Fics, fandom, canon, and birthdays.

[mijan]

So, August is here.  Another year has come and passed.  Another year older.  New friends, old friends, new books, new fics, new art, new horse. Oh, and an awesome birthday card that my neighbour just handed me. Squee! 

First, the canon.  HBP has come into our lives, bringing revelations we could only dream of, twists to leave us shaking and screaming, and a Draco the fandom (and I) have wanted for years.  Harry still needs to realize that he's really gay, but I'm patient.  ;)

Second, the fandom.  Ah, the fandom.  So many wonderful things.  I've met awesome people, online and offline.  Seen incredible art.  Read wonderful stories.  Shared theories, laughed, cried, and squee'd together.  Has been great.  The fandom has thrilled me, but it's also pissed me off.  Months ago, a copycat convention was scheduled to take place in Salem, MA, just before The Witching Hour.  It's called "Cauldron Con", and it's a cheesy, second-hand-Hollywood-style sci-fi/fantasy convention, barging into the little New England town of Salem like a raging troll. Suffice to say, I wasn't pleased. Being from a small New England town myself, and having been born not far from Salem, I wouldn't want a thing like that in my community.

I'm also part of a small, local HP fangroup. Recently, the entire mailing list was gacked off the group by none other than the mighty BK of The Leaky Cauldron. He didn't even bother to ask the administrator. He must have felt that he was so "big" he could do whatever he wanted without regard for common courtesy. I have also come to feel that it's sites like TLC that feed the misconceptions about the fandom -- misconceptions such as the idea that we're all just a bunch of screaming, squealing Tom Felton fangirls. If WE are the fandom, why do we have some bloody heirarchy, and have to find ourselves represented (or misrepresented) by people like that?

But in the meantime, the wonderful aspects of the fandom are not lost.  Last night, I got together with eight other local HP fandom die-hards in my area for a post-HBP book discussion, a Dumbledore memorial, and Harry's birthday.  We talked for 6 hours.  It was wonderful.  I'd really like to add to the New England HP fandom.  There are a TON of slashers around here.  In fact, I met one almost randomly at the Barnes and Nobles in my area, and dragged her along to the get-together.  Seriously, the more the merrier, and I'd be thrilled to find some more local people who'd be interested in joining us for line parties, discussion groups, and other fun stuff.

And finally, fanfiction.  I learned a lesson.  Never post a chapter immediately before (or after, for that matter) the release of a canon book.  I think people were so preoccupied with HBP that nobody really noticed, or paid attention to, the update.  Regardless, chapter 15 is now at the beta, and hopefully, people will notice both chapters now!  I'm not sure when the chapter will actually be posted, but it shouldn't be long.  With only two more chapters to go after this one, the story is really heating up.  I'm hoping to have the whole thing done within the next two months.  I'm extremely excited.  I'm actually going to start work on chapter 16 tonight.

To add to the excitement, there's a particular scene coming up that my miserable artistic skills would not be able to do justice.  I was talking with the esteemed red_rahl the other day (you probably know her as one of the incredibly talented artists of the H/D corner of the fandom), and asked her if she might be interested in doing a piece of art for a poor author.  Well, she's interested, and now, not only am I extremely excited about this scene (which will be emotionally intense, probably more so than any other part of the story), but also excited to see it illustrated by an extremely talented artist too!  *huggles and fangirls red_rahl*

[Bad username or unknown identity: -Teh P]

Comments

Ah, the drama!

[ex-leianora730.livejournal.com]

I can't wait to hear all the stories concerning Northeastern fandom. I'm nosey like that. :-)

Kiss the horsey's nose for me and give it a cube of sugar for me too! Hugs you!

Re: Ah, the drama!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Ah, I shall! Oh both counts! (I give Champ lots of kisses.) Sadly, we might not get to ride... there's a threat of thunderstorms. So I might go to the gym instead.

But trust me, you'll know all about the bullshit coming from the Leaky Cauldron, and Cauldron Con. I can't wait to talk all about it.

[imperial-dragon.livejournal.com]

lol, the post-hbp discussion sounds fun. at school, we pretty much had all that during class, i honestly don't think the teachers thought they could get us to pay attention after harry potter anyway! itd be nice to meet slashers around melbourne.
i cant wait until chapter 15 is up! just wondering, are u planning on writing something after eclipse?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Yes, I plan on writing something after Eclipse, but I was thinking of branching into my own original stuff. I wonder if anyone would buy it.

[eleal.livejournal.com]

How do you meet random slashers at a book store? I'd seriously be interested in how that conversation got started!

As for Chapter 14...I can't relate to your timing "problem". I've read it at least twice and I've only read HBP once. ;) I will confess (as if you don't know this already) that I think more about what's going on with your Harry and Draco than I do about Book 7.

I can't believe you finished Chapter 15 already! (I need to go away more often) *hugs*

[mijan.livejournal.com]

I was talking with some of the people I know from the B&N cafe, talking about the line party, the book itself, and all that stuff. And I said, "Finally, H/D is canon!" And the other young woman said, "OH YES!" The conversation developed from there.

The key to meeting slashers is to be completely open about BEING a slasher. If you make yourself known, people will notice. :D

[shudaizi.livejournal.com]

"The key to meeting slashers is to be completely open about BEING a slasher. If you make yourself known, people will notice. :D"

Completely! I was working a release party at my local B&N, and made a comment to a woman about how far in to the fandom I was. She let that go and asked me another question. But after she left a girl was standing there who had picked up on it asked me about how far into the fandom I was. There were kids around so I waived her over expecting to have to explain fan fiction, but no. She asks me what pairing and when I tell her (thinking of course that I might gross her out) than I'm a H/D, she grimmaces and tells me she's a H/R shipper. :) I love my fandom.

