Island of the Lone Insane Thought

Wants to give a big thank you ahead of time to all the people who has created art of stories for the snupin santa exchange. And a really big THANK YOU to all the little elves who put it together. This is my favorite time of the year so again thanks to all.

I'm looking for a fic that I read a while ago, it was very long and epic and dark, and involved an intricate plot to take over the Death Eaters. Draco was a slave, and so was Harry, and Lucius changed the Dark Mark into a tattoo entwined with thorny roses, taking over. It was so long and so lovely, and I think it might have been lost with the death of GJ, but I'm requesting in hope that I just forgot to favourite it.

Can anyone help me out? I think it might have been written for a fest.

If this sort of thing isn't allowed, feel free to delete.

Title: Patronus Interruptus
Author: alisanne
Pairing: Severus Snape/Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom/Ginny Weasley
Word Count: 100 x 2
Rating: PG
Warnings: None that I am aware of.
Beta: sevfan
Challenge: Written for neville100's prompt #97: Patronus
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: Sometimes Neville gets the last word.

( Patronus Interruptus )

Title: Troth

Author: celandineb

Excerpt:

It wasn't a wizarding restaurant, nor even a particularly high-class Muggle establishment for that matter. Cheap and mediocre Italian was the cuisine on offer, but the place close by and perfectly adequate for the days when neither of them felt like cooking. Severus confessed to liking the tagliatelle alla bolognese, while Remus was fond of the bread basket placed on every table. The owner's son was the baker, and the bread was always hot, fresh, and delicious.

Commentary: Bread. Good Italian bread with rosemary - how can you go wrong? And I would totally have Remus's response to Severus, having been fed this bread first. (Well, I would anyhow, but you know what I mean.

Source: Cook's Illustrated, May/June 1997 - Rosemary Focaccia

( Rosemary Focaccia )

Title: Breaking Bread Together

Author: celandineb

Excerpt:

Remus glanced down and realised that he had reached across the table and taken Severus's hand in his enthusiasm. It was warm and bony and he could feel the calluses on Severus's skin before he hastily let go, murmuring an apology. To cover his embarrassment, he took a sip of wine. Severus had already had a bottle open, and it was excellent.

They changed conversational topics to the less sensitive one of Quidditch as they ate the main course, another dish that Remus had never had and that Severus called a quiche. It was a sort of an egg pie, with bacon and onions and cheese mixed into the egg, and seasoned with subtle herbs as well. Like the rest of the meal, the flavour was simply marvellous, so much so that Remus was unembarrassed about asking for a second slice. Accompanying the quiche were cooked tomatoes, their sweet acidity complementing its richness.

Severus, not having taken an additional helping, finished eating first, and watched Remus as he ate his last few bites, again with that inscrutable expression on his face. Remus's breath quickened under the heated gaze, and when he laid down his knife and fork, aligning them neatly on his plate, he ran his tongue over his lips to see how Severus would react.

Commentary: Again, not exactly what Severus cooked, but I don't make real quiches. *g* This onion pie has onions and cheese and tomatoes (although no bacon) so it's kind of a combination of the two dishes mentioned in the story.

Source: Anna Thomas, The Vegetarian Epicure - Cheese and Onion Pie

( Cheese and Onion Pie )

Title: Breaking Bread Together

Author: celandineb

Excerpt:

Remus stood uncertainly in the kitchen doorway, watching Severus bustle around. His movements were deft and sure and altogether he gave off a rather depressing air of competence. Well, he had been first in their class in Potions every year, doubtless earning an Outstanding N.E.W.T., and cooking wasn't perhaps so different from potion making, when you got down to it.

He didn't like to interrupt Severus's concentration and so he stood silently as Severus worked.

"You could carry these to the table now, if you would." Severus indicated the several bowls and dishes that were ready, and Remus gladly complied.

"It all looks marvellous," he complimented Severus as they sat down.

Severus flushed. "Thank you."

