Progress Report 5/11
May. 11th, 2009 07:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
There are a lot of new ideas this time, so I’m dumping them here.
Providence- This will be finished on Thursday. I’m glad for the sake of having one of my WiPs off my hands, but I will miss this story.
Inter Vivos- This has five more parts to post, four for Chapter 30, “Snake,” and then an epilogue. The epilogue may actually do something to relieve the unremitting bleakness of this story in the last few chapters.
Viper- I’ll be posting the third chapter (of 8 or 9) tomorrow. And yes, I am now more disturbed by Harry than Draco; you were right,
star_faerie.
Their Phoenix- I keep working away at this every evening, usually writing between 1000 and 2000 words on it. Still no way of telling how long it’ll be. I should be more disturbed by this than I am, but working on this story is fun.
“Penance Is the Play”: Draco is a good Auror, but every partner he works with gives up on him in despair because he’s so annoying. In desperation, Kingsley asks Harry to take him on. Harry, grumbling, does, and is astonished to find that Draco is perfectly charming. Was he playing at being annoying before? Or is his new behavior the game? And what in the world could he have to gain from it? (Probably you suspect what he has to gain from it. But Harry is focused on work in this story and not on Draco).
“Another Country”: Harry is brain-damaged by a Dark curse, which leaves him out of step with the world: seeing auras that no one else can, seeing futures that don’t happen, and having trouble with English words for common items even though he can speak Latin with increased fluency. Draco, who’s long been resentful of Harry’s “perfect” life, feels some pity for him now that he’ll never be normal again. And Draco, in this story (shut up, it’s my fic and I can do this) speaks perfect Latin, because his parents thought it would give him a head start on spells to learn Latin as one of his native languages. He’s the one who starts taking over Harry’s rehabilitation and introducing him to a new future, rather than trying to make him return to “normal,” as the Healers think he should.
“And A Little Love Before the Night”: The case is water-tight. The evidence all checks out. And to make matters sure, the criminal has confessed. Harry Potter is sentenced to the Dementor’s Kiss for the insanely brutal murders of three young men, who enraged him by refusing to become his lovers. But Draco is convinced, out of nothing more than sheer intuition, that Harry didn’t commit the crime. Instead, he’s protecting someone who should be dying for the murders instead. And Draco’s determined to find out who. This would be a colder fic than most of mine, almost noir in sensibility, since Harry is not pleased that Draco is investigating and Draco is a detached bastard who regards the world with cynical amusement.
Running to Paradise: A novel-length story about Harry and Draco slowly becoming partners through Auror training. I’ve seen many fics where they already are partners, but not many about how they got there. The process of learning is one that I often skip over in my own stories, for that matter. Well, RtP would be entirely focused on it. The title comes from the Yeats poem of the same name.
“Justifiable Homicide”: A crackfic, in which Draco is accused of killing Rita Skeeter by swallowing her in his bird Animagus form while she was a beetle. Draco insists on handling his own defense. Oh, dear.
“Company Manners”: Draco hasn’t seen Harry in several years due to being out of England, and then meets him at a Ministry party. To his shock, he finds that Harry has been groomed to become the public face of the new Ministry; it’s too dangerous for Harry to be a field Auror due to people eager to claim the credit for killing the Boy-Who-Lived, but he recruits new Aurors and tries to heal rifts between the various segments of wizarding society, since he’s the one person no one would dream of leaving off a guest list. Draco is deeply drawn to the new person Harry is in public: poised, confident, polite. Meanwhile, Harry thinks of that as just a façade he wears for reasons of politics, and of his real self as the one who attended Hogwarts and plays Quidditch and hangs out with Ron and Hermione. When he becomes aware of Draco’s interest, he regards any relationship between them as doomed, because Draco doesn’t know and wouldn’t like his real self. So the story is a comedy of manners, and takes up a different viewpoint than I usually use on matters of publicity and courtesy: that they have their place, and the person you are in company can be as real as the person you are in private.
“Where Dwell the Pure of Heart”: Harry works for a Ministry he’s increasingly tired of serving, since there’s bribery and corruption everywhere. And then he discovers that Draco’s been mistreated for years by the Aurors assigned to monitor him, and basically explodes. This is a simple story where Harry gets to be very, very Gryffindor and Draco gets to be pampered. Hey, I deserve to write a simple story once in a while.