Actually, I have you friended so I can keep up with the story. But then I realized I hated having to wait for what seemed like forever for each installment, and now I'm just waiting for it to be done so I can read it all at once. This is a story that when I started it (before I realized it was a WIP) that I liked so much, I wanted to just read it straight through nonstop. It was maddening that I couldn't, so I just stopped reading it and keep watching for the "last chapter" update. I can't wait to finally read it though.

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Well, I expect to have the entire fic finished within the next month or so. I just finished the third-to-last chapter, and I'm already writing the second-to-last. I expect it to go very quickly. Now would actually be a good time to jump back in, because the updates are coming so close together.

I'm sorry that sometimes the updates come so far apart, but that's life. I can't always help that.

[shudaizi.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry that sometimes the updates come so far apart, but that's life. I can't always help that.

Oh my! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sound as if I were complaining, or that you were writting too slowly. I would rather you take your time, put out a good story than rush it, and be unhappy with it. I just like to read things all the way through. emmagrant01 puts out a chapter a week, and I found THAT too slow as well! :) (I think it's because I read SO much that details tend to blend in with other stories, and I lose the thread) I marathon everything. I hardly watch TV shows any more until they come out on DVD. QAF being a notable exception. Cause hey! Naked boys every week. :)

I friended you so I wouldn't lose the story while waiting for it to finish. So many times I would start a story, and forget what it was, or who was writting it while waiting for the installment. I love your story so much, I didn't want to lose it. I'm glad to hear it is almost finished. I was so enjoying watching the boys bond. It's what draws me to H/D, watching them overcome their animosity. Anyways, sorry about giving the wrong impression!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

That's okay! You didn't give the wrong impression. There are a lot of people who seem to get a bit antsy waiting for the next chapter, and I don't blame them. I do seem to take a while. At the same time, Frances Potter is one of my favourite H/D authors, and she often takes half a year between updates. It's maddening, but I love the story. *is obsessive*

I'm glad you like my fic though! Hopefully, you'll be able to read it through soon.

[imperial-dragon.livejournal.com]

while im left hanging about fics that are WIP, i guess the hype is in its own way worth it. it's so that just waiting for the next update is exciting (doesnt mean i dont want it out asap!) it's sort of how i feel waiting for the 7th book. i want it out yet i dont want it to end. the other day when underwater light finished, it was strange reading the next chapter, while knowing there won't be any more.
as long as the authors finish their story, im happy. i was reading one called something more (a melbournian writer!) and suddenly i couldn't find it on fanfiction.net anymore! and it was really good!
your fic is also up there in the easy-to-be-obsessive-and-risk-failing-school category!

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Oooh, don't fail school! Classes and homework and studying come first! Don't even think of slacking!

But yeah, I know what you mean. It's like being brought along for some grand adventure, and while you desperately want to see how it all turns out, when you get to the end, that means it's over. The 7th Potter book will be both extremely exciting, and very sad for all of us. I don't know how I'm going to handle it.

[singlewoman.livejournal.com]

I would love to have a large HBP and H/D discussion in my area, central NJ but only know two people who are as interested as I am, and one of them is 16, so I feel a bit odd discussing H/D with her. But we had a great HBP discussion, much to the dismay of my 15 year old son. I totally embarassed him by talking to this girl for almost an hour. That was great! As for Eclipse, I love it as I have said before, so an update soon is great. And don't forget about Baseball. That story has many funny possibilities. And I know you are happy Manny stayed in Boston!
Kathleen

[mijan.livejournal.com]

As long as Manny behaves himself, I'll be happy that he's in Boston. He's not a mean or nasty person... but as the commentator said, "He's 32 going on Sesame Street." He just doesn't think. He's a big kid. But he's a big kid with one of the best bats in baseball. He's also been my favourite for a few years now, so I've got a soft spot for him, and can forgive.

And I know what you mean about the differences in age groups amongst the shippers. I'm 25 (and I look young for my age), so I'm young enough to talk to the teenagers without it looking too weird, and old enough to talk to everyone else easily. So, I guess I'm at a lucky age.

You should come up here for a few days and join my group for a discussion!

[nyx-of-darkness.livejournal.com]

Hey Michelle let me know when it is done and i will go read the entier fic straight through. :)

~*~Nyx~*~

[mijan.livejournal.com]

LOL... trust me, I'll be posting all about it when it's complete. If you read my LJ, there's no way you'll miss it. :D

[nyx-of-darkness.livejournal.com]

lol. ok well i look foward to it. :)

[cecilydolce.livejournal.com]

Dude, remember in.. May, when you sent me a comment about fanficcers in Massachusetts? I totally just got that when deleting crap from my inbox. O.o Sorry if you thought I was a snob for not replying. So.. what's up? :D

You seem cool, mind if I friend you?

[mijan.livejournal.com]

Sure, you can friend me! I don't pay much attention to LJ in general, so don't take it personally if I never seem to be active on LJ.

And don't worry aboutnot noticing the e-mail... things happen. But our little group of fandom die-hards in the MA area is still very active. We just had a get-together a week ago, and we're having another one next weekend. Catch me on Y!M sometime. My Yahoo ID is jedi_mijan. :)