pervy snape-fancier

The After-Christmas Tree (or here on LJ) by janus/verus_janus (gen/Severus-centric, G, 974 words)
Not every house has a Christmas tree. Not every house has Father Christmas and stockings, plum pudding and a roast turkey. [...] There was a small house in Spinner's End, down at the end of the street near the river that had none of these.

*flails* This is a scant thousand words of sheer sad delight. I know that's a strange-sounding emotion, but there it is. It makes me want to cry and smile and the images are so simple but so powerful. I would love an illustration of the scene of little Sev in his house waving at his purloined discarded tree with its gathered tinsel and single forgotten bauble.

If you're in a Severus/Sinistra mood, go check out this short drabble series by snapesgirl_62, from her adventdrabbles writing: http://snapesgirl-62.insanejournal.com/173766.html

“What are you thinking?”
“Your friends are demented bints.”
“Soul of romance.” She giggled.

Snarry 3 by ~Umino-aka-Morskaya on deviantART

So sweet. I love Severus's glasses and apparent age and the contented familiarity in him ruffling Harry's hair.



Connichi 2009 - poking Snape by ~HowellJenkinsSama on deviantART

There are some other photos of this interesting Snape cosplay as well. Normally I would say that nose prosthesis takes it over the top into slightly cruel caricature, but somehow it really brings this particular costume together.



The Long Road by ~TGP on deviantART

I loved the moody colour and how a frightened child grows into a sullen teenager, a disaffected adult, and then a total mystery with his back turned to the viewer. Very simply drawn but quite effective.



The Banes of Her Existence by *Vizen on deviantART

This made me LOL IRL. Just look at Severus and Minerva's poses and expressions, and Albus's drink with the umbrella! Poor woman, being headmistress and sharing an office with those two...

( ten fic recs behind the cut: gen, Severus/Lily, Harry/Draco, Severus/Harry, Sirius/Harry )

Yay, nwhiker wrote something Severus/Sirius for bigbangblackout! That's almost a guarantee I'm going to love it. :)

Now and Then by sweet_lemmon (Harry/Hermione, (strong) R, NWS)
"WTF?" you may be thinking, since this is so not the kind of thing I am usually interested in. I said as much in my comment, too, but I liked the soft shading in this piece and the sensuality and drape of Hermione's body in the second (third?) panel.

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So after that strange interlude, here, let me make it all better:

DH Chapter 33 by lilyhbp (Severus, Lily, G)
Illustrations for the scene outside the Gryffindor portrait in "The Prince's Tale" are about a dime a dozen gross, but Severus's downcast expression in this is just the greatest thing ever, even though with his hair hiding most of his face you can hardly see it. I recommend taking a look at the detail in which you can more closely see their faces. The other thing about this piece is that it really shows how much she's advanced as an artist over just a few years when you compare it to the original piece that used the pose for Severus she mentions in the artist's notes. (She's taken that one down, but you could also compare it to Head of Slytherin or Best Friends, for example.)

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( And now for some ancient fic recs from holiday fests )

The Wrong End of the Stick
Severus/Sirius drabble, PG. Warning: you may spew your beverage of choice out of your nose.

The Right Decision by unbroken_halo
(200 words, PG)
Double drabble about Severus making the choice and taking the Mark, the first from Voldemort's POV and the second from Severus's.

Highly Toxic by midnight_ljc
(~530 words plus art, PG-13, mabye barely NWS if a girl in a bra or hints of teenage sexuality are a problem)
Older Severus/Lily (2006). Yummy and tender and sad. I especially like the way he's kissing her cheek and jaw in the last picture. I've had to re-read this a few times before the narrative actually fell together in my head, because it's told kind of backwards, but I love its dreamy quality.

The Raven by atdelphi
(~800 words, NC-17)
"A play on Poe's famous poem: Filch receives a rather persistent late-night visitor."
Severus/Argus Filch. Wait, wait, come back! It's only a parody, and a hilarious and very well-made one at that. And somehow, even though it's potion-induced and the, er, unfortunate victim of the blast radius is Filch, somehow Severus's insatiability still comes off really hot.

Trusting in Fanfiction by gmweasley
(~475 words, soft R)
Severus/Remus. While we're on the subject of humorous poetry, yeah? This one is original, not parody, but is also quite well-constructed. In brief, I LOLed.
It occurred to Remus one fine day: his past was unrewarding
So off he set to start anew; in short, he stopped Marauding.
He said goodbye to all he'd known; decided to commit.
At last he found (or so it's told) our favourite Greasy Git.

Five things Regulus Black regrets in his life and one thing that he doesn't by curia_regis
(~1300 words, PG)
This is great in so many ways. I love the Severus/Regulus content, the hints that from the first he doesn't really want to do what his family apparently expects him to, and the quiet bravery. The little bit of Severus expounding excitedly on a potion to little Regulus because he made the mistake of getting him started on the topic is just precious.

