The Lupin/Snape Lurve Community

There is exactly one set of Snape/Lupin offerings in hp_art_tales, and it's mine. Submissions close today (November 29).

The first point has been awarded in Stuff the Stockings! Remember, you have to go back to the main post and leave a link if you've been advertising snupin_santa for the contest. Don't forget, there are fabulous prizes at stake, including your own copy of Chocolate & Asphodel, v. 2. (While you're waiting for the exchange to start, you might consider perusing C&A2 and offering some comments to the contributors)

The Recipe Challenge is drawing to a close. November 30 is the last day for posts on the community. After that, it will be up to drusillas_rain's discretion if she'll accept e-mailed entries as she works on compiling the book.

Be sure to read over McKay's "Coming Soon" post for Snupin_Santa. There's lots of good information there, especially if you plan on participating in Stuff the Stockings.

There are some new holiday icons here from whitestar, but artists, we're still looking for more. In fact, Whitestar has offered to add her iconing touch to any art I can send her, so consider submitting some art soon if you want to see it receive the delux icon treatment. ~_^

If you're involved in the Print Calendar project, your art is due December 15, don't forget in all the holiday madness!

Speaking of calendars, I'm going to go ahead and remind you to switch to December's desktop calendar now. The art is by the very fun, very talented tripperfunster, and it should be very useful in such a busy month!



Finally, I want to thank all of the members here for being such great, generous participants in the community. There's been lots of searches and requests lately, and I'm seeing many new and different members speaking up to help out or volunteer. I'll never stop saying this - you are the reason this community continues to be a warm and friendly place for Lupin/Snape fans, and you're each wonderful and invaluable. Thank you all!

LJ-only users, please forgive me for not making a post with LJ links, but I promise you that all the posts linked here have a LJ equivalent post. I'm just super-rushed because company is on my doorstep!

snupin_santa in less than two days! EEEE!

love, lore

The 2010 Calendar project so far is falling quite short of the 12 artists needed to make a full print calendar. I have extended sign-ups until Wednesday, October 14 and changed the deadline for submissions to December 13.

If we get 12 artists, that will give them a full two months to create their pieces. If we don't get even close to 12 artists, we'll have to drop the project or try for a desktop series again.

Artists that are interested can find more information here on IJ or here on LJ (or even on DW). The link to sign up for a month is here. I've updated all the posts with the new deadlines.

*****
There will be an official chat on Sunday, October 11, starting at 3 pm EST. We'll discuss pretty much anything Snupin and other community projects like Snupin_Santa, the calendar and the new Recipe Challenge! If you have any questions, needs or just want to hang out and talk or "listen", be there!

Also, remember, the room is open all the time. There will probably be people in the chat room before 3 and well into dark-thirty (late), so if you can't be there right at 3, go on in any time. If you haven't used IRC before, though, you might want to work out how to get to the room ahead of time.

*****

October's Desktop calendar is by Karasu_Hime, and I think Severus and Remus are having some Halloween costume fun at the expense of J.M. Barrie. Well, I don't think it, I hope it. ~_^ Download and enjoy!

And that's all I have for now! I'll be scarce for the next three days, but I can't wait to see more recipes, calendar sign-ups and other Lupin_Snape fun when the scarceness stops. ♥ community members for making this such a wonderful, happy place to be!

love, lore

Under the cut-tag is detailed information on our proposed 2010 print calendar, which includes links to our previous calendar projects, in case you're interested.

If you are an artist and would like to participate in this project, I will be organizing it through the InsaneJournal snupin community. That is a closed community for participating artists only. Please don't sign up for the community unless you intend to participate in the calendar project. I will also be putting some notices on the LiveJournal Snupin_Art community. If you feel strongly that you can't participate on IJ, please reply to this post and we'll organize through email.

( More information )
Sounds good! how do I sign up?:
Reply to this post saying you want to participate, and then make a join request at both the Snupin on IJ and Snupin_Art on LJ communities, when possible. If you're already there, great, but still reply to this post so I know you're in and be sure to visit the sign-up post to get a month assignment. I'll probably assign months on Wednesday, October 14 if we have enough participants to make a go of it.

If you're seeing this and want to encourage your favourite artists to participate, you might point them toward this post.

Questions? Answers? Ask away! And thank you for joining the project!

love, lore

Well, real life has done its best to mess me up, so let me make this quick. Our challenge this month:

CRACK

Not just humour, but crack fic. Give us your most outlandish, silly, funny creative works possible and make your fellow members spit drinks out their noses. Any creative pursuit is welcome for this challenge, including drabbles, art, stories, a list of Snupin crack fics, crack recs, photomanips, colour bars, paper dolls, etc. etc. etc.

