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crack_van2009-06-13 10:37 am
perverse-idyll.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2009-06-13 10:37 am
Entry tags:
Match Point (Unforgiven) by snegurochka lee (NC-17)
Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Severus Snape/Remus Lupin
Length: ~9,000
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
snegurochka_lee
Author Website: Moonshadow (This is where more of Lee's Snupin fics are archived. Her website, likemaeglinyedi's, appears to be a casualty of whatever deleted slashcity.net)
Why this must be read:
Honestly, I'm not much of a Snape/Lupin fan, so it amuses me that I'm serving up two fics that focus on the pairing. Butsnegurochka_lee is a spectacular writer - like all of the authors I'm reccing, actually - and everything she produces is worth reading. This fic was my first exposure to Snupin. I took a chance on it back in 2005, and it's stayed with me ever since. Written after the release of Half-Blood Prince, it deals with wartime; the story's arc is gripping, intense, relentless, streaked with dark beauty, cruelty, purpose, and sacrifice. The relationship between the two men is tangled and angry, erotic and committed, and as central figures in Voldemort's war their very lives are embattled. They play chess for desperately high stakes, and the plot moves back and forth with the pieces. The splendor of the prose helps reconcile me to the bleakness of the story, which doesn't flinch from facing the rules of the game. And this game is all about who wins.
One thing I admire about Lee's strategy here is her use of HBP and its tropes, the echo of that famous, fatal, "Severus, please," and its implicit significance. I adore Lupin's final denunciation of Snape. Let me just suggest, for those swept up in the fic's tragic momentum, that for every instance where Lupin spits "hate," you substitute the opposite. It's an outburst of passion that sums up this story, an astonishing declaration from the bottom of a forfeit heart.
I should also mention that, as complex and interesting as her Lupin is, it's Lee's prose and her Snape that reel me back in. I can't get enough of the way she conceives of this dark, brave, damaged, unpleasant, and mesmerizing character, the gorgeous words she finds to make this ugly man linger on long afterward in the mind.
However, this is one fic where you'd do well to heed the warnings.
I've linked to the fic's first appearance in![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
lupin_snape's Snupin Santa fest, but you'll need to join the community to read it. It's also archived on the Moonshadow website linked above, which isn't locked and may be more convenient.
"I'm not playing chess with you," Lupin announced, eyeing the board with trepidation.
The man in the chair seemed to relax. "Oh, come now, Lupin – you are here for no other reason."
"I'm here for a lot of other reasons."
"Such as?"
Lupin began to answer, but then cursed under his breath and looked away. Snape knew all the reasons.
"You see?" Snape replied. "None of them matter now. Sit down."
"Snape, look, I–"
"I said, sit."
Lupin paused, appraising the man behind the bars. He had changed so much, and so little. His scowl was the same, and the way his left eyebrow sat slightly higher than the right one, especially when his agitation was showing on his face. The curve of his mouth was the same, and the way he tried to use his long hair to cover his face in shadow, even within the blinding light of this windowless cell. Then again, it had only been a week since Lupin had last seen him. A lifetime ago.
He pulled out the chair. "You still think I'll do anything you ask, don't you?" he muttered.
"Yes," Snape replied, "because you will."
"I won't."
"You just did."
"You are going to die in an hour!" Lupin shouted, his patience stretched like skin on bone. "And you're still playing with me?" He turned to the wall and fought for control, glancing back over his shoulder after a moment to find Snape studying him.
"And what is it you would rather I do, Lupin?" he asked softly. "Apologise? You will be waiting a long time."
"No, I know you won't apologise, because you aren't sorry."
"That's not true. I'm sorry for a lot of things."
"Like murder," Lupin shot back, "or like getting caught?"
"No," answered Snape, his face shuttered. "Different things."
Match Point (Unforgiven)
Pairing: Severus Snape/Remus Lupin
Length: ~9,000
Author on LJ:
snegurochka_leeAuthor Website: Moonshadow (This is where more of Lee's Snupin fics are archived. Her website, like
maeglinyedi's, appears to be a casualty of whatever deleted slashcity.net)Why this must be read:
Honestly, I'm not much of a Snape/Lupin fan, so it amuses me that I'm serving up two fics that focus on the pairing. But
snegurochka_lee is a spectacular writer - like all of the authors I'm reccing, actually - and everything she produces is worth reading. This fic was my first exposure to Snupin. I took a chance on it back in 2005, and it's stayed with me ever since. Written after the release of Half-Blood Prince, it deals with wartime; the story's arc is gripping, intense, relentless, streaked with dark beauty, cruelty, purpose, and sacrifice. The relationship between the two men is tangled and angry, erotic and committed, and as central figures in Voldemort's war their very lives are embattled. They play chess for desperately high stakes, and the plot moves back and forth with the pieces. The splendor of the prose helps reconcile me to the bleakness of the story, which doesn't flinch from facing the rules of the game. And this game is all about who wins.One thing I admire about Lee's strategy here is her use of HBP and its tropes, the echo of that famous, fatal, "Severus, please," and its implicit significance. I adore Lupin's final denunciation of Snape. Let me just suggest, for those swept up in the fic's tragic momentum, that for every instance where Lupin spits "hate," you substitute the opposite. It's an outburst of passion that sums up this story, an astonishing declaration from the bottom of a forfeit heart.
I should also mention that, as complex and interesting as her Lupin is, it's Lee's prose and her Snape that reel me back in. I can't get enough of the way she conceives of this dark, brave, damaged, unpleasant, and mesmerizing character, the gorgeous words she finds to make this ugly man linger on long afterward in the mind.
However, this is one fic where you'd do well to heed the warnings.
I've linked to the fic's first appearance in
lupin_snape's Snupin Santa fest, but you'll need to join the community to read it. It's also archived on the Moonshadow website linked above, which isn't locked and may be more convenient."I'm not playing chess with you," Lupin announced, eyeing the board with trepidation.
The man in the chair seemed to relax. "Oh, come now, Lupin – you are here for no other reason."
"I'm here for a lot of other reasons."
"Such as?"
Lupin began to answer, but then cursed under his breath and looked away. Snape knew all the reasons.
"You see?" Snape replied. "None of them matter now. Sit down."
"Snape, look, I–"
"I said, sit."
Lupin paused, appraising the man behind the bars. He had changed so much, and so little. His scowl was the same, and the way his left eyebrow sat slightly higher than the right one, especially when his agitation was showing on his face. The curve of his mouth was the same, and the way he tried to use his long hair to cover his face in shadow, even within the blinding light of this windowless cell. Then again, it had only been a week since Lupin had last seen him. A lifetime ago.
He pulled out the chair. "You still think I'll do anything you ask, don't you?" he muttered.
"Yes," Snape replied, "because you will."
"I won't."
"You just did."
"You are going to die in an hour!" Lupin shouted, his patience stretched like skin on bone. "And you're still playing with me?" He turned to the wall and fought for control, glancing back over his shoulder after a moment to find Snape studying him.
"And what is it you would rather I do, Lupin?" he asked softly. "Apologise? You will be waiting a long time."
"No, I know you won't apologise, because you aren't sorry."
"That's not true. I'm sorry for a lot of things."
"Like murder," Lupin shot back, "or like getting caught?"
"No," answered Snape, his face shuttered. "Different things."
Match Point (Unforgiven)