Fandom status and requests

HP fandom thing that's irritating me today: Fred and George being present in Harry's 6th year. Fred and George take their newts during Harry's fifth year, which means they're out. It's as if the author is saying "I like Fred and George, I want them around to contribute plot devices, therefore I'll just keep them and hope no one will notice." Though that's probably got to many syllables in it to be their exact reasoning.

*feels snide*

Anyhow, I'm on spring break and therefore have a decent amount of time on my hands. This frees me up to offer/request three things.

1. Anyone have any fics they'd like to see me continue? More work in a particular series? Leave a comment and I'll see what I can do. I promise to post at least one snippet at the end of the week.

3. I've looked everywhere for a picture of Ilya Kabakov's Man Who Flew To The Moon From His Apartment. If you happen across it please let me know. I'll be eternally grateful.

3. I'd greatly appreciate recs for the following fandoms:

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Spike/Buffy and Buffy/Giles, as well as any story you find particularly inspiring.

StarTrek TNG - Preferably Picard/Q but if you're dying to rec me something else feel free. I'm particularly itching from P/Q post Nemesis.

Highlander - I've caught the Duncan/Methos bug in a major way. Give me. Give me now. (Joe/Ritchie is not objected to though *g*)

Harry Potter - I've read nearly everything, but if there's some underdog fic that's not well known feel free to rec. Also, anyone know some good Fred/George? I'm in the mood for twincest.

Sports Night - Casey/Dan is just the most perfect thing, I wish more people had watched this show just so I could find more slash (not to mention still have it on air).

X-Men: I've been out of the fandom for a few years, so any particularly good fics would be welcome. I'm currently on a Bobby/Hank fix, but as it's an underwritten couple I'll cherish any recs. Just about anything Jubilee centric is also welcome.

LotR - Frodo/Aragorn/Gandalf, in any combination. Also, Legolas/Gimli or the endearing trinity of Boromir!Merry!andPippin! (say it like you'd swear Jesus, Mary and Joseph. *g*)
RPS:

NSync - I don't suppose anyone knows where I can find Helen's fics? her site www.helenish.org doesn't seem to be working, and she's all I hear about. I will say my preferred pairing is Justin/Lance, though I've got a minor fetish for Eminem/JC.

LotR - Vigo/Lij is my fav, though I would like to see a Lij/Ian.

Any DanLij's that haven't been posted to The Handbasket? do let me know where to find them.

Warning! massive overuse of ''

Yet another fandom irritant:

I'm dreadfully tired of hearing about 'masks', either worn or 'seen under'. "Enough with me metaphorical codswallop" Snape would declare upon hearing a student professing to 'see beneath his mask'. The only Hogwarts students I can think of who would even be in possession of enough 'drivel' to say anything about masks are the Creavy brothers and possibly Ginny. Yes, these characters have defense mechanisms, indifference and even a certain amount of reserve, but that doesn't mean they have to be drug into a bunch of pre-pubescent fantasies about their 'masks' being revealed.

The closest thing to masks most people posses are emotional walls, which only come down with trust and mutual respect, in other words THROUGH AN ADULT RELATIONSHIP, not because some idiotic person has declared they can 'their true self'. If anyone said to me that they could 'see beneath my mask' I'd be greatly tempted to tell them to go get stuffed, Snape I will guarantee would be a lot less politic about it.

*is iritated*

And another thing, the reason I got into Harry/Snape in the first place is because it has so much more potential for a real adult relationship to be portrayed than any other pairing. These are two people who don't like each other. There is almost no possibility for them to have a relationship if it isn't based on mutual respect, which would have to be developed by the author.

They aren't like Harry/Draco where hormones and antagonism are more than enough to get them into bed. There is a process that must take place to show why they would get together, especially if it's during Harry's school years. Having them jump into bed simply because they've looked at each other a certain way is quite simply cheating.

It's cheating the characters. It's cheating the story. It's cheating the reader.

*takes breath*

This isn't to say that I don't enjoy a good pwp, something with minimal setup and the only real reason behind the relationship is a mutual strong attraction. The trouble is that the overwhelming trend in the fandom is to avoid the actual issues that would come up. Especially in fics where the characters are supposed to "live happily ever after" there's a tendency to ignore the fact that there is no basis for them to be together at all, much less for a lasting relationship.

If just one in twenty of you acknowledged the implausibility of your fics I'd be happy, but no one seems to realize that they're taking a couple which has the potential to help us explore the intricacies and difficulties of human interaction and relationships and reducing them to watered down Hugh Grant movie characters.

Please, can we explore real issues here? Make this all seem like more than a plot device and refuse to take the path of least resistance. I promise, we'll all thank you in the end.

On a more cheerful note:

I forgot to mention Smallville in my rec quest. If you've got a good long fic or series to recomend I'll be quite grateful.

Also, does anyone have a picture of a woman blowing a kiss that they can give me the link to? Picture searches and I don't seem to be on speaking terms lately.

Side note: lunarennui shall we go on Ivy's fandom campout? We can maintain the lurkers corner of the campground, be antisocial, and refuse to go on any hikes with the excuse that we have six binders full of fanfic to get through that weekend. Sound like fun?

For lunarennui

lunarennui, do you think this works? or is it a bit to odd for our great and t00by loff?