( An example of a crack prompt, which is up for grabs by as many people as want to try it, is under the cut - suggested by the Snupin Meetup at Azkatraz )

Perhaps something in the Snupin Funtime Activity Book can give even our lurkers a base from which to create crack. Speaking of the book, if you haven't already, go check it out. It wouldn't have been compiled if the lovely drusillas_rain hadn't stepped in and take up the reins on it, so be sure to give her extra big kudos for it if you haven't already.

All Crack Month Challenge pieces are due by September 30, although we are always happy to add late entries to existing master-lists.

*****


Our September Desktop calendar art is by zephre. It looks lovely on my desktop and I hope it does on yours, too. Click the calendar image to go to the page for downloads.

Also, tis the season for frantic writing on too many exchanges, although I hope snupin_santa is close to your hearts. Anyone who is writing a fic set in 2009 might want to have the 2009 Full Moons calendar by chazpure on her desktop for easy reference. Also works for the BPAL addicted!



*****
Artists: I will be opening a new round of Calendar pages for 2010 this month. If you're interested, please reply here. We'll probably work off the LJ and IJ Snupin_art and Snupin communities, so be prepared to join and watch those communities if you want in.

*****
Many thanks to McKay (scribbulus_ink) for watching over the community and doing so much wonderful community work and organization while I tried (and failed) to get my fandom act together. Well, ok, I do have the start of a personal web site, but it's nowhere near debuting yet; at least I didn't waste the entire month(?). Speaking of, I believe the Zine will land this month as well, not quite a month late, which is good, right? Right? Bueller?

Anyway, you all should give McKay love and hugs whenever you can. I know she's not cuddly on the outside, and we won't speculate on her mushy insides (~_^), but she does tolerate thanks in all forms and richly deserves them.

*****
In the Great Fandom Fic Drought of '09 (because of exchange writing, natch), I encourage you to revisit our Snape/Lupin Big Bang - Snupin: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. The fics are chaptered, so there's no need to feel like you have to read a novella all in one go.

Just remember, if you read, let the authors and artists know. They worked very hard on it, and the response has been low, probably because Summer was just so wonderfully Summer this year! But now it's Fall, and the posting rate is going to drop off (omg has it been 4 days since any post here??), so there's time now to BLU.


*****
I have my ducks in place so now I can officially tease you further with the fact that we WILL be running a recipe challenge either in October or November (or both), with an eye toward compiling the entries into a downloadable booklet. This will be for everyone, so be thinking of the recipes that remind you of Snupin in general, or a story or fic or other creative pursuit.

*****
I've been remiss in reminding you that we do share Snupin Sounds on an ongoing basis. More information is here. If you're looking for inspiration while working on Snupin projects, look no further!


If I forgot to pimp something, let me know! *HUGS COMMUNITY* I missed you guys so much! And now be prepared to be patient while I untangle Real Life. ~_^

love, lore

First, if you missed it, the Snupineer Fun Time Activity book is now available for download. Kudos and thanks to drusillas_rain for putting it together!

The August Rec Event is on-going, and there are still open days! You can also sign up for a second day OR have more than one person on the same day, so if a day you want is already claimed, go ahead and ask for it anyway! More info and the sign-up calendar are here on IJ and here on LJ.

The Retro Fest is on-going as well! The deadline for posting art or stories for the Retro Fest is August 31, so there's still time!

The community has been given a slight make-over; if you look at the main page (IJ, LJ), you'll see a new "current community events" blurb, which mirrors the information on the community profile page. Don't forget to check the newly updated sidebar on the main page as well! The sidebar can be your first useful stop when you're looking for links.

Don't forget! Snupin Santa sign-ups open on Monday! (Although it may be Tuesday for some of you in earlier time zones than Santa). Sign-ups will run through August 24. The sign-up post will be mirrored on both IJ and LJ.

And if you want a teaser for up-coming community events, let's just say it might be a good idea to think of recipes Snape and Lupin might like best or that you associate with Snupin.

In other news, the thematic lists have been updated with the Occlumency/Legilimency list.

Reminder - don't forget to use our tags! The tag list for Ij is here and the tag list for LJ is here. You can click the "edit tag" button on your post and choose whichever tags you need from the list after you post your entry, or you can type them in manually if your LJ posting client has a tag option..

And finally, lore will be hosting a ship chat! The chat will begin at 3:00 PM on Saturday, August 15 in the IRC chatroom. For information about how to access the chatroom, see the instruction post: IJ, LJ. If you want to get help brainstorming for your Retro Fest work or for your Snupin Santa prompts, or you just want to talk about Snupin, feel free to drop by!

As previously mentioned, lore is taking the month off, so I'll be sitting in this month. If you have any questions or problems, you can direct them to scribbulusink @ gmail.com throughout August, and then lore will be back at the helm in September.

