The Middle Distance

Might head out in a bit to a low-key Super Bowl party for people who (largely) don't give a shit about the Super Bowl. With home-cooked tamales.

I spent a lot of the day watching the first season of the current Battlestar Galactica on DVD because M has been going on for weeks about how addicted she is. She wasn't lying about its awesome, that's for sure!

There's a Feedback meme for fic writers. I gave in, I could use it.

Speaking of fic and feedback, if you like Minerva/Severus at all, or even think you might be open to being persuaded to like it by an excellent story, please read and love on this: Things We Lost (and Found) in the War, by xylodemon. (NC-17, definitely not PWP). Just gorgeous.

HOT!

Roll in the Hay by fabledtruant.

My new favorite canon ship, AD/GG. A scorching PG-13. It's just so...pretty.

Fuck work. Don't wanna talk or think about it anymore.

For me these days, the best temporary remedy for the Republican Economy Blues is the SQUEE.

So have some recs! This is what brightened up my last 24 hours more than anything else.

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Harry Potter

Essay: rexluscus has written an astoundingly beautiful and wise journey of meta on Snape in DH. (**SPOILERZLIEKWHOA**)

Illustrated fic: Platform 9.99999999999999 by Didodikali (trickofthedark). Gen. Dumbledore, King's Cross, and atonement. (**SPOILERZLETMESHOWYOUTHEM**) Quiet and strong and packs a profound punch. Very inventive and unusual.

Art: Inspired by another story by Didodikali, Just Try Me by Frodobolson72 on DeviantArt. G-rated but smoking. Made well before DH, so no spoilerz...except it almost is, in a way!

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Pratchett-tastic!

There's only thing in all the worlds that could have improved Monstrous Regiment. I didn't realize what it was until I read the first part of this story. Duh - appearances by Aziraphale and Crowley, of course!

At Stake by daughtersofisis. Good Omens/Discworld crossover, PG-13ish. Part 1 of a WIP. Vivid, plotty, hysterical--has that so hard-to-achieve Pratchettesque quality of making me want to stop and applaud the author every few lines, while still maintaining a plot that can keep the dream of fiction going even with the fourth wall made of Swiss cheese.

Who can?

To commemorate swashbucklathon's decision to extend its deadline to December 31, here's some recs. Just things I particularly enjoyed.

Fic: Sandman

Untitled by katilara. A simple but very atmospheric and eloquent story about Death's centennial day as a mortal. Which she spends with a pirate.

Art: Harry Potter

Drinking Buddy by pinkelephant42. (Snape, Draco, Squid, G) Fantastically colorful drawing with glorious textures of wood/sky/water, and a suggestion of a really interesting story in there somewhere I would love to read.

Just Give In... by sillyshy. (Hermione/Tonks, PG) Never enough femslash, is there? This one won me over with its charm, its expressions, and yes, its corsets. Gets me every time.

Saturday Afternoon Piracy by theo_winterwood. (James, Remus, Sirius, Peter, PG). The Marauders play dress-up. I adore the colorfulness and children's-book-illustration quality of this; it makes their fantasy world so much more vivid than the mundane one that surrounds them (for a certain value of "mundane" that is).

Fic: Pirates of the Caribbean (Why yes, the main object of Swashbucklathon was to piratify fandoms that suffer from a pirate deficiency. But you can't leave this one out!)

Bait for the Wind by thegiantkiller. (Tia Dalma/Elizabeth; various other pairings, R). This is a haunting and bittersweet story, not much more forgiving than the sea. But Tia Dalma has her moments of sad generosity.

Fic: Good Omens

Right Between the Deadlights by use_theforce_em. (Aziraphale/Crowley, NC-17). Yes, I've recced this one before, and I would have even if it hadn't been written for me. Just fantastically raw and funny and gritty and fascinating; in which Aziraphale finds a way of earning respect in a milieu where he is utterly out of his element. Yum. Hot. Also featuring beautifully cinematic appearances by War and the Kraken, who are not out of their respective elements at all.

Art: Supernatural

Untitled by cathybites. (Sam/Dean, R/NWS). I've never watched an episode of this show, so you know this is special if I'm reccing it. It's just...utterly...gorgeous. Stark and flowing and passionate Aubrey Beadsley homage with wallsex on a ship. You want to look at this, trust me.

Fic: Lord of the Rings

Upon the Western Wave by tears_of_nienna. (Aragorn/Legolas, PG). Yes, there are canonical pirates in the LOTR-verse. (PJ even played one in ROTK). Lots more should be done with them. This is a decent start, though it focuses more on the central relationship....but what I love is that there is so much acknowledgement of other tidal pulls on their affair. Aragorn has Arwen. Legolas has the Sea and the West.

