New Updates Thread

[katreus]

All degrees anyway. IMO, Sirius WAS a bully at times.

[ECSNorway]

The best Anita Blake / Stargate SG-1 crossover I've seen ... well, okay, the ONLY AB/SG-1 crossover I've seen, but it's well worth reading - has a new chapter.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[jpub]

tjalorak, I don't deny that. What absolutely *blew my mind* on Birthday Present was a bit where they were talking about how Draco/Goyle/Crabbe had been basically hexed into goo at the end of OotP, and how everyone was *so* disappointed in the other students for doing that, and how it was horrible that D'dore let them get away with it, etc etc.
Completely forgetting the fact that the three were planning on attacking Harry et al. at the time, and that they had basically been terrorizing the entire school for the whole year.
At which point I was really wondering if the author would have tried to make the Death-Eater-Wannabes sympathetic if they had actually succeeded in some of the more reprehensible acts they tried in OotP.

I'm all for painting characters in different lights based on your interpretation, but the complete villainization of everyone who *isn't* Snape and his Slytherins by *everyone* in the order in that work is beyond OOC right into Bizzarro-land.
What really breaks it is that there's no rationalization or explanation for this sudden change in viewpoints. It's not like in...[searching for example]...Sunset over Britain, where the OOCness is explained and developed enough to make it acceptable. In Birthday Present we're expected to just accept it out of the blue, with nothing to support the viewpoint or to explain the sudden revision of characters that had been shown to be *at least* unsympathetic so such a viewpoint in the source material.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I hate that fic. It doesn't even reach my on the visceral 'talking to my neuroses' level that jbern's Bungle in the Jungle does.--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel

[Custos Sophiae]

It certainly over-idealises the Slytherins. The Gryffindors do have flaws - all humans do - but it should be possible to show that without rushing to the opposite extreme.
As far as the train goes, the Gryffindors had ample provocation, but does that make it right? That is an age-old question, with no clear answers. A fairer fic would establish that there were faults on both sides, though definitely not evenly balanced, and let the reader draw their own conclusion.
Overall, I'd say that the Gryffindor in general are so certain they are right as to be on the verge of hubris - consider Hermione and the house elves - and hubris is always dangerous. If you don't believe you can cross the line, you probably won't try not to. However, that is only a potential danger. The Slytherins we know about have crossed the line long since, making them considerably worse the our heros.
Aside from the characterisation issues, it is a well-written story, with some powerful scenes, especially considering it appears to be only the author's second fic. (Their first wasn't bad, as such, but centring the story on a chess tournament was not a good idea.) The author does have talent, but also a skewed idea of the Potterverse. It'd be interesting to see them in another fandom, or even attempting something original.

[Norgarth]

'Prophecies? We Don't Need No Stinking Prophecies!' pt 15 is up.
www.tthfanfic.org/Story-8...hecies.htm__________________
I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.
___________________________
"I've always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific." - George Carlin

[katreus]

Ah... sounds rather skewed. I'll avoid it I think.

[Disruptor]

Birthday Present. Hmm. This author sounds like the Jovanka Kink of the Harry Potter fandom.
Jovanka Kink? She's better known as Raksha and insists the Decpeticons are the good guys and the Autobots the bad guys. She also calls the Beast Wars Megatron pretender to the name.
No thanks, reading one screwball's rant/fics was enough for me.Tom Mathews aka Disruptor
--------------------
Tom Mathews aka Disruptor

[Custos Sophiae]

In the Potter fandom lots of authors take a pro-Slytherin viewpoint - not the majority, but not just isolated eccentrics either. After all, if Harry can repeatedly be wrong about Snape, he can be wrong about the other Slytherins. Also, the notion that a quarter of the school, and of wizarding society, is irredeemably corrupt goes against many people's sense of fair play.
No doubt Draco and his cronies are corrupt - their behaviour proves that even if they're not yet capable of cold-blooded murder - but is every single Slytherin just like Draco? Maybe, but there is room in the canon for Slytherins who aren't, whose ambition is tempered by prudence and respect for the law. (Other canons, such as the transformers, may not allow this leeway for their black hat factions, but the Potterverse definitely does.)
Unfortunately, many authors go overboard, as they do in all fandoms. If they are sufficiently skilled, and avoid ranting, their stories can sometimes still be eminently readable despite their excesses.

[Xenoproctologist]

A. Amishi's The Recruit ch. 4

[DKnight54]

Has a new chapter.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[jpub]

I was going to post a huge rant here (one that I've been building for a while) but instead I've moved it to my LJ.
jpublic.livejournal.com/72341.html

--
Christopher Angel, aka JPublic
The Works of Christopher Angel

[classicdrogn]

I've had some fun email exchanges with Raksha, a few years back - the main thing to keep in mind is that she bases her perception of Transformers on RP in certain MUSHes... and has left at least two because they weren't sympathetic enough in their portrayal of Decepticons. So, it's kind of a self-reinforcing thing for her - and I don't really have a problem with it even if I don't agree, because as long as she's having fun, that's the point. *I* call Barneytron a Pretender to the Name myself, because even compared dead on to the 80s cartoon villian, Barneytron's supposedly evil plots are just plain STUPID, and...
(enlightning bolt strikes)
EGADS! That's the explanation! Some poor hero-worshipping Predacon got himself sponged and his alt mode changed to reflect The Evil One, then sought to circumvent the Jihad before it began through time travel! TO THE WAYBACK MACHINE!
- CD was most amused by GURPS: Jihad to Destroy BarneySERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
A kung-fu nun in a leather thong was no less extreme than anything else he had seen that day. - Rev. Dark's IST: Holy Sea World
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Aleh]

The Legend of Uzumaki Naruto.-- This message brought to you by Ely Lilly, makers of SeraFem: Happy Pills for PMS.

[DKnight54]

Is updated!
Is it just me, or have I been extremely lucky to catch Viridian's updateds just as they happen?

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[Valles]

Ditto Little One.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"

[Bob Schroeck]

...has been updated, but it's been so long since the last update that I can't be sure how many chapters Rorshach's Blot has added. Top of the story is here.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Bob Schroeck]

Chapter 18: Penseive For Your Thoughts?
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Acyl]

---

...has been updated, but it's been so long since the last update that I can't be sure how many chapters Rorshach's Blot has added. Top of the story is here.

---

The author only added one new chapter, actually - 31, The Velvet Glove.
-- Acyl

[Bob Schroeck]

Thanks. I reread the preceding chapters, but nothing rang a bell for me, which is why I was confused.
-- Bob
---------
...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

[Xenoproctologist]

Desaix's Training for the Job v4 ch5 (ff.n ch65)

[DKnight54]

Full Metal Berserker Chap 34
The previous chapter was a short author's note, so there's only one new chappie

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[Rod.H]

Has updated The Nighthawk Chronicles with chapter 16, subsection 1 or Chapter 43 in FF.Net parlance.
The other works of Cyclone are fairly decent too. Now if we can only get him to focus on finishing some of his older works.
--Rod.H

[classicdrogn]

... And may I just say that I was chanting "oooh shit!" as soon as Kurenai described how this Shocking Grasp jutsu actually worked? Team 8 continues to be a story that Owns the Other Team
- CD W.O.O.T.!SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
A kung-fu nun in a leather thong was no less extreme than anything else he had seen that day. - Rev. Dark's IST: Holy Sea World
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

[Xenoproctologist]

Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past ch. 28 by Viridian (a.k.a. S'TarKan)

[Valles]

It may have been mentioned, but I missed it 'till now.
Stone Heart Chapter 4
Ja, -n

===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"