The desktop calendar for August is by glockgal! You can find the desktop calendar for this month and the remainder of 2009 here.



Current Events:

The Retro Fest has been extended through the end of August, so if you see a prompt you want or got stalled out on the prompt you chose, you've still got time to participate.

If you're interested in participating in the Rec Event this month, there are still open days, and we can always double up on dates if there's enough interest. More info and the sign-up calendar are here on IJ and here on LJ.


Up-Coming Events:

On August 17, sign-ups for Snupin Santa 2009 will open! A post with the rules and sign-up template will be posted later this weekend so you can be thinking about what kind of prompts you want to request when the sign-ups go live.


Elsewhere on the Net:

HP Revival is a new community for posting your older works. It's multi-pairing, so Snape/Lupin and Snape/Lupin/other would be okay to post there, and it's a good format not only for bringing your older works to light again, but to bring RL/SS to a new and different audience.

If you enjoy reccing or would just like to share your RL/SS love with a wider audience, consider signing up to rec at Crack Broom! All it requires is a minimum of 4 recs during your assigned month. More details are available on the community profile.

August is going to be a a little more low key on lupin_snape while our Lovely Mod is taking a break and the rest of us take a respite between the end of BLU and Chocolate & Asphodel and the start up of Snupin Santa.

Instead of a new creating challenge, we're going to do something a little different: a rec challenge! If you're interested in participating, then check behind the cut and pick one day in August to claim as your reccing day. I'd prefer to spread things out as much as possible, but if more than one person signs up to rec on the same day, that's fine.

What can you rec? Anything related to Snape/Lupin! A story, art, a vid - whatever you like as long as it was created by someone who isn't you. There isn't any template you have to follow (although if you want a little guidance, you can check out the template they use at Crack Broom), and you can be as brief or as lengthy as you like.

To sign up, just pick a day and leave me a comment in response to this post letting me know which day you want! I'll add your name to the list, and when your day comes around, all you have to do is post your rec (or a link to the rec in your journal) here in the community. Cross-posting to LJ and IJ is appreciated, but not required; I'll do a weekly link round-up to all recs on both communities.

( August Calendar )

ETA-1: You may rec more than one story/art/whatever, either by reccing more than one thing in a single post or by posting more than one rec over the course of your assigned day.

ETA-2: Please do try to pay attention to what's been recced before you (if applicable) and avoid repeating recs. This is meant to be an opportunity to share wide and varied RL/SS love, so the more variety, the better!

ETA-3: LURKERS! This is an excellent, low-stress, minimal commitment opportunity for you to get involved! If you've read or seen something recently that made you squee, this is a great time to share it with the rest of us!

Two things!

First, if you've recced any stories or art from BLU, please drop me a link to your rec post in the comments here! As with Snupin Santa, I'm happy to collect recs to submit to the Daily Snitch newsletter.

Second, the Retro Fest deadline is being extended until the end of August, so if you've been on the fence about participating or abandoned a bunny for lack of time, you've got more time. However, if you're close to finishing something, please go ahead and submit it because there will be a low key challenge in August that you might want to participate in.

The deadline to submit to C&A has passed, however, if you had something in the works and might still finish in the next week or so, you can send it along and take your chances. I'd like to have C&A finished sometime in early August, which means we're working on the layout now, but until it's further along, we can still be flexible.

This is the last post I will make on the zine, though, until it debuts. I still feel like we could have used more full-page art, but I understand that the regular community artists are a bit worn out right now. ~_^

So, if you have something in the works and still want to get it in, you're on borrowed time. No need to ask for an extension or to let me know it's coming - just submit. I'll let you know pretty quickly whether you're too late or not.

*****
( HBP spoilers, thoughts about Snape and Lupin and yes, there was a bit of Snupin )

So there. Humph! ~_^

love, lore

All righty, gang! It's a week from the final deadline for Chocolate and Asphodel 2, which is Monday, July 20. I hope all the fics I've heard of in the works come in, but we seem to be very short on art. The email address to submit is ssrlzine @ yahoo.com (no spaces) - there's more submission guidelines on the main post linked above.

Authors, please try to send us Rich Text. That is pretty much the opposite of HTML - we want everything formatted in Word or some other word processing program with actual italics and boldface in the document. And everyone, please don't forget to include a bio when you submit. Thanks, all!

*****
I had a member ask me if anyone around here would want Dreamwidth invite codes. There is a Lupin_Snape on DW, and I have been cross-posting all mod posts there, and I know several people have been cross-posting their creative works as well.

So, if you've been interested in DW or have invites burning a hole in your account, reply to this message either with codes or requests. I have tons of codes myself, so don't be shy, we'll get everyone who wants a DW account hooked up.

