Pareo: Obey by Kateofallpeople - Review replies and such...

[kateofallpeople]

I'm still a little new to the site and even newer to the forums, but I love the idea of review replies that don't have to take place via PMs or within review pages. I've gotten about forty reviews as of this afternoon and will slowly but surely work through them and reply to most of them. I'm not going to reply to one or two word reviews, lol, but I'll reply if there's something worth talking about and I'll also post little updates here as I see fit. Look for the first round tonight, and then for updates every few days. If you have any questions you'd like to ask me about the fic that are not a review, ask them here and leave the review area for reviews I had this issue a LOT on ffnet, in which readers would use precious review space to ask me questions like "omg when r u going to update nxt" and that sort of thing annoys me to no end, lol!

Thanks for the reviews so far, and look for an update in a day or two!

[kateofallpeople]

HeartStar: Ask and you shall receive. Even more chapters coming soon.

Siona_The_Green: Thanks! I wasn't even sure which direction it was going in when I started, I sort of saw a challenge that I tweaked a little and I'm really pleased with how it's turning out so far.

Mark's Pet: Hooray for promising. I love hearing things like that haha so sue me, I like compliments

Sarah W: Yes! I thought a little about that when I was working out the parameters of the curse. I've read and watched Ella Enchanted, and most of the reboots and things and stories based off the idea... some take it very far (Anne Hathaway defying gravity and freezing midair wut) but still do it well... love the premise and when I saw a challenge for a fic in which Hermione couldn't say no (although the challenger sort of took it in another direction that I didn't want to go in, re: everyone in school finding out and passing her around with no regards to reality or the fact that it would mean severe law breaking and therefore didn't make much sense) I knew I had to do it my own way. I'm glad everyone's so pleased with it! I too love a good Dramione, and though I've always implied sex in my fics, because of FFnets guidelines I've never really been able to write them out. I seem to be doing alright!

SL: Oh, I'm interested too... I sort of plan as I go and while I've got a few ideas for what's going to happen later on, I'm sure I'll have to twist it around to make it really good! He's already sort of sensing that this can't go on forever like this, but seems to be milking it for all it's worth... Hermione too seems to be testing things, seeing what she can and can't handle and what she wants versus what she tolerates. We'll see!

White Rabbit: Thank you! I love hearing that my fics are well-written... they were FAR from that a few years ago, when I began, but practice makes perfect. Well, maybe not perfect, but better!

Sundance1989: Thanks! Will update when I am ready.

Angela Hill: Thank you! My interpretation of Draco is a little different than most. He's just as curious as Hermione, trying to see what he can get away with and how far he can take things without being an all out monster. He's enjoying himself, and at times she obviously is too, though she pretends not to most times, and it's sort of creating a nice little post-war conflict for him - he returned to prove himself, to prove his innocence, but he's still sort of an asshole and is still going to take advantage of her whenever possible. It's in his nature, canon and otherwise. Thanks for the review!

MontagueGoddess225: Cliffies And leaving more up to your imagination... as you can tell by now I'm drawing this out at a rather lovely pace, and am building up for an eventual pairing that I'm sure will be satisfying for all involved.

Mark's Pet: Welcome back > There will of course be many naughty orders and things... I'm really excited to see how far this goes, how far they both can take it before something goes awry (as all good things do). Thanks for continued reading and reviews, I appreciate it tons!

Kayleigh: Thank you! Updating when possible, for now. I don't have all the time in the world (and when I have time, it's not always 'let me write some hot lit porn' time) but I update when it's best.

Foreva2000: Excellent! Happy to have satisfied a craving... heh. I thought about it once before, and when I saw a challenge request for something similar, I finally just dove into it. I promise I won't scrap it, updates will come every few days when possible and will continue to be good

Ratoncita: Thank you SO much! I worry about pacing at times but I've always heard good things, so I must be doing something right... I try not to tweak the original characterizations too much, but obviously they must be slightly expanded upon in a situation that is vastly different from canon. I do my best, most of the time.

