angelgazing

Someone reviewed The Unfortunate Truth over at skyehawke.

They reviewed with: Harry pisses me off a bit but i liked it

So... So, now I've got a question--because these things bug me when I'm writing and I'm a freak of nature or something--and if you all could give me your thoughts it'd be fantastic.

Do I always make Harry unlikable or unaccessible? Because I'm pretty sure I do, but I don't know how to fix it. Granted, in The Unfortunate Truth he was supposed to piss you off a little bit, that's his role, when you're going at the story through Draco's eyes. Same with And We Are At Our Apogee, really, Harry is unaccessible because that's the only way Draco can see him, because you're looking at him through Draco.

So, is my problem maybe with Draco? And why can I not write from Harry's POV to save my life?

God, you all need to kick my arse out of this fandom.

He laughs for real then, still sharp, hard and bitter. "Of course you aren't." Potter's eyes are dark—not green in this place where fire has stolen all the colour—black as the windows are now, as the rumbling sky outside. The candle flames flicker maddeningly in the reflection on his skin. "You're just here for my protection and want to pretend like the entire time I've known you didn't happen."

There's a silver chain, thin as a hair and more fragile than glass, woven around Draco's knuckles. He doesn't clench his fist tighter, because that is his protection.

"Not," he says, raising his shoulder and letting it fall, "all of it." Draco leans forward like he's got a secret worth sharing and Potter's almost on the other side of everything, so Draco isn't actually getting any closer, but he feels like pretending. "You can remember Halloween if you like," he whispers like he hasn't already played all of his cards.

(It'll be Christmas in their new religion. It'll be the big holiday, the real celebration. Not His birth, but close enough, the day they'll take to celebrate His life. They already read His story that night, surrounded by a circle of candy wrappers.)

See? I need kicked out. Also, one day I will relearn to write without brackets. Really. I swear. ::sighs::

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hi there! Long time, no comment - forgive! :)

I just went & read the fic, just to see. I know the reviewer as well, and know where she's coming from. I think it's not your writing; don't worry about that. It's just that Harry seems so remote & a bit sanctimonious. I realize it's totally from Draco's POV, and that, sure, Harry must have loads of survivor guilt, etc. But he seems more able to let other people (like all those Hufflepuffs) get close to him than the one person who cares about him the most, and it's painfully frustrating to read, from Draco's POV. The review just means that you conveyed the emotions really well.

It's heartbreaking, really, and sadly realistic. You're a really gifted writer, and the very last thing I want to do is give you the boot from the fandom! :) I'm not going to ask you to write fluff; there's tons of that to be found. It's a lovely piece. It makes me ache with sadness, but that's just me.

Do you like Harry, as a character? It seems a bit like you don't, and if that's the case, perhaps it's why you find writing from his POV a challenge. Good luck. :)

Oh, yes, ::glares sternyl for lack of comments:: ::giggles::

Thank you! ::hugs:: It's good to know that, well, I was just doing my job, ma'am. ::grins:: I love knowing that I did it right and didn't just screw that all up. I understand that it's frustrating to read from Draco's POV, I really, really do. Hell, I went back and softened Harry a little, because the girl that read along as I wrote that one hated Harry in that story so much. And, yeah, frustrating and going through Draco and all, but the ending doesn't really work if you hate Harry. lol

As for Harry as a character... I don't dislike him. I dislike his reactions, sometimes, and his caps, but other than that... ::shrugs:: He's part of my OTP I can't not like him. lol

Agreed. :) He's a rage-filled little bugger, isn't he? :) That's half of why I love him, though. I'm glad they worked things out in the end. :)

I'm feeling dark 'n' angsty myself - the last chapter of my current WIP is a grim one, and it's hard to shake the mood. You know how it is, I'm sure. :)

He is, indeed rage-filled. lol I enjoy rage-filled, don't get me wrong, I just enjoy my rage-filled boys to do so quietly. With tense, ticking jaws and narrowed eyes and fists clenched tight with white knuckles... I like then ready to snap, and not doing it for some reason. ::shrugs:: I'm an odd girl, though. lol

And possibly, maybe, there's a little bit of a chance that Draco likes it when they fight too much in my head. lol He likes it when Harry's screaming at him, because at least then Harry is with him and he knows it.