*****
Don't forget we have Retro Fest going on until the end of the month, as well as the theme search, which this month is a catch-up month, or a second chance to add stories that fit the old themes' criteria.

*****
( Some personal notes )

All of this means that I'll be leaving you in McKay's capable hands for August - a good time to do it since snupin_santa sign-ups come toward the end!

I know I also say this all the time, but I just can't help it - you guys make this place such a good, happy place to be online. I treasure you while you're here and miss you when you're gone, because the members who come through here are some of the finest people ever to have touched a keyboard. And I thank you all for that! Oh, and hug you, too. *HUGS*

love, lore

May is drawing to a close, which means time is running out for submitting theme list suggestions and Retro Fest prompts!

I've only had one response to this month's theme list search (threesome: Severus/Remus/Harry), so if you know of any stories or have written any stories featuring that threesome, you need to drop me a link ASAP or it's going to be a sparse list. The search post can be found at IJ, LJ, and DW.

RETRO FEST:

First, some more clarification: The Retro Fest does NOT mean going back to the 1950s/1960s. "Retro" in this context means going back in HP canon, picking a point pre-DH, and expanding on or changing canon from that point onward. For more detailed information, see this post.

Second, lore and I talked about it and decided that since the response had been underwhelming, we'd change the one prompt limitation in order to generate a decent list of story and art prompts for potential participants. So! If you've got more than one prompt you'd like to submit, you may submit as many as you like here at LJ, IJ, or DW.

If you're having trouble remembering in which book we learned a certain bit of information about a character, the Harry Potter Wiki might help.

If you're having trouble generating prompts, my suggestion would be to think of your favorite canon era and think about what we knew at that point and maybe how you want to change things. You could also think about fandom cliches or theories that used to be popular, such as Remus being killed/injured by Pettigrew's silver hand or Severus being a pureblood who hung around with Lucius and lived in Snape Manor.

You could also browse mctabby's Time Capsule posts, which held a lot of canon speculation that might provide inspiration for the Retro Fest: 2005, 2007, and 2008.

Ok, I'm calling an official chat for Saturday, starting at 3 p.m. EST and going until the wee hours. We're going to discuss BLU, Chocolate and Asphodel, Darkside and all things Snupin. But most important, we're going to brainstorm some prompts for the Retro Fest! So if the idea is still eluding you, or if you just need some more inspiration, come on into chat at any time on Saturday and ask questions or for prompt help!

I'll be in and out of the chat room this weekend, most likely in the late evenings, in case you have needs, but Saturday doesn't work for you. And for those of you who are celebrating with friends and family this weekend, we'll try to have at least one more chat for brainstorming prompts before prompting is closed (most likely next weekend). Thanks, all!

love, lore

JUNE RETRO-FEST GUIDELINES FOR PARTICPANTS:

Question: Does this mean we have to be stringently canon compliant?

Answer: No. Although the prompts should stop at HBP, that does NOT mean stories/art have to stop there. Writers/artists will be able to create their own vision of events post-HBP (or post-OotP or post-whichever canon point they choose). The point is, you are NOT limited to writing within established canon if you want to go before or after the events of the book.

The bottom line is, we're ignoring DH and going back to a "simpler" starting point in canon, but how canon is "ended" will be entirely up to the writer/artist. Remember what you thought about canon BEFORE book [insert # here] came out? You can take up canon from there and continue it your own way.

For example, we don't know about the Dark Mark in PoA or that Snape is a spy, a half-blood, and knows Occlumency, so he could be a pure-blood, not a Death Eater, or a half-troll. You could speculate on what Lupin was doing during CoS, using only what we know about him from PoA.

Just because we're using canon as a startng point doesn't mean you can't create alternate realities, because that's the heart of what this fest is about: create different realities (and/or endings) for Snape and Lupin than they got in canon. The only things you can't do are cross-overs and alternate universes that take them out of the HP universe entirely.

Q: Does this mean we can't have kinks?

A: No, kinky smut is fine as long as you aren't under 18 or writing/drawing for someone under 18.

( The Guidelines )

The Prompt Post will be open until May 31, so please leave your prompts there!

The Desktop Calendar for May is by twilightsocery, downloadable here.


CURRENT: EVENTS:

The Dark Fic Fest is on-going through the end of May, and there's still plenty of time to sign up to write/draw the darker side of RL/SS here.

The thematic list search for May is Severus/Remus/Harry, and you can make suggestions for stories that fit the theme throughout May here or on LJ/DW.

If you aren't following Lusty Month of May 2009, you might want to check out pervy_werewolf or the link round-up on the snupin_prophet newsletter (here) because there are several RL/SS stories and art being posted this year. Check them out and give the artists/authors a little love to keep them going through the month!

