31 Days of Fic: Twenty-Eight
It's seven in the morning and I still haven't slept. Please forgive any incoherency on my part.
I'm going to go ahead and insert the 'I'm bitching' warning here. I'm also going to say right now that the following rant has nothing to do with any of you wonderful livejournal people. This is entirely directed at one specific reviewer at ff.net
Yesterday's chapter was 150 words long, because as much fun as writing fanfiction is, it's still writing, and as I write for a living, I consider it a way to hone my skills. Drabbles and ficlets with word limits are an excellent way to do that, at least in my opinion, and this particular series of stories was started primarily as a writing exercise, with very specific rules that I set for myself.
When it's announced at the beginning of the fic that no chapter will be less than 100 words, I'd say that it's safe to assume that yes, some chapters will be short. I even said something about it in the author's notes -- something along the lines of 'yes, this is one is only 150 words, but it's harder than it looks'. When I sat down to write yesterday's piece, I was very deliberately trying to achieve a sort of snapshot effect, and when I finished with it, I was pleased by the results -- which is not something that happens often.
Now, I understand that a 150-word update is disappointing to some people. Still, I think it's incredibly fucking rude to leave a review that consists of the phrase 'That was rather short', especially as the individual who left that review has left others of a similar nature - such as 'What was the point of that chapter?' and I've been very polite and patient about responding. (I try to at least say 'thank you' to everyone who leaves a review, because feedback really is one of the best things about being an active fanfic writer.) If all they have to contribute is comments of that nature, then, quite frankly, I don't want to hear it. There's a difference between constructive criticism and being snide.
So I guess my question is 'how do I respond to this jerk?' Should I ignore them? Tell them what I think of them and their opinions? Or am I making a big deal out of nothing?
Sorry. I needed to get that off my chest. Now, onto the fic!
May 28, 1976
James knew it would be trouble. Like Remus, and to a lesser extent Peter, he had a highly-developed sense of what would cause any and all adults in the vicinity to come down on them like the proverbial bag of hammers. Sirius, perhaps because none of the adults he'd encountered in early childhood had been anything like normal, lacked this sense, and was as a result quite often amazed at the uproar caused by his latest attempt at self-entertainment.
In theory, James thinks, he should have been able to rein Sirius in. Unfortunately, a Sirius With a Plan is a Sirius Who Is Difficult to Resist, particularly when that plan consists of the splendid idea of hexing all of Slytherin House to stick to their benches at breakfast.
The resultant chaos would have allowed him and Sirius to make it out the door if Professor McGonagall hadn't been waiting for them. She grabs each of them by a shoulder and marches them up to her office, at which point the lecturing begins and James stops paying attention. Sirius had stopped paying attention the instant she grabbed his shoulder.
Once she finishes her lecture - ending it with the usual threats of letters to various parents that are, in Sirius' case, never carried out - Sirius and James slouch off to the Quidditch pitch to lick their wounds in peace. Remus finds them an hour or so later, lying under the stands and tossing clumps of dirt at one another in a half-hearted fashion.
"I was wondering where you two had gone," he says. Sirius is busy staring like the besotted fool he is, so James takes it upon himself to answer Remus.
"McGonagall didn't think that stuck Slytherins were funny. No sense of humour, that woman."
"I think she's got more of a dry sense of humour," Remus disagrees, seating himself cross-legged on the ground next to Sirius, who promptly rolls over to put his head in Remus' lap. "She's not the sort to properly appreciate slapstick," Remus continues, absentmindedly threading his fingers through Sirius' hair.
"No one properly appreciates our genius," Sirius says complacently. He reaches up to capture Remus' free hand in one of his own. "They keep mixing it up with insanity."
"With you, it is sometimes difficult to know the difference," Remus teases.
"Well, even my madness has a touch of brilliance to it," Sirius grins. "After all, I'm crazy about you."
"Corniest line ever, Pads," Remus says, but the curve of his smile and his faint blush betray his pleasure at hearing it.
"Guilty as charged," Sirius says. He turns his head and plants a quick kiss on Remus' empty palm. "Does this mean I'm hopeless?"
"Completely," Remus tells him, face solemn.
"Then you'll just have to keep me around," Sirius says, so contentedly that for a few seconds, James can't help but feel as if he's somehow intruding. Then Sirius throws another clump of dirt at him, and the moment passes. Later, though, when James remembers the shining, helpless love in Sirius' face, he will realize for the first time just how badly he himself has fallen for Lily Evans.
***
( day twenty-seven)*( day twenty-nine)
***
Author's Notes: Three more to go! Is there anything that anyone particularly wants to see before I put this to bed? Thoughts, suggestions, etc. are more than welcome.