If Tomorrow Never Comes

Fri, 25 Dec 2009 16:38:55 GMT

Happy Christmas, F'list!!!

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 21:20:13 GMT

ANON CRUSH MEMEWhat the hell, everyone else is doing it! Confess your secret crush on me!

Holiday Fluff!

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:37:50 GMT

Belated thanks to northatlantic , who helped me settle the whole "bourbon and cider" question.

Leonard McCoy woke to the smell of apples, cinnamon, and something decidedly alcoholic.

That last was enough to get him out of bed and down the stairs.

Jim stood over the pot producing the delicious smells. He held a glass bottle that looked suspiciously like bourbon in one hand, while the other simultaneously stirred and added cinnamon to the pot. It was really quite impressive, but the bourbon …

“Jim, I swear to God, if that’s my Woodford Reserve…”

“I gave you that Woodford Reserve. And no, it’s not – just Jim Beam. Don’t tell me you’ve never had spiked cider?”

“Why on earth would I waste good bourbon by pouring it into cider?”

“Because it is awesome. You poor Georgia boy. Here, try this.” With that, he ladled out some of his brew into a mug and handed it to Bones, who sniffed suspiciously and hesitantly sipped.

His eyes immediately flew wide open. “Jim, you are a god. This is amazing.” Rich apple and cinnamon rolled over his tongue, chased by the pleasant burn of bourbon and – was that nutmeg? It was as if Jim had transformed simple apple and bourbon into liquid warmth, warmth that somehow managed to find all his cold, lonely places and thaw them.

Or maybe that was just Jim.

They settled on the couch with their mugs, drinking hot cider and listening to the crackle of the fire as snow fell softly outside. They were silent for awhile, just enjoying the company, before Jim spoke up.

“Hey, Bones. I know we’re swapping our usual Christmas gifts tomorrow, but I actually got you something else too… D’you want it now?”

Bemused, Bones looked up from his cider and shrugged. “Sure, why not? I’ve got somethin’ else for you too, as it happens, we may as well swap now.”

Jim pulled out an envelope and handed it over, uncharacteristically shy.

It was a pair of plane tickets to Georgia.

“We’ve got her all June, Bones. All June. And since everyone ships out mid-July, well…”

He never finished, because he was flat on his back being very thoroughly kissed by his very grateful boyfriend.

They parted a few minutes later, both gasping and thoroughly red in the face.

“An’ here’s yours, Jim.”

Grinning a little, Jim slit the envelope and pulled out the papers inside, and his face went white.

“Wait a minute, these are…”

“Orders to report as Chief Medical Officer on the USS Enterprise, that’s right.”

“Bones, you… I thought you were going to Starbase 12 for research!”

“I was. But I couldn’t… I couldn’t just leave you, Jim, not when… not when I love you. If I’m going to be out in the black, I wouldn’t want to be with anyone but you.”

Jim’s eyes were suspiciously bright, but he simply kissed Bones, soft and sweet.

Long after the fire had burned out and the cider had gone cold, Jim and Bones lay together on the couch, curled under the blankets, holding on tight.

Always.

If I Were To Name My Horse With A Star Trek Theme...

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:15:31 GMT

View Poll: #1498531

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:02:02 GMT

Since everyone else seems to be doing it:

If Mintcloud came with a warning label, what would it be?

Go to town. ;)

Christmas Wishes

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:24:20 GMT

Step One:

Make a post (public, friendslocked, filtered...whatever you're comfortable with) to your LJ. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a Snape/Hermione icon that's just for me") to medium ("I wish for _____ on DVD") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is a new car/computer/house/TV.")

If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.

Make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ, so that the holiday joy will spread.

Step Two:

Surf around your friendslist (and the master list) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:

If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--or even know where you could get someone's dream purebred Basset Hound for free--do it.

You needn't spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.

There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Just...wish, and it might come true. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.

BE AWARE THIS WAS WRITTEN UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF AMBIEN AND WILL HENCE BE LOOKED OVER AND POSSIBLY REVISED ONCE I REGAIN CLEAR BRAIN FUNCTION.