They began with three oysters on the half shell each, something that Remus had never before eaten, but which to his surprise he found delicious. The starter was followed by a light yellow soup, potato, he thought, but with something else as well, and bits of what he guessed might be mushroom, woody and complex in flavour.

"This never came out of a tin, did it?" Remus asked, although he was certain in his own mind as to the answer. "Is it difficult? Do you have a recipe?" Not that he himself was much of a cook, but for something like this, he would be willing to put in more effort.

"My own invention," Severus muttered. "No recipe. Er. How is new your job going?"

Commentary: The color of this soup is very much what I imagined the soup Severus makes in the fic to have looked like, although there are no mushrooms in this recipe and certainly no aphrodisiac herbs!

Source: Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Soups and Stews - Russian Potato Soup

( Russian Potato Soup )

There is exactly one set of Snape/Lupin offerings in hp_art_tales, and it's mine. Submissions close today (November 29).

The first point has been awarded in Stuff the Stockings! Remember, you have to go back to the main post and leave a link if you've been advertising snupin_santa for the contest. Don't forget, there are fabulous prizes at stake, including your own copy of Chocolate & Asphodel, v. 2. (While you're waiting for the exchange to start, you might consider perusing C&A2 and offering some comments to the contributors)

The Recipe Challenge is drawing to a close. November 30 is the last day for posts on the community. After that, it will be up to drusillas_rain's discretion if she'll accept e-mailed entries as she works on compiling the book.

Be sure to read over McKay's "Coming Soon" post for Snupin_Santa. There's lots of good information there, especially if you plan on participating in Stuff the Stockings.

There are some new holiday icons here from whitestar, but artists, we're still looking for more. In fact, Whitestar has offered to add her iconing touch to any art I can send her, so consider submitting some art soon if you want to see it receive the delux icon treatment. ~_^

If you're involved in the Print Calendar project, your art is due December 15, don't forget in all the holiday madness!

Speaking of calendars, I'm going to go ahead and remind you to switch to December's desktop calendar now. The art is by the very fun, very talented tripperfunster, and it should be very useful in such a busy month!



Finally, I want to thank all of the members here for being such great, generous participants in the community. There's been lots of searches and requests lately, and I'm seeing many new and different members speaking up to help out or volunteer. I'll never stop saying this - you are the reason this community continues to be a warm and friendly place for Lupin/Snape fans, and you're each wonderful and invaluable. Thank you all!

LJ-only users, please forgive me for not making a post with LJ links, but I promise you that all the posts linked here have a LJ equivalent post. I'm just super-rushed because company is on my doorstep!

snupin_santa in less than two days! EEEE!

love, lore

I have just officially given up on NaNoWriMo this year. I can't keep going on this right now. I like the story, I like the characters, but it needs more than I can give it in two days.

Mixed feelings on this, but mostly at the moment relief.

I've finally updated Takes the Cake with another chapter! Between grading, other work stuff, Snupin Santa, and preparing for the memorial service, I've had little free time in which I haven't felt totally exhausted and brain-dead, so the editing process on this story has ground to a screeching halt. I've been working on it as I can, though, so it shouldn't be too much longer before the remainder is up.

Before anyone can pipe up to complain about posting WsIP in the first place:

1) the story isn't a WIP; it's complete. It just hasn't been edited.

2) I thought I'd be finished long before now! Normally, I either edit and post our collaborations all at one go or I edit quickly and post as I finish editing, which takes a matter of days at the most with a steady stream of updates along the way. Because of RL, things didn't work out that way, which happens.

All I can say is, it's not our usual pattern to string things out this long without regular updates, which I hope our readers realize.

Anyway, must zoom. I've got to get dressed and run out the door, but I wanted to post right quick first since I'm not sure when I'll get home tonight, and I didn't want to break my November Blogging streak this close to the end!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518442.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Takes the Cake by Arionrhod and McKay has been updated with another chapter. It's up to ~32,000 words. Non-magical AU, rated R.

Note: I realize this story is being updated more slowly than our collaborations usually are. It is finished, but I'm the one who does the editing and posting of our collaborations, and I'm not withholding it on purpose to make people wait for more; I'm editing and updating as I can after being body-slammed by the usual end-of-semester grading madness plus an unexpected RL event that has eaten up what little free time I have at present.

