The Harry Potter Starter Kit

[icarus]

What 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.



In no particular order (yet) and still missing those fics that I haven't read or don't know the author, since I'll have to read those first to rec them to my friend-of-friend. Bear in mind that I threw away the "must be tame" requirement, and the "stick to popular pairings" requirement as well.

The Lodger - mad_martha, Harry/Draco
Art of War - kennahijja, Gen, Ron, Draco
The Lecture - Grindylowe, Gen, Snape
Call Of The Wild - WolfieTwins, Gen, Remus
A Bittersweet Poison - alchemia and Bugland, Harry/Snape
The Tea Series - Telanu, Harry/Snape
Sytherin Sky - kay_taylor, Snape/Lucius
In A Dream - Nope, Snape/Draco
Transfigurations - resonant8, Harry/Draco
The Familiar - resonant8, Harry/Snape
Circles of Power - mad_martha, Harry/Ron
Irresistible Poison - Rysenn, Harry/Draco
Slowly But Exceeding Fine - ellen_fremedon, Snape/Sirius
Stone Cold Sober - fabularasa, Sirus/Snape
Aftermath - josanpq, Snape/Ron
Civil War - wikdsushi, Harry/Snape
Consequences Of A Weary Mind - wikdsushi, Harry/Snape
Hallelujah series - dien, Snape/Dumbledore
Walking 'Round In Women's Underwear - dkwilliams
Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover - mad_maudlin, Ron/Draco
Beg Me For It - Icarus (cringes - two people included it - cringes some more), Ron/Draco
Minor Arcana - cursive, Harry/Draco, Remus/Draco, Harry/Snape...
Stealing Harry - copperbadge
Lust Over Pendle - ajhalluk, Draco/Neville
Double Or Nothing - ukcalico, Fred/George
The Badger Series - mistful, Draco/Zacharias
Door To the River - miraminx, Sirius/Remus
Discretion Required - ruhgozler, Harry/Lucius
The Way Of The World - scribbulus_ink, Snape/Lupin
A Nick In Time - tiranog
Just Add Water - cybelesan, Harry/Bill
Quill And Ink - cybelesan, Harry/Snape

Later in the list:
If You Are Prepared - cybelesan, Harry/Snape
A World Not So Black And White - amanuensis1

Het Fics.
Apparently The Draco Trilogy is more het than gen. Who knew? So...

The Draco Trilogy - epicyclical
Flame And Shadow - mistful, Ron/Pansy
Roman Holiday - Anna, Hermione/Draco, Hermione/Snape



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?

Comments

is something less well-known okay?

[hellfire82.livejournal.com]

hi... hate to intrude (i love to lurk on your lj... i access it from imp's page. ^_^), but this lovely list of recs (which i'm about to start checking out RIGHT NOW) made me brave, and made me wonder if you'd consider something bit less well-known. i've got a lovely harry/oliver piece that's not too rough, as well as some other stuff that'll make you wonder what type of depraved person i am. (it's okay. lots of people wonder this.) i was going to give you the link to my page on aff.net, but, as usual, it has died and gone to hell. if you're at all interested, let me know, and i'll send them to you. i'd link it on my lj, but... i'm not actually sure how to do the thingie where you link it to another page, so that you're not filling everyone's flist up. and i hate filling the flist up... gives me lots of guilt. okay. will stop babbling now. really.

cheers!

hellfire82

Re: is something less well-known okay?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

At this point I'm only putting up stories that I've read, or - if not the specific story - at least whose authors I know. Later, after this Thursday, I'll read the ones that are new.

I appreciate your lurking in my journal - *smiles* - so go ahead and give me a link. Even the list I have above is likely to be culled, so I don't think it would make it to the list. But I'd be happy to read it.

Icarus

Re: is something less well-known okay?

[hellfire82.livejournal.com]

and i'd love to share it/them with you. i haven't written since last year, and now i've got all these ideas fighting with each other in my head. (they're awfully noisy.. won't let me sleep at all) and since i cannot access my aff account at all right now. i'm going to try putting them on my lj (user name hellfire82), but i'm not promising that they're going to show up. a friend just showed me (again) how to do it.. so i'm going to try.

cheers!

hellfire82

Re: is something less well-known okay?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Okay, but please drop me a comment when it's up, because I'm not online much right now (working on the next part of SNAFU -- just took a break today), so I'm certain to miss it otherwise.

And, just so you know, my own Primer To The Dark Arts is probably going to be culled from the list as well. Primer? The Tea Series? It's really no contest. :)

Icarus

Re: is something less well-known okay?

[eyrai.livejournal.com]

so start writing lady!! *cracks whip* :P
*hugs*

ps- get with me later re: link/cut/paste thinggie.