1. Donations to the ASPCA. My future patients thank you.

2. Wallpaper and iconage for Erika Hernandez of Star Trek: Enterprise, because she has apparently become my new future cosplay character.

3. Music mix, but my computer is all fuckwittery and can't download the damn things properly. I love power ballads, Taylor Swift, and country.

4. Counted Cross-stitch, anything involving horses, cats, galaxies, the cosmos, or small cute rodents is fine by me.

5. Churchill's six-volume history of World War II. You know, if someone on my flist actually IS God.

6. The 3-in-1 volume of The Tamuli by David Eddings.

7. The 2004 edition of all three seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series. In case someone on here is Q.

8. The six original Star Trek movies. In case more than one deity reads this thing.

9. Horse crap! Hoof picks, bands for manes, a Sleezy, saddle pads, black cotton lead ropes, stiff dandy brushes, magic potions, anything useful for ponies. Also flannel shirts from Tractor Supply, cause they're soft and snuggly. Size large, should Santa be so inclined.

10. Fic! Check out my recent orphaned plot bunny at kirk_mccoy for an idea. Also just about anything involving intense, overwhelming, undying, magical, one true love, either for TOS!K/S or Nu!K/Mc. Not too fussy.

11. The impossible wish: to meet DeForest Kelley.

LJ-message me if you need my addy, or email me at irishdramaqueen2008 AT yahoo DOT com.

Quickfic!

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:32:48 GMT

Title: One Moment In Time
Author: mintcloud
Pairing: Kirk/McCoy
Rating: PG
Summary: Dreams come true.
Notes: Written via inspiration from the three-sentence promptfest, but not for an actual prompt.

"Enterprise bridge officers: Ensign Chekov, Navigator; Lt, Sulu, Helmsman; Lt. Uhura, Communications; Lt. Cmdr. McCoy, CMO," and Jim gasps quick and sharp but Pike continues, "Lt. Scott, Engineer; First officer and science officer as yet unfilled; commanding officer Captain James T. Kirk," and then it's a gasp and a shudder and Jim drops to his knees, burying his face in McCoy's palms and kissing them desperately, kissing Bones's hands as sobs rack his body. McCoy drops to his knees, taking his lover in his arms and holding tighterGod!tighter as Jim lifts drenched blue eyes to his and chokes, "They gave us the Enterprise, Bones, they gave us space and the stars and my everything in my arms and..." he trails off after that, and then it's just clutching and shaking and frantic kissing as they gasp open-mouthed against salt-sticky skin.

They stay like that for a long, long time, as the room empties and the sky goes pink-violet-blue-black and the stars come out overhead, twined together the way their hearts - their lives - have been for years.

Acquisitions!

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:52:41 GMT

So, I made the tremendous mistake of stopping by a secondhand bookstore this morning.

Why is this a mistake, you ask?

Because I ended up walking out with the following:
~The novelisations of Star Trek films 1-6
~The Price/Fate of the Phoenix
~A paperback copy of The Wounded Sky and an extra copy of Doctor's Orders
~The Star Trek: Destiny trilogy
~The first book in the Star Trek: New Frontiers series
~Killing Time
~The Vulcan Academy Murders
~The novelisation of Encounter at Farpoint
~Enterprise: The First Adventure
~And a Starfleet Academy: Voyager novella about Janeway (which I have already read, and for a middle-school-level book, is actually pretty damn awesome.

And I will probably return in short order for:
~Dreadnought! and Battleships! by Diane Carey
~The Romulan Way and My Enemy, My Ally
~The Pandora Principle
~The Lost Era
~TekWar (yes, that TekWar)

So I ask you: are there any I shouldn't have bought? Are there any I shouldn't buy? Are there any I should look for, in any Star Trek series?

HELP!

Also, if you could please spread the word of this post around to anyone particularly knowledgeable: I don't want to spam my comms, but I need advice!

So...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:19:17 GMT

I'm rewatching The Republic of Love for the fifty billionth time, and I just have to say this:

Bruce Greenwood has got to have absolutely the sexiest voice I have ever heard in my entire life.

