RatCreature's Journal

Fandom: Harry Potter/X-Men: First Class
Characters/Pairings: Werewolf!Erik, Rat-Animagus!Charles
Media used: indian ink and acrylics on paper (original is ca. 24x32cm)
Rating/warnings: Teen? (for naked werewolf)
Notes/comments: This is the gift I made for etirabys for the secret_mutant exchange on LJ. The prompt I filled was "Harry Potter AU. Erik is a werewolf and Charles becomes an Animagus to help him out."

Please do not distribute my art without my permission, i.e. do not upload my art to other sites, services, archives, or wikis. That includes uploading the images themselves to your own Tumblr, even with credit. A high resolution version of this art without the URL watermarking is available on request for private, non-commercial uses.

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Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a gnome & horklumps
Media used: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, GIMP
Rating/warnings: G, none
Notes/comments: This is the fifth in my magical creatures series, a gnome & horklumps encyclopedia plate this time. The canon description in Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them (p. 21) is "The Horklump [...] resembles a fleshy, pinkish mushroom covered in sparse, wiry black bristles. [...] It spreads sinewy tentacles rather than roots into the ground to search for its preferred food of earthworms. The Horklump is a favourite delicacy of Gnomes but otherwise has no discernible use."

Please do not distribute my art without my permission, i.e. do not upload my art to other sites, services, archives, or wikis. That includes uploading the images themselves to your own Tumblr, even with credit. A high resolution version of this art without the URL watermarking is available on request for private, non-commercial uses.

Preview:
( the image and a high resolution detail are behind the cut )

Harry Potter

House Colours, by Sarka. Slash, Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy. (ca. 12,800 words)
This is a Slytherin!Harry with Gryffindor!Draco AU, and I really enjoyed it, not least because it had a Ron who was first friends with Draco and then Harry, rather than the Ron-bashing that is so depressingly common in Slytherin!Harry stories.

Stargate: Atlantis

Snakeheads: A Love Story, by Leah. Slash, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard/OMC. (ca. 17,600 words)
I never really expected to read a John/Rodney/Goa'uld threesome, but this was written by Leah, so of course I gave it a try, and wasn't disappointed. This one was far more fun than you'd expect with this setup.

The Little Sister, by Martha. Slash, Rodney McKay/John Sheppard. WIP
I like film noir AUs, and ever since Vegas I like seeing Sheppard as down on his luck detective even more, but what makes this AU great is that the alternate reality is still based on Stargate. The setup is really intriguing, and I like that in it the Goa'uld were smarter in their take over of earth, smart enough that the majority doesn't even think of them as bad guys.

Strange Aeon, by Slybrarian. Slash, Sheppard/Mitchell, Sheppard/Lorne. WIP (ca. 32,000 words so far)
How could anyone resist a mix of Lovecraftian space monsters and with Stargate? The series is still a WIP, and I'm really enjoy how this is subtly different from canon, and the world building and hints of mythology so far have me hooked. And I like Cam in Atlantis.

To the Wide Outposts (ca. 7,490 words) and The Known From the Unknown (ca. 12,000 words), by Vain_glorious. Gen, Ronon Dex, John Sheppard.
I've recced the other two stories in this series (Where the Ways Divide and In the Nights When I Am Lone) already, but in case you missed these two that have been posted since my last recs update, it doesn't hurt to point the 'verse out again. In it Sheppard has been made a runner by the Wraith and is found and taken in by Ronon and his Satedan squad.

Star Trek: Reboot

Open Up My Eager Eyes, by June. Slash and femslash, Kirk/Spock, Uhura/Gaila. (ca. 15,000 words)
This is a fusion with Pump Up the Volume that was written for reel_startrek. I really enjoyed this, even though I'm not particularly into high school AUs or into making Spock a human/loosing the SF elements in Trek fiction.

Lensflare Lover, by Leftarrow. Het, Pike/Enterprise, Pike/Number One. (ca. 7,300 words)
This has a cool premise in which the spaceships have avatars.

In Truth, by Mint_amaretto. Slash and het, Kirk/McCoy, Spock/Uhura. (ca. 3,570 words)
This is a really creepy, twisted AU, as any mix with the Dollhouse concept (not the series itself, more the basic premise) should be.

The Sky Was Made for Us Tonight, by Waketosleep. Slash, Kirk/Spock. (ca. 5,500 words)
In this AU Vulcans decided to supervise humanity more closely, and Kirk and Spock are delinquent rebels together after meeting in a holding cell and staging a prison break. I enjoyed this scenario a lot.

Supernatural

Untitled SPN Snippet, by Cofax. Gen. (ca. 1,300 words)
I wanted this to be longer and an apocafic epic rather than a snippet, but the world building was still interesting.

Teufelshunde, by July. Gen. WIP
In this AU Sam and Dean grow up with a foster parent after John has been arrested. I really like the OC and the structure with the flashbacks here works for me, even though flashbacks aren't my favorite things.

