hmmm

[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::

Comments

[silentauror.livejournal.com]

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. :)

[miss-charmed.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh *runs to send you an email*

[affectations.livejournal.com]

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.

[asylumangel.livejournal.com]

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.