Apple-Hime: Will update when it's proper and no sooner. I have a life

loveinthemadness: My thoughts exactly. I spend the first five minutes of writing time dreaming up what I might have them do and I just pick the one that sounds best at the time. It's obviously a little more exploratory at this point and more about curiosity than force or lust, but we'll see. It'll get there!

anaidra: Thank you!

Mark's Pet: Oh, you again Keep dancing your happy dance, you. That's the wonderful thing about a curse like Hermione's and an inventive, semi-experienced Draco with an already commanding attitude... many many wonderful ideas that all swim around in my head from time to time. I thought about all that in said oral sex chapter, and was thinking "you know what would be really handy? not gagging." ultimate in wonderful submissive actions. Better for him, better for her, though I'm sure he wasn't thinking as much about her well-being then. Though, he did put his hand behind her head, so that's always worth noting... Yes, plenty of chapters, plenty more in a similar situation but with much different attitudes, which really can change the WHOLE thing so much. I thank you for your continued readership and excellent reviews!

anonymouse: Thank you! That was my biggest goal at first, working around Hermione's brain. She hates him, or so she thinks, and wouldn't do any of this in a million years if she wasn't cursed. But she is, and of course now that it's happening... she's curious. Her curiosity has usually lead to good things, and she's so inexperienced, but she's old enough to know that it's healthy to want these things, even if she doesn't want them from Ron. I've definitely been working on it a little more, and it'll be a little more prevalent in upcoming chapters (And later on, when the meetings get a little more, er, intense it'll drive her nearly crazy) Harry's noticing so far is just that - he's just noticing something odd. Harry has always been relatively keen, and knows Hermione well enough to really know when something is amiss. Remember, he's still all PTSD all over the place after the war, but he manages to handle himself pretty well. I think, as for right this second, he doesn't want to get too wrapped up in things. But that can all change quite drastically as time goes on. I have a nice little twist involved there. Thank you for containing your update begging compulsions! I heard it enough, but I do like hearing that you're all looking forward to updates. I've been doing Draco as well as I can, keeping as close to his original character as I can while introducing new feelings - he's innocent after the war, and all, and he's pretty much lost everything, more on that later - and I think it has softened him a little, even if he isn't willing to let that really show yet. Thanks for the review!

Siona_The_Green: Thank you, and welcome back! Yes, I've always been a strong believer in a strong Hermione. She's always been extremely headstrong but also very in touch with her emotions, and I think that is what drives her so crazy in this situation. Her head is telling her this is an awful idea, but at the same time she feels that ultimate compulsion to learn new things and experience the things girls her age have done. Hermione will, eventually, have quite a few tricks up her sleeves. I'm looking forward to figure it all out, myself...

Shaymars: Thank you!

[kateofallpeople]

FalconLux: YES! That's sort of what I've been going for. Like, Draco's still a bit of a creep, and he's a jerk for doing all this, really, but there's this whole forbidden fruit thing going on that is hot at the same time... I love it too. Thanks for the review!

Yess: Thank you! I love hearing that my fics are well-written, haha, I swear I should know it anyway but reassurances are nice

AmberONIE&Cheese: Thanks! I'm sort of excited to see where it goes too, haha. I don't do too much planning, I think it hinders proper character development and makes things feel too scripted, so I sort of just write and let the characters figure it out for themselves. Draco and Hermione are having a field day with this whole thing, and so am I.

Shaymars: Updates coming when possible.

lamiko: Thanks!

Selena Malfoy: Gratitude, gratitude. I've always wanted to play around with the idea and I think this is coming out quite nicely. Hermione is usually a very strong character who is used to people (Ron and Harry) listening to her because she's the smart one... she's used to being the one in command, I think, and now that her tables have turned a bit, I think she's struggling with it quite a bit. Thanks for the review!