Rain Falling Down, by Maychorian. Gen, Bobby, Castiel, Jimmy, Dean, John. WIP (the series, individual stories are finished, ca. 20,000 words so far)
In this AU Castiel travels back in time to prevent the apocalyse, but things go wrong and he gets stuck in his host as a kid without his full powers, and lots of angst and h/c ensue.

And Burn the Long-liv'd Phoenix in her Blood, by Tabaqui. Gen. (ca. 6,800 words)
In this AU Mary survives, but they still hunt. I enjoyed the setup and look at their lives.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a diricawl
Media used: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Rating/warnings: G, none
Notes/comments: This is the third in my magical creatures series, a diricawl encyclopedia plate this time, showcasing their escape method. The crosshatching in this took me forever. Okay, a couple of hours, but it felt like forever. Also, after I had already drawn that predator cat, it occurred to me that HP canon says they come from Mauritius, so there wouldn't have been any cats. Oops. OTOH maybe some magical cat preyed on them, I mean, why would they have developed the vanishing thing otherwise? Without enemies they would really been like the dodo I think. Anyway: *handwave*

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Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a red cap
Media used: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Rating/warnings: G, none
Notes/comments: Some time ago I drew a bowtruckle supposed to look like an excerpt from an old book about magical creatures from the HP universe. I wanted to do more in this style and did a poll which creature I ought to draw next. The red cap got two votes, all others either zero or one (it wasn't a popular poll, heh), so here it is. Admittedly my turn around time isn't exactly fast. I also have to give credit to amelia_eve for suggesting a title for this imaginary work, because I couldn't come up with anything, and she commented with several options in the bowtruckle post.

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Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: a bowtruckle
Media used: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, black tea, GIMP
Rating/warnings: G, none
Notes/comments: The drawing is finished, however I hope there'll be better text eventually that would make it seem more like an excerpt from an old book about magical creatures from the HP universe. For now I've just added some text labeling it like a plate in an encyclopedia would be, so you have to imagine the suitable text going with it. Its style is supposed to reminiscent of early encyclopedias, like Diderot's from the 18th century with copperplate engravings of observed plants and animals. My attempt at this isn't very convincing because this is the first time I've done a b/w picture in ink with crosshatching since I think 9th? grade when we learned the technique in school, but considering that it is not so bad. I may do more HP beasts in this style eventually as part of this imaginary book too, but I haven't decided which yet.

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At least I'm fairly sure that I didn't just imagine its existence. It was drawings of HP magical creatures, but done in a style of an old bestiary, i.e. the art was faking to be excerpts from an old book about magical creatures from the HP universe. The art looked like old vintage prints and there might have been bits of text too, though I'm not sure about that. At first I suspected it might have been one of gnatkip's pieces, but I haven't found it there, so that doesn't seem to be the case.

Does anyone know which fanart I'm taking about? For all I know there could be several with this premise, as it seems a really obvious thing to do, and in that case I'd like to see any variations on this theme too, but mainly I want to look at the cool fake-bestiary again that I seem to remember... And if I somehow hallucinated this and it doesn't exist, why on earth not?? Really there should exist HP bestiaries with vintage pictures.

This is what happens if you don't tag compulsively, you never find things again. I really should start again to tag all art I look at, just like I do with fic.

Also, and this is a totally random topic shift, I got a tiny tomato plant yesterday. Not that I have a garden or anything, but I thought that maybe I could attempt to grow one in a largish flower pot in my kitchen, which is really sunny and there is a good spot for it near the window where it isn't in the way. I suspect that even with the large pot I choose to put it in it probably won't grow as well or as large as it would in a garden, but I thought it'd be nice to see something grow, and I'm not really a flower person. I mean, if it does lead to some fresh tomatoes that would be great, but it wouldn't be a big loss of an investment if it turned out that tomatoes really need an actual garden with real beds, after all it was only 60 cents for the plant, plus the 80 cent for the bamboo stick I also got with the optimistic anticipation that it might grow successfully and I'd have to bind it to something, like all the tomato plants I've seen in gardens are. I guess I'll see how it goes soon enough.

Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Pairings: Severus Snape/Kingsley Shacklebolt
Rating/warnings: PG? (sexual kissing, but no nudity)
Media used: pencil, fine liner pen with waterproof indian ink, acrylic paint, a tiny bit of white conté chalk
Notes: This took a ridiculously long time to color (bricks! how I hate them...um, moving on now *g*), but it's finally finished. It's this Snape/Shacklebolt scene in the alley from Beth's In From the Cold:

"Severus loosened his grip on Kingsley's shoulders and slid his hands down Kingsley's arms. He stopped when he reached the ends of Kingsley's sleeves, encircled Kingsley's strong-boned wrists with his fingers, then pulled Kingsley's arms up over his head. Severus transferred his hold of Kingsley's right wrist so that both of Kingsley's hands were pinned against the brick wall by one of his own, then Severus slowly lowered his other hand until it came to rest on the top of Kingsley's head.

