February Recs Challenge, Day 19: HP Fic
Bless me fandom, for I have sinned. (And not just by skipping yoga class tonight. *self-flagellates*)
I believe that giving feedback makes the world go round, and that it's the least I can do to thank authors and artists who create things I love and enjoy. So generally I'm pretty conscientious about commenting on fic/art/vids/etc. that I like. BUT: I must confess that there are certain fics and WIP's that I have deliberately not commented on because I am ashamed of liking them. They're fics that I enjoy in some sick part of my brain, but that I recognize are seriously flawed -- the writing is not very accomplished, or the characterizations are off, or the plot strains credulity. So I don't want to comment because a) what can I say to the author -- "you really can't write but this fic is my super-sekrit guilty pleasure?" and, more shallowly, b) I am embarrassed for my name to appear in the comments section. God, I feel so snotty and horrible for even admitting that.
Am I the only one? Or do you all comment on guilty pleasure bad!fic as often as you do on fic you actually admire?
Now that I've gotten that confession off my chest, on to a fic that I am not at all ashamed to admit I like. :-)
Fifty Words Unspoken by snegurochka_lee
Pairing: Remus/Bill
Rating: R
Warnings: DH-compliant, so, kind of a train wreck in the angst department. Mind the character death and adultery, too.
Summary: There had been other men like Bill, men who broke promises and made alliances and crept in and out of his bed, but Remus never regretted a single one of them, and he never regretted Bill.
My Comments:
Gah. This fic just breaks me -- and it does it one sentence at a time. Honestly, I can't even imagine how the author made a coherent fic out of this, since the challenge was to combine 50 different prompts with only one sentence for each of them. But the sentence format actually works really well here, telling us the story in little moments and impressions and allowing us to fill in the rest. And, too, the format allows these fragments to slip right into the little gaps in canon.
Even beyond the one-sentence format, however, is a sad, evocative story. About 15 seconds in, I stopped thinking about the sentences and started focusing on the relationship that unfolds here between Remus and Bill. I hope it captures you as well. ♥
Excerpt:
#17 - Promise
"You can't say forever," whispered Remus, his mouth gliding over Bill's chest and stomach, "not when you don't really mean it," but that was the thing about Bill, the thing that got him every time: he thought he did mean it, he thought promises could be made over and over again without consequence, but only Remus seemed to have the foresight - or the experience - to know that every one made would also, eventually, have to be broken.
#32 - Farewells
Bill went back to Egypt late that summer, making excuses about work and curses and a particularly wretched lock on a tomb in the desert, and Remus pressed his lips together and nodded, not daring to lean in for a kiss, because he wasn't stupid; he knew when a straight man's fling was over.
#28 - Forgotten
The problem, of course, was that Remus didn't have flings; his only options were to sleep alone, or to fall in love, and erasing the imprint of Bill from his skin was a bit more than he was capable of getting on with at the moment.
If you enjoy, please leave the author some love!
I believe that giving feedback makes the world go round, and that it's the least I can do to thank authors and artists who create things I love and enjoy. So generally I'm pretty conscientious about commenting on fic/art/vids/etc. that I like. BUT: I must confess that there are certain fics and WIP's that I have deliberately not commented on because I am ashamed of liking them. They're fics that I enjoy in some sick part of my brain, but that I recognize are seriously flawed -- the writing is not very accomplished, or the characterizations are off, or the plot strains credulity. So I don't want to comment because a) what can I say to the author -- "you really can't write but this fic is my super-sekrit guilty pleasure?" and, more shallowly, b) I am embarrassed for my name to appear in the comments section. God, I feel so snotty and horrible for even admitting that.
Am I the only one? Or do you all comment on guilty pleasure bad!fic as often as you do on fic you actually admire?
Now that I've gotten that confession off my chest, on to a fic that I am not at all ashamed to admit I like. :-)
Fifty Words Unspoken by snegurochka_lee
Pairing: Remus/Bill
Rating: R
Warnings: DH-compliant, so, kind of a train wreck in the angst department. Mind the character death and adultery, too.
Summary: There had been other men like Bill, men who broke promises and made alliances and crept in and out of his bed, but Remus never regretted a single one of them, and he never regretted Bill.
My Comments:
Gah. This fic just breaks me -- and it does it one sentence at a time. Honestly, I can't even imagine how the author made a coherent fic out of this, since the challenge was to combine 50 different prompts with only one sentence for each of them. But the sentence format actually works really well here, telling us the story in little moments and impressions and allowing us to fill in the rest. And, too, the format allows these fragments to slip right into the little gaps in canon.
Even beyond the one-sentence format, however, is a sad, evocative story. About 15 seconds in, I stopped thinking about the sentences and started focusing on the relationship that unfolds here between Remus and Bill. I hope it captures you as well. ♥
Excerpt:
#17 - Promise
"You can't say forever," whispered Remus, his mouth gliding over Bill's chest and stomach, "not when you don't really mean it," but that was the thing about Bill, the thing that got him every time: he thought he did mean it, he thought promises could be made over and over again without consequence, but only Remus seemed to have the foresight - or the experience - to know that every one made would also, eventually, have to be broken.
#32 - Farewells
Bill went back to Egypt late that summer, making excuses about work and curses and a particularly wretched lock on a tomb in the desert, and Remus pressed his lips together and nodded, not daring to lean in for a kiss, because he wasn't stupid; he knew when a straight man's fling was over.
#28 - Forgotten
The problem, of course, was that Remus didn't have flings; his only options were to sleep alone, or to fall in love, and erasing the imprint of Bill from his skin was a bit more than he was capable of getting on with at the moment.
If you enjoy, please leave the author some love!