some kind of snark fairy

As usual, some of these are a bit behind by now (going back about two and a half months). See tags for what's in this batch; I think there's more gen than usual (has some recs from snapecase and deatheaterfest).

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This entry was crossposted from http://shyfoxling.dreamwidth.org/281887.html, where there are comments.

Today's smorgasbord includes Severus/Harry, Severus-Lily failing friendship, Severus/Lily with Severus/Remus, ensemble-cast gen, Severus gen, poetry (!), Beatles crossover (!), Severus/Regulus, Regulus gen. ( Read more... )

This entry was crossposted from http://shyfoxling.dreamwidth.org/247816.html. I encourage you to comment on it there. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, you can comment with your LiveJournal account as an OpenID.

It occurred to me hat I haven't recced anything off deviantArt in a while. ( Beware, here be many thumbnails... )

This entry was crossposted from http://shyfoxling.dreamwidth.org/247742.html. I encourage you to comment on it there. If you don't have a Dreamwidth account, you can comment with your LiveJournal account as an OpenID.

Roleplay Drawings by ~sevenluck on deviantART


Under A Black Cloud by ~MistressBlackwater on deviantART

I like Regulus's expression in the top one, and the second is just really striking. Will make a nice desktop, methinks.

The Slytherin Commonroom by =lilyhbp on deviantART

My commission from lily_hbp. This Regulus is almost enough to make me swear off Severus.

...almost. ;)

(Once you go Black...)

Secret Santa by aramintasnape (Severus/Aurora, sexy fluff, R, 2875 words)
Every year, Albus organises a Secret Santa for the staff. This year, Severus decides to liven up the proceedings...

Three words: Black silk lingerie. Hee! Also, this is set in my favourite under-written era for Severus, the young professor (1980s).

Christ, what was wrong with him? Maybe Albus had slipped him a Get-Totally-Over-Excited-and-Act-Like-An-Idiot-At-Christmas potion on the sly. It couldn't be possible that he was actually looking forward to Christmas presents.

-----

There must be something in the water mulled wine this year, because besides mimimanderly's A Visit from Severus, we also have A Visit from St. Severus by hexgirl (both are a strong PG-13 or soft R, I think):

His black eyes they glinted! His skin was like chalk!
His cheeks were like marble, his nose like a hawk!
The sneer on his lips was enough to rouse fright,
And the hair on his head was as dark as the night.

-----

Sort of oldish, from this summer's Snarry Games:
Connecting the Dotty by igtow (Severus/Harry, romance/family, PG-13, ~19200 words)
A gentle tale of growing old together.

igtow's summary pretty much says it. Harry and Severus begin this story aged in the middle of their second centuries, and it's about them and their considerable number of descendents and family dealing with Severus's growing senility -- and, as the story goes on, some of Harry's problems as well. This grabbed me in the gut early on and didn't let go. I'm having a really hard time picking a good excerpt out of this because it doesn't seem to want to be carved into little chunks like that. So... next!

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A Severus Christmas Carol by Strega Arvay (gen/supernatural, PG, ~26900)
What the Dickens? Severus Snape finds himself at the end of the year, feeling particularly foul. Leave it to the 'ghosts' of Christmas Past, Present and Future to set him straight. AU story with DH spoilers! Takes place in Harry's 5th year... sorta.

Probably a cliched idea by now, but I thought this was a good take on it that had its own life and didn't feel limp or stale. Regulus stands in for Marley, and the three spirits are Lily, Dumbledore, and (naturally, given the appearance) a Dementor. It has the predictable ending as it's a clear example of based-on-X homage, but again, I was taken with the way the HP characters were adapted into the known storyline and made relevant there with their own twist.

Snape stood transfixed by the scene in front of him. He wanted to believe with all his might that the heat in his face came solely from the setting sun shining in through the kitchen window. Without looking at Dumbledore, he asked, “Tell me, does [Harry] live or die?”

