snowgall: (close-up)
Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] frnklymrshnkly, there's new Alekina Drarry artwork to enjoy!


by Alekina


Check it out on tumblr and be sure to like and reblog!

Also give thanks to [livejournal.com profile] frnklymrshnkly for commissioning it!

ETA: Here's frnkly's post about it :)
snowgall: (close-up)
Oh man, [livejournal.com profile] hd_erised continues to be the best HD fest of the year! The authors and artists all bring their A-game to this fest, making it so hard to narrow down the choices of which ones to rec. But I persevered, and bring you my favorite works of fic and art from HD-erised 2015 :)



Fic Recs:

favicon Solder by [livejournal.com profile] oakstone730 ( NC-17 | 35,000 ) 29-Dec-2015
Summary: Seven years ago, Harry disappeared out of Draco and Scorpius's life without a trace after Harry's addictions destroyed his and Draco's marriage. Now, Harry’s back, and Draco wants to believe he’s changed. But Harry isn’t the only one haunted by the past.
Review... )

favicon Dear Uncle Plume by [livejournal.com profile] eidheann_writes ( NC-17 | 16,500 ) 17-Dec-2015
Summary: Life after war is nothing like Draco expected. He only hopes he'll survive it. Especially when his friends are less than sympathetic.
Review... )

favicon Any Instrument by [livejournal.com profile] dicta_contrion ( NC-17 | 130,000 ) 19-Dec-2015
Summary: Draco Malfoy wouldn't go back to England for anything less than an exceptional case. Being asked to figure out why Harry Potter can't control his magic might be exceptional enough to qualify.
Review... )

favicon The Deeper Symbolism Behind Golden Apples by [livejournal.com profile] oldenuf2nb ( R | 26,700 ) 16-Dec-2015
Summary: When the Wizengamot insists Chief Auror Harry Potter pose for a statue for the Ministry Atrium, why are his friends reluctant to tell him who the sculptor is?
Review... )

favicon Incongruent by [livejournal.com profile] agentmoppet ( NC-17 | 41,000 ) 28-Dec-2015
Summary: The war has left its mark on everyone. The Ministry, as usual, is only too happy to take advantage. But Harry won't let them destroy his home, no matter what he has to do to stop them. And no matter if a certain Draco Malfoy insists on getting him off track.
Review... )

favicon A Convenient Impracticality by [livejournal.com profile] firethesound ( NC-17 | 38,000 ) 1-Dec-2015
Summary: Somehow Harry ends up agreeing to a fake relationship with his ex-nemesis-turned-friendly-acquaintance-with-benefits, except for some reason it involves an awful lot of actual dating and, sadly, not much sex. Confused? Harry is too, but when has anything with Draco Malfoy ever been as straightforward as it seems?
Review... )

favicon I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor by [livejournal.com profile] birdsofshore ( NC-17 | 28,000 ) 18-Dec-2015
Summary: Harry felt lit up from inside as soon as he entered the bar. There were blokes dancing together, their bodies close to one another, not keeping a wary distance as Harry was always careful to do when he was near another man. God, he wanted this – wanted it so much he could taste it, a metallic tang of heat and desire. He suspected nothing would ever be the same again – especially when he saw who else was in the room.
Review... )

favicon The Destiny You Sold by [livejournal.com profile] tryslora ( NC-17 | 59,000 ) 12-Dec-2015
Summary: In which Draco knits, Harry makes wands, and things get very tangled up between them.
Review... )

favicon Almost Like Song by [livejournal.com profile] melusinahp ( NC-17 | 7,000 ) 16-Dec-2015
Summary: They were once lovers, but Harry hasn't seen Draco in years, so it's a bit of a shock when he appears to warn Harry about an upcoming Auror mission.
Review... )

favicon Dirty Talk on Christmas Morning by [livejournal.com profile] amorette ( NC-17 | 1,700 ) 24-Dec-2015
Summary: Emotions run thick as the boys exchange gifts on their first Christmas morning together.
Review... )