G'night, all.

Mintcloud Is Not Amused

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:56:01 GMT

~Writer's block
~Bugs swarming around my face
~A sliced-up finger that will not heal
~A slow computer
~A stubborn horse who now requires spurs when he didn't before and may just have tanked my finals for me
~CHEMISTRY
~A bad temper
~Character block
~A sore back
~A sore butt
~A sore everything really
~Unruly hair
~A best friend who doesn't bother to call me, or text me, or facebook me, or email me, or ANYTHING me
~Sheath cleaning tomorrow
~Stupid freshman orientation class that needs to go die in a fiery pit
~Tack that soaks up more leather conditioner than I can afford to buy
~Boots that do the same
~PMS

Excuse me for a minute while I shout FUCK MY LIFE.

Ugh.

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:12:27 GMT

Dear Back,
Please stop seizing up on me and forcing me to down easily triple the amount of pain meds I should be taking. My tolerance for pain meds is rising as we speak, which is not promising when I have a hobby/future career that will involve me getting kicked, stepped on, bitten, and bruised on a regular basis. Going into spasms so painful it hurts to lie down and hurts to sit up is not a way to gain my cooperation.
No Love,
Me.

Bring Me To Life Update

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:46:08 GMT

It started out funny.

I honestly didn't mean for it to, but I love starting stories without setting them up first, which is why I had Jim walking in on Bones and the girl who will end up as his wife (and yes, this is pseudocanon. If you've read Provenance of Shadows, you should know just who the girl is), who, as it turns out, is something of a little sister to Jim. He and Bones are so codependent, and I wanted to show that he does have a few other friends, even if he does treat her as he would a little sister - being funny, playing jokes, threatening anyone who hurts her, etc instead of sharing his secrets.

I think it'll turn serious fairly quickly, though, and stay that way - but I can't write all angst all the time, and the characters don't deserve that. There will be bright spots and there will be dry humor, because as it turns out, I can't shake that. I'm just trusting that I know these guys well enough to not take their issues lightly while at the same time not forcing them to never leave the Cave Of Epic Angst.

*sigh* And this is why I don't write epics.

But I'll see this one through, for Janice and for Jim - because she deserves to be a main character, and because they honestly do deserve each other, and I believe that.

~~And because I can't marry Janice myself. Because if I could, I so would. Damn broken people fetish.~~

Help. I Needz It.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:56:30 GMT

I need a song about love/hate relationships. Passionate, sexually charged love/hate relationships.

I can has suggestions?

I Am In So Much Trouble (Revamp!)

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:51:14 GMT

...and it is all mijan 's fault.

Really.

See, she created this character in her fic "All The King's Men," a Lieutenant Commander Janice Toland, who is in charge of live-action sims and training for Starfleet Academy and cannot stand James T. Kirk.

Then she adds a heaping ten-gallon hat of angsty past, and now I've begun plotting their epic love story, which is now titled Bring Me To Life.

It's gonna be partly in epistolary form, which means letters (subspace messages - take your pic, ppl) once the mission starts. As of now there's at least nine fics in the series.

~"What's Love Got to Do With It" - Jim's third year at the Academy, in which the pot starts to boil.
~"I'd Lie" - Jim's last semester. Wanting what you can't have is torture.
~"Can't Fight This Feeling" - the aftermath of the Nero incident. The pot finally boils over.
~"Helplessly Hopelessly Recklessly" - graduation through the first half of the five-year mission.
~"I Drove All Night" - probably the only fic without a mostly epistolary format; an interlude, if you will, and a rather passionate one at that.
~"When You Say Nothing At All" - the second half of the five-year mission.
~"Behind These Hazel Eyes" - the requisite roadblock on the highway to happiness.
~"The Last Night" - the last bend in the road.
~"(It Is You) I Have Loved" - epilogue; happy ending, or as happy as these two are ever going to get.

