Black and Blue

Seriously, I'm sorry for the spamming. Last post, I promise!

Title: Wholly to Be a Fool
Author: bluestocking79
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Eileen Prince Snape/Tobias Snape, whisper of Severus Snape/Draco Malfoy
Word Count: 9700
Disclaimer: These characters aren’t mine; they’re the property of J.K. Rowling. "since feeling is first" is by e.e. cummings and is also not my property.
Summary: At the age of 65, Eileen Prince Snape is as surprised as anyone to find that she’s finally developed an interest in being anybody’s wife or mother.
Author’s Notes: Written for femmequixotic for the inaugural round of the HP Beholder Fest. The story does require a slightly different reading than the usual for the Snape family backstory, but one that I think can be largely supported by canon. I especially owe thanks to my betas, Drachenmina and Duniazade, for being speedy, insightful, supportive and willing to call me out on my stupidity when I needed it. This wouldn't be half the story it is without them.


( Wholly to Be a Fool )

I'm in the midst of sorting through all the things that I've missed, and what totally wonderful thing have I found? My gift for hp_beholder: Cotyledon! And yes, it is very squee-worthy. :D

I have had the stupendous luck to be gifted with fic AND art; both are superb. The story is illustrated throughout with charm and wit and skill, and I don't think I'm giving anything away when I say that the author/artist's style is pretty immediately recognizable for its wonderfulness when you see it. The story itself is sly and hilarious and downright adorable, with just the sort of sweet-tart banter and inspired details that I adore in a story (Duelling as foreplay! Armchair Slughorn! Hooch asleep on her broom! Secret Slytherins!). It's set directly after the Battle of Hogwarts, and the main pairing is Slughorn/Hooch; if that sounds odd to you, well... seriously, just read it. It's fantastic, and the author not only makes it work, she makes it so cute that you wonder how you never thought of this fab pairing before. Better yet, there are hinted-at side pairings of Trelawney/Firenze and Poppy Pomfrey/Snape, with perfect characterizations of all involved.

Perhaps best of all, the piece lets a cast of unexpected Slytherins have their moment to shine, and it also makes you feel very happy when you read it. It put a huge smile on my face, and I defy anybody to read it and not be thoroughly charmed. Now go, read! It's great!

I've also had a chance to see a few other wonderful offerings at the Beholder fest, and I can quickly rec two really wonderful offerings. ( More recs for art and fic )

Oh, don't worry. I haven't gone crazy and self-indulgent and started scripting Severus and Hermione's adventures in Paris for the next 19 years. Actually, I didn't write this piece at all; it's a beautiful, Hemingway-inspired gift from bohemianspirit entitled The Redemption of Jake Barnes. I sent her "The French Connection" near Christmas for her perusal, and although she responded with a thoughtful and frankly amazing analysis of the story, she also sent me this more creative response to "The French Connection," illuminating one possible epilogue for the two of them.

I was completely and utterly thrilled. Still am, in fact. As I told her then, I deliberately chose not to tie down the story because I liked the idea of all the different futures that could be imagined for Hermione and Severus in their new home. It's incredibly tempting to follow the characters as far as they can go, but I wanted to leave the multiplicity of futures up to readers. As far as I'm concerned, the conclusion of the story isn't really an end; it's a beginning.

Do I have my own ideas about what they did afterward? Yes, of course. However, I like seeing what other people have imagined for them even more. This companion piece is very different from what I imagined in some ways, but in others it's perfectly in tune. It's very much in the spirit of it, and I hope that you all enjoy it as much as I did.

So, courtesy of bohemianspirit: ( The Redemption of Jake Barnes )

Thank you once again, bohemianspirit! I'm delighted and flattered and deeply pleased that you shared this with me, and then offered me the opportunity to share it with others. You're wonderful!

Happy Birthday, jeweleyes! In your honor, I present a teeny ficlet featuring Leon and D. Hope you enjoy, even though today is still icy and freezing.

(I'll be posting more in just a bit, with some kiddie pic spam from my godchildren's birthday party. I just need to upload the photos and sort out which to post. I've been meaning to do this since saturday, but haven't had time. Why is it that time off leaves me with less internet time instead of more?)

In any case: please enjoy the story.


Title: A Tale of Three Toasts
Rating: PG-13
Pairing/Fandom: D/Leon, Pet Shop of Horrors
Notes: A teenyfic for jeweleyes’s birthday, inspired by her username.

