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hdcup_mod (hdcup_mod) wrote in hd_worldcup,
@ 2008-04-01 07:20:00

Entry tags:

fic, prompt: the fool, r, round i, team ewe

Catch Me If I Fall -- Team EWE
Title: Catch Me If I Fall
Team: Team EWE
Author: alisanne
Prompt: The Fool
Wordcount: 15800
Rating: R
Warnings: None.
Summary: As the world recovers from war, Draco faces an uncertain future. Unusual advice sets him on a new path, but only time will tell if he can avoid the pitfalls.
Author's Note Everlasting thanks to the members of Team EWE and to my beta readers who shall remain nameless for the moment in the interests of anonymity. Special thanks to S, without whose unfailing cheerleading and support this story would probably not have been possible, and to the moderators of this fest for hosting such a fun event.

Catch Me If I Fall

Poll #1287
Open to: All, results viewable to: None

Is the author/artist true to their team? Yes/No vote ("yes" is worth 2 points, "no" is worth 0)

How well did the author/artist use their Prompt? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)

How much did you like this story/art overall? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)

For a description of teams, please see our FAQ.

(Post a new comment)

unbroken_halo
2008-04-01 02:54 pm UTC (link)

Not being a huge Drarry fan, I decided to check the stories out anyway just because they were based on the tarot. I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed this, anonymous author. Well done!

The pacing was smooth, the tone light and there was just the right bit of angst mixed it to give it a postwar feel where the characters are recovering from a big change in their lives.

The references to the sheep (love the puns btw) were hilarious and I adored the addition of Snape in all his snarky glory. Again, well done!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

alisanne
2008-05-23 10:38 am UTC (link)

Oh, hon, I was so thrilled when you took the time to read and comment on my fic, even though you don't generally read H/D. *smooches*
Angst is not my thing, as you know, so I am pleased that you feel it had enough angst to make it interesting. :)
*whispers* I can now admit that we all made a pact to include sheep in some form in our fics. ;) That was tremendous fun. Heh.
And yes, Snape apparently has to be in all my fics (pushy git). *g*

Thanks so much, darling! I'm just tickled that you enjoyed it! :*

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	ciraarana 2008-04-01 05:15 pm UTC (link)
	"All was well" indeed. I liked this ending much better than Rowling's. ^-^ Heh, that old tarot lady, bet she owns a shop that travels through the universe and turns up over night, has been established for years, changes the future significantly, and then disappears. Right? Love those ladies! And portrait!Severus, too. Cute story. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 10:41 am UTC (link)
	Hahahahaha! Either that or she was in disguise and is really a LORD with a Tardis who wanted to set Draco on the right path... g Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ships_harry 2008-04-01 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	I really enjoyed this! Loved the parallel to the 5th year Defence lessons with the wee Slytherin students. It seemed a bit of a quick jump to sex, but I definitely liked the building friendship and the back-at-school situation. Yay! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 10:49 am UTC (link)
	Hee! Yes, I will admit I really wanted to get to the smex. ;) I've heard that a lot, actually, and I can definitely see where I could have taken more time to get them together. I'll certainly pay more attention to that in future fics. I'm glad you enjoyed it, hon. Thanks! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	ineffabili_tea 2008-04-02 02:20 am UTC (link)
	The end bit was my favorite, as I have a big weakness for Draco as Headmaster. The growing connection between Harry and Draco was very convincingly built. Nice job! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 10:56 am UTC (link)
	Yay! I really enjoyed writing that bit, actually. I don't think I have ever seen Draco as Headmaster, so I decided it was time. g Thanks, so much! (Reply to this) (Parent)

tlp2107
2008-04-02 04:00 pm UTC (link)

i loved this! 8th!year!fics are so fun!

lucius was really great at the beginning, and i really enjoyed draco's characterization. severus' portrait was also wonderful, and i loved how they were both going to him for advice in the room of requirement!

the buildup between the boys was slow and sweet, and the scene in the forest was hot! great last section too. i adore happy endings!!!!!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

alisanne
2008-05-23 11:04 am UTC (link)

Eighth years fic ARE fun, I agree. *g* There is such potential since they are adults but without many responsibilities. :)

I like how Lucius turned out. He could have been a thorny character, but making him and Narcissa very concerned about and loving towards Draco made the most sense to me given canon.

