rate_review Reviews

I felt I had to make another review, so I wouldn't seem like a retarded fangirl with mine. Believe it or not, I'm actually quite well spoken, and a half decent writer myself, hah, as well as a substitute teacher. I find your work to be, in a word, amazing. I've read all your Snape stories (Never cared for Luci, he's a bit of a prat and a huge douchebag, pardon me)and I find them all to be delights. Especially the stories where you give the poor man credit where credit is due, and well deserved sexual round abouts. I should say, he needed them. BAD. I'm one of many who felt his death was unneeded and also, very badly done, in the final book (though the tragedy of it made me cry all the same) and I'm glad that someone has been able to come up with ways to either keep him around, or give him proper closure, or both.

I must agree with you, and many others, that Rickman's Snape is perfection. Regardless of others predisposed ideas about his appearance, Rickman's voice and his acting ability, not to mention his looks (I find the man so attractive it makes me melt, I don't give a damn about his age) make him perfect for the role. Now whenever I read these fictions, its his face I see, and his voice I hear in my head, and it is so sinfully delicious to imagine him doing some of the things you've got him doing. Especially with 'Un Desire'. This story, more than any other, I keep coming back to it, even though its finished, to read it again and again. That then makes it hard, since my brain adheres to the films' casting, to picture the original characters, but some of the parts in your tales are not so difficult. For me, in this story for example, the sauciest, most sexual, most firey red head I can put in Vivienne's place is Nicole Kidman. I keep picturing her with her bright red locks either up in a messy bun or braided in very long pigtails (except when in bed, for obvious reasons) and of course, walking about with the air of knowing she looks damn good, and she wants a certain professor to notice it.

You, Femme, are now one of my favorite fan fiction authors, and I hope, greatly, that you will be updating 'Deep Roots' soon, and that it'll live up to the other stories you've written. I already expect it to. And, if its not too much to ask for, please, put in a lemon or two? ;) Haha.

TTFN.

A very good story! Though to keep with canon, you should have had Harry do at least a little work (I imagine him and his friends as a part of the Order's group, though not central to the main part of the fighting at all.), it was wonderful! Snape finally not only manages to let go of his pain and heartache, he also has plenty of steamy scenes with Vivienne ;) Good work! As for your explanation and leaving us to interpret, I like to think in the beginning, when they first met, it was the curse itself, and Viv (to shorten if you don't mind) was feeling Snape's pent up years of desire for Lily, and that her desire and then love for him grew not only from their growing friendship, but from knowing how intense a lover the man could be.

My dear woman, how have I not read you before?! Goodness knows that Snape/OFC writers have a hard time when it comes to finding an audience for our work; girls like us should stick together. I devoured this story in one large gulp; ta histoire est comme une drogue! I love Vivienne for her strength and sexuality. She is really a perfect match for Severus, and their chemistry was nearly overwhelming in its potency. I'm glad you gave them a happy ending. For a moment I was worried you were going to kill them off. This was a well-written, sensual, fast-paced read.

Regards,
Bea

Postscript: If you should like to get in contact with me, a link to my livejournal is on my author's page.

I liked this story very much. It is definitly one of my favorite Original Character stories.

Thanks, Lunar Eclipse. This was a plot bunny that just would NOT let go, and I'm glad people are still reading it.

I love Vivienne's fury at what has happened to Snape and you've actually used in your story a thought I always had myself. Why didn't they bind Voldie's magic??? I figured I was just getting crossover images of the tv show Charmed stuck in my head instead but I did wonder if it was an option. Yay, now I get to see how it works (if it works). :) And Scrimgeour really is a pompous git, I love that you've captured that too. Oh God I laughed out loud when Snape started speaking French. Vivienne's indignation leapt off the screen at that. I loved reading about the battle being in full swing and I can totally picture you waving your arms around and swinging on your chair as you wrote those scenes. You should never have told me that bit. LOL Ah, and the shock of his followers when the imprisoned and powerless Voldie walked out of the Manor was riveting. Once again, I felt like I was right there amongst it all. An oh what an ending!! So neatly wrapped up and tie with a bow. :) I think that in the books all that Snape wanted was to be recognised for the deeds he had done. All his bravery was in secret and no-one ever clapped him on the back and said well done. It was great to see that in this story, he got that chance. :) Wonderful read. :)

