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Tweak says, "my remote is stuck in my freez"

snarrymod (snarrymod) wrote in snarry_games,
@ 2008-05-20 19:12:00

Entry tags:

entry, perverse_idyll, team phoenix

TEAM PHOENIX ENTRY: Perverse Idyll "When the Rose and the Fire Are One"
Title: When the Rose and the Fire Are One
Author: perverse_idyll
Team: Phoenix!
Genre(s): Alternate Universe *Hover/Click for Games Definition of Alternate Universe*
Prompt(s): Flesh Memory, Spilling Fire
Rating/Warnings/Kinks: *(HBP but not DH-compliant) Violence, rough sex, character death (not Snape or Harry)*
Word Count: 81,000+
Summary: Harry's haunted by guilt. Snape's warded by roses. Each must free the other in order to free himself.
A/N: First, thank you to the mods for creating the Games in the first place and for having the patience of saints. leela_cat did a phenomenal job with this in a ridiculously short time. Whatever coherence the fic has is due to her heroic efforts and hand-holding. Also thanks to Team Phoenix for putting up with my fumbling captaincy and for helping to make this an enjoyable ride. Lastly, many thanks to my beloved rinsbane for talking me through to the images I needed. I wish this were a better first offering, my dear.

*With gratitude to leela_cat and apologies to T. S. Eliot.

"When the Rose and the Fire Are One by Perverse Idyll"

Don't forget to review!

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Mod note: Due to the length of this story, we will not be posting another until tomorrow evening. Thank you!

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telwyrd
2008-05-22 02:22 am UTC (link)

Gut-wrenching. Utterly gut-wrenching. What a dark, twisted tale. Harry with his ghosts and his guilt was cruel and unforgiving. Snape – poor, poor Snape – suffered so much and so terribly again and again. Everything was bleak and grim. Yet it was also riveting, in a macabre way.

Now he’s shunted away - this is about Professor Snape, I take it? Trapped like a basilisk by the Ministry of Magic, for," her head jerked, and a dazzle of rainbow flamed her cheek, "the crime of unexpected heroism. Had the gall to pull their bleedin’ stones out of the fire still sporting Voldemort’s Mark, the stupid git."

Very well said! I loved Senior Class Warden Odile Lalique. She was a wonderful original character full of vim and vigor, contrasting nicely with the somber atmosphere of the story. It was good to see at least one person who actually cared about Snape in his solitary prison.

It was frustrating to read about Harry and Snape’s encounters. Harry was such a git, with his need to blame Snape for all that was wrong in his life. And poor Snape, having abuse after abuse heaped on him and compelled constantly to explain things to dunderhead!Harry. Yet he somehow maintained a semblance of sanity through it all, which attests to his strength of character.

"I'm not surprised that you can’t change it. But if you," Snape took a breath, "if you can’t, no one can. No one alive." The sun struggled through the overcast sky, and in a rush of pale gold and glimmered blue and the jewel-like clarity of broken edges the window suddenly sparkled. Snape scanned the walls with drugged-looking eyes. His next words were so soft that Harry felt it was more like lip-reading than actual sound: "So it’s up to me. I can’t do this for much longer."

The ending was exciting, heart-stopping, and mesmerizing. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails, wondering fearfully how it would all turn out. So much happened so quickly: Snape’s revelations, Harry’s loss of control, Spinner’s End in flames, no escape for Snape, almost-dead Snape, their entwined powers consuming the fire, the hawt aftermath, "Redde mihi sanguinibus," "Redde mihi peccatis tuas," Harry finally releasing Snape, and last, but not least, Snape’s "Then find me".

::whew!::

It was an intense, mind-blowing conclusion.

The Severus roses, the Warding, and the collar were all such novel concepts, very well-conceived.

Beautifully well-written! Outstanding story! Brava!

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perverse_idyll
2008-05-23 03:50 am UTC (link)

Oh, thank you! This is a comment to treasure! Strange though it sounds, I'm glad it was gut-wrenching. I wanted the emotions to be visceral, because really, this was in the nature of a purge. All the poison had to come out. I just can't see Harry forgiving or even trying to understand Snape without first indulging his hatred. If he genuinely had Snape at his mercy, I don't see him being compassionate. He has too many years of resentment stored up. Also, at the end of HBP, Harry's attitude toward Snape sounded more like a personal vendetta than anything else. I don't think it had much to do with justice; it had to do with blood. Of course, by the time DH rolled around, that personal hatred had fallen by the wayside.

*g* You liked Odile! Me too! Plus I wanted a Slytherin who would head-butt Harry every time he started in spouting nonsense about Slytherins.

My own view on Snape here is that he never does entirely trust Harry. He gives up information grudgingly, he holds back the truth - because it's his, damn it, and if Harry tries to force it out of him instead of doing Snape the courtesy of waiting until he's ready to bestow it, then in Snape's opinion he can just fuck right off. Even if the consequences mean the house burns down around them. Snape's a stubborn git.

I confess that I wanted a roller-coaster of an ending, so I pulled out the stops. I may have gone a bit overboard in the process. *coughs* But each scene had to top the next in intensity, so I kept upping the stakes on myself. Which meant Harry and Snape had to suffer.

Your generous and detailed response fills me with joy. I will clutch this comment to me whenever I backslide into loathing my fics and hiding from my muse. Thank you again for telling me how much you enjoyed the ride!

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