Comic: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Slayers on the High Seas by redpiratemel. (Buffy/Faith, PG-13). OMG! Another fandom I've never been in, but WOW - the story; the expressiveness; the snark; the sexiness. If more pro comics were this good, I would probably read more of them.

Fic: Sherlock Holmes

The Adventure of the Crimson Coat by tmartian42. (PG13; gen, no pairings). The very fact that AU Sherlock Holmes piratefic exists is reason enough to rec it, don't you think? Oh yes, and it's also very nicely done!

Me, I'm thinking of writing a little bit more in the "Brag It Out"-verse, and maybe a short thing in some other fandoms entirely.

First off, reposting this from all over. If you know alchemine please consider joining foralchemine. If you know her, you know why.

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Happy belated birthday, shaggydogstail!

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It occurs to me I did a lousy job of announcing quantum_witch's and my latest collab at switchythings on Sunday--all cryptic and vague for no reason. But readers seem to have found it anyway.

I'll just do it properly now because I'd hate for anybody who's interested to miss it:

Remember Who You're Talking To
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley
Rating: NC-17 (and NWS art)
Summary: There is an argument. Aziraphale proves a point--and not just the one he intended.
Warnings/Adverts: Kinky.
Author's Note: The 30_lemons prompt was #1 "Anonymity," or "Taken By the Faceless Stranger." You think that was an easy one for these guys? And setting a story in what is basically Kipling's India kept making me want to write Crowley an ignominious discorporation-by-mongoose, which is counterproductive to teh pr0n.

Yup, locked to members. Cause it's just that dirty. QW and I are putting some thought into what we'll do to celebrate when we pick up our 200th member, which is scarily not that far off. Suggestions welcome!

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Here are some miscellaneous fics I've really enjoyed lately:

Completion by kallisti78

Fandom: HP Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos
Pairing: Azathoth/Nyarlathotep
Rating: NC-17
Her warning is priceless: “Formless and insane interdimensional horrors mating. What more warning do you need?”

This is really starkly beautiful. Trusssst me.


Those Other Things by use_theforce_em

Fandom: Good Omens
Pairing: Aziraphale/Crowley
Rating: R

Sweet and startling dream-sex story with some absolutely gorgeous imagery and fresh metaphysical turns that manage to enrich the paradox of just how human they are and just how human they aren't.

And thanks to defaultlyric for reminding me this exists!

Harry Potter and the Eagle of Truthiness by Christine Morgan

Fandom: Obvious, innit? :D
Rating: Unrated. I'd say PG for language.

The new DADA teacher is an American with BALLS. Oh, and he's a bald eagle Animagus! Considering that Stephen Colbert had already written himself as a Gary Stu into Middle-earth, this is metafanfic with so many layers it makes me cry like an onion. In a good way.

Also, if you feel like joining world_cup_slash, there's a very nicely done (friendslocked) PG-rated short, "Attention-Seeker," by grondfic that explains the Zidane/Materazzi incident in just the right way....

Because my friendslist always needs more of those.

Nostalgia, still ripe: Remember the Spoiler Heard 'Round the World last July? Well, Fandom_wank is talking about it again, and someone produced the link to the collection of friggin' genius photomanips on the subject. Always deserves to be seen again.

(Oh yeah...HBP SPOILERZ OMG!1!)


Shippy Art at its Finest

Art by reallycorking, rec'd by themostepotente. My inner 12-year-old says this is The best piece of Snape/Black fanart EVER and my inner 12-year-old is rarely wrong about such things. (WS, but still pervy)


Day Late, Dollar Short

Remember xylodemon's Snape Pairing Ship Names masterpiece? Many days late, I still made a, er, deposit.

OK, now back to work.

Man, the friendslist was bringin' it today!

Multifandom recs.

Harry Potter, but with mucho mass appeal:
I'm sure most people know this by now, but mctabby has commemorated the 30th installment of the cracktastic Summary Executions series with a Greatest Hits edition. 300 luscious horrors inflicted upon the poor defenseless English language, and of course the characters we know and fuck with mercilessly love, only some of whom are defenseless. Some are almost Zenlike: "Nagini plans to take matters into her own hands." "A story told by the eyes of someone unwanted."

Crossover crack, sort of; LOTR AND The Princess Bride. mollyringwraith posts a collaborative effort: The Lord of the Rings Movie Scripts, Done Entirely in 'The Princess Bride' Quotes. Not only is this a geek apotheosis, it works so brilliantly, terrifyingly well.

