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florahart has the utterly charming custom of producing a series of ficlets each year during her birthday month, as a present to the rest of us. And each year, there are quite a few gems among them. To say that her mind works in interesting ways is on a par with observing that the pope is Catholic.

Today's birthday ficlet has established her, beyond question, as the foremost practitioner of crackfic in our generation.

That is all.

My usual flavor is slash, of course. But when the writing is this fine, all preferences can be tossed aside.

Title:Things We Lost (and Found) in the War
Author: xylodemon
Pairing: Severus/Minerva
Rating NC 17
Warnings Het is not a warning

Summary:Two people, two wars, and a few of the things they learned along the way.


xylodemon is a very fine writer, and the only reason I don't rec her stories more often is that she tends towards characters and pairings that aren't usually my cuppa. But I saw that she'd posted a Severus/Minerva story, and couldn't resist. And wow, was curiosity rewarded here: this gorgeous work.

I'm not sure where to start: the perfect characterization and voice for both Snape and Minerva, or the deft way she fits her scenes into canon, or the lovely, taut, and understated tone of the prose. All of these strengths sparkle and shine. The narrative structure is also very well done: the series of scenes go back and forth here, ducking and weaving through the various canon books, deftly weaving the tale of a complex relationship. This story has a very adult conception of their connection, and I loved it so. Not to be missed.

Sign ups for the hp_beholder fest have begun, and I'm here to coax you into considering joining us (or perhaps watching).

hp_beholder is a fic/art exchange that celebrates those characters sometimes called "less desirable," by the undiscerning. You know: the ones with wrinkles, or a few pounds around the waistline. Or the ones who won't be elected Homecoming queen/king. The ones who suffer from a serious dearth of action, in fanfic.

You can pick a short list of these characters, and will be assigned a request that features at least one of them to write/draw. Note that you are free to pair your character with the fanfic superstar of your choice: thus, you can pair any of them with Harry. Or even Draco, if you must. Last year, I wrote a nifty Snape/Ollivander, and had fun with that. Of course, if you all chose to write some sort of Snape rarepair for this fest, I sure wouldn't complain. But it's up to you.

Questions? The guidelines that lay out the time table and who you might be writing about are here, and the sign up post itself is here.

And as icing on the cake, I offer the inducement that the mod, the lovely bethbethbeth is one of the most reasonable, kindly, and organized mods available on the market today. You couldn't ask for better.

*wheedles*

Because everyone complains about the weather, you know. But no one does anything about it.

Comments are down. I mean, I’m not the only one who’s noticed this. There’s been desultory chatter at my end of LJ about this phenomenon in the last few months: posts that a couple of years ago would have drawn several dozen comments (or maybe even 100) now get a handful. I wasn’t that much fussed about it. Maybe I’m just less interesting, or less engaged with the fanon and canon. Except that pir8fancier and others were noticing the same thing on their journals, too.

And then I occurred to me that now would be an interesting time to run the numbers. To collect and tally and think about the numbers generated by some hit counters I put on some of my stories and meta a year ago. The numbers of hits have been piling up for a year, and now would be a nice time to evaluate what they might tell us about reading habits and commenting. ( Read more... )

Because I got a couple of belated presents!

schemingreader committed meta for me! It's for Your Own Good, Severus, which has some very smart things to say about why some of us find Snape and dubcon interesting and it's full of great insights and wow, it left me feeling very lucky indeed. Go, read!

And THEN, to top it off, a double drabble arrived in today's mail from snakeling. I will boldly claim credit for being one of those who pimped her into the Vorkosiverse, and my efforts are well repaid here: with a clever Ivan/By double drabble. Ivan's rather convoluted and intelligent cluelessness never palls, for me:

( under the cut )

Wow. In my pre-LJ life, I never had so many people remember my birthday as happens nowadays. I am truly very fortunate. And fandom really is a gorgeous, creative potlatch.

Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes my way: I hope that this coming year is better for all of us. And thanks especially to those who created things just for me!


meri_oddities wrote a gen Snape & Harry story for me, Better Days. It's obviously pre-slash to these jaded shipper eyes, and I found it curiously heart-warming. There was something that was just . . . emotionally satisfying about this one, and it has a lovely attention to detail. And I love Snape's daughter's name. Anyway, if you enjoy very fine Snape & Harry, this would be your cuppa, too.

odogoddess wrote a true Snarry for me, Like a Different Man. Snape is stubborn and Harry is clueless and Odo has a very fine ear for how long-established couples sound when they're batting a topic back and forth. It's sweet without being at all cloying, which is a trick that I myself can't pull off. But Odo can!

Check them out! Because one of the lovely things about the fannish birthday potlatch is that while the story/meta/drabble/art is done in honor of one person, everyone can enjoy.

Because Pirate and PJ asked for this, and I can’t say “no” to either of them. With thanks to Flora, who came up with Bellatrix’s and Lucius’s LJ styles.