Severus ghosted his long, sensitive fingers over Kingsley's scalp, surprised by each tiny bump and dip in what seemed perfectly smooth from a distance. He slid his hand down along the side of Kingsley's head, and he could feel Kingsley lean into his palm while Severus traced along the edge of Kingsley's ear with his thumb, clicking his thumbnail softly against the small silver hoop that hung from the lobe. Severus leaned in and took the earring in his mouth, turning the hoop slowly with his tongue."

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I had a rather neat Harry Potter/The Sarah Connor Chronicles dream. Unfortunately I didn't write it down right after waking up, so I've already forgotten the plot, but it was full of action-adventure stuff. I think, iirc, the main premise was somehow that the SkyNet and Terminator machines were initially built to take care of the wizard war problems and fallout by the muggles for their protection against magic, perhaps even through time travel, only of course that backfired somehow (don't ask me how the HP and Terminator timelines were made to match up, it just worked in my dream!), and now John Connor had to fight both the Terminators and evil wizards or something. I think he and his mom may have hooked up with Harry & Co. at some point, but I'm not sure anymore of the details. Still it was a pretty cool dream. And of course there'd be great potential for our teenage heroes who are expected to save the world to commiserate in this setup, but my dream wasn't heavy on the teenage savior angst.

First, the whole Harry Potter thing is making me jittery. I haven't sought out the leaked copy because I'm not about to slog through hundreds of pages as crappy photographs, that's just unpleasant for reading. Not to mention that I don't really reread the HP books, so I'd rather read it the one time as proper book. But it is hard to keep away, knowing other fans have already read the book and are talking about it, even though my f-list is good with not spoiling me so far. (*insert the obligatory dire threats here*).

I will only get my copy on Saturday and I'm not the fastest reader, so at the earliest I'm going to talk about Deathly Hollows on Sunday if at all, and then I will of course use cut-tags and be very careful not to mess them up accidentally.

But until then I definitely need to distract myself with fandoms besides HP-- those still exist after all, even if half of my f-list apparently decided to avoid LJ and sometimes the internet entirely to be on the safe side. Anyway, thus I'm going to talk some more about Batman comics, in particular:

Year One: Batman/Ra's al Ghul #1-2 (written by Devin Grayson, pencils by Paul Gulacy, inks by Jimmy Palmiotti)

One of my main reasons to buy these (besides being a general sucker for all Batman comics DC publishes) was actually that I found the three color covers (black, white, and red) really attractive. I like the interior art okay too, but not as much as the covers (take a look at cover #1 and cover #2). If only the story had lived up to the packaging...

For the sake of my sanity I didn't even try to figure out why this is published as "Year One". I don't think this is supposed to fit in Batman's "Year One" or even just his early career, but rather after Batman: Death and the Maidens? But I don't have Ra's al Ghul's backstory that present. Maybe it is because of some flashbacks in the comic, and those could be made to work somehow in his first year.

First, while the basic idea that the Lazarus Pits affect death and life's balance in general was neat (even if what exactly their connection is was never really explained in any remotely consistent or logical way), the plot built around this was too thin for 96 pages. On the bright side, it had zombies, which is always a plus, but I can't say I enjoyed much else.

And even the zombies weren't particularly great specimens. Okay, so destroying the Lazarus Pits somehow stopped and even reversed death, thus the zombie problem, but I didn't really get why that particular horde of disgruntled undead was after Batman.

The action sequences were plain confusing sometimes, like when Batman was running from the zombies I had no idea how he suddenly got into the Batmobile again after, or if that even was still the vehicle he started out in earlier that night, which was definitely a car not some sort of glider. Yet later his vehicle could suddenly fly. Traditionally the car can't, right? So maybe what he used then wasn't the car, but some magically appearing Bat-Glider or whatever that was supposed to be, that we don't even see him remote call as far as I could tell. Maybe the Batmobile car transformed into a glider.

I also didn't understand what happened to the zombies he lured into that supermarket, did he lock them up there somehow? I couldn't tell, later it seemed he did lock them up, leaving them to rampage there, but why didn't they smash the glass?

Other times the action was just boring. You can tell that a comic has too little plot if it shows a frelling snowmobile chase over eight(!!) pages. Eight. I like certain kinds of action in comics, but snowmobile chases just don't come across that well in this medium. Certainly not if they last eight of the 48 pages in an issue and that on top of other chase scenes. And in a fairly pointless flashback at that.

Anyway while we get zombies, we don't really get to see Batman fight them for plain zombie fun, he flies flies around the globe interspersed with boring Ra's al Ghul flashbacks about some magical peach, and then Batman happens to find a monk chanting the Lazarus Pit formula, yet Ra's al Ghul followers were too stupid to figure that out... The whole thing made no sense to me.