Good Omens AND Harry Potter: If you're a lower_tadfield regular, you probably saw blue_phlox's gorgeous portraits of four sexy Supernaturals. But if you only saw that one, and didn't follow the link to her own lj, you probably didn't see the gorgeous portrait of the young Sirius and Regulus Black, all decked out in their proud-Pureblood vintage. They're both here.

Good Omens proper, although it's quite improper: professor_mary presents very unusual SMUT: All Mine, in which the connections between the Horsepersons and the Them get explored in a very erotic and very creepy way. Is it a pairing or a three-way? Bit of both, really. (Adam/Brian/Implied Pollution, NC-17)


Harry Potter AND Lord of the Rings: thrihyrne has written a HP/Tolkienverse crossover that's just bloody brilliant: Of Dwarves and Stewed Lucius, here. Dodges and skewers all possible thought of cliche: Lucius Malfoy and Second Age Dwarves. Also more references to needing to relieve oneself than are found in the entire Tolkien corpus.


Go enjoy, and give these geniuses the love like it's your last rear at Hogwarts!

One of the many miscreants in the plot bunny hutch seems to be mutating into...Snape/Draco. Maybe with a side of Narcissa. Well, we'll see about that.

Here, have a rec. I love this story so far:

In From the Cold
by Beth H. (bethbethbeth
Shacklebolt and Snape, post HBP. Two chapters in, headed towards slash, great dialogue and tension, very cool spy story.
Part I

Part II

That itch for Severus and Minerva I posted about a while back got beautifully scratched:

Share some love for:


Something (kinda) old: And Then There Was One by amberdiceless, certainly the first post-HBP fic I ever saw. (FAST!) Sad and sweet, worksafe.

Something new: This beautiful untitled ficlet by catherinecookmn, appearing in comments to my Friday post. Also worksafe and bittersweet.

Something borrowed: I gakked the link to this fascinating, plot-bunny-generating (G-rated) drawing by nebulaean from alchemine.

Something blue: Sittee With the Headmistress, a wicked and wonderful (and NWS!) kinky art piece by karasu_hime.

While we seem to be on a HP het kick, there's this amazing story/art collaboration between switchknife and lizardspots: The Secret-Keeper. Snape/Hermione. Definitely NOT worksafe, and warning: a bit dark, blackmail, dubious consent.

And simply beautiful is Glittering Sons by fleshdress. Merope Gaunt and Tom Riddle Sr. Devastating.


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Yesterday's smuteriffic Good Omens birthday present for quantum_witch is off friendslock now that I know she's seen it. I suppose I'll nudge it over to lower_tadfield one of these hours. Why does that comm give me the stage fright when it comes to teh pr0n?

Being held for ransom by Muses. Writing. Don't send help.

This is a Pimp Other People Post, Potterverse-centric. Assume everything listed has HBP spoilers (though not everything does, most do, and I can't be arsed to sort it.)

mamushi draws How Dementors Breed.

teawithvoldy has another take on it

Oh, just join dementor_love. I did!

sioniann does excellent Albus/Fawkes.

Nature's First Green is Gold is sad and beautiful.

Burning Day is NC-17, FILTHY, squicky, and CRACK-tastic!

I do so appreciate a writer who can hit both those heights and, er, depths in writing about the same relationship. "But love has pitched his mansion in the place of excrement; For nothing can be sole or whole / That has not been rent." Crazy Jane would not lie to you.

sazzlette has written The Boy Who Cried Wolf. (Fenrir/Young Remus, PG). Creepy, fairy-tale. (Fenrir is one of the Muses I'm luring, so, close to the bone. So to speak. Owooooooooo, gnaw.)

On the cracked-out crossover front (HP/Good Omens in this case), if you sssssscions of Sssssslytherin like your sssssssuggestive ssssssillinessss more ssssscaly and sssssssibilant (OK, I'll ssstop!), dreya_uberwald presents A Turn for the Bizarre. Crowley/Nagini, with a twisssst at the end I won't ssssspoil (Ha, I lied).


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Now I'm succumbing to a temptation I didn't think I would. I blame HBP, and I also blame lizardspots (Gorgeous drawing of Snape and Draco, worksafe, here.) and linnpuzzle for this (also gorgeous image of Snape and Draco, also worksafe).

ETA: OK, one more art link. Goth!Trio, from mugglenet. Worksafe. Not beverage-safe. It's like every bad teen-angst Hot Topic fanfic come to life.

So who's got the post-HBP Snaco? Bring it on. Rec it for me. Hook me up.