Art Recs:

A Night At The Leaky Cauldron by [livejournal.com profile] isinuyasha ( PG | Photoshop ) 10-Dec-2015
Summary: It took a while for Draco to notice that he didn't really mind that Potter kept dragging him along to these "cozy" after work get-togethers at the Leaky Cauldron.
This is so great. I love how the artist drew all of Harry and Draco's friends, and still kept the focus on the two of them. And the way Harry is leaning in to whisper to Draco just says so much about the closeness of their relationship. Everybody looks so great and the holiday lights in the background are so festive! Wonderful job all around :)
Snowy Snogfest by [livejournal.com profile] mybutterflower (mitsouparker) ( PG | Digital Painting ) 25-Dec-2015
Summary: Draco & Harry are snogging in the snow after shopping in Hogsmeade.
This is absolutely stunning! I love how absorbed in each other they are (evidenced by the spilled candies!), and the lovely color scheme and soft-focus background. The contrast between Draco's hair and Harry's hair is perfect too, and the whole scene is so amazingly holiday appropriate. A gorgeous and beautiful piece of art!




Note: Authors and artists are still anonymous. Names will be added after the reveals!
snowgall: (close-up)
I was so excited Monday night to see that my [livejournal.com profile] hd_owlpost gifts had posted! And how lucky am I? I got three amazingly awesome gifts in three different media - fic, art, and video!



Fic: New Dawn's Light by [livejournal.com profile] lauren3210
Word Count: 3200
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Harry seeks a meeting with Draco after the war.

What a beautiful story! I love how well it captures the sense of the lyrics "And how can I blame you / When it's me I can't forgive?" from The Unforgiven III. When the author wrote, "There are lots of dates that they have to avoid each other for. Harry doesn’t think he’ll ever know how to change that." it was just so poignant.

I also love the idea of Before and After here. And this line:

Maybe there should be a different category for some people to fit themselves into, a group called something like, Managed To Survive a War After Watching Loads Of My Friends Die, Now What The Fuck Do I Do?

Just sums up how Harry feels so perfectly!

And then the ending is so lovely - especially how Draco says that they should have been doing this from the start. Ah, those foolish, foolish, boys :)




Art: Something Old, Something New by [livejournal.com profile] awickedmemory
Medium: Digital art - comic
Rating: G
Prompt: "I've been wanting to do that since 4th year"

I love this! It's wonderfully drawn and depicts a great moment.

I think it's awesome how the artist interpreted my prompt: "I've been wanting to do that since 4th year"! I never would have thought of that myself, but it works perfectly. I enjoyed this so much!!




Video: Hold On by [livejournal.com profile] knowmefirst
Music: Stay by Rhianna
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A video of Harry and Draco

Oh this is awesome! All the best Drarry moments from the 6th and 7th movies set to a terrifically moving song!

I'm so impressed by the video editing skills here and can't imagine the time it must have taken to put something like this together. I think the editor's choice to keep it all black and white helps tie it all together cohesively and matches the tone of the song.




Thanks so much to the creators of these excellent gifts - they really made my day!
snowgall: (close-up)
So much wonderful art has been posted during the [livejournal.com profile] hd_fanart fest this year! These were my favorites, but you should check them all out - seriously!



