Life is a nice place... but I wouldn't want to live there.

Goodbye

Tue, 29 May 2012 17:13:27 GMT

I'm sure most of you have already heard that our friend leni_jess died during the weekend. Her brother and sister have made a post here.

It's so terrible and unexpected, I'm still stunned. Leni... I've known her for almost 10 years, first her stories, then herself, and she's been such a constant presence in my fandom corner and has been active in quite a few others. A very gifted and courageous writer, with a special talent for dark fics, for thoughtful, often political stories, at times with a quirky sense of humour. I loved her stories, and will always treasure them. Her Harry/Lucius fics Resolution and Defiance, or her gen The Return of Draco Malfoy will always be among my favourites. She wasn't just a great writer, but also a wonderful, encouraging and exacting beta reader, and I kept marvelling at her skill at and love for writing Snape and Slytherin characterisation in general.

In person, I met her for the first time during Sectus. Last summer, she visited Edinburgh and we travelled down to Canterbury for DiaconAlley together, chattering about anything under the sun and again I was struck by her love for travel and books and the energy with which she approached life. I'm going to miss her terribly - she was a wonderful friend. It's comforting to know that she was on the road and meeting friends right up to the end, because that's what I think she enjoyed more than anything else.

Sleep well, Leni - you left us a lot of stories to remember you by, but it's your presence and personality we'll miss most.

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HP FIC: Saviours' Night [Evan Rosier, PG-13, gen]

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 19:51:09 GMT

After weeks of silence, at least I return with fic :). This was my hp_holidaygen entry over at LJ.

Title: Saviours' Night
Author: kennahijja
Characters: Evan Rosier, others
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): some disturbing themes, perhaps?
Length: 6200 words
Summary: Evan Rosier attends a masquerade ball at the Blacks' residence...
Author's Note: Written for alley_skywalker in hp_holidaygen 2011. With lots of love and thanks to lazy_neutrino for the excellent beta!

( Saviours' Night )

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Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:21:51 GMT

As it says in the subject :). Have a great holiday season, all very best wishes for the New Year, and much, much love.

(and yes, 'posting more often' is one of my New Year's resolutions as soon as I have an internet connection instead of carrying Hedwig the Netbook to the internet cafe...)

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Decriminalising Homosexuality (Commonwealth) and Equal Marriage (Scotland)

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:24:00 GMT

Here's two current petitions that I think would benefit from as much support, publicity and participation as possible.

Calling on the Commonwealth to Decriminalise Homosexuality

Originally posted by the lovely lokifan in Calling on the Commonwealth to decriminalise homosexuality. The petitioners would like for as many people as possible to sign in the next 48 hours - especially those from the Commonwealth.

Scottish Government Consultation on Equal Marriage

On a related note, if you're resident in Scotland, the Scottish Government is currently conducting a consultation (until Dec 9, 2011) on the introduction of equal marriage in Scotland, and it would be extremely good if people would submit their views. Because while most of the noise is coming from religious hierarchies opposed to equal marriage, surveys show that this doesn't reflect public opinion even among believers, but always threatens to drown out those dissenting voices.
(Full Consultation Document, Online Response Form or Downloadable Word Document).

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SF Book Meme

Sun, 14 Aug 2011 02:02:07 GMT

(filched from midnitemaraud_r)

Top 100 SF and Fantasy Books

(I found the summaries really useful. And yep, there are some glaring omissions, but the list seems to have been fairly nominated and voted for)

Bold for read
Italics for intending to read
Underline for partial read series/books
~~Strikethrough for never ever reading~~

( Lots of Books )

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Canterbury in Books

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:33:12 GMT

Diacon Alley in Canterbury was dotted with a lot of book shopping, as placing Hijja in a town with used book shops usually is. And once again, the magical 'books find me' phenomenon cropped up.

( Read more... )

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Surreal Hogwarts Moments

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:26:32 GMT

When I stepped out of work this evening, I walked right into a group of about 30 late primary school age pupils on their way to the nearby park.

All with wee black cloaks down their backs, and carrying small broomsticks. Accompanied by a handful of adults, also carrying broomsticks.

It was definitely on the cute end of surreal, and looked like Hogwarts' first years heading towards the Quidditch Pitch for their first flying lesson. Utterly adorable, and quite proud and excited :).