No seriously: Thank you for your review, but I'll reiterate my policy on updates especially here. I am the author. This is my story. I don't mean this in a mean way at all, but you do not deserve updates for any reason, nor should I feel forced to update too often. This is my story that I am choosing to share with you all, and if that means that sometimes I go longer between updates in order to give you a better end product, then so it shall be. I'll update when I can, and it will be awesome, and it will be satisfactory for all involved. Thanks!

anaidra: I'm thinking the same things. But as we now know, Draco is experienced himself in the art of a quick shag, but hasn't really had a girl that he really can explore with. Hermione will be immensely different in this way, and I'm excited to see where it will go.

Aranel: Thank you so much! I've been really doing my best for my first sort of smutty adult fic and it's going over rather well. I'll update asap! <3 smutty pusher (wo)man.

EndlessDarkDramieoneDesire: Thank you!

anonymous: You're damn right it was!

Siona_The_Green: Oh trust me, that'll come along eventually... I'm going to let it develop naturally, and without his own consent. The tables will sort of be turned on Draco in this way, he wants to care about her but how can you care about something you can control? Love does not control, but, we'll see how things go... Thanks for reading!

Jacqui: Thanks much!

Update: Just a last reiteration, I'll update when I feel is right. As it is I update at least once every few days, which is more than most authors. I take my time to write a quality product. It'll come when it's ready.

Siona_The_Green: I almost didn't write it in! But when I was writing it all, and the twitching in his pants, I was like "Oh shit you know what would be perfect?" and it was. He's almost mad, not because he lost it and made a mess of himself, but that he let himself loose over her simply saying his given name in the throes of things. Hehe. Look at me, planning and being all sneaky and the like...

anaidra: Thanks!

MorningSnow: Thank you! I've been working hard to balance Draco's character out and I'm so glad so many people are pleased with him.

Anon: Short and sweet. Thanks!

hobbesianleap: Wow, that's a first! Well, welcome to having an account, and thanks so much for the review!

Margot Le Faye: You angel, you. Thank you for your lovely review and words, and I'll make sure to keep up with my good work Look for an update soon, and thank you again!

[kateofallpeople]

I apologize in advance for how snarky and rude this post is about to sound.

I've been getting comments lately that I have never gotten before, on any other site. I came to AFFN because I wanted to escape the petty bullshit that happened on FFnet, and because I wanted to be able to write what I want to write when I want to write it without fear of it being taken down.

I've only got one fic on here, and compared to other fics in my category I'm doing very, very well. I've only posted 6 chapters but I've got as many reviews, hits, and upvotes as fics that have twice, three times, four times the chapters I do. That's because what I write is good. What I write, most of you really, really like. And that's why I share it with you on this site.

The problem has been people writing absolutely rude reviews about the timing of my chapters. I understand that, based on sentence structure and anonymous name tags when reviews are left, that these are likely from the same person (or, perhaps, the same two people.) But it seems like this person clearly does not 'get it', so I'll reiterate one more time.

This is my fic. It is my story, on my profile, with my unique situation and character adaptations. If you don't like it, leave. Oh, wait, you like it? Great. Keep reading. If the frequency of my updates bothers you, stop reading. One reader will not hurt me. And in all honesty, I'd probably have a much better time on this site without your nagging, selfish comments about how you 'deserve' chapters or that I would be a 'crappy inconsiderate author' who fails to update. I could fail to continue at all. I could just stop, where I am now, and never post on this site again. Some days, when I get reviews like yours, I want to do just that. But then I remember, oh, hey, the rest of my readers love what they're reading and don't leave nasty comments about my timing. Here's the thing: I have a life. I have a big one. I work full time, I'm back to school two nights a week, I have a relationship, I have friends, and on top of all that, when I do get time to write and I feel like I can write a good enough chapter for everyone to read, this is not the only fic I have running right now. I have three fics that I'm balancing, one on this site and two on FFnet. Usually my choice is for Pareo, usually I come here to update, but I can't let my other fics fall behind either. I have a responsibility as an author, that I took on for myself, but that responsibility does not center around you and what you want. It centers around the thousands of readers I've had on this site and the hundreds of thousands of readers I have on FFnet. Like I said - one reader who stops reading my fics won't hurt me. If you don't like chapter frequencies, then leave. It's quite easy.

