DysFUNcentine Recs

[kelly_chambliss]

The fabulous anti-Valentine's fest, dysfuncentine, has been posting for a little over a week now, and I have to say, it's right up there with hoggywartyxmas and hp_beholder in having an incredibly high percentage of the posted fics be absolute winners, some of the best I've read since. . .well, since hoggywartyxmas. The range of pairings has been large and interesting, with everything from Minerva/Amelia to H/D and plenty of femmeslash for all.

I've had an extremely hard time winnowing a rec list; I could honestly include a majority of the stories. But I will try to restrict myself to the crème de la crème -- or at least to a list of "my very favorites" (marked with **) and "my favorites."

I'll add author/artist names after the reveals.

ART -- You Disgust Me by Anonymous cabepfir (Severus/Albus; PG)
A graphic examination of the whole notion/definition of "disgust."

FIC --

**The Survivors by Anonymous lyras (Severus/Petunia; NC-17; non-con, coercion)
This well-written story has really stayed with me. Do heed the warnings, for what happens here is not pretty; you'll understand exactly why the "Unforgivables" are called such. Yet you understand just what drives both of these grieving, damaged people to do what they do. Petunia in particular is carefully and sympathetically presented.

**Half-Term Saturday by Anonymous therealsnape (Minerva/Narcissa; NC-17)
This fic is just inspired -- a non-magical AU based loosely around events in an Enid Blyton boarding school story. You'll be delighted at how well the two universes (Blyton, JKR) blend, yet the characters are still exquisitely, perfectly our friends from HP. Narcissa and Minerva are spot-on, and the cameos, particularly that of Filch, are excellent (Lucius and Draco are in fine form, too). Yet in amongst all the fun is a thought-provoking exploration of issues of performance and perception.

**The Sin in Your Grin (And the Shape of Your Mouth) by Anonymous xylodemon (Severus/Sirius; NC-17)
Wow. This story is exceptionally powerfully-written, with a large, fully-realized, and complex cast of characters. The portrait of Sirius Black is masterful. The relationships here are as dysfunctional as all get-out, but believably and compellingly done.

**Heart's Desire by Anonymous squibstress (Minerva/Amelia; PG-13)
Another winner. I love the way this fic makes perfect canon use of Minerva's Pottermore backstory yet plausibly shows us just how partial and misleading that story might be. The author brings the Pottermore characters to life -- Minerva's minister father, her strong mother, her young Muggle lover, her boss Elphinstone -- and also creates a very believable social context for notions of sexuality at the time. But something had happened, some door that had been only slightly ajar had been flung wide, and it would not be shut again. Yet, as Pandora discovered so long ago, opening something (whether door or box) may unleash more than you bargained for.

Cochineal by Anonymous cerberusia (Narcissa/Rita; R)
I don't really believe that Narcissa would indulge in a one-afternoon-stand with Rita (or if she did, she would Obliterate Rita later; Narcissa has too much to lose). But once you suspend that bit of disbelief, you're in for a clever depiction of Narcissa, an equally clever, skewer-sharp analysis of class, and one very hot afternoon indeed. Very enjoyable.

Variation on a One-Night Stand by Anonymous igrockspock (Severus/Narcissa, PG-13)
This tense and taut fic gives a good sense of just how difficult life would have been for the followers of the Dark Lord. Literally nothing, not even the arch of an eyebrow, can be done without weighing the possible consequences and implications. Not much happens -- just a quiet conversation between two old comrades -- yet so wonderfully fraught is the whole situation that you're drained by the end.

Love, Or How It Leaves by Anonymous kerplankia (Minerva/Wilhelmina; PG-13)
This story quickly pulls you into a very painful, very real depiction of the process of falling out of love. The author has a way with images and with crafting perceptive lines; the result is a story that has no villains, no one to blame. There are only people -- believable, human people -- coping with the sort of romantic loss we all recognize.

Well, I think that's enough to be getting on with, though I may be back to tell you about the Percy/Kingsley story or the Walburga/Orion one, too.