reenka

One would think it was impossible-- surely there's no such beast as an in character, entirely canon-plausible NC17 Harry/Snape post-OoTP one-shot.... Right? I mean, Harry/Snape is a pairing that goes against the very grain of canon... right? (Not that H/D doesn't in enough ways....)

Wrong. That is to say, I've finally found an H/S I could believe in. And I studiously -avoided- reading anything but H/S smut 'cause I didn't -want- to believe in them. But

thisveryinstant's `Truth' completely worked for me. I could... see it happening. Snape & Harry were... human. What's even more disturbing, actually, is that Snape became 'Severus' for the duration of the fic probably for the first time ever-- which mirrored Harry's own shift in perception rather well.

All without prettifying any of their ugliness or resentment or even the physical awkwardness. Snape wasn't the 'hot & sexy Potions Master'-- he was just Snape. And as another barometer of goodness-- Draco was well-treated, too. Not skipped over, not made into a complete caricature-- he had a in-character part, too. God, I love this fic.

I'd love people's opinions on this fic, mostly (well, given that you're at all willing to read H/S). Do you think it works? If it doesn't, why not?

Man, I'm trying to think of an H/D that's equally believable, and can't think of anything outside of Miss Breed's fics. Le sigh.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/

i am not sure if you are interested in my view, but for whatever strange reason (8 buiscuits and some tea left? headache and lazyness?) i actually read this fic. let my start by saying that my friends are into ss/hp, that i read two standard novel-lenght fics and some others and that i also beta one novel-lenght ss/hp. i had gotten sick of the pairing rather quickly, mainly because of the view the fandom has of them. i dislike the dynamics. very much.

i read "truth" and the first seven chapters were really entirely plausible. snape is not a cool bastard who can be excused for everything because of having been bullied. what he does to the students is not!not really-cool-and-clever-in-reality. his unfairness is real. the first chapters basically retell what rowling showed us about both of them having to change perceptions, harry being able to do so, snape not. "truth" gently let snape also relent, although as all fanfiction it was very pro-snape. and i liked that harry lashed out, that was good and real and plausible after his stupor.

the fic changed in the kitchen scene, which was a very abrupt and unbelievable scene for me. the rest of the fic, very well written and all, was firmly placed in the snarry universe. it was not that noticable, because from chapter 9 on the characters seemed less chummy than in the kitchen scene, but it was the same old story again, snape and bad sirius, harry not being james, the malfoys in the background, ss and hp both having had some gay experiences, some amusing snarkyness and the cold hours after the deed.

do you know what i am trying to say? if "snarry" is ever believeable they cannot be having sex. that harry is attracted and aroused by this snape is what readers are supposed to project. it is not in the fanfiction, and not in the novels. the more "snarry" i read, the more i turn into a canon whore.

From:

yourpoison.livejournal.com

Wow. *beams* You are so much more logical/rational than I am, and thank you so much for this! I'd unconsciously noticed all this, but was swept along, probably because I don't have the intrinsic unwillingness to accept "Snarryverse" like you do :D :D And now my brain is working normally again :D :D Eeeee, thank you :D

You're right that it changed when they just sat with the tea-- like, yeah, would Snape really allow Harry to eat -with him-. But he'd already broken/cracked somewhat from his (as he was aware) unforgivable actions earlier, and I could accept it as the result of guilt and him wanting to "make it better" on some level 'cause he's feeling unbalanced and confused, I guess. I was very impressed that the cheek-holding... thing 'worked'-- that is, without Harry suddenly thinking Snape is a Sex God (god, I hate that)-- but yeah, once again, I wasn't as strict as I could've been, because yeah, there's the old elements still at play (they're just not elements I despise as much as sexy!Snape).

Also, the semi-sympathetic!Snape didn't strike me as 'off' 'cause he was also unsympathetic in enough ways, and I don't see canon!Snape as entirely unsympathetic, though you're right that the Harry-as-James thing is just overplayed. I suppose this fic just came closer than any other H/S I'd ever read-- closer than the parts I'd read of the Tea series, I thought-- so I was surprised. Very few H/D fics come this close, so I thought it was quite something, but I just didn't realize how many things I let slide (though I did notice on some level). Thanks for the break-down! :D

From:

http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/

logical/rational ... *lol* are you sure you are talking to me?
well, i had to look at snarry in the light of an editor, and i wanted to find out what ... put me off, without resorting to "he's an old guy abusing a boy". i know it is only the fandom surrounding him/them. so for the fic i beta, i keep trying to see what is possible - and what is possible is fanon-snarry.