Oh, and the other suggestion - that I should just write up a chunk of chapters all at once and publish them at close intervals. Okay. Let's look at my word count. Easily passing 8k average. My last chapter was around 10k. That's more than most people write in two or three chapters. Hell, that's more than some write in four chapters. But I write longer chapters (and so I take a week to update sometimes) so that when I do put out that chapter, it is good and well-developed and full of good things. I don't post two-thousand word chapters full of bullshit because A: That's not my style and B: My story demands more than that. So yes, my chapters take a little while. But no, I am not going to cut days out of my life in a single chunk so that I can write you, personally, 50k words. If I did it that way I'd be so sick of writing at the end of the second or third chapter in a row that I would likely just straight up QUIT. The end product wouldn't be as good. I would not be as happy with it, and neither would you. You've all said it yourselves, My story is good and brilliant and amazing and all of those other things. Mind you, it is still MY fic, and I'll continue writing it as I feel best as an author.

Any further comments anonymous or not that strongly comment on my time frame or my duties as an author will be deleted. I'm leaving the old ones only for context to this post.

Now, for the other newer review:

lemonade: I know, that chapter really should have been labeled differently, but I don't know if rapefic is really the tag to give it. When I originally posted this fic and set the tags, I wasn't prepared for certain scenes I was going to write later and I was also under the impression that tags could be changed on this site, like they can on so many others. It seems this is not the issue, so at the time it's impossible for me to add the tags to the whole story. However I do believe that as a whole, the fic falls under a more D/s category than a rapefic tag. Though there have been some semi-forced actions (this chapter, I admit) there has also been plenty of context explaining that Hermione is willing because she's curious. She wouldn't get down on her knees if she didn't have the curse, but because he orders it she complies and she doesn't ever feel the need to scream for help. She has never once done that, and I mention it often just to keep it fresh. She never feels like she's in real danger. She even anticipates these meetings pretty frequently. She's angry at him because he knows of her curse, because she's scared that he could do a lot more (ie make her kill someone, as she was ordered to kill Ron at the onset of the curse, or to do something like lie about herself or humiliate herself in public) but she definitely wants what's happening. It's a little twisted, yes, but it isn't rape. If she were assaulted, say, by anyone else who found out about her curse who forced themselves on her without regard for her comfort, I'd say it would go closer to rapefic, but the line is a little blurry there because of her willingness to participate in the whole thing and her desire for Draco in those moments. This recent chapter, while rougher at the start, was less rape and more Draco showing that he does indeed think of her comfort and that his actions do indeed follow some concern for her. I'll put up a slight non-con warning (less about how it isn't with her consent, and more that he does things that are past her threshold of comfort) at the beginning of the chapter or any chapter that gets a little rough from now on, but I don't really think rapefic applies to my story. It's a compromise. If someone doesn't want to read things that would be past Hermione's level of comfort, well, that's really even a more careful warning. Thanks for the concern, though, and I'll make sure to be a little more careful with my warnings. I'm still new here and I didn't really have any idea where my fic was going when I started it!

[Guest I love this]

Hahaha

[DemonGoddess]

Tags can be changed. You have to do it in your control panel, and edit the story PROPERTIES

[Guest Anonymous]

I'll start with, I greatly enjoy the stories subject, the content, the pacing, the portrayal of the characters, and I sincerely hope you keep writing this and more stories in the future (MOAR!).

However, I have but one gripe (and this is my first 'review'), so I hope it comes off more constructive than preachy.

