Black and Blue

I posted this meme the other day, in which I invited people to name a character from an array of fandoms (Harry Potter, Pet Shop of Horrors, House, Jeeves & Wooster or any of the Star Treks except for Enterprise), and in return, I would supply some backstory or a take on how I see/interpret the character. I posted it as a bit of fun, but it's actually proved to be a very good writing exercise for me, so I thought I'd gather the responses here (cleaned up a little) for those who haven't seen them.

( Three Facts about Minerva McGonagall )


( Five Things That Never Happened to Ronald Weasley )


( Three Facts about Rowena Ravenclaw )


( Five Things That Never Happened to Lisa Cuddy )


( Three Facts about Elim Garak )


( Why Data is Awesomecakes )


( Three Facts about Jean-Luc Picard )


( Three Facts about Luna Lovegood )


( Why Q-Chan is Awesomecakes )


( Three Facts about Madeline Bassett )


( Why Gul Dukat is Both Awesomecakes and Awful )


( Three Facts about Severus Snape )


( Three Facts about Julian Bashir )


( Three Facts about Bertie Wooster )


( Three Facts about Reginald Jeeves )


If you'd still like to play along with the game, just drop a comment asking for a character from one of the fandoms listed and suggesting which letter you'd prefer!

You know, I really can't believe I was worried that this week was going to be dead. I've been blown away by the response we've had on portus_envy, and for those of you flisters who are coming back home now, I do urge you to check out the comm when you return. There's been an explosion of creativity, and I'm so proud of the way people have stretched their boundaries, formed new connections and generated a tidal wave of good work. It's a great thing to watch.

It's times like this when I really, really love fandom. ~hugs Portus Enviers~

Of course, I'm also dead tired. This mod stuff is hard work! I solemnly vow to never take the awesomeness of mods for granted ever again.

I don't think it would be very seemly of me, as a mod, to pluck out stuff for recs; it's all fantastic, and I urge you to read/enjoy it all. However, I'll take some time to point out those fabulous pieces that have been written for my prompts, and the pieces that I've managed to post so far.

Written for me or my prompts:

*juniperus wrote a beautiful, moving Severus/Minerva piece, When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best (SS/MM), based on my prompt of "an apology."
*machshefa (who is amazing in so many ways) wrote a delicious drabble for my prompt of "SS/HG, playing hard to get"in her drabble series, Transported (SS/HG).
*ferporcel wrote the enchanting Nymph (SS/LL) for me, based on my request for Snuna, and the prompt "blowing bubbles."
*On Insane Journal, angela_snape wrote a grin-inducing drabble for my prompt of "Snarry and a road trip": A Muggle Holiday.

I wrote:

*Strange Alchemy (SS/LM, Mature), for mundungus42, who requested sexy, languid Severus/Lucius.
*The Lady in Red, or: How Severus Snape Finally Got Lucky (SS/HG, PG-13), for dreamy_dragon73, who asked for SS/HG involving a slinky red dress.
*Détente (Severus/Harry, PG-13), for angela_snape, who asked for Snarry, chocolate and suggestiveness, and got something that has Severus, Harry and chocolate, but somehow wound up being more gen/pre-slash after it got all tangled up in Severus and his unresolved issues.

Whether you've partied at Portus or portus_envy, I hope you've all had a brilliant weekend to remember. portus_envy won't be going away, even after Portus is finished, because so many people are still writing to prompts and having fun.

...besides, Terminus is coming up, and not everybody can go to that, either. *g*

Inconsiderate bastard. I haven't found the culprit, but after examining the clues, I have figured out that the thief is cunningly wearing a shade of lipstick uncannily similar to my own, in hopes of covering her/his tracks.

It's a clever plan, but my dazzling intellect isn't fooled. ;-)

Anyway, while I go rummage up another pot and marvel at how a slow week got turned into a dizzyingly busy one, here are a few things for you to enjoy at portus_envy, if you haven't already stopped by.


*Scoffy wrote a magnificently clever and hot PWP for me, featuring SS/HG: Stuck. It's sexy, it's lovely and I love it to bits! Getting locked in dark rooms should always be so much fun.

*foudebassan wrote a scorching hot (and side-splittingly hilarious) SS/HG/LM story for me: House Arrest, to my request for a smut/comedy romp with a scheming Hermione getting the better of scheming Severus and Lucius. Again, I adore this--but don't read it while you're drinking something, unless you're prepared to deal with damaged keyboards. ;-)


My own offerings:

*A Suitable Arrangement for chillit, (Neville/?, PG)
*Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered for closetravenclaw, (SS/HG, PG-13)
*Kindred Spirits for 4inshining's request of Snape/Gregory House. This is a repost of the drabble trio I wrote last year, but more will be added very soon, so stay tuned.

There's more to come today, both from me and the very talented Portus Enviers! If you've somehow missed the awesome output of the last two days, here's our Day One Digest and the Day Two Digest. Enjoy!

And now I am off for that coffee...

It's been months since I last posted a drabble collection, and I've got... oh, a fair few old drabbles saved up. So here's a post putting them all together in one place. As always, they're a mixed bag of pairings, ratings and sources--some are from snape100, others from various Last Word Challenges--but the common thread is Snape, Snape, Snape. Ratings range from G to PG-13, while pairings include SS/HG, Snarry, Snape/Luna and, in a first for me, Snape/Molly. There are also a few drabble duos and trios in this set. The drabbles themselves are labeled as to more specific content.

Enjoy!

( Drabbles behind the cut )

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!

( 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 )

I said I'd post the story and some more coherent Exchange-related thanks today, so I'm doing that. I'm on break this week, so I actually have some time to step away from working on the Thesis of DOOOM and post this all now.

(Also, by the by: Hello to any newcomers! If you're checking out my journal and would like to friend, by all means do! One can never have too many friends, and I friend back. Promise!)