I promise I will get the remainder edited and posted as soon as I can. However, I'd appreciate understanding and patience, rather than pointed comments about withholding feedback/ratings/whatever because it isn't finished.

Thanks very much!

May I ask if anyone has on file the story "Revelations" by Adrienne? It is the third part of her (unfinished) trilogy, "Perdition", "Redemption" and "Revelations", one of the best early Snupins I've ever read, in spite of the depressing themes it addresses (incest and child abuse). I thought I had saved it, but have recently discovered that in last year's computer crash, it has been lost.

I've been pretty conflicted about posting my wishlist; on one hand its something of a fandom/lj/lj-clones tradition, and although many people try to grant wishes, its not a required or expected part of making the list.  On the other hand, im really ashamed that I screwed up with Holiday wishes last year.   I don't even remember who I promised to send stuff too last year (can't look back at my emails because there was a computer mishap) I could explain about all our medical and financial and family crisises but I don't want to focus on the negative and I doubt you'd enjoy reading it either.
If I promised you something last year, please let me know, and I'll try to make it right this year.
( Read more... )

Title: The Invitation
Author: joanwilder aka RaeWhit
Pairing: Harry/Severus
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Word Count: 707
Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K.R.
Summmary: A long-standing invitation is finally accepted.
A/N: Written for angela_snape for correctly guessing my entry in snarry_ldws. She requested Snarry with a Yule theme.

( The Invitation )

The holiday fest season is almost upon us, and along with it is the eternal question: "How do I give feedback on fest gifts?"

The answer is, there is no right or wrong way. The exception to that statement is when the fest in question has specific rules about feedback. The standard rule most fests have is "no flaming", which I think is a rule we can all get behind for obvious reasons.

"No con crit" is another rule I've seen popping up in fest rules lately, but I know that issue isn't as clear-cut as the flaming issue. Some people say gifts shouldn't be criticized while others say just because it's a gift doesn't mean it's exempt from critique. I don't really want to get into the pro/anti concrit argument, so we'll leave it at that.

So, yeah, as long as you're following the rules of the fest, there's not really a right or wrong way to give feedback. Now, that isn't to say that people won't complain or react negatively in other ways. For example, there are a few authors/artists who disdain squeeful comments and lament the lack of lengthy, "meaty" commentary, but they are in the distinct minority. The vast majority of authors/artists love feedback in any form they can get it, and "OMG that was awesome!!!" is just as welcomed as a 2 page treatise.

I think that more than any other time, fests - especially holiday fests - are a time to celebrate the joy of giving and to share in the pleasure of receiving. It's a time to be happy for the gifts being shared, not just with the recipient, but with everyone. Yes, that story/art was created for someone specific, but the rest of us are getting to enjoy it too, and I think that's part of the collaborative fun that fests generate. They give all of us more of what we want most, and I think we ought to express our thanks for that with a simple, "I enjoyed that. Thanks!" comment. It'll make that author/artist's holidays a little brighter.

With that in mind, I hope people will take the time to leave a comment on the gifts they enjoy in whichever fests they follow, especially people who are inclined to lurk the rest of the year. Fest authors/artists have been waiting for weeks, perhaps even months for their work to debut, so any feedback is a gift to them in return. As long as your response expresses your enjoyment, then there's no wrong way of expressing it. There's no such thing as too short or too simple, and you don't need a degree in English to leave good feedback. All you really need is enthusiasm!

For myself, I intend to do more reccing and commenting in December once things calm down at work and in RL, and I intend to continue into the new year, especially since I'm going to rec at crack-broom again in January!

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518269.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

I could go on and on and on about this, giving lots of details and links, but you know, after a couple years at this, I have a method that works for me:

Put everything on pre-order at Amazon.