Pareo as described, is simply too powerful of a spell. The imperious curse is in theory fallible. But up to chapter 6 so far, Pareo seems to have no vulnerability. And while I can accept that for a simple PWP that needs a simple device to get the dub/non-con scenario going. I think it is a glaring detriment to what I believe you intend to be a serious story with this plot device as the catalyst.

My issues are..

Why did Pareo descend into the depths of magical obscurity if it is indeed so very useful for the morally dubious? We are witnessing first hand in the story it is a debilitating (and useful) curse, why was it forgotten?

Why isn't Hermione more actively searching for a solution, even if it's on her own? And even if she's already in the past. She wasn't a quitter.

I hope the following doesn't ruin anyone's reading of the story.

<spoiler>

Pareo seems to have an obvious loophole that someone of Hermione's intelligence should be able to figure out in a few hours if not days.

Why doesn't Hermione simply ask harry or ron or anyone else to order her to always act of her own free will?

Blah blah, stress and anxiety prevents her from seeing the forest for the trees yada yada.

Fine i'll accept that, but, at least have draco figure it out/read it in the malfoy library. Tell her about it, and forbid her from using it to free herself. In the process lording it over her as him being more intelligent etc etc.

At this point, there's no indication this wouldn't work, unless there are heretofore undisclosed conditions of the curse. However, it would seem that with that as the simple solution, the curse might fall from grace as too finicky if the curse could be broken by anyone anytime (magical mythical or muggle) (intentionally or accidently). (A vulnerability the imperius curse does not have)

</spoiler>

I'm not trying to insult the story (or the author) I still enjoy it. However, Pareo as a spell right now falls solidly in the realm of Mary-sue.

Maybe there's more in the pipeline that we dear readers haven't gotten to yet and I've jumped the gun. But I worry since I really like this story, more background on her 'affliction'.

Thank you,

Anonymous

[Guest Arielle]

Wow,

I never thought of it like that! That's a very good post! While I love the story for the obvious smut and the convience of a hermione that is forced to bend to the will of Draco, it never occoured to me to question the spell in general! What a good and interesting observation! It doesn't ruin the story for me but almost seems like a fix challenge for the author, it makes me even more excited to see how she takes this into consideration!! I really can't wait for the next updates now!!!!

I'll start with, I greatly enjoy the stories subject, the content, the pacing, the portrayal of the characters, and I sincerely hope you keep writing this and more stories in the future (MOAR!).

However, I have but one gripe (and this is my first 'review'), so I hope it comes off more constructive than preachy.

Pareo as described, is simply too powerful of a spell. The imperious curse is in theory fallible. But up to chapter 6 so far, Pareo seems to have no vulnerability. And while I can accept that for a simple PWP that needs a simple device to get the dub/non-con scenario going. I think it is a glaring detriment to what I believe you intend to be a serious story with this plot device as the catalyst.

My issues are..

Why did Pareo descend into the depths of magical obscurity if it is indeed so very useful for the morally dubious? We are witnessing first hand in the story it is a debilitating (and useful) curse, why was it forgotten?

Why isn't Hermione more actively searching for a solution, even if it's on her own? And even if she's already in the past. She wasn't a quitter.

I hope the following doesn't ruin anyone's reading of the story.

<spoiler>

Pareo seems to have an obvious loophole that someone of Hermione's intelligence should be able to figure out in a few hours if not days.

Why doesn't Hermione simply ask harry or ron or anyone else to order her to always act of her own free will?

Blah blah, stress and anxiety prevents her from seeing the forest for the trees yada yada.

Fine i'll accept that, but, at least have draco figure it out/read it in the malfoy library. Tell her about it, and forbid her from using it to free herself. In the process lording it over her as him being more intelligent etc etc.

At this point, there's no indication this wouldn't work, unless there are heretofore undisclosed conditions of the curse. However, it would seem that with that as the simple solution, the curse might fall from grace as too finicky if the curse could be broken by anyone anytime (magical mythical or muggle) (intentionally or accidently). (A vulnerability the imperius curse does not have)

</spoiler>

I'm not trying to insult the story (or the author) I still enjoy it. However, Pareo as a spell right now falls solidly in the realm of Mary-sue.

