Fic Rec

[kelly_chambliss]

You are all in for an absolute treat of a read:  Janus Rose, a Severus/Pomona story written for the severus_shorts comm (which features stories looking at Severus Snape through his lifetime of birthdays). 

This beautifully-written fic creates moving, believable pictures of Snape and Sprout, and it does so in ways that I love -- by making magic and vocation integral to the narrative and to our understanding of the characters.  Magic and herbology and potions are not external parts of the setting, or background details put in just to make clear that we're in the HP world;  they are the essence of the tale and the people in it.  (I admit, though, that had I written this story, I would not have ended it this way.  I'll be interested to hear what you all think.  This story is so strong that it will stand up to some good literary argument.)

"The Janus Rose" is the first and only Severus/Pomona I've ever seen, but damn, I hope it is not the last.  You know how militant I am regarding the need for believable romance and relationships for the older-women characters of HP -- and here's a fic that shows exactly the pleasures and possibilities that I'm talking about!

And it also does a fine job with Sprout, a character sadly underused both by JKR and by fanficcers.  I love Pomona and often work her into my stories, but so far, I've always featured her as a side-kick only.  I need to remedy this situation:  "The Janus Rose" makes clear that we need more fic with Pomona in a starring role.  I need to get busy on that Minerva/Pomona I've long been considering...

 

Comments

[dreamy-dragon73.livejournal.com]

I agree, the story is absolutely stunning and so very, very beautiful.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Wish I'd written it! /g/

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

*cough* This is my reaction to most of the fics I admire. I'm dying to know who wrote it.

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to wrap my words around a recs post for several fics at once, including this one. It is gorgeous and so accomplished. Such a literate writer, if that's not a snobbish way of putting it.

I… didn't care for the ending, and in my mind the fic stops before the last few lines. The first time I read it, it was like putting my foot down on a missing step and landing on my arse on the bottom of the stairs, wondering what had just happened. But you know, in retrospect I don't really care, because the rest of it is so spectacular.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

in my mind the fic stops before the last few lines

Yes, exactly! My inner romantic was touched by SS's survival, smiled at it, but from a literary standpoint, the story just shouldn't have a happy ending. End with the wall of white or maybe Pomona's cry. Still, as you say, the story is so stellar in every other way that it doesn't matter.

[perverse-idyll.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that "wretched bark." Such finely tuned word choices.

It's not that I object to Severus surviving (heh, obvious point is obvious); it's more that the ending wasn't prepared with the same richness and inevitability as the rest of the fic. The trapdoor opened abruptly, and the surprise of it wasn't worth as much to me as the subtle, elegiac atmosphere that had led me there.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

it's more that the ending wasn't prepared with the same richness and inevitability as the rest of the fic

Again, that's it exactly (I have a feeling I'll be saying this a lot about your comments /g/). It's the preparation issue.

subtle, elegiac atmosphere

This!

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

You should pick that prompt at the community I know you're watching. :) I saw it but thought it might catch your interest, and went for another prompt instead. I would love to read a Minerva/Pomona from you! I think one of the best Pomona stories I've read was with Grubbly-Plank...although I'm known as a sucker for the plant/animal dynamics. Plant & animal people can be different in similar ways, or similar in different ways, or just...they seem to come together well. As someone who is both, I certainly understand. Wish I knew where that story was. I would definitely re-read.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Which community is this? (seriously; I've missed it!)

I'd love to read a Grubbly-Plank/Pomona story; do let me know if you ever find it again.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

http://community.livejournal.com/first_order

Currently, the first post is the challenge/fest/whatever it might be called. I went for the one something like 'What if Minerva was a Quidditch groupie instead of a teacher?' but there are, I believe, two or three other interesting McGonagall prompts - including a McGonagall/Pomona. You know, just if you're looking for an excuse to write them. ;)

http://featherxquill.livejournal.com/43615.html - One story I just found when I looked. More graphic than I usually read, but still pleasant. I enjoy that it has the plant/animal, Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw slant to it - opposing forces that mesh well. Intuition and intellect, movement and grounded.

Couldn't find the story I read long ago. Ah well! Maybe next time.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I confess I hadn't looked at the First Order prompts; didn't think I'd have time to write. But McG/Pomona...hhmm. (If I decide to do it, of course I'll blame you when I'm cursing and procrastinating /g/)

Thanks for the other link; I'm looking forward to it.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

Well, the minimum is 500 words--that's not tricky, so the pressure is off a bit. :) And it's not a trade-fest, so you wouldn't feel the guilt of letting someone else down if you didn't complete it precisely on times. lar_laughs is a highly compassionate person.

On the other hand, I deserve the blame; I was blaming you when I was cursing and procrastinating on a story after cursing and procrastinating on a paper due two days earlier. :P

(I am now cursing and procrastinating on another due Friday, and then I'll find something else to curse and procrastinate on. Exciting life I lead.)

[tetleythesecond]

"Janus Rose" is the first and only Severus/Pomona I've ever seen,
Well, had you allowed Pomona to badger Severus some more, perhaps there would now be two stories. But you could always write a sequel, maybe from the POV of the plant she brought him...

Jokes aside, that was a wonderful fic! Like many others here, I wouldn't have expected the ending, but it was a gorgeous read, and a treat to get Pomona's POV. Elbow-deep in compost is the way to go!

Grubbly-Plank/Pomona? Lovely!

[paulamcg.livejournal.com]

I’ve enjoyed and admired all the stories I’ve gone to read following your recs, so I didn’t hesitate when I saw you rec something not high-rated with (het) sex.

Now I’ve added my praise to the comments on Janus Rose. Exquisite language, exceptionally wonderful story-telling.

But I’m sure that even in case you had not mentioned it, I would have been not completely convinced by the ending. I don’t mind unconventional endings and surprises, but Severus at the end just didn’t seem real: I could not hear and see him in the way I’d perceived the characters and all the details before those last lines.

[the-winterwitch.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the lovely rec, I really enjoyed reading this!