I'll Gladly Smut You Tuesday: Fic Recs!
Jun. 9th, 2009 09:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Two from
hp_rarities!
On Being, In the Company of Others (With Annotations and Accurate Biography as Written by S. Snape, Himself) - Snape/Regulus, Snape/Lupin [PG-13] by Mystery Author.
A gorgeous, sleek telling of Severus's schoolboy encounters with Regulus and Remus. I admire the author's experimental bravery, choosing a narrative both lyrical and smartly stream of conscious in styling. I love Severus's characterisation in this, and his voice is dead on. This concludes beautifully, too, at a critical point and time in his life.
Maelstrom - Harry/Teddy [NC-17] by Mystery Author.
I really seem to gravitate to these kinds of stories about pressuring mid-life crises and sexual discovery. This story is no exception, and the author genuinely seems to transcend that line of believability for me. This is a story about real people with real problems, and part of me is sorry the author needed Rowling's universe as a vehicle to convey what could possibly be a very compelling, original piece of fiction about personal growth and self-exploration.
In Maelstrom, the Potters, the Weasleys and Teddy Lupin take a holiday in Greece. Paradise becomes Harry's personal Hell, though, exacerbated by gloomy temperaments and gloomier weather. Honestly, I wonder if I wasn't supposed to interpret the rain as some sort of biblical omen, but then I can totally relate having been on what can only be described as a 'very wet holiday.'
Harry's troubled marriage to Ginny reaches crisis-level. They've been to see a Marriage Healer, and no amount of advice seems to be helping either party. To worsen matters, Harry's relationships with his children are tenuous at best, and Al proves to be a bit of an enigma for Harry. Al's quiet and bookish and more than a bit miserable, and Harry has yet to find a way to relate to his middle son.
Enter Teddy, equally conflicted and utterly unlikeable at this point. To further compound Harry's troubles, Harry catches Teddy in a very compromising position, and from there matters become uncomfortably complicated. And this is probably the appropriate point to mention that the sex in this fic is UNGODLY hot without being overmuch. The wank scene? Just GUH!
I went from liking to sympathising to hating Harry and Teddy so much that I gave up settling on one feeling. There is a turning point, however, when Teddy proclaims himself as 'war trash', and my heart just bleeds when Harry realises that he too, is the product of war-torn times. Kleenex, please!
In conclusion, a few other reviewers have mentioned some niggling points; minor canon errors and some exposition dump. I can't say I was too bothered by any of this, because this is really just a FUCKING AMAZING fic. I'm six paragraphs deep in this review, and I still don't feel as though I'm doing this any amount of justice. My only complaint is that I'm still a little unsure about the ending. Saturday, I walked away feeling one way, Sunday another. I will say this, though; sometimes you're with the wrong person for all the right reasons, and sometimes you're with the right person for all wrong reasons. And the beauty of this statement? It's aimed at everyone involved.
Enjoy all!
--P
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On Being, In the Company of Others (With Annotations and Accurate Biography as Written by S. Snape, Himself) - Snape/Regulus, Snape/Lupin [PG-13] by Mystery Author.
A gorgeous, sleek telling of Severus's schoolboy encounters with Regulus and Remus. I admire the author's experimental bravery, choosing a narrative both lyrical and smartly stream of conscious in styling. I love Severus's characterisation in this, and his voice is dead on. This concludes beautifully, too, at a critical point and time in his life.
Maelstrom - Harry/Teddy [NC-17] by Mystery Author.
I really seem to gravitate to these kinds of stories about pressuring mid-life crises and sexual discovery. This story is no exception, and the author genuinely seems to transcend that line of believability for me. This is a story about real people with real problems, and part of me is sorry the author needed Rowling's universe as a vehicle to convey what could possibly be a very compelling, original piece of fiction about personal growth and self-exploration.
In Maelstrom, the Potters, the Weasleys and Teddy Lupin take a holiday in Greece. Paradise becomes Harry's personal Hell, though, exacerbated by gloomy temperaments and gloomier weather. Honestly, I wonder if I wasn't supposed to interpret the rain as some sort of biblical omen, but then I can totally relate having been on what can only be described as a 'very wet holiday.'
