>VERBOSE

I caught wind of smubbles-etc's Wanksgiving fest via a mutual on Tumblr last Wednesday night. Per the FAQ,

In November 2022 there was an idea circulating to yeet a bunch of short-form porn onto AO3 in a short time period, to offer up as a distraction for people facing fraught family interactions around the holiday season. We had so much fun creating random snippets of porn that we thought we’d make this a regular activity.

So they do more than Thanksgiving (you can find a bunch of other events if you look at their Tumblr), but this is the first time I've participated.

I wrote a set of 10 Monkey Island drabbles. I collected them in a series for organization purposes; there's no narrative connection between them. None were beta'd and they were all bashed out rather quickly in the spirit of the fest being pretty laid-back. I tried not to think about things too hard and instead just run with ideas as they occurred, so there's ships in there I don't actually ship and even femslash, which I have never written before.

In the spirit of the fest, they're all rated Mature or Explicit. Ships comprise Guybrush/Elaine, Guybrush/OFC, Iron Rose/Apple Bob, Iron Rose/Flair Gorey, Largo LaGrande/LeChuck, and something that isn't exactly Guybrush/LeChuck but they're both in there. They're mostly vanilla (one exception is maybe just a little on the unusal side, not major kink; and the other is more like darkfic than anything "kinky") and the Guybrush/Elaine ones tend to be rather sweet.

Fun fact: Between three authors, there were a total of 24 drabbles for Monkey Island, which was such a large percentage increase in the total number of Monkey Island fics that it took the #9 spot on fastest-growing fandoms that week.

Hand-Me-Down by dickgloucester in snapecase
Snape family, PG, 3374 words
Author's summary: Tobias Snape reflects on his history with Severus' mother.

My comment: "WOW. Just... wow. So much color (or lack of color, should I say?) in this. The mood and atmosphere are very vivid, and I love that you turned the common trope of Tobias hating or fearing his wife and son on its head."

Quote:
Oh but she were something bonny when she came up here that first time. Not what you'd call pretty, mind, but she had such energy. She were fierce like sparks from a furnace, and she were built like a greyhound, all bones and nerves and power.

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The Sin in Your Grin (and the Shape of Your Mouth) by xylodemon in dysfuncentine
Sirius/Snape, Remus/Sirius, implied James/Sirius, NC-17, ~16k words
Author's summary: The Order needed Sirius, but he doubted they'd mourn him very long when he finally disappeared.
Author's warnings: Angst, bad language, smoking, fight sex, semi-public sex, frottage, dubious consent

My comment: "I don't think I can possibly write a comment as long as this deserves. Hopefully it will suffice to say that I read every word instead of skimming as I often do, especially with fics over 5000 words, and I thoroughly enjoyed it in all its bleakness and angst."

Quote:
"Close your eyes. Pretend I'm Lupin, if that will make it easier," Snape said, his mouth wet as he reached for Sirius' open flies. "All dark creatures look the same with the lights off."

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Learning Curve by deathjunke
Severus/James, unrated but I'd say hard R, 3878 words
Author's summary: When Sluggy had said 'his best' [tutor] this was the last thing that James expected.
Author's warnings: Psychotropic Drugs, Hate Sex, Racism

My comment: "I quite liked this! It's always good to come across Severus/James that isn't hatesex or non-con. The touch with the "drug" potion is one of my personal favourite things to see in fic."

Quote:
The question was double-edged, and James knew it. He licked his lips and nodded. Of course Snape would know he was just playing dumb to get close to Evans. Snape could be a lot of things; acerbic, cruel, snarky, over-protective and contrary to name a few, but stupid wasn't one of them.

I hate to be a bandwidth vampire but I don't think there's any way I could write suitably enticing text for a mere link to this wonderful little piece by someoldcat:


(at http://someoldcat.insanejournal.com/171566.html)

I also recommend Young Punk and her art for this year's holiday cards, On the Naughty List, No Doubt.

Secret Santa by aramintasnape (Severus/Aurora, sexy fluff, R, 2875 words)
Every year, Albus organises a Secret Santa for the staff. This year, Severus decides to liven up the proceedings...

Three words: Black silk lingerie. Hee! Also, this is set in my favourite under-written era for Severus, the young professor (1980s).

Christ, what was wrong with him? Maybe Albus had slipped him a Get-Totally-Over-Excited-and-Act-Like-An-Idiot-At-Christmas potion on the sly. It couldn't be possible that he was actually looking forward to Christmas presents.

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There must be something in the water mulled wine this year, because besides mimimanderly's A Visit from Severus, we also have A Visit from St. Severus by hexgirl (both are a strong PG-13 or soft R, I think):

His black eyes they glinted! His skin was like chalk!
His cheeks were like marble, his nose like a hawk!
The sneer on his lips was enough to rouse fright,
And the hair on his head was as dark as the night.

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Sort of oldish, from this summer's Snarry Games:
Connecting the Dotty by igtow (Severus/Harry, romance/family, PG-13, ~19200 words)
A gentle tale of growing old together.

igtow's summary pretty much says it. Harry and Severus begin this story aged in the middle of their second centuries, and it's about them and their considerable number of descendents and family dealing with Severus's growing senility -- and, as the story goes on, some of Harry's problems as well. This grabbed me in the gut early on and didn't let go. I'm having a really hard time picking a good excerpt out of this because it doesn't seem to want to be carved into little chunks like that. So... next!