“Anarchy as Art”: Draco is an accomplished thief who also teaches Dark magic to those who pay enough and sells illegal potions on the side. Harry is the best Auror in the Department, who keeps capturing all the Dark wizards Draco is setting up—but he hasn’t yet managed to catch Draco himself. Then his boss puts him exclusively on the case, and it becomes a cat-and-mouse game. With sexual attraction, of course.
Providence- This will be finished on Thursday. I’m glad for the sake of having one of my WiPs off my hands, but I will miss this story.
Inter Vivos- This has five more parts to post, four for Chapter 30, “Snake,” and then an epilogue. The epilogue may actually do something to relieve the unremitting bleakness of this story in the last few chapters.
Viper- I’ll be posting the third chapter (of 8 or 9) tomorrow. And yes, I am now more disturbed by Harry than Draco; you were right,
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Their Phoenix- I keep working away at this every evening, usually writing between 1000 and 2000 words on it. Still no way of telling how long it’ll be. I should be more disturbed by this than I am, but working on this story is fun.
“Penance Is the Play”: Draco is a good Auror, but every partner he works with gives up on him in despair because he’s so annoying. In desperation, Kingsley asks Harry to take him on. Harry, grumbling, does, and is astonished to find that Draco is perfectly charming. Was he playing at being annoying before? Or is his new behavior the game? And what in the world could he have to gain from it? (Probably you suspect what he has to gain from it. But Harry is focused on work in this story and not on Draco).
“Another Country”: Harry is brain-damaged by a Dark curse, which leaves him out of step with the world: seeing auras that no one else can, seeing futures that don’t happen, and having trouble with English words for common items even though he can speak Latin with increased fluency. Draco, who’s long been resentful of Harry’s “perfect” life, feels some pity for him now that he’ll never be normal again. And Draco, in this story (shut up, it’s my fic and I can do this) speaks perfect Latin, because his parents thought it would give him a head start on spells to learn Latin as one of his native languages. He’s the one who starts taking over Harry’s rehabilitation and introducing him to a new future, rather than trying to make him return to “normal,” as the Healers think he should.
“And A Little Love Before the Night”: The case is water-tight. The evidence all checks out. And to make matters sure, the criminal has confessed. Harry Potter is sentenced to the Dementor’s Kiss for the insanely brutal murders of three young men, who enraged him by refusing to become his lovers. But Draco is convinced, out of nothing more than sheer intuition, that Harry didn’t commit the crime. Instead, he’s protecting someone who should be dying for the murders instead. And Draco’s determined to find out who. This would be a colder fic than most of mine, almost noir in sensibility, since Harry is not pleased that Draco is investigating and Draco is a detached bastard who regards the world with cynical amusement.
Running to Paradise: A novel-length story about Harry and Draco slowly becoming partners through Auror training. I’ve seen many fics where they already are partners, but not many about how they got there. The process of learning is one that I often skip over in my own stories, for that matter. Well, RtP would be entirely focused on it. The title comes from the Yeats poem of the same name.
“Justifiable Homicide”: A crackfic, in which Draco is accused of killing Rita Skeeter by swallowing her in his bird Animagus form while she was a beetle. Draco insists on handling his own defense. Oh, dear.
“Company Manners”: Draco hasn’t seen Harry in several years due to being out of England, and then meets him at a Ministry party. To his shock, he finds that Harry has been groomed to become the public face of the new Ministry; it’s too dangerous for Harry to be a field Auror due to people eager to claim the credit for killing the Boy-Who-Lived, but he recruits new Aurors and tries to heal rifts between the various segments of wizarding society, since he’s the one person no one would dream of leaving off a guest list. Draco is deeply drawn to the new person Harry is in public: poised, confident, polite. Meanwhile, Harry thinks of that as just a façade he wears for reasons of politics, and of his real self as the one who attended Hogwarts and plays Quidditch and hangs out with Ron and Hermione. When he becomes aware of Draco’s interest, he regards any relationship between them as doomed, because Draco doesn’t know and wouldn’t like his real self. So the story is a comedy of manners, and takes up a different viewpoint than I usually use on matters of publicity and courtesy: that they have their place, and the person you are in company can be as real as the person you are in private.
