Re: "Right Nor Wrong"
*beams* You couldn't have known this, of course, but one of my fandom wishes has been to write a story that Perverse Idyll would want to comment on. Not only do you provide exceptionally thoughtful, thorough, and incisive remarks, but the stories you choose to review are among those I consider the best HP fandom has to offer. So to receive one of your wonderful pieces of feedback was a validation for me.
And as always, you've pinpointed what I consider the core elements of these characters: Argus's 'otherness,' his isolation, his relegation to the laughed-at fringes (a position reinforced by Dumbledore at every start-of-year feast, when he contrives to let every student know that the headmaster, at least, finds Argus's list of rules and regulations to be little more than a joke).
And yet Argus is very much a "caretaker," in all sorts of possible senses (I know Mrs Norris is supposed to be his nasty alter-ego familiar, but his attitude toward her in canon always made me feel protective toward Filch and suspect him of unacknowledged depths). I've been wanting to explore his psyche and backstory for a while now, and chaos_rose's excellent prompt seemed like the perfect opportunity. I'm just so pleased that you (and other reviewers) have found this version of him convincing.
Thrups? What a word.
Isn't it? /g/ I read it years ago in a British detective novel, the title of which I no longer remember. It was in the mouth of a colorfully-spoken working-class character, and I've kept in in the back of my mind, hoping for an opportunity to use it. Argus seemed perfect.
I thank you, too, for pointing out the lines you liked and explaining how you think they work. This is tremendously helpful to me as a writer, in that it gives me a sort of running reader-response commentary. I may know what effect I hope a given line will have, but it's hard to know if it actually does, unless someone is kind enough to explain.
I know how long it takes to craft a response like the one you've given me, and I'm glad finally to have the chance to tell you how much I appreciate it and what a thrill it was to receive your comments.