Exploding Poohsticks

The rec:

Syne's series of Percy/Neville ficlets. (Link takes you to the most recent one, which has links to all the others.) I know I keep mentioning Syne's writing here, but there's a good reason for that: it's a lovely blend of dry humor, keen observation, and slow revelations - a combination I personally groove to, and which resonates with others of you, methinks.

A quote:

In my boyhood, each time I played Mozart for my Grandma Clara, she said, in a flat voice, "Sounds just like water." One day, on a picnic, she announced factually that the creek sounded just like Mozart.

- W.A. Mathieu, The Musical Life: Reflections on What It Is and How to Live It.

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...)

I was plagued by nightmares last night (high school, you were twenty years ago and I want to be done with you, dammit!) so I indulged in the comfort of fic this morning in between other things. The fics listed in this post all include supporting OCs that I enjoyed meeting -- I'll theorize some other time about what delights me about OCs, but in brief, I like how they often bring out facets of the starring characters' personalities or histories (particularly when they do so with humor or sympathy) that they're unlikely to share with other canonical characters.

( DH spoilers under the cut; recs range from PG to NC-17 )

[As I noted in my Snupin Santa sign-up, I am actually generally leery of fics featuring preg (m or f), young kids, or parenting as major themes. In the hands of the right authors, though... *commends the above to you*]

[And, speaking of Snupin Santa -- so many new participants! So many returning! Our ship, it sails strong! *cheers*]