The Boy Who Scored by [livejournal.com profile] alby_mangroves ( R | Pastels ) 26-Nov-2015
From the prompt: Blowjob or sex in the shower
This piece is so gorgeous! The expressions on both of their faces, how we get a hint of what's happening but nothing actually explicit, the look of the shower, the artist's skill with working with pastels - everything is so well done! Such wonderful naturalistic details too, like the way Draco is holding Harry's glasses. Beautiful, beautiful piece of art.
Salvation by [livejournal.com profile] citrus_lime ( PG-13 | Digital ) 8-Nov-2015
From the prompt: Harry as an Angel, Draco as a Devil – or the other way around, Draco as an Angel, Harry as a Devil.
Another beautiful and stunning piece of art! I love the pose and their expressions - it looks like a renaissance painting. They both look like angels to me :)
The Photo Booth by [livejournal.com profile] isinuyasha ( PG | Photoshop ) 4-Nov-2015
From the prompt: Harry and Draco are in a photo booth. They can make a face, smile, bicker, kiss (and even more…) or whatever the artist has in mind.
I love the progression of poses from the kissing booth! It captures so much of how I think these two would be. A lovely and well rendered piece :)
Aurors by [livejournal.com profile] lokeloke ( PG | Photoshop ) 24-Nov-2015
From the prompt: A dark alleyway/street // Uniform, boots, gloves, belts, buckles *nngh* // Wands drawn, casting spells
I love how the artist conceived of their uniforms, and the determination in Harry's expression. The whole thing is so very well drawn. I also love how the background gives the impression of detail, yet is indistinct so as not to detract from the focus of the piece. Beautifully done :)
Voldie's Minions by [livejournal.com profile] naadi ( PG | Photoshop ) 14-Nov-2015
From the prompt: Up to the artist. I just want to see Harry and Draco as any Minion character of your choice.
OMG, I straight up love this to pieces! It's so cute and hilarious and manages to be the Despicable Me/Harry Potter fusion I didn't even know I needed ♥
I love how well the artist captured the look and spirit of the Minions (ooopsies? - ha!) and I love that they gave them all the necessary characteristics to make them recognizably Harry and Draco as well. Kudos to the mystery artist!




Note: Artists are still anonymous. Names will be added after reveals.
(reposted to tumblr)
snowgall: (close-up)
Today I'm reccing a dozen wonderful pieces of fanart featuring romantic Drarry kisses.

The little cropped thumbnails are there so you can see a snippet of what the larger work looks like. Please follow the links to the original sources to see the full size art. (Thumbnails link to tumblr if available, or LJ if not. Titles below sometimes have alternate links to deviantart or LJ.)

Please show your appreciation to tumblr artists by liking and/or reblogging (never reposting as your own)
On LJ and deviantart, leave comments. It's easy!snog_by_gorgidas.jpg



moving_by_ile_o_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] ile_o
Moving
4-Oct-2011
Drarry_kiss_by_mitsouparker_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] mybutterflower
Drarry Kiss
12-Apr-2015
morning_kiss_by_dorisdoris_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] wincest_drarry
Morning Kiss
16-May-2011
He's_oxygen_by_malfoykink_100.jpg
malfoykink
He’s oxygen and
I’m dying to breathe

20-Jun-2015
 
TheFineArtofSeduction_by_naadi_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] naadi
The Fine Art of Seduction
29-Nov-2014
nothing_to_me_by_emily_fay_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] star_sailor13
Nothing to Me
21-Dec-2013
snog_by_gorgidas_100.jpg
theband
Snog
19-Jan-2006
be_my_valentine_by_dorisdoris_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] wincest_drarry
Be My Valentine
5-Sep-2011
 
keep_silence_by_chouette_e_100.jpg
chouette-e
Keep Silence
18-Jul-2012
the_savior_by_citrus_lime_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] citrus_lime
The Savior
3-Aug-2015
candycanesheets_by_quimvaa_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] quimvaa
Candy Cane Sheets
(aka Holiday Love)
18-Dec-2010
 
xoxo_by_lillithium_100.jpg
[livejournal.com profile] lillithium
xoxo
12-Jun-2008



Curious how obvious the organizing principle is for how I arranged the art in the table. Hint: it's not by date :)

* I looked everywhere to find out the name of the artist of this piece (Snog) and found conflicting watermarks. On the site I linked to, the artist is given as "gorgidas" but on other versions, the watermark reads "The Theban Band". So I'm not entirely sure about this one. If you know better, please enlighten me!
Thanks to [livejournal.com profile] germankitty for pointing me to the correct deviantart page for artist theband/gorgidas in the comments!





banner by [livejournal.com profile] capitu
snowgall: (close-up)
Just FYI, Alekina is now selling prints and iPhone & iPod cases of their artwork at society6.



