Recs: July 15, 2010

[bethbethbeth]

I need to get on a recs schedule, seriously.

note: I'm saving up Snape/Hermione recs from the big LJ exchange, but I'm not posting them until after the reveals



Hard Core Logo

Omphale (omphale23 on LJ): "Hard Candy" (Billy-centric gen. In which Billy comes awfully close to being a grown-up, at least where Billie's concerned. Low key and believable.)

Harry Potter

Alim Siemanym (alimsiemanym on LJ): "Dogs of War" (Alastor Moody/Rufus Scrimgeour "A tale of triumph and tragedy, of two broken men and the war that made them and killed them." Gritty and real - homophobia and all - and strangely touching.)

Anguis_1 (anguis_1 on LJ): "Sod Off” Means “I Love You" (Severus Snape/Millicent Bulstrode/Dennis Creevey "It begins and ends with the camera. Snapshots of life, and the living thereof." Just what hp_beholder was created for: three wonderfully unattractive characters who find a home together. Lovely. Cross-recced in slash and het)

Cardigrl (cardigrl on LJ): "As Time Goes By" (Rufus Scrimgeour / Augusta Longbottom "In the midst of war, unlikely alliances may form. Sometimes, they become more." Political and romantic and always believable. Very strong characterizations.)

cathedral_carver (cathedralcarver on LJ):: "It's Elemental, My Dear Snape" (Snape/Hermione. "Everything has been figured out, except how to live. Pay attention – there's a test later." After DH and Severus Snape is...not gone? Clever and with a dreamlike quality, but moving.)

cathedral carver (cathedralcarver on LJ): "Piss Tank" (Young!Snape/Lily. " Sometimes a storm comes on quickly, and when it’s over, everything has changed." Harsh and moving and utterly believable.)

Chaos Rose (chaos_rose on LJ/ cathouse_mary on DW): "Never Hearts and Flowers" (Rufus Scrimgeour/Alastor Moody. "Scenes from the lives of two men." How could this not be canon? Just. So. Good! And yes, I'm warning for character death - this following canon and all - just...death isn't always the end.)

Chazpure (chazpure on LJ): "Charming a Prince" (Eileen Prince/Tobias Snape "Tobias had been sent away from danger into a strange world he'd never known, where he met a most unusual girl." How odd to think in terms of wonderful world building when the world the author's building is our real world. Fantastically conceived and executed, with an excellent pov.)

Delphi (atdelphi on LJ/DW): "The Conjugal State" (Argus Filch/Severus Snape "In which Albus Dumbledore makes an error, Severus Snape is certainly not married, and Argus Filch is the happiest man in the world. " Perfectly paced and perfect characterization. As ever, Delphi can do no wrong.)

Ella Bane (ella_bane on LJ): "But Can She Do Maths?" (Minerva McGonagall/Viktor Krum. "Viktor Krum needs a date. Where's Hermione Granger when you need her? " I've never subscribed to the popular stereotype that Viktor Krum is a bit...dim. This Viktor is more like it...and certainly bright enough to appreciate an older witch. Funny and smart.)

Feather Quill (featherxquill on LJ): "An Interesting and Difficult Woman" (Ollivander/Muriel "After his rescue from the Malfoy dungeon and his stay at Shell Cottage, Ollivander finds himself waiting out the war with five of the Weasley clan at their Aunt Muriel’s. Their hostess is a difficult woman, but as he learns more about her, Ollivander begins to find her interesting as well. " Two minor characters, fully realized here, in a perfectly paced story.)

Femme (femmequixotic on LJ): "Ode to Broken Things" (Millicent Bulstrode/Viktor Krum "Krum's in town," Harry says finally. "I just thought you should know." Can I just say "It's Femme," and leave it at that? A wonderful - and tender - story of love, familial and otherwise.)

Flora Hart (florahart on LJ/IJ): "Fresh Start" (Alastor Moody/Viktor Krum. "All Alastor needs is more eyes and ears on the continent, but if he gets something more in the bargain, he supposes he'll take it." A wonderful story that works amazingly well with canon. Excellent characterizations all the way through.)