And finally, the Bigger, Longer, and Uncut project is still taking artists, so if you're interested, email lupinsnape @ gmail.com.


UP-COMING EVENTS:
Don't forget! The deadline for Chocolate & Asphodel vol 2 is July 1. If you missed out on the Bigger, Longer, and Uncut project, you can get involved with this project. Stories between 3000-20,000 words and art are both needed. Submission guidelines and more info can be found here.

But the big thing is...

JUNE 2009 RETRO FEST:
For the purposes of this fest, we're doing the Time Warp! All prompts must be based on pre-DH canon. In other words, we're going back in time and throwing out everything we learned in DH (including that pesky death thing). You can go back in time/canon as far as you want, but you may only go up through the end of HBP.

( More details behind the cut )

I was thinking about the way fandom is tracking the other day and it occurred to me that if we want to keep this ship thriving, it might be a good idea to make our pairing visible again in the wider HP fandom. Never fear, we will still continue here as we have been, with new ideas and projects and challenges, but it couldn't hurt to inform you of further opportunities to introduce people to or remind them of the potential of Remus and Severus as a couple. This is also not to say that if you see an event posted here, you must create Snupin for it if you're interested in participating -- there was probably no need to say that, but I felt I had to, just in case. ~_^

Severus' Big Bang!
There is a BB just getting started that's meant to celebrate Snape's 50th Birthday next year (If anyone hears of a similar BB for Remus underway, let me know!). What's different about this BB is that there are different levels of participation, including options for drabbles and very short fic or unpolished art. Sign-ups don't even start until June 1, so you'll be hearing more about this BB as time goes on, but here's a link to the fest so you can start considering your options!



The Lusty Month is Just Around the Kinky Corner!

Five times, pervy_werewolf hosted the Lusty Month of May daily posting marathon, and on this sixth year, there's a new twist in the game to help open it up to more Pervy Werewolf Fanciers. Tiers have been set up for writers, allowing for daily posting of a minimum word count, daily posting of a drabble or monthly posting of a longer work. More details can be found here. PW is a community dedicated to the kinky side of Remus Lupin, and each year, the Lusty Month of Mary marathon has been a treasure trove of fabulous, creative smut, always involving Remus Lupin (and sometimes Severus; just remember, any pairing goes as long as Remus is around or in it).

Fic Exchange - Sign-ups end Today!
The 'Five Things' Harry Potter Fic Exchange
Pretty much what it sounds like - an exchange of "Five Things" fics (very sorry artists, I don't like it either). 1000-word minimum (works out to five 200-word drabbles, if you think about it). Sign-ups end late today (Friday, April 24), fics due May 30. If only I had seen this sooner, right? Still, if you see this in time to jump in, do! We might get each other. Had to put my money where my mouth is. ~_^ Closed now, but you can watch the user's journal for the exchange, which starts after May 30!

Oh yeah, Lupin_Snape Is Busy, Too
Snupin: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (our version of a Big Bang), Chocolate & Asphodel 2, and the monthly challenge, Fools, are all discussed and linked in this mod post. It's not too late for creators to try their hands at any one of these!

So, get out there and circulate, Lupin/Snape fans! Just be sure to remember that you'll always have a home to come back to, here at lupin_snape. ^_^

love, lore

Don't forget to change your Desktops!

And in the spirit of the season, this month's challenge is simple titled: Fools

Write, draw, drabble, create anything involving Lupin/Snape and any version of the word "fool" you can think of. There is no minimum or maximum word count or effort involved. The deadline for posting your effort is APRIL 30.

We seem to be in a bit of a community slump, so for this challenge, I gathered up some quotes and images to help inspire your efforts. If nothing below helps, you're always welcome to reply here seeking the kind of prompts that will inspire you.

( Inspirational quotes and images under here - no claiming necessary )

Ongoing projects you can easily jump into:
Snupin: Bigger, Longer and Uncut - Our version of a Big Bang. Deadline to sign up for writers and artists is April 30, which is also the first-draft deadline.

Chocolate and Asphodel 2: A community project that gathers up creative pursuits for later presentation in a single format. Deadline is July 1.

( State of the Lupin_Snape Communities )

Remember, whether you prefer to operate on LiveJournal or InsaneJournal, the challenges and mod posts are made to both communities. And even if you are devoted to one journal system or the other, you can always follow the sister lupin_snape on your journal through a syndication feed. If you are on InsaneJournal, you can add the LJ feed here. If you are on LiveJournal, you can add the IJ feed here.

