In Essence Divided

hd_worldcup reveals were posted today, and Team Epilogue won! :D I'm so glad I got a chance to participate in this fest, even though it meant rushing to plan, organise, and write a fic in less than two weeks. There were many sleepless nights (I had four midterms and an essay due right after the pinch hit deadline) and countless rants at those friends of mine who know about my fandom life (you guys know who you are -- thanks for hearing me out when no one else would; I must have been insufferable ♥), but in the end, I had fun. Thank you to the fantastic participants (particularly my amazing Epilogue teammates), readers, and mods involved in the H/D World Cup for making my first fest so enjoyable!

I'm not gonna lie -- the story itself isn't my favourite of the fics I've written. There are several parts I'd like to explain and elaborate on, and many parts I would have changed if I'd had more time. I don't want to talk your ears off, though, so without further ado, here's the fic. I've edited the typos in the version that was originally posted (please let me know if there are any more) and changed the colour of James's eyes (thanks, sayingsorry_hh).

Title: Day of the Dead (1/2)
Author: Annie (_pinkchocolate)
Pairings: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Infidelity, excessive use of italics (not for those with sensitive eyesight)
Disclaimer: I just take JK Rowling's world and make it slashy.
Summary: On the evening of the anniversary of the war, everything changed.
Word Count: ~18k
Notes: Written for Team Epilogue in the 2008 H/D World Cup. The prompt was Death, which represents destruction of the old clearing the way for new growth. I used both figurative and literal interpretations. Many thanks to nqdonne and chiralove for their last minute betas, with an extra heap of gratitude for nqdonne, who not only suggested the title of this fic, but also did an awesome job captaining our team.

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Part 2

( You are about to view content that may only be appropriate for adults. )

Dude, I had the craziest dream EVER last night.

I dreamed that Team Canon, captained by David Cook, won American Idol. Simon Cowell announced the results, and then they showed the total points each hd_worldcup submission received on the big screen. I was so pissed, because somehow I knew that my fic got the lowest number of points and I didn't want the world to see. Then they released the confetti and Cook came up to sing Archie's coronation song (after dedicating it to Team Canon). That's when I woke up.

...

Apparently I'm more nervous about hearing the results of AI7 and hd_worldcup later today than I originally thought. I've been feeling antsy all day because of that dream. I even went and got a foot of hair chopped off (not sure how that's relevant, but it was a big deal for me). Now I'm trying to figure out whether or not I should apply for this internship at a talent agency downtown. I'm sort of interested, but it's pretty far from where I live, and I don't have a car right now thanks to my dear sister's reckless driving.

Anyway, I mentioned a while ago that I was going to retake this meme once the hd_wc reveals were up. I lied. Here it is right now.

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Filling this out made me realise how similar all my fics are. I guess I'm not really fit to criticise Stephenie Meyer for her redundant writing :( I think it's pretty obvious which hd_wc fic I wrote now.

*goes back to waiting anxiously for results*

Dude, the drabbles at ldws this week are AWESOME. The challenge was to write a drabble based off of the song "The Scientist" by Coldplay. I... can't even decide which one's my favourite, much less who deserves to be voted off.

Go here to read/vote! The participants deserve as many votes as they can get for submitting such awesome work :)

Also, as most people probably already know, there's only one day left to vote in hd_worldcup, so make sure to do that if you have time! Here are all of Team Epilogue's fics for your convenience :D The winning team and reveals will be posted on May 21st.

Gah. I hate being sick. Springfest 2008 is today, but I'm too exhausted to go, which means I'll be missing out on free live music, free food, free games, and a FREE SLIP 'N' SLIDE. I'm violating the first rule of college: take advantage of anything free, especially if it involves food and entertainment.

Anyway, I think I'm going to make a habit of organising my posts like this.

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As always, the obligatory advertisements:

ldws has a full roster! Yay! I'm so excited to start posting challenges. avada_k and I were coming up with some the other day, but now it looks like we'll need to think of more, because neither of us expected to fill all twenty spots.

And the hd_worldcup art posts for today are incredible. ARTISTS, YOU'RE MADE OF WIN ♥

*goes back to reading Loveless*

(LOL @ this line:

Yuiko: Ritsuka-kun is going out with a university student?
Soubi: No, we're not going out. We have a master/slave relationship.

I'm way too easily amused.)

In response to the hd_worldcup drama: really now?

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I think this is the best part about not being LJ famous: 42730488 people aren't going to read this post, twist it around, argue over it, and write angry response posts to it. I can ramble and make irrational points in peace. Yay for semi-anonymity!

OMG I REALLY NEED TO GET BACK TO WRITING SKOM. srsly, I'm so sorry for the lack of updates, guys :( I keep trying, but the mothereffing fic won't let me work on it. It squirmed out of my control somewhere around chapter 15, and now I'm stuck with a disaster that refuses to resolve itself. GUH. Okay, screw homework, I'm going to write RIGHT NOW. Wish me luck :|

(tbh, this entire post was just an excuse to pimp ldws again :D)

It's Random Bullet Points Day!

• Thought of the day: Is it just me, or was everyone and their mom was born in April? Because literally, among my Facebook friends there are at LEAST two birthdays on every day of April except *checks* the thirteenth. There are six birthdays on the tenth. *subtracts nine months from April* So... July? Does anyone know of any heat-inducing events in July?

