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atdelphi (atdelphi) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2014-05-09 14:26:00

Entry tags:

alastor moody, alastor moody/rufus scrimgeour, beholder 2014, fic, rated:pg-13, rufus scrimgeour, slash

FIC: "Straight On 'Till Morning" for fluffyllama
Recipient: fluffyllama
Author/Artist: ???
Title: Straight On 'Till Morning
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Rufus Scrimgeour/Alastor Moody with mentions of Rufus Scrimgeour/Gawain Robards
Word Count: 20,000
Medium: Fic
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): * None*.
Summary: Two wars teach Alastor the old maxim was wrong. You keep your enemies close, but you keep your friends closer.
Author's/Artist's Notes: This fic has been one of the most daunting projects I've undertaken. Consequently, there're several people to thank.

Fluffyllama, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Your signup was absolutely phenomenal, and provided so very much inspiration.

Delphi, thanks so much for running such a fantastic fest. And for being the most amazing mod possible; your endless patience is immensely appreciated. Also, thanks also for all the lengthy conversations about rare characters; so many of your thoughts were invaluable to shaping this.

And to r: Fantastic cheerleader and even more brilliant beta. Thanks so much for all the brainstorming, and the handholding. This fic is immeasurably better for your input. Thanks especially for all the Dumbledore assistance, and for helping me keep my timelines straight.

The first scene draws heavily on details released in JKR's Pottermore biography for Remus Lupin. For anyone unfamiliar with it wanting more context, a page with the full text of the bio

Straight On 'Till Morning

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	fluffyllama 2014-05-10 09:33 am UTC (link)
	Oh, mystery author, this looks amazing! I'm very intrigued by the pairing, thrilled to have a Moody fic, and can't wait to read it properly! I'm going to be offline most of the weekend, arrggh, but I am taking this with me and will read it at the first opportunity -- I just wanted you to know how thrilled I am until I can devour and comment properly. Thank you!! (Reply to this) (Thread)

fluffyllama
2014-05-18 08:55 am UTC (link)

Oh god, I came back to reread my fabulous gift while I wake up a bit this morning, and see that my comment apparently didn't post -- I'm SO SORRY I didn't realise that sooner, mystery author, I have no clue what happened there. My LJ comments seem to be posting twice at the moment, so maybe it's stealing them from IJ :( Gah.

Anyway, I will recreate as best I can without making you wait any longer than I have to. I absolutely loved this, and I want to thank you again for Moody fic to start with, as that was just what I wanted for my fic. It was a great thrill seeing that to start with, and you more than gave me everything I wanted from a Moody fic! I love the politics, the history and the world building you added (that really make it yours!), the closed, secretive feeling of the conversations and plotting, the insights into the Auror's world as well as that of the Order, and like others have said, of course, the relationship between the two.

I love how this feels so real, the detail and the realistic conversations make them all into fully three dimensional human beings and your very natural dialogue is a beautiful thing that I not only want to squee madly over but also brings its own feeling of being involved in their world -- it's like genuinely listening in on their conversations! I really love that.

There's so much here that I could never come up with myself in a million years, not being a world-builder or one who is inclined to think things through in this amazing level of detail, so THANK YOU so much for creating it for me. You are an absolute star, mystery author! And I apologise once more that you had to wait so long for this comment, I'm kicking myself at not realising sooner :(

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kelly_chambliss
2014-05-11 07:06 pm UTC (link)

What a wonderful, sprawling, canon-compliant epic of a fic! I love stories about Ministry politics, and you've done a fine job of showing exactly how the Ministry might have responded to the existence of a group like the Order. I'm impressed by all the world-building you've down, how full and real all the characters are. Plus, so many great background historical details, like the "Squib Marches" of 1967. Everything fits into canon so well, but is more dense and interesting; I felt as if I were reading a real history.

And what a poignant, bittersweet, believable relationship you've given Alastor and Rufus (and poor Robards).

Such a satisfying read; thank you.

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	alisanne 2014-05-11 10:09 pm UTC (link)
	What a incredible, epic tale you wove here, MA! The world building, the details about the Ministry and the WW you included, and the interpersonal relationships all read very true for that world and more than canon compliant, TBH. Very impressive. I especially enjoyed the way you conveyed Moody's guilt and the way it overlapped with Albus'. I enjoyed this a lot. :) Great job! (Reply to this)

magnetic_pole
2014-05-12 02:49 am UTC (link)

What an epic fic, both in terms of length and scope!

I'm entirely with Kelly and Alisanne on the world-building, which is really remarkable, but I also want to mention two things that struck me as I read: 1) this fic really thinks through the relationship between the Aurors and the Order, which of *course* were often at odds with their completely different values and goals. Canon gives us hints of tension, but this fic goes much further, showing us that there are things that can be addressed legally, by the book, and things that can't. I really appreciated that complexity--it's not just corruption or obstructionism that should make us suspicious of the Ministry, but the real limits to what can be done by a bureaucracy. (And conversely, I appreciated the acknowledgement that the Order is a vigilante organization, which is problematic in its own ways.) 2) A fic that takes Moody's incarceration in his trunk seriously! Why are there so few like this? It's one of those odd chapters in canon that's really horrifying, once you start to think about it at any length.

Enjoyed! M.

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Moody & Co

terri_testing
2014-05-13 08:50 pm UTC (link)

I really enjoyed this fic--as others have pointed out, you took seriousely the problems inherent in being both a member of the police and a member of a vigilante organization. When Moody's dual allegiance comes out, I liked that you gave all three parties very legitimate points and concerns.

And the way Mad-Eye, Gawain, and Rufus are all juggling their concerns for winning the war against their private feelings is well done.

A criticism, though; you & your beta aren't good at catching homonyms, and it really jerked me out of the story. "Too" interchanged with "to," making "due" instead of "do," a "fowl" instead of "foul" cage (a cage full of chickens?)--if you ever repost, which I hope you will, I hope you correct these.

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