Severus is (apparently) a constant in the back of my brain, and he insisted on a major role in the fic. Since I rarely argue with him, there he was. :)

I'm pleased you liked the buildup, some seem to think it was too fast and some just right, so perhaps I did get it right in the end.

I am also a happy endings person, so yay!

Thanks so much for the lovely comments!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	trubbleclef 2008-04-02 08:53 pm UTC (link)
	I thoroughly enjoyed this story and thought that the build to friendship, etc. was very believable. Well done! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 11:04 am UTC (link)
	Thanks so much! I appreciate your kind words. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	angelbabecj 2008-04-02 10:14 pm UTC (link)
	Great fic. Harry, Draco and Snape are my three favourite characters, so it was great to see them all in this fic. The scene in the forest was incredibly hot fans self and I really like how everyone's characters developed. Brilliant :D (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 11:06 am UTC (link)
	Thank you! I adore these three together as well, although I usually write them all alive when I do that... wg I'm pleased you enjoyed it, and thanks again for your kind comments! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	lalaith_niniel 2008-04-03 08:06 am UTC (link)
	This was so utterly fantastic! I love that Draco actually listened to the woman, taking his life into his own hands rather than waiting for someone else to clean things up. Adding portrait!Snape to the story made me love it even more, especially his concern for his Slytherins even after he was gone. Excellent job! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 11:08 am UTC (link)
	Thank you! I wasn't sure whether Draco was going to listen to her advice, but I figured he would be amenable to suggestion, especially since his life was such a shambles. And Snape is a perennial in my life, it seems. He was a lot of fun to write. I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks again, my dear! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	marguerite_26 2008-04-03 01:27 pm UTC (link)
	Snape's portrait was a nice touch and Harry and Draco's early friendship was very believable. Over all I like it. plus, up against the tree sex is always hot! ;) (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 11:10 am UTC (link)
	Hehehehehe. nods I was all about the tree!sex, too. ;) Thanks so much! I'm pleased that the relationship was believable. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	feastonmyheart 2008-04-06 02:49 pm UTC (link)
	Aw, I absolutely loved that ending! This was a really good fic. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 11:10 am UTC (link)
	Thanks so much! :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

greenjuly
2008-04-06 08:44 pm UTC (link)

Nice! I like eighthyear!fics, so you had me at “returning to Hogwarts”.

She may not have been in the story much, but I liked your Ginny a lot. If someone read all my comments of the HD_worldcup fics, they’d probably think (apart from observing that I am the queen of tl;dr) that I'm a big Ginny fan. I'm not particularly, but to me she seems one of the characters who suffers the most in fanfiction, and especially in H/D fanfiction. Anyway, I like the fact that she said "It's all the pressure, isn't it?", and that she was understanding of Harry's indecisiveness. In post-DH fic Harry is often portrayed as not quite knowing what to do now that he actually has a life; a viewpoint which is very reasonable and understandable. The "we'll always be friends" conversation was kind of sappy but pretty realistic, I liked it.

Hermione and Ron, too! They seem to disappear in a lot of H/D fics. I like the fact that they had a presence here, and the trio conversations were great (my fave part of the fic). I thought that they were well characterized here – Ron still casually prejudiced against Malfoy (but somewhat mellowed out) and Hermione as the more objective voice.

"Does he have to get in our carriage?" Weasley stage-whispered.

Ha ha! Good old Ron.

Some nice meta moments, too!
If nothing else it'll get me away from these bloody peacocks, Draco thought.

Madam Malkin’s II : (Electric Boogaloo) probably qualifies as a meta moment as well. The camaraderie between Malfoy and Harry was a bit more than I would have expected, realistically, but it was a fun scene.
I do think that the development of friendship between them was a bit rushed and a bit too “warm fuzzy” ... I would have built it up more subtly. All the discussion of “is this a friendship” seemed ... well, a bit girly. I must say that I don’t buy Harry’s immediate trust of Malfoy (or at least his willingness to cut him some slack); I can see Harry letting things go (to a certain extent) as water under the bridge, but I also would have thought that he’d retain more suspicion and distrust towards him. Canon-Harry wouldn’t say "He was as much a victim as we were”, IMO.

