kelly_chambliss

I'm not really here, considering that I've got several things I must do by tomorrow.

But as long as I'm not here, I'll take a minute to mention a movie I've been reading about. This afternoon, I was procrastinating staying current in the field of popular culture by looking at predictions for this year's Academy Award nominations (which will be announced on January 24). At least a couple of websites mentioned Janet McTeer as a long-shot nominee for Albert Nobbs.

Ever heard of Albert Nobbs? I hadn't. It's a film about a nineteenth-century woman passing as a man. Since so many of us have just read tetleythesecond's amazingly fine story Ombra mai fu, Being the Beginning of the Very True Story of Minerva McGonagall and Elphinstone Urquart, I thought the flick was worth exploring.

I'd like to see it, although I'm skeptical for at least a couple of reasons:

• Mainstream filmmakers don't have a very good track record of presenting nuanced or thoughtful depictions of non-mainstream notions of gender and sexuality.
• The "passing" woman, aka Albert Nobbs, is played by Glenn Close. Maybe I'm just too familiar with Close as a woman and/or know her face too well, but I have to say that, based on the still photos alone, I don't find her very credible as a man. I look at the photos, and all I can think is, "That looks like Glenn Close dressed in 19th-century men's clothing." (Plus, I once saw her in person on the street in NYC, and she's diminutive: not tall, really thin, small-boned. [Her IMDB profile says she's 5'5" {165 cm}, but I don't believe it; the overall impression she creates is of someone shorter.] Still, I suppose they have ways of concealing height, etc. on film. And maybe her non-traditional masculinity is supposed to be part of the point.)

But even if the movie turns out to be dreadful, I'll go to it because. . .

• It's about a passing woman.
• It's about a passing woman in the nineteenth century.
• It features Janet McTeer.
• It features Janet McTeer.
• It features Janet McTeer.
• It also features Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody), Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley), Phyllida Law, and Maria Doyle Kennedy (Bates's nasty wife Vera in Downton Abbey).

The film opens this Friday (January 27) in the US, but unfortunately, it's only in limited release, which means that it's not coming within 250 miles of Rural Hamlet. So my desires nothwithstanding, I won't be seeing it any time soon.

But if you live somewhere more fun and have a chance to go, Albert Nobbs might be worth a look.

If it's got too much gender!fail, just let me know.

How better to spend a Saturday evening after one has returned from an enjoyable party than to subject one's flist to a personal brag sheet?

My boasts:

I've been lucky enough to have a story "featured" at The Petulant Poetess archive. Here's a shiny banner to prove it:



(Yes, the banner does read "featured art" rather than "featured story," but maybe it just means "art" in general. It certainly doesn't mean anything I drew, because trust me, any visual "art" I produce is laughable.)

Also, my grateful thanks to whoever nominated my stories at the hpfanficfanpoll. And the nominees are -- "To Some a Gift," "Triptych," "?????," and a "Best Line" from "Miss Grubbly-Plank Finds Herself." (I'm particularly chuffed to see "?????" in the list. Not that it has any chance against its competition -- machshefa's amazing "The Essence of Sunset," the hit of this year's sshg_exchange. But no matter -- it truly is an honor just to be nominated. "Essence" is a great story [I'm sure the other nominees in the category are excellent as well, but I haven't read them.])

Thank you, dear nominator(s).

So many of my favorite stories from 2011 have been nominated that voting is going to be a bitch -- but a fun bitch, and that's the best kind. It's also fun to see so many OLSB stories represented.

Now that all my holiday fests have had their reveals, I can post my (only slightly belated) end-of-year fic meme. I always enjoy these -- both writing my own and reading other people's. I love the chance to pull together an assessment of a year's worth of disparate stories. (I suppose I like it for the same reason I used to enjoy [in a masochistic sort of way] final exams -- I'd never have gone through the difficult process of synthesizing my learning if I hadn't been forced to, and I was always glad once I had. I learned loads from the process.)

Here's what I wrote in 2011:

( The Fics and Fests )

( The Stats )

( The Thinky Thoughts )

Nuggets of news from the recliner. . .

• Because I'm sure you want to know: It's snowing here for the first time this winter. Hate the stuff.