Yes, I know Amazon has some potential lurking evil, but I am monitoring them and if their evil ever becomes full-fledged, then I'll figure out something new. Until then, pre-order works for me. I have a card I can dedicate to it, the titles come out sporadically enough that I'm not actually spending the total amount of my preorder at once (far from it), and Amazon guarantees that I'll receive the lowest price the book was at throughout the pre-order period. If I buy a book at $10, and at some point, it goes on sale for $9, I receive a $1 refund notice. Nice!

And Amazon generally offers the BL books from 20% to 38% off. Not a bad deal when I still want to support the BL publishers by buying their books from a marketplace that gives them credit for the sale. I feel like I receive a discount and the publishers still make some money, which is a bit more fair to me than having to purchase the books full-priced from a publisher storefront like Akadot (which is DMP's store site).

I know pre-ordering isn't ideal for everyone, and OMG you can end up with a lot of mail to follow from Amazon (you have to approve some delays and not others, and I have no idea why), but it is nice to have a new title or three show up every month, and it's nice to know you WILL get a copy if Amazon decides to order only the bare minimum of books from the publisher.

Of course, this method works best for someone like me, who's likely to read or try to find most BL books eventually. I definitely became tired of hunting, hunting, hunting for the books and the best prices. Amazon lets me be lazy about it at a discount. Huzzah!

*****
November 30's BloMo will be about making good comments/giving good feedback in holiday exchanges (and in general), because December 1 will see most holiday exchanges getting underway and there will be a rush of excited commenting. Also, the Snupin_Santa lurkers might want to try to come out and participate in Stuff the Stockings, so a confidence-boosting guidance post might help them.

If you have any feedback/commenting tips you'd like me to consider for my post, please let me know what they are before November 30.

love, lore

Had a good day today. Mom and I drove up to Jasper-Pulaski Fish and Wildlife Area to see the sandhill cranes. At the height of fall migration (which is October) there are something like 30,000 sandhills there. Today there couldn't have been that many, but I'm guessing there were a few thousand. It was incredible how many of them there were, and how wonderfully noisy and gorgeous and awkward yet beautiful they were.

On the way home we stopped quickly at JC Penney, where I bought a pair of brown dress boots (I had JUST BARELY given up on the brown dress boots I've been wearing for at least 5 years), a black wool men's peacoat (because the women's didn't have inside pockets WTF?!), and a pair of Levi's (men's, because those also fit me better) for like $170 total. I'm incredibly happy that Black Friday sales now extend to Saturday. LOL I also got a couple of new nail polish colors because Sally Beauty is right next to Michael's, where Mom and I also stopped.

Of course, I have only gotten about 400 words written so far. You guys, I might not make NaNo this year. *sigh*

Title: The Appeal of Books
Author: alisanne
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG
Challenge: Written for snarry100's prompt #190: Flourish and Blotts
Warning(s): None that I am aware of.
A/N: Books can be quite arousing.
Beta: sevfan
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

( The Appeal of Books )

By the way, hearkening back to my earlier post--this doesn't spoil anything, since you can see on the Yuletide list of requested fandoms that no one asked for it--I did not get assigned to write for Richard Adams's The Plague Dogs. I decided, when I accidentally included it in the list, that rather than redo my list I'd just go read the book once and for all, even before the assignments came out, so I got it from the library.

I got through Ulysses easier than this. This is...guys, I have written some interesting metaphors myself in my time, some of them admittedly more purple than should be seen outside of crackfic, but this takes them all:

...Rowf's rump slid suddenly forward as smoothly as a turd from a healthy anus...

I can't even facepalm. It's too squicky.

Title: Ready
Author: alisanne
Word Count: 100
Characters: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy
Rating: PG
Challenge: Written for hd100's prompt: Teeth
Author's Notes: Draco is ready for anything.
Beta: sevfan
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

( Ready )

One of the discoveries I’ve made since becoming ill is that I’m strongly motivated by duty. My responsibilities to the muslings, for instance, kept me slogging through the days even when I was at my worst and would just as soon have not kept waking up in the mornings. Even now that I’m feeling somewhat better, my energy is still limited enough that I can’t do everything I used to, and what that means in practice is that I usually end up doing only the things I “have to” - where “have to” equals work and stuff for the muslings, but not reading and writing for fun. I’ve been leery of making any fandom commitments for fear of not being able to carry them off, but possibly a commitment is just what I need.