i read this because a) you recced it as another non-snarry-afficinado and b) i wanted to see what the writer used to make it believable. as i already rambled about before, it did not succeed in canon-believeability, but yes, he was unsympathetic in enough ways. here is another but: obviously having ~~had the bad fortune to~~ read much more of that pairing than you, i can only say that snape is usually a cruel bastard in all of them, it is part and parcel of the allure, so the second part of "truth" did not surprise me much, and ... it seems to me that an unhappy ending is seen as a surefire way to make a fic more believable?

canon snape is not unsympathetic, his arc is like sirius's. *reigns herself in* i won't get into that, but harry is more mature than him in accepting facettes of his character. and harry would not want him agagagaga.

glad i was able to get your brain working normally again :) i do find it hard to concentrate on this as if i was writing an exam *g* so i will abruptly stop now and hope to have made sense.

ps: the tea series is the only one i have not read and my friends say it is the most likely to appeal to me. now you make me doubt that.
snape cracking is another thing common to all those fics. also harry's eyes reminding him of lily. and so on ...

From:

yourpoison.livejournal.com

Well, `Truth' made me feel like... I could see the canon-believable!H/S even if it's not achieved. It's like... the intensity between them, the anger, the resentment, I can totally see that blowing up. Though the question of Harry not wanting Snape is a thorny one ^^;;; That's why that bit with the cheek-touching worked for me-- 'cause Harry was confused (should he run away?) and then just overwhelmed past the visual, just more reacting to Snape's emotions rather than his ...er... physical self...? It was much more emotionally rather than hormonally based (in a way) which I could buy... more? Then again, I never liked OMG SO HOT Draco either ^^;;;

As far as the Tea series... la. That Snape seemed almost 100% sympathetic, and the main issue was 'but he's TOO YOUNG and DOESN'T REALLY WANT ME' angst. They didn't seem to have real resentment, I guess...? It was rather romantic, though Snape pushed Harry away 'for his own good'-- whereas I think Snape's more likely to abuse him. I don't really mind Snape abusing him, since it's not like it's a great change ^^;;; ahahah

Well, I think certain things are 'fanon' 'cause they're unavoidable, at least to some extent-- like, how are you going to get away without Snape cracking...? Doesn't he sort of -have- to...? Though what I liked wasn't that he was a cruel bastard but that he was so... petty, I guess, not glamorously so. I feel jealous, though. I wish Draco being a petty bastard was part of the allure. *weeps* :>

From:

http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/

i agree, and to a degree that also goes for h/d, intensity blowing up.
and the cheek scene was so well written, that it overcame the canon restrictions!

sounds like 90 percent of fic i know. well, people copy what they like, or write similar scenarios because they want the same things.

oh yes, of course, petty and not glamorous. did you read "if you are prepared", theeeeee fanon canon on the matter?

that is interesting! i did not know draco's bastard-ness was never a factor - but

From:

http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/

(ooops, sorry)

but that's what i mean, snarry is the ancient wuthering heights/jane eyre formalu, the snarky dark meanie being attractive to an unlikely partner.

From:

yourpoison.livejournal.com

Hehehe sometimes I really think I go for every formula there is, simply because I'm attracted to the very archetypal nature of the juxtaposition, I guess...? Like, I notice how it fits into the larger structure of romance stories and that in itself appeals to me o_0 Sort of like being reassured that 'here is another story like that', and I see it more as 'story' than... representation of reality, perhaps...? Hm. But yeah, I know Harry/Snape is rather archetypal in that dark-ugly-beastly-man being wanted by the purer more fiery youthful one who can perhaps redeem him (always a him, though the other is feminine in some way-- as, actually, Harry was in `Truth').

See, that's why I was surprised-- 'cause usually the resentment in H/S seems more surface, whereas here it seemed more... real, I guess...? Well, on Snape's part. *sigh* I -like- the resentment~:) For some reason people seem to think it's an obstacle :>

I think with Draco, the attraction is that he's a git, yeah, but also that he's only a git because of Harry or being pissed that Harry's not giving him what he wants or something. It's like, Harry 'soothes' Draco (as per fanon, I mean), and Draco... er... relaxes. I don't think Snape's young enough for that to be at all plausible, though. Thank goodness for small favors, I guess.

From:

http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/

"Thank goodness for small favors"
hehe, who's got the snarry aversion now *g*
that's it exactly, snape is older. much older. and usually draco is described as more attractive, at least more hygenic.

think about it though, there is more to your liking of the pairing than that.

although it is understandable that you want to explore other angles, and then snape starts to look alluring.

ps: yes, the resentment was real, i think also because it was grounded in class, and involved the rowling setting more, whereas other snarry is after class, which makes all the difference.