“That I cannot say, Severus,” Dumbledore sighed. “I only know what lies… well, technically, what lay ahead of me in my life. But I do see an empty chair at the Gryffindor table, and a wand without an owner. If things remain as they are then, yes, I do believe Harry will die.” His voice changed, harsher and cutting. “But he should consider himself lucky, right? Lucky to be so blissfully removed from the torment of this world?”

The echo of his own words cut through Snape like a knife [...]

From the script for HBP:

Slughorn, with practiced ease, mixes a concoction of powders and potions into a goblet while Ron peers into a mirror. As he paces, Harry passes “the shelf” and finds, front and center, a PHOTOGRAPH of himself and Slughorn -- the one taken at the Christmas party. In deep b.g. is photograph of Snape, as a young student, clutching his POTIONS TEXTBOOK.

SLUGHORN
I’d have thought you could whip up a remedy for this in no time, Harry -- an expert potioneer like you.

HARRY
I figured this called for a more practiced hand, sir.

I was excited to get hands on the DVD finally because I thought I could freeze-frame it and finally find this, but IT'S NOT THERE. Slughorn's shelf isn't in this scene at all as far as I can tell, and it's far too far away in an earlier scene ("Did Voldemort ever get on the shelf, sir?") to tell hardly anything at all about the pictures except that they contain people and someone's riding a broom in one of them. Grr. I'll have to actually watch the film and see where else the shelf appears, if anywhere, but I'm annoyed about this. Not only does it mean lack of young Severus (who ought to be there; Alec Hopkins did do the tiny bit of filming required, AFAIK) but Regulus too, who was supposed to appear in a photo like this, I thought.

Did anyone else actually find this, and could tell me where to look? (hh:mm:ss would be helpful, if so)

edit: I'd forgotten Regulus appears in the Slytherin Quidditch photo near the beginning of the film, so yay for that, even if we don't see him again. Any clues on Severus, though?

Nice drawing of Regulus Black in hp_toujours today: It's my normal expression by as-yet-anonymous
(G/worksafe portrait)

for nehalenia, an unfortunate week-plus after her actual birthday, from this prompt, Five things in Sirius Black's closet (or drawers, or wherever he keeps his clothes and stuff).

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for lilyevans_snape from this prompt, Five things that get Regulus Black aroused.

1. Fingers brushing against the upper inside of his thigh or the small of his back. If for some reason he wasn't already in an aroused state (given the prior intimacy which such touches imply), these will take him there in short order.

2. The sound of Severus's voice. So many modes of it can make him shiver, from Oho, now I've got you right where I want you to soft sadness to rare and quiet laughter. Regulus would love to hear that voice in cry of ecstasy or song, except for fear that he might perish from the joy.

3. Pretty girls and pretty boys, he's not that much particular, although he tilts some to the latter. He adores the sight of beauty, and it's funny how it can get him partly hard without him feeling like he wants or needs to do too much about it. In such case he just enjoys the feeling of arousal for itself.

4. Soft, exquisite kisses, much more so than firm ones. Hard ones will do once well-involved in passion, but as an opening play, he much prefers to be approached with gentleness. The right technique can have him raging hard in moments, and wonderfully, a certain other Slytherin seems to possess the proper instinct.

5. Being wrapped in arms and legs and pressed against another's body in a space or bed just this much too small to comfortably take both, so every motion, even breathing, brushes skin on skin, and you can hardly keep from kissing everywhere your mouths will reach.

It is an IC entry in an RP journal (and "private" at that), so obviously no replies, but please, please, do yourself a favour and go read this post from a Regulus awash in grief, disillusionment, remorse, sorrow, fear, and turmoil, and coming to the conclusion that he must Do Something About Voldemort.

(Final entry also very poignant, given canon death.)

The Right Decision by unbroken_halo
(200 words, PG)
Double drabble about Severus making the choice and taking the Mark, the first from Voldemort's POV and the second from Severus's.