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A Severus Christmas Carol by Strega Arvay (gen/supernatural, PG, ~26900)
What the Dickens? Severus Snape finds himself at the end of the year, feeling particularly foul. Leave it to the 'ghosts' of Christmas Past, Present and Future to set him straight. AU story with DH spoilers! Takes place in Harry's 5th year... sorta.

Probably a cliched idea by now, but I thought this was a good take on it that had its own life and didn't feel limp or stale. Regulus stands in for Marley, and the three spirits are Lily, Dumbledore, and (naturally, given the appearance) a Dementor. It has the predictable ending as it's a clear example of based-on-X homage, but again, I was taken with the way the HP characters were adapted into the known storyline and made relevant there with their own twist.

Snape stood transfixed by the scene in front of him. He wanted to believe with all his might that the heat in his face came solely from the setting sun shining in through the kitchen window. Without looking at Dumbledore, he asked, “Tell me, does [Harry] live or die?”

“That I cannot say, Severus,” Dumbledore sighed. “I only know what lies… well, technically, what lay ahead of me in my life. But I do see an empty chair at the Gryffindor table, and a wand without an owner. If things remain as they are then, yes, I do believe Harry will die.” His voice changed, harsher and cutting. “But he should consider himself lucky, right? Lucky to be so blissfully removed from the torment of this world?”

The echo of his own words cut through Snape like a knife [...]

The Right Decision by unbroken_halo
(200 words, PG)
Double drabble about Severus making the choice and taking the Mark, the first from Voldemort's POV and the second from Severus's.

Highly Toxic by midnight_ljc
(~530 words plus art, PG-13, mabye barely NWS if a girl in a bra or hints of teenage sexuality are a problem)
Older Severus/Lily (2006). Yummy and tender and sad. I especially like the way he's kissing her cheek and jaw in the last picture. I've had to re-read this a few times before the narrative actually fell together in my head, because it's told kind of backwards, but I love its dreamy quality.

The Raven by atdelphi
(~800 words, NC-17)
"A play on Poe's famous poem: Filch receives a rather persistent late-night visitor."
Severus/Argus Filch. Wait, wait, come back! It's only a parody, and a hilarious and very well-made one at that. And somehow, even though it's potion-induced and the, er, unfortunate victim of the blast radius is Filch, somehow Severus's insatiability still comes off really hot.

Trusting in Fanfiction by gmweasley
(~475 words, soft R)
Severus/Remus. While we're on the subject of humorous poetry, yeah? This one is original, not parody, but is also quite well-constructed. In brief, I LOLed.
It occurred to Remus one fine day: his past was unrewarding
So off he set to start anew; in short, he stopped Marauding.
He said goodbye to all he'd known; decided to commit.
At last he found (or so it's told) our favourite Greasy Git.

Five things Regulus Black regrets in his life and one thing that he doesn't by curia_regis
(~1300 words, PG)
This is great in so many ways. I love the Severus/Regulus content, the hints that from the first he doesn't really want to do what his family apparently expects him to, and the quiet bravery. The little bit of Severus expounding excitedly on a potion to little Regulus because he made the mistake of getting him started on the topic is just precious.

Can't Run But by kaydeefalls
(~5850 words, PG-13)
Gen with Regulus and Draco in alternating sections, eventually dealing with the locket Horcrux. Older stuff again (2005), set after the end of HBP, so canon-shafted now (albeit not that badly). I like the echoes between Regulus and Draco, and Severus gets some great lines in this:
Snape looks over at him sharply. "A coward?" he repeats. "A coward would have exulted at the opportunity before him. Dumbledore was a weak, helpless old man, without even the strength to run. A coward could have killed him."
"So what does that make me?" Draco snaps, his face flushing with shame. "Less than a coward?"
"It makes you a human being," Snape replies shortly.

Players by snegurochka_lee
(~3500 words, NC-17)
"If Grimmauld Place is a stage, and all the men and women in it merely players, then there really isn't any reason for Snape to take it all so seriously, now is there?"
Again a bit older (mid 2007). Severus/Sirius with plenty of hate in, although it's that special kind of Snacky hate that has clearly got something else going on inside of it. Focuses on how, as Sirius observes, Severus's entire existence is this constructed stage show, and how Severus gets off sexually on that. Characterization is razor sharp on both; I love Sirius's bad attitude and the aside that "Remus isn't any fun any more".

Free for the Girls by lorena_snape. R, 100 words, angsty.
Just a drabble about sixth-year Severus, but it's so heartbreaking. I can't say any more about this without revealing too much (about me, or about the drabble? mmm, more the former I think...).

Professor Grunge by bohemianspirit. PG-13, ~4000 words, humour/satire/AU.
Upon graduating from Hogwarts, Severus pursues an employment opportunity in the northwestern United States, with somewhat unexpected results.
"Grunge" does in fact have something to do with grunge rock, but I'd rather not give it away. ;) bohemianspirit also tacked on an unusual "warning" that made me laugh: "Severus Snape gets to have a HAPPY LIFE!!!" *snicker* ya gotta warn for that now, do ya?

What Harry Loves by potion_lady. Severus/Harry, hard R, ~1500 words, romantic/sexual/sensual. (Very sensual, in fact.)
Harry loves everything about his lover.
Mmmmmm, taaasty descriptions, yesss precioussss.
...Yeah, I think that's plenty of reason to read this.

Escape from the Shrieking Shack by ellid. PG, 100 words, action (?).
I say "action" because it's done in fragmentary, rapid-fire phrases that take place over just a few seconds of time. A little morsel that made me go "woo-hoo!"