User:	spark_of_chaos
	Date:	2009-12-15 01:35
	Subject:	Okay, so I'm catching up on hd_holidays...
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	satisfied

...And I am still in the single digit numbers. But you know it's a good fest when you've read less than half a dozen stories and you can practically rec them all.

Normally, I am not a big fan of werewolf fic. I like weres as much as anything but God, they are so easy to mess up. Not this time. I loved the story to bits. It has an interesting, believable and well-backed plot. It has a fantastic Draco, who is himself even when he is not; who struggles for control, wins and loses, and you can totally feel him do it. It's Draco. But he's a werewolf, and the author never lets you forget that, feeding you gentle, vivid reminders that enhance your whole perception of the world of the story. The H/D interaction is beyond delicious, can we say scorching hot? Decidedly :) And there are some very precise insights into Draco's character that are hiding behind the excuse of the werewolf etiquette.

And being the language-h0r that I am, I can't help but point that the use of the English language is brilliant. The quality of the writing is excellent. As I said in my comment, it's not only the great H/D that makes you love that story, it's the quality of how it's written, too.

I have strong suspicions who the author might be, though I am still unsure if they are taking part in the fest. But regardless if this is the next gem from a well-settled ficcer or a new star, the story is well-worth it!

A teeny sample:

Draco let the words sink in. There was so much not being said. It was all there, hidden beneath the surface: Potter's motivation. Draco inhaled deeply and there it was, faint but unmistakable, now that he thought to look for it. "Who is he?" Draco sniffed again. "I can smell him on you." The thought turned the soup in his stomach rancid.

Potter's sharp intake of breath and step backwards was as good as an admission.

"Who. Is. He?" Draco growled. "A school friend? An old lover?" He gritted his teeth and waited for Potter to find his voice.

froggie

	User:	painless_j
	Date:	2009-12-14 01:42
	Subject:	HikaGo rec: Opening Move, by Ravenna C Tan (Ogata/Touya)
	Security:	Public

Opening Move, by Ravenna C Tan #
Ogata/Touya, NC-17, under 1000 words. Summary: Touya receives an unexpected lesson from his senpai.

Ravenna wrote this ficlet for me and it's designed to hit all my HikaGo rare pairing kinks :) Paraphrasing my comment to the author, awwwwww! It's Ogata/Touya! It's so lovely! And it's for meeee! I do wonder how Ravenna manages to combine detached with hot and make lovely things without shmoop.

If you like Ogata, go try it!

	User:	spark_of_chaos
	Date:	2009-12-13 22:03
	Subject:	YES!
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	pleased

The story is re-read to death, coded and sent and I can die happily now. Or have my dinner yoghurt, now that I think about it :) Oh, guys! I thought this would never get finished and posted. Thank you all so much for bearing with me as I continuously whined and complained, and for sending good vibes and cheery comments when I most needed it. <3!

	User:	spark_of_chaos
	Date:	2009-12-13 12:09
	Subject:	Words, words, words
	Security:	Public
	Mood:	geeky

I find it extremely amusing (trapped in my vampire-novel period as I still am) that my bestest English dictionary had 'blood lust' but not 'blood loss'.

	User:	painless_j
	Date:	2009-12-08 00:10
	Subject:	Animated film rec: 9, sort of vs. Dragon Hunters
	Security:	Public

9 [] Rated PG-13 for violence and scary images. Runtime: 79 minutes. Director: Shane Acker Summary: When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

My notes: BFF ordered me to watch this film 'cos she had seen a couple of scenes from it and fell in love with the visuals. So I did.

I liked it fine, especially the visual side, yes. Landscapes, the dolls, those factories and machines. If you like steampunk, go for it! I did find it very, very pleasant for the eyes. Not quite an eye candy 'cos it's all greyish-brownish and raw and dusty but it looks really nice.

I even liked the story for the most part. It's quite charming, and the story of a small individual becoming a hero in order to save the world, figuring things out, gathering courage and strength, well, it's cliché of course but it's a sure win as far as modern action/adventure goes. But at the same time, I found it annoying. I mean, if you have such a well-established heroic cliché, there's no need to make it even more cliché by making the villain a Hitler in such a non-metaphorical way. I mean, sometimes it's OK to believe that your spectators aren't completely stupid, so there's no need to put things in their mouth and chew for them. Sometimes you can create a more far-fetched metaphor, say, as Tolkien did in LotR or as Hiromu Arakawa does in Fullmetal Alchemist, and your audience will get it. Or on the contrary: make him Hitler, no a Hitler-like something. Don't dance around trying to side-step every dangerous thing.

Another thing that annoyed me was 7 at the very end of it. The dolls are more or less sexless, more boy/men-like than girl/woman-like but whatever. I liked it that the story wasn't about love, that it wasn't about how family saves everything -- which, let's be frank, Hollywood feeds us so much as to make one want to stay single forever. But then [spoiler]7 acquired some distinctly lady-like expressions, nearly batting eyelashes. WTF? Will they now hold hand and knit baby dolls or something?[/end spoiler]

And this leads me to the following. I liked Dragon Hunters much better (my review). They are seemingly nothing alike, Dragon Hunters and 9. It's just that they both are about small people saving the world and that something in the animation looks similar to me. So, while I'm ready to rave about Dragon Hunters for ages, this review is about 9 and regretfully, I'm not prepared to squeal about it. Yes, I enjoyed it. Yes, it's a real pleasure for the eyes. But I expected more. The animation made me expect more originality from the plot, and it might be completely my fault that I was so ready to fall in love but in the end, merely liked it. But like it I did. Give it a try!

	User:	painless_j
	Date:	2009-12-04 17:50
	Subject:	Naruto Bleach-style!
	Security:	Public

This is bloody awesome! Naruto, Bleach-style from Naruto 10th Anniversary Special Fanbook 2 (Via lyssaphra and Bleach newsletter).

And this clearly shows why I love Bleach better than Naruto (although I like Naruto too): among other things, it's simply a question of art style preferences. If Naruto were drawn this way, I'd fall head over heels for it despite its first 20 volumes :D

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