Perhaps I am in denial about my romantic side too but I find it much easier to write about it than express it or watch it. LOL Even learning something secondhand can give you great insight as you have proven. :) I love all your story references to the Arthurian legends. I love the stories of Merlin and Nimue (Lady of the Lake, I've never heard her called Vivienne before or is that my misunderstanding?) JKR certainly borrowed a few ideas from this era. :) As for the Latin, I'm afraid I know very little about the language (my French is not much better), LOL I guess I have to stick to Aussie slang. ;) I also never thought about the horcruxes being a crutch for the offical books because I thought that either the Philosophers Stone or the drinking of Unicorn blood was what he needed to liver forever, I never thought about splitting of the soul so perhaps they did have their place somewhat however not as important as may have first appeared. Not sure on that one but I value both yours and Trickie's opinion on the subject. Thank you for giving me a new perspective on it. :) Snape in snakeskin boots. LMAO Poor thing missed out on so much in the damn books. (sigh!) I've never read Wuthering Heights, doesn't sound like I'm missing anything there.

Trickie, so glad I didn't offend you, was worried for a bit. I've never used Live Journal, not sure about how to approach you there for a chat, I'm a bit slow at figuring these things out. :( I will have to get on to Youtube and check out all these delicious versions of 'our Mr Rickman'. See, I never think of things like that - silly me. You will have to let me know how writers/readers go with your death eater challenge. Sounds like fun. LOL I always thought one would have to be very clever to grasp the entails of the Latin language, I applaud you on that, you must have done very well.

"Why didn't they bind Voldie's magic??? I figured I was just getting crossover images of the tv show Charmed stuck in my head instead but I did wonder if it was an option." Maybe I've watched too much Charmed too, and I am Wiccan so it's a naturally occuring thought. It would be how something like that would be handled, preferably before killing him even. I was afraid it would be seen as taking the easy route though, so I'm glad you liked it.

"Oh God I laughed out loud when Snape started speaking French. Vivienne's indignation leapt off the screen at that." I loved that bit of comedy too, and I thought it was a very 'him' thing to do, especially after harassing her about the French gabble that she spouted off on numerous occasions, for instance when she was mad at him. It was simply his little way of tuning her out.

"I loved reading about the battle being in full swing and I can totally picture you waving your arms around and swinging on your chair as you wrote those scenes. You should never have told me that bit." Heh yeah, I get into sometimes. I have discovered though that I am very much an action person and my writing reflects it. My stories tend to be more plot driven than character driven, which is just fine with me.

"LOL Ah, and the shock of his followers when the imprisoned and powerless Voldie walked out of the Manor was riveting. Once again, I felt like I was right there amongst it all. An oh what an ending!! So neatly wrapped up and tie with a bow. :)" With the ending, especially in regard to Voldemort, I think some may feel it as a sort of buzzkill, that someone once so feared and powerful--and drunk with that power would just go quietly into the night, as it were. And there are two men who I considered their ends before writing it. I see him as a tyrannical sociopath much like Hitler, and even toyed with the idea of him committing suicide at the end. Eventually though, he went the other route and surrendered much like Hussein. Quietly and without much fanfare. My thinking was that he wouldn't know what to do without magic and therefore would feel he had no other recourse besides one of those two things. Since he feared death most of all, naturally his only choice then would be prison.

"I think that in the books all that Snape wanted was to be recognised for the deeds he had done. All his bravery was in secret and no-one ever clapped him on the back and said well done. It was great to see that in this story, he got that chance. :) Wonderful read. :)" Thanks. I think it was too, especially given his anger at the end of POA from missing out on the Order of Merlin. Then too, it explains some of his anger at Sirius in OotP for kicking back at home in safety while he was out risking his neck. It didn't matter that Sirius didn't have much of a choice because his old prejudices tended to make him irrational at times.

I'm glad you like the Arthurian references too. The Lady is most often known as Nimue, but has on few occasions been referred to as Vivienne (honestly I just like the name better, but the legends have a tendency to twist a few different women into the same person sometimes, kind of like Mary Magdalene). I did read a great essay somewhere on JKR's references that go beyond simply the boy who rises to greatness, the wizened old wise man, etc. It pointed out the sort of grail quest that he sets out on in the last book, looking for a cup among other things, being given a sword, having a veritable army of sort of knighted characters around him, etc. It even pointed out that Ginny's full name, Ginevra, is a variation of Guinevere.

I also never thought about the horcruxes being a crutch for the offical books because I thought that either the Philosophers Stone or the drinking of Unicorn blood was what he needed to liver forever, I never thought about splitting of the soul so perhaps they did have their place somewhat however not as important as may have first appeared." I think the thing that always bugged me about the horcruxes was that we were given that scene in GOF where Dumbledore realizes they have shared blood and he gives this look of triumph. I always took that to mean that now that Voldemort had Harry's mortal blood in him, it rendered him mortal as well. Hence, he could then be killed and whatever he had done to make himself immortal had been broken by that. I still accepted that better than I did the Hallows though because they just seemed to be superfluous.

