Ownfic: "The Prisoner's Remorse" (1/2) for the Community

[ownficfestmod]

Title: The Prisoner's Remorse (1/2)
Author: miss_morland
Recipient: Community
Characters/Pairings: Remus Lupin, Gellert Grindelwald (with implied Remus/Sirius and Dumbledore/Grindelwald)
Rating: PG-13
Warnings (highlight to view): Angst, mind-fuck.
Wordcount: ~ 14 000 words
Summary: After Sirius Black's betrayal, Professor Dumbledore finds work for Remus

Comments

[eeyore9990]

I didn't have a chance when I read earlier, but I wanted to let you know this was absolutely fantastic. I loved the slow steady pace of it and the characters were brilliantly portrayed. I LOVE that you explored where the hell Remus disappeared to after the first war (that really bugs the hell out of me) and really, just... ah. Yes, I loved this.

Rec'd on today's quibbler_report. Excellent work!

[miss_morland]

Thank you so much! I agree about wanting to know more about Remus's whereabouts after Voldemort's downfall, but on the bright side, it's nice to have a lot of possibilities... And I like this one. *g* I'm so glad you enjoyed the fic!

[kellychambliss]

Wow -- this is fabulous so far. So well-written, so taut, so atmospheric. You do such a fine job of making Grindelwald both compelling and mysterious. One simply doesn't know how to take him: he's so plausible, which is no doubt what you intended. And you pull it off so well.

Remus is wonderful, too (reading Kafka -- god, just thing for a depressive loner /g/), and the ambiguity about Dumbledore.

Impressive.

Can't wait for the next part. . .

[miss_morland]

Well, at least he wasn't reading 'Crime and Punishment'. :-P

I'm happy you liked this first part! Grindelwald is so much fun to write...

[paulamcg]

From the very beginning I enjoy and admire this story so much that at first I can’t resist taking notes while reading (even though I normally refrain from long comments to anonymous writers). First of all I’m in awe when in only a few brief paragraphs - while keeping us firmly in the current concrete situation - you let us share Remus’s post-Halloween-1981 feelings, and at the same time efficiently proceed to the story about his work at Nurmengard.

This line is a fine example of how an excellent writer doesn’t need to tell us where the viewpoint character is looking or not looking, and what then happens, but instead takes us right there with him: to perceive what he does as the moments move us forward: Morning light was starting to seep into the office, falling directly onto Remus's boots, rendering visible every mark and stain.Dumbledore’s introduction of the place and the character we’ll visit makes the journey offered by this story irresistible at once. And what he adds before we leave the office increases the intrigue just at

[miss_morland]

Wow, it's a treat to get such a long and insightful comment -- thank you so much! *is happy*

more scenes which are basically about two characters talking while sitting in a room.

Hee. I remember thinking, 'Haha, I'm finally writing something with a plot!' -- and then I realised that compared to a truly plot-heavy fic, this is rather... introspective. But if that doesn't stop the story from being interesting, I'm glad. *g*

The hints at Sirius are just perfect - quite enough, and I find it realistic that Remus wouldn’t let more to the foreground of his mind.

I'm so glad you thought so! I love Remus/Sirius, but I figured it wouldn't be necessary to be explicit about the pairing here.

I’m startled by the weirdly surprising - actually quite natural - idea that there can be an ethical prison in the HP world, and that Nurmengard is one!Well, Grindelwald seems to be quite sane when we meet him in DH, so I thought the prison can't be too bad, otherwise he wouldn't have survived fifty years with his sanity intact... I'm not sure what it

[paulamcg]

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. It’s so good to know that my feedback has been received with joy. It’s also a lovely coincidence that I got to see and admire your very short prose just before this reveal. (I remember seeing you earlier on kellychambliss’s journal.)

Oh, it’s hard to believe that this is the first time you write Remus’s voice. And I’m so happy that someone who writes this kind of excellent and fascinating stuff is a fan of Remus/Sirius! I love (reading and writing) stories about Sirius-loving Remus in which the slash is not explicit.

I’ve recced your story here. And now I’ll be looking forward to reading more by you.

[miss_morland]

I really appreciated your comment (and I remember having received similarly thoughtful feedback from you on another story of mine, so I was very glad to know you enjoyed this one as well)!

I've always loved Remus/Sirius, ever since I first read Prisoner of Azkaban -- that is to say, since well before I knew about fandom or slash. :-) It's one of my favourite pairings ever.

Thank you so much for the rec! That's so very kind of you.

[miss_morland]

Thanks -- I hope the second part did not disappoint!

I also like the librarian who keeps sending him Habermas instead of Heidegger.

That was actually an in-joke to myself, because I used to confuse the two of them with each other when I was younger (because of their names, you understand). *g* I'd make a horrible librarian.

[miss_morland]

I think I've said this before, but I absolutely love your ability to spot details. &hearts

[sor_bet]

This story is amazing. It feels so canon, as if JKR had written a HP book for grownups. :-) The characterization is fantastic, it's got such a dark suspenseful feel to it, even though everyone is behaving so calmly, and I can totally SEE everything -- you've done a really good job of painting the scenes and the people.

I can't wait to read the next part, but I'll admit -- I'm really worried about Remus....

[miss_morland]

Thank you so much! 'Dark suspenseful feel' was pretty much what I was aiming for. :-) I'm glad you found the descriptions vivid!