Highly Toxic by midnight_ljc
(~530 words plus art, PG-13, mabye barely NWS if a girl in a bra or hints of teenage sexuality are a problem)
Older Severus/Lily (2006). Yummy and tender and sad. I especially like the way he's kissing her cheek and jaw in the last picture. I've had to re-read this a few times before the narrative actually fell together in my head, because it's told kind of backwards, but I love its dreamy quality.

The Raven by atdelphi
(~800 words, NC-17)
"A play on Poe's famous poem: Filch receives a rather persistent late-night visitor."
Severus/Argus Filch. Wait, wait, come back! It's only a parody, and a hilarious and very well-made one at that. And somehow, even though it's potion-induced and the, er, unfortunate victim of the blast radius is Filch, somehow Severus's insatiability still comes off really hot.

Trusting in Fanfiction by gmweasley
(~475 words, soft R)
Severus/Remus. While we're on the subject of humorous poetry, yeah? This one is original, not parody, but is also quite well-constructed. In brief, I LOLed.
It occurred to Remus one fine day: his past was unrewarding
So off he set to start anew; in short, he stopped Marauding.
He said goodbye to all he'd known; decided to commit.
At last he found (or so it's told) our favourite Greasy Git.

Five things Regulus Black regrets in his life and one thing that he doesn't by curia_regis
(~1300 words, PG)
This is great in so many ways. I love the Severus/Regulus content, the hints that from the first he doesn't really want to do what his family apparently expects him to, and the quiet bravery. The little bit of Severus expounding excitedly on a potion to little Regulus because he made the mistake of getting him started on the topic is just precious.

Can't Run But by kaydeefalls
(~5850 words, PG-13)
Gen with Regulus and Draco in alternating sections, eventually dealing with the locket Horcrux. Older stuff again (2005), set after the end of HBP, so canon-shafted now (albeit not that badly). I like the echoes between Regulus and Draco, and Severus gets some great lines in this:
Snape looks over at him sharply. "A coward?" he repeats. "A coward would have exulted at the opportunity before him. Dumbledore was a weak, helpless old man, without even the strength to run. A coward could have killed him."
"So what does that make me?" Draco snaps, his face flushing with shame. "Less than a coward?"
"It makes you a human being," Snape replies shortly.

Players by snegurochka_lee
(~3500 words, NC-17)
"If Grimmauld Place is a stage, and all the men and women in it merely players, then there really isn't any reason for Snape to take it all so seriously, now is there?"
Again a bit older (mid 2007). Severus/Sirius with plenty of hate in, although it's that special kind of Snacky hate that has clearly got something else going on inside of it. Focuses on how, as Sirius observes, Severus's entire existence is this constructed stage show, and how Severus gets off sexually on that. Characterization is razor sharp on both; I love Sirius's bad attitude and the aside that "Remus isn't any fun any more".

Since I've already gone and violated taboos today, here's something else that contravenes several of what I have deduced to be the commandments of fanfic:

1. Thou shalt have thy work betaed (at least if it's over a certain length).
2. Thou shalt have thy work Britpicked (where applicable).
3. Thou shalt not post WIPs unless thou dost not mind losing a lot of thy possible readership (the many who refuse to read WIPs until they're completed).

I just want to seem like I'm doing something, yeah?

Title: Lost Causes
Characters/Pairings: this part Lily/James talked about, Sirius/Remus hinted at, Severus, Regulus
Rating: this part PG
Words: this part ~3100
Summary: Second chances are all well and good, but sometimes things really are lost. Maybe. Depending on your definition of "lost".
Warnings: As said above, unbetaed, unBritpicked, and WIP. Future parts will contain both slash and het, strong language, and drug use.

( Lost Causes )

Regulus - dark by fishbizkit
(Regulus, G)
I like the way he's depicted under dim lighting here, which makes his grey eyes almost seem to glow. He's determined and resigned, and looks his young age. The two dark sketches on the background seem alive in that curious way that quick sketches can.

S.B. by melete
(Sirius, G)
Watercolour Sirius, leather jacket and all. He's got a swagger to him that I like, and his haircut is very much like I picture it.

