The Venturous Life

1. Happy Canada Day!   J'adore notre voisin au nord!  I was privelaged to grow up on the Ste. Clair River which forms the US/Canada border, and have many lovely memories of Ontario. If nothing else, the place names are wonderful: Tobermory, Lake Coochiching, the River Snye, Wallaceburg, the Big Basset, Missasaugua, Thorold, Pentangueshine, Guelph. I raise my virtual Molsen's to you, O Canada. But it definately tastes better when you drink it 'in country'.

2. Don't forget to check out the Percy_ficathon, now posting on LJ and IJ. There's fic! There's art! **wink**

3. Same goes for NextGenDarkFest, over on LJ. My gift just posted, a dark and twisted ghost story wherein Lily Potter & Rose Weasley get in trouble in the Forbidden Forest.

4. In need of good 'foundation garments' for my Sprout costume, I braved the mall today in search of bras, etc. and scored well at a 'buy 2 get 2 free' sale. I loathe shopping, so I was pleased to bag my quarry so easily. New undies, woot! and a surprise cool black vest that has costumey potential.

Goodnight, all! It's time to curl up with the latest fabulous Snarry from  , The Black Asphodel. Romance! Adventure! Mystery! and fabulous costumes! I love reading about Severus having his many buttons lovingly opened...

May you achieve your hearts desire... that is, providing it's actually a good idea!
;-)

This week felt like the first bout of truly summery weather. Tonight there are big thunder rumblers wandering around. I love curling up in bed during a thunderstorm!

so, first a Friday recc:

Gladly Beyond Any Experience, by  . written for Team Romance in the 2006 Snarry Games. I thought I'd read all of femme's Snarry, so I was thrilled to find this satifying tale. Harry as a public defender with a wonderfully clever Sytherin daughter, and Snape the fugitive captured in Canada and destined for Azkaban, find themselves in a world of memories. Bonus Snaco!

2. Michael Jackson, I had no idea you had affected me so much. A few songs that were unforgettable, an original style that repeatedly challenged the status quo, and a vivid illustration of the tragedy of success... I could go on. suffice it to say I Never Cared to Say Goodbye.

3. I love my therapist. We did this amazing session on ... what? feelings about failure, money, and a movie that had haunted me for days and days.  Into the Wild... a film I'd meant to see in the cinema. I came home from seeing UP, such a happy movie, and found this on the telly, and although I knew how it ended, I could not look away.  I could have been that kid. I wanted to be that brave and resourceful and independant. I am that good at running away. That movie, the denouement, got into my guts and haunted me, roiled up all this fear and grief... It was really good to find the threads among all those things.

4. I give thanks for Friday Nights and stupid TV. For instance, Black Sheep. This is a preposterous tale of mutant carnivorous sheep, a revolting gorefest with new-agey jokes and intermittent beautiful New Zealand landscape. And exploding farts!  I could not have made this stuff up.

Finally, It's time to read The Half Blood Prince.  SFor years, summer has meant Harry Potter in the hammock, and tomorrow one of my keen ambitions is to do just that!

it's a long shot, but any locals want tix to Camden yards for tonight?

Yes, it's true. I really wanted to go on the cruise, but between duties, conflicts and funding, I have decided to make my Wrock around the Rock ticket available!

email me at [username] at [geeemail] for details.

Calling all DC metro flist! I hope you are all well and accounted for! There was a wretched accident on the red line in NE DC during rush hour, resulting in several killed, including the driver of one train. Details HERE.

Heading for Azkatraz? Come to Erotic Harry Potter Night!

Cant make it?  Contribute to and reserve your copy of the 'Zine!



Go here for all the details!

My backfence neighbor and friend has 2 girls, and the youngest attends the John Hanson Montessori School in Oxon Hill, Maryland.
Basically the kids wrote a 200 word essay and won $500 and a chance to compete for the 20K. I am cheering them on!
Help them win a $20,000 grant for their school. see below:

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I was once a mad Wachowski fan, but never went to see last years' Speed Racer. Now, thanks to a few months of free movie channels, here it is! It's perfect for me tonight: exhausted enough to delight in hanging on the futon with the pets.

It's a remarkable mix of live action, cartoon and anime with a pretty incredible cast, including plenty of Brits. I had to laugh at Matthew Fox playing Keanu Reeves, *g*

I  admire it's pure Wachowski over-the-top-ness, even if it is a bit too much 'Hot Wheels' for my tastes. Zoom! Zoom!

Shooting at US Holocaust Museum

My hope is that this kind of desperate hatred will die out with a generation, since we can't seem to educate people out of it.

Title: "You are mine, Alice, mine"
Author: </a>venturous1
Recipient: </a></b></a>holyfant
Rating: R
Pairing(s): Bellatrix/Alice
Summary: In their 7th year, Alice and Bella had a brief but intensely torrid affair, and neither of them was ever the same again.
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I want some high-quality prints for Azkaban, and my RL artist sources seem to have TOS that prohibits 'indecency.'  ahem.

also, is there a level of digital print quality less pricey than giclee but more long-lived than color laser?

WHAT: Artomatic, an arts extravaganza featuring hundreds of local artists — visual artists, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, and many more. Nine floors of creativity!

WHEN: May 29 to July 5. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 5 p.m. – 10 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 12 noon – 1 a.m.; Sundays, 12 noon – 10 p.m.; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

WHERE: 55 M St, SE (at Half Street) in D.C.’s Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. Right above the Navy Yard Metro ballpark exit (green line), a block from Nationals Stadium.