( A Tale of Three Toasts )

( The French Connection, Part II )

Title: The French Connection, Part 1
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~11,000
Summary: Hermione and Severus have each come to Paris in search of themselves. They find each other instead.
Disclaimer: Severus Snape and Hermione Granger do not belong to me. Neither does the city of Paris. I wish they did, but in the meantime, I’m just having some fun and mean no harm.
Notes: Written for the Winter Round of the SS/HG Exchange. Set post-DH but EWE, so that our hero and heroine can be together and free of Weasleys. Many of the places described in this story are very real, but certain details have been changed. Unfortunately, Carte Blanche exists only in the imagination of a few select people.
Acknowledgments: A thousand thanks to melusin_79, who Brit-picked, beta-read and kept me from making some embarrassing mistakes. duniazade and textualsphinx also deserve my gratitude for their inspiration, their brainstorming, their expertise and their encouragement. Any mistakes belong to me; anything you like is a result of their hard work.

( The French Connection, Part I )

Myspace Happy Birthday Comments


Happy Birthday, who_la_hoop! In your honor, I've composed a wee bit of of something:


Title: Paradigm Shift
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Drarry (!!)
Notes: For who_la_hoop, who always boosts me when I’m feeling down and brings me interesting news of men who eat badgers and paint with their pricks. For you, I have abandoned my (theoretical) principles and written a snippet of Drarry. Yes, that’s right: I wrote something with no Snape in sight.

This is possibly a sign of impending apocalypse.

I make no claims as to quality, but hopefully this gives you a smile. Happy Birthday!

( Paradigm Shift )

I have shocked myself by writing my very first PWP. Not only is it my first, it's sort of a threesome. I guess I don't do anything halfway, do I? *g* I wasn't certain that I had it in me, but it was actually sort of fun to write something so different.

I wrote it for Lupin_Snape's "Trading Places" fest, and the story was written to accompany osmalic's very hot art, Only Walls (NWS, Snupin + Lily). The fic itself is NC-17 (perhaps obviously), and features both Snupin and Snape/Lupin/Lily.

Obviously it won't be everybody's cup of tea, but if you are interested and not allergic to slash, it's up right here: Come Undone.


Also, I haven't been around all that much these last few days because I've been busy with school-related reading. Also, the writing bug had bitten in a good way, and I'm busy working on covering all my commitments, fest and otherwise. At the rate I'm going, I just might catch up with all my work after all!

( Chapter 3, in which D gives fashion tips, Leon gives sound advice and Snape gives lousy customer service. )

( Chapter 2, in which Jill feels sympathy, Minerva feels guilty and Snape feels sorry for himself )

A few months ago, lithiumdelusion posted a wonderful little crossover ficlet for me called "Let Them Eat Cake", which featured D, Leon, and most especially Jill and Severus Snape. There aren't many crossovers between HP and PSoH, and I thought it just begged for a sequel. She asked if I wanted to collaborate on one. Sure enough, I did, the project was titled Wanderlust, and we recently posted the third chapter of it on LJ. In so doing, it occurred to me that I'd never got around to posting it here on IJ. I'm rectifying that now.

You need not be familiar with PSoH to read this; hopefully, that's explained well enough to be understandable to non-PSoH fans.

Enjoy!


Title: Wanderlust
Authors: lithiumdelusion and bluestocking79
Rating: PG-13, so far.
Characters/Pairings: Leon/D, Jill, Snape, McGonagall
Summary: Leon's finally found what he was looking for, but a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger has Jill starting on a quest of her own.
Disclaimer: Not ours. We just wish they were.
Notes: A collaborative sequel to "Let Them Eat Cake," by lithiumdelusion (now reproduced here as the prologue). Also, set post-DH (for HP) and post-Volume 10 (for PSoH).


( The beginning, in which Jill has an unhappy birthday, Snape has an encounter with an unwelcome memory and Count D has an unexpected visitor for tea )

I went out to dinner with Best Friend yesterday, because she needed to vent about what bastards the other lawyers in her firm are. (They are bastards.) We both also had a taste for shawarma. As is usually the case with I go out to dinner with Best Friend, I hardly touched my food even though it was delicious, because I was too busy talking. I wound up taking most of it home in a box.

Luckily, it reheats very well, although my house is now perfumed with garlic. Now I need no longer worry about random vampire attacks; I'm well protected. And the food looks yummy.

Also, if by chance you haven't already seen it, I committed twisted comment fic with shiv5468 yesterday, and you can have a peek if you'd like. Warning: it is, as Shiv says, "in dubious taste," meaning that it is not suitable for Weasley fans, young children, those with delicate sensibilities or those who lack a dark and perverse sense of humor. On the other hand, if you have a good sense of the macabre, then this is probably just your cup of tea.

