Okay, here’s my somewhat late post expanding on my likes and dislikes.

( lin's likes and dislikesCollapse )

I covered most of the biggies in the original sign-up post, so I don’t really have much to add to that. However, I do agree with practically everything fic-related in scatteredlogic’s post about this (find it here ).


To her bottom line, I’ll add that what really gets me hooked every single time is compelling, complex characters (why else would I adore Snape so?). I’ll buy almost any plot, so long as I can buy characters’ motives as being true to their characters. If they screw up, their mistakes should be the sort they would normally make (e.g., Snape refusing to take the word of a Gryffindor; Hermione missing something important because she thinks she can find all the answers in books), or I would expect an in-character explanation for why they seem to be OOC. Thus, if student!Hermione were to suddenly decide she’s not all that fussed about NEWTs, after all, there really needs to be an explanation consistent with her character for why (as opposed to ‘it served my story that she wouldn’t bother with NEWTs’). Similarly, if Severus is going to reveal his soft underbelly, why is he not the prickly, defensive enigma he usually presents?

One more thing: chances are good I’ll be absolutely thrilled with pretty much anything you come up with, so don’t angst about getting it just right as long as you avoid my major squicks (please, no horror!). Like so many other people, I often find myself liking things I never thought I would.

Finally, as to art, all I can say is I love just about anything as long as it’s not so abstract that I can’t recognize the content. I like Asian styles just as well as Western, and I adore color, but I also love simple charcoal or pen and ink. Photomanips are great, too – I’ve sometimes thought Minnie Driver could be a good adult Hermione, but I’m open to other representations, and other than AR, I haven’t thought of anyone to represent Severus, so it’s up to you who you choose if you go that route. Just please don’t make me anything like a Jackson Pollock or a late-career Picasso. Hard as I try, I just don’t get those styles. Bottom line, though, is I don’t have any talent whatsoever in visual arts, so I’ll almost certainly be delighted with practically anything you do.


6/4/2012 Edit: The above still holds true. To that, I'll add that if you are a crafter, I'll probably be thrilled with whatever you come up with, as I'm not particularly crafty myself. And thank you in advance for all your effort! :)

The SSHG Exchange masterlist has posted, and I must thank mundungus42 for the amazing, fabulous, and wonderful gift she wrote for me, Recapitulation. I have recommended it previously both here and on crackbroom, but it bears repeating: this story is captivating, original, and brilliant, and if you haven't read it, I strongly encourage you to drop everything and do so now.

I also want to thank my alpha/beta team of karelia and teaoli, as well as my Britpicker, proulxes. Without any of them, Of All the Cruise Ships in All the World might have existed, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as I hope it ultimately was. And without clairvoyant, who both cruise-picked and brainstormed with me, and then didn't mind when I relied heavily on her LJ for research, the story could not have existed at all. It was my pleasure to write the story for my dear friend dreamy_dragon73, and I can only hope she enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Finally, a great big thank you to the long-suffering mods of the exchange, shiv5468, scatteredlogic, and ginny_weasley31. I know it's been said before, but it really can't be said enough: thank you for all your hard work. The SSHG corner of fandom would be a much poorer place without the exchange, and I hope it will continue in some form or other in the future.

So the Big Reveal is posted, and I've discovered that there are a bunch of gifts where I had been thinking "Wow! Who could have written something as amazing as that?" and now I'm like, "Well, duh!  Of course it was [fill in the name] who wrote that!  Who else could it have been?!"  So apparently I've been particularly dense and clueless ...

Anyway, I now know that the amazing fic and accompanying art Split was written for me by the very talented windwingswrites.  If you haven't already, go read it!

And I can also reveal that I wrote On the Other Side of Hate for musamihi.  I hope she liked it, and I thank everyone who reviewed or commented on it -- I was really nervous about it because it was a bit of a departure from my previous writing.  Also, my friend Atuliel alpha read and did a lot of cheerleading and encouragement, and my Britpicker/beta, Ruth, made some fabulous suggestions that really improved the story, so I can't thank them enough.  And the lovely and talented pearle9240 made a fabulous icon, too!

Despite being overworked and overwhelmed a lot of the time, I'm glad I made a point of keeping up with the exchange, but now I don't know what to do with myself in my early mornings and late nights ... Maybe I should get back to one or the other of my WIPs that I've been neglecting, yes?

I'm sooooo excited! My gift in the SSHG Exchange has posted, and it is fabulous so far! I'm about halfway through it, and it is amazingly good -- lots of intriguing mystery and wonderful dialogue. The only bad thing is I have to pause in reading and go to work now (and the stupid government won't let me get on LJ at work, so I can't even sneak the reading in while I'm there, darnit!). I'm dying to know what happens next, and now I have to wait!

~pouts~

Anyway, GO READ!!!! (but don't tell me what happens, no matter how much I might beg!)

Find it here: Split

ETA: I finally got to finish reading it, and it's totally fabulous in every respect! Love, love, love it! Go read, if you haven't!

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 410
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: Please see first chapter.

( How I Met Your Mother VICollapse )

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 2216
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: Please see index page.

( How I Met Your Mother VCollapse )

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 2112
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: Please see first chapter.

( How I Met Your Mother IVCollapse )

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 2014
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: Please see index.

( How I Met Your Mother IIICollapse )

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 3539
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: Please see index.

( How I Met Your Mother IICollapse )

Title: How I Met Your Mother
Author: linlawless
Rating: T
Word Count (This chapter ): 2456
Prompt: I used two, though I didn’t stay faithful to either: (1) Hermione and Snape have a 10th year anniversary. But it does not mark a happy day. It is a day both (or one) or them want to forget. Their story of coming together is not the kind one would tell one's children when they ask Mum and Dad how they fell in love. (2) Okay, I know it's cliché but I love a good MLC fic. So how about something along the lines of MLC but with some kind of different twist.(whatever that is is up to you) I would prefer Hermione to be at least a little bit older, not school girly.
Summary: A seemingly simple question from Severus and Hermione’s young daughter on their anniversary sends Severus meandering down memory lane.
Author's Note: See index page.

( How I Met Your Mother ICollapse )