Assorted Harry Potter recs (fic, art & resources)

[citiesandsigns]

It's definitely cold season. I'm feeling rather pathetic today, I have to admit. Propping myself up with coffee and throat lozenges, which is, for the record, a completely disgusting combination. Also trying to get on with more reading for this essay that needs doing; in terms of number of pages read my progress today has been excellent, but in terms of retaining or organising information the results have been more questionable.

Anyway, while I'm feeling useless, I'll throw this out here; I've got a small assortment of recs that I've been slowly collecting in different drafts without ever getting around to sharing, so I've decided to just dump them all in one post. Things I just randomly found, things from
snape_potter's most recent fest, & things from minerva_fest (which is still ongoing). Lots of Snape below, & quite a lot of Minerva.

1. Fanworks I've met on my travels outside of specific fests:

• Fic: No Room for the Weak by
  perverse_idyll (10,500 words, PG, Eileen Prince, Severus, Harry)
  There's a Boy Who Lived and a boy who didn't, and even a mother can't always tell them apart.
  
  I really loved this story. I mean, I read it and then I rolled around on the bed a bit in glee and probably scared the cat. It explores the horrible mess that is the Snape family and doesn't flinch, but also doesn't oversimplify, which is what I still feel like the books themselves do when it comes to messed up families. There's love here, but it a mess too, and it doesn't help in the slightest. I really love--Harry's incomprehension. Eileen's belligerence. Everything about Snape. (Snape listening to Joy Division in his late teens in a fit of overblown angst is a masterstroke, imo. Personal bias duly acknowledged.) Basically, this is an excellently-written fic which deals with things I've always wanted to read more about; obviously it's an instant favourite.
  
  
• Art: Snape and McGonagall by
  lastlabyrinth (G)
  
  I have a real soft spot for these two, er, existing in the same room, basically. Marvelous designs, marvelous expressions, and I love the fact that Minerva has thistles on her hat. Good grief. ♥
  
  

2. I'm not actually caught up on minerva_fest, but a few things that have caught my eye so far:

• Fic: Connect the Stars by ? (2,000 words, PG-13, gen)
  Minerva faces many battles over the years. Here are several of them.
  
  I do love a good character study. This is definitely a good character study! It's a collection of scenes from a life, and the details are very well-chosen throughout. Thoughtful and powerful.
  
  
• Fic: The Case of the Living Portrait by ? (10,500 words, PG, gen)
  After the war, Harry insists on having Severus' portrait painted and put up in the Headmistress's office. However, the painting remains silent and unmoving. Minerva decides to investigate.
  
  Minerva has always wanted to be Miss Marple; as such, this is a detective story. I enjoyed this fic a lot more than I generally enjoy Christie's books, I have to admit! Minerva's investigation into whether Severus is alive or not, and where he might be found if so, is delightful; the story is well-paced; and I particularly enjoyed Minerva's internal conflict around what exactly she thinks about Severus anyway, when all's said and done.
  
  
• Art: Off Season 1980 by ? (R, Minerva/Poppy)
  A visit to the seashore, Sept. 5th 1980
  
  Just love the mood of this, and also, you have no idea what I'd give for more good femslash art to exist in the world. Totally sold.
  
  

3. I was meant to write up my recs from
snape_potter's First Time for Everything fest weeks ago, but I suppose it's better late than never:

• Fic: Disinherited by emilywaters76 (44,000 words, R, warning for violence & implied rape)
  At times, he wonders what it is that’s keeping him alive. Perhaps it is the need to understand where he and Albus have erred, and how they could have miscalculated the entire thing so badly.
  
  This story my top pick from the entire fest. It's an imaginative, speculative story, which diverges from canon at the end of HBP by assuming that Snape doesn't escape from Hogwarts, and works from there. I felt as though I was encountering something I hadn't read before, and it made me enthusiastic, even though I have reservations about some of the content (I mean, I looked at the warnings and almost didn't even try).
  
  It's a very delicate balance, this story; Snape goes through so many awful things, to the point where I really wondered if it would be possible to bring him through intact. Although the fic comes with specific warnings that I'm not trying to dismiss I also don't feel they really touch the heart of the trauma this story is built around, which has relatively little to do with abuse in that sense and everything to do with Snape's ability to believe in the narrative of his own life. With loss of purpose, really.
  
  
• Art: I'm Sorry by akatnamedeaster (PG)
  The first time the mask is taken off is always the most painful.
  
  There's such an obvious sense of an entire story in the moment drawn here, body language and expressions and the hint of surroundings that don't quite intrude. Really expressive and sad.
  
  

4. Other:

• Themed tumblr:
  magicqueers
  
  As frustrated as I am with tumblr in general, this is a fine thing, dedicated to all your upbeat queer HP headcanon. It's not necessarily for me specifically, in that I look for relatability in ways that aren't always compatible with its policy of sticking to talking only about positive experiences, but I also get how important the idea of an accepting world is. It would have been an excellent place for my teenage self, I'm pretty sure. So: not participating, but stopping by now and then and feeling sort of fond. Party on over there.
  

I also still have some recs for older Snape/Harry fics to put out there, but they'll go on my main pairing rec list. One day. When I have the brain to formulate why it is I think they're so excellent. (At this rate, that'll probably be next year. Sigh.)

P.S. Can there be a new friending meme or something for some part of fandom that's relevant to my interests soon so I can add people without going through complete fits of insecurity and then never speaking to them even to say "hi, I added you because of [x]"? Good grief. ;;