Someone else had apparently been selling unauthorized versions of this without Alekina's knowledge, which is what prompted the decision to offer these officially now:

Read more... )

Note that they've cleaned up the image a bit and added detail to Harry's face:



Read more... )

Cool, huh? I don't own an iPhone/Pad, but if I did, you can bet I'd be getting one of these :) There are framed and unframed prints available too.

(images reposted from Alekina's tumblr)
snowgall: (close-up)
Title: The Saviour
Artist: [livejournal.com profile] citrus_lime
Art Medium: Digital
Rating: G

Caption: Potter's grip was strong and firm. His warmth enveloped me and I gripped back just as tight. I guess I should be questioning why he kissed me instead that Weasley girl, but. We won. We won against the Dark Lord. Potter won using the wand I threw him - we won.
(clicking the image links to the original)

Why I love it: It's so romantic and beautiful and gorgeously drawn. And it evokes the famous picture of a marine stealing a kiss from a nurse (Eisenstaedt's "V-J Day in Times Square") which is a favorite of mine :)
snowgall: (close-up)
Alekina asked me to pass along this message:

Oh! btw i've noticed some people that probably come from LJ, could you let them know that I'll send them a thank you card If they contact me at this e-mail? if it is not too much to ask tho! I want to thank everyone personally because this means a lot to me! but you know, only if you want I really don't wanna be a bother, you've done so much for me already!! THANKS AGAIN :))


You can contact Alekina at this email so they can thank you:

alekina 'dot' marlene 'at' gmail 'dot' com

(this is in reference to my previous post)

Thanks so much everybody!

snowgall: (close-up)

Reposting from tumblr:

 

 


alekina:

I’m setting up a paypal donation button, because i’m very, very broke (yeah what a surprise) i need to pay for food and our dog is sick, anything that you guys wanna donate will actually help me out, no matter how small

I’m also opening emergency commissions again (only a few slots since I still gotta finish my current clients), i’d be 5ever thankful if you could spread this around! ♥


 

In case you forgot, Alekina's the artist behind these: (originals here)

image

 

A little something I got for my donation:

snowgall: (close-up)
The 'That Picture' flash fest at [livejournal.com profile] hd_remix was such a treat that it needs two posts! My previous post contained quotes from all of the wonderful stories generated by Alekina's picture, while here I'm just going to rec my favorites :)

When Alekina first posted her amazing artwork, I was inspired to create a list of Dark Mark removal fic recs (though maybe I should have called them "Dark Mark modification fics" since the mark is not always removed!).
This can be thought of as "part 2" of that list ♥


HarryDarkMarkDraco

Best fics from 'That Picture' flash fest, novella category:

favicon Unexpected Consequences by [livejournal.com profile] lauren3210, NC-17, 39,200 words
Summary: Harry was going back to school. He was going to play Quidditch, sleep in lessons, hang out with his friends, and generally just enjoy being a kid for a change. And he was also going to do it while being bonded with Malfoy, because apparently life was just going to continue throwing curveballs at him. Harry didn't know why he expected anything different.
This fic has both all the feels and all the sex! My two favorite things!
The characterizations of Harry, Draco, and Hermione in this fic are so well done. We understand right away why Draco would agree to be bonded to Harry for the year, and why Harry would (reluctantly) agree to this as well.
There are so many wonderful details throughout the fic that reveal how much attention Harry and Draco had been paying to each other in previous years and why they know each other's habits and preferences so well. And there's this whole section where Draco is first musing on the rumor mill and his own feelings and wants for Harry, which was simultaneously incredibly moving and incredibly hot.
And there's so much wonderful wonderful sex in this story! But best of all, all of the sex scenes are important in terms of character development and plot. They are not merely gratuitous.
This was a wonderful, wonderful story, and I'm so, so, happy that it sprang from my prompt. But honestly, even if this hadn't been written for me, I would have loved it still. It's fantastic. (extended rec at hd-storyroom)
Dark Mark remastered: Harry takes over the control of the mark, but doesn't change it