( Read more... )

So, we were twittering, as you do. And xochiquetzl and I started kicking around how various people would use LJ. There are a variety of ways to play with social networking platforms, and I think how you use and present yourself on LJ reflects your own values and personality.

And “people,” of course, leads directly to “Snape.” Always the first person to come to mind, in any fannish discussion that I’m part of, obviously. So, we wondered: how would Snape use LJ?

Which leads to the question: how would any of them have used LJ, if it had been available at Hogwarts?

( Read more... )

There was a gratifying new bumper crop of stories set in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosiverse, this Yuletide. I've been enjoying a lot of it, and may post more recs later. But for now, I wanted to flag the first parts of longer story that was simply outstanding: some of the best fanfic I've read for this canon, ever.

Title: Tide of Stars I and Tide of Stars: Intermission
Author: unknown, until the Yuletide reveals go up
Rating: none given. Gen, and I'd give it a PG rating at most, so far.
Warnings: none


Summary: To say it hasn't all been happily ever after for Miles Vorkosigan would be a severe understatement. After an astonishing series of personal cataclysms, he is once more on the run - with no authority, no friends, and no back-up.

This is billed as the first two parts of a story that will be completed in the New Year, and boy, do I hope that comes soon. "Gripping" is an overused word, but there's no better way to describe this. Miles is thrown back some years in time, to the period covered in Mirror Dance, and must deal with his own younger self, Mark, and the Imperium (which sees him as an interloper, of course). Characterization for all three of the principals is perfect, and this older Miles has clearly got a heartbreaking backhistory that I can't wait to see explored further. The plot is as fast-paced, complex, and compelling as any seen in canon, and I was on the edge of my seat by the end of the first segment willing Miles to succeed; this makes you hold your breath and race ahead in your reading. Wonderful stuff. Leave comments, and urge the author to post the rest soon. I can't wait to see how this finishes.

No, no. Your children are safe with us. Really.

This is for meri_oddities, whose birthday has arrived. I felt that the topic was appropriate, for a meta written for her, since her stories were chief among the crack that pulled me into this pairing. Happy Birthday, dear. I hope you enjoy this.

( The attractions of cross-gen, done in shades of Snarry )

We'll pretend I posted this before midnight, eh?

This is for the lovely bethbethbeth, who graces fandom with good humor and polished skills. I hope you had a wonderful birthday at Terminus, dear! And that you enjoy this, whenever you see it.

Title: Sparkling Clean
Pairing: Harry/Snape
Rating: Eh. Hard R or NC-17, depending on your tastes
Warnings: Nary a one, for kinks. But if you want to stay completely unspoiled for the Twilight series, don't click.
A/N My thanks to my Twitter enabler/betas: Femme, Atrata, Lola, and Catrinella for the quick read-through and the ebullient ending.

Summary: Harry's a fan. Snape is not.

( Sparkling Clean )

This piece was written for djin7, who makes running a fest perfectly look easy, and who thus helped bring a whole new raft of good AU Snarry into the world this year. Happy Birthday, DJ!

(with thanks to fabularasa, whose observation on this subject was the springboard for this piece)

( Why buy a Barbie when you can have Snape, all dressed up as a pirate? Or Dean, dressed only in a little black rosary? )

The Snarry Games has produced some wonderful work, this time around. So many of the stories have been clever, amusing, and entertaining. And those are just the ones I've read: the flood of stories has my "to read" bookmarks folder bulging.

Fests are gifts to the fandom, and I admire how well this one has been managed. But there's a thorn to every rose, and one drawback to such a feast is that a truly original and stunning story might get overlooked, in the flood of Snarry goodness. I wouldn't want that to happen to this story, or some others I want to post reviews of. This story . . . it's going to haunt me for some time to come.

Title: When the Rose and the Fire Are One
Author perverse_idyll
Rating NC 17
Warnings She warns for rough sex, but I wouldn't have seen it that way. I mean, what is a little nibbling between friends? There's a character death, but not in the main pairing and it's not harrowing. It's AU in terms of taking liberties with the ending of Book 7.
Word Count 81,000 elegant words. Save this one for when you have a whole afternoon free, eh?

Summary Harry's haunted by guilt. Snape's warded by roses. Each must free the other in order to free himself.


I don't know where to start. Perhaps first with my astonishment that this is the first HP fanfic that this author has ever written. As far as I know, the first story she's ever posted (hard as this is to believe, on the evidence). Where has she been hiding this light, I ask? ( more flailing under the cut, along with an attempt at a review )

I don't think that any of you are short on reading material at the moment, what with the Snarry Games and H/D Cup fics. So, you might want to bookmark this for later. But the reveal for hp_beholder went up the other day, so I can point to it here.

Because with me, it's all about the backstory, my dears.

Title: A Lesson in Wandlore
Pairing: Snape/Ollivander (I think I get points for rarity here. But that's true for a lot of this fest's offerings)
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Nope. Snape is over 18 in this one, and fandom has convinced me that this all must be legal, in the wizarding world. I mean, they apparently do it so often.