And now I am off to enjoy my leftovers.

Happy belated Birthday, sander123! I know I'm a few hours late, but I hope you'll still enjoy your present. Per your request, I bring you a ficlet of Snuna, in an academic setting. Hope this hits the spot, and that your birthday went well.


( The Element of Surprise )

This one is for the funny and most excellent blpaintchart. It is, unfortunately, a bit late--but wait! I have an excuse! For starters, I was up to my neck in work until this morning. Then, when I settled down to writing, the 'drabble' I had in mind turned out to be, in fact, an entire fic. In short: the bad news is that I'm late, but the good news is that your present is bigger than I'd thought it would be. So... hooray? In any case, I hope you enjoy it!


Title: A Bottle of Chocolate Sauce and Thou
Word Count: 2240
Pairing: Snupin
Rating: R-ish, though there's nothing exceptionally graphic (sorry!)
Summary: Sometimes it’s tricky to give the one you love exactly what they want.
Disclaimer: They aren't mine, they're J.K. Rowling's. I'm only amusing myself with her toys.
Warning: Attempted foodsmut.
Notes: A birthday present for blpaintchart, who wondered how the lads celebrated their significant birthdays. This is slightly pervier than my usual, but what can I say? Chart brings out the dirty in me!


( A Bottle of Chocolate Sauce and Thou )

At long last, here's my snape_after_dh fic. It's a few days late, unfortunately, but the gracious mods have announced a grace period for submissions, so here's mine.

Title: To Make the Heart Grow Fonder
Author: bluestocking79
Type: Fiction
Length: 5450
Pairings: Mostly Snape-centric gen, but the story involves unrequited SS/LE and alludes to LE/JP.
Series: No
Rating: PG-13-ish
Warnings: Some references to masturbation.
Summary: At the age of 15, Severus was already confident in his ability to bottle fame, brew glory and stopper death. There are some things, however, that even potions can’t accomplish.
Disclaimer: These characters aren’t mine, and I’m not making any money off of this story. I’m just having a good time playing with J.K. Rowling’s characters.
Notes: Written for the snape_after_dh fest, for the prompt 'Amortentia.' Special thanks to camillo1978 and the_bitter_word, who helped brainstorm about the scents of Amortentia; your ideas were a big help!

This is set in the Autumn term of Snape’s 5th year, so it’s pre-Shrieking Shack and pre-Snape’s Worst Memory.


( To Make The Heart Grow Fonder )

Title: Take Two
Author: bluestocking79
Word Count: 1141
Rating: PG
Pairing: Snape/Lupin...in a way.
Prompt: Reincarnation
Warnings: DH spoilers, obviously. A slightly irreverent attitude to religion? Also, gender-queering, of a sort. Don't let that stop you, please; it's very innocent, really.
Summary: Two hard-luck cases get the second chances they deserve.
Disclaimer: They don’t belong to me, but to J.K. Rowling.
Notes: Inspired by the lupin_snape Resurrection Drabble Challenge. The drabble I started was a more than drabble-sized idea, so now it's really more of a fic than a drabble. ~is sheepish~ I got bunnied rather hard, and this is the result!


( Take Two )

A warning: those of you with delicate sensibilities might want to avert your eyes now.

Ahem.

As many of you may know, today marks the Bring Back the Porn challenge, here on IJ (bbtp_challenge). The challenge inspired me to compose my own little bit of smut, perhaps just to prove to myself that I could. It's a ficlet for Pet Shop of Horrors, and a companion piece to a drabble that I wrote for psohdrabble earlier this week, called To Soothe the Savage Beast. It's also dedicated to lithiumdelusion, who was both thoughtful and awesome enough to write me a ficlet featuring not only D, Leon and Jill, but Severus Snape as well. This is for you, dear, and I hope it helps you feel just a little bit less sick.

Warning: contains slash, or as slashy as D/Leon can be.

For those who are interested, feel free to click: ( Only Human )

All right, here it is: my first posted fic. Up to this point, I've only posted drabbles, so this is a new thing for me. I still don't know that I'm entirely happy with the result, but if that was my criteria for posting, I'd never post anything at all. *g* I have to get comfortable with the idea of putting things out there, even if it makes me feel like I'm facing a firing squad. To be honest, I have no idea where this story came from, and the direction it took surprised me. I blame Severus and his warped sense of humor.

I am now off to meet a friend for lunch, and enjoy delicious sushi.

One final note: DH spoilers are present, so don't click if you haven't read it.

Enough preliminaries, and on to the fic: ( The Bargain )






*heaves deep breath* So, there it is. Hope you enjoyed it!