The Seriously Severus Tour (with a little Sherlock Holmes just for fun)
A Quiet Moment bysigune (Artist's gallery: http://sigune.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Hello there! I am so pleased to be able to take you on an encore of the 'Seriously Severus' Tour I gave you in the fall. There are so many new sights to see (and a new fandom, too) that I hope you'll find yourselves as enthralled with these as I was. Those of you who were around for the first tour through my obsessions will note that I have followed the same sneaky Slytherin formula as last time. I could not choose between art and fic, so I have 'illustrated' my tour. Note that these were not actually drawn to accompany the fic they are paired with - I just loved them and thought they'd work with what I was rec-ing. So, with that disclaimer, everyone on board the bus and we'll get this party started!
~~~o0o~~~
Green by mothwing (Artist's Gallery: http://ladymothwing.deviantart.com/)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: 'Now That I Am Older' by Adela
Author:kellychambliss
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/severusbigbang/48271.html#cutid1
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Minerva, Adela Edwards (OFC) and her family
Rating: PG-13
Status: Complete
Summary: Adela Edwards has turned 13, and now that she's so much older, she sees the world and Stephen and Miranda a little differently from the way she did last summer. AU (Severus lives)
Why I fangirl this: I rec-ed Kelly's original Adela story on my first fangirl tour, and begged shamelessly in my write-up for a sequel. To my great happiness, this appeared at the re-opening of the Severus Big Bang Birthday Bash, where it was the Belle of the Ball. Adela is just as delightful this time around as she was in the last. Her voice is perfect, and seeing Severus and Minerva through her eyes is a real treat. She has Definite Ideas, our Della, about what the mysterious 'Stephen' and 'Miranda' are up to and what all of the strange things which happen when they are around mean. There are, as usual in any kellychambliss story, so many lovely turns of phrase and terrific details that you just don't want it to end. So, Kelly . . . what happens next? (Subtle, I'm not. ::g::)
~~~o0o~~~
Lapdog (or Wolf?) by fabledtruant (Artist's Gallery: none found)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: The Stupendous Snupin Film Club
Author: skitty_kat
Link: http://snupinsanta.annex-files.com/viewstory.php?sid=425
Rating: PG
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Remus Lupin
Status: Complete
Summary: An introduction to muggle films with Lupin and Snape. This could be fun.
Why I fangirl this: It's art! It's a story! It's fabulous, and fabulously funny, with witty details in every panel of this comic. Your face will hurt from grinning by the time you are done.
~~~o0o~~~
Always Winter by lilyhbp (Artist's Gallery: http://lilyhbp.deviantart.com/gallery/ )
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: No Pepper Up for the Brave
Author: duniazade
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapecase/11864.html
Rating: PG
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Lily Evans
Status: Complete
Summary: Severus hated Pepperup. Not so much the taste as the way it made him feel like a boiling cauldron, full of angry broth and ready to spill over.
Why I fangirl this: The first of many fics I'll be rec-ing from the extraordinary snapecase . I really loved this story - every little thing about it: its pragmatic take on an 11/12 year old Severus who does not yet feel as if he is on perpetual Pepper-Up ('like a boiling cauldron, full of angry broth and ready to spill over' is a pretty cogent description of the adult he will become), the still close friendship between he and Lily and the way just being at Hogwarts is tearing it apart, true to themselves minor characters, the twisted morals of the wizarding world laid bare, and a story which reads like both a slice of day-to-day life at a school of magic and a fairy tale. Wonders abound here and I only wish I could describe them better. Just go read.
~~~o0o~~~
Star of Wonder by BulletTimeScully (Artist's Gallery: http://bullettimescully.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: The Northern Sky in Winter
Author: cathedralcarver
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapecase/11423.html#cutid1
Rating: PG
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Hermione Granger
Status: Complete
Summary: When it is darkest, men see the stars.
Why I fangirl this: This piece is just extraordinary for all that it's a sadly common situation. An aged Severus, married for many years to Hermione, has begun to suffer from dementia. He forgets little things, loses objects right in front of him, forgets what he was doing in the middle of doing it - anyone who has seen a loved one suffer through this knows what's coming, but somehow they overlook it until comes the devastating day when Severus temporarily cannot remember who Hermione is. As Severus and Hermione deal with the trials his decline brings, he adopts one of the most beautiful methods of attempting to hang on to his memories I've ever heard of. And in spite of everything, the end when it comes is comforting and fitting for a life lived in great courage and love. ::sniff:: Sorry - this fic needs a Hanky Warning.
~~~o0o~~~
Forewarned is Forearmed by protowilson (Artist's Gallery: http://protowilson.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: Penultimate Acts
Author: pasi
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapecase/8567.html
Rating: PG
Who is sharing this story with Severus: The students, teachers and portraits of Hogwarts
Status: Complete
Summary: Severus Snape, from nearly the end of Dumbledore's life to nearly the end of his own.
