Dysfuncentine Recs

[kelly_chambliss]

Argh! I meant to post this yesterday, but what with getting pissed off about crack_broom and femmeslash, I forgot. But I think I still have a few minutes to make my dysfuncentine recs before the reveals.

This fest turned out to be a blast -- excellent stories featuring a huge range of deliciously rare pairings, all of them gloriously dysfunctional. Such a lovely Valentine's Day treat. Here are a few of my favorites, but really, the whole batch is worth checking out. 22 stories and (yes!) a poem.

Fuck You, Rita by Anon lash_larue (Rita Skeeter/Arthur Weasley)
Now here's a pairing you don't see every day. Rita is at her eviscerating best, and Arthur is like a poster child for a public-service ad on the "dangers of lust and self-justification."

Can't Buy Me Love by Anon albalark (Sybill Trelawney/Gilderoy Lockhart)
I adored this story -- it accomplishes the amazing feat of making you like and sympathize with Sybill and Gilderoy while still keeping them in character and topping it all off with some hilarious lines.

Epimythion by Anon incapability87 (Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape)
I admit, I'd been hoping for hot, dysfunctional sex with this prompt, but the Mystery Author has offered something equally good: a wrenching, realistic look at the aftermath of one of Dumbledore's more painful examples of unfairness, the scene in PS where he switches the house-cup winners at the last minute. The Severus, Minerva interaction is sadly believable.

Sonnet the Last by Anon lash_larue (Minerva McGonagall/Severus Snape)
A Snape/McGonagall sonnet! Be still, my heart. The very first line tells you how painful the story will be, and it's a well-executed piece of poetry to boot. A high-school teacher once told me, "Given the structured form, anyone can write a sonnet. Very few people can write a good sonnet." This author is in the group of "very few."

The Land of Memory by Anon therealsnape (Albus Dumbledore/Muriel Weasley)
This story was written to my prompt, which I never seriously believed anyone would choose. It's everything I could have hoped for -- tightly-written, IC, dysfunctional in well-characterized ways. And it has a top-notch Muriel.

Doubts and Lies by Anon alley_skywalker (Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Igor Karkaroff)
What happens when you start to doubt the cause to which you've sold your soul? Read and find out. Bring a blanket, because this fic is chilling in more ways than one.

Big Boys Don't Cry by Anon featherxquill (Rita Skeeter/Percy Weasley)
This story posits Rita as Rufus Scrimgeour's widow, and I'm surprised/pleased at what good sense this makes (especially as the author presents it). Throw in an excellent characterization of Percy Weasley, an effective structure, and some hot sex, and you've got a winner.

Secondary Succession by Anon ncp (Neville Longbottom/Lavender Brown; Neville Longbottom/Cho Chang)
An intricate, well-written, perceptively-characterized look at post-war psychological trauma. It's a fascinating look into Neville's psyche. I had a couple of quibbles (the ending seems too abrupt, and sometimes Neville questions himself less than I might expect). But still, these points are minor compared to the insights overall. PTSD isn't pretty, and neither is Neville, but the story a powerful portrait of both.

ETA -- Oops, I forgot this one:

The Wrong Man by Anon snegurochka_lee (Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger)
This story is very well-written, with believable versions of the characters and the sort of Ron I like: he's not "bashed"; he tries hard and has good points, yet you can see why eventually he would irritate Hermione. Her complicated anguishings and justifications and questions ring very true, and Draco is interesting: arrogant and sneering, yet not unappealing.