Harry Potter Starter Kit

[icarus]

Last night I was up till three am reading all your recs for the Harry Potter Starter Kit.

First conclusion:
Wow, there are a lot of great stories I've never read. copperbadge, scribbulus_ink's Snape/Lupin, (which I want to read again), Nope's Snape/Draco.

Second conclusion:
To sample a new pairing, a multi-chaptered fic is too much.

Third conclusion:
It's time for me to sift through the recs for the shorter works and list those earlier.

*Icarus rolls up sleeves, tongue in corner of mouth.* This is gonna take longer than I thought.

Comments

[tarnationawaits.livejournal.com]

Hmm. When I saw nearly all of the recs, both yours and others', were long chaptered works, I didn't rec one shots (which is primarily what I read, and there are a lot of good ones out there). If you need additional recs of shorter works for some pairings, let me know and I can look around for you. (I'm sure you have plenty, though.)

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yes, I guess I grew rather excited and wanted newbys to read "All the really Great stuff!" and didn't think about how someone new would want to just sample a little bit. I'd appreciate some shorter works. I can do Harry/Ron, Ron/Draco, Harry/Snape, Snape/Dumbledore easily, and I think I have a good one for Percy/Oliver. But the pairings I don't read much like Harry/Draco (where the number is just... overwhelming), Remus/Sirius, etc., I would really appreciate the help.

Icarus

[tarnationawaits.livejournal.com]

Sorry this took me a few days, I didn't get the comment notif...*kicks livejournal*

I don't read so much H/D because, as you said, the sheer volume is daunting and it's often not worth it to wade through the crap to find the gems. It's also difficult to find any with lower ratings, and I didn't include any here. However, here are a few that managed not to completely degenerate the characterization and which I enjoyed:

Chocolate Frogs (http://www.livejournal.com/community/pornish_pixies/68402.html) by franlet. NC-17, 2600 words. This is the first of an ongoing series, but each installment can stand alone. I chose this because it plays up the antagonistic relationship between the two while still making the smut believable. I have links to the rest of the series thus far (which just gets better) if you want them.

This Day (http://www.livejournal.com/users/umbralin/46381.html) by umbralin. Mild NC-17, in two parts (part 2 linked at the bottom on part 1). One of the more believable stories I've read with this pairing that includes both fluff and angst. It reveals what's really going on over time, and has rich backstory/plot that sets it apart from other uses of this pairing.

Snape/Lupin is as close to an OTP as I have, so I have tons of that marked, but here are a couple good ones:

An Elephant in the Parlour (http://chance.slashcity.net/masterandthewolf/stories/parlour.html) by Marks. NC-17, approx 4000 words. Written in first person from Remus' POV.

Poor Substitute (http://www.livejournal.com/users/arionrhod/24805.html) by arionrhod (FANTASTIC Snupin author). R, 2200 words. Established relationship here, and the characterization is still great.

I don't read Remus/Sirius really (although I did love Through a Glass Darkly (http://www.livejournal.com/users/eumenides1/26263.html) by eumenides1) but musesfool has an extensive list of "must-read recs" here.

A couple rarer pairings stories that are great:

In The Wine Cellar (http://www.livejournal.com/users/sparrohawk/36100.html) by sparrohawk. Snape/Lucius, R, 2100 words.

A Seamus Thing (http://www.livejournal.com/community/hprarepairs/8609.html) by atdelphi. Seamus/Dean, NC-17.

Certain Half-Deserted Rooms (http://www.livejournal.com/users/glitterdemon/382365.html). Harry/Lucius, NC-17, 1500 words (very dark).


Hope that helps! If you need any other recs, just let me know. I wasn't sure how crazy to go. ;)
(http://www.livejournal.com/users/musesfool/628616.html) ()

[skuf.livejournal.com]

Paring it down to appropriate fics will be hard work - but it's a great project, so kudos to you for undertaking it :o) !

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not sure if I even need the "Greatest Fics of All Time!" Thought it would be nice. More like representative fics, to give the new reader a feel for the pairing.

Icarus

[skuf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the fics often hailed as "greatest" might not work for someone who hasn't read HP fic before. I was thinking about that when I saw the first post: many people list Telanu's "A Modest Proposal" as one of their favorite fics, but if you haven't read and liked a fair amount of Snarry, chances are it's not gonna work for you.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what fics you come up with to initiate the un-initiated :o) !

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yeah, tinderblast recommended the Harry/Ron Screwed, but the impact of that is that it's soooo refreshing after one or two sickly sweet Harry/Ron fics. You really need to have that come as part of a set.

Icarus

[mad-martha.livejournal.com]

*Icarus rolls up sleeves, tongue in corner of mouth.* This is gonna take longer than I thought.

Heh! You remind me or Anthony Hopkins in Zorro!

Good luck ....

Mad Martha

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Ha! Now I have the image of Antonio Banderas posing over candles in my mind. Hmmm. Not a bad image to have, actually.

Icarus

[a-linz.livejournal.com]

I agree that multi-chaptered fics are far too long. What you need is a delicious sample which leaves you craving for more yummy goodness.
This is going to be great when it's done; I haven't read a lot of slash, really, and I'm looking forward to it. Good luck!