Beware, you guys. These songs? They represent these two at their absolute happiest and least fearful. This pairing is angsty, angst-ridden, and did I mention has a ton of angst? They will be insecure. They will be nervous and unbalanced and nuts and traumatized and so broken they have to be patched together with duct tape. Jim has PTSD, and Toland definitely has a cartload of issues if not outright PTSD herself. But that doesn't mean they love each other any less, which is why I let myself go with these songs as a soundtrack instead of a mix full of Evanescence. I guess you could say these songs show how they would have been if there were no jagged edges. Their trauma will never go away - but they will find eventually find comfort in each other. Eventually.

Don't worry, all. McCoy gets some lovin' too, and their epic bromance will not be neglected - I swear. Also Spock/Uhura will remain intact, with possible appearances by Chekov/Sulu and Scotty/Gaila in one-off side drabbles.

The soundtrack to the epic can be found here - track listing is the same as the titles list above, in the same order, with "Bring Me To Life" as the opening credits and "Keep Holding On" as the end titles.

...there go the next two months of my life.

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:18:20 GMT

Comment with "Resistance is Futile" and I'll ask you five things I'm most curious about!

1) Mandatory first question: Your OTP, who, why and what does it say about you?
Oh, wow. Um, for which fandom? ;) Seriously, my real OTP is TOS!Kirk/Spock. I love the way their relationship builds, how they go from just friends to flirty to willing to put their lives on the line for each other. It's the kind of friendship you dream about, and the sexual dimension only makes it that much more awesome. Which says that I count emotional connections before physical ones, but I'm not averse to the physical, IYKWIM.
2) If there was some sort of cataclymic disater and you could only escape by going back to another period in history to escape, which period would you choose and why?
Tudor England, no question. I love the time period, I love the mode of speech, books were just beginning to come into vogue, and with Elizabeth on the throne women were gaining more influence - however subtle - than ever before. And I've never had many qualms about dirt, not when horseback riding was the major form of transportation!
3) Favourite Quote? Why?
"Love has nothing to do with what you're expecting to get - only what you're expecting to give - which is everything. What you receive in return varies, but that really has no connection with why you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving." ~Katharine Hepburn
I think that's the ultimate expression of love on Earth - to give because that's who you are, because they're worth it - because you can't help but do anything else, no matter the pain or suffering you get in return. Love's not selfish, or it shouldn't be - and the ultimate expression of love is selflessness. Why do you think I love McCoy so much?
4) If you were on the Enterprise, what rank would you hold? What rank would you want to hold? Reasons?
Head nurse! To be working like that... I'm a healer, always have been, and to have that opportunity - to help the CMO save lives, to heal, to maybe be partially responsible for keeping the Captain's chair occupied for one more day - well, there's nothing more worthwhile.
5) Jim, Bones, Spock and a Redhisrt beam down to a planet full of every trope in existence. What's the plot of the episode?
You're asking a TVtropes regular about this? *cackles* The redshirt dies, naturally. Bones says, "He's dead, Jim!" Then sex pollen erupts from flowers, causing Kirk and Spock to enter a SlapSlapKiss dynamic which resolves the WillTheyOrWon'tThey from the past three seasons with They Will. Meanwhile Bones, the Unlucky Childhood Friend, says I Just Want My Beloved to be Happy and as a result of Pair The Spares hooks up with Uhura when they are Strangled by the Red String. Spock breaks the Fourth Wall when he remarks that the result is "fascinating," accompanied by the Fascinating Eyebrow. When asked his opinion, Bones barks, "Dammit, man, I'm a doctor, not a fiction writer!" He and Spock then get into an argument over whether the pairing of Uhura and McCoy is really a Wall Breaker while Jim attempts to mediate, as would any Kirk in a Power Trio. Cue credits.

ASJKFDF

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:20:13 GMT

Beverly Crusher is quite possibly the most endearing woman I have ever seen on television, and I feel an absolutely irresistible urge to kiss her. Frequently.

DAMMIT STAR TREK!!!

