The Harry Potter Starter Kit
Jun. 28th, 2004 10:39 amWhat would you recommend for the dewy-eyed, fresh slash reader, who has just stepped off the train into this wonderous world of Harry Potter slash? (Gen of course is acceptable, too. Het... do we even read het? *Icarus looks puzzled at the mere idea.*)
This hypothetical (actual) reader has no idea what they like or what they want. They've read all the books, and love them. They enjoy slash.
Naturally we would want to start them off with the best available, but gently. (
amanuensis1's And Just Plain Wrong is probably not the first item on the list.)
Criteria:
- They would need to be completed fics. We can introduce them to the frustration and joys of the WiP later.
- We need a "sampler" cross-section of various pairings.
Student/Student mixes (Harry/Draco, Harry/Ron, Ron/Draco, Percy/Harry etc.), Student/Adult mixes (Harry/Snape, Harry/Lucius, Percy/Lucius etc.), Adult/Adult mixes (Snape/Lucius, Sirius/Remus, Sirius/Snape etc.) This like a box of chocolates, with many varieties. :D
- We need a mix from PG-13 to NC-17 PWP.
- We need to start with stories that have good solid plots.
- We want humour to start, then angst, then a PWP, etc.
- One-shots and epics welcome.
- Rare pairings are welcome, but since this is an intro, it's probably best to have more than one story in that pairing.
- We're looking for specific recs rather than rec-lists.
- We'll probably avoid the major squicks in the beginning: Incest, Non-Con, Chan, MPreg, Heavy Kink.
What would you recommend?
I'll consolidate this down to a, oh, top 20 or something later in the week, or at least put it in some semblance of an order.
( What we have so far. I'll add the links later. This is only so far, and I was thinking of thinning it down to a manageable size, with a side list. So, if there were a lot of Harry/Snape stories, I won't include all of them in the starter kit, but still make them available. )
ETA: I'll kick this off with Mad Martha's The Lodger Harry/Draco, which has an excellent plot, many funny moments, and a "canon" feel.
Then, A Bittersweet Poison, Harry/Snape, which has the most accurate rendering of Harry as a cat and a very convincing Snape.
I'll bend the rules (since part is complete) and recommend Telanu's Tea Series, too. It builds beautifully from being being fairly innocent to extremely steamy. I'll toss in the Coffee Series for good measure, because it's funnier than heck.
Let's see... next...
mad_maudlin. Ron/Draco. Hmm... cross-dressing is kind of a mild kink, but Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover stands on the line between ruthless and fun. I'll probably put it further down the list though.
ETA2: Of course, everyone has to read
epicyclical's Draco Trilogy (apologies to those who hate it, it is a must ;), and my personal favourite After The Flood.
In the Gen category, Call of the Wild by the Wolfie Twins.
Does anyone know any good Lucius slash?
ETA3: Okay, I've completely given up the ghost on keeping it tame. Some very valid points have been made about what has actually drawn people in to fandom. Most people have been drawn in by "heavy" fics.
So does anyone know any good GredNForge fics? Slash and Gen? I have Calico's incredibly hot Double Or Nothing. Anything else out there?
This hypothetical (actual) reader has no idea what they like or what they want. They've read all the books, and love them. They enjoy slash.
Naturally we would want to start them off with the best available, but gently. (
Criteria:
- They would need to be completed fics. We can introduce them to the frustration and joys of the WiP later.
- We need a "sampler" cross-section of various pairings.
Student/Student mixes (Harry/Draco, Harry/Ron, Ron/Draco, Percy/Harry etc.), Student/Adult mixes (Harry/Snape, Harry/Lucius, Percy/Lucius etc.), Adult/Adult mixes (Snape/Lucius, Sirius/Remus, Sirius/Snape etc.) This like a box of chocolates, with many varieties. :D
- We need a mix from PG-13 to NC-17 PWP.
- We need to start with stories that have good solid plots.
- We want humour to start, then angst, then a PWP, etc.
- One-shots and epics welcome.
- Rare pairings are welcome, but since this is an intro, it's probably best to have more than one story in that pairing.
- We're looking for specific recs rather than rec-lists.
- We'll probably avoid the major squicks in the beginning: Incest, Non-Con, Chan, MPreg, Heavy Kink.
What would you recommend?
I'll consolidate this down to a, oh, top 20 or something later in the week, or at least put it in some semblance of an order.
( What we have so far. I'll add the links later. This is only so far, and I was thinking of thinning it down to a manageable size, with a side list. So, if there were a lot of Harry/Snape stories, I won't include all of them in the starter kit, but still make them available. )
ETA: I'll kick this off with Mad Martha's The Lodger Harry/Draco, which has an excellent plot, many funny moments, and a "canon" feel.
Then, A Bittersweet Poison, Harry/Snape, which has the most accurate rendering of Harry as a cat and a very convincing Snape.
I'll bend the rules (since part is complete) and recommend Telanu's Tea Series, too. It builds beautifully from being being fairly innocent to extremely steamy. I'll toss in the Coffee Series for good measure, because it's funnier than heck.
Let's see... next...
ETA2: Of course, everyone has to read
In the Gen category, Call of the Wild by the Wolfie Twins.
Does anyone know any good Lucius slash?
ETA3: Okay, I've completely given up the ghost on keeping it tame. Some very valid points have been made about what has actually drawn people in to fandom. Most people have been drawn in by "heavy" fics.
So does anyone know any good GredNForge fics? Slash and Gen? I have Calico's incredibly hot Double Or Nothing. Anything else out there?