Scrapbooking

I'm just going through a few files on my PC and filing them on the external HD and came across some lovely goodies by hechicera. She's really not on LJ much anymore (it's been about a year, I think), and I miss her amazing talent and wicked sense of humour. Hech, if you are around, just know you are missed, girl.

( Wittering On About Fandom. I Love You Guys...You're My Mates... )

Desert Island Fics 2: The WIPs

I'm in between 'jobs' so to speak. Still decompressing from finishing the hp_kinkfest fic (thank you for all your encouraging and lovely comments. I truly didn't expect this, and they mean a LOT) just submitted my sshg_promptfest fic (which may generate comments of a completely different kind, I'm afraid), before getting back to work on Her Minder. I was looking for a one-shot fic which I know was mentioned either on snapeyluvshermy or one_bad_man, which I cannot find. It's very smutty, nearly dub-con and a few years old. Snape overpowers Hermione shortly after HBP and takes her on the floor. The only thing I remember is that Hermione thinks to herself he must have used some kind of spell because he was really good in the sack. They end up leaving together to fight. To quote Deathly Halllows: Look I know it's not much to go on.... It's nothin' to go on...

Yeah, now you can see why I can't find it.

So, as you know, if I love a fic or a novel or any written piece, I will read it. In fact, I'll read the hell out of it. Over and over. And while I was shuffling through my favourites on Ash (I'm sure I had the fic above there at one time but couldn't find it),  and TPP I rediscovered some of the favourites I'd first favourited when I came on board with Ashwinder. As I read through some I had forgot or had read perhaps once and stashed away, I couldn't help but notice a handful of WIPs that I had bookmarked as favourites, and still remain beloved stories. I realise that many people refuse to read WIPs and I can understand - it's tough to get to that last page and know there's nothing to follow, but the writing in these fics is so powerful, the stories so compelling, I'd love for you to give them a try.

Now, several of the authors  are my friends here. Please believe me - I'm not highlighting these stories for any other reason than I just really love them. I'm not trying to pester or pull some passive/aggressive guilt trip on you or make you feel uncomfortable in any way. I just want to show that there are some really amazing stories out there that people may be avoiding because they aren't finished. It is my fervent hope that one day you will finish them, but if you have no plans to take them any further - hey, I still love 'em, and I'll still read them over and over again.

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Owned by subversa. It's no secret that Subversa has moved on to original fiction, and quite right too. Such talent needs to be shared with the world. As a fanfiction writer, she is considered on of the classic greats, in my humble opinion - one of those benchmark authors. Her fic Send Not To Know was one of my introductions into the fandom, and still remains a favourite re-read. Owned is a fic that with black-tipped wings, and gives you the feeling that, should it's climax be written, it will be at once intense and quietly powerful. In it, Hermione is a broken soul, alone in the world, too traumatised to even take care of herself. Severus finds in her a kindred spirit, one he would like to help, and it is as much the story of his own struggles to find himself and the means to help Hermione.

( Excerpts from Owned )

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Infinitely Curious Woman by a plus. This story was going strong when I first got into the fandom, and wow - it's got it all. Drama, delicious magical theory, a very ambiguous Snape and a very gutsy and brilliant Hermione. It also has some of the most explosively erotic moments in fanfiction. The premise is so intriguing; now that Severus has been told by Albus that Lily's son has to die, he makes a promise to Lily's memory that he will keep the boy alive at all costs; by bringing him to the Dark side and persuading Voldemort that he is more valuable to him alive. To this end, he plans to seduce Hermione into learning Dark Magic, then passing on her knowledge to Harry. What I love about the story is that a plus shows how this is done with the seductive power of Dark magic, and how it affects the castor.

( Excerpt From The Infinitely Curious Woman )

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Needs Must by melusin_79. It's no surprise that I love a good Dom!Hermione/sub!Severus story, and Melusin understands the dynamic completely and writes it responsibly and accurately. There are plenty of authors who don't, and I refuse to read them, but Mel has it right. This lifestyle and interaction takes place as much between the ears as between the legs, and while it can be a completely rewarding and fulfilling lifestyle, in the wrong hands (and written by those who really don't understand it), it can be emotionally and psychologically damaging. In this fic, Hermione (who was badly wounded and scarred in the final battle and therefore wears a glamour) has found her calling (and one I have no trouble seeing her in) as a Dominant, who trains subs for pay. Severus, tired of feeling so disenfranchised in this new Wizarding world, seeks her out. He susses her out immediately, but doesn't let on, and Hermione has no idea he knows. It's intense and intriguing as both of them pull toward the centre of this relationship. It is a story of two deeply flawed and scarred individuals who are trying to find their way. It's a tricky one; they could end up together, and they could heal and go their separate ways.

( Excerpt from Needs Must )

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Wake, by hechicera. Hech is a great author. Her work crackles with wit and energy, and her characters are forthright and very real. Severus Snape, working for Minister Shacklebolt, is basically charged with trying to find out what Hermione Granger is up. The story is part mystery, part love (or at least lust) story, part road trip, and every chapter is funny, sharp, intelligent and irresistible. Her Snape is beautifully rendered; he's resentful being at Shacklebolt's beck and call, and very attracted to this gutsy, go-getter Hermione, not to mention impressed with her potions making skills. Together they trek through several countries and dangers. Read for the sheer fun of getting inside Severus' head as they perform their first Invisibility Potions experiment which has a very, um, intense effect on Severus:

( Excerpt from Wake )

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And of course, my list of WIP favourites would not be complete without Seven Preposterous Things, by bloodcult. Poor Bloodcult. She must cringe every time she sees her name on one of my posts, because I'm usually talking about this story. It's still my all time favourite SSHG fic, bar none, and I don't care that it's unfinished and I don't care if it will ever be finished. It's just so damn good. I have lost count of the times I've read it (it's on my Kindle) and I still adore it. The relationship between Severus and Hermione is so real and so flawed and so red-blooded sometimes I feel like I'm being a voyeur, peeking in on their private affairs. The moments of sex between them are so erotically charged with magic, and while Severus is no one's idea of the perfect mate, he is so compelling and mesmerising you totally understand while Hermione chooses to love him. But it's Millie Bulstrode who shines in this story as one of the greatest characters ever created. From the very beginning, she is as fully-formed and whole as any living person in the universe, and JKR wishes she could bring her characters to life with such clear, fully dimensional awesomeness (yeah, words fail me).

( Excerpt from Seven Preposterous Things )

Of course, there are many others, but these are definitely in the top ten. I urge you to go and have a read. Don't worry about the end, Just enjoy all the delicious bit between it and the beginning.

Gentle Rest

A great fighter left us today. Not by defeat, but in preparation for the next adventure. Farewell, mischievous_t.