HSU IT Department

sshg_giftfest, hoggywartyxmas, and snapecase are all posting right now, and I am as happy as a very happy thing that is happy! Everyone has outdone themselves this year -- hoggywarty has some fabulous stories about Garrick Ollivander in particular, while over on the giftfest someone actually wrote original music to go with their story -- ye gods!!

My gifts were so wonderful, too: Someone wrote me a very funny, distinctly clever, and rather sweet Discworld crossover featuring the Librarian from Unseen University along with Nanny Ogg and the rest as visiting lecturers at Hogwarts (Ook), while some amazing artist created these rather snarky and entirely adorable christmas cards exchanged between Snape and Minerva.

Go, read, enjoy, and leave all these amazing gifted creators some love :)

..."Gosh, I hope snape_case runs again." And what do I see today? It's a go! ::does happy dance::

snapecase continues to post, with some truly excellent contributions this year. if you need a little more Snape in your life (and who doesn't??), be sure to check it out.

HoggyWartyXmas and sshg_giftfest have ended and reveals are up, so I can now own up to having written the following:

Dreams of Time, Time of Dreams (LJ) (AO3) - They see each other, but through a glass darkly; will they ever see one another face to face? (SS/HG)

For Goodness Snake (LJ) (AO3) - Hermione takes on not one but two new positions at Hogwarts. Severus is not at all convinced that it’s a good idea. (SS/HG)

Silent Night (LJ) (AO3) - When Poppy insists that Minerva take a little time on her own in Scotland over Christmas, memories and regrets about a certain colleague threaten to make it anything but a happy holiday. (SS/MM)

I enjoy all three of these fests so much -- the quality is always top-notch, and the community of creators and readers is always so active. Everyone comments, talks about what they like, encourages each other, and generally has an excellent time :)

sshg_giftfest is still open for signups!! We'd love to get more artists/crafters, so if you're interested please come over and check us out: ( rules and timeline ) ( artist/crafter signup ) ( author signup )

Reveals are up for hoggywartyxmas and sshg_giftfest, so I can now cop to being the author of the following:

Ding Dong Merrily on High (LJ) (AO3) - written for pyttan for hoggywartyxmas. The Hogwarts ghosts want to spread a little holiday cheer. Things do not go as planned.

The Joy of Cooking (LJ) (AO3) - written for madeleone for sshg_giftfest. A git and a swot walk into a cookery class. Warning: Contains inaccurate cooking times and deeply random choices of recipes.

Both fests were simply amazing this year. I especially loved how many of the hoggywartytales centered on books and/or libraries (if you haven't read Bibliomancy you are missing a real treat), and the finale for sshg_giftfest (NSFW) by mywitch is truly outstanding (and I'm really not kidding about the NSFW lol).

Also - yay!! - snapecase has begun posting, already featuring some wonderful stories spanning Severus' entire life. Picketing for Peace, in which Severus and his father take tentative steps towards reconciliation, is a real standout both for the well-crafted interactions and the connection to real-world Muggle events (the miners' strikes in the UK in the mid-1980s). Posting continues through Jan 18 or so.

Good news, SSHG shippers! Signups for the sshg_giftfest have been extended until Saturday Sep 2. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on. You know you want to :)

As the Pointer Sisters say:

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it
I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it

Come on and sign up, you know you want to!!!

So I've started roughing out various ideas for my sshg_giftfest recipient, thinking about the different prompts, how they might be fleshed out, where they might go, how I can work in various elements. And I'm in so much trouble. Because I want to write All The Things. In fact multiple versions of All The Things. Seriously, I have at least seven different stories that are all tugging at my sleeve and whining, "Write me!" "No, write me!!" "Shut up, she's going to write ME!!"

This is a good thing, right? Right??

I can't help it, I just had to use all three banners :)

So excited! Go sign up, you know you want to :)