Guide to Completed SSHG Epics (HBP-era)

[harmony_bites]

I mentioned in a previous post a friend had mentioned she hadn’t read a lengthy post-HBP SSHG story that matched the old classics, which left me to scurry to catch up on my reading to see if she was right. I searched through FanfictionNet, AdultFanfiction, Restricted Section, Ashwinder, Petulant Poetess and OWLBelow is listed every single completed

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[harmony_bites]

I adore Dyce's Survivors--more than Accountable even. And though it ran (and won) among the classics, from the posting dates, Shiv's Big Name Death Eater was posted in the post-HBP era. I'm sure that if I go on a search like this one, there must be other novel-length fics of note.

But I agree--I think most of the standouts are novella length or less--the Exchange being part of the reason I think.

I hate canon being ignored in terms of character. I love a good AU--a real AU, where you take a turning point and work out all the possible consequences. But that's very, very rare in the ship--even though the there's loads of stories marked as AU. I didn't think that even one AU that ran in the recent SSHG awards really qualified.

I think it's one thing to do an AU of events, where you ignore say the epilogue to DH--but what doesn't to my mind work are AUs of character, where you ignore what formed and makes up the character himself.

Besides--I like the working class Snape raised by wolves of mixed parentage and raised in grinding poverty that grew up to be a brilliant academic and spy. The man who can do what's necessary (like killing AD) even when it's heartbreaking and would lead to a bleak future. It's the heart of Snape's appeal to me. If I want a purebreed aristocrat I'd be a Lucius fan.

And I agree--it also comes with globs of cliche when you ignore canon. Us a little imagination instead--the writing will be better for it.

[silburygirl]

I loved Survivors and BNDE is one of my absolute favourites, although I thought that it was posted somewhere else before HBP (couldn't tell you where).

I love a good AU--a real AU, where you take a turning point and work out all the possible consequences.

I can think of very few of those that I have read to begin with and fewer still that I liked-although the last really AU one that I tried was that Drarry one, so I may be a bit bitter.

I like post-HBP Snape much more as well-he's much more interesting as a character, in making him both more complex and more accessible. Fun as the rich aristocratic characters can be, it's difficult to make me relate to them.

[harmony_bites]

I loved Survivors and BNDE is one of my absolute favourites, although I thought that it was posted somewhere else before HBP (couldn't tell you where).

Both Digital Quill and Ashwinder show a posting date in August--I can't imagine where Shiv might have posted it earlier. Obscuros? Yet it was already so lauded as a classic when I came into the ship it never occurred to me it wasn't very early--I both nominated and voted for it in the awards.

I can think of very few of those that I have read to begin with and fewer still that I liked-although the last really AU one that I tried was that Drarry one, so I may be a bit bitter.

My "Janus" and the one I co-wrote with ZeeGrindylows, "An Unexamined Life" are AUs. Haven't read it, but from what I've heard of it JustJeanette's "Brothers" would qualify. "Forbidden Fruit" from above qualifies--it uses HBP backstory and events, so I put it among the canon-compliant, but changes others. For the life of me, I can't think of another in the ship. They're more common in other ships I think--stories where the sorting turned out differently, or Harry wasn't raised by the Dursleys.

I like post-HBP Snape much more as well-he's much more interesting as a character, in making him both more complex and more accessible.

And I think DH makes him even more so.

[silburygirl]

Both Digital Quill and Ashwinder show a posting date in August--I can't imagine where Shiv might have posted it earlier. Obscuros? Yet it was already so lauded as a classic when I came into the ship it never occurred to me it wasn't very early--I both nominated and voted for it in the awards.

LJ? Erm... yes! And found. I just went digging, and it appears that the first chunk was posted at some point in June 2004... Although I saw on another comment that you weren't counting things posted to private communities, etc., so that may not count.

I misunderstood what you meant by AU-I was thinking of the completely different situation sort, where everyone lives in a different country and there is no magic (about which I feel compelled to ask what the point is). By your definition, I can think of one or two that have been posted in the exchange so far, although I haven't read many of those either.

[harmony_bites]

LJ? Erm... yes! And found. I just went digging, and it appears that the first chunk was posted at some point in June 2004... Although I saw on another comment that you weren't counting things posted to private communities, etc., so that may not count.

Ah, interesting. So I guess that's why it could run as it did in the awards--sure feels pre-HBP. I may still count it when/if I do the novels though. LotM's Spinster is a similar case--first posted on a private Yahoo community pre-DH, but just posted complete on TPP post-DH.

I misunderstood what you meant by AU-I was thinking of the completely different situation sort, where everyone lives in a different country and there is no magic (about which I feel compelled to ask what the point is). By your definition, I can think of one or two that have been posted in the exchange so far, although I haven't read many of those either.

Those are a variety of AU--but I think of the classic AU as something that asks how would other things be different if you changed ____. I think adaptations could fairly be seen as AU, like His Draught or SlipperBaloon's Potions and Prejudice, a particularly skillful Pride and Prejudice adaptation--but I think a true AU takes more than just ignoring canon to write yet another fic where HBP never happened, Snape is rich with pureblood connections and riches, Dumbldore still around and the trio just went on to their Seventh year status quo.

And yes, I can think of two in the Exchange so far, Persona Contrara and "Resolution"--especially the second. But they are rare in the ship, despite stories being commonly marked as AUs.