Author's notes: This was written for fluffyllama, who handed this Snape-obsessed writer a dream request. I was given substantial help in improving this from two of the best writers in this fandom, florahart and pir8fancier, who both have my gratitude. Truly, an embarassment of riches there. And bethbethbeth is the Platonic ideal of a mod, making it a pleaure to participate. So, I was lucky all the way around on this one.


Summary In which Severus becomes old enough to be interesting.


A Lesson in Wandlore

See, here's the thing: my father taught me that it's actually better to be lucky than smart.

And in the hp_beholder exchange? I was definitely lucky.


Title: The Sword of Slytherin
Author: Someone pretty damn talented, I can tell you that much.
Pairing: Snape/Slughorn
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nope

Summary: Dumbledore needs Snape to make a sword, and he has...maybe a year.

I know what you're thinking. It's only reasonable to suspect that I'm rec'ing this because it was written for me.

But no. This story is simply a gem, and it doesn't matter whom it was written for. And it's a marvelous argument for rare pairs, too.

This is a cunning story. I mean, just smart and deft, through and through. It weaves in and out of Book 6 with such sly intelligence that I was knocked flat, by the end. The plot premise is such a nifty one: Dumbledore has loaded one horrid task after another on to poor Snape's shoulders in canon, so why not this one, too. He orders Snape to create a false Sword of Gryffindor, to replace the real one when the time comes. And Snape does his best, growing into the job.

The Snape here is a deeply appealing one: he's a man of many parts and they're all interesting. His humor is note-perfect, and I relished how his mind worked. Slughorn manages to be simultaneously pathetic, pitiable, kind, repellent, appealing, and sad. I don't know how the story manages all that. But you can see why Snape takes his comfort from the man.

And as if clever plot and strong characterization weren't enough, the prose style alone would have made this story rec-worthy. It's lovely, with so much conveyed with an elegant economy of words. Polished is a poor understatement, here.

My cup runs over. If you don't demand a major pairing, and you want something that is cunning, touching, deft, and amusing, I'd urge you to give this a try.

Probably most of you are too mentally sound to want to click on the link below, and see the results of yet more Peeps activity. But amelia_eve came for Easter, and showed what she's made of when it comes to Peeps craftsmanship. I mean, her Dumbledore and Umbridge Peeps are a thing of beauty, to me. Hermione came out pretty well, too.

( but in order to avoid mass defriendings, they're all under the cut. Totally worksafe, and image heavy scenes from canon, reimagined in Peep Technicolor )

Because the Easter Bunny! Snape Crack Art & Ficlet Challenge is a really bad idea whose time has come.

I give you, below the cut, a series of truly unimpressive-looking HP character Peeps. Including Snape Peep.

( with apologies for the slightly fuzzy resolution. Image rich below the cut, and as utterly worksafe as only Peeps can be. )


Now, having seen that deathless example of arts and crafts fu, I'm sure you're thinking to yourself: "Gee, I could do better than that!"

And I'll bet that you can! And you still have another day to post Easter Bunny! Snape Crack Art & Ficlet. Post it in the comments to the original challenge post (either here or on the LJ challenge post) or on your own journal, by Saturday evening.

Easter (aka the Christian Cooptation of the Equinox) is almost here!

Inspired by Isis' gift of this marvelous icon, and building on the Ancient Fannish Traditions, such as my wildly successful Fluffy! Snape Crack Ficlet Challenge, I would like to invite you to play in another fannish sort of event:

The Easter Bunny! Snape Art & Crack Ficlet Challenge!



Wizards dress rather oddly: we all know that. And they adapt Muggle traditions and objects for their own use.

So, how do you think the sort of sugar high that must be induced by consuming an entire box of peeps would play out, if you were the Weasley twins? (perhaps something like the experiments done here?)

What would it take to get Snape to wear a bunny suit?

And if someone cast a hex on Remus which made him sprout bunny ears and a tail just before the full moon, would he turn into a werebunny? Want to draw that one?

Did you realize that Harry always wanted some little purple peeps shaped like small dinosaurs? But he's too bashful to say so.

( But all these and more can be explored in the Easter Bunny! Snape Crackfic Challenge. )

This is for meri_oddities, who has been so generous to me. In more ways than she realizes.

I remember small [1960s science fiction] conventions as immensely pleasant, very personal, a sort of combination party and free university-----Joanna Russ

There are HP cons, and there are science fiction cons. And then, there are media fandom slash cons. ( And if you're on my flist, you should come to the con. Srsly. )

This story shows the striking creativity that one can sometimes get with a rarepair. Because when it's an unusual pairing, there are no fanon stereotypes or cliches to dismantle in one's head, and almost any approach will be a novel one. ( And when the rarepair is written by one of the best writers in the fandom, the results can be profoundly engaging )