New Fic! "A Midsummer's Dream..." Pike/Archer, NC-17

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:23:23 GMT

Title: A Midsummer's Dream Under a Star-Soaked Sky
Author:mintcloud
Rating: NCC-1701, baby!
Characters/Pairings: Pike/Archer
Warning: None
Type: Oneshot
Word Count: 1,825
Summary: They hadn't gotten time alone together since the Enterprise sailed triumphantly into spacedock three months earlier.
Author's Note: Dedicated utterly and completely to the incredible robanybody, who graciously allowed me to come play in her universe. Go read her Pike/Archer fic. This can stand on its own, but her series is not to be missed. Unbetaed. Also, this is my first time writing (what is to me, anyway) hardcore smut. Any fail on that score is mine and mine alone; everything I learned about writing decent pr0n, I learned from the lovely authors here in the Star Trek fandom and its associated RPS communities.

A Midsummer's Dream Under a Star-Soaked Sky

Fail, Dorm-Mates. Fail.

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:25:01 GMT

So it's midnight here, and I've been up since seven a.m., including a three-hour stint at the barn and a class that doesn't even start till seven p.m. Logically, I am bloody exhausted.

So what are the boys on the floor above me doing?

Why, of course, they're blasting rap loud enough I can feel it one floor down and two rooms away.

Hey idiots... there's a little something called "sleep."

Those of us who actually plan to graduate with decent grades need it.

Especially when hard physical labor three hours a day, seven days a week is a requirement for one of the degrees we're pursuing.

Dear Assholes who inhabit the floor above me,
If your sound equipment winds up mysteriously smashed on the pavement below, it was me. No, I don't regret it, since you have no consideration for anyone else. SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GO TO SLEEP.

No love,
A Very Annoyed Pre-Vet and Equestrian Major

Insomniac Meme

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:28:21 GMT

Answers to leigh57 's insomniac meme.

1) If you had to be stranded on a desert island with only one book, which one would you choose and why?

Only one book? Holyfuck. I'd have to say Pride and Prejudice, because the prose is so elegant and the story is so timeless.

2) What's the most interesting thing you've learned in school?

I always loved my biology classes. I think the most fascinating unit I ever studied was the IB Biology Genetics unit, with triple Punnett's squares and all the different genetic diseases. I was really fascinated.

3) If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I would so give myself more willpower.

4) What's one of the best decisions you've ever made? (I figured the best might be too hard.)

Hands down, the best decision I ever made was to stick out all the fights with my best friend. There were so many times we wanted to walk away from each other, but I always believed that I could break down his walls and make him trust me, and I did. I wouldn't trade that for anything. He's hurt me more than anyone else ever has, and I know he can say the same, but I couldn't bear to lose him.

5) What's your favorite comfort food?

Angel hair with grated Parmesan cheese. I basically lived off that stuff my entire childhood, and it still makes me think of home.

The World May Not Be Hollow, But I've Still Touched The Sky

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 04:04:33 GMT

Anyone who's spent any time in the Star Trek fandom with me knows three things: I am a smut addict, I'm a TOS!K/S slasher, and I'm in love with Captain Kirk.

Well, the golden boy in the center seat might just have to look out.

Now will someone please explain the mystifyingly powerful hot!waves DeForest Kelley manages to send out while playing Leonard McCoy?

I mean, TOS, piss-and-vinegar Bones who hates transporters and visited the Enterprise-D at the age of 137?

Because I was watching De's cameo in "Encounter at Farpoint" last night, and as soon as he said, "Treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home," I burst into tears and bawled through the night.

DAMMIT, De!!!

As of now I have a ridiculous Amazon shipment headed my way, which includes, among others, Diane Duane's Doctor's Orders, Provenance of Shadows, and ...the big prize... From Sawdust to Stardust.

In addition, my cell phone wallpaper is now De, and my desktop wallpaper will probably be changing pretty quickly.

In short, De Kelley is taking over my brain.

So can someone please explain why a Southern country doctor with what would generally be called a homely face is sending me into billowing clouds of lust?

Oh, wait. It's that cheeky grin, that sense of compassion, that Hippocratic oath, that gentle soul, and those sparkling baby blues.

