shadowfireflame | Fic Recs: Gen and RPGs

Here is my list of recommendations for gen fics and RPGs. Despite the fact that the stories don’t have any pairings, please heed any warnings given by the author and be aware that I tend to like very dark tales. (Gen does not necessarily equal happy!) Please also note that the RPGs definitely have lots of pairings, both slash and het.

:: General Fics ::

Erlestroke by vaysh11
Draco in prison, gen but very dark, heed warnings. Author’s summary: Erlestoke House of Corrections is a low security wizarding prison. It's not Azkaban, Draco Malfoy thinks when he's committed to serve his five months prison sentence there. But Erlestoke holds horrors that Azkaban doesn't know. I really can’t get enough of Draco in prison, and Vaysh’s done it so well here. Heed the warnings, seriously. This is disturbing, far beyond creepy, but also really, really lovely and beautifully written. The imagery here is breathtaking: the ice, the blood, the bells. It’s really the tone that draws me in: claustrophobic, trapped, frustrated and hopeless but looking for comfort wherever it can be found. This might also be the most extreme use of Polyjuice I’ve ever read, and I love how that lets us get really deep into Draco’s psychology. Also some really nice insights into Astoria’s character via Polyjuice.

if wishes were fishes by two_if_by_sea a.k.a. Cathy
Draco, gen. A.K.A. Five things Draco never finds in the Room of Requirement. I'm reccing this fic almost entirely for #3, which is Harry Potter, because it is beautiful and startling how easily Harry could have solved the whole mess of Draco in HBP—and didn't. It never even occurred to Harry to just, you know, talk to Draco. The fic is movie-verse, but I really, really love #3, which feels like it might have been canon, if Harry weren't so stubborn, like OMG IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED THIS WAY—WHY DIDN'T IT? Also check out Cathy's “the ones who were taught petrov's defense,” because it will make your heart hurt for Slytherin and the repeating of history.

In Infinite Remorse of the Soul by perverse_idyll
Snape and Dumbledore, gen but very very dark. The author wrote that she wanted “to write a fic dealing with the implications of Severus and Albus' unequal relationship.” Yeah, this is that fic. It’s a remarkably insightful view into the twisted, frankly deeply disturbing canon relationship between those two brilliant minds. I’m really blown away by this.

Lightning Has Just Struck My Brain by mousapelli
Harry, Neville, Dumbledore, the prophecy, gen. Very short and creepy and awesome. Like the evil!McGonagall theory, I’m a big fan of conspiracy theories in fic. Sometimes I really wish this were canon. Check out her other writings at her site, too! She writes in other fandoms, too, and everything is generally to the point and fun.

Sea Change by tangleofthorns
Narcissa Malfoy, gen. Narcissa she finds she is pregnant just as the Dark Lord begins to look for a child that might lead to his downfall. This is a shocking piece, beautifully, eloquently written, lovely and canon and believable in every way. Narcissa loves Draco, and I can't believe how right this author gets it. This is also my absolute favorite portrayal of Lucius ever (“It was fucked from start to finish...Pardon.”). Quote, because GOD this is lovely: She is a well-ordered universe, orbiting peacefully around one sleeping star.

The Things Draco Carries by catsintheattic
Just Draco, canon. I've never seen a more sparse, elegant Draco-centric retelling of canon than the way Cats does it here. Just...damn impressive, really. It may make you cry. Plus, there’s beautiful art included!

Three Kisses by melusinahp
Draco, Bellatrix, Narcissa, gen, very dark. In his Unplottable shack, Draco receives a visitor. I honestly can only read this once, and even then it made my heart hurt and race with fear, so I’m reccing it because few fics have ever affected me like this. It was just so, so clear and perfect, and the problem is that I can see it happening exactly this way. So beautifully written, it's painful. The author’s grasp on canon Draco is phenomenal. She warns for “potentially disturbing/upsetting elements,” so that’s what I’ll warn for, and I advise you to please take it seriously. Anyway, melusinahp’s one of my favorite authors, so check out her awesome Harry/Draco fics, especially “Ring A-Ring O' Roses,” which is plotty and in-character, and the supremely hot “Steam,” and her ridiculous “Thestrals Nursery Rhyme,” and, hell, just read all her fics. It's worth it: go here.

:: RPGs ::

And, finally, I’m reccing two RPGs (Role-Playing Games): HP Dungeons and Nocturne Alley. Both are extremely well-written and both contain insane and often hilarious amounts of drama and both slash and het pairings.

HP Dungeons
Run masterfully by femmequixotic, this RPG takes place several years after canon. All the characters here are wonderfully written, but my favorites are Severus, Harry, Draco, and Blaise (and Marcellus, an original character that I really want to be canon!). This RPG has perhaps every pairing in existence, as well as eventual (and beautifully done) mpreg, action, violence, sex, drinking, you name it. Please don't be turned off from Dungeons if you don't like mpreg; it doesn't happen until much later and is very well done. It starts here on LiveJournal but moved here to InsaneJournal in 2007. It's still running, too! I love getting updates! They make my day. Seriously, start at LiveJournal and go through the archives. It's well worth it.

Nocturne Alley
A Hogwarts-era RPG, finished now, but go through the archives. Not only is this one extremely well-written, with pretty much every major canon character writing in a journal, there are often hilarious pictures and other media that “the characters” have created to add to the world-building. There's a reason everyone's read this one (it’s legendary!), so don’t miss it if you haven’t. Draco (potterstinks) and Harry (just_harry) are particularly awesome.