Sirius, for Anita by slytherkins
(Sirius, G)
Forget that guy they showed us in the OotP film (I mean what); this I can believe as the best-looking bloke in school. Has that pretty-boy pureblood thing down pat.

Time by saridout
(Severus/Harry, PG)
Tender depiction of Harry's death, and what comes after. Great job with the firelight in the scenes. I could swear someone actually wrote a fic inspired by this, but I can't remember where I read it...

PERIL in the Dragon's Lair! by nimori
(Severus/Harry, artist rates it "R lite", but I'd call it PG, even with Ginny's comic-book boobs -- definitely worksafe)
This killed me. I said in my comment, "This is so awesome I may have just got awesome poisoning", or something like that. Harry, Severus, and Ginny as they would be if printed on cheap pulp in four colours, Spandex, ridiculous storyline and all.

What I Did On My Summer Vacation by littleblackbow
(Severus/Harry, PG)
This doesn't need any more recs but I'm going to do it anyway. It's that good. Harry and Severus are drawn back together through Harry's son and Severus's daughter (who is darling with Daddy's nose). Have a box of tissues handy; you'll need them. (This "universe" has its own IJ asylum, smiths_potters, which includes another video if I remember right, and more stories and art.)

Solace by (still anon, real soon now though)
(Severus/Sirius, PG)
A beautiful piece, clean and fine. So much black hair is, of course, a visual treat (I freely admit this is one of the things that initially attracted me to this pairing), but the urgency and need comes through too. It's meant to be set during the summer after GoF, which makes me wonder if I should be spending more time thinking of that time period re: writing Snack.

I saw a car this morning with a license plate frame from this place:



So he's living in San Rafael and doesn't want to get involved? (to paraphrase Douglas Adams)

I could only have been more amused if it had been, say, a Bentley dealer...

Everyone must instantly go look at the totally awesome Severus and Regulus art that lily_hbp painted for me. YES. INSTANTLY. THIS MEANS YOU! NO DAWDLING!

http://lilyhbp.deviantart.com/art/The-Bravest-99455819

things i'm gonna do (G)
A seriously gorgeous drawing of Regulus with the locket. I mean like wow.

Snack (PG for silly kissyface)
*sporfle* Yeah. Snack: it's kinda like that.

Severus HBP (G)
Apparently mostly lighting practice, but I like the moody atmosphere and young Severus's (he looks maybe 12-13 to me) morose expression.

The First Wand (G)
G for Good God That's So Cute, that is. Little Lily and Severus getting their wands.

Snape, memories (G)
Just a simple sketch, but I love his melancholy expression, and the shape of his nose is oddly beautiful.

At the Top of the Hill (G)
Severus kneeling on that dark windy hilltop, offering Dumbledore "anything". All the fine lines give this the look of an engraving. His cloak and hair being whipped about in the wind are wonderful.

Boys Night In (NC-17 and very NWS)
Severus/Sirius/James: it tastes better when it's consensual (at least that seems to be the intent). someoldcat has a gift for pleasured facial expressions, I think. I dare you to look at Severus's face and his hand grabbing the sheet and not drool. (Also: Sirius, lol get a hairstylist.)

via melusinahp:

1. The first character I fell in love with: Severus. Dur-hay. But...

2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:...this is probably true too. I mean, I always liked him, but I fell hard after DH. (Yeah, I'm one of those.)

Also, Regulus. Never thought much about him before fandom, but fandom taught me to love him too.

3. The character everyone else loves that I don't: Luna. She's all right, don't get me wrong, but a lot of people seem to be over the moon (no pun intended) and she just kinda rubs me the wrong way, especially in the films.

4. The character I love that everyone else hates: I'm not a fan of any of the real underdogs like Grawp, so I don't think I have an answer for this. Where Marauder-hate is common, then I could say Sirius.

5. The character I used to love but don't any longer: Maybe Harry, actually? I kind of fell out of sympathy for him. He became less someone I could identify with and root for as the series went on.