favicon Like Diamonds We Are Cut With Our Own Dust by [livejournal.com profile] raitala, NC-17, 10,914 words
Summary: Draco has borne the mark of the Dark Lord for over ten years. It is familiar to him, but he pays the price for it every day, and Harry has noticed.
This was so beautiful, and so perfect! The image she painted with her words fit the image Alekina painted with her brushes just flawlessly.
The premise here is that Harry and Draco are partnered cursebreakers. Harry comes to realize that Draco's mark is a drag on his magic and that it has been searching for a new master. Indeed, Harry can feel the pull of the mark on himself and offers to remove it. It's a question of trust: can Draco trust Harry to remove the mark without installing himself as its new master, and can Harry trust himself not to give in to temptation? I just adore Raitala's dry wit in this story. So many wonderful lines. And I'm in love with her biting, sarcastic, irreverent Draco, and her restrained yet oh-so-powerful Harry too.
Dark Mark removal: Harry decides to remove Draco's mark


favicon Where Darkness Follows by [livejournal.com profile] alpha_exodus, NC-17, 12,000 words
Summary: Harry dreams of snakes and darkness, and Malfoy is always watching him.
This was a really really fascinating story and well told. I was totally sucked in and trying to figure out what was actually going on! What was the connection between Harry and Draco and why does it make Harry's head hurt? Fortunately, the revelations at the end were delicious and lovely and heart-wrenching. ♥
Dark Mark removal: Harry decides to remove Draco's mark


Best fics from 'That Picture' flash fest, single scene category:

favicon Harry Potter and the Mysterious Portrait Painter (or How Harry Came To Realise Draco Has A Magnificent Arse) by [livejournal.com profile] create_serenity, PG-13, 1,600 words
Summary: No one had much minded when the pictures first started appearing; even Draco only greeted them with a raised eyebrow. Now it seemed Harry really should have given them more thought.
This was an utterly delightful scene. The dialogue was just great: absurdly meta and full of wonderful snarky banter. And I loved that Draco was fully conscious of just how devastatingly attractive he looked :) My only complaint is that the story needs a continuation! Why is Alekina painting portraits at Hogwarts, and when will Harry and Draco just give in and start snogging? The public needs to know!
Dark Mark meta humor: Draco asks Harry what he's doing to his mark


favicon The Artist by [livejournal.com profile] lumosed_quill, PG-13, 1,200 words
Summary: They said a thousand Galleons would buy the best. I should have known. Nobody uses language like that unless they mean him.
Beautiful and intense and with a terrific ending. I loved the way we got into Draco's head in this scene - that Draco hadn't known it would be Harry until he saw him arrive, and that Harry had no obvious reaction to seeing that it was Draco. And the way she described how Harry touched Draco as he was removing the mark was perfect. Now that's just how I'll always picture it.
Dark Mark removal: Harry is asked to remove Draco's mark


And just to entice you further, don't forget these were all inspired by this wonderful piece of Drarry fan art:

Alekina

He wants to laugh at the irony, he really does, as he lets Potter
brand his arm and override the dark mark with a new one.


credit (art and quote): Alekina

snowgall: (close-up)

"That Picture" Scenes

The 'That Picture' flash fest at [livejournal.com profile] hd_remix has just ended and I am in awe of all the amazing stories inspired by Alekina's fantastic art:

 

Alekina

He wants to laugh at the irony, he really does, as he lets Potter
brand his arm and override the dark mark with a new one.

credit (art and quote): Alekina

 

The old saying is that 'a picture is worth a thousand words', but in this case it was actually worth over 92,000 words from 11 different authors :)

I thought it would be cool to excerpt quotes from each of the fest fics of the scene which most closely resembles Alekina's picture. In order of publication:

 


 

Read more... )

 


 

Note: my previous rec list of Dark Mark removal fics were not inspired by Alekina's art, so I will be posting a new set of selected recs from this fest shortly! here.

