...you really don't get what you just said, do you...?
LINDSEY *realizes*: OH GOD! I get it... *cackles*.
ME: And they say that you have the dirty mind!
NINA: Um, right, I really have no idea what you're talking about, but I'll pretend I do.
*facepalms*

God, I love my friends.

Yeah, I actually have nothing to do. My mom's watching friends down stairs, but I'm really bored of the season she's watching and there is nothing to do.

Wed, 08 Oct 2003 11:55:04 GMT

I really loath President G.W. Bush. Has the man even read the constitution? Does he understand the concept of separation between Church and State? I find that very impossible to believe. You can't call it "the year of the Lord," in America and have a week devoted to claiming that mariages are a union between a man and a woman - only. It's America here, and by trying to abbolish the right of GLBTs to marry whomever they want, he is infringing on the constitution. I am very tempted to join every ACLU-type organization that I can.

Blah. I hate Sundays.

Sun, 21 Sep 2003 14:31:14 GMT

They are probably the worst day of the week. Even Mondays are better, because they don't have the sort of dread that Sundays do. On Sunday you have a lot of homework to finish, but you don't want to do it. You have to go to the barn to ride your horse, and you have to take a shower an hour before you do so it has time to dry, but you're still not dressed and you don't want to get going. You haven't had breakfast yet, and it doesn't sound very appetizing, but you have to eat something or you'll start snapping at your mom.

Yeah, so, I don't like Sundays. Or maybe it's just that this past week has been so freaking hectick. On Thursday, our class set out for a hiking trip on Mount Washington. We drove part way up and then climbed up the rest and back down. It was exhausting and I got a cold. We went back to the camp site and ate dinner and went to bed and it was cold! We woke up and went for another hike, this time up to the beginning of Tuckerman's Ravine, or something like that. It was okay, except I think I got the stomach bug that one of the boys in our class had because I almost threw up when I tried to drink some water and when we got back down I couldn't eat any lunch. Yeah, this might not sound very bad, but I never throw up - I have, like, maybe once in my life. So then we got home and I felt kind of sick, but I was reading a good book (Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones). I watched The Two Towers on DVD, which was very fun, and drank Ginger Ale, which helped with my stomach. I didn't eat much dinner, either, and then stayed up late on the computer, catching up. I went to bed, but was woken up at one thirty by my growling stomach. I went down stairs and ate some left-overs and then went back to bed. On Saturday, I had to go do a wine tasting with my mom. My dad's supposed to do these because it's his winery, but he had to do one somewhere else. So I got there and found out that there was absolutely nothing I could get myself to eat. I spent the majority of the afternoon snapping at my mom, but then she bought me the new Tamora Pierce book (Trixter's Choice - it's great already!) and I was nicer to her. The day was better after that.

Wow, I'm tired today. Like I said, I hate Sundays. I don't want to get up. Wah.

Wow, it's been a very busy August...

Fri, 12 Sep 2003 02:25:07 GMT

So, after my last post (which was forever ago *cringe*) I came back from Cape Breton, then went off to camp. I rode fun, easy horses there and went on galloping trail rides. Also got to ride my pony Spring, who now belongs to my cousins. She is the best pony in the world! *nods*.

So then I came back and found out that my riding instructor hadn't been working with my horse Danny for the past week because the barn manager forgot to tell her to. Oh well, I thought, he'll just be more of an idiot than usual. The first day he was okay, not great but improvable. The next day, he was a lot better at first. Then I started lunging him. He took off, ripped the lunge line out of my hands, jumped a few paddocks, and went galloping down the road. They caught him a couple miles down the road with four wheelers. My friend and I had to run the couple miles, of course.

So, it suffices to say that Danny is being sent off the a trainer and then is going to be sold. I don't really miss him. I feel more relieved. And then I went back to school. There was lots of homework.

Also, I'm now riding my mom's horse Oscar because she isn't riding anymore since she fell off of Danny the previous fall and broke her arm. Oscar's really good except that he's a Thoroughbred who raced for a while and won races and thus likes to take off when you try to get on, and at other times. So he was pretty good for a while, but yesterday when I tried to get on he took off with me half on him, ran into a little girl on a small pony, and I went flying off. I fell flat on my back and now my back and neck are killing me. Wibble. Also, I have to get a new helmet because my mom says that once you've fallen in a helmet it doesn't work well anymore. Wah. I cherrish that helmet. It is my pride and joy. They don't make helmets like it anymore.

Oh, and tomorow I have a math test which I didn't study for. I hate school.

In Canada!

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 21:12:06 GMT

Have been traveling for the past two days to Canada with my family. It was a really fun trip even though my parents criticized each others' driving the whole way and then yelled at each other for criticizing. We stayed in a hotel last night! We took the dog, too, and he woke us all up at five to bark. I got to watch about five minutes of Queer as Folk before my parents returned to the room. Spent the rest of the night watching crappy cartoons and shows about young teens.

The problem is that the internet connection from here is really slow and long distance, so not a lot of internet for me. Wibble. I may begin to suffer from withdrawal, my mom says.

The Percy/Oliver Fic Carnival...

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 15:11:07 GMT

...is underway! Check it out here .

I got KISSING BOOTH SCENARIO #2: "When the parents are away,
the kids will play..." for Day One. I'm signed up with the Username CarthakGoddess. I also have no idea what to do. I can't write PWP stuff. I'm no good at fluff at all. I can't write a happy ending unless there's about twenty pages of angst first. Am thinking perhaps I should have signed up for The Punch and Judy.

A New Journal

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 16:13:55 GMT

So, here's my new Live Journal. I've wanted one of these for a while, and today, in exchange for some artwork for her glitterific site, the lovely thieving_gypsy gave me one. So, there's not much for me to say yet. I'll probably be posting sporadically as the urge takes me. I usually only posted on my old Dear Diary journal when I had a rant or needed to wonder about things, but I'm hoping to post more on this one. And that's about it for now!