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Tweak says, "too much booty in the pants!"

snapelyhols_mod (snapelyhols_mod) wrote in snapelyholidays,
@ 2010-12-11 00:24:00

Entry tags:

2010_fic, fic4:chaos_rose, ust, voyeurism, wanking

Gift fic for chaos_rose, Right Nor Wrong, adult
Recipient: chaos_rose

Author: kelly_chambliss

Title: Right nor Wrong

Characters: Severus Snape, Argus Filch, Minerva McGonagall, Dolores Umbridge, Mrs Norris

Rating: Adult

Content Info: *Voyeurism, masturbation*

Summary: In Greek mythology, Argus the guardian of Io is sometimes said to have a hundred eyes. In the wizarding world, Argus the caretaker of Hogwarts has only two eyes, but he sees a great deal all the same.

Disclaimer: The world of HP and its characters belongs to Rowling.

Word count: ~11,800

Author Notes: Such a great prompt, chaos_rose. I was sorely tempted by the notion of Severus and Minerva as Holmes and Watson, but that was before Argus shoved his oar in and demanded to be part of it all. I thought about transfiguring him into Mrs Hudson, but he didn't like the idea. So here is the story he wanted told. If the kink level is too low, please blame him.

If this story is worth reading, it's because I have a BBE (best beta ever). Thank you! And thank you, mods.

( Right nor Wrong )

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Re: "Right Nor Wrong"

kelly_chambliss
2011-01-25 10:22 pm UTC (link)

*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.

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Re: "Right Nor Wrong"

perverse_idyll
2011-01-30 10:10 pm UTC (link)

*growl* Let me try again. My browser crashed last night, wiping out my nearly-finished response, and then just this minute I had to force-quit because I got caught in a nasty advertising-page loop. While browsing for images of dwarf juneberries, no less. Thus losing my second attempt.

Anyway, thank you for the lovely flattery! The irony being, of course, that I've meant to leave comments on several of your stories for ages (and I haven't yet relinquished those intentions, by God!). I love giving writers a bit of the pleasure they give me, and I also delight in rhapsodizing over the art of prose. Fan fiction provides me with an outlet to do both. That I finally managed to sit down and spell out the praise you deserve is entirely due to my belated determination to get back in the feedback saddle and let all RL distractions go hang, combined with the shedding of my inhibitions about breaking comment boxes with my enthusiasm. I don't want to embarrass people by blithering at them, but it's so much part of the fun!

Argus really is an outsider who gets no respect, isn't he? Kid's-book logic. He's meant to be comic relief, a fact emphasized by having the Wise Old Mentor bond with the students by treating him as a joke. I've always thought one of the curious things about Dumbledore (pardon the tangent) is that, despite his apparent lifelong habit of standing apart, he doesn't give the impression of ever really having been an outsider, or of understanding what it's like to be one, except perhaps in the sense that he once felt superior to those less intellectual or magically confident than he. But he has very little sympathy for oddballs or marginal characters. I suppose that's unfair to Hagrid, Lupin, and Flitwick, none of whom entirely belong in wizarding society, all of whom Dumbledore sponsors, to a certain extent. (Another tangent: the Slytherin position is interesting – are they insiders or outsiders? A lot of readers assume that Lucius being on the Board of Governors and pureblood prejudice being associated with 'old' families inside the books and with fascism outside, means that Slytherins are powerful in wizarding society. At Hogwarts, however, they appear isolated, distrusted, and looked down upon. Because of Voldemort, of course.)

I'm also curious as to what exactly Filch's role is. Couldn't magic clean most things far more quickly and easily? Haven't house elves evolved to take care of maintenance? And given that Dumbledore basically winks at the kids to let them know they can safely ignore Filch, he's rendered a toothless threat. I suppose it could be seen as an instance of headmasterly charity, because at least Filch has a job, one that allows a Squib to rub shoulders with wizards. But the closer I look, the more superfluous his character becomes. He's a powerless, laughable bogeyman, empty of authority.

Which is why it's so satisfying when someone of your caliber gives him a voice and a reason and peculiarities and dignity; makes him as tangible as a piece of whittled wood, all whorled and gnarled and earthy. Then there's his unexplained affinity for Severus: it makes sense to me that Argus would, somehow, recognize him. Relate to him. And be unable to bridge the gap. Merlin only knows what Severus would have made of his desire if he had managed to stutter it out.

All right, this comment has straggled on for days, and just as I suspected the weekend needed to arrive before I could finish it. I won't say this is the best story you've written, because you've produced a handful of 'bests' that I can arrange side by side without contradiction. I have endless admiration for your versatility, your language, your wit (I'm always envious of wit), and I'm so glad you took the plunge and branched out to a new character.

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