#perverseidyll fic

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Contrary to his reputation, he wasn't usually volcanic, not when murmured, raspy, arsenic-laced insinuations could do twice the harm of a temper tantrum. He was already a master of burning his initials into Harry's heart with verbal acid. (Kind of a turn-on in itself, actually, but only because Harry was old enough now to hear the broken undertones and heady, dark hunger coating each word.)

Rec because - Because Snape can get it. From Harry. Also maaaybe Hermione.

"Hermione shivered," Harry said. "I swear. I saw her. She liked it."

Word Count - 1900 words

Rating - E

Pairing - Snarry

Author - @perverse-idyll

2022/2023 has been like reward years for Snape fans because we have been getting insanely good fics. Including some insanely brilliant fics from PI. Some of them definitely had weird aftereffects. Like I am seeing Snamione now. PI's fault.

This fic is hot, hot and also hot. On top of that they are totally whacky and traumatizing everybody. Which is a Snarry thing to do. It's brilliantly characterized which just adds another layer to the hotness and their chemistry is insane. It's got the usual amazing PI vibe of a really sensitive exploration of Snarry trust issues, intense/complicated dynamics and general Snape Issues. Snape is the Issue of course and Harry is totally into that :D

Sometimes all Severus had to do was turn thirty-plus years of repressed hunger upon him, and Harry would start shaking.

Rec note - this is in Warm Universe which just adds 100x to my love for it because Warm is hot, sexy, sweet, as sweet as PI Snsarry gets :D Also incredibly hot/scorching Snarry PWP with The Ultimate Snarry Kink for me.

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I really love this fic! It's so amazing! Also the lowkey Snamione in it is so good. Things I never expected to say in my life <3

@hprecfest: a WIP you're following

The Afterlight

by perverse_idyll (@perverse-idyll). Harry/Severus. Rated: E. Words: 45,661 (as of chapter 6).

After surviving the Battle of Hogwarts, a long convalescence, and a short trial, Snape walks free and promptly vanishes from Wizarding society. Six years pass before he shows his face again. A lot can change in six years, and a romantically disillusioned and inebriated Harry hits Snape up for a friends-with-benefits arrangement. After all, they share an experience most people have never had: they both know what it's like to be dead. Their liaison works surprisingly well until Harry's reckless behaviour as an Auror leads to unethical practices and personal calamities, and things start to fall apart.

Listen, I don't read many WIPs (I've been burned many times in the past), but PI???? I can't stay away from a PI fic. I'm so obsessed already. I was SOOO hooked from the start. It's AMAZING. Snarry done just how I like it!

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I really love A Rowan in Winter and We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet! <3 Need to read the others.

I was actually going to rec We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet for the holiday theme today because perfect match! But I have some goals around Snarry recs :D

HP Rec Fest Day 5

@hprecfest - theme: non-AO3 fic

We'll Take a Cup of Kindness Yet by dueltastic, Aberforth/Minerva/Severus, balanced between a triangle and a threesome, 20K

Among those who have read her work, Dueltastic is celebrated for her astute, dry wit, appreciation for unsentimental and highly competent characters, and incisive storytelling. The prose is chiseled, lean and quick as a greyhound, emotionally sharp but not dramatic, and flavored with a humane, unfailing sense of humor. This fic follows the aftermath of the Battle of Hogwarts as filtered through the earthy, ironic sensibilities of Aberforth Dumbledore, aspiring bedwarmer of Minerva McGonagall, and witness to the secret she struggles to keep. The characterizations are marvelous, the chemistry abundant, and the feelings, although tightly reined in, are precisely detailed in pointed remarks and large-hearted acts of care. We have a very ill Snape, a Minerva at the end of her tether, and a shrewdly observant Aberforth who steps in where he's needed. This is what a love story between undemonstrative, deeply feeling adults looks like. (Hot tip: everything Dueltastic has written is worth reading.)