"Snape in snakeskin boots. LMAO Poor thing missed out on so much in the damn books." Yes, and that is why I prefer to rectify it via fanfics. Meanwhile I have started that challenge and have a first chapter posted from the domain where I have my John Cusack site. Should you decide to read it too, it's here: http://www.cusacks-class.com/iron.html

Excellent, given your reaction and Dreamweaver's I know Vivienne is exactly what I wanted her to be--a very self-sufficient and well-rounded character. As to Alastor Gumboil, he is actually the only named Hit Wizard from Magical Law Enforcement, and I found it interesting that he and Moody share the same first name.

Now about Horcruxes and swords in stone, the lack of Horcruxes is what makes this so incredibly AU. I always thought they were kind of a cop-out so I didn't bother. He could have already been on unicorn blood in the beginning, which also would have kept him from dying when the curse rebounded. So in leeching his magic, it made him just like any other sociopath, still as dangerous, but not nearly so much. And as with Pettigrew's hand and the Defense post, it rendered some of his impermanent spells null. I wouldn't still call Vivienne a savior entirely. Dumbledore knew of the magic and was only tempted to use it when they knew everything they needed to accomplish it. Besides which, they all set up a sting operation and moved in together, so she really shares the spotlight. She was, if anything, a muse. What I prefer to see her as, is a more elementally powerful witch. I named her Vivienne Dulac, literally Vivienne of the Lake, who of course gave Excalibur to Merlin. That is the reference when Dumbledore says it's been done once before and that is why the four of them say "in persona nobilis et fidelis," i.e. literally "until a noble, faithful person."

As for the other translations, I will go ahead and add them in the notes for the chapter. Here, the spells are: Extrahe, Transfere, cape, and obsigna. Extrahe, from extrahere (to draw out); Transfere, from transferre (to transfer); cape, from capere (to hold, contain); and obsigna, from obsignare (to seal up). The one Vivienne uses is gelare (to freeze). In most cases (except Vivienne's), I just conjugated the verbs, so it's not the infinitive.

I SOOO love the idea of Snape with snakeskin boots, especially if they're from Nagini. I will definitely have to check out the challenge, and on LJ I'm bonovoxu2, so you know who's browsing around your journal.

Ditto on the Hermione thing. I can stomach it just fine if she's of age and has some maturity. She gets on my nerves as an insufferable know-it-all plenty, and I probably would have docked more points for it. However, when it comes to Draco I've always felt poetic justice would have him falling for her at some point, just so he could eat his words. Hence his behavior in "Web of Redemption" by taking up with a half-blood and then a Muggle.

As to Snape as a Byronic hero, absolutement. And a tragic one at that; he has his hubris, his great fall, everything. I could even see a little Heathcliff in him, given the Gothic influence, except he's not nearly so hell-bent.

"You're right about that voice, if he were just starting out as a young actor today he could easily support himself with 900 phone sex." As for him as a younger actor, I got to see a few clips finally from Les Liaisons Dangereuse on YouTube. Oh that was hot stuff. He could have corrupted me easily. Yar.

I love the picture of 'HW' as a small pathetic old man with normal features. I wonder if Michael Jackson will look like that in a few years time?


I love it even more when Snape gets what he deserves, and he got it ten fold here. The love of his life (it's never Lily in my eyes) proposes marriage to him, that's really wonderful to me.

"As to Alastor Gumboil, he is actually the only named Hit Wizard from Magical Law Enforcement, and I found it interesting that he and Moody share the same first name."
He's got to be much younger than Moody so maybe he was named after him.

"Now about Horcruxes and swords in stone, the lack of Horcruxes is what makes this so incredibly AU. I always thought they were kind of a cop-out so I didn't bother. He could have already been on unicorn blood in the beginning, which also would have kept him from dying when the curse rebounded. So in leeching his magic, it made him just like any other sociopath, still as dangerous, but not nearly so much."
I like your logic here, I wondered about the Horcruxes myself and the Deathly Hallows came out of left field as a really stupid and unnecessary plot device that mostly just filled up space so she could get her word count quota filled.


I named her Vivienne Dulac, literally Vivienne of the Lake, who of course gave Excalibur to Merlin. That is the reference when Dumbledore says it's been done once before and that is why the four of them say "in persona nobilis et fidelis," i.e. literally "until a noble, faithful person."
I have a friend whose pen name is Morgaine duLac, she is posting 'Morgaine's Story' at Occlumency. You may have seen it there. I had sent her links to this and to WoR, but I really didn't make note of Vivienne's last name until her father introduced himself to Severus. I let her know about that and I expect that she's probably reading the story now.