“Where Dwell the Pure of Heart”: Harry works for a Ministry he’s increasingly tired of serving, since there’s bribery and corruption everywhere. And then he discovers that Draco’s been mistreated for years by the Aurors assigned to monitor him, and basically explodes. This is a simple story where Harry gets to be very, very Gryffindor and Draco gets to be pampered. Hey, I deserve to write a simple story once in a while.
“Anarchy as Art”: Draco is an accomplished thief who also teaches Dark magic to those who pay enough and sells illegal potions on the side. Harry is the best Auror in the Department, who keeps capturing all the Dark wizards Draco is setting up—but he hasn’t yet managed to catch Draco himself. Then his boss puts him exclusively on the case, and it becomes a cat-and-mouse game. With sexual attraction, of course.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 12:02 am (UTC)I do like all of your ideas, though, even if you do keep swallowing my free time word by delicious word ...
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 01:03 am (UTC)Where Dwell the Pure of Heart would serve as a brief vacation from the angstier stories.
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Date: 2009-05-12 12:14 am (UTC)These others are interesting, especially Another Country. I look forward to whatever you decide to start next!
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Date: 2009-05-12 01:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 12:29 am (UTC)Plus of course it's a setting rather than a plot so really what I'm saying has no merit. Never mind.
A good spread, as usual, and the ideas I've seen before suggest a new (and better) take on them. Huzzah.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 01:04 am (UTC)Running to Paradise would probably be three largely independent sections of about 30,000-35,000 words each, one for each year of Auror training. That would give me the scope I want while also allowing me to trace my way from story to story.
And thank you!
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 12:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 01:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 01:15 am (UTC)and I already read some of yours so I am really looking forward to it!
No pressure!
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Date: 2009-05-12 01:25 am (UTC)Not sure when it will be written, unfortunately.
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Date: 2009-05-12 01:24 am (UTC)“Penance Is the Play”,“Anarchy as Art” seem lively, captivating and fun!
“Another Country” I'm sure I'm going to love.
Your take on what to do with Harry's plight and Draco'usefulness seems refreshing. Besides, it makes sense his aristocratic parents would make him learn latin. Excactly like Montaigne! (whose first language was latin. His parents even ordered the servants to talk latin to him the best they could)
“Where Dwell the Pure of Heart”, Aaaw! yes. I so enjoy hurt/comfort stories, especially when we get to dwell on the sweet comfort + I love my Harry righteous and indignant!
Finally, you have me intrigued by your noir novel. Seems mysterious. I hope against the odds and the genre that it ends relatively well.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 01:26 am (UTC)Those first two I'll write when I'm the mood for something fun, definitely.
I'm always looking for unusual things for Draco to do, and in this case I already did a story with Draco as a Mind-Healer, so...
"And a Little Love Before the Night" will probably be several chapters, rather than a full-length novel.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 01:24 am (UTC)Ooh, Draco in that story will get so annoyed with Harry.
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Date: 2009-05-12 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 01:24 am (UTC)And don't worry about it. I do tend to assume a lot more people are lurking than are commenting.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 04:02 am (UTC)“Where Dwell the Pure of Heart” I'd love, never get tired of a Harry saves Draco story...
Good luck with your current fics, been following "Providence" which is great fun. Glad to see it finishing, I was getting worried about those two. There was so much love and care, but the calculating/judging was getting a bit much in the later chapters.
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Date: 2009-05-13 01:25 am (UTC)In this case, I think Draco will always calculate and judge. I was trying to show how it could balance with the love and caring.
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Date: 2009-05-12 04:06 am (UTC)Definitely looking forward to RtP, though, it's one of those stories that it takes them forever to get together, right? I LOVE those kinds of stories...
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Date: 2009-05-13 01:26 am (UTC)And yes, they wouldn't be together until the very end of RtP.
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Date: 2009-05-12 07:53 am (UTC)And I will catch up on Inter Vivos!
Yay! Viper tomorrow! *dances*
And I'm already hooked on Their Phoenix, I think its fun too... I just hope it stays fun for you to write, so updates will be regular ^^ (And you do such a F**king impressive job going that already
The Ideas are SQUE!
Penance Is the Play sounds like a fic I'd enjoy :D
And Another Country sounds sooo awesome!!! And yes, Draco can speak fluent Latin! hmpf!
