InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Exercise."

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: If you rec this story, please link to this POST, not the story itself, or the author/team will not get their proper vote tally or feedback. Thank you.

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

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hogwartshoney
2008-05-22 07:16 pm UTC (link)

I don't know what to say, but I can't not say something about this fic. It was hugely descriptive, but not in an overdone way, I thought. I felt as though you wanted us to actually see the places, almost to feel the roses and their thorns and to actually experience the story at an almost visceral level. Ron <--- that gutted me. Gutted. I liked the complexity of the Arithmantic equations and the concept of rationalizing love and hate, and of course, enjoyed how over the moon Hermione would get over working it all out. Severus was bitter and damaged and scornful and angry and all the things that a good Potions Master should be, and I liked that Harry didn't pussy-foot around him either. The descriptions of Harry's ghosts were very well done, I thought, and I particularly liked that he couldn't stand to be touched because that's such an essential part of human relations, and to have even that taken away from him by the curse/ghosts... *shivers*

When Severus cast those spells, mid-coitus, I knew he'd done something huge, and damn, if you didn't just rip out my heart with it. I managed not to cry, but only juuuuuuust. Long fic, but worth it. SO worth it!

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perverse_idyll
2008-05-23 08:22 am UTC (link)

Oh, this is a wonderful comment. You touch on so many of the things I wanted to convey, and you're absolutely right about my desire to make this as visceral as possible. You don't know what a relief it is to hear that the descriptions aren't overdone, because of course that's the danger run by this kind of writing. But I wanted to keep the emotional pitch high. And Ron! Very few people have mentioned Ron, but his death really is the final blow to Harry's childhood. The Trio is no more. But when the household dissolves and people start moving on, that's when it becomes possible for Harry to turn to Snape - partly because Snape can't leave him.

And yeah, if I'd had a little more time, I would have focused more on Snape's sacrifice. Because that's the turning point. It's an extraordinary thing for him to do, and I'm not sure I did it justice. That is, I don't think I conveyed exactly what it means for him.

In any case, thank you so much for reading this gigantic fic. You've reassured me that I've succeeded in some of the things I set out to do. What a lovely and heartfelt comment.

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hogwartshoney
2008-05-24 12:48 am UTC (link)

And yeah, if I'd had a little more time, I would have focused more on Snape's sacrifice. Because that's the turning point. It's an extraordinary thing for him to do, and I'm not sure I did it justice. That is, I don't think I conveyed exactly what it means for him.

Well, y'know, I think I'd have to agree with you a little bit. On one hand, it's left up to the reader to assume what it means, but I think that if we were able to climb into Severus' mindset and truly *understand* his reasons and motivations, it might make it an even bigger impact than it was.

Hell, you could always tweak it, and I'd love to get some more of that visceral understanding from Severus. What's another 2 or 3K in a fic that size, anyway!
;)

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