Why I fangirl this: Another gorgeously written jaw-dropper, and a masterful portrait of Severus's year as Headmaster, perhaps the best of this genre I've ever read. He is very much in control of himself and handles the complexities of his position with finesse, a keen and penetrating intelligence and the occasional bit of gallows humor, like a flicker of sunlight escaping through closed curtains into an utterly dark room. I loved watching him here, even though I knew what was coming, and the author's take on familiar canon scenes - the duel sequence especially - were better done than the originals. This is another one of those stories that epitomizes for me what the best of fan fiction is all about - taking what is familiar, and adding shading, depth and nuance so that it makes what (and who) we love about the originals all the more finely wrought and leaving us with a deeper insight into this world.
~~~o0o~~~
The Slytherin Common Room Bylilyhbp (Artist's Gallery: http://lilyhbp.deviantart.com/gallery/ )
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: Wherewithal
Author: musamihi
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapecase/14522.html#cutid1
Rating: PG
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Eileen & Tobias Snape, Regulus Black
Status: Complete
Summary: Running away from home is never easy, but everything is easier if you're Sirius Black.
Why I fangirl this: One of the best parts about fests like snapecase is finding amazing works by authors you never knew about before. musamihi had not one, but *two* outstanding works in this year's Snapecase: the harrowing To Dwell on Dreams and this story, which is another one of those perfect 'missing canon' fics whose insight leaves you gasping. After yet another soul-crushing Christmas hol at home in which a 5th year Severus desperately dreams of escape, he returns to Hogwarts to news which leaves him more bitter still. The oppressive atmosphere of Spinner's End, Severus's despair, and the social minefield of the Slytherin common room are beautifully imagined and described and coupled with an exquisite character study that conveys with powerful economy how where he came from will mold the man he will be.
~~~o0o~~~
Flitwick's Birthday by matitablu (Artist's Gallery: http://pojypojy.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: The Ballad of Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape
Author: atdelphi
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapelyholidays/30660.html
Rating: Adult
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Filius Flitwick
Status: Complete
Summary: A year in the secret courtship of two not-dissimilar Hogwarts professors.
Why I fangirl this: atdelphi is one of the most brilliant writers I've ever had the pleasure to read and she surpassed herself with this offering for snapelyholidays . This perfect ballad captures the essence of both a young Snape at the beginnings of his teaching career and a kind, sympathetic Flitwick, and chronicles the surprising love affair that springs up between them. The poetry is masterfully, beautifully done. Go and marvel (and enjoy)!
~~~o0o~~~
Loved and Killed byvizen (Artist's Gallery: http://vizen.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: Service and Servitude
Author: leni_jess
Link: http://snapecase.livejournal.com/9504.html
Rating: G
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Albus Dumbledore, Amelia Bones
Status: Complete
Summary: A wizard may be forced, or he may volunteer. Severus discovers choice.
Why I fangirl this: This is Severus in the aftermath of Lily's death, coming to the realization that both his masters have failed him (and, in Dumbledore's case, Lily - the reason he promised him 'anything') and that he needs to choose what purpose he will serve in pursuit of that 'anything'. This strongly characterized and insightfully written portrait deftly shows that process in a way that has the feel of canon, as he makes an alliance with Amelia Bones without Dumbledore's knowledge, shoulders the responsibility of being Head of Slytherin in spite of his youth and sorts through what went wrong at Godric's Hollow and what he might learn from it. Yes, he will serve Dumbledore, but on his on terms and for his own reasons.
~~~o0o~~~
That's All the Thanks I Get by katigerclaw (Artirt's Gallery: http://katigerclaw.deviantart.com/gallery/5565473)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Title: In Infinite Remorse of the Soul
Author: perverse_idyll
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/snapecase/13716.html
Rating: NC-17
Who is sharing this story with Severus: Albus Dumbledore
Status: Complete
Summary: Albus Dumbledore never makes the same mistake twice. Certainly not in love.
Why I fangirl this: As a writer, perverse_idyll is little short of miraculous. She can make you believe things you'd otherwise never credit and penetrates with devastating insight the hearts of the characters she portrays with gorgeous, mind-blowing prose. Her latest offering, the best thing to come out of the uniformly outstanding snapecase , is this acid-etched tour-de-force. The very first scene grabs you like the hook behind the navel of a Portkey and you are on a powerful, infuriating, corrosive tour of Severus's life and death from the inside of Albus Dumbledore's head. The words sing and dance and burn as they spin the tale. I could throw superlative after superlative at this and still not do it justice. A great and terrible beauty, indeed. There is a short, un-official sequel, actually released before this story, called New Life , which is exquisitely beautiful, and more than worth the read on its own. (Extra rec? Whatever are you talking about? ::g:: ) OOPS - Rec-er's addendum: I just found out that there is a genuine sequel to Infinite Remorse, and it isn't New Life. It's called And Mine The Gall. Please be warned, however, that the sequel is extremely dark - horrifying, even- and is definitely not everyone's cuppa. I thought I remembered the author saying in a reply to a comment that New Life was drawn from this universe, but I must have been mistaken. Gee, that hardly *ever* happens. ::rolls eyes at self:: That said, I still stand by my 'extra rec'. It's beautiful and more than worth reading, even as a stand alone.