And even though I know De wasn't a doctor IRL, I do know that he had the same gentleness of spirit that we glimpse here and there under McCoy's crusty exterior.

God bless, De. You're stardust now.

OK. Nu!Trekkers.

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:36:28 GMT

It's time for us to have a chat.

You see that fellow up there, in my icon?

Yeah. Nu!Kirk isn't an idiot. Really. He did, in fact, manage command training in three years. You think that was easy? If you do, you're wrong. Yes, he's a bit of a womanizer with a barfight habit. That does not mean he never studied. Even being a genius can only get you so far. I highly doubt he slept his way to good grades, and I definitely doubt he was in a different bed every night. Was he valedictorian of his class? No, probably not. But he also would have been forced to take the full four years if his grades were less than spectacular. In fact, to get it done in three, he probably had to test out of basic classes. Plz to not be writing him like a high school dropout.

He's also the youngest starship captain in Starfleet history - eight years sooner than his counterpart set the same record - and he's captaining Starfleet's flagship. Writing him like an immature teenager?

So very, very wrong. Please stop.

Dear Sci-Fi Fandoms,

Sat, 16 May 2009 21:28:29 GMT

Kindly stop getting me addicted to you.

Battlestar Galactica (and Roslin/Adama smut.)

Star Trek (and Kirk/Spock smut.)

Honor Harrington. Just... Honor Harrington.

I do not have time for this. I have two degrees to complete in five years (three degrees, actually, but two of them are Associate's). Four degrees in six years, if you include my intention to go for a Masters in Genetics. Then, if I'm very lucky, I can take a year off to work, and then it's (dear god, I hope so!) off to Glasgow and vet school.

I do not have time to fall in love with Rosadama, or lust after William Shatner. I do not have time to inhale David Weber's truly fascinating military sci fi book series with an awesome female protagonist who kicks serious butt on a regular basis and is quite possibly the living embodiment of girl power. And I sure as hell don't have the money to buy BSG on DVD or all those Star Trek movies or the original series itself or fifteen books and counting of Weber's awesome fiction.

Isn't there a twelve-step program for this???

New Fic! "Through The Storm" 1/3

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 04:00:16 GMT

Title: Through The Storm 1/3
Author: Mintcloud
Pairing: Mike/Terry friendship
Summary: A cry in the dark, an Auror investigation, and death too close to home. Sixth year, DAYDverse.
Notes: I have been bribed, and so it has been written. I apologise for lack of quality. ROUGH DRAFT ONLY... will be expanded and refined before final publication at www.fanfiction.net. Dedicated to Thanfiction.

“I just don’t understand it!” The Arithmancy textbook slammed shut as Michael Corner’s frustrated growl echoed through the Ravenclaw common room.

“Well, well.” Terry Boot’s familiar drawl issued from a sofa by the fire. His Transfiguration textbook was open, but he was more interested in watching Mike’s failed attempts at Arithmancy than studying material he had known since fifth year. “The Great Michael Corner is fallible after all.”

"Ferme la bouche,” the dark-haired youth muttered absently, still trying to solve the frustrating equation. Terry subsided, prudently shoving his glasses up his nose and opening his Ancient Runes, while Mike muttered threats – in various languages – at the person who had invented numbers.

“So, Terry, what are you doing for your seventeenth?” The question came from Stephen Cornfoot, sprawled on another sofa with his Charms book open before him and his legs draped over Derek’s lap.

“Ah, nothing much on the actual day, but once we’re on holiday the Corners have promised me quite the affair.” The tone was dismissive, but Terry’s grin gave away his excitement.

“And I intend to personally ensure he enjoys it!” Mike had finally abandoned Arithmancy, choosing to retreat to Potions and familiar ground. The two shared a quick grin. With his birthday not until spring, Mike wasn’t about to resist the chance to live vicariously through his best friend. And God knew Terry needed a party, Mike mused, once again feeling sorry for Terry’s chilly home life.

“Whether or not I enjoy it is my prerogative.” But the Legilimency came through loud and clear. Thank you.