I might have had to sit down at the bus stop with an attack of the suppressed giggles. Wish I'd asked what the occasion was ;).

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Livejournal and DW Codes

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:52:09 GMT

Honestly, I almost never have anything to say, and the one time I actually want to post, LJ goes down. And not just down, down for days! I'm sympathetic that they're suffering from a DDoS attack, obviously, but it took them almost two days to say so, which is really pitiful :(.

And inspired by the occasion, I do have a handful of Dreamwidth invite codes for orphaned souls looking for an emergency home. Let me know if you pick one, so I can take it out, ok?

~~7HHD6PMT78CERAAAR6VC~~
S9WS9QPQM7NDKAAAR6VD
9HCSXGW52A4A3AAAR6VE
N4AAQC445NVC6AAAR6VF
G6G79V4AFQFVEAAAR6VG

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Diacon Once More

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:39:19 GMT

Back from Diacon Alley after a day of sleep, and with a heavy heart because it was awesome, and it's already over.

I got to meet so many wonderful people again or for the first time, and I treasure every moment of it! I'll probably have to sneak around and friend a few unsuspecting souls in the near future :).

It was the perfect con really - a *lot* of Potter fandomers, but small enough not to feel overwhelming, one strand of programming so you didn't have to make hard choices, with a venue close enough together not to scatter people too badly. Plus, I just love staying in student accommodations because you get a *desk*. Everything in life is easier with a desk!

The programming itself was excellent. I particularly loved the women- and fandom specific panels, which gave me a lot of things to think about and quite a few insistent plot bunnies.

We got to go see DH2 by Knight Bus, and it is a pretty damn good movie, although I think I liked the first part a bit better. And we had the victory ball where everything from costumes to dinner to atmosphere was just perfect.

And best of all, there was a fifth column of Alex Rider fans among the crowd, so we got to have a meetup and lots of chatting about my two favourite fandoms ever all at once :).

I spent the Monday wandering around Canterbury, visiting their great Roman Museum, sitting in a street cafe writing Minerva/Alecto 7th year fic, and got back to E-Town at midnight after finally finished my long-term WiP on the train.

Still exhausted now, but very happy and grateful!

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DiaCon

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:51:09 GMT

Off to Canterbury in the rain!

I'll see quite a few of you soon :).

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Alex Rider Beta?

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 02:51:45 GMT

Um, would somebody be interested in beta-reading 23,000 words of Alex Rider fic (i.e. my spy_fest contribution that would very much benefit from a second pair of eyes with better English than mine)? Yassen/Alex, NC-17 (but not too much of it), with quite a bit of violence. Anyone?

Not that I'd blame you for rapidly backtracking in the opposite direction ;).

Off to bed now.

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Yes!

Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:48:13 GMT

*thumbs up to New York*

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Random Thoughts while Watching Doctor Who

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 18:41:33 GMT

Yep, I am mildly preoccupied at the moment ;). Two thirds through the first season (of the 2005 version, that is).

Rose reminds me a lot of Buffy. Not just looks, also behaviour. That aside, I quite like her.

I always thought that 'Daleks' were the most stupid-looking 'evil robotic species' in SF ~~Star Wars Phantom Menace thingies *not* included~~. They're still the most stupid-looking evil robotic species, but they're frigging *scary*. That entire episode was. Actually, the Doctor was scarier than the Dalek...

I absolutely love the time-travel mix between future, present day and past. It's like getting three of my favourite genres at once.

And on a different note, I'm going to see the new X-Men movie tomorrow, and am sort of excited about it :). I'm not reading the comic any longer, but I did for many years until the late 1990s, and have still a hugely soft spot for it.

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Doctor Who

Tue, 21 Jun 2011 00:08:29 GMT

I've watched my first few random Doctor Who episodes over the past days, and omg, why did nobody tell me it was that much fun?!? Or rather, why didn't I listen to anybody who said it was good?

Seriously, it's more whacky than Farscape (which has been my crack-in-space benchmark so far), and it's awesomely different from your average pseudo-military SF series (not dissing Star Trek, I swear love it, but it's nice to see something else).

And the best about it is that there's a *lot* more to watch :).