So... if any of you want to tell me why I indulged my not-so-secret love for geeky t-shirts by wearing the one shown in this icon while cooking for Thanksgiving yesterday, I will at least try to write something for you. (Or the first one or two of you, if this is more popular than I expect. No promises on the timetable, though I’d like to put the last two evenings of the holiday weekend to good use!)

ETA: A couple of people here and on LJ have already recognized tryptophan, an amino acid often blamed (not necessarily correctly) for making people sleepy after large Thanksgiving meals. If you didn't recognize the molecule or are arriving later and would still like to request a story you're welcome to, though I'm not making any promises about getting to later prompts.

A while back, I wrote an overview of the BL publishers that existed about two years ago. Time for a quick update!

DMP's BL imprints are June, 801 Media and Doki Doki.

June used to be known for pretty tame BL fare, but now it has become a better mix of tame-to-racy. 801 Media is still the imprint to go to for more explicit stories. Doki Doki is an imprint created to cater directly to a Japanese publisher. Most of the DD releases have been BL tales, but not all, and most of the BL titles have been the kind of tame June used to be known for. Still, people seem to appreciate the DD titles for what they are.

Aurora Publishing has the Deux line as well as the Luv Luv line for Girl Love titles.

I think if Deux existed on its own, it might still be a healthy company. As it is, Deux releases have slowed to a crawl with the rest of Aurora's titles, and I'm seriously worried for Aurora's survival. The Duex imprint put out some excellent titles over the years. You should look into them soon, before they all go out of print and everyone in the world starts chasing the titles for stupid prices.

Tokyopop's BL titles usually end up under the BLU imprint (this could confuse Snupin fans ~_^).

Tokyopop has admitted that their BLU titles always sell well, yet the company treats the imprint like a red-headed step-child (for those who don't recognize the saying, like it doesn't belong to them). The web site, long neglected, is just now showing signs of life this month, and releases have still been coming from the imprint, even if it's only about 1 title a month. BLU titles are rarely anthologies, and they usually have only mild BL content, although there are a couple exceptions to this.

Yaoi Press - the publisher's name kinda speaks for itself.

There is nothing but Original English Language BL to be found here, ranging from super-dark to sickeningly sweet - in fact, most of the YP titles exist at one of the two extremes.

Netcomics - This company has an interesting set-up. You can read chapters of a book online for very little money. When a title becomes popular enough (and, probably when Netcomics has gathered up enough capital in general), it is then printed and offered for sale as a book.

Netcomics has put out some eclectic work over the years, ranging from Korean titles with only implied BL to some fairly explicit works. You never quite know what you're going to see next from NC, and their release schedule is sporadic, with no titles for months and then three at a time. I'd say that this is the place to go for edgy material, exciting new artists and a-typical BL reads.

Yen Press began offering some BL titles late last year.

They seem to have taken to Lily Hoshino, and their other BL title so far is also fairly explicit, so I'm hoping for good things from Yen Press next year in terms of BL. They put out nice, compact little books.

Go! Comi thinks it sells BL titles.

No, seriously, Go! Comi's only true mature BL offering is Wendy Pini's Masque of the Red Death. Cantarella is considered mild BL at best and then the most recent books GC listed as BL this year were...not. They were general stories with very bishie characters. I'm not sure where Go! Comi is headed next with BL, but I'm hoping it will at least swerve back into true BL waters.

Media Blaster's BL book imprint is Kitty Media. I don't suggest going to the site. In fact, just go here, it will make your life easier.

Kitty media books are generally the most explicit tales out there, and while I hammered the company a couple years ago, I have to admit, the books have steadily improved at KM. Series are published from the beginning, rather than starting in the middle, and the translations and paper quality seem to have improved. The books themselves are still among the smallest in size, but good paper goes a long way toward readability.

