FanficTalk Archive
Unleash Your Fandom
Hi Olivia! I might be here to court a count (Dracula, that is), but I also thought this might be a spooktacular time of year to revisit some of your writing from the last halloween event!
Ooh boy! I know you have a thing for making people feel sympathetic for villains and I truly started down that path in the opening section of this piece. And then boom! You totally flip the switch and we see Fenrir for what he truly is…an uncomplicated villain.
But even in this very “cut and dry, he’s a baddie,” approach, I feel like this small piece packs a real emotional punch. It’s really impressive how much I emotionally connected with this piece, even with only 151 words to it.
The idea of childhood dreams evolves over time as the world sort of shapes us and makes us realize that there are limitations to the things we want most in life. And I think you convey that in such a meaningful way here with this small piece about Fenrir. The fact that he’s crushing his childhood dreams with the stomping boot imagery is brutal. But so is Fenrir, so it totally made sense.
Anyway, I loved these spooky drabbles you came up with last event! They definitely encapsulated that dark mood and left me with an eerie feeling, which I think is what horror is all about. Well done!
<3 Courtney
Hello again! back for another review for the galazy
Oh god, I hate to read about Fenrir as a child. Only because I don't like thinking about villains as ever being innocent. It's so much easier to hate people when they were never innocent.
Wow but you don't really redeem him at all. the way he relishes in the torment, and that he enjoys torturing people and changing lives and crushing dreams :( I relly hate the way it goes back and forth, that he only likes crushing dreams because he sees them as stupid. (and, unfortunately, maybe because his were crushed once upon a time, too)
I hate how your writing is so good that I almost sympathize
Thank you again!
Catherine
SS Voyager :D :D :D
Wow. This was. Wow. I don't feel good about Fenrir after reading this. I don't feel empathy for him. But I feel a new level of understanding in his darkness. If that makes sense. And I sort of want to revel in what you've pulled off here. Like. This was fucking dark in the best worst way. That he wants to crush his own dreams with the heel of his boot - its such self-hatred. As if he's projecting himsefl onto all the people he hurts - for their immaturity and hopefulness and innocence.
This was dark and unforgiving, but so so well done. I did not know what to expect coming into this story and honestly I sat here for a moment after I read it trying to find the words because it's not the normal - oh I root for this person kind of feeling. I still think he's a terrible, ruthless, gross character - but like...you've just made that clearer and more impactful and what a great villian he is.
- Jacquelin
Here with the SS Voyager :D :D :D
This drabble just feels like the apple coming out of the witch's cauldron when it's covered in poison and dripping and thick with dread - I don't know why that's the best way to describe it but it is. This story is just dripping with the emotions of regret and vengence and like wicked schemes. I fucking love it.
And I love how you do it with images rather than a ton of words. The idea of Icaraus and usng the dementors to contrast her own demons :chefs kiss: That she was so full of power once and now reduced to nothing more than a scary story. It's all so painful and wonderful. I feel for this wicked person. I feel for what they lost because it feels like it was taken from them. And like, they're in Azkaban so clearly they did something awful but I still feel for them. How steep the price. So fucking good.
- Jacquelin
Hi there, I'm here for the galazy review event!
I love how you start this with a warning, because it's so true. It really sets the mood as regretful and dark, and I love it.
And the description "withered husk" is so haunting and heavy. And I like how you add that her own demons are even worse than the Dementors, though I'm sure all those dementors over the years didn't help.
It's obviously a good place for reflection, but I don't know if she'll find any light in this dakrness. I am really hooked on this character without even knowing her name. I would love to know more about her and what lead to her capture and downfall.
Thank you!
Catherine
Hi, Olivia.
This is a grim subject, the mind of a werewolf.
I don't actually know the early history of the person who came to be known as Fenrir Greyback. That's a wolf's name. He began life as an ordinary child, with a different, ordinary name, imagining himself as a hero in a fairy tale, helping people, the "good guy" who always wins in the end and lives happily ever after.
But once he becomes a werewolf, through no fault of his own, descending into that hellish existence, you depict him as taking pleasure in attacking other children, drawing them into the same terrible state that had befallen him.
If he could not be the most outstanding of the good guys, he would put all his efforts into being the most outstanding of the bad guys. By doing so, he is lashing out against the world that deat him such a bitter blow. If he must fall, he will take as many others with him as he can. Misery loves company. Scary, scary guy. You show that well. Thank you for writing.
Vicki
Snow Foxes.
Hi, Olivia.