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Weekend

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:13:50 GMT

This has been a *very* good weekend!

I went to see Iona (the band, not the island!) on Saturday night and it was damn awesome, although I'm so not the target audience. (And although I have huge issues with monotheism, perhaps there's a tiny bit of a redeeming element if it manages to inspire that sort of beauty.). And when I came back, my neighbour's adorable black tomkitten had escaped into the stairwell, and played with me for a while. I had the hardest time escaping into my flat :).

Then lazy_neutrino dropped by for a visit on Sunday which absolutely would have made for an awesome weekend all on its own (and also provided inspiration for a bout of house cleaning I was procrastinating over for, um, weeks).

And working four days a week now gives me Monday off, which is very, very nice, especially since it's been my least favourite day anyway. Yay for sleep and books and stuff :).

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Straying

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:29:01 GMT

springtime_gen has just posted its Masterlist 2011 (for those of you who enjoy a good dose of gen).

And I've spend an extraordinary amount of time reading Dresden Files and Vorkosigan universe fanfic at A03 over the past week. Whoa, there's some great stuff out there ;).

Plus, my neighbours acquired the most adorable black kitten, which occasionally gets to escape and amuse himself in the stairwell, where it's flirting madly with everybody who passes. Like me :). *iz content*

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More Spyfest RECS

Fri, 27 May 2011 12:58:40 GMT

Have just started working again (in my new/old job of sorts), and already things are going mad. So mad that I didn't get in my last spy_fest recs when everything was neatly anon, damn!

Anyway, here goes:

Just a Day at the Museum by annephoenix [Alex, Tom; gen; PG-13]
Summary: From the school’s perspective, Alex Rider is not exactly a model student on field trips. And it looks like today will be no different. Why can’t things ever be simple?
Alex Rider with a carefully (and credibly!) applied touch of SF and superb emotional development. This is the Alex I love - clever, vulnerable, worried about his friends, and trying desperately to balance 'spy' and 'normal life' without much success. The 'school trip' fics that came out of this round of the fest were all awesome :).

And finally, I can squee over my own wonderful gift:

The Beat of Disillusion (Part 1 and Part 2) by capeofstorm [Yassen/Alex; Warnings; NC-17]
Summary: At MI6's insistence Alex goes back to Scorpia once again. He ends up in a situation he never thought he'd find himself in, with people he couldn't trust.
Dark and plotty and intense and absolutely impossible to put down even for a moment. The plot is wonderfully complex, with a great tough-but-vulnerable Alex trying to negotiate survival among his enemies, a superbly written Jack and an ending that left me biting my fingers, it's so intense. Great stuff! :)

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Spy_Fest RECS (Alex Rider Fandom)

Sun, 15 May 2011 01:17:20 GMT

spy_fest is over (*wail*) and we've entered the period of catching up and reviewing... and reccing, so here's my first batch of top favourites:

Let It Be by anonymous [Yassen/Alex; NC-17; Warnings; 5800 words]
Summary: Curiosity killed the cat
This is dark and scary and hot and not for the faint at heart. Alex is superbly in character – resilient determined and emotionally confused. In short, absolutely brilliant. There needs to be more fic like this – it makes my life happy :)

Royal Flush by anonymous [Alex, PG-13, gen; 4000 words]
Summary: Alex goes on a school trip to the Tower of London – and ends up stealing the Crown Jewels.
I don't quite have words to describe this one – but the summary will give you a good idea. It's just... pure whacky fun and action and wordplay and above all, it *works*. Condensed spirit of Alex Rider canon. It made me laugh like the proverbial hyena too ;).

The MI6 Agent and the Scorpia Assassin by anonymous [Yassen/Alex, NC-17; Warnings; 5600 words]
Summary: Scorpia has agreed to let Alex live. In return, Alex has promised to not work for MI6.Two years after making the promise, Alex is now caught breaking it.
I absolutely love this fic! It's clever, it's thrilling, it's deceptive, plot an pacing rock, and it plays effectively with quite a few canon and fanon cliches. It's also awesomely hot!