Heh, I know the angst mood, I do. I'm pretty much unable to write fluff, especially in the HP fandom. So... ::shrugs:: Are you one of the people who goes through the emotions with your characters? Because, see, I've never done that. I've heard that makes me a good writer and I've heard that it makes me a bad one. ::shrugs::

I don't know if it's a value judgement, as a writer or otherwise. :) I live vicariously through Harry and Draco, that's why I generally make them happy. :) And fill their lives with sweet, sweet sex. :) But yeah, if things aren't going well, I bomb! It's horrible. *frets*

lol See, I live vicariously through my characters, I thought. Except that I'm all about the angst in fic. Something twisted in me likes to think it's prettier. ;) Also, I freak out when I write smut, because, as it turns out, I'm bad at it. lol

::gives you a cookie::

Oh oh oh *runs to send you an email*

::gives you a cookie::

Well blah I don't agree with the reviewer at all because I remember really liking Harry in The Unfortunate Truth and I think I even said so in my review of that fic, so there. I think I said that I like Harry in And we are at our apogee too so no, I don't think you make Harry inaccessible at all and I love your Harry. Don't stress about it. Besides the reviewer sounds like she doesn't like Harry period.

Bwah! Well, thank you, dear, though I think you may be one of the few. ;)

See, I'm not upset that she said it, don't get me wrong, I'm... surprisingly good about taking crit from strangers. I just stress about "OMG WHAT DID I DO WRONG DO NOT BE SO VAGUE THERE OMG" lol You've got to point to cases with me of why something doesn't work for you...

pssst. Happy Birthday?

I am? I wonder why. And yeah it was my birthday like 2 days ago. Thanks!

I can't say that I can complain about your Harry's and certainly not about your Draco's. I'm just happy you're writing H/D again. (Although not having the internet at my apartment is making keeping up difficult, ps - what IS that cookie and the earlier religious cookie thing from because *drool* I want to read it now. Omg. What's the update on that.] I do kind of see the aggrivation at Harry for hurting Draco like he does.. but that's just what he's got to do sometimes I suppose. It's his character. It's not a flaw in writing. It's humanity.

It hasn't been that long since I wrote H/D! lol The cookies are from Genuflect (This Fake Plastic Jesus) which will be up... soon..ish. Soonish. It's been betaed, I just need to make myself edit it and then do coding and stuffs. So. Soonish.

And thank you. ::grins:: I like being told it's not my fault. ;) But really, Harry hurting Draco in that fic was... I dunno. Everything in that was about trying to deal with Harry's issues and Draco trying to pretend he didn't have issues of his own. lol People hurt each other, when you're together for so long a time. Especially if you look at how they started. ::shrugs::

I know it hasn't been that long! But I am addicted to your H/D. ADDICTEDDDD. You are one of the few authors that I check up on every time I come to my parents house to use the computer. DAMN MY APARTMENT FOR NOT HAVING INTERNET. THEN. I burn your stuff to cd, take it home, and read it! I'm addicted. Seriously. I love you. Lets make love.

And man, that Genuflect fic is something I'm looking forward to, I really liked the cookies... quite the interesting interaction there. I just think I'm really liking the concept.. even though I'm not entirely sure of it.

And EXACTLY. Harry. Draco. Hurt. Heal. Hurt a lot. Stress. It just goes together. And like I said, that's humanity. No relationship is without it's faults and bumps, especially one with as much baggage as that one. That's what I love about H/D. Unless it's really wrong. It's not easy.

Heh Alright. That's... nifty. ::grins::

Heh, I'm supposed to be doing a marathon writing for a ficathon piece that's due to my beta Wednesday. I haven't started it yet, so I'm doomed and stuff. But once I get that done I'll do the editing on Genuflect and get it posted. It's... not what I expected it to be, but most things aren't. lol

See, see, fluffy H/D is great, I mean, I like to read it. But I can never write it, because there's always something just underneath that where these two people sort of hate each other. They can't not, they've done it for years and you don't just stop doing that. Even if, though, even if they didn't then there's still the fact that no one will ever find a person that doesn't drive them crazy. Everyone has their things that make you want to stuff them in boxes until they agree to Knock It Off. lol

hmmm

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