Can't Run But by kaydeefalls
(~5850 words, PG-13)
Gen with Regulus and Draco in alternating sections, eventually dealing with the locket Horcrux. Older stuff again (2005), set after the end of HBP, so canon-shafted now (albeit not that badly). I like the echoes between Regulus and Draco, and Severus gets some great lines in this:
Snape looks over at him sharply. "A coward?" he repeats. "A coward would have exulted at the opportunity before him. Dumbledore was a weak, helpless old man, without even the strength to run. A coward could have killed him."
"So what does that make me?" Draco snaps, his face flushing with shame. "Less than a coward?"
"It makes you a human being," Snape replies shortly.

Players by snegurochka_lee
(~3500 words, NC-17)
"If Grimmauld Place is a stage, and all the men and women in it merely players, then there really isn't any reason for Snape to take it all so seriously, now is there?"
Again a bit older (mid 2007). Severus/Sirius with plenty of hate in, although it's that special kind of Snacky hate that has clearly got something else going on inside of it. Focuses on how, as Sirius observes, Severus's entire existence is this constructed stage show, and how Severus gets off sexually on that. Characterization is razor sharp on both; I love Sirius's bad attitude and the aside that "Remus isn't any fun any more".

Quick rec: Marauders' Era on LJ and Harry & Co. on LJ. Hilarious stuff. Plus, lolsnakes.

( five more recs )

( 5 recs covering a pretty broad spectrum of stuff. See tags. )

When Darkness Closes In, still anonymous in fall_fantasia, ~5100 words. (Warning: attempted sexual assault.)

Their summary: Protection and power. The Dark Lord promised both to those who followed him faithfully, and Severus was rapidly coming to the conclusion that there was no better incentive to join the ranks.

My review on the post:

*flails with joy*

This is so great. Of course the sex is hot, but that's just icing. I love the dynamic with Severus and Regulus, how Regulus is gentle but also has fire, the way he calms Severus and helps him feel he has a place. Seeing his thought process on why he wants to join Voldemort was very cool. And Severus being all bitchy and "I can take care of myself" is spot on.

"You mistake compassion for love, Severus, and there is no one more deserving of it than you."

*applauds*

"And I was referring to your arm, not your arse."

"It’s sore."

"Again, I was referring to your arm, not your arse."

LOL. OMG. This made me laugh so much. I love Severus's sense of humour.

5100 words extremely well spent. If you have been jonesing for Severus/Regulus, this will hit the spot. Iiii... do not have any Severus/Regulus icons, I don't think. O NOES


Unrelated P.S. I was paging through John Matthews' Wizards today at Fry's while husband was off looking at some random other thing, and on one page was like "WTF? Snape? *reads caption* OIC Rasputin. Thought he looked familiar." You seen one Alan Rickman with black hair, you seen 'em all, I guess.

Free for the Girls by lorena_snape. R, 100 words, angsty.
Just a drabble about sixth-year Severus, but it's so heartbreaking. I can't say any more about this without revealing too much (about me, or about the drabble? mmm, more the former I think...).

Professor Grunge by bohemianspirit. PG-13, ~4000 words, humour/satire/AU.
Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Severus pursues an employment opportunity in the northwestern United States, with somewhat unexpected results.
"Grunge" does in fact have something to do with grunge rock, but I'd rather not give it away. ;) bohemianspirit also tacked on an unusual "warning" that made me laugh: "Severus Snape gets to have a HAPPY LIFE!!!" *snicker* ya gotta warn for that now, do ya?

What Harry Loves by potion_lady. Severus/Harry, hard R, ~1500 words, romantic/sexual/sensual. (Very sensual, in fact.)
Harry loves everything about his lover.
Mmmmmm, taaasty descriptions, yesss precioussss.
...Yeah, I think that's plenty of reason to read this.

Escape from the Shrieking Shack by ellid. PG, 100 words, action (?).
I say "action" because it's done in fragmentary, rapid-fire phrases that take place over just a few seconds of time. A little morsel that made me go "woo-hoo!"

( see tags; a fairly wide variety of stuff here! )

Why Summer Orchids Wither

This 9600-word fic is a little hard to classify, as you can see in the subject. Lily's been hit with a curse that makes her lose some of her recent memory. She doesn't know why she and Severus are no longer friends, or how she got engaged to James. So she calls on Severus to help her out with it, since she figures her best friend (as she still remembers him) would know, and as he works out a cure for her, things go from there.

This is one of those fics that pulls the rug out from under you. There's such tenderness and love and you glow with what's happening to Severus and Lily and then wham, the end just breaks your heart. My reaction when I first read this fic about three weeks ago was to want to scream out loud. "You bitch, you bitch, how could you do that!!!1!1!" Someone commented on another fic in the exchange that it was a success because it had made her feel an emotion, and wow, did this ever do that for me.