This post is for some thoughts about the story, some extended gushing about the wonderfulness of my helpers and also for some bonus extras, for those of you interested in photos, links and research materials. I worked extensively with photo references on this story, because I didn't want to just rely on my own faulty memories of France in general and Paris in particular. I wound up finding a lot of beautiful, fantastic photos to supplement the reading (thank you, Google Image Search!). I'd like to share them all with you, and also give you an opportunity to see these places as well, if you never have. They were too great for me to just pitch them out! I also have links that will enable you to learn more about the sights Hermione and Severus visit, as well as their respective lodgings, both of which truly do exist.

If you're not interested in this sort of thing, the story will be posted immediately following, so feel free to skip! For all others, here's what I have:

( First, the gratitude )

( Next, 'Behind the Story' )

( And finally, the bonus photos and links. Warning: image heavy! )

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 )

This is your actual birthday, isn't it? :D

In honour of this solemn occasion, I am using proper British spelling and offer you a glittery cake.


Glitter Graphics - GlitterLive.com

Also, for those of you who like a good mpreg story every now and then and have wondered exactly what a pregnant Snape would look like... well, wonder no more: ( Frock coats aren't as concealing as one might wish... )

First of all, a little squee for the New York Giants. I hoped they'd pull through, and they didn't disappoint! I was also squeeing about the fact that Plaxico Burress was the one who caught the fateful touchdown, because I have to cheer for my fellow Spartans and Plaxico was at Michigan State at the same time that I was. I once shared an elevator with him (I lived in the dorm filled with scholarship football players). He's a very, very big man. Very big. Anyway, hooray for the Giants!

It's also time for another grab-bag of drabbles, written for various sources and prompts. This particular batch is mostly Snape-centric, although Regulus makes a cameo appearance, as do Portrait!Dumbledore, Hermione and Remus. There's one Snupin and also one SS/HG, but everything else is more or less gen, with nothing over a PG-13 rating. (I must have saved up all my dirtiness for the drabble I wrote about Severus introducing Hermione to his pet rooster.)

Enjoy!

( Here be Drabbles )

First off, I posted a few more recs today from the SS/HG Exchange over at snapedom. It was difficult to select some--honestly, there's so much worthy stuff--so I tried to go with a theme: unsual fics, the sort that challenge the format and attempt something different from what we've come to expect from the ship. If you're interested, the recs are here.

Now, the other matter of business. Even if you're sick of fests, just hear me out.

Are you sick of the pretty people getting all the love? Sure, it's lots of fun to see Lucius be worshipped, but don't other characters deserve some consideration too? JKR seems to think that love and friendship ought to be reserved for attractive and 'nice' characters, but wouldn't you love the opportunity to challenge that? Well, now there's a fest for that, too: hp_beholder.

HP Beholder has assembled a long list of canon folks who don't get enough love, from Argus Filch to Eileen Prince to Horace Slughorn. Most of these characters don't see much romantic action because they're considered "too old," "too fat," "too mean," or are in some other way judged "undesirable." HP Beholder is holding a fest to celebrate these characters, because everybody deserves a chance to be appreciated...and now you can help make it happen.

In order to participate, you need only commit to 1,000 words of fic (for writers) or one picture (for authors); the work need not be a smutty sex romp either, because the point of the exchange is giving these characters genuine romantic opportunities, not just sex. (Though I doubt it would be turned down by some of the participants!) You have an opportunity to list the characters you want to write or read about, and a chance to tell which ones you absolutely don't want. Furthermore, you only need to use one of the 'undesirable' characters from your assignment; there's nothing stopping you from pairing that character with a character who gets more play--like, say, Snape. (Hypothetically. *g*) As a matter of fact, Snape inclusion is encouraged, even though he's not on the List.

Not so bad, hmm? Come on, this is a chance to write that Slughorn/McGonagall fic you've always wanted to try! Give Eileen and Toby a chance to tell their story, before it all turned sour! Let Flitwick develop a romance with Madam Pomfrey! Let Snape and Aberforth discover what they have in common besides their resentment of Albus! The possibilities are endless, and it looks like the resulting stories and art are going to be great.

For more information about the fest and FAQ, check out this informational post. If you know you'd like to sign up (come on, you know you want to), then the sign-up post is here.

Another collection of drabbles today, a number of them winter or Christmas-themed. I think there are more obscure ones in this batch than usual, so even if you watch snape100, there's a good chance that some of these are new to you. Some of them were written as part of the Final Word Challenge and others were written as Christmas presents for certain people, tucked in with the Christmas cards. (If you're one of them and object to having your drabble posted, please let me know and I'll tuck it away! If you want to just enjoy it for yourself, that's totally cool.)

This batch also includes the widest range of characters I've ever done. Everything is Snape-centric, but Neville, Minerva, Hermione, Luna, Harry, Remus and even little Teddy make appearances here, so there should be something for everybody. Ratings from G to PG-13, with individual labels for more specific content. Ships include Snuna, Snupin, Snarry, SS/HG and Snape/Sinistra.

Enjoy!

( Click here for drabbles )

Another grab-bag of drabbles for you all! Some of these are from snape100, some from other locations. Some of you will have already seen them, but everybody's certainly welcome to enjoy them. I'm mostly posting them here for organizational purposes, but if you're interested, by all means, read away.

The content varies from G to PG-13, and while Snape stars in all of them, the supporting characters range from Draco to the Evans family to some fictional Prince cousins. Pairings included this time are SS/HG and Snuna, and I don't think there's any slash in this batch. (Hmm. How'd that happen?) The drabbles themselves are labeled more specifically as to content--oh, and there are a few double drabble sets in this bunch as well.

Enjoy!

( Here There Be Drabbles )