So This Is Romance by Gilpin25

[gilpin25]

Title: So This Is Romance …
Author: gilpin25
Rating and Warnings: R (Not very fluffy romance or language at times)
Prompts: Thing: Veritaserum; Place: Ministry of Magic; Time: A Day of Discovery; Genre: Romance
Word Count: 10,130
Summary: War gets in the way of absolutely everything, or so it seems. Especially a rather complicated relationship...
Author’s

Comments

[mrstater]

When I first read this, there was so much to like that I wasn't really sure where to begin to review. Now I've read it again, there's even more to like, so I'm even less sure. So I guess in the immortal words of Rogers and Hammerstien, I'll start at the beginning. :)

This was the first thing that really pulled me into the piece:

Tonks was prepared to deny her appearance and her very nature for the sake of the Order, but she was never going to deny him to anyone.

What a beautiful thought. And even more beautiful to see it enacted in the Veritaserum scene later on. Which also make me jump ahead to what an excellent use of the prompt this is, not to have Tonks make a confession because she's taking Veritaserum, but because someon else is going to have to talk. In a way love becomes the Veritaserum, and not to say what it prompts is just as dishonest as what Melvyn accuses Tonks of having done.

Also really love the bit with Tonks' morph, and being ashamed and afraid of Remus seeing her like that. It's interesting, so many writers, myself included, go on about Tonks' need for Remus to love her in her real form, and about him not ever even thinking of wanting to see her in another form, but I'm not aware of anyone who's done Tonks in a sexy morph and feeling insecure about it. Love the way Remus put her at ease about it; but their little spat about his same insecurity post-transformation was painful.

And now I'm thinking about it all, there's a theme of absolute honesty throughout, and Tonks showng him her desk is a neat little bright spot. She's very young and guileless doing it -- and of course I love Remus taking over that moodwhen they get back to her flat, going on about fuzzy dice. (I've got a pair of leopard print ones Tonks might like. And I think a bobble-head dog in a junk box.)

Of course I can't leave out the sex. Which was so well done. And the rose mirror images.

Wonderful piece.

[lady_bracknell]

Sorry to butt in with another review, but I just had to concur. In all my previous gushing, I forgot how much I loved Tonks showing Remus her desk (because it's such an in love thing to do) and Remus' joke about furry dice and nodding dogs. I thought that was a wonderful piece of characterisation for them as a couple - that Tonks would like these vaguely naff Muggle things, and Remus would buy them for her as a running private joke.

[gilpin25]

And, of course, I swore I would comment on this bit in the other reply ... and remembered that Really Intelligent Plan as I pressed the button and waved it goodbye. There should be an edit facility! Anyway just to say, that my favourite scene to write, and which made me view the whole thing differently, was the desk one, so thank you for loving that. Some time, I'm going to mention Tonks having furry dice dangling from her broomstick ... ;)

I do like it when you gush, you know. :)

[gilpin25]

Apart from my first cranky attempt at this, about which the less said the better, the two basic ideas were how you have to make the most of every snatched opportunity to be together when work/war are keeping you apart, and how under the right circumstances everyone would be completely honest because it was the only way to make things happen. I did lots of debating with the Veritaserum, wondering whether one of them should accidentally take it, but the big drawback was that you seem to go into a robotic trance if Barty Crouch Jr. is anything to go by. Which wasn't exactly the most romantic of things! And I rather liked the irony of nobody taking it, although the reader gets to decide if they did eventually give it to Melvyn, or not ...

I've always been fascinated by the idea that Tonks could look like Fleur yet chooses not to - and we were talking about the morphs we see her do only the other day. Making her into Carmen opened up lots of interesting possibilities. Of course, Remus would always come up with the right things to say to her, but they didn't solve anything about his own hang-ups, did they?

Tonks would just kill for your leopard print dice. I'm thinking she'll have them dangling from her broomstick shortly, and the nodding dog sat on her desk. ;)

And I probably enjoyed writing the smut nearly as mcuh as the desk scene. Remus being seductive was lots of fun, though I wish I'd known about his sooty fringe before I started, LOL.

Thank you for such lovely and thoughtful comments, as always. :)

[mrstater]

the big drawback was that you seem to go into a robotic trance if Barty Crouch Jr. is anything to go by. Which wasn't exactly the most romantic of things!

But it's David Tennant going into a robotic trance. I can't believe you didn't find this inspirational for Remus.

[gilpin25]

I certainly found those boots he wore inspirational for a few things ... ;)