I studied this drabble to try to pin a specific name on it -- a young, arrogant woman, involved in Dark Magic, sent to Azkaban. This must be after the Second Wizarding War, when dementors no longer staffed Azkaban. Perhaps it's not a specific person but rather a description of any number of women who survived the war, only to face the judgment of the society they once believed they ruled.
Your metaphor of Icarus, in his hubris flying too close to the sun, ignoring warnings until he fell to his death, is so apt for the followers of a charismatic leader who ultimately is brought low.
Certain of their inevitable victory, their superiority over their foes, their invincibility, until the unbelievable moment when it all falls apart, they suddenly find themselves on the bottom of the wheel of fortune, pariahs, their name a by-word. There is no second chance.
This drabble is very well written. The sentences are plain, simple, with no wasted words, no extra adornment. They tell a complete story. The warning is clear to everyone.
Good job.
Vicki
Snow Foxes
how interesting that you portray fenrir greyback here as someone who wanted to be the hero in the story back when he was a little kid and then somehow ended up the villain. i would love to know the entire backstory of him becoming the villain - was it a consequence of being bitten by a werewolf, and then possibly ostracized, resulting in fenrir growing increasingly more evil? i can definitely see something like that developing, along with residual trauma from the attack, transforming it into anger and malice and using it against other people. it was chilling how you described his feelings on being *the monster*, how he enjoyed it, he's really..disturbed would be the right word to use, i think. but yeahh, embracing his villainous role seems like such a pivotal moment in his life, i'm dying to know more about it!
(for foxy glory!)
ayy i adore these deliciously dark stories and characters like the narrator. the idea that they were like icarus, flying close to the sun, though in this case it's more like flying too close to a black hole, get sucked in, leave your soul at the door, acquire some demons and then end up rotting in azkaban, it's just some wonderful imagery you've written in this, even if the end result isn't all that great for the narrator. i loved how you incorporated the price of magic prompt in this, the narrator becoming this withered husk, their demons worse than the dementors (which means...they must be pretty fucking awful demons). i'm so so intrigued by who this person is, what they've done with voldemort and all that good stuff.
(for foxy glory!)
Hi there!
This was an interesting look at Fenrir Greyback, I think you write villains really well. I also can't feel sorry for Fenrir, but it doesn't seem like he wants people to feel sorry for him either. He really has just embraced being a villain, being the bad guy of the story and sometimes i think he's the ultimate bad guy. The stuff that he does, targeting little kids, it's all just for fun, for his own enjoyment and that really is wrong.
It is hard to think that he was once just a normal child, before he got turned. That he was normal, like every other child. That part is really sad.
Another great chapter!
Shaza
Written for the winter in fairyland review event.
Hi there!
Oh, that was so mysterious and intriguing. I wonder who the narrator is. Someone who played with the dark lord I assume, someone who used to be so powerful but now they're not. It's hard to feel fully sorry for her, when I can only assume someone in league with the dark lord, and who had that much power, must have done some terrible things.
It must be hard though, especially if her demons are that bad that they're worse than dementors. But as she said, magic must come with a price, and I suppose she had to pay it.
An intriguing chapter.
Shaza
Written for the winter in fairyland review event.
Gosh Olivia, I can only assume this is about Bellatrix. Your writing here is dark and haunting in all of the best ways. I love how you applied the prompt of "All magic comes with a price," here. I just think this piece shows that someone who is willing to heavily dedicate themselves to the "wrong," type of magic or cause in a way that is completely obsessive will eventually find themselves with nothing when that magic or cause disappears. And it's a tragedy because you also get the sense that there's an implied mental illness or something plaguing Bellatrix. And of course, no one can see it, so it's almost like you're highlighting society's negative view on folks with depression or mood disorders or other types of mental illness. I feel like the majority of people who don't suffer from something like this just automatically judge those who might act eracticall, as a result of that. And I feel like that's why she becomes this "cautionary tale," in this piece. I absolutely loved seeing this other side of Bellatrix. It gives her a depth and I think it made kind of stop and think about my own judgments of her as a character. So well done you for making feel a bit more human than she does in the series!
<3 Courtney
* left for the winter in fairyland event, team ice otter *
Any access or use of the FanficTalk Archive is conditioned upon compliance with our Site Guidelines and Terms of Service and the Copyright Policy and Privacy Policy contained therein. Should you have any questions about them, you are very welcome to contact any of our archive validators. For advanced searching, please click here.
Any characters, source code, text, or titles contained herein which are recognizable as copyrighted material are the sole property of their owners.