Finally, the April Theme Search only has one response so far, and that's from posts on both journals. As McKay said, we don't do the searching for you, and anyone can submit a story to the theme list, so if you have a favourite story you want to see on the lists, which people search when they're in the mood for certain kinds of stories, you'll have to add it to the search post. This month's theme search is Werewolf!Snape. Any stories, including AUs and ARs, in which Snape is a werewolf either instead of, because of, or in conjunction with Remus are eligible.

And that's it for now! Thank you, one and all, for still being here and enjoying the community and pairing. You guys are the ones who make this place special. ♥

love, lore

We're out of the gate early for Remus' birthday, even though we're keeping the same format from Severus' birthday. You all seemed to have a lot of fun with it, so let's do it again!

The following list is a claim list to inspire drabbles and sketches (and whatever else you can create in time for Remus' birthday). From now through March 10, you're welcome to make a claim. There's lots here to inspire, from the serious to the crack, but only one claim per person. If you want to come back for multiple claims, you'll have to either post your previous claim or email me your finished product as proof and save it for posting later (this is if you want to do a series and just make one post). I do encourage you to group multiple drabbles or sketches into one post to save on community spam, but if one at a time is how you have to do it, so be it, post away! Also, if you want to use your first claim as your official entry and then use other words here to inspire more, that's fine, just be aware that others will be assigned words as they claim them.

If you think I'm missing any key Lupin words, let me know, I'll add them to the bottom. Also, if anyone is willing to make a Snape's bday masterlist, please let me know. You'll have to check both communities, but almost all of them should be tagged (if you spot any un-tagged as you go, please feel free to tag them).

( The Claim List! )

I'll be updating the list as I can, so you should check the replies before making a claim. One claim per word, that's it! You have to post or email to come back for more. Deadline to post your offering is 11:59 p.m., March 10, in your timezone.

Claim away!

love, lore

The submission guidelines for Chocolate and Asphodel, v. 2 have been posted here.

You must be a member of lupin_snape and logged in to be able to see the announcement, even though you do not have to be a member of the community to participate. I believe OpenID will also work.

love, lore

I hope most of you remember the super-fabulous Snupin Desktop Calendar, and have already switched over to your February calendar.

Because It's cool!

But there is also a new 2009 Full Moon calendar by chazpure for those of us who don't remember to change our desktop image every month!

See? Also very cool!

Finally, I discovered that PhotoBucket doesn't allow images over 1024 x 768. In fact, it automatically downsized several of the larger sizes to 1024 x 768, so I had to recode several images to link to the alternate site. If you took a larger size of January from the links given, for example, that would explain why it didn't quite fit right for you.

Rest assured, it's all been fixed, so you can enjoy the calendar now in whatever size you wish! Don't forget to let the artists know how much you appreciate their work, either on the calendar post or when they post their art individually. Thanks, all! Happy February!

love, lore

Now that BLU is underway, I've had some writers say that they're looking for ideas. Maybe you have some?

Post your basic story ideas for BLU writers to snag in reply to this post. In the spirit of this not turning into a sort of Fantasy Fest or Snupin Santa epic prompt thread, please try to stay within the following guidelines:

1. Post your idea anonymously. This will free the authors from worrying about whether you will like the fic and allow them to concentrate on writing the bunny you gave them.

2. Keep your idea short. The point is to give the authors a bunny to work with, not an outline for the entire fic.

Examples:
"Severus takes Animagus lessons so he can be with Remus during the full moons."
"Remus has been hiding his long-standing love affair with Severus from Teddy, now 16."

Oh yeah, there's a lot more I could add to those prompts (Who will Severus take lessons from? How does Teddy find out about the affair? Etc.), but it might be better to see where the authors will take basic ideas.

Post away, people! Authors, no need to stake a claim, as we'll know from the proposed plot synopsis on the Authors community if two of you are going down the same road. Have fun, everyone! Authors, there is also an ideas post on LJ.

love, lore

P.S. If anyone wants to make some BLU project icons, I'd take them!

Welcome to the organizational post for the Snupin: Bigger, Longer and Uncut project! The goal of this project is to produce a web site hosting illustrated Snape/Lupin novels and novelettes of the highest quality. There are four ways you can participate in this project:

1. Write - Produce a Snape/Lupin story anywhere from 25,000 words (25k) to 50,000 words and beyond.
2. Illustrate - Artists will be asked to produce at least two pieces to participate.
3. Volunteer - Positions will be listed and then possibly called for as needed (betaing included here).
4. Read - Once BLU is live, read and leave comments for the writers and artists.

We're going to discuss the first three to help us get underway. Readers, we'll be counting on you at the end of a long haul!

