InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "break your own glass ceiling."

beholder_mod (beholder_mod) wrote in hp_beholder,
@ 2011-04-27 15:13:00

Entry tags:

beholder_2011, eileen prince snape, eileen/sybill, eileen/tobias, femslash, fic, het, sybill trelawney, tobias snape

FIC: "Triptych" for tarteaucitron
Recipient: tarteaucitron / girl_tarte
Author: Kelly Chambliss
Title: Triptych
Rating: R
Pairings: Eileen Prince/Tobias Snape; Eileen Prince/Sybill Trelawney
Word Count: 14,050
Warnings/Content Information (Highlight to View): *one episode of spousal abuse*
Summary: He hadn't married the girl for love, Tobias was the first to admit it.
Author's Notes: tarteaucitron, you said you like stories that "illuminate canon" and that "focus on buried emotions and resentments, frustrated ambitions, or awkward compromises" -- so out of your list of characters, I immediately thought of Eileen and Tobias; I suspect "resentment" and "frustration" pretty much define their lives. I tried to work in the "alternative p.o.v.s," too. I hope the result is something like you had in mind.

Thank you to my excellent beta-readers.

"Triptych"

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lookfar
2011-04-28 02:59 am UTC (link)

What a fantastic, atmospheric, poignant and well-imagined tale. I hung on every word of this. You kept each character in balance with the rest - not good guys vs. bad guys, but complete human beings struggling and blundering toward completion. Who knows? Maybe Eileen Prince Snape did find happiness with Sybill Trelawny, at least for some time. You gave Tobias Snape a tender beginning and made him a sympathetic character, even as he became an abusive drunk. Every scene is pitch-perfect, and I, of course, especially enjoyed it as the backstory to Severus, that bitter dried up vine of a man with such low expectations for happiness. The final scene is fabulous - ironic and sad.

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	On "Triptych" kelly_chambliss 2011-05-30 03:26 am UTC (link)
	Thank you for this lovely comment. I've found that when I let characters tell their own stories, even the abusive, hateful ones can make you see them in more nuanced ways. Tobias, for instance, had all sorts of interesting things to tell me when I gave him his head. And I think you're right -- there's no reason Eileen and Sybill couldn't have had some happy moments. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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