• Prompt-claiming has begun at dysfuncentine, an anti-Valentine's Day fest for stories about dysfunctional relationships. The prompts are PRIME, and I'm not just saying this because I had a manic moment (okay, a manic hour) and posted 19 of them. There are nearly 140 in total, and many feature the OLSB and their old-man friends.

• Mark your calendars -- Sign-ups for the incomparable hp_beholder begin on January 26.

• Maggie Alert! Rumor has it that Maggie Smith is going to be in the next James Bond movie, Skyfall, along with Ralph Fiennes, Helen McCrory, and yes. . .Judi Dench.

• Tomorrow will be a madly busy day, but I have Saturday completely free. That's right -- nothing that I absolutely must do. No papers to grade yet, no major reading to do, and I've decided that everything else can be put off. The uncleaned closets and the unwritten professional articles have been uncleaned and unwritten for this long, so there's no reason they can't just wait a little longer. What am I going to do with my day off? Well, expect some LJ/DW spam, dears.

Alas, almost all the holiday fests have finished posting, and I'd be in fandom despair (or something) if it weren't that hoggywartyxmas and snapecase are still going on.

But there are still plenty of gems to share with you:

From snapelyholidays:

Father to the Man by Anonymous (Snape/Filch; NC-17)
This fic is one of my favorites of the fest season -- a clever, thought-provoking time-travel story that starts with a birthing scene (both metaphorical and literal) and ends with...well, you'll want to see that for yourself. It's beautifully written and plotted (you'll be kept guessing till the end), and the characterizations are excellent: practical, shrewd, gruffly-kind Filch; snappish, impetuous, compelling Snape; and the best child character I've read in many a day.

Nowt to Be Afraid Of (Snape, Eileen gen; PG)
Another cleverly-plotted story, poignant and hopeful, with a believable Eileen and an intriguing take on the "what if?" question.

A Carol Sung Off-Key by Anonymous (Snape/Lupin; NC-17)
A sharply-written and funny retelling of Dickens's A Christmas Carol with a delightfully irritated Snape and excellent versions of lines from the original.

Tensile Strength by Anonymous (Snape/Neville; NC-17)
Ow. This fic is painful and gritty and grim yet also compelling and believable. It offers a post-war world in which yes, Voldemort was defeated, and no, that fact doesn't make life any easier or better for the survivors. Snape is still a bastard, Neville is still oppressed, but in the end, we see the strength of both of them as well as a sliver of hope.

From Kinky Kristmas at daily_deviant:

A Toy at Christmas by Anonymous thegildedmagpie (Draco Malfoy/Barty-Crouch-Jr-as-Moody; NC-17)
This fic is about a spoiled brat and a despicable, twisted, sadistic bully, and I hung on every word. Expertly-told from Moody!Crouch's pov, the story will leave you feeling like you need a good bath. I say these things with great admiration, for this work is a masterful study of character and voice. It makes you really feel the evil, madness, and danger of the character.

And don't forget the wonderful McGonagall/Hooch art, Seeker. I recced this a couple of days ago, but it's worth another look.

I'm deliberately behind on my reading at hoggywartyxmas, because I like to save things to savor later. But stay tuned for some recs (if I can resist just linking to every story).

The ever-wonderful leela_cat has written the most excellent Minerva/Poppy drabble for me. Read it here: In Safety and Sanctuary.

It's a wonderful example of the possibilities of the drabble form: every word just so; every image revealing of meaning. It captures Minerva, with all her "tartan apparatus," perfectly.

And it's got hair and shoes!

My very appreciative thanks to you, Leela.

Tuesday is my usual day as editor of the quibbler_report. But since we took Christmas Day off, and since the Monday editor did not do her day's posting, I ended up with a three-day abundance of fic to read and rec.

So I'm happy to share the fruits of my reading orgy with you, my lovely flist. Have some fics and arts:

From Kinky Kristmas at daily_deviant:

ART -- Challenge Accepted by Anonymous someoldcat (McGonagall/Snape; NC-17; bdsm)
Yowzah! Sizzling. I love the fact that Minerva's hair is still primly restrained and her neck is encircled with a demure cameo, yet her boots (her boots!) and corset (corset!) and implements (implements!) and breasts (omg! sexy Minerva breasts) just scream "wildness and control" in glorious oxymoronic profusion.