The common room fell quiet for a good quarter-hour as the Ravenclaws went back to their books, studying hard for end-of-term exams. Aside from the low murmur of students working together, only the crackling of the fireplace and the creak of wooden chairs and desks disturbed the peace of the airy tower.

“Hey Mike!” He glanced up at Terry’s voice. “Come here for a minute, will you?” As the two bent over Terry’s Runes book, the portrait hole swung open to admit Professor Flitwick.

The common room went still, and the air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. The look on Flitwick’s face was more serious than they had ever seen it.

“Mr Corner, I need to speak with you.” Terry rose automatically, but Flitwick’s next word cut him off. “Alone.”

What?

The two exchanged a glance of utter confusion. Tell me everything when you get back. I will. I promise.

Mike followed his Head of House, possibilities racing through his mind. What did Flitwick have to say that couldn’t be said in front of Terry?

What if Terry had done something? Mike knew the pressure he was under at home. Never mind that he had spent his entire career at Hogwarts just half a percent in one subject behind Hermione Granger. Never mind that he was second in his year. What if it wasn’t enough for his parents?

What if Terry had cheated off him? He wouldn’t do that. He couldn’t. He’d never betray me…

But Flitwick’s next words banished any thoughts of cheating from his mind.

“Mr. Corner, I’m terribly sorry to have to tell you this, but your father was found dead in his office. I’ll send your things after you.”

No. Nononononononono…Not Dad. Not my dad… why??

The teacup trembled violently in his grasp, but he scarcely noticed the hot liquid spilling over his hands as he tried vainly to comprehend the words that had just left Flitwick's mouth.

“Terry!” he managed to gasp. “I’ve got to talk to Terry – please…”

Flitwick’s voice was kind but firm. “I’m sorry, Mr. Corner. You are to speak to no one.”

“Tell him what’s happened! Please!”

“I cannot.”

“Why??”

Flitwick sighed. “The Aurors are conducting a full-scale investigation. It’s best that your actions be beyond suspicion.”

The air had to have vanished from the room. That was the only possible explanation for the tightening in his chest as his breathing came in harsh gasps.

They suspect us…

Flitwick’s voice broke through his reverie. “Into the Floo, Mr. Corner. Your things will be sent after you.”

Mike stepped numbly into the fireplace, intending to beg Flitwick once more to deliver a message to Terry, but before he could open his mouth, his world went up in a flash of green flames.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:05:39 GMT

I find it rather hilarious that half a dozen people have told me I'm "crushable," and yet, none of them want to get in a relationship with me. I don't care how talented or pretty you say I am. I have a decent amount of skill at writing, even if it's just to not cover the page with hideous grammatical errors. I can pull off a line-reading with a pretty decent amount of emotion. I can even be a pretty good actress. I'm a damned good director. I know that I'm fairly good looking, especially under the correct circumstances (such as when dressed in full Renaissance/medieval gear). I can ride a horse (although lately I'm questioning that quite heavily, as it seems hunter/jumper Findlay style is completely eluding me). I know I'm a good listener. I don't want to be that anymore. I want to be a shoulder to cry on, not just a listening ear. I want to be the one someone calls when they're having a bad day and the one who makes their face light up every time I walk into the room. I want to be the one they're breathing when they go to sleep at night. I want to fall asleep with my head on their chest and wake up cradled in their arms... I want to be yanked into a hidden corner and kissed senseless because they just couldn't keep their hands off me one damn minute longer.

I know I'm complex. I know I'm difficult. I'm up to my eyeballs in trust issues and I fly into sometimes unexplainable rages. I tend to make excuses for myself and I hate being told I'm wrong. I'm a bleeding heart who'd swerve into a tree to save a squirrel, and yet I cannot bring myself to care about those I don't respect. But I'm also sick of being runner-up, second-best, just-not-quite-good-enough. I want to be the love of a lifetime. Maybe it's selfish, maybe I'm just lonely, or maybe it's just been too fucking long since I've had a decent snog. Right now I don't know and I don't care.

I want to feel the sunshine again.

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 03:26:42 GMT