Maybe there's more in the pipeline that we dear readers haven't gotten to yet and I've jumped the gun. But I worry since I really like this story, more background on her 'affliction'.

Thank you,

Anonymous

[Guest kateofallpeople]

Okay, lots of stuff! More things.

I understand the qualms about tagging. I have included RapeFic as a tag because it was suggested to me by admins. I'm well aware that it's a touchy subject, and that minus magic the lines are very clear, and I understand that as a writer my subjective opinion is skewed. Hence the new tag. If that means less people read it, well, oh well. Those that have read it seem to enjoy it, so I'll go with it.

Now, my whole Pareo thing:

Pareo as an idea stemmed from the idea that I love what Rowling did with naming, spells, and other things she had to make up within the canon universe. Everything seemed to have a meaning, tons of thought put into it, and I loved that. When I came up with the idea for this fic, I too had doubts, but like most fanfiction there is an explanation that sometimes the author sees more clearly than any reader. I'll explain. I originally was looking into words I could use for a spell that would bend Hermione to Draco's will. I knew I didn't want it to be something like the Imperius curse - something that likely, Hermione had trained herself to resist. Something that would control her mind, make her act out of sorts. I didn't want anything like that because it would be entirely too noticeable by her friends, his, anyone at all.

I came up with Pareo. Pareo, in my headcanon, was never forgotten. I thought about timelines with magic - how Dumbledore describes Harry's own protection (Lily's love) as "Old Magic", something very powerful but very real, cast by wizards and witches without wand or spell. I imagine that, as it's told, as a sort of historical starting point for 'modern magic', and found myself sticking Pareo somewhere in the middle of things. Pareo (along with the rest of the chapter titles) are Latin words, and Latin is of course the basis for many modern languages. Much of the word Curse Breakers do revolves around ancient Egyptian and Roman times and magic. Much of that magic along with magic even older than that, is a much more rudimentary form compared to the magic we see within the books.

I thought a lot about 'magic' seemed to happen around that sort of time in our normal, bland muggle history. Accounts of people being taken over, etc, by someone they previously wouldn't have agreed with. It made me think of the Imperius curse, in a way, but a lot stronger. It seemed more than possible, to me, that there were likely Dark Wizards in that time, the time where wands were coming into existence and wanded magic was being developed, that would have developed something like Pareo. Now, if you were some nasty dark wizard and had found a way to control a person without making it terribly obvious, would you share that with the world? Think of conquerors, etc. In ancient times, a conquerer would do anything to protect his secrets, and would probably protect Pareo as such. A commander uses it to order his army into things, he wouldn't want to share that for fear that someone else might command his own army or trusted advisor against him. I imagine that it was shared, possibly, down a family line or two, strictly within the highest ranks of dark wizards, passed down like a family secret, and even then only to the favored son, the one trusted enough to use it. I've still got some backstory to that, it'll come into play a bit later. To anyone else, it would just seem as if they were really skilled at the Imperius charm, but they would know that their spell was entirely different, not popularized, and therefore not something that any wizard could train themselves against. Imperius, of course, is control mostly of the mind - once you control the mind, you control the body. But Pareo is entirely about the body, the actions - and when someone remembers all of the likely horrible things they were forced to do, the mental repercussions would be much worse. Mental agony.

As far as Harry or Ron ordering her to act of her own free will, I probably could have been less vague about that. I thought about that, in the beginning, but have worked around it. When Draco says

"Don't scream. Don't yell. And as soon as we leave this room you are to tell no one what has happened or anything that has been said between us. Do you understand?"