~~~o0o~~~
They've Been Victorian'd by fowlhunter (Artist's Gallery: http://fowlhunter.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Sherlock BBC/ Harry Potter
Title: The Case of the Unwelcome Owl
Author:pandarus
Link: http://pandarus.dreamwidth.org/354061.html
Rating: G
Status: complete
Summary: "So," said John, feeling out of his depth once again. "An owl." It was the same mild, politely curious tone of voice with which he had previously found himself uttering such things as: "So - three bags of frozen AB negative," and "So - a selection of human ears."
"Goodness, John, with deductive prowess like that you'll soon be putting me in the shade," Sherlock said tartly. "Can't sneak anything past you, can we?"
Why I fangirl this: Okay. I admit it. I have succumbed to the lure of the shiny modern take on Sherlock Holmes. Sort of. I say sort of because I am still unable to think of this as 'really' Sherlock Holmes transported to the present day. But, it is brilliant nevertheless, and so is this crossover fic in which Sherlock is a squib and the only one of his magical relatives he can tolerate, his cousin Luna Lovegood, has decided to invite Sherlock and his Muggle friend to her wedding. I giggled my way through this whole thing, told from John's POV. I'm betting you will, too.
~~~o0o~~~
Sherlock: Problem, John? by dauntingfire (Artist's Gallery: http://dauntingfire.deviantart.com/gallery/)
Fandom: Sherlock BBC
Title: Hardly A Challenge
Author: cerise
Link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/179642
Rating: G
Status: Complete
Summary: Sherlock wants John to let him read over his shoulder as he blogs. John refuses, and a discussion ensues about the Internet, social media, privacy, boundaries and maybe something else.
Why I fangirl this: This author has *really* got Sherlock's voice and thought process down perfectly . . . you see everything from his POV, and watch his bafflement at John's reactions to the flatmate from hell. Really - most of us would have throttled this guy in less than ten minutes, but John truly has the forbearance of a saint. And Sherlock really doesn't understand what it is he's doing that's wrong. A perfect character study and some things to think about, too.
~~~o0o~~~
Holmes and Watson Sharing Smoke by spacefall (Artist's Gallery @ http://spacefall.livejournal.com/tag/drawing)
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Title: Calling Shapes and Beckoning Shadows
Author: tweedisgood
Link: http://tweedisgood.livejournal.com/127639.html#cutid1
Rating: PG13
Status: Complete
Summary: Prompt: On All Hallows Eve, canon Watson is visited by the ghost of his brother. Holmes can't see him, but endeavours to confirm Harry's presence for the sake of proving Watson's sanity. Or something to that effect. Just want a freaking out Watson, holding conversations and family domestics with apparent thin air, and a quietly frantic Holmes investigating.
Why I fangirl this: tweedisgood is the master of Holmes' canon voice: the tone, the cadence, the style are just so natural and facile you'd swear you had stumbled upon a hitherto unknown work by Doyle himself. I really adored this little mystery, told from Holmes' POV, in which he gets to the bottom of a visitation to Watson of his long-dead brother and helps him close the book on some long-buried feelings of guilt and remorse.
~~~o0o~~~
Holmes, Watson and Mary by spacefall (Artist's Gallery @ http://spacefall.livejournal.com/tag/drawing)
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Title: Antidote to Sorrow
Author: w_a_i_d
Link: http://w-a-i-d.livejournal.com/23744.html
Rating: PG so far
Status: WIP
Summary: After three terrible years, even Holmes doesn''t expect Watson to accept him back from the dead quite that readily. And neither of them expect the shocking affair of the Dutch steam ship Friesland, which so nearly costs them both their lives... Everyone has to tackle the marriage and the hiatus sometime. Here, assuming Holmes didn't simply fall off the Reichenbach Falls onto the roof of the TARDIS, is my bash at it.
Why I fangirl this: I normally wouldn't consider rec-ing a work-in-progress - I've experienced the frustration which comes from falling in love with a story only to see it abandoned by its author. But this one is so extraordinary that I can't help myself. And even if she never posts another word (though I fervently hope that will not be the case), the parts which the author has posted now are so exquisite that they are worth reading for themselves alone. The first part is a devastating look at Mary in the terminal throes of her illness, told from her point of view, giving her such an intelligent, perceptive and gentle voice that you readily understand how Watson fell in love. The second part is Watson in his grief, the loss of his two soul mates nearly pulling him under. There is also a third part -a companion piece that takes place in the interstices of parts 1 and 2 called Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage which deals with what is happening to Holmes after his flight from the Reichenbach. Every part of this so far is a work of art: beautifully written, perfectly paced and so heartrending that you'll be left gasping for breath.
~~~o0o~~~
The Hogwarts Library by pikaf (Artist's Gallery: http://pikaf.deviantart.com/gallery/293823)
Thank you all for coming on the Tour with me today - be sure to check your seat so you don't leave anything behind on the bus! ::g:: Seriously, I hope you will enjoy these and check out the authors' and artists' other works. The problem with fandom is that there is an embarrassment of riches from which to choose! My thanks to the creators of these works and so many others not mentioned here, who have enriched my life in uncountable ways. And thank you, too, to scatteredlogic and firefly124 for hosting this wonderful community!