2. A Rowan in Winter by duniazade

2a. No Pepper-up for the Brave

2b. Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree

I've grouped these three short fics together because, while written over the course of three years, they're all set in the same AU. These are basically gen fics, glimpses into Severus Snape's impoverished childhood, departing from canon to give him a beleaguered but essentially loving family, a mother hounded by the unforgiving Ministry and a father helpless to keep them safe. There is also, on his mother's side, the heritage of an older, darker magic, a rather terrifying and implacable connection to ancient forces impossible for those of Prince blood to escape. The wizarding world looks very different from this point of view; Severus and his mum are persecuted by the Ministry, constantly under suspicion, and beholden to almost mythic powers that care little for their well-being or their survival in a hostile environment. The stories also shine a light on Severus's friendship with Lily, and the second fic follows them on a late evening detention in the Forbidden Forest that turns suddenly into a snow-bound nightmare. We get to see Lily's fierceness and the close bond between the two children - a bond that has snapped in the third fic, which shows the Ministry playing games with Eileen's life and Severus navigating his choices as an isolated teenager loyal to his mother, forced to grow up too fast, and trying to protect his sense of self while trapped in a game of fate he can't possibly win. He's nearly killed by an IRA bomb; has a reckoning with his mum; and tests himself against a succubus, alone in the dark. The prose style and the storytelling are beautiful and quiet, magical and real. The first story has a darkly luminous ending, but all three are haunting, and the characters who come and go are vivid, even the cameos. But Severus is the beating heart of these stories, and Duniazade will make you ache for him.

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I really love Frabjous and The Headmaster! <3 Those are two fics I love a lot but also really scared to rec because I don't think I can do them justice. Your recs are brilliant like always!!! <3

Frabjous was written for me. I love that fic but it's really hard for me to write a good rec for it because I love it too much and get emotional about it and emotionally writing a rec for a complicated fic doesn't really work out for me because I can't even words :/ Eldritcher is insane for a lot of things but I got to see their working style when they were writing this because we had some discussions about Snape's characterization. I got to be Snape Consultant on that fic :D They did an insanely detailed storyboarding for Snape/Aberforth, Snape/McGonagall, Snape/Albus, Snape/Charity as well as Snape & Malfoys, Snape & Voldemort relationships for that fic. Also the prose. They made it more descriptive because they know I am a sucker for it. <3

The Headmaster by kellychambliss is a brilliant fic! I love that one a lot! It gives me serious Hitchcock vibes. It's an intense fic. 100% dark and delicious. I didn't know it was written for a fest. Need to check out the other Deeply Horrible fics :D The Year of the Thestral by perverseidyll actually gives me The Headmaster vibes on some level. The Snape/McGonagall relationship is pretty different but the Snape characterization esp the "methodically de-humanizes himself" DH vibes have a similar feel :/ Gosh. Also the Snape characterization itself is pretty different from the general characterization in Kelly's other fics which works for this plot 100%. It's an incredible intense fic.

HP Rec Fest -- Day 11

Prompt 11: A dark fic @hprecfest

O Frabjous Day

Characters: Aberforth Dumbledore, Charity Burbage, Harry Potter, Severus Snape

Pairing: Aberforth/Severus

Creator: eldritcher

Rating: M/R

Word Count: 5,169

Summary: Snape sabotages The Plan.

Why You Should Check It Out:

Yet another wonderful piece by eldritcher, this one written for consistentsquash, this is a gorgeous, painful story of beautiful, ruined people.

I love the way the story subverts canon (and Albus's plans), and every line oozes with delicious obervations, particularly when Snape contemplates his Dark Lord.

The author uses second-person POV here, and it works because this Severus is such an unsparing observer of everyone, but especially of himself.

Only Right

Character: Dolores Umbridge

Creator: @kellychambliss

Rating: T/PG-13

Word Count: 200

Summary: It's All Hallows' Eve, and Dolores Umbridge is released from Azkaban.

Why You Should Check It Out:

An appropriately chilling little tale of revenge featuring everyone's favorite pink horror, Dolores Umbridge.

The Headmaster

Characters: Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Poppy Pomfrey, Severus Snape

Creator: kellychambliss

Rating: M/R

Warnings: torture (mostly offstage)

Word Count: 5,250

Summary:

Decent human beings couldn't or wouldn't do the things the Headmaster was required to do -- ergo, he couldn't be decent.

Why You Should Check It Out:

This fic, written for the 2012 Deeply Horrible fest on LiveJournal, is a painful and masterful exploration of the lengths Severus has to go to to survive both physically and psychologically (as long as he must). It's the literary equivalent of one of those extreme close-ups that makes one unconsciously draw back in one's seat in the movie theater. The reader gets to go along for the ride as Snape methodically de-humanizes himself for the sake of the Greater Good.

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I really love that one! HP Beholder has great fics!!

