I've been thinking about what being
in fandom and
out of fandom means in my case -- well, apart from the obvious, such as participating in various events, doing community service, and such. It also means that, for example, in my time
in HP fandom, any couple of recs I posted were two from a hundred fics read or tried. Now it means two out of three that I tried :) I'm not going out of my way to find new interesting things anymore, nor am I willing to try a fic if I find something (even a tiny something) displeasing in the headers. And if I do try reading something, chances are I'll never finish it. I mean, finishing a HP fic has become exception rather than rule. I find this sort of change very amusing. :)
A Confusion of Will and Desire, by Gatewaygirl
##Harry/Draco, some Harry/Ginny, Harry/OFC, NC-17, novel-length. Canon Compliancy: EWE. Summary: When Harry starts to have erotic dreams about his godfather, he questions his sexual preference. The real issue turns out to be even more complicated and disruptive. Warnings: highlight in the fic post.
Gatewaygirl writes my dream Harry/Draco. Well, she writes my-dream-many-a-thing; she's only of my favourite writers in general. But her H/D, rare as it is, is unique, as for me. It's long, plotty enough, sexy, and has this something undefinable that charms the pants off me. If you have read her
Snakes and Lions, you'll love this fic: it has some similar ideas, only shown differently, and somewhat similar relationship dynamics. Somewhat, not quite. (If you haven't read
SaL, whatever are you waiting for?)
I saw this story posted and thought the premise looked intriguing. Ha! The actual story turned to be even more intriguing, and I was completely hooked by the second thousand words. What's happening to Harry at the beginning is both interesting and creepy. Of course I wanted to know what was going on. When very soon Harry had to talk to a Muggle shrink, well, this was the scene that made me fall in love with this fic. It's hilarious, even though it's not comedic per se. It's just... try to imagine in detail how the story of Harry's life and various relationships would look if told to a Muggle. Yeah :)
Anyway, it's near 70K words that kept my attention all the way. The ending parts show us some ideal version of HP reality, of sorts. I don't mean that it's all roses, fluffy bunnies, and holding hands. It's hard to explain. I mean, in another story, I probably would dismiss the last few parts as too easy or unbelievable, but in this one, they weren't unbelievable at all. We've been led to it through the entire story, so as a result, those last parts are as enchanting as the rest of the fic, and not boring at all, as I would have expected. I probably confused everybody completely, so to summarise: I loved the story, the beginning, the middle, the ending, all of it :) Do try it!
Sweatin' to the Voldies, by [anon]
##Harry/Draco, (mostly past) Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, NC-17, 24,500 words. Summary: The-Boy-Who-Lived has become The-Boy-Who-Ate, and his girlfriend just can't take it anymore. After Ginny leaves Harry for presumably slimmer pastures, Harry realizes that if he has any chance of getting her back, he's going to have to get fit quick. It's really just his bad luck that a certain pale, pointy bastard owns the only wizarding gym in the country. Warnings: EWE, frottage, rimming, tiny bit of movie canon (flying origami notes).
If you are one of those people who are tired of Draco always been portrayed as slim or skinny, this fic is for you. It features bulky!Draco. Yes, it also features fat!Harry. Both of which I'm happy to see because after so many HP fics read, I welcome any
believable step off the well-trodden road of H/D fiction. The fic is at once refreshing, entertaining, very vivid, and moving. What else to wish! Well, good writing of course but it has that too. To quote a reviewer, "It was the perfect balance of humour, plot, angst and reality." I do admit that I don't believe in this Draco's motivation of opening the gym -- or don't
completely buy it -- but it's a really enjoyable reading on the whole, and certain scenes are plain hilarious. Which makes me strongly suspect who the author is, but I'll keep that to myself. Highly recommended!
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