Still, I really enjoyed this overall. The only thing I really didn’t like was the first scene with the tarot reading, just cause it’s such a cliché (though I know you know this, and were playing off it – it just didn’t jive with me personally).

(Reply to this) (Thread)

alisanne
2008-05-23 11:58 am UTC (link)

*laughs*
I knew some would see the Tarot reading as cliché and really, it is, but it was the best way I could think of at the time to convey my Tarot card's meaning. Linking to a meaning in my summary never occurred to me I'm afraid. :) Thank you for giving the rest of the fic a chance after that!

I tried very hard to write a reasonable Ginny, so thank you. She really is one of his good friends (practically a sister. *g*) and I wanted to reflect that in this story. It's interesting, but I have received nothing but good comments regarding Ginny in this fic. Makes me think I need to be nicer to her in all my stories. :)

I love trio interactions and I have been working on them, so thank you for noticing!

The observation that their relationship may have developed a bit too smoothly has been a frequent one as well, actually. The "girly" comment is interesting, though. Was that just because boys typically don't talk or think about relationships?

Also, I suspect that Harry saw a lot of people traumatized in the war, and while I did write him as a more mature person here I do think he would have that viewpoint given all that he's seen and given time to absorb Snape's memories. I'd be interested to know if you thought Draco's POV was reasonable if Harry's wasn't.

Thanks SO MUCH for the detailed comments and especially for letting me know what didn't work for you. This is the sort of helpful feedback that I crave so I appreciate it more than you can possibly know!

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

greenjuly
2008-06-01 03:58 pm UTC (link)

Thanks so much for your lengthy reply! I'd meant to come back and reply earlier, oops.

I'm glad you weren't offended by my comment on the tarot scene!

The observation that their relationship may have developed a bit too smoothly has been a frequent one as well, actually. The "girly" comment is interesting, though. Was that just because boys typically don't talk or think about relationships?
Haha, yeah, way for me to fall back on gender stereotypes. Yes, I was referring to the fact that guys are generally less forthcoming and less willing to discuss feelings. (Gross generalization, but true, IMO). This especially applies to Harry/Draco because let's face it, Harry's not that much of a chatty bloke, especially in regard to personal things.

Also, I suspect that Harry saw a lot of people traumatized in the war, and while I did write him as a more mature person here I do think he would have that viewpoint given all that he's seen and given time to absorb Snape's memories. I'd be interested to know if you thought Draco's POV was reasonable if Harry's wasn't.
I respect your reasoning here. If and when I do a reread (sorry, I don't have the time right now), I'll comment on the Draco POV.

Thanks SO MUCH for the detailed comments and especially for letting me know what didn't work for you. This is the sort of helpful feedback that I crave so I appreciate it more than you can possibly know!
I'm glad I was able to be constructive for you! It's really nice of you to send a reply, I appreciated that. =)

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-06-01 06:07 pm UTC (link)
	If you do end up re reading I would be honored and I would definitely love to hear your thoughts on Draco and anything else you notice. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	melfinatheblue 2008-04-09 12:56 pm UTC (link)
	I liked the pacing, and the structure of the fic. I especially liked Draco helping the younger Slytherins, and Harry's growth as a person. Good job, mystery writer! (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-05-23 12:00 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you so much! I'm thrilled you enjoyed the story. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)

	galad222000 2008-06-08 04:19 am UTC (link)
	Enjoyed your story very much. So glad you presented one for the Cup. I adored your sheep references. Great job. CB (Reply to this) (Thread)

	alisanne 2008-06-08 07:54 pm UTC (link)
	Thanks so much! I had a great time working with the team (who are all wonderful) and I'm pleased you enjoyed the story. And yes, the sheep references made us all giggle, too. :) (Reply to this) (Parent)