Exploding Poohsticks

Now that I've finished bleeding words through my forehead my deathmatch with the most recent albatross, I can finally deal with some photos that've been sitting on my hard drive since mid-August(click images to view larger versions). Dodgy quality (they're from my cellphone) but good memories...

( Chicago - so full of yay! )

( squids! )

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The rec:
Trubbleclef's A Simple Misunderstanding. Neville/Harry, NC-17, 3187 words, discussion of watersports, Luna being awesome, funny.

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The randomness (because I have got to stash this somewhere, because I am going to want to look this up again, but heaven knows why): there was an article in the New York Times this morning about people whose relatives' ashes are in Yankee and Shea Stadiums,... ( Read more... )

(1) drachenmina's An Unpleasant Man at the Bellona Club (drabble with LP, Bunter, and Snape...)

(2) drachenmina's An Inconvenient Affliction. Author's summary: "Harry’s been kicked out by Severus and is having to share Ron and Hermione’s spare bed with Crookshanks. Who gets Kneazle Flu. Can things get any worse? Oh yes." Ribbons's reaction: It's NC-17 Snarry, which I know some of you would normally avoid like the plague, but I feel compelled to point out that Harry's of age, there's non-sickening Hermione/Ron, there's mention of Bagpuss, and that the author knows cats. Oh, does she know cats. Put beverages out of range of keyboard before reading.

(3) It has been a hell of a week - one of these years, I hope to get my shit together enough to stop feeling like I haven't managed to get my shit together since, well, ever...

...but it is also absolutely impossible to feeling sorry for myself for more than a few moments at a time, considering the myriad blessings in my life -- including a surprise package in Monday's mail that contained...



...a necklace featuring the Whomping Willow. With a Snape quotation, no less. Made by the utterly, unbelievably fabulous westernredcedar. (I almost titled this post "From tree to shining tree..." *eg*) I feel like I've somehow won some sort of cosmic bingo for OTP-indulgence I didn't even know I was playing - I can snuggle the pendant up to my squid when I'm not wearing it, and when I feel like celebrating my other OTP, there's a Remus-keytag marginaliana made it can nestle with.

And I can also go revisit the other treasures written and drawn and translated for me, or inhale a scent, or brew some tea, or reread cards and letters, or fondle feathers, beads, and ribbons -- I have such clever, crafty, comforting, generous friends. I am so utterly grateful that you are in my life. It's not the things in themselves, fun and hilarious and charming as they are - they wouldn't matter one bit if they weren't infused with how you are fun and feisty and thought-provoking and thoughtful. And because they are and because you are, my life is rich beyond measure.

Title: Of Cabbages and Kings
Author: jadzialove
Genre(s): Post-war and Romance
Prompt(s): Sleeplessness
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: NC-17, see the Snarry Games post for the others
Word Count: Approx. 23,830
Summary: Harry was supposed to enjoy life after the war. Instead, he can barely stay awake for it. Running out of hope, he finds help from the most unusual sources, and in a wholly unexpected place.
Why I'm rec'cing it: one of the cleverest, well-thought-out fics I've read this year. Also, some of you are keen on farm-based AUs, some of you on opinionated cats, and some of you on forced-bond situations, and it would be a shame for any of you to miss out on this fic because you didn't know it offered all of these. :-)

I've posted a new Snape/Lupin ficlet, Wax, at the lupin-snape comm.

Nineveh has posted a fresh Wimsey slashlet of utter wrongness. Think Yorkshire.

A very quick rec from the bookmarks stash:
Title: And went for a walk in the wide, wide world [title from The Poky Little Puppy]
Author: emiime
Pairing: Percy/Harry
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 9207
Summary: No one ever said it would be easy sharing an office with the Boy Who Lived—or sharing a life with his namesake.
Ribbons's reaction: Engaging characterizations of Percy and Harry. Percy's actions as a first-time puppy-owner ring true. (It doesn't hurt that I'm rereading this on a dreary day where my first action was to clean up after my own dog...)

Swooop's Viennese Singer/Sir Impey Biggs ficlet is now up. *beams*

Someone found my old Heffalump/Snape wronglet via the snarry_reader.

Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge (set in 1912, published in 1964, and illustrated by one Ian Ribbons). ( cut for potential spoiler )

Tags: dls, goudge, harry, snape

I'm an idiot. I didn't and don't have time to write this, so I sat down to write a drabble to get it out of my system, after a discussion among some other fen that I peeked at while at work sparked a line that had me rushing to my laptop as soon as I got home. Here we are, 1000 words later. You are all so surprised, right? *headdesk*

I don't see myself returning to it anytime soon (and if you're a regular reader, you know how damned long it takes me to finish fics I do intend to finish), so if any of you want to grab the plot-baton and run with it, feel free (even those of you tempted to turn it into Snarry) - just credit me for this first 1000, please.

Title: Runs From Us Away
Pairing: SS/RL
Rating: G
Warning: Not Happy (Yet)
Summary: Twelve years after the War, not all is well, even when people try to do the right things.
A/N: The title is a quote from Donne's The Anniversarie. Yes, I've been told my sense of humor is warped.

( Over the years, Harry had learned to interpret the different ways Snape slammed the door to the flat they shared. )

[It never fails: as soon as I tell myself to go on hiatus, stuff I can't wait to rec shows up...]

( Both post-DH Snarries )

"Moonlightnrain" demanded a kiss. So I gave her 200 words. G. Title nicked from Robbie Burns.

[Oh, and as far as I'm concerned, Deathly Hallows is not out until Saturday and I am treating everything currently circulating on the Internet as speculation and/or apocrypha until confirmed by the bonafide dead-tree copy released to me by Borders. So, there will be no DH spoilers in this or anything else I might happen to post before Monday.]

[Yes, Monday. Because this weekend I have one memorial service to attend, two regular services to preach, and a four-hour Monday meeting for which I must prep. Whee!]


Ae Fond Kiss

For almost two years, Snape had known he would have to face this moment someday, but he was nonetheless surprised at how shocked he felt when the Death Eater cadets dumped Lupin's lifeless body at his feet. However, his years upon years of masking his true emotions continued to serve him well.

"Thank you, gentlemen," he said gravely, dismissing them. He waited a full hour after their departure before scooping Lupin up and Apparating into a garret in Camden Town. Even though he was half-giddy with anxiety, he couldn't help but roll his eyes as Harry Potter and Nymphadora Tonks hastily broke apart from their clinch.

"You've got him!" Potter exclaimed, rushing forward to help him.

"I knew you'd manage it!" Tonks hurried forward as well and saluted him gently on the cheek. He remained astounded at how a woman so clumsy could kiss so delicately, though he'd gathered from earlier visits to the garret that her liaison with Potter was... energetic.

Visits he'd made with Lupin. Who was still limp in his arms.

"Remus," he hissed, "if you managed to screw this up, I'll kill you myself."

Not opening his eyes, Lupin weakly pressed his lips against Snape's palm.

150 words, for severity_softly, as a 40K carrot to her NaNo haulalong. Her prompt was "used book(s)." Harry/Ron, Snape/Lupin, G.


"Oi, what’s that bloody noise?" Ron groaned and muffled his ears with his pillow.

Harry blearily checked the clock. "Ten past five. Figures. Same as every year." He padded over to the window, flung it open, and accepted the plain-wrapped bundle all but hurled at his midsection by the impatient vulture that had been hovering there.

Upon Harry leaving the bed, Ron looked up in time to recognise the bird. "That wake-up call was from Snape? What’s he doing sending you birthday presents?"

"Joint gifts from him and Remus." Harry unwrapped the package, which turned out to consist of a half-dozen hefty tomes.

Ron ran a finger along the ratty edge of 101 Antidotes to Advanced Love Potions. "I thought their shop was doing well? Seems to me they could afford to buy you new instead of secondhand."

Harry murmured, "Snape is a great believer in the power of annotation."

Title: Like No Other
Rating: PG
Words: ~3,700, plus 400 and a bit for the postscript
Pairings: Snape/Lupin, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Draco
Summary: The Trio, the werewolf, a turtledove, and a looking-glass.
Beta: The ever-fabulous catrinella.
Notes: For _lore, for dearsanta 2005. The postscript was written for pixychelle, who originated turtledove!Snape and then egged me on (so to speak)...


( A year like no other this was… )

( Postscript )