Strange this piece did not garner much comment when it was first posted. Seems like the sort of story that is so thought provoking that it actually begs comment. I wonder if some of your readers were just taking a long while to process it?
For myself, I can tell you that I avoided reading it for several days because the prompt did not appeal to me. I usually don't care for Dark!Sirius fic, since I rarely see a depiction of Dark!Sirius that does not seem terribly exaggerated to me, Sirius so dark he's an absolute, hateful prick that no one ought to be able to stand. I do have some pro-Sirius bias, I admit freely, but I also don't think canon supports this view of an monochromatically BLACK Black.
Your treatment, however, was plausible and fascinating to me. There is a very strong feeling of a whole group of young people under terrible pressure and Sirius' 'darkness' was restrained and rather subtle. It seems to be an outgrowth of his private internal struggles with himself and with what his world is turning into. The same for Remus, who is also, or so it seems to me, afraid to want, to love, to be vulnerable in this disjointed time.
I especially liked the depiction of wartime and the difficulty of dealing with stark horror side by side with the normal, mundane events of daily life. They all seem to be locked in a waking nightmare, and this is beautifully echoed in Remus' actual nightmares. I love the way all of them keep trying to foster the illusion of normalcy through little parties, little drunks, little jokes, little petty cruelties. Very well observed, and I came away from this fic with a strong admiration for the brute courage of these people (even Dark!Sirius ^_^)in the way they are determined to keep on living their lives, no matter what.
Finally, I too was especially impressed by the admirable restraint and control with which you described rather extreme emotional states. Extremely dramatic events can so easily make for melodrama in fiction, but your prose and presentation remains strong and affecting, without ever crossing the line into overwrought.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-10-02 03:06 pm (UTC)For myself, I can tell you that I avoided reading it for several days because the prompt did not appeal to me. I usually don't care for Dark!Sirius fic, since I rarely see a depiction of Dark!Sirius that does not seem terribly exaggerated to me, Sirius so dark he's an absolute, hateful prick that no one ought to be able to stand. I do have some pro-Sirius bias, I admit freely, but I also don't think canon supports this view of an monochromatically BLACK Black.
Your treatment, however, was plausible and fascinating to me. There is a very strong feeling of a whole group of young people under terrible pressure and Sirius' 'darkness' was restrained and rather subtle. It seems to be an outgrowth of his private internal struggles with himself and with what his world is turning into. The same for Remus, who is also, or so it seems to me, afraid to want, to love, to be vulnerable in this disjointed time.
I especially liked the depiction of wartime and the difficulty of dealing with stark horror side by side with the normal, mundane events of daily life. They all seem to be locked in a waking nightmare, and this is beautifully echoed in Remus' actual nightmares. I love the way all of them keep trying to foster the illusion of normalcy through little parties, little drunks, little jokes, little petty cruelties. Very well observed, and I came away from this fic with a strong admiration for the brute courage of these people (even Dark!Sirius ^_^)in the way they are determined to keep on living their lives, no matter what.
Finally, I too was especially impressed by the admirable restraint and control with which you described rather extreme emotional states. Extremely dramatic events can so easily make for melodrama in fiction, but your prose and presentation remains strong and affecting, without ever crossing the line into overwrought.
A very well done work; I am glad to have read it!