HP Rec Fest Day 4

@hprecfest - Theme: a fic with art

A Fish May Marry a Bird by lookfar, Snape/Firenze, 8,800 words

There's something odd about this fic (and I don't mean the human/centaur sex), something in its blending of moods that makes the whole fic feel pastoral, even wistful. These aren't qualities one expects when bestiality is central to the action. I don't know how Lookfar manages it, but I love the careful mixture of delicacy, gentleness, and filth. It's a character study of Snape, youngest professor on staff, listless and lonely and still prone to knee-jerk bigotry. Undaunted by Severus's muttering about 'animals,' Dumbledore hustles him into visiting the temporary magical habitat where Firenze lives while teaching Divination. An unexpected interlude unfolds, in which Snape gets in touch with his inner pervert but is also coddled like something precious, a heretofore unthinkable experience for him. The result is both bizarrely erotic and quite poignant, and Fanlay's graceful, gorgeous watercolors contribute to the mournfully sweet fairy tale atmosphere of the piece. The fic is also posted to AO3, but the illustrations didn't make it over, so the link here takes you to the HP Beholder Fest on InsaneJournal.

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Yeah! I feel like Warm and Candles are maybe the coziest fics! Also Coda to Soft Touch. Also the Jeeves/Wooster side in Jeeves and the Secret Society!! But Candles is really special for me because I am in total love with their emotionally rich, cozy lives especially after what you put them through in every other fic. I really need a McGonagall happy ending fic after YotT. You delivered that with Candles :D

And it would have been an extraordinary feat requiring a special Fanfic Pulitzer for me to actually get rimming on the page.

I totally have faith in your ability :D

However, the rimming was absolutely there. It was merely inaccessible to non-Legilimens who couldn’t see what was playing out inside Severus’ head while Harry was chatting him up. 😇

I feel like this is gerrymandering levels of logic and I am here for it. You earned the Pulitzer already <3

I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to hear you say there’s anything virgin(al), let alone extra, about my fics! ;D

When I read this fic during Snapecase with @givereadersahug we were of course confident it was your fic but we found the extra virgin vibe hilarious/shocking :D

Three, Harry would die of embarrassment and disappear from the public eye until he deemed it safe to resurrect himself, although Severus would no doubt receive an owl post from Diogenes Chandler the very next day.

:D :D I love their pseuds. I don't really ship Snarry now. I am a Chandler/Frogmorton shipper. Chanmorton! :D

HP Femslash Recs from 2023 (January to June)

Recs for new femslash fics posted in first half of 2023. January to June! One fic for each month. Rec lists are based on my reading and what I like. YMMV.

Theme - HP ladies rocking their queer side during different stages of their lives. Some of them are also rocking their dirtybadhotwrong side <3

AO3 collection

  Petunia Comes First by DepravedDesires (January)

Themes - dirtybadhotwrong

Pairing - Petunia/Lily

Rec because - dirtybadhotwrong femslash is the best starting fic for this list. We stan! Petunia definitely deserves to come first.

How dare Lily ignore her until there was something she needed from her sister? Typical Lily, making a mess of things and then getting someone else to clean it up for her.

  Candles Lit Against the Dark by @perverse-idyll (February)

Themes - Retirement + Healing

Pairing - Minerva McGonagall/Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank

Rec because - This is so totally the retirement life I want. It's packed with beautiful friendships, people focusing on the sweet instead of the bitter, people moving on together, people forgiving each other. It's an incredible fic with perfect execution on some classic tropes like matchmaking and friends who are going to help you whether or not you asked for it. Also some not so classic tropes like celebrating a female character's life/happiness/love being the center of a rich fic. Ultimately this is Minerva McGonagall's fic and I am so here for it. Her life is full! She's done a lot, she's got the perfect retirement and her friends are her best fans. It's got a big cast and everybody is characterized really vividly. This fic is like fruitcake. But really, really rich homemade fruitcake. It's just juicy and bursting with flavor. ~~Sorry, Claxton Fruitcake Company~~. Also this fic has the Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank for me. Of course PI's Snape has been the Snape for me from the first time I read When the Rose and the Fire Are One. Speaking of Snape. Oh yeah!!! We get Snape. Lots and lots of Snape. Also some lowkey/not so lowkey Snarry flirting. But definitely don't pass on the fic if you are squicked by Snarry. This fic is so much more than that and you definitely won't be squicked by anything. I am normally a YMMV person when it's about squicks because those can be pretty subjective but I am giving a no squick guarantee on this fic. READ IT <3

At around four in the afternoon, with three chapters to go in the espionage novel she was reading – since popular thrillers provided not only diversion but an eye-opening refresher course on Muggle slang and cultural attitudes – Minerva glanced up from the page to find Wil leaning in the doorway, watching her.