( Writers )

( Artists )

( Volunteers )

Timeline:
Author and Artist sign-ups begin now and end April 30
First Drafts due April 30
Final Drafts due May 31
First art piece due May 31
Final art due June 15
BLU goes live July 1

Finally, everything said here is flexible and subject to change based on what we learn along the way. The deadlines must remain hard, but how we get to them is another story. If you are a potential participant, you would be better off signing up early and keeping an eye on your respective project community for issues and updates. Also, as many of you well know, I will consider various opinions on my way to making decisions, so if you want a hand in your fate, be sure to stay informed on the process.

And let me take this second-to-last paragraph to thank snegurochka_lee for suggesting we do this project. I ran away with it on her, there's no denying it, but be sure to remember that it wouldn't be happening without her encouragement and enthusiasm! *loves Lee*

If you have any questions or think I've forgotten to cover something, please don't hesitate to hit reply. I know this post seems dry, but I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do, and I hope the rest of you are as well! ♥!

love, lore

As usual, our snarky Potions master's birthday has snuck up on us, which I'm sure is just the way he likes it! So we'll have to sneak in a little challenge of our own...

The following list is a claim list to inspire drabbles and sketches (and whatever else you can create in three days). From now through January 9, you're welcome to make a claim. There's lots here to inspire, from the serious to the crack, but only one claim per person. If you want to come back for multiple claims, you'll have to either post your previous claim or email me your finished product and save it for posting later. I do encourage you to group multiple drabbles or sketches into one post to save on community spam, but if one at a time is how you have to do it, so be it, post away! Also, if you want to use your first claim as your official entry and then use other words here to inspire more, that's fine, just be aware that others will be assigned words as they claim them.

( The Claim List! )

I'll be updating the list as I can, so you should check the replies before making a claim. One claim per word, that's it! You have to post or email to come back for more. Deadline to post your drabble or sketch or anything else in honour of Severus' birthday is 11:59 p.m., January 9, in your timezone.

Claim away!

love, lore

Obviously, we are all in the thrall of snupin_santa right now, so our November Volunteer challenge will continue through this month. If you think you'll have time on your hands, or, heaven forbid, need a break from fic, there's plenty you can do to help keep the ship running in top shape.

As soon as a few more volunteer jobs have been completed, I'll make a call for prompts from the volunteers for gift drabbles. We had one writer volunteer to do this. We could probably use one or two more, if anyone isn't completely worn out from writing exchange fics. ~_^

*****
Speaking of snupin_santa (and isn't it fun?!), I wanted to point out that while anonymous commenting is turned off at the SnuSa archive, if you want to leave feedback without making an account, you're welcome to reply to the IJ or LJ post announcing the gift. Also, for now, anonymous commenting is available if you happen to be reading the fest fics and don't have a journal account. I'll unscreen anonymous comments as they come up!

Also, because who wants to stop talking about snupin_santa?, did you all catch that exchange runner scribbulus_ink has been posting announcements to Twitter when a gift goes up? And did you also know that there's now an add-on for Firefox browsers that will alert you when someone you're following, oh, like Scribbulusink, updates her Twitter? Yes, this means that if you have a browser open all day, you too can receive the instant joy of knowing there's fresh Snupin Santa on your flist through the glory of Twitter!!!!!

Er, anyway. It's cool. Really. heh.

*****
Desktop Calendar Artists: Don't forget, your submission is due December 15! If you have questions or want some comments, don't forget that you can use the snupin community on IJ, or the Snupin_Art community on LJ if desperate.

*****
I think I see what the problem is with our thematic searches. McKay posts at the beginning of the month, and then we all promptly forget that the post exists. Any suggestions on how to keep the search fresh in people's minds throughout the month are welcome. Maybe someone would like to take on some sort of reminding role, possibly by posting a public rec that fits the month's theme each week (with links back to the theme post)? Every other week? Meep? Well, think about it.

And don't forget that this month's search is Threesomes: Remus/Severus/Sirius

*****
McKay just posted about this, but I have to reiterate that reccing is cool, and letting her know if you rec a current snupin_santa gift is even cooler.

*****
We'll need to ramp up for our version of the Big Bang soon, including coming up with our own name for it, so read over the first post I made about it and if you have any thoughts, let me know here or at the mod mail. The next issue of the zine will probably also ramp up at the same time, so there will be special projects for writers no matter how many words they like to write, and the artists will be sitting pretty. ^_^

*****
For our LJ members, there is no one maintaining lupin_snape right now who hasn't made sure to fully protect her journal from hackers. Just in case you were worried....

*****
And that's all I have for now. I hope everyone's holiday season has gotten off to a great start. I know mine has! *hugs snupin_santa and all the lovely lupin_snape community members to her bosom*

love, lore

Snupin 2009 Desktop Calendar artists: Please friend the community if you haven't already. There's a post from a fellow artist asking questions there. You also need to have it friended to see update posts from me. Thanks!

