| REC: Six Impossible Things |
[Jul. 28th, 2008|02:01 pm] |
Title: Six Impossible Things
Author: ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) sarka
RATING: R (contains very mild sexual references)
PAIRING: Percy/Luna
WORD COUNT: 5,623
SUMMARY: "Do you want to see something fantastic?" she asks, standing on his landing. She's wearing a bright yellow sundress and blue Wellington boots, and she's carrying an almost-empty basket, with what looks like the handle of an umbrella poking out.
MY THOUGHTS: I have an unfortunate habit of mainly reccing fics that are written for me, which this one was (for the 2008 ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif) percy_ficathon), and that probably makes me seem biased. After all, if it's written for me, it probably hits all of my kinks, right? For this fic, though, the fact that it's written for me is almost incidental. It filled my request, of course, but it didn't really hit a single one of my usual loves in fanfiction. It's het. It's fluff, sweeter than sugar. It's post-war fic with no fallout after the war. These are things that would often make me want to run in the other direction before even finishing reading the fic rather than making me want to rec it. If you feel the same, or if you can't really imagine how this pairing could work believably, then this is the fic for you. All of those things that I would usually dislike combined to make this fic absolutely perfect. I particularly adored Luna's characterisation and the details of both Percy's living style and his reactions during and after the final battle. In a small amount of words, I was made to believe wholeheartedly not only that the characters had grown and matured even as they stayed the same, but also that they might have ended up being perfect for each other. |
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| REC: An Exercise in Holding Hands |
[Feb. 16th, 2008|02:19 pm] |
TITLE: An Exercise in Holding Hands
AUTHOR: ? ETA: noticeably
RATING: R (contains dark themes/mild horror)
PAIRING: Harry/Neville
WORD COUNT: 4,300
SUMMARY: There's a weight on your shoulders, heavy and unrelenting, bearing down upon you until you gasp and collapse and can't breathe. Moving on is easy. Except when it isn't.
MY THOUGHTS: You might call me a little biased, because this fic was written for me for the hpvalensmut 2008 exchange. However, even if this hadn't been written specifically to suit my kinks, I would really have enjoyed the premise alone.
The fic is fairly short and is written in 2nd-person POV, but don't let that put you off. I don't generally like that style of writing myself, but here it was used so well that I honestly can't imagine wanting the fic to be written any other way. The style and pace are wonderful; it's simple and there's a perfect contrast between the angsty, the sweet and the disturbing moments.
As for the content itself, if you've ever wished there was a Harry/Neville post-war fic out there that was neither pure fluff nor incredibly dark and non-con, this is the fic for you. Harry and Neville are both jaded war veterans whose relationship is angsty and awkward and just a little bit angry. If you ignore the epilogue (as most of us do), this is the sort of situation that I could really buy as a follow-up to DH. |
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| REC: Five Women Who Hate Fleur Delacour |
[Oct. 4th, 2007|07:12 pm] |
Title: Five Women Who Hate Fleur Delacour
Author: snegurochka_lee
Pairings: None (gen)
Summary: She was beautiful, intelligent, talented, successful – and not very nice about it. Clearly, other women must hate her.
Yes, it's a gen fic. Like many people this end of the fandom, I read and write less of them than I would perhaps like. It's also a fic entirely centred around the woman of the Harry Potter universe. I find that I'm rarely satisfied by such a fic because the male characters in HP are simply a lot stronger (with a few exeptions). This fic deserves to be read because it takes those same female characters and delves beneath what we see in a way that makes me appreciate their many flaws rather than just wanting to roll my eyes at them.
Well, all right, I still rolled my eyes at Tonks. I think that was probably because she was portrayed quite spot-on (so it's not a flaw in the fic itself by any means). I really don't like Tonks as a character.
On the other hand, Fleur and Luna were both written to absolute perfection. Considering Luna is by far my favourite female HP character, this made me very happy indeed. |
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| Favourites Lists: I love them, but ... |
[Sep. 13th, 2007|11:09 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | random, recs | ] |
| [ | My mood is swinging toward ... |
| | in denial | ] |
While I appreciate all the linkies being added to my f-list to everyone's favourite or 'classic' fics (because what could be bad about fic recs, right?) ... well. Does it feel like a mass wrap-up to anyone else? It does to me. It feels like we're getting ready for the end of an era.
My fandom will never die. Never, damn it. |
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| Apparently I asked for Remus/Mundungus as a gift. And someone actually wrote it. Who'da thunk it? |
[Aug. 25th, 2007|07:17 pm] |
Completely hilarious and borderline grotesque Remus/Mundungus fic? For me? Why yes, I'd be delighted.
I was just stunned at the sure knowledge that I'm not the only person to have ever written this pairing. And happy. So happy. Because I think that any writer who dares to take on Mundungus, of all people, realistically in a sexual situation must both really care about giving their recipient the gift they want and ... well, and have real effing guts, to be quite frank.
Also, I'm squeeful on my mystery author's behalf that I'm by far not the only person to give a favourable review. It's always a worry that people won't read fics with pairings like this, especially when they warn for dirty old man sex. ;-)
The hp_springsmut exchange may have been all over the place in posting due to the LJ debacle, and I may have had trouble getting my own submission done, but this totally made it all worth it. Check it out, even if it's against your best judgement; it's gut-wrenchingly funny. |
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| REC: Carrying On (Percy/Snape) |
[Aug. 24th, 2007|01:57 pm] |
Title: Carrying On
Author: Anonymous (written for the percy_ficathon)
Pairing: Percy/Snape
Rating: R
Summary: When Percy looks back on this year, all he will say is "I did what I had to do."
Yes, I was sceptical when I saw the pairing as well. But to be perfectly honest, the pairing is really not the centre of the fic. Furthermore, the snippets of Percy and Snape's interaction that are shown strike me as utterly perfect; here we see two men who are necessarily separated from the rest of the wizarding world finding shared comfort. It's not an overly tender or fluffy fic (though it was, at times, almost heart-wrenching). I think that's what makes it strikingly realistic.
And the characterisation of Percy. Oh, Percy. I've rarely read any version of Percy in fanfic that rings so perfectly true. There was not a moment that I doubted that he would be doing/thinking/feeling/saying exactly what he had in the fic.
The real reason this fic will stay with me, though (apart from, of course, the wonderfully brisk style of writing), is the way each missing scene draws on the details of DH and slots so seemlessly into canon that I have to forcefully remind myself that this is not canon. I really wish it was. After all, don't we all think that DH could have done with more Percy and Snape? |
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