Oh my gosh! I don't even know where to begin...your comments made me smile ALL day and almost made me cry. Hello to you too, dear in_praesenti. = ) You haven't heard of me before because although I've been involved in the hp fandom for the last year or so, this is the first fest I've participated in and my first long H/D story I have ever completed. Your comments really were so amazing. I'm so touched you took the time to comment so thoroughly that I'm going to try to respond to all of the points you made. I hope you don't mind.
About the title...
I am a big fan of Adele, not only because of her beautiful voice, but also because of her meaningful lyrics. I didn't base too much of the story off the song, but even before deciding on the title I knew I liked the idea for emo fest of "watching the world burn together". It seemed perfect for Harry and Draco's volatile relationship, which is why when I was writing and that song came on pandora, I decided that it should be title. I edited the song lyrics a little to fit with the story and the concept of watching the world and each other burn...as well as added the quotes by Harry.
About the first person pov...
I'm so very glad you enjoyed the first person pov because I have never written a long piece in first person before. Originally, I didn't plan on writing the story in first person because, you are right, it is very difficult to do well. However, after outlining the story, I realized that the only way to do Harry's "craziness" justice and to show his long. emotional journey was to be inside his head constantly. I almost gave up a couple of times with the first person, so I'm so flattered that you enjoyed it and think I wrote it well. You have no idea. Also, I think you are too hard on yourself because you seem quite eloquent to me, and your comments were thoughtful and amazing.
About Harry and Narcissa...
Yes, Harry is a first class idiot pretty much for the entire story; however, I wanted you as a reader to be angry with him and to feel what he was thinking even if it was completely irrational or wrong. Sometimes, in real life, things are so obvious to everyone else around you, but you are still completely clueless about them...and that's how Harry acted in this story. He was also rather immature when the story started since I feel he never had a chance to grow up properly in the books, but hopefully by the end you feel that he's matured. And yes, the loss of Narcissa was hard for everyone even Harry. I'm glad you enjoyed that rocking chair scene because it's one of my favs, and it was quite difficult to write because I kept getting emotional during it. I just feel that as difficult as it is to lose someone and grieve, it's also just as difficult to watch someone you love in pain and not be able to intervene or help.
About Harry's relationship with comatose Draco...
Yeah, Harry was definitely obsessed with Draco at this point. There's no other word for it. Although Draco is technically the one who suffers from madness in this story, I think both of the boys are pretty unstable, which is why they found comfort in each other. I don't think Harry was mentally stable when this story started. He was still getting over the war and the part he was forced to play in it as well as dealing with his sexuality. I think that Harry's obsession with Draco started a long time ago in Hogwarts because really why wouldn't he just ignore all of Draco's snide remarks and pranks? And why was he always watching for him in the Great Hall? That's not normal and he was a lot more concerned about Draco than he ever was about Ginny or Cho...no matter what excuses/reason he gives for doing so. It was kind of creepy how Harry was attracted to a comatose Draco, but the whole point was really to show just how obsessive Harry really was and that his feelings had been pent up for way too long. He was so disgusted with himself for not only being attracted to blokes but to his former enemy, that the only way he could allow himself to do so was when Draco was unconscious and couldn't respond or reject him. His awful reactions were definitely supposed to be make you feel uneasy. I even wanted to hit Harry at times...lol.
Oh my gosh! I don't even know where to begin...your comments made me smile ALL day and almost made me cry. Hello to you too, dear in_praesenti. = ) You haven't heard of me before because although I've been involved in the hp fandom for the last year or so, this is the first fest I've participated in and my first long H/D story I have ever completed. Your comments really were so amazing. I'm so touched you took the time to comment so thoroughly that I'm going to try to respond to all of the points you made. I hope you don't mind.
About the title...
I am a big fan of Adele, not only because of her beautiful voice, but also because of her meaningful lyrics. I didn't base too much of the story off the song, but even before deciding on the title I knew I liked the idea for emo fest of "watching the world burn together". It seemed perfect for Harry and Draco's volatile relationship, which is why when I was writing and that song came on pandora, I decided that it should be title. I edited the song lyrics a little to fit with the story and the concept of watching the world and each other burn...as well as added the quotes by Harry.
About the first person pov...
I'm so very glad you enjoyed the first person pov because I have never written a long piece in first person before. Originally, I didn't plan on writing the story in first person because, you are right, it is very difficult to do well. However, after outlining the story, I realized that the only way to do Harry's "craziness" justice and to show his long. emotional journey was to be inside his head constantly. I almost gave up a couple of times with the first person, so I'm so flattered that you enjoyed it and think I wrote it well. You have no idea. Also, I think you are too hard on yourself because you seem quite eloquent to me, and your comments were thoughtful and amazing.
About Harry and Narcissa...
Yes, Harry is a first class idiot pretty much for the entire story; however, I wanted you as a reader to be angry with him and to feel what he was thinking even if it was completely irrational or wrong. Sometimes, in real life, things are so obvious to everyone else around you, but you are still completely clueless about them...and that's how Harry acted in this story. He was also rather immature when the story started since I feel he never had a chance to grow up properly in the books, but hopefully by the end you feel that he's matured. And yes, the loss of Narcissa was hard for everyone even Harry. I'm glad you enjoyed that rocking chair scene because it's one of my favs, and it was quite difficult to write because I kept getting emotional during it. I just feel that as difficult as it is to lose someone and grieve, it's also just as difficult to watch someone you love in pain and not be able to intervene or help.
About Harry's relationship with comatose Draco...
Yeah, Harry was definitely obsessed with Draco at this point. There's no other word for it.
Although Draco is technically the one who suffers from madness in this story, I think both of the boys are pretty unstable, which is why they found comfort in each other. I don't think Harry was mentally stable when this story started. He was still getting over the war and the part he was forced to play in it as well as dealing with his sexuality. I think that Harry's obsession with Draco started a long time ago in Hogwarts because really why wouldn't he just ignore all of Draco's snide remarks and pranks? And why was he always watching for him in the Great Hall? That's not normal and he was a lot more concerned about Draco than he ever was about Ginny or Cho...no matter what excuses/reason he gives for doing so. It was kind of creepy how Harry was attracted to a comatose Draco, but the whole point was really to show just how obsessive Harry really was and that his feelings had been pent up for way too long. He was so disgusted with himself for not only being attracted to blokes but to his former enemy, that the only way he could allow himself to do so was when Draco was unconscious and couldn't respond or reject him. His awful reactions were definitely supposed to be make you feel uneasy. I even wanted to hit Harry at times...lol.
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