I knew what most of the words meant from my 3 years of high school Latin, but I couldn't find a way online to translate a few of them, so thanks for your translations. Taking Latin as my foriegn language was the best decision I made in school. I've gotten more use out of it than any coure I took during all my years in school.
It's the best tool I have to use to understand the written word in any language that usues our alphabet.

"I SOOO love the idea of Snape with snakeskin boots, especially if they're from Nagini." You know those boots came from Nagini, I'm an irony freak.

"As to Snape as a Byronic hero, absolutement. And a tragic one at that; he has his hubris, his great fall, everything. I could even see a little Heathcliff in him, given the Gothic influence, except he's not nearly so hell-bent."
I never liked 'Wuthering heights', but I see some Mr. Rochester in him and even some of Mr. Darcy from the first part of 'P&P'. Have you ever read any of Victoria Holt's books? He could easily be one of her heroes

"As for him as a younger actor, I got to see a few clips finally from Les Liaisons Dangereuse on YouTube. Oh that was hot stuff. He could have corrupted me easily. Yar." I saw those clips a few years ago, I can't see how any woman could ever resist him. A friend sent me the video from 'Dark Harbor' of him jumping into the water to swim but the camera was too far back to get real enjoyment from it. I loved him as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but I love him best as Col. Brandon.

Another story rec, A Kind Of Magic, http://occlumency.sycophanthex.com/viewstory.php?sid=6180. i think you'll like it.

"I love the picture of 'HW' as a small pathetic old man with normal features. I wonder if Michael Jackson will look like that in a few years time?" lmao Most likely. But a very white, very well-preserved one at least.

"I love it even more when Snape gets what he deserves, and he got it ten fold here. The love of his life (it's never Lily in my eyes) proposes marriage to him, that's really wonderful to me." I liked that idea too, since it shows that she is a woman who goes for what she wants.

"He's got to be much younger than Moody so maybe he was named after him." I have no idea, but apparently she made it a thing to have Alastors bring in the bad guys. Hit Wizards are supposed to be the ones sent to handle the most dangerous criminals.

"I like your logic here, I wondered about the Horcruxes myself and the Deathly Hallows came out of left field as a really stupid and unnecessary plot device that mostly just filled up space so she could get her word count quota filled." That is exactly how I felt about it too, like she had written herself into a corner and had to explain her way out of it. I don't think she originally had an answer for why he didn't die when the curse rebounded and then had to think one up that would cover it, which made the horcrux angle bad enough. Then she brings in the Hallows at the eleventh hour, which ultimately didn't drive the overall plot forward, but merely existed to give them something else to wonder about during the last book. It was a serious waste of time.

"I have a friend whose pen name is Morgaine duLac, she is posting 'Morgaine's Story' at Occlumency." I haven't seen her stories there, so I'll have to check it out when I check out the other one. I also really enjoyed one the other day that you had betaed, called "Where My Future Lies," in which they start taking on mature students at Hogwarts. That was a sweet story too, and I think I'm turning out to be more of a sap than I thought I was.

"It's the best tool I have to use to understand the written word in any language that usues our alphabet." Latin is fantastic for that, since so many of them are based on it. I never took it myself, but I did pick out the patterns in Spanish and French easily enough to see all the simliarities and pick them up with a problem.

"I never liked 'Wuthering heights', but I see some Mr. Rochester in him and even some of Mr. Darcy from the first part of 'P&P'. Have you ever read any of Victoria Holt's books? He could easily be one of her heroes" Mr. Rochester! That's a much better match, or Darcy. I hated Wuthering Heights and more often wanted to smack Heathcliff and Catherine both. Bronte and Austen are much more my speed too. Mr. Rochester is probably better though since he wasn't supposed to be handsome either.

"A friend sent me the video from 'Dark Harbor' of him jumping into the water to swim but the camera was too far back to get real enjoyment from it. I loved him as the Sheriff of Nottingham, but I love him best as Col. Brandon." I found a better shot of him somewhere and I'll have to dig it up again. He just peeled it all off and jumped in, but methinks it was a bit chilly that day. The kiss was fantastic though. Purrr. The Sheriff is alright with me (and Hans Gruber for that matter), but yes, Brandon and Snape are the absolute favorites. Beyond that, I could go on for a while about the "In Demand" tango. And I loved Blow Dry.