Janus (janus on LJ): "Washed Clean" (Rodolphus Lestrange/Rabastan Lestrange "The Lestrange brothers are freed from prison and taken to Malfoy Manor, where they begin to come to themselves in the bath." Unaccustomed as I am to rec anything that even hints at incest, I couldn't pass this up. Smart and painful and raw and so, so smart. )

Kelly Chambliss (kelly_chambliss on LJ): "Witness " (Severus Snape/Minerva McGonagall. "Many years after Voldemort is finally overthrown, a Bulgarian former refugee comes forward to help answer one of the great mysteries of the wars. " Smart and insightful as Kelly's stories always are, with a wonderful p.o.v.)

Leela (leela_cat on LJ): "Moon Frog Soup (Omit the Shrivelfigs, Mandrake Noses, and Bowtruckle Fingernails)" (Snape/Luna. "Princely Things was more than just a shop. It was also Eileen Prince's way of helping some of the children who couldn't help themselves." My gift in the 2010 Snuna Exchange, and so pretty much made to order for me. Post-DH, although AU to the extent that Snape's still alive, with just the right balance of real world concerns and whimsy.)

machshefa (machshefa on LJ): "To Ride the Rising Sun" (Snape/Luna. "The first one announces itself with a screech and a thud." Somebody's seeing to it that magical creatures appear on Severus Snape's doorstep. Could his former student, Luna Lovegood, be responsible? Well written, engaging, and really rather sweet.)

magnetic_pole (magnetic_pole on LJ): "Air Heart" (Minerva McGonagall/Rolanda Hooch. "Minerva McGonagall takes flight." Brilliantly unexpected and original.)

Mindabbles (mindabbles on LJ): "The News Today (Morning Edition)" (Molly Weasley/Arthur Weasley, Minerva McGonagall/Arabella Figg, Augusta Longbottom/Alastor Moody "Tell it as you see it. Expose the bastards for what they are and if everyone, on every side, hates you, you are probably doing a fine job" Funny and tender and political and chilling, all at once. An excellent look at the wizarding world at the moment of Voldemort's rise. Cross-recced in het and slash.)

Miss Morland (miss_morland on LJ): "Men of War" (Rufus Scrimgeour/Alastor Moody "There was always the light coming from the small window, the taste of Firewhisky in the morning, and Moody's gruff smile as he opened the door to let him in." Wonderfully structured with perfectly real emotions throughout.)

Purplefluffycat (purplefluffycat on LJ, etc): "Clouds of White" (Filius Flitwick/Peter Pettigrew "He would never have looked at the boy, at first. That was the truth by Merlin, and Filius reminded himself of that fact for many years after the event had passed. He was not a bad man, after all. Indeed, quite the opposite; didn't everyone always say that he was cheery and good natured and would go out of his way to help someone in trouble? . . . Well, yes. And that was quite possibly how the whole thing had started." Sweet and sad and emotionally truthful.)

Rowan Grayjoy (r_grayjoy on LJ, etc): "A Small Touch of Luck" (Severus Snape/Filius Flitwick "After the war, Severus finds himself dealing with excessively apologetic former colleagues, struggling through a difficult recovery from his injuries, and holed up inside Hogwarts in order to avoid the Ministry. Strangely, Filius is somehow making it almost enjoyable." Flitwick - this Flitwick - is just what Severus Snape needs. Strong characterizations and a smart tale)

Iron Man

Atra (atrata on LJ): "People Who Know My Sins" (Tony/Pepper. "Dancing is not in her job description, but neither is mopping up blood at 4 in the morning. She does it anyway." Pepper's reactions are so perfectly drawn, the reader might as well be her. )

thelma_lou (thelma_lou on LJ): "Reconciliation" (Tony/Pepper. "This is not the end-of-the-line scenario she’d always envisioned. This is not a drunken mistake or desperation or declining years or no one else left to fight." Oh, Pepper's so smart and insightful about Tony, but somehow she still ends up saying yes.)


Kingdom

The Hoyden (thehoyden on LJ): "To Put It Right" (Peter/Becket (OC) "Peter changes a will, and everything else changes along with it." Perfectly voiced and perfectly observed - and how very lovely for Peter.)

White Collar

sinead (smallbeer on LJ/DW): "give us this day" (Peter/Neal/Elizabeth/ "ten things about cohabitation." Slightly non-linear domesticity. Smart and quite touching.)

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And one more rec, even though I haven't finished reading it yet: Naomi Novik's Tongue of Serpents, the latest in the wonderful Temeraire series. So, so good!

Comments

[ella_bane]

Yay! Thank you for the rec. <3

[bethbethbeth]

*smooches*