• American Idol has been dreadfully boring ever since Danny left. However, last night was the first time I was genuinely entertained by most of the performances. I thought Syesha and both Davids (I cried during Syesha's and David A's performances, lol :">) were incredible. Poor Syesha doesn't get the credit she deserves. Raina and Paula said she has the most gorgeous voice live, and I believe it. I hope freaking ocatv gets to me on the waitlist before she's voted off. Last time I signed up for AI tickets in season 3 and I didn't get them until the day before the season 5 finale (keep in mind, I was still in Chicago at this point). HL for spoilers: In any case, I'm glad Syesha was safe tonight, though I'll admit I teared up a bit when Ramiele got eliminated :(
  

• Got my the_ass_fest  assignment earlier today. I'm pretty excited to write it. It's so fun, planning out the boys' characters. I think their profiles are going to end up being longer than the actual fic XD Pinch hitters have until June 1st, so yay for time! \o/

• I'm sure everyone knows this by now, but the first few fics were posted at hd_worldcup  yesterday! For the sake of anonymity, I won't comment on any of them, but let's just say that I'm very, very impressed/intimidated. The humbling process continues :P

• In retrospect, the most productive part about being a pinch hitter for hd_worldcup  was flailing around, trying to write four different stories at once in hopes that at least one of them would fit whatever prompt I ended up with. It really gave me the push I needed to start some new fics and get back into writing in general. Now I have several WiPs I can work on if I'm ever at a loss for ideas! :D
  

And finally, two tragedies that happened on March 31st that deserve acknowledgment:

• anjenue  passed away in a car crash. I never knew her personally, but I did read most of her fics on skyehawke when I first started getting into NC-17 H/D fics, and I loved all of them. Her friends say she was one of the sweetest and most generous people they've ever met, and I don't doubt it. A couple of them have set up a wonderful community for everyone to share their memories of her, which you can find here: we_love_you_anj  . Also, a memorial fund has been set up in her memory.
  

• Elliott's mom Claudette (also known as Mama Yamin to E's fans) also passed away. From all I've seen and heard of her on TV, in interviews, and from fans who met her, she was kind, funny, and unwavering in her support for her son. She will be missed dearly, and my heart goes out to E and his family during this time.

DONE AND SENT!!! *wipes brow* That was a challenge. Under any other circumstances, I definitely would NOT have been able to push out my hd_worldcup fic in two weeks. I kind of wish I'd gone for something shorter, but I'm not that great at planning emotion-packed stories under pressure. I think I did the best I could given the time I had and the fact that this was my first fest, though.

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Dude, I can't believe I just wrote all of that. Procrastination is in full force tonight. *eyes mountain of homework*

Okay, now that this is all over, I can go back to writing SKOM. It's going to take a while to get back into it, since I'm stuck in adult!H/D mode now, but I definitely want to finish the story, even if it takes the rest of my college career for me to do so :P

And finally... c_potter, I love you! You WILL get into USC, or the admissions office will be hearing from me. Because I already do too much shit for them, and the least they could in return is not be stupid about who they admit. ♥

I recently rediscovered a "top ten signs you're reading one of my fics" meme which I took centuries back, and I want to retake it so very much. However, I have a feeling that could be problematic for me if my hd_worldcup fic is posted, so I'll refrain from taking the meme for now.

Speaking of hd_worldcup... my fic has turned into a spring-break-eating monster. No, seriously. It's looking to be about 3x longer than I anticipated. In fact, I should be writing right now to make sure it doesn't set its sights on the rest of next week, which is going to be freaking busy (I'm meeting up with Raina and Karen from IDF on Tuesday!). Thankfully, I'm about 65% done with my first draft.

Also, I just signed up as a pinch hitter for the_ass_fest. I'm so excited. I was pretty upset when I missed the first sign-up, but yay for second chances! Everyone should go check it out... it's the first ever AS/S fest, and it's going to be wicked :D

AHHH! Life is so hectic right now. hd_worldcup is starting to get under way for me as a backup writer, and as always, my timing is impeccable: I'll be in San Francisco with some friends for spring break for the next five days and won't have much time to write at all. BUT I'LL DO IT! Even if it means I have to sit in our hotel room all five days and plan/outline/write like a fiend! Because... well, if I want to get a fic done in two weeks, then I don't really have any other options.

One of my LA-dwelling IDF friends got tickets to the AI dress rehearsal this Tuesday (!!!), but of course, like I said, my awesome ability to time shit stuck me in San Francisco until Wednesday night. This also means I won't be able to go to the 5:30 taping of Idol Extra on Wednesday I'd planned to go to. I'm pretty sure life hates me.

Anyway, the point of this entry was to post a few links:

German translation of Some Kind of Miracle by lapislazuli67

Italian translation of After the Epilogue by aku_rin

Both of them are fantastic (♥) and if you can read either of the languages, I highly recommend you go check out their translations!

On a side note, I've decided that I dislike the idea of a two-part DH. Especially one directed by David freakin' Yates. It already makes me want to shoot myself knowing that he's directing HBP, my favourite book in the series.