InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "What the hell just happened?"

hdcup_mod (hdcup_mod) wrote in hd_worldcup,
@ 2008-04-03 07:15:00

Entry tags:

fic, prompt: judgment, r, round i, team fanon

What Could Have Been (And What Was) -- Team Fanon
Title: What Could Have Been (And What Was)
Team: Fanon
Author: amanuensis1
Prompt: Judgment
Wordcount: Just under 7,000 (MS Word says 6826 without the headers)
Rating: R
Warnings: Infidelity
Summary: Neither epilogue-compliant nor EWE; seven separate demonstrations that you can't stop the signal.
Author’s Note: The prompt for this story was the tarot card Judgment, whose meanings include rebirth, resurrection, changes and improvements, decisions that change the pattern of life for the better.

What Could Have Been (And What Was)

Poll #1306
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.

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	trubbleclef 2008-04-03 07:10 pm UTC (link)
	I've never read a story like that before and it was really neat! :D (Reply to this)

	lilithilien 2008-04-03 10:49 pm UTC (link)
	Really interesting unfolding of the story. I liked the external narrator "judging" each time, as if spinning a yarn and hoping it got more and more believable. (Reply to this)

	ineffabili_tea 2008-04-04 01:30 am UTC (link)
	I thought this was an intriguing idea and really well-accomplished, stylistically. I think the third iteration was my favorite, but they were all well done. (Reply to this)

	ships_harry 2008-04-05 10:52 pm UTC (link)
	Loved the structure, unfolding further and further back, and the use of some of the becoming-classic post-DH situations :). I enjoyed this a whole lot! (Reply to this)

Brilliant!

greenjuly
2008-04-06 05:40 am UTC (link)

Of the several stories that I've read so far, this is the one I've enjoyed most. I really enjoyed the non-traditional structure; it's the kind of format that's simple but difficult to truly pull off. I thought your approach was most effective here.

In Part I (It happens like this ...) I absolutely loved the awkward conversation between Harry, Draco and Astoria. That was one of my favourite parts of the text; there was something about it that really rang true. Also highly rated are the conversations between Ginny and Harry in Part II (—No. No, it doesn't happen that way. Like this:) and Part IV (Not quite. Go further back:). They seem like such realistic conversations for a married professional couple/new parents to have, and display really good characterizations of both Harry and Ginny.
I'm starting to think dialogue might be your greatest strength, because your conversations are nuanced, but not out of the everyday.

I really, really appreciate that you wrote Ginny as an actual character and an actual person, because too often in H/D fics she is just a caricature or tossed aside.

I had certain minor quibbles but overall, I loved this story! Will definitely be rereading it and if I ever write that bloody recs list I've been threatening to compile, I would certainly add this. Thank you for writing!

(Reply to this)

meredyth_13
2008-04-07 01:58 am UTC (link)

What a perfect, perfect deconstruction of canon. Paring back the possibilities and years until you reach one final, unblemished point where it all goes right.

This story was pristine - every single word worked, every single phrase felt exactly as it should. It was clean and pared down to the bare minimum, and yet profoundly moving.

This isn't hot, messy boy sex or dirty, guilty infidelity smut, it is stripped of all extraneous emotional baggage, but that doesn't in anyway detract from the depth of each tale.

I love the inevitability of it - how in each situation, from old and settled family man, through each of Harry's key life points, both known and proposed, we find him drawn to the same thought, the same resolution, the same unflinching attraction to Draco. This is the underpinning of all H/D fandom - that somewhere, somehow, no matter what else happens, they HAVE to end up together.

I am awed, impressed, and downright jealous of the crafting of this piece. Thank you.

(Reply to this)

	ariadneelda 2008-04-08 09:24 am UTC (link)
	Fantastic! Really beautiful writing and I loved the structure, with all the different what-could-have-beens going further and further back in the past to the what-was. Oh, that last scene, that last sentence, it really touched me. And little Teddy was adorable. g (Reply to this)

	lalaith_niniel 2008-04-09 07:16 am UTC (link)
	The form you choose to write this in was a true spark of brilliance on your part. I loved the little scenes and how they each told a story on their own, but as they progressed the likelihood of Harry and Draco working out longterm increased. (Reply to this)

	secretsolitaire 2008-04-10 12:06 pm UTC (link)
	Wonderfully inventive! I like how it all built to the last part. (Reply to this)

	pirateninjax.livejournal.com 2008-04-25 05:37 am UTC (link)
	I was getting soooo ticked that it wasn't getting right! Then I was like "oh yeah! fanon!" giggle The end was awesome. (Reply to this)