Yaoi Generation is a new publisher, dating back to last year.

So far, YG has put out 4 volumes of a 5-book series over the past year and a half. It finally announced its next two titles around the time the 4th book came out. Honestly, I don't see this glacial pace as a bad plan. Sure, I'd love to have lots of new titles to pick and choose from, but I'd much rather the publisher take it slow and steady than to see it put out a bunch of work all at once and then fold from too much overhead. I was surprised when YG announced itself just as the economic crisis started, and even more surprised when the first book actually came out. YG seems to have a plan, and I think as long as the people behind YG stick to the plan, YG can become an exciting new company - one I'll still be talking about in two more years. ~_^

love, lore

Stories added to Moonshadow, the Snape/Lupin archive, during the past two months:

Title: Alpha Male (29 K)
Author: sweetmelodykiss


Title: Back (4 K)
Author: astopperindeath


The archive is located at http://www.ssf-moonshadow.com

Also, the Crack Broom masterlist-by-author is now current.

Here's a piece of advice for anyone who is participating in any kind of LJ/IJ/DW based fest at any time of the year: when you email the mods, include your journal user ID, especially if your user ID isn't the same as your email address.

If your email address is the same as your journal ID, it makes things a little easier, but it would still be nice to include your ID nonetheless.

Here's the thing. Unless you communicate via email with the mods outside of the fest enough that it's reasonable to assume they know to associate that email address with you, chances are the mods will have no clue who's emailing them and will have to take the extra step of consulting a spreadsheet in order to figure it out.

When a fest mod is juggling 30+, 40+, 50+, or more fest participants, they are not going to remember who everyone is. They might not know you, they might not interact with you outside of the fest, or they might not remember. There are people who have participated in Snupin Santa just about every year, and I still wouldn't know them from an email address alone, much less know all the new people who rotate in and out each year.

So if a fest mod asks you to include your user ID and/or the name of your recipient in your emails, please try to remember to do it. It's not just a busy-work request; it can save the mod a little extra time (and let's be honest: a little extra irritation) if they know who they're dealing with straight-away instead of having to look it up. Trust me, trawling through a spreadsheet and looking for one person's email address out of 50-60 (or more) names is a pain in the ass.

This entry was originally posted at http://scribbulus-ink.dreamwidth.org/518068.html. It's cross-posted to LJ and IJ, and comments are enabled at all three journals.

Title: The Benefits of Rank
Author: alisanne
Character(s): Severus Snape/Harry Potter
Pairing(s): Severus Snape/Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): m/m sex implied.
Challenge(s): Written for slytherins100's prompt #98: Art School
Word count: 100
Author's notes: Severus is always the teacher.
Beta: sevfan
Disclaimer: The characters contained herein are not mine. No money is being made from this fiction, which is presented for entertainment purposes only.

( The Benefits of Rank )

Title: The Way of the World

Author: McKay (scribbulus_ink)

Commentary: McKay's "Way of the World" contains some wonderful domestic scenes between Snape and Lupin in the kitchen, where, for example, Lupin teaches Snape how to cook (and survive) in the muggle world.

McKay already posted a great recipe from the story, so I hope no one minds that I'm posting one for brownies inspired by this delightful scene:


Excerpt:

"Laugh at me, will you?" Severus snarled. "You'll pay for that!"

And suddenly, Severus reached into the bowl, scooped up a huge handful of batter, and advanced on Remus.

"No -- Severus, you wouldn't!" Remus stared at him, wide-eyed, as he began backing away.

"Oh, wouldn't I." Severus' voice was a silky purr now, but his smile was pure evil.
( Remus couldn't help but think that batter-covered Severus would have been even better. )

( Easy Brownies recipe )

Happy Birthday to

triceybabe!

Many happy returns, sweetie! :)

Title: Smooch
Author/Artist: jin_fenghuang 
Rating: PG
Pairing(s)/character(s):Snape/Lupin
Summary: Just a sweet little kiss
Warnings: none
Notes: This drawble is for r_grayjoy  , who writes the most awesome limericks ever XD