*****
Our November challenge is unique, because this time, we're reaching out to the lurkers and those anxiously awaiting the start of snupin_santa.

November is VOLUNTEER MONTH!

Here's the dealio: Below, I am going to list several Volunteer opportunities for the two Lupin_Snape communities, related web sites and our sister community, Pervy_Werewolf. If you can think of other things that need to be done, don't hesitate to ask me to add something to the list.

Basically, we're asking you all to help do some late-year community cleaning and catch-up while the rest of the writers and artists desperately work on their exchange pieces. lupin_snape has always been our community, and this is a way for some of you to get involved in its management on a short-term basis.

( Read more... )

Check back here for other opportunities throughout the month! I'll try to organize some form of thanks for those who take on these jobs. In fact, if you'd like to volunteer to "thank" someone with art, fic, drabbles, icons, etc., leave a reply here!

*****
Other Notes:

michaelchance is running his Snape/Lupin Christmas Card Exchange again this year. I believe this is just for cards, no drabbles or art required.

The Thematic List search this month is Crossover Stories. Let me take a moment to say that posting to the Thematic List searches is another form of volunteering for the community. You don't have to be the author to list fic that you know fits the search. You also don't have to gather up lots of links to help with the list. One or 10, it doesn't matter. McKay does not go looking for fics, she maintains the lists for us - work enough for her. Our part of the bargain is to bring links to her. Remember, the Thematic Lists are for us, and if we don't offer up links, the list will end up anemic.

You might not be aware of it, but dianamoon created an Oekaki Board for our use. Her post about it is locked, because the board is for lupin_snape members only, but I have linked the board to the IJ sidebar. An Oekaki board allows anyone to create art and post it instantly to the board. Check out Di's post for more information.

Also, if you want a preview of the 2009 desktop calendar project mentioned above, look no further than dianamoon's November desktop calendar. Pretty exciting, right? Di is a Snupin Peach; let her know it!

busaikko made a link list for audio fics and Snupin-related podcasts. If you have anything to add to it, let her know! I should add it to the side bar, too, huh?

Trouble leaving feedback at Moonshadow? That's because the archivist had to create a dummy account for us to log into so that spammers would go away. This members-only post contains the log-in information. I might link it to the sidebar, I'm not sure yet. I suggest you put the post in your memories.

Now might be a good time to remind you all that we do occasionally make posts that are for members-only. You should check for them on occasion.

I don't think words will ever describe how much I treasure all of you, and how grateful I am for things like talesoflore (although I tried in an audio file I posted there). I am slowly working through the community, but I hope that at this point, no one is holding back comments for my sake. Please do go and squee all over the fine people who created such wonderful, Snupiny presents!

Also, remember, The Sultan and the Storyteller by scribbulus_ink and arionrhod is being updated DAILY throughout the month. In the quiet before Snupin Santa, there's a completed story out there for you to enjoy each day. Whoo Hoo!

Speaking of snupin_santa, remember that the deadline for returning participants is this Monday, November 10. Don't procrastinate in asking for an extension if you need one. Not hearing from you is the quickest way for you to lose your place in the exchange!

*floomps* I think that's everything I can think of for now! Did I miss anything? Let me know! ♥!

love, lore

P.S. I know it's a LOT to read, but I would appreciate you all reading the notes section carefully. I swear I don't get a kick out of typing all that out; it's really for your information.

I'm going to let McKay call an official end to the Filk Challenge whenever she would like this month. Remember, she said she would collect all the entries into a for us. It's not too late to post something that she could use - until she says it is, of course. *grin*

Also, there's a "prompt: filk" tag now, so if you're so inclined, please feel free to go back and tag your posts for the challenge! Anytime a challenge doesn't have a prompt, just poke a mod to remind them to make one. Tagging your posts, in general, gives potions masters their snarky tongues and werewolves shorter moons (wings are for Muggles!), so please remember to tag!

*****
Mid-month challenge: Tis the season....

Fall is an amazing season in the northern Hemisphere. There's trees changing colours and harvest and Halloween, All Saint's Day, Samhain (covering all the traditions here), etc. Your challenge, until November 2, is to create something based on the Fall season. If you're Down Under, you'll have to use your memories of March or maybe visit autumn_bliss for some inspiration.

If you need something more specific to inspire you, feel free to make a comment here, and the first member that gets to you can offer you whatever kind of prompts you ask for. Members, I'll ask you to please only offer one prompt to one person so that others can jump in, too.

Deadline, again, is November 2, and any kind of creative or academic pursuit based on the Fall season is welcome. This can include drabbles, art, stories, thematic lists, essays, photomanips or stories, craft projects, etc.

Whether you're Snupining or *gasp* having a real life, I hope you all have fun during this amazing season of hearth and haunting. ♥

love, lore