FIC -- Turnabout by Anonymous songquake (McGonagall/Sprout; NC-17)
This story is the second gift I received at Kinky Kristmas this year. I asked for a submissive Minerva for whom submission does not come easily, and my Mystery Author has given me a lovely, playful, caring Pomona who makes a delightful dom. And Minerva, good student that she is, does her best to please the teacher.

From hoggywartyxmas:

I had been disappointed by the low comment turnout on the fests I've been following this year -- until Hoggywarty started. The wonderful readers and recipients have been exceptionally generous in sharing their appreciation of the amazingly good stories and art; there have been recs and comments galore.

So let me add to the chorus of praise; the fest contains so many winners that it's really difficult to choose my recs. My real rec, of course, is that you go to the comm right now and read everything. But just in case you want a little guidance:

FIC --

Happy Christmas, I Wish It Were by Anonymous dueltastic (McGonagall/Snape; past McGonagall/Scrimgeour; PG-13)
It's no secret that MMSS is my favorite het pairing (followed by MM/Moody), and stories like this one show exactly why: everything wry, dry, understated, and acerbic, yet all the more intense through the very indirection. I see in these two people such similarity: both intelligent, intense, damaged in various ways, restrained, morally-compromised (Severus definitely; Minerva possibly), caught between recognition of everyone's humanity and a difficulty in suffering fools. Anyway, this story captures so much of what I love about this pairing and does it without fluff. (Also, I'm rapidly becoming interested in McG/Scrimgeour; it's a pairing that makes a lot of sense. I've seen a couple of really good stories about this pair in the past, and I'd like to see more.)

Time Remembered by Anonymous therealsnape (Flitwick and the Heads of Houses; not rated)
I didn't think there would ever be a story that could come close to Amor Vitae in terms of my favorite Flitwick fic, but I was wrong. "Time Remembered" is a glorious piece of gen that explores, through Flitwick's exquisitely-characterized pov, the "family" that colleagues can sometimes become. It's one of those stories that so immerses you in its world that you'll blink in momentary confusion when you return to your own. (And Swinburne! Filius reads Swinburne!)

All That Is Mine to Give by Anonymous albalark (Sprout/Moody; PG-13)
I simply adore when a "rarepair" is so well-done that it seems inevitable and leaves you wondering why on earth it's considered "rare" at all; it should be total canon. This bittersweet, moving, well-characterized story is one of those. I'm sold on Sprout/Moody now.

An Old Fool's Folly by Anonymous plaid_slytherin (Slughorn/Albus; PG-13)
As much as I love my OLSB, I'm also really fond of old-man m/m pairs, and this poignant story of two flawed yet compelling men is just excellent -- beautifully written, paced, and characterized.

ART -- Decking the Halls by Anonymous shadowycat (Sprout, Flitwick, McGonagall; G)
This art was posted on Christmas Eve, and it was just exactly what I wanted to see at that moment: my favorite characters going capably about the thing they teachers are rather good at: magic. I love Pomona's earthy brown lushness, Filius's dignity, Minerva's quiet smile.

And the fun isn't over yet: I have today's entries yet to read; there's that long Snape/Filch I'm saving on Snapely Hols; Kinky Kristmas is still posting.

PLUS, I have the second half of my own glorious Hoggywarty gift to read. I've read the first part and adored it beyond all that is seemly. But I'm notorious for postponing pleasures; I seem to have completely internalized my mother's assurances that anticipation is half the fun. For me, it definitely is. I postpone the things I really want so as to still have them to look forward to. ("I hate looking forward!!!" the Young Man (then Child) used to howl when I tried to sell him on the joys of anticipation; apparently I am nowhere near as persuasive as my mother was.)

Anyway. I'm going to give my gift a rec post of its own.

The excellent stories just keep getting posted. My only sorrow is that comment numbers seem to be way down this year, at least in the fests I'm following (Kinky Kristmas, Snapely Holidays, HP_Holidaygen, Mini-Fest [except for the Harry/Draco fics, which generally have made it to double-digit comments]) -- in quite a few cases, superb stories are getting only three-four brief comments. (One exception, at least so far, is the wonderful hoggywartyxmas, where the per-story comments have already climbed into double-digits after only two days of posting.)