ETA: Gosh, a link would help, wouldn't it?
The Place That August Brings

This is my second gift in the less_for_you exchange. (So I guess that gives away that I wrote two fics for it -- insert guesses here. I think I totally fail at anon, but perhaps others are not familiar enough with me to recognize what I see as a blindingly obvious prose and, especially, punctuation style.) Here slightly-edited is the comment I left:

I posted about this when I saw it in the mod journal on the 13th. At the time I was hard-pressed to describe how it made me feel except by writing extemporaneous poetry:

it is October, and dark too soon
in the dregs at the bottom
of that barrel called summer.
the breeze from the window
was warmer at first, and now
too chill too fast after sunset;
but it is this faded photograph
and not that wandering wind
that's set a shiver in my skin.

I enthusiastically adopted this out of the exchange orphans because I loved it so much. I adore the sort of fairy-tale quality to it; it's got hints of a kind of Charles de Lint - urban fantasy thing going on. I feel like I'm looking at a dusty abandoned playground, listening to a tale being told to me by an old woman who once played there, and seeing and hearing ghosts of the children she's telling me about. It also reminds me of finding hidden places on the grounds of the summer camp I used to go to as a girl, and all the magic stories we used to cook up about them.

For the header art, I think I like Lily best, the shape of her hair and the bright contrast of the color with the blue of her top. Severus's patched clothes are cute too!

This fic packs a lot into its 2000 words. Go thou and read, but not too fast (says she of the 300-400 wpm) -- let it creep in your mind like a mist.

If you like Severus/Lily and you do not go read (I know who and you don't, ha ha)'s less_for_you gift for xnymphadorax, A Man's Greatest Treasure, like, right now, then it shall be twenty lashes with a wet noodle! Ve haff vays of dealing with people like you!

It's simply a lovely piece of work. 9k, NC-17 although a good deal of it is below that rating. And the sex is lurvely, don't get me wrong. Sweet and hot and tender. But there's so much else to recommend it too. This is the one I said a while ago, "Oh my, you quoted Rumi; I think I kind of love you right now". It's told in a series of small episodes, one from each year. The build is slow and makes me smile and contains "I can't quite believe you love me" on both sides of the game. If you don't like some level of fluff this may not be the story for you, I suppose, but then WHAT KIND OF FREAK ARE YOU ANYWAY ahem.

This was my comment:

You already know I love this story to bits. Their relationship is so beautiful and the sex at the end is so wonderful and I adore that Severus comes too soon and man I just have the biggest weak spot for fic where Severus is loved and wanted and grraaaaahhhhh.

Yeah. Kinda like that. ;)

Hie thou with haste!

Found this through a link on this drawing (WS, shirtless Severus and a cat), which is an illustration for the fic. I may just have to read it now.

Still staring dazedly at me, he calls up a lecturing classroom voce. "This is beyond the pale, Potter! It just just isn't done! People just don't sprawl, unasked, all over the furniture and masturbate until the m-master of the house comes... home..." Throughout that speech, his voice loses its force so that its barely a whisper at the end. The colour has been rapidly fading from his face. His eyes become unfocused and he leans back against the cabinets. "Well, maybe in Lucius' house."

I haven't actually yet so this isn't a real rec with reasons, but that bit made me both *snerk* and go "oooh, that's kind of a hot image..."

Purification

( 3 Severus/Harry, 1 Sirius/James + Sirius/Regulus, 1 Severus/Sirius )

Snape is a far cry from a Mamma’s Boy. Of course, with this woman for a mother, who would be? A series of letters.

WIP, ~5200 so far. Said "series of letters" is up to a few months into Harry's second year, and is only Eileen's side of the exchange, with Severus's replies left as an exercise for the reader.

The device is well-implemented. The humour is wonderfully dry. The implied repartee between mother and son is eye-crinklingly good.

What are you waiting for? ( some excerpts )

If This Be Madness by sweetmelodykiss

2100 words, warnings: "Dark fic, bottom Snape, non-con, breath play, bondage, torture, but not too graphic, kind of a happy ending." As she notes, the "bad stuff" isn't described in great detail.

This is surreal and haunting and wrong and broken and beautiful. I've called it "horror" just for a lack of any other genre to apply; it's also a twisted kind of hurt/comfort.

At night, Sirius’ dreams swell with images of sex, violence and strangulation. Sirius has considered using a knife, but he hates the sight of blood. Strangling would be so much cleaner and he wouldn’t have to see any gore. Unforgivables are just too impersonal for Sirius’ taste. He’s more of a hands on kind of guy. He wants to look his victim in the eye while he’s choking the life out of him.

The light gradually ebbing out of black eyes, pulse slowing into nothingness, body going limp beneath him. If this be madness, Sirius no longer cares.

But that's not quite what happens. I was smiling at the turning point and it really is kind of a happy ending, albeit still in that shattered-mirror way.