Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings

April is almost over and I haven't posted anything this month. Therefore, have a couple of long overdue recs:

The HP Beholder is currently running, my favourite HP exchange of all times. And my gift fic is truly fabulous:

Author: ???
Title: No Charity
Rating: PG
Pairing: Aunt Marge/Rita Skeeter
Word Count: 3200
Warnings/Content: None
Summary: Rita sets out on a tough assignment – to interview Miss Marjorie Dursley.

To quote my own comment:

First and foremost, the pairing is inspired. I love the humour of the whole piece, I was grinning all the way through, despite the harsh mood swing brought about by the morning after confrontation. It might seem that their relationship is over even before it began, but this is not how it feels. It feels like the beginning of something, not the end.

The entire story is very Pratchett-esque in that it is a lighthearted humorous piece on the face of it. But just like in Pratchett's books, the humour mostly derives from your turn of phrase. Underneath, it is a poignant and melancholy character piece with a bittersweet ending, sketched very skilfully with only a few words. So much remains unsaid, lurking just outside our field of vision: the ongoing conflict between the magical and the Muggle world, Marjorie's deep trauma, Rita's attempt to leave herself behind and be somebody else.

This fic reads actually like a teaser, the prelude to a bigger story: you can tell that Rita and Marjorie would be a good match. They would fight constantly, but they would fight on equal terms.

Link to fic: No Charity


Today, I read a heartbreaking Aberforth/Severus fic, which pushes so many of my buttons it's unreal:

Author: ???
Title: A Lonely Road
Rating: R
Pairings: Severus Snape/Aberforth Dumbledore
Word Count: 4,800
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): *anal intercourse, age disparity, angst, alcohol, violence towards an animal, reference to a canon death (Albus Dumbledore's)*.
Summary: Two men. Dark times. Conversations which fail to communicate; communication through silence.

Again, quoting my own comment:

Oh, this is exquisite! Such a tense, atmospheric tale, so very dark yet with tiny specks of light interspersed throughout. I love the pairing; I don't think I've ever read it before, which is odd, because it makes a lot of sense. Aberforth and Severus are both torn between and tortured by the love and resentment they have for Albus. Aberforth would be the one to guess what his brother is putting Snape through. The way they understand each other without talking about what is going on, the way they both understand the necessity of secrecy, it all rings very true.

The slow, understated understanding, Severus despair and loneliness, their affection for each other and for Albus - it's all heartbreaking. And the last line is the killer.

Link to fic: A Lonely Road


I also participated in this year's Winter Companions exchange, and here, too, I was gifted with a fantastic fic:

Title: A vignette from the 2nd hour of Dark on an unnamed station orbiting a dead zone planet.
Author: anonymous
Rating: NC-17
Pairing(s): Jack Harkness/Tenth Doctor
Spoilers/warnings: fetishistic self-harm, depression, knifeplay, mild drug use
Summary: Jack doesn't ask to go and the Doctor doesn't offer.

It's dark and needy and absolutely them. They are using the power of the vortex as their fetish, and it is exactly what I imagine Ten to get off on. And Jack, oh, desperate, damaged Jack. His need to feel good, whatever the cost, is palpable.

Link to fic: A vignette from the 2nd hour of Dark on an unnamed station orbiting a dead zone planet

Since everybody's doing it, here's my fic round-up for 2009. I actually did manage to write three things. Fancy that!

Frozen, Poppy Pomfrey/Severus Snape, PG-13, written for HP Beholder 2009

The Full Circle, Doctor Who crossover, Remus Lupin/Tenth Doctor, rated R for some sexual contents and general emo-ness

Not the Model Boy of the Village, gen, Sirius-centric, R (for language), written for the Big Bang Blackout and based on Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer

The last one, I am rather pleased with, as I managed to create a Dumbledore who's so ambiguous that even I myself are not sure whether I can trust him or not. I found myself believing him, even though I knew I shouldn't, seeing as I wrote him and knew what he did last summer.

Title: Glowing Embers (The Phoenix from the Ashes Remix)
Author: Donna Immaculata
Characters: Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Character Death
Summary: "To the well-organised mind, death is but the next great adventure"
Disclaimer: Not my characters, I'm just playing
A/N: Written for the Remix/Redux Challenge, remixing bethbethbeth's story The Man Who Lived

Glowing Embers

Right. First I'll have some fun with My Very Own Snape, then I'll answer my emails and comments, and then I'll do some work... Oops, it'll be lunch time by then. Shame.

( Here he is, my Snape )

I am just catching up on the posts over at babb_chronicles, haven of bizzare badfic quotes. I've been giggling happily for quite a while, but this gem has just made me lose it completely:

Just then with a flash Snap appeared sneering in his black clothes. ‘What do you want you nasty man.’ She said. ‘I want to take you away from all this.’ Said Snape as he revealed he underneath his cape he was bear.

*dies all over again*

ETA: Draco's hand trailed down to vagina, and he began to rub softly. Hermione was in great thoughts now.
He slowly inserted a finger, and he rubbed it around in circles. Hermione was very horny, and she was ready to come when she did. It felt like the world was crashing down, she is a virgin, and she had just orgasmed, well she WAS a virgin.

*is teh dead*

Well the characters are revolting... and pretty darn mad too. They have had it and are challenging you to justify yourself. The only real requirement is that you, as an author, and a character of one of your fics have a confrontation. No length restrictions or time frames. Frankly, I just want to know what the hell you were thinking. Please link to your original piece for reference and pimping, The Treacle Tart said. And yes, so I did:

Wherein Snape and Lupin pop by and cause Donna to turn into Donna-Sue

Here's part one of the commentary. I might post part two later today.

( Behold my thought process )

Written for adinkra, as a response to the pairing Snape/Percy and including tea, a comb and a minor disagreement. Since I can't write a Snape fic without his getting involved in disagreements whenever he opens his mouth to speak, that wasn't a problem. I have, however, never written Percy before, so I don't really have a Percy voice. I hope he is to your liking.

Title: Tea for Two
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Snape/Percy Weasley
Summary: The day Peter Pettigrew was Kissed, Severus Snape got drunk for the first time in his life.
Disclaimer: These characters are not at all mine.

( Read more... )

In other news: The German Telekom managed to fuck up my phone connection even though I'm with a different provider. I haven't had Internet and phone for one week now and it'll be a few more days before they'll sort it all out. So I've been told. Since I don't like reading fandom-related stuff on public computers (and because I'm leaving for a weekend trip later today anyway), I won't be around for a little while longer *sighs heavily*

I have also missed the deadline for the CCC. Oh well, there'll be another wave.

Speaking of which: babycakesin, I loved reading your comments. I'm glad the 70s-style furniture amused you. I quite liked it myself, and Remus is too polite to object...