WHY: This tradition of transforming raw space into an explosion of art started right here in D.C., and no one does it up quite like us! http://artomatic.org

title: Draco wishes Myrtle farewell
artist: venturous1
drawn for: the_bitter_word
rating: G
notes: I've never drawn Myrtle before!



and, for a crossover treat, go see the drawble tbw made for me, Spock, Snape!!

Title: "Thank Goddess, you're home!"
artist: venturous1 
drawn for: coffee_n_cocoa 
rating: G
pairing: Neville/Ginny
disclaimer: not my characters, I just play with them
notes: coffee_n_cocoa  wrote my fabulous wizard_love gift, Leap of Faith, (highly recommended for all Snarry fen!) and gave me new appreciation for this pair.

2 of five drawbles offered. all claimed, thank you!!

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nicked from femmequixotic, who bravely offers drawbles although she is a writer.

The next five people to comment in this post get to request a drawble of any pairing/character of their choosing that I am familiar with from me. In return, they have to post this in their journal, regardless of their ability level.

alright, let me have it!

I'm reccing a couple of recent gifts that I loved, and encourage you to follow the fests since I have work in them that may or may not have posted yet!

please enjoy and tell the authors!

from hds_beltane :


Title: We Shall Meet in all Directions
Author: Anonymous
Pairing: Snape/Harry
Rating: PG
Warnings: None in particular.
Word count: ~5,300
Summary: Right after the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry's beleaguered mind continues to deal with comforting hallucinations and stark reality.

I love how this plays with 'reality' and 'illusion' (perhaps my favorite topics?)

from snuna_exchange 

Title: For the Love of Three Lemons
Rating: PG
Recipient's Prompt: Luna sees thru Severus' duplicity while he is headmaster, and he has to convince her he is truly Voldemort's minion. She persists, and he plans to Obliviate her, but something goes awry with the spell.
Summary: Luna sees more than she should, and Severus attempts to intervene.

this has a lovely time travel angle to it, that brings unexpected gifts to Headmaster Snape

"We synthesize happiness, but we believe happiness is a thing to be found."

Daniel Gilbert

This is one of two drawings I did for hp_springsmut 2009. I had just returned from Italy, and was clearly influenced by all the naked men great art I saw there!

also, there is a bonus ficlet I wrote for the art, posted here for the first time! scroll down!


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I am off on retreat this weekend, to restore my ravaged soul hang out with some old friends in the hot tub. I know I will go thru internets withdrawl, except that I have hardly had time for fandom of late, much to my dismay. You guys have been my escape, my safe place, my refuge for quite a while now. It's a scary world out there, and I am so grateful to have this happy place!

RL has been varying degrees of overwhelming for the past weeks. ( cut to spare you the drama... )

Title: Payback Time
Artist: venturous
Rating: NC 17 NWS
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Media: pencil, PS
Kink: bloodplay
disclaimer: A transformative work of fan obsession under Fair Use; no infringement intended
warnings: bondage, cutting, blood, sub!Harry, nudity, dub-con
Notes: Draco wants to share something special with Harry

click for NWS art

After another hellacious workweek (more on this later, if you are unlucky!) I caught a train to Philadelphia yesterday and met a NY friend in Philly.

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No, silly! NOT with each other! *g*

My hp_beholder  has posted, and it's a wonderful SS/MM fic, canon-compliant and set at Hogwarts during DH, with a tasty side of Albus/Phineas portrait smut. I kid you not!

The mysterious and gifted writer has incorporated lots of wonderful Scots dialect as well as canon veracity. I adore this Minerva! She is as tough, and as tender as of course she would be.

Go enjoy and give the writer some love. And if you don't know the fest, for Merlin's sake, 'watch' it, because it has amazing rare character fic and art.  You just might see some art from me over there.

By the Light of the Moon

I have a gift! My first FemmeFest, and I am quite pleased with my entry.

But wow, what a deliciously hot and twisted little fic I received! It's about dark magic, but not really explicitly brutal, despite the bdsm. *g*

Please go give it a try, and leave the Mystery Author some love.

go read Dude You've Got Problems in today's NYT online.

Ms. Miller cites the case of an 11 yr-old who committed suicide after repeated homophobic bullying, and goes onto delve into the issues of language, parenting, education and sexism at play.

Read the comments, too. Here's some examples: here and here

My friend P, the sculptor had a bicycle accident, and housemate L happened upon him sprawled in the road! Apparently he wiped out when the fender came loose and caught in the spokes. Then, someone slowed down their car and asked him if he needed help, then sped off! **shakes fist**

Thank goodness L found him and took him to the firehouse, and they sent him by ambulance to the Trauma Center, not very close to home. My mission was to take meds and clothes and dinner up there for his wife G, who needs regular medication for her very serious illness. Plenty of worry to go around.

So he has broken hand, wrist, ribs, and is on concussion watch. They admitted him, and put him in ICU. So, friends were not allowed to see him. G put him on the phone, and although he sounded drugged, he managed a laugh. I scolded him for not wearing his brain protector.

All good wishes and prayers welcome for P and those who are worried about him!

Ven and her critters wish you all a blessed spring, season of rebirth, renewal and reawakening.

Lily's glam new haircut!




the mighty Peanut approves of Easter Bunnies.

just a quick note to say I still love you all and I am awash in RL work and play.

After tomorrow's hanging and opening, (the first one I've had in a few years,) I can collapse briefly before back to work Monday on the mega-catalog.

and, more shrink-shopping adventures! I interview # 3 Monday. jeez, it's like the dating game or something.

hugs to all. enjoy the chocolate