Terminally Incomplete (Spring 2014)

I have been reading several pieces, but they are all not complete and are slow to update. I have compiled a list of these stories here.

• Falling in Water: This is a HP/Supernatural story with a Ranma 1/2 twist. The premise is on a family trip to China, Harry runs afoul of a supernatural element and uses accidental magic to apparate away. Happening to find himself in the Valley of Springs, Harry falls into the Spring of Drowned Angel. Because of the inherent power of the Angel, Harry is transformed into an Angel permanently instead of merely when dunked in cold water. This destroys Dumbledore's tracking devices. ...and there the story hangs. (Chapters: 4; Last Updated: 4/20/2014)
• Harry Potter and the Death Wish: This is a HP-verse story. The premise is Harry develops an obsession with death in general, and his death in particular. The angst run high as you would imagine in a story about a prepubescent child wanting to die. There's a fair turnabout of the expectations of characters along the good/evil spectrum as this author does not divide it into the factions of light/dark. The pairing for this story, if you want to call it that, is Voldemort/Harry. I don't particularly wish to call it a pairing, as there's nothing sexual about it now (as expected by fact that Harry is still a child) and this Voldemort is more possessive friendship...well, as much as one would expect for one's favorite pet. (Chapters: 14; Last Updated: 6/6/2014)
• Shifting Sands, Swirling Seas: This is a HP-verse story. The premise is that in a 'verse where BDSM is the norm, Sirius becomes the Lord Protector of both his godson Harry, and one Hermione Granger, who are both submissive. It is set in the Goblet of Fire time period, with a freed and cleared Sirius. (Chapters: 4/15; Last Updated: 11/23/2013)

You are probably wondering by this point what I've been doing this summer, if this is for the spring. (Also why do I do this to myself when the last updates should be clear from the get-go?) Well, I've been working my way through my digital library, organizing the files, which takes a surprisingly large amount of time, as well as working through several one-shots and a large majestically crafted story that recently finished, but I'm only about a third of the way through. (Harry Crow by robst for those wondering what story to which I'm referring.)

With This Collar

With This Collar by Sierra Cartwright

I have just finished reading this novella. With This Collar tells the story of the introduction of a fiery and independent woman into the world of BDSM. She moves through her inner conflicts about the emotional and mental aspects of the kink to acceptance of her submission to the male dominant love interest.

What I particularly liked about this story was the fact that Julia did not sacrifice anything for her submission. She remains the same stubbornly independent woman throughout the story. Marcus didn't demand that she give up that fiery spirit that had initially drew his attention. He also didn't try to abuse her trust in him.  Too many stories dealing with kink seem to give the message that BDSM must equate abuse. Miss Cartwright does not send that message. Instead, she has Master Marcus talk out conflicts with Julia instead of resorting to violent reactions when those conflicts arise.

I would recommend this story to others. I would especially recommend this story to people who are curious about how power exchanges work in real life. Technical manuals can only show you so much. A fictional story involving it would show it so much better. This is a good story in that measure.

I have another story by Sierra Cartwright. I am looking forward to starting that one.

Feminism

I read a lot of things, and they come from a lot of sources. So far, I have reviewed just those stories that are completed or have been formally published. Today, I will be reviewing a post by a Facebook Page that I follow. The post is not titled and is only signed with a moderator's handle.

The post is about a type of feminism that ignores the fact that there are specific differences among women that need to be acknowledged. The challenges faced by a woman of European descent are not necessarily the same ones faced by Native women, Asian women, Latinas, and "women of color". Religious descent has its own impact upon the needs of women.

The poster went on to mention several things that this type of feminism had done in the last year. The overall feeling of the post is that of a rant, rather than an editorial. I suppose this is because it is the poster's personal feelings rather than an informational piece meant to educate women in the different stances necessary to fulfill the needs of non-European descended women.

Being a woman of native descent, Choctaw in specific, I would have liked to see more about the specific challenges of these racially diverse groups. I would have liked more of an editorial feel of the piece rather than a rant that seemed to focus primarily upon the African American group and how they were being mistreated. While other groups got a brief mention, once again a discussion on diversity among women became focused on the needs of this one group over all others.

The Ultimate Guide to Kink

I finished reading The Ultimate Guide to Kink by Tristan Taormino a few weeks ago, but I find myself rereading several bits of it in the last few days. The listed author is Taormino, who is a prominent name in BDSM literature. However individual sections are written by other well-known authors.

As the title suggests, it is a guide to kink or BDSM. While I disagree with the term ultimate, this book is a great first reference for those who are curious about the more "mainstream" kinks such as bondage, spanking, flogging, and role play. My argument against the use of the word ultimate for the title is I would have reserved that for a more be-all/end-all guide.

In particular, I enjoyed the descriptions in the impact play section were handled. It describe not only how to use the tools presented, but also how they were going to feel to the receiver and how to do aftercare for the different activities. And when I say aftercare, I am referring to both for the receiver as well as the tools.

I would definitely recommend adding this to your library if you are at all interested in BDSM or plan to write in the genre.

Banking on Her

I finished Banking on Her by robst last night. This is actually a reread for me.

It's a Harry Potter fanfiction by an author whose works I always enjoy. This author specializes in stories with quick moving romances, usually prompted or ending in a soul-bond. He also specializes in various kinds of Harmony romance. For those who don't follow the Harry Potter relationship names, he likes to pair Harry Potter and Hermione Granger along with various other females in the canon (excepting Ginerva Weasley).

Banking on Her follows the idea of Harry Potter realizing Albus Dumbledore's manipulations and coming to the conclusion that he would not live to graduate Hogwarts. He hatches a plan to get him out from both situations but in order to protect his memories, especially those of a certain bushy-maned bookworm, as well as his assets, he has to depend (or bank) on betrothal to a witch. He would consider no one other than his best friend for the job. The story goes on as the couple struggles with outside forces trying to manipulate the situation or flat out kill them.

The story is a decent length at over a hundred fourteen thousand words, but is actually a really easy read. It's packed with action and humor. It's a great story that is worth adding to your Favorites. There's nothing explicit in the story despite the consummation of Harry Potter being used as a solution to the Voldemort problem.

Gypsy Caravan

I have just finished Gypsy Caravan by WitchdragonGC. It is a Harry Potter fanfiction hosted on Fanfiction.net. I really liked this story. I saw many parallels with a story of my own that is currently in progress while the story was unique.

The story followed the idealization of Harry Potter being raised differently than in the books. In this case, Harry was raised by a traveling troupe of performers. The troupe is made up of squibs, which are people born to magical parents that lack that quality themselves. Harry eventually returns to the magical world to face his destiny, finding love along the way.

There were several things that I disliked however. The pacing suffered badly at times. Certain periods dragged on longer than they needed to while other periods came across as rushed. There was also jagged bits from where the author wrote in sex scenes that didn't necessarily affect plot but then just yanked them for presentation on Fanfiction.net--a site that is well known among the fanfiction community for its strict ban on X rated scenes.

Gypsy Caravan is a lengthy read at 224,000 plus words but it is really worth the read. I would warn that there are several yaoi pairing throughout the story. However, there is not any graphic bits within the story itself. So if you are okay with the concept of men loving men, but do not wish to actually know what they do in the bedroom, this would be a good story. This story is rated M for mature, but without the sex scenes, it does not deserve the rating.

A Resolution to Read

I have made a resolution to read more during the year 2014. I am hoping to update twice a week with information of what I'm reading and what I think about said reading.