 

snowgall: (knitting)
As I'm sure is obvious, I'm totally in love with Alekina's recent Drarry art. But I think is important to point out that popular art (and fic) is good for the fandom. In this case, I even have the evidence to prove it.

My LJ blog is relatively new, and in general doesn't get a whole lot of traffic. According to Google analytics, most days I'm lucky to get more than 15 pageviews. (When I post my "Best of the Year" lists, the traffic bumps up maybe as high as 120 pageviews for a day, but that's about it.) But when I recently posted a list of "Dark Mark Removal fics" to appease the demand that came from the art, Alekina reblogged the link to tumblr. And Holy Cow. I got nearly 400 pageviews on that post in a day and a half. And it's still by far the most popular thing I ever posted.

And the point is, I recced four fics in that post, and I'm pretty sure they all benefited from it.

Only one of the four fics I recced is on AO3 (Becoming Us), so that's the only one I can easily track. It had been posted to AO3 for about 4 months (129 days) before my rec went up. In that time it had earned 87 kudos, which is an average of 0.67 kudos a day. My rec (and Alekina's tumblr boost) went up Feb 16. In the 11 days since then "Becoming Us" has earned an additional 20 kudos, for an average of 1.8 kudos per day. Basically its kudo rate tripled.

Now, maybe it would have earned those kudos anyway--it's a good story after all--but I think the timing makes it pretty clear that the boost from Alekina had something to do with it. And I like to think that the three other fics I recced also got more love and readership as well.

So maybe that's just an effect on a handful of fics, but I don't think it's limited to that. Alekina has posted to their personal blog many examples of fans writing to say that that artwork caused them to search for more Drarry fics, or get back into the fandom, or create newly inspired Drarry art, and even people who don't normally ship Drarry are into it.

So when a piece of art gets super popular it's good for everyone in the fandom. It creates new fans, jumpstarts interest in overlooked fics, inspires authors to write, and inspires artists to draw. I don't think that celebrating that means we're putting other artists down. I think it means that we're excited about our invigorated fandom and are eager for artists and writers to keep creating new works.
snowgall: (close-up)
So you saw the amazing artwork posted to tumblr by Alekina...

 
Alekina
credit: Alekina

 
...and want to read the fic it's based on, but can't because it's not based off of any existing fanfic. Well, if you just desperately want to read a fanfic where Harry helps Draco change/remove his Dark Mark then I can rec a couple of fics for you:

 
Click for recs )
 
Those are the two best fics I know of that involve Harry in changing Draco's Mark. If that's not enough for you, I know of two others which are decent reads as well:

 
Click for two more )
 


 
More in this series:

 
snowgall: (close-up)

This image was just posted to tumblr yesterday and it has exploded over there. I'm not sure how many LJ-ers check out tumblr, so I thought I'd post a link so y'all can see this lovely thing (click image for larger version on my tumblr page):


Alekina
credit: Alekina

He wants to laugh at the irony, he really does, as he lets Potter brand his arm and override the dark mark with a new one.

It's not based on any existing fanfic. So if any of you lovely writers happen to be inspired to write a fanfic based on this artwork...well that's my evil master plan after all. *please*
 


 

Update 1:

Update 2:

[livejournal.com profile] hd_remix hosted a 'flash fest' to generate fics inspired by this art, which took place April 9-15, 2015


 

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