It does, in a way, prevent Hermione from telling Harry or Ron that she's in trouble at all. She could, possibly, ask one of them without telling them about Draco, but it's highly unlikely given her stress and secrecy. I'd figure, in her position, that both of them would be too stubborn to help her without asking what was wrong. They'd want to know. And she wouldn't be able to tell them, and likely if Draco sensed anything had happened and she'd asked for help, he'd just reverse it. Imagine if she went up to Harry or Ron and told them to order her to act of her own will. Firstly they'd think she'd finally snapped, then if they were at all convinced that she was somewhat sane, they'd want to know what the hell was going on. Neither of them would ever give it up. And then what if it didn't work, and there was protection against that, and then it was just one more person who knew about her secret and wouldn't have the motivation to keep it such a secret for his own personal gain? Neither Harry or Ron would attempt to control her, but they'd want to help, and would probably tell others even if she told them not too. "McGonagall, Hermione's got an ancient curse that forces her to obey commands." Okay, there are hundreds of paintings within Hogwarts that would LOVE to communicate that information to anyone they know, so that's a bad idea. It's a domino effect that she can't risk starting. Here's the thing about dark curses, and that's why I've labeled it as such - they're dark curses. Don't you think someone would have made sure it couldn't be worked through with a simple loophole like telling someone to order her to act of her own free will? That's like playing freeze tag but asking someone to untag you. Like, yeah, it can be done, but that's in a childs game and not in a world of dark magic with intelligent minds. You're correct in saying that Hermione is smart enough to get her way out - but as of yet, she's extremely confused by her feelings on the matter, her excitement, her stress, and so it hasn't come into play yet. (Yet. By that I mean it will. Very soon. It's in the outline for one of the next chapters, I forget which. But it's sort of twisted.)

There's definitely more coming. Any visible loopholes and vulnerabilities that you see now, will be filled and closed. I'm focusing first on her emotions and confusion, and will later delve into the more thoughtful magic research that she'll do. I just needed to get some good stuff out there, too, or I would have posted six chapters of bickering and library research before anyone saw any knickers But it's definitely possible I made a few too many assumptions on the parts of my readers, assuming that people would see what I was getting at. (No offense, of course! As an author I just come to accept certain things as truth within my stories, and then forget sometimes that the minor details are so often what brings the truth to life.)

I'll make sure to make more solidly clear hints in the future. I'll have a little more banter about the specifics, so that it can be clearer for future readers. Thanks for pointing it out, constructive criticism in a polite form such as this is refreshing!

Kate

[Guest kateofallpeople]

Elisabeth: Thanks much! Cheers to you as well. My muse, of sorts, (the ever dedicated, ever bed-shy boyfriend who had literally zero experience before me) is learning, slowly, the depth of my sexual interests. Well, after a year and a half of slow, careful training, things are going well. But the fact still remains that sometimes, a girl needs a little excitement that comes from something unusual. Some women cheat. I write fanfiction porn. Woo!

Cat: Thanks! More writing is definitely on the way. Long chapters are soon to come. Thanks for the review!

Santi: At least you're human and humorous about it. Updates are on the way. With a pregnancy close in the family, moving, illness, work, school, and life in the way, the little time I have left is often too stressed to write something that I consider to be good enough for my readers. But now that I have dedicated days off, I assure you I'll be writing and updating more often. Thanks for the review!

DID YOU HEAR THAT, WORLD? I HAVE DEDICATED DAYS OFF NOW. TUESDAYS AND SATURDAYS. Assume that it'll take me two to three days off to write a full chapter and edit. Should be a chapter every week or so from here on out, if not more often. I DO get into moods where I'll update twice a day, and as this is my major project right now, it's highly likely that this will happen. God save Saturdays and Tuesdays. I wrote most of a chapter yesterday, I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow morning. Cheers!

[Guest Aranel]

Oh please oh please post more! I'm just not getting my kicks as often as I would like lately. Write on writer! Write on!!

[Guest Guest]

I apologize for the delays again in writing. My job nearly doubled my hours from around thirty to near sixty, and it's been tiresome. So much for Tuesdays and Saturdays... now it's just Saturday, