- truth? -

[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.

Comments

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I've read all three fics, man :/ :/ Bleh.
All right, let's break this down:

- Cassie Claire's fic was never finished, and couldn't make me 'believe' in H/D because its only as-yet present point was that Draco allowed himself to be humiliated by Harry. I didn't say there were no fics that included Harry & Draco that also had post-OoTP themes-- I rather said there were no believable post-OoTP H/D fics, which would involve making the pairing canon plausible without requiring me to be a shipper. CC's fic managed to show a great possibility it never actually explored.

- `Inscription'... I'd read that awhile ago. It was romantic and intense and if I wasn't an H/D shipper, it wouldn't have convinced me of anything except that Harry was pretty messed up & Draco was... there and for some reason willing. Why? I HAVE NO CLUE, based on that fic.

- `Contingencies'-- again, I'd read that awhile ago, and while I suppose it integrated post-OoTP elements, I didn't find the characterization of Draco that realistic-- mind you, I was saying in `Truth', I found Snape and Harry completely in character. That's a -lot-, coming from me. I think that fic depended on prettifying the characterizations and taking away at least some of their ugliness/resentment for each other, which is a no-go in terms of believable as I was defining it. Draco was sympathetic virtually the whole time, as was Harry-- again, a no-go.



As far as me writing the sort of H/D fic I want... I wasn't saying no one -could-, I was saying I couldn't think of any I'd read, which is different. And as for me writing it-- I know I can't because I simply don't think H/D 'makes sense' to me on that deep of a level without changing either or both of them, and that is merely the truth as I see it.

[malafede.livejournal.com]

Uh, I really wasn't saying you specifically have to write it, I was saying that just because nobody's written it yet, it doesn't mean it can't be. And, supposing this Snarry you just read was so realistic... it was the first, right?

I simply don't think H/D 'makes sense' to me on that deep of a level without changing either or both of them, and that is merely the truth as I see it.

See, that's how I feel about Snarry. Though admittedly there's more leeway with that one because Harry sort of grudgingly respects Snape, or he has reason to.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Well, to me, neither H/D nor H/S make sense on a completely realistic level. Aaaand, outside of `Red' and Silvia's fics, actually (...I'm weird), I've never really read a fic that made H/D seem natural, like it was just an extension of the way they are in canon, and that's the feeling I got from `Truth'. And yeah, it was the first, but mind you, I've read very little H/S and all of that has been smut anyway.

I never said it can't be done. Did I? I only said I can't think of any I've read. I never say things can't be done-- I mean, who am I to pronounce things like that, anyway? I don't think I do or did.

[malafede.livejournal.com]

Mmmmh. I guess when I say "recognisable characterisation" I don't mean "set in stone". Like, isn't the Harry from POA different from the Harry in GOF different from OOTP? Of course the character is still the same, but he's growing too. He's a teenager, and what's the point of going through an adventure if you don't learn anything (ie=what's the point of writing if your character don't answer to the situations around them.)

I'm pretty sure you could pair Harry with Ginny w/o having to change Harry all that much, but, eh. Does that make it good? I was never a H/D shipper because I thought it "made more sense" because I just don't value pairings for sensibility or compatibility. Mm. Like, Snape/Draco would be easy to write like stealing candies from children.

I think people (me included, possibly) change H and/or D not because they couldn't work the way they are but because they feel H and/or D have to change. It's not a romance-focused need but more a character-focused one. I think.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I don't mean 'set in stone' either, but generally I want a fic to -start off- with the last known mind-state of the person and build from there-- hopefully in conjunction with their romance with the other person. No prettifying or skipping over unattractive characteristics, no letting anyone off easy, no rewriting history as far as known, etc etc. So of course I want to change Harry & Draco and have them both grow up (this is like, my mantra), but I also want it to be plausible. And a part of me wants the change to not have to be -monumental- (just like you don't want Draco in particular to change monumentally), 'cause I like the characters as they are, too. I'm pretty sure we agree there.

It's a question of change within the story, and I think there was internal change in `Truth', for instance, so the characters weren't quite where they started out at the end-- that's the sign of a good story, as you said. So the point is to do it believably.