So, after participating in my first couple of HP fests, what's next? Why, prompt tables, of course! I finally found a community where the tables look do-able (and actually spark my imagination), and for rarepairs, no less. Finally, some reprieve from all the H/D going on. ;p Here is the prompt table, with all prompts from Set Seventeen.

rarepair_shorts HP Rare-Pair Challenge Author: realitiedout Pairing: Bill Weasley/Scorpius Malfoy Progress: 0/13

1. never really existed

2. to run great risk

3. misnomer

4. for what it's worth

5. that's what almost happened

6. raspberries

7. family history

8. folly

9. pining for normalcy

10. the same experience for you

11. some people stay

12. severe repercussions

13. diagnosis

Comments. I’ve been reading other people’s submissions, and in trying to be the “good” fest participant, am also commenting on each fic/art submitted. What’s fascinating is how I never used to pay much attention to other people’s comments, nor did I ever pay much attention to my own reaction/response to fics. I usually left a fic with either the thought, “Oh, that was a good read,” or “Welll…” Now though, I have to ask myself why I reacted the way I did, and that definitely makes me pay more attention to the words I’m reading. In a way, participating in fests makes the fanfic reading/writing part almost “literary”, at least in terms of (self) analysis.

Now that exams are (mostly) over, and I sent in the two H/D fics I’ve been working on for the Beltane and Animagus fests, I have time to post to this blog of mine…

The overall (first) fest experience was a good one. The maintainers were amazingly supportive, and I don’t regret signing up. My goal was to write and complete a couple of HP fics, and to accomplish that, I knew that a deadline was needed. Unfortunately, despite the relief I felt as I sent in the fics, I felt I fell short of my goal, because I wanted to complete multi-chaptered fics. I had all these great plans, and due to time constraints, everything had to be condensed. So in that regard, the fest experience made me feel… restricted? I’m not even sure that’s the right word, but basically, it’s a bit of a conundrum/paradox: I needed the time limit, but it prevented me from fleshing out the fic, yet if there were not time limit in the first place, there would be no fic…

And as an aside, how in the world do some participants submit 50,000+ words in three months’ time? The mind boggles.

What am I doing? What was I thinking? Okay, maybe I wasn't thinking, but the idea of writing an Animagus-focused fic had never occurred to me, and unfortunately, once encountered, it's one of those ideas you just can't get away from. So. I signed up for another fest. I've gotta stop, because I need to save time for the Percy Ficathon that's coming up in a couple months. Hopefully, I'll be able to work on one fic, each month... Man, after years and years of not writing anything creative (ahem, not writing, period!), I've just signed up for two months of writing. And unlike the Nanowrimo, I can't backout.

In the off chance that someone stumbles upon this entry, and is piqued by the idea, head on over to hd_inspired's Animagus Fest for more information.

Okay, so call me crazy, but I finally got up the nerve to join my first HP fandom fest at hds_beltane. I'm super excited about it, because I'm hoping that my assignment will be different enough from what I'm currently working on so that I might learn to see one or two (or more!) characters in a new light; at the same time, though, it's so nerve wracking! What if the recipient doesn't like my fic? What if I totally botch up? What if the assignment is too weird for me? Still, I sure hope this will be fun!

...gets stuck in a dead end retail job (not meant to offend anybody who actually has a career in retail, but you'll understand if you keep reading), and has to deal with anal-retentive co-workers who get sensitive when sanded denim is mixed in with non-sanded denim (yes, huh?), when low rise boot cut jeans have been folded instead of hung properly, creating more work for said co-worker, who has done nothing all day (it seems) except chat with friends who stopped by (three times) during an awfully busy Sunday afternoon, even whipping out his mobile (twice) to do Jesus knows what, while the lineup for the fitting room just seems to grow and grow and grow...

Oh, wait, I think I'm channeling here. Nevermind. That was me, not Draco. But now I have a vision. Yes, a vision of Draco Malfoy working in retail, dealing with all the crap as reported above, when one day, he looks up, and there, standing in a long long long lineup for the fitting room, is Harry James Potter. Post-DH, naturally. Or AU.

My other secret love is the PW/OW pairing. It doesn't get any more cliched--after all, jock meets geek, jock falls for geek... it's the stuff of Hollywood goodness, but... Anyway, I stumbled upon this gorgeous piece, Fear in a Handful of Dust, written by Florahart. It's messed up, post-DH Percy trying to (once again) be perfect, and of course, everything backfires, though who should save the day but our knight-who-lives-for-his-broom (er, quidditch, I meant). Bookmarked, naturally. :D

Title: Fairy Tales
Author: realitiedout (formerly, inkspills)
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 848
Challenges: awdt challenge - "Everyone knows that stories are imaginary."
Summary: A Malfoy family vignette.
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series and all related products is the copyright of J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros., and various companies I don't know about. This fanfic is intended for entertainment purposes and is not for profit. No copyright violation was intended.
Notes: Unbeta'd. First of a few warmup exercises to my HP slash fic project for this year's NaNoWriMo.


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