Harry's troubled marriage to Ginny reaches crisis-level. They've been to see a Marriage Healer, and no amount of advice seems to be helping either party. To worsen matters, Harry's relationships with his children are tenuous at best, and Al proves to be a bit of an enigma for Harry. Al's quiet and bookish and more than a bit miserable, and Harry has yet to find a way to relate to his middle son.
Enter Teddy, equally conflicted and utterly unlikeable at this point. To further compound Harry's troubles, Harry catches Teddy in a very compromising position, and from there matters become uncomfortably complicated. And this is probably the appropriate point to mention that the sex in this fic is UNGODLY hot without being overmuch. The wank scene? Just GUH!
I went from liking to sympathising to hating Harry and Teddy so much that I gave up settling on one feeling. There is a turning point, however, when Teddy proclaims himself as 'war trash', and my heart just bleeds when Harry realises that he too, is the product of war-torn times. Kleenex, please!
In conclusion, a few other reviewers have mentioned some niggling points; minor canon errors and some exposition dump. I can't say I was too bothered by any of this, because this is really just a FUCKING AMAZING fic. I'm six paragraphs deep in this review, and I still don't feel as though I'm doing this any amount of justice. My only complaint is that I'm still a little unsure about the ending. Saturday, I walked away feeling one way, Sunday another. I will say this, though; sometimes you're with the wrong person for all the right reasons, and sometimes you're with the right person for all wrong reasons. And the beauty of this statement? It's aimed at everyone involved.
Enjoy all!
--P
no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 01:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 01:42 pm (UTC)YES!!! That part BROKE ME into pieces *cries again*. Then the line that follows where Harry wonders if Teddy is a boy or a man and Teddy says something like "his boy" so sad and so sexy at the same time.
I agree with the reviews about the ending and exposition dump but I would still highly rec the story it was awesome.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 07:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 02:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 03:52 pm (UTC)I may do a post.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 04:49 pm (UTC)Yeah, and I was a bit put out by the one reviewer (who I do not know) who said that those of us who picked on the canon errors missed the point of the fic and are being unfair, etc. *eyeroll* If it's not original fic, and you are playing in someone else's 'verse, then you've got to get stuff like that right, IMO.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 04:54 pm (UTC)And, you know, I left a gushing, totally heartfelt comment and gave it a glowing rec. If someone is complaining about the one sentence in which I pointed out canon mistakes, than I think she's missing the point of my comment, heh.
And, personally, I'm grateful when people point out my mistakes, even if it's embarrassing. It means I can fix them later.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 02:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 02:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 05:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 03:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 04:02 pm (UTC)This is my reasoning: I came into HP because I wanted to read more about Harry. Thus, I want to read fics where Harry in in character. If a writer demonstrates that she's put effort into keeping canon facts straight, that shows respect for the universe, and I feel more confident that she's not going to write Harry OOC.
But this fic is a clear exception, as I think the writer wrote Harry beautifully and very much in character.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 04:20 pm (UTC)Double exactly to Harry being beautifully written in this. It was perfect!! Every little detail things like Harry crying when James was born and so many other details were just perfect.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:42 pm (UTC)I loved the story and didn't mention the canon errors in my review (mainly because I hate to point out something that a writer can't fix at the time, if they wanted to) but it's one of my pet peeves (and something the beta should've caught too) unless there is a reason. Like a cool story where Teddy doesn't have the morphing ability and so he becomes a spy and good at disguises as a weird way to connect with his mum.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 07:44 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 01:15 pm (UTC)Mel and I were just discussing some trigger words (I should really do a discussion post about this), and I know that no matter how fucking good a fic is, 'cum' will pull me out every time. I am adamant about that. No exceptions.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-09 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 04:14 pm (UTC)Ever since I finished that fic, I decided I ought to be a lot more open with what I read. I don't actively search out fic with pairings I don't like, but when someone recs me something I wouldn't normally read, I go for it. What's the worst that could happen--I get bored and stop reading? That's a terrible fate. XD
no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 07:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-10 09:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-11 04:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-12 04:00 pm (UTC)But it seems to be archived elsewhere, thank goodness! This (http://www.noiresensus.com/authors/a_twig.html) seems to be a complete version. Enjoy!