Reccer note - If you don't normally go for PI's works because of the bittersweetness/ambiguity/intensity, this is a perfect intro fic you can read in any headspace. You get the Trademark PI Snape with lots and lots and lots of nonstop healing/good times and a 100% extra virgin pure legit happy ending. ~~No rimming though~~ We got gloves! But seriously. We get some of the classic PI themes like Ego Death, Real Death, Forgiveness, Atonement but these heavy themes are present without feeling heavy. My theory is PI drank a lot of champagne to get this nonstop bubbly effect in the fic.

  Once of Eden by eldritcher (March)

Themes - Crossgen + Coming of Age

Pairing - Lily/Eileen

Rec because - Poignant and super sharp character study of Lily. Lots of storms inside her head about her family/war/Petunia/Snape. This is right before her marriage but she has this feeling she doesn't fit into that life and she doesn't want to let go of her past. Like a lot of us, she's also seeing her past/childhood through these nostalgic glasses but at the same time she's also noticing adults in her life and has this bittersweet feeling that she's an adult now/making adult choices now. Serious Catcher in the Rye vibes. This fic has the Lily for me. Really like Harry, really Gryffindor. Don't let the pairing put you off. It's a really beautiful, sensitive, unique, powerfully human fic.

She knew there were girls who did this. Petunia and she had giggled about it once or twice. Sirius talked a great deal about how he liked watching girls kiss each other. It got him going like nothing else, he said. This would not get him going. Eileen was Severus's mother. Eileen was not a girl. She was sullen and cross, but not right then.

Reccer note - A great eldritcher intro fic for Marauders era readers. It doesn't have the rollercoaster intensity of their other fics. Definitely more approachable. But you can also see some of the classic Eldritcher themes about Nostalgia + Returning Home to find out nothing's going to be the same again + Permanent loss when one door closes in your life + all the characters being flesh and blood people you can empathize with without self-insertion. This fic made me cry but it was a healing cry. I don't normally see femslash fics hitting these themes so it's unique in my reading experience.

  Nymphadora, Nymphet by @thistlecatfics (April)

Themes - House of Black ladies being House of Black ladies

Pairing - Bellatrix/Andromeda, Bellatrix/Tonks

Rec because - Thistlecat has my whole heart for how she characterizes Bellatrix in this fic <3 Love, love, love. Also Tonks! This fic is layers and layers of delicious dirtybadhotwrong and at the same time a brilliant character study. Also the first time I have actually seen Lolita in a femslash fic. Whoa, love. AU premise but definitely don't let that make you skip this. Totally, totally pays off.

She had changed her hair for them. They asked about size, and she grew tall and then short. They asked about shape, and she gave herself broad shoulders, pulling at the seams of her shirt, even with the charms her mother had added to give her freedom of movement after the sheer number of clothes she had torn apart as a child in playing with her physical form. They named body parts, and she adjusted them as they asked, all four of them laughing. She was having fun. It was a challenge! They were going so quickly. When they said to make her breasts larger, she obeyed. She had played so little with her breasts, which had just started to grow, and flesh was so easy and fun to work with. They asked for bigger, and she threw her shoulders back and let them grow.

  Knotweed by @turanga4 (May)

Themes - Relationship resolution, war era

Pairing - Poppy/Pomona

Rec because - because I love fics which show us why it's important to focus on the good things/the important things during bad times. Pomona said it best! <3

“I need things to live,” Pomona continued. “I need things to grow. If I’m going to fight, I need a bit of why we’re fighting. I want this—want us, want you— for as long as I can have it.”

Leather by @saintsenara (June)

Themes - self-discovery, war era

Pairing - Tonks/Fleur, Tonks/Charlie, Tonks/Remus, Tonks/OFC

Rec because - I love this fic. It's got so much self-discovery with lots of good emotions but with a huge contrast against the war tension. Love how Tonks makes the best of each day because she doesn''t know what's going to happen tomorrow. Also love the confusion/acceptance/exploration cycles in the fic.

She’d learned the term for it eventually, and knowing the word had given her the power to understand herself - it was like magic, in that sense. The first person she’d told had been Charlie, as they relaxed - eighteen years old and feeling very grown up - after their first fuck. It had been nice - tentative and halting and all very un-British and sincere - and she’d confessed and he’d looked at her with his lovely round face and confessed the same. And they’d laughed and laughed at how they would be able to compare notes in future on what they sampled from the buffet of human genitalia.

Reccer note - Legit character studies of bi characters are super rare in our fandom. I don't really go for self-discovery type fics but this one is whoa! Love, love, love and highly recommend this one. It's out and proud and amazing. <3