Teaching by anonymous [Yassen/Alex; NC-17; Warnings; 5000 words]
Summary: Alex learns that attempting to steal a gun right under Yassen Gregorovichs' nose is a bad idea. But he makes sure Yassen teaches him a whole lot more…
Ah... now this is a wonderful twist on teacher-student relationships – it's funny and hot, with lots of delightful double-entendre and humour (Alex's inner voice alone is a thing of beauty).

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Political Interlude: AV Referendum (for Cats)

Wed, 04 May 2011 16:01:23 GMT

Today is a very good day to share the video below (found on lolcats), which isn't just cute and hilarious, it's also pretty informative about the UK Alternative Vote Referendum tomorrow.

So if you can vote in the Referendum tomorrow, do! AV isn't the perfect solution (what's wrong with plain old proportional representation that actually allocates seats according to, well, votes?) but better than nothing.

"Otherwise, the country will go to the dogs!" (*snickers*)

(yes, I noticed the historical blooper, but it's still cute)

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Diacon Alley!

Wed, 04 May 2011 03:13:23 GMT

This is a post I should have made months ago, and thought I had, but nada...

This summer, just in time to coincide with the last HP film, there will be a HP Con in the UK I'm very, very excited about - DiaCon Alley in Canterbury (21-24 July, 2011)!

Here's the link to the website, for info and registration and stuff.

There have been two newsletters so far (with, omg, butterbeer recipe).

For updates on LJ, watch diacon_alley.

To tell the truth, I'm due to leave the UK and return home this summer, and the reason moving is going to happen in August instead of June is because of this :). Can't wait!

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REC and Squee

Sun, 01 May 2011 23:17:00 GMT

There will be more and properly done spy_fest recs (I'm already assembling a little list), but allow me a moment full of pure squee.

You know how occasionally you come across a fic that's just utterly *perfect* for your mood and utterly *awesome* in itself and has you squeeing over turns of phrases because the writing is so good, and the characters come to life as if filched directly from canon (only better!) and it makes you laugh and cry and when you come up for air in the middle of it you wail because you realise you're already halfway through and you don't want it to be over, ever? I read that fic today :).

Stitches (Part 1 and Part 2) by anonymous (obviously) [Alex, Yassen; PG-13, 31 000 words]
Summary: When a mission goes wrong and Alex is critically wounded, the fifteen-year-old spy finds himself the unwilling captive (and patient) of a man he believed to be dead.

The summary says as much as I'd want to give away, but it's long and satisfactory and emotionally wrenching (that's a compliment!), and while it's not even that much my usual cup of tea, theme-wise, it's just... yes! But have a look for yourselves :).

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PSA: springtime_gen is now posting!

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:22:32 GMT

If you're eager for a spot of gen, head over to springtime_gen, which (as every year) has already posted some truly amazing fic, with more to come!

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Life Sign

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 03:47:14 GMT

Holy housecat, it has been months since I last updated, or properly looked at LJ! Well, things have been very interesting (in the Chinese curse variety of the word), but it looks like I'm back :).

I've finished my spy_fest fic which I didn't dare hope would ever happen, and can now go on and wrap up the final bit of another project that's been trailing behind for a while.

And I can finally read 'Scorpia Rising' which I haven't touched so far, and all the Alex Rider fic I missed. Yay!

Anyway, sorry for doing the vanishing act for so long! How have you all been?

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Final Call for springtime_gen 2011!

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:57:48 GMT

Sign-ups will be running for one more day - the final deadline is midnight tomorrow, Thursday, 27 January.

It's a nice, quiet, low-key LJ exchange with two full months writing time, ideal for gen fans as well as for people who want to try something new, or give gen a shot - and a few more participants wouldn't hurt :).

Sign up here?

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Dreamwidth Invite Codes to go, cheep

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 19:55:36 GMT

Cleaning out my email accounts, I noticed that I'm sitting on a pile of Dreamwidth invite codes. If anyone's interested, go grab them. First come, first served, but please comment if you take one so I can take it off :).

~~AC6PDDBGMGRRKAAAMARD~~
7W6CCMAEYQKWCAAAMQKM

XXSAZP5HAD9T3AAALGX7
74GEA25CJJKK9AAALGX8
6EJ33YZAHQNBSAAALGX9

(The first two are shiny and new, the latter three are leftovers from an earlier distribution. Should still work, though, unless they have a shelf life?).

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