Cold and Warm

*mutter, growl* We were supposed to have sun and above-freezing temperatures all weekend. No such luck, though: today it's going to stay below freezing, and it's going to snow again. Now, I know it's winter, and snow happens in winter, and I should just expect it and quit complaining. It's not like this comes as a surprise every year.

But I still don't like it.

So I've taken myself to the coffee shop for some hot mocha while I can still get out. And I'm warming myself up with the security blanket of fandom. Here are my random recs and announcements:

• Prompt-claiming had opened at dysfuncentine, and I'm not exaggerating when I say that they are some of the best prompts I've seen in all my time in HP fandom (all 26 months of it). The range of pairings and ratings is huge, and the word limit is low. So in honor of Valentine's Day, do consider signing up to write your favorite dysfunctional relationship. Claiming ends on January 21.
  
  (I'm seriously tempted myself, even though, as usual, I was planning to limit my sign-ups this season. I don't know why I keep deluding myself like this: apparently I'm going to continue to over-subscribe myself, and then I'm going to moan about it.)
  
  
• Sign-ups have also begun at hp_spring_fling and springtime_gen. Springtime Gen was one of my favorite fests last year; it yielded all sorts of wonderful, rec-worthy stories.
  
  
• You have until January 20 to sign up for femmefest. The extra-helpful mods posted an anonymous list of requested pairings and prompts, so you can get a good sense of the potential scope of the fest before you commit. I signed up; it's a fun fest, and I really want to support femmeslash wherever I can.
  
  
• squibstress has posted a master list of fic recs, all Minerva-centric. Some of the best Minerva stories in the fandom are included; check it out if you need a good Minerva-fix (and who doesn't)?
  
  
• Calling all Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank fen: be sure to read Wilhelmina: a Love Story by lash_larue. It's a perceptive, compelling backstory for our favorite CoMC professor, well-written in a restrained style that perfectly suits Wilhelmina. And it explains her fondness for the pipe, too.
  
  
• Burning fandom question for the flist: Often at the end of a fest, the mods leave a few days or even a week between the last posting and the reveals, in theory so that people can catch up with reading and commenting while the works are still anonymous. It's happened with every fest I've been watching this holiday season; we did it with minerva_fest, too.
  
  But here's the question: do these catch-up times actually function as intended? Do you evern take much advantage of the extra reading time? Do you ever get many additional comments on your fics or art?
  
  I rarely do. Sometimes I manage the reading, but I rarely if ever get additional reviews. In my experience, most fests are the same: if you're going to get comments, they're going to come within the first few days, maybe a week, after your entry is posted, whether that posting occurs early or late in the fest. After that, you're basically done, no matter how much catch-up time is given.
  
  So are these catch-up times a good idea? Or do they just allow people to forget about the fest, perhaps even lose interest by the time the reveals appear?
  
  
• But now having asked this, I will say that I made good use of the catch-up time at snapelyholidays. Look for a final recs post soon.
  
  
• So -- my fests this season are going to be hp_beholder, femmefest, my bi-monthly be daily_deviant fics, and very likely dysfuncentine.
  
  What about you, dear flist?

Snapely Holidays Round-Up

snapelyholidays has finished posting; reveals with be this Wednesday, January 19. (ETA: Reveals have occurred; authors' names have been added.) I enjoyed the fest -- what's not to like about more than a month's worth of (mostly) excellently-done Snape fic and art? Last year's fest yielded a greater range pairings, particularly those most interest me; we had stories featuring major roles for Slughorn, Filch, Moody, Minerva, Albus, Percy, and others. This year's fest focused more on Marauders'-era characters, Snarry, and DEs; there was only one Minerva story (two arts, though) and no Sluggie or Moody. Interestingly, this fest doesn't appear to draw the Snape/Hermione fans, so there wasn't a single SS/HG fic. Still, there are several fascinating and unusual pairings, such as Snape/Peter, Snape/Poppy, Snape/Viktor and a Snape/Flitwick poem. And some strong gen.

The Marauders and DEs have yielded some really excellent, highly-readable stories, of course; I'm not being critical of them. They just aren't my first choice of Snape pairs, is all. Still, I've had a wonderful time with this fest. Here's one new rec, plus a summation of my previous ones. I'll add the authors' names after the reveals. (Stories marked ** are those I find exceptional).

NEW -- Found in the Moments Between the Search by r_grayjoy (Severus/Sirius, NC-17, 26,000 words)
It's no easy task to write a believable Snack, but this author succeeds beautifully. The story is an alternative version of canon in which Sirius is able to return from behind the Veil, and he, not teen!Harry, is the one who tracks down and destroys the Horcruxes. The scenes between Severus and Sirius crackle with all sorts of well-done things: tension, anger, UST, bitterness, humor, and ultimately a desire for reconcilation. Both characters are excellently IC.

Previously-recced Stories (see the original posts for details):

**The Shadow of Misery's Wings by femmequixotic (Severus/Viktor Krum, NC-17; 5400 words)
**The Ballad of Filius Flitwick and Severus Snape by atdelphi (Severus/Filius, NC-17; 2900 words).
**A Book of English Verse by chaos_rose (Severus/Narcissa; PG; 1776 words)
The Boy With the Thorn in His Side by arcadian_dream (Severus/Peter Pettigrew; PG-13; 1600 words)
The Healing by miss_morland (Severus/Poppy Pomfrey, with Tobias; PG-13; 5900 words)
The Crystalline Cold of Christmas Air by janus (Severus and the Dark Lord; PG; 2300 words)

Previously-recced Art:

Seductionby twilightsorcery (Severus/Minerva, PG-13, D/s implied).
Exile by fanficforensics (Severus/Remus, PG)

(Apologies -- there's one very long Severus/Sirius story [31K+] that I'm just not going to have time to read before the reveals.)