6. The character I would shag anytime: Severus, but he needs to be reasonably like the one in my head. No bait-and-switch with a scary creature out of the mind of Mary GrandPre, nor impossible bishie Sev. I'm all for pretty boys with long dark hair, but that's different. If you cross a certain line it's just not Severus anymore, and it's him that I... aaamm not going to wax fangirly about because language like that belongs in a fanfic in someone else's mouth. Ahem.

Sirius too, I think. JKR might have me on "bad boy syndrome" there, but the question wasn't "who would you have a long-term relationship with". :P (What was that I was saying about pretty boys with long dark hair that weren't Severus?)

I say "boys", but I am thinking somewhere age 23-28 (I can haz newbie Professor Snape plz?), and also not the 48 they'd both be if they were canonically alive right now. I've gotten over ~20-year age differences as an a priori turnoff in fic, but my own real-life tolerance is about age 20-35 (depending on, uh, stuff).

7. The character I'd want to be like: I don't think there are any. Rowena Ravenclaw lol. Like there's enough to go on there.

8. The character I'd slap: I'd like to give Dumbles a poke in the twinkly eye sometimes, but you don't really go around slapping 110-year-old wizards, now, do you?

9. A pairing that I love: Severus/Lily. Severus/Sirius. Severus/Regulus. Sirius/Regulus (just to prove it's not all about Severus :P ).

10. A pairing that I despise: I don't despise any; everyone has their tastes, even if I don't understand them. There's a lot of Severus pairings I don't like, though (/Minerva, /Moody, /Shacklebolt, /Dumbledore, /Arthur, /Bellatrix except under certain angsty/drama circumstances, the list goes on). Draco/Hermione. Fenrir/anyone.

This Masterpiece of Nature by anneline. Snape had friends; he still has them.

This ~6000-word piece is mostly gen, featuring a bunch of Death Eaters (Severus, Regulus, Bellatrix, Wilkes, Avery, etc), and has very slight Severus/Regulus content (a brief kiss and implied fellatio). It was posted in April of 2005 so is strictly neither HBP- nor DH-compliant, but aside from how Regulus died and some timeline niggles (e.g. Bellatrix would not have been at school with Regulus), it mostly still works very well indeed.

In any event, canon-compliance is not really the point with this one; it's the characters and the overall picture painted. This is a wonderfully delicately handled portrait of these people. Death Eater politics. Bellatrix before she was crazy. Regulus the agitant. Avery the sycophant. Rodolphus being annoyed with all the philosophical talk and just wanting to talk about Quidditch for once. ;) And of course, even the bad guys have feelings when things go pear-shaped for them.

Excerpt, after an opening scene with Severus dusting photographs he rarely touches:

"Severus! Rescue me, why don't you, my dear?" Bellatrix said, "I'm being ravished."

Severus smiled, "I'm no match for Lestrange."

Bellatrix shoved his head with her free hand, "Some friend you are."

Severus laughed and fell forward with exaggerated clumsiness. Really, Lestrange he could handle -- it was Bellatrix you had to watch -- fast as a snake-bite and utterly without mercy.

He rolled down the hill a little and then lay flat on his back in the grass staring straight up. The wide blue sky stretched out, a ribbon tied around the whole future which fate had gift-wrapped just for them -- for him and his friends.

There's no photo of that day.

Title: Not Every Flavour
Rating: PG
Characters: Severus Snape, Regulus Black
Word count: 100
Prompt: snape100 #204 Weather
Warnings: kinda emo!Severus. And a bit of a ripoff of an idea from Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

---

Severus stared sullenly out the rain-streaked window of the train.

"Have a bean, go on," said Regulus.

"Piss off." Severus listened to the rain beating an insistent and, he hoped, silencing tattoo.

"Don't make me put one in your mouth."

Regulus sounded a little too eager about that idea. "I'll have your fingers if you dare. Besides, they don't come in the flavour I’d really like to try."

"Oh? What flavour? You'd be surprised."

But Severus ignored Regulus and resumed watching the rain. And after that damned fiasco by the lake last term, now I'll never get to try it.