Fest Bijoux
The HP holiday fest season has begun, bringing fanfic joy and endless procrastination opportunities, both for reading and reccing. We're only five days into posting, and already I've got a list of jewels.
I'm reminded of an old film I once saw, the title of which escapes me, where a man's daughters are all named things like Opal, Pearl, and Ruby. After he introduces them, he says, "Gems, every one of 'em."
Well, not every fest entry so far has been a gem, but there are enough sparklies to be getting on with. I know a few of you have already recced some of these, but I repeat them here for people who might not be on the same lists:
From hp_yule_balls:
Love In Idleness (Bellatrix/Pansy) -- An well-executed piece of femmeslash, in-character and powerfully-written and excellently-titled.
From
snapelyholidays:
The Ballad of Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape (Flitwick/Snape). I'm just sorry this story wasn't posted in time for me to include it in my recent month of Flitwick recs on crack_broom. It's that fanfic rarity: a well-done poem. It's such a treat to read the work of someone who understands the possibilities of rhyme, image, and meter. Written in ballad stanza (a form perfectly suited to Filius), it's wonderfully moving, complex, and in-character.
From Snupin Santa:
The Stupendous Snupin Film Club (Snape/Lupin). An endlessly-clever comic that has Snape and Lupin watching Muggle film classics (and some not-so-classics). There's a famous line from one of Keats's letters in which he says a poet should "load every rift with ore," and this artist has loaded every panel with hilarious, IC, witty detail. Like "McCatwoman," for instance. Complete with super-heroine cape (tartan, of course).
From Kinky Kristmas at
daily_deviant:
Take Two Drinks and Hex Me in the Morning (Snape/Lupin). Severus's voice here is really fun -- snarky and snappish and perfectly Snapey.
I'm rather late on this one, but it's too much fun to miss:
From samhain_smut:
Unbreakable by vanseedee (Hermione/Millicent; Minerva/Horace). Another rarity: a long, plotty femmeslash fic, with well-presented politics in the form of house-elf rights, an imperfect but appealing Hermione, a wonderful butchy Millicent, and a Minerva who simply scorches.
Some non-fest recs:
Remus Lupin and the Revolt of the Creatures by paulamcg. This story is novel-length, so save it for a snowy afternoon when you can savor it with a glass of wine and no need to rush off. A Remus-centric AU with hints of Remus/Sirius, it's a careful exploration of social attitudes toward otherness as manifested by wizards' treatment of the beings designated as "creatures." You'll enjoy the way it uses art as metaphor and symbol, too.
squibstress's Minerva-centric stories -- Check out her page at FFN. Squibstress is a writer I've found just recently, and I enjoy her well-written take on Minerva. She actually has me looking forward to updates on Minerva/Albus stories. (Her Albus fascinates me: powerful and IC and often downright monstrous, but in complicated, ambiguous, grown-up ways.)
This entry was originally posted at http://kelly-chambliss.dreamwidth.org/101479.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
I'm reminded of an old film I once saw, the title of which escapes me, where a man's daughters are all named things like Opal, Pearl, and Ruby. After he introduces them, he says, "Gems, every one of 'em."
Well, not every fest entry so far has been a gem, but there are enough sparklies to be getting on with. I know a few of you have already recced some of these, but I repeat them here for people who might not be on the same lists:
From hp_yule_balls:
Love In Idleness (Bellatrix/Pansy) -- An well-executed piece of femmeslash, in-character and powerfully-written and excellently-titled.
From
snapelyholidays:
The Ballad of Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape (Flitwick/Snape). I'm just sorry this story wasn't posted in time for me to include it in my recent month of Flitwick recs on crack_broom. It's that fanfic rarity: a well-done poem. It's such a treat to read the work of someone who understands the possibilities of rhyme, image, and meter. Written in ballad stanza (a form perfectly suited to Filius), it's wonderfully moving, complex, and in-character.
From Snupin Santa:
The Stupendous Snupin Film Club (Snape/Lupin). An endlessly-clever comic that has Snape and Lupin watching Muggle film classics (and some not-so-classics). There's a famous line from one of Keats's letters in which he says a poet should "load every rift with ore," and this artist has loaded every panel with hilarious, IC, witty detail. Like "McCatwoman," for instance. Complete with super-heroine cape (tartan, of course).
From Kinky Kristmas at
daily_deviant:
Take Two Drinks and Hex Me in the Morning (Snape/Lupin). Severus's voice here is really fun -- snarky and snappish and perfectly Snapey.
I'm rather late on this one, but it's too much fun to miss:
From samhain_smut:
Unbreakable by vanseedee (Hermione/Millicent; Minerva/Horace). Another rarity: a long, plotty femmeslash fic, with well-presented politics in the form of house-elf rights, an imperfect but appealing Hermione, a wonderful butchy Millicent, and a Minerva who simply scorches.
Some non-fest recs:
Remus Lupin and the Revolt of the Creatures by paulamcg. This story is novel-length, so save it for a snowy afternoon when you can savor it with a glass of wine and no need to rush off. A Remus-centric AU with hints of Remus/Sirius, it's a careful exploration of social attitudes toward otherness as manifested by wizards' treatment of the beings designated as "creatures." You'll enjoy the way it uses art as metaphor and symbol, too.
squibstress's Minerva-centric stories -- Check out her page at FFN. Squibstress is a writer I've found just recently, and I enjoy her well-written take on Minerva. She actually has me looking forward to updates on Minerva/Albus stories. (Her Albus fascinates me: powerful and IC and often downright monstrous, but in complicated, ambiguous, grown-up ways.)
This entry was originally posted at http://kelly-chambliss.dreamwidth.org/101479.html. Please comment there using OpenID.