Squeee... And A Little Love Before the Night seem like the bomb! I can't wait to read "Draco is a detached bastard who regards the world with cynical amusement." *FLAILS* sounds almost too awesome!
I so love the learning- and getting-to-know-one-another processes, so it'd be exquisite to read Running to Paradise!
And the mere description of your crack-fic made me laugh! XD
...and I just know Company Manners is going to be such an interesting read!!!
- Yay! You certainly deserve a simple story! Where Dwell the Pure of Heart sounds like a huge bar of sweet, bitter, expensive chocolate you want to devour!
Anarchy as Art sounds like waaaay too much fun. I got abstinences for it, just by reading: it becomes a cat-and-mouse game. With sexual attraction, of course. XD
You are so AWESOME! *hugs you*
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 01:27 am (UTC)'And a Little Love Before the Night' may yet be as dark as Forgive Those Who Trespass. We'll see.
I'll probably start Company Manners or Anarchy as Art when I need a really fun story to distract me from overwhelming angst.
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Date: 2009-05-13 06:17 am (UTC)Oh, FTWT is one of the few stories of yours I've yet to read ^^
Hahaha, sounds like a good idea :D
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Date: 2009-05-12 01:59 pm (UTC)Both Company Manners and A Little Kiss Before the Night, sound great! But I'm sure whatever you tackle next with be wonderful! :)
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Date: 2009-05-13 01:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-12 05:25 pm (UTC)“Justifiable Homicide” and its description already have me smiling and I look forward to reading that one.
I look forward to seeing how you end Providence and Inter Vivos. (Sorry the vampire one was a bit to dark for me and I don't do 3s, love Snape as a father figure but the daddy issue give me personally the heebby geebbies).
no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 01:28 am (UTC)Perfectly understandable! I still read many more pairing than threesome fics.
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Date: 2009-05-12 08:32 pm (UTC)Loved all your ideas, though I am wondering where you will find the time to write them. Not that I'm complaining mind you, I'm just not envious of the potential workload! I'm sad that Providence is drawing to a close, but as they say all good things must draw to a close.
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Date: 2009-05-13 01:29 am (UTC)I'm really trying not to take on more than I can handle. I write chapters that are about 4000 words long first every day, and not more than that on the main story. Then I do some words on Their Phoenix. I'm not going to try to do two and a half chapters of something every day, or anything like that.
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Date: 2009-05-13 02:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-14 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-13 08:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-14 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-21 03:58 am (UTC)Er. Anyway. I wanted to cast my vote for "Company Manners". You write a heartwrenching Harry-who-is-convinced-he's-unloveable -- I particularly adored him in "Bloody But Unbowed" -- and I also enjoy your various takes on wizarding politics and social traditions. And it would be interesting to see what you make of a Harry who has, at least on the surface, given in to doing something he hates... Namely, playing the part of the Ministry's man.
I don't know if this would be relevant to "Company Manners", but bear with me. I'd love to see you go more in-depth with the effect the Dursleys have had on Harry as an adult. In "Inter Vivos" (bless its holy name), Harry was still living with them, was young enough to be rescued. What would someone (Draco...?) make of the Dursleys' horribleness when it's too late for him to try to go charging in to save the day? If Harry's grown up and living on his own, he's probably done his best to forget about them and he doesn't want revenge or even think he's still affected. Enter Draco (if you like), who has to pry the real story bit by bit from Harry as the two of them become close. How to explain to this adult Harry that he's more hurt by them than he knows? How to get revenge -- or how to care more about Harry presently than about hurting the people who hurt him?
... And off I go. Sorry if it's terribly presumptuous to feed you my own plot bunnies; clearly you know what you're doing. I just think that particular idea is something you'd manage very deftly.
Thanks, again, for writing. I think your style is the very pinnacle of marvelousness. =D
~ AQZZ
no subject
Date: 2009-05-24 01:54 am (UTC)I'll consider what you say for "Company Manners," because I also like that kind of plot. However, Draco did have that kind of attitude toward Harry in "For Their Unconquerable Souls," the companion story to "Bloody But Unbowed." I wouldn't want to repeat myself too closely.
And thank you very much for all your reviews.
no subject
Date: 2009-10-17 08:58 am (UTC)