The Measure of a Man

Apr 02, 2008 18:22

Title: The Measure of a Man
Author: gilpin25
Summary: I’m sixteen years old and I’m in love with a girl who thinks I’m an arrogant, bullying toerag, and I don’t know how to change her mind as everything I do just makes it worse. James Potter, who usually has all the answers, has none for this... (James/Lily)
Rating: R
Warnings: Language; violence
Prompts ( Read more... )

gilpin25, angst, drama, tales of slings arrows and outrageous fo, romance

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Comments 35

anonymous April 2 2008, 21:42:56 UTC
This is really wonderful. I love your portrayal of James - it's so layered, so nuanced. His realization that he needs to be (and can be) a better man is so honest. You don't gloss over his flaws, that he can be less than likable at times - and that makes him that much more likable to me as a reader. He's human.

I especially loved his conversation with Remus, very revealing of both their characters. Also the hints at what is yet to come for all of them with Remus's comment about Peter (“I asked Peter. He always cracks under pressure if you find the right key.”) and Snape's own integrity despite his hatred of James.

Anyways, this was just really wonderful and I'm so glad to have found the fic!

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gilpin25 April 3 2008, 15:42:18 UTC
Thank you very much for such lovely comments. I'm thrilled you like it so much.

I did think a lot about James beforehand, trying to make sense of the (sometimes) contradictory clues we see in canon. Part of the enjoyment of writing this was trying to show that he made a conscious decision to 'grow-up' and assume responsibility for his actions. Probably it might have happened in time anyway, but I like to imagine Lily was the driving force behind this, as he has to get from her viewing him as an 'arrogant toerag' to going out in year seven somehow!

Am so glad you liked the conversation with Remus as I'm a huge Remus fan and normally write fics with him in. So I hoped it was feasible he'd have a starring role in this, even if James was a little oblivious to a few things there. And, yes, I wanted to show Snape as, typically, having his own odd form of integrity, as well as getting completely the wrong end of the stick about James' behaviour because of their past and the mistrust between them.

Thank you again. I really appreciate

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tree_and_leaf April 2 2008, 22:49:44 UTC
Oh, that was lovely. Beautiful characterisation, and closely observed without being overwritten. The bit about James working with Peter on the animagus transformation was touching - and then
“I asked Peter. He always cracks under pressure if you find the right key.”

Foreshadowing, but not overdone and not by demonizing Peter.

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gilpin25 April 3 2008, 19:20:15 UTC
Thank you very much. Especially for the comment on characterisation as a big part of what made writing it so enjoyable was the various roles people played.

I did think a lot about James beforehand, trying to make sense of the (sometimes) contradictory clues we see in canon. Rightly or wrongly, I wanted to show that he made a conscious decision to 'grow-up', and assume responsibility for his actions. Probably it might have happened in time anyway, but I like to imagine Lily was the driving force behind this, as he has to get from her viewing him as an 'arrogant toerag' to Head Boy and going out in year seven somehow!

Many thanks again. :)

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shimotsuki April 3 2008, 04:10:27 UTC
I'm really glad you were able to post this, because it's a wonderful look at James -- as well as Remus and Snape, and Lily too. It's got your usual masterful balance of humor with deeper and sometimes also darker things underneath, and such perceptive approaches to the characters, even Peter with his cracking under strain, and Snape with his odd but rigid code of personal honor despite his hatred for James. I loved Euan, too, and the epiphany James had after their conversation. James himself is really rather sweet (while still being realistically arrogant), with his romantic tendencies that he doesn't quite know what to do with, and his sigh-worthy certainty that what he wants to have with Lily is something special, something meaningful ( ... )

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gilpin25 April 3 2008, 19:47:56 UTC
Thank you very much - not least, for keeping me company in the running late stakes!

I'm very pleased you liked this as it gave me a fair few headaches. Not actually writing it, which was hugely enjoyable, but trying to sort out in my head beforehand (and during) where I was going with it, and how I saw James from all those well scattered canon clues. Some seem to contradict the others, but then that made it interesting to try and come up with a way his 'growing-up' could have started, and what prompted it. I like to imagine it was a conscious decision on his part to take responsibility for his actions, and the affect they had on others, and that Lily provided the motivation. Which left me with a still arrogant James in some ways, but one who was very uncertain when it came to romance and things he'd never had to consider before, such as being disliked.

I felt so bad for Remus during that whole conversation, and sort of glad that James never cottoned onI know. :( I was trying to write it to sound half as if Remus had a crush on ( ... )

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hrymfaxe April 3 2008, 21:07:04 UTC
Glad you liked the Agony Aunt column; I might write the Marauders acting that out one day, lol.

Oh you should!! I would love to hear Auntie Siri's advice to the lovelorn!

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gilpin25 April 5 2008, 14:44:51 UTC
If I get a mad, I-feel-like-being-disowned-by-all-sane-people moment, I solemnly swear I'll give it a go. ;)

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katyhasclogs April 3 2008, 09:58:24 UTC
Ooh very good. *applauds*

What I loved most about this was the characterisation, especially James. He's such a flat character in canon and there are so many things left unexplained by JKR. I think you fleshed out the whole Marauder dynamic really well, which must be pretty hard to do, given how complex it seems to be from what we do know in canon. I think you must have put a lot of thought into it all and it really shows.

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gilpin25 April 3 2008, 19:29:51 UTC
Thank you for such a nice comment!

I'm so glad you liked the characterisation because I did put a lot of thought into this one beforehand, especially trying to sort out the (sometimes) contradictory glimpses of James in canon. I wish we'd got more of the story of the Marauders in DH but, alas, it wasn't to be. It did leave me free to imagine how he could have got from the obnoxious James we see in Snape's worst memory, to the one who is an admired Head Boy, and going out with Lily in year seven. I like to think he made a conscious decision to 'grow up' and take responsibility for his actions. And that other people may have played a part in this, lol.

As for the Marauders - I think the dynamics are fascinating, with so many possibilities to write about...

Many thanks again. I really appreciate it. :)

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hrymfaxe April 3 2008, 21:04:07 UTC
This is a really good piece of characterisation, bringing a character to life at an important moment in his life. I agree with you, that we certainly didn't get much information about James in the books, but it's great to see how you have managed to use what there is to connect child-James with the adult he became ( ... )

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gilpin25 April 5 2008, 16:49:30 UTC
Thank you for such lovely, thoughtful comments. To tell the truth, I'm a bit stunned by how much I really got into writing James; he very much grew on me as I went along ( ... )

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