So let me continue to do my part to promote excellent rarepairs and femslash:

From snapelyholidays (I'm behind on my reading for this fest, so I'll probably have more recs to come):

ART -- A History of Two Wars by Anonymous (Snape/Moody; NWS)
Beautifully-rendered in a sort of woodcut style, with a mysterious, dangerous, spooky atmosphere that I find really effective. This pairing is a favorite of mine, and it's rare to find it at all, let alone done so well.

From hp_holidaygen:

For the Greater Good by Anonymous (Elphias Doge, Albus Dumbledore, OCs; PG-13)
A taut, insightful, well-characterized look at the Grindlewald years traced through the experiences of Elphias Doge. The author does a wonderful job creating a fully-realized, believable Elphias, and her Albus is equally strong: a man with many shades of gray, yet genuinely committed to the good and aware of his flaws. We get a glimpse into what it might be like truly to be much, much smarter than almost everyone you know. It's a handicap in many ways, and I feel I understand the character of Albus better after reading this exploration of him.

From hp_emofest:

A Tragedy in One Act by Anonymous (Septima Vector/Charity Burbage; PG-13)
A little gem of a story, with a well-imagined Septima mourning the loss of Charity. Yes, it's emo, but hey. . .check out the name of the fest. I found this fic very powerful, with a pairing that makes a lot of sense.

This last rec is not from a fest, but is from one of my favorite new Snape/McGonagall writers, whose angsty angst is beautifully angsty:

Beyond Mending by tea_for_lupin (Minerva/Severus; PG-13)
Argh! In this painful, believable story, the author gives us a plausible take on how a Snape/McGonagall relationship might break on the rocks of the DH year.

(Another Kinky Kristmas rec post coming soon. . .)

Last year for her birthday, my partner asked for a fanfic based on an episode of the British television series Foyle's War. It's an excellent series, set in England during World War II; it follows the career of a police officer, Christopher Foyle, as he struggles to solve domestic murders during wartime.

My partner really enjoyed one particular episode, They Fought in the Fields, about a murder involving members of the Women's Land Army (aka "the Land Girls"), a corps of civilian women who volunteered as farm laborers while the men were off fighting. There was lovely UST between Foyle and one of the female characters in the episode, or so my partner thought, and I undertook to write a story to resolve the UST.

I post that story here for you now. I think the plot should be clear even if you haven't seen the original episode, but if you're interested in seeing it, most of it is posted (in small chunks) on Youtube. Also, if you want to know more of the plot, and the link above will give you a spoiler-heavy, complete synopsis.

Title: They Didn't Fight in the Fielding
Author: kellychambliss
Fandom: Foyle's War
Pairing: Christopher Foyle/Barbara Hicks
Rating: R
Word Count: 4500

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

( Foyle's War )

I meant to be all systematic about my fest reading, as befits the OCD/CDO that I am -- you know, start with the very first fic in each fest and read in order until the very last fic -- but, well...I didn't. I just read a few things that "spoke" to me, whether because of pairing or summary.

So here are a few gems from the pick-and-choose approach:

From mini_fest:

Crucio for Christmas (Severus, Minerva, Voldemort; PG)
Snape spends the evening Voldemort and somehow manages to turn his visit into a Christmas gift for Minerva. Chilling, funny (in that 'I'm screaming' way that only madness can be), ironic, and IC.

From Kinky Kristmas at daily_deviant:

Dudley Dursley and the Fucking Thereof (Dudley/Millicent; Hard R)
This story is told in first person by Millicent, and what a wonderful character she is. The Mystery Author (though I have my suspicions) gives us a textbook lesson in "How to Create a Stellar Character Voice and Use It to Wow Your Readers." I laughed, I laughed some more, I loved this.

From hp_holidaygen:

Every Advantage (Minerva, Moody, Albus, Aberforth; PG)
No fluff here -- just a taut, bleak, beautifully-characterized glimpse of some of the realities of war.

Seeds of Change (Luna, Neville, Draco, with cameos by Minerva, the Trio, and Albus; G)
Minerva gives her students an interesting magical assignment. I love the clever premise of this fic and the inventive magic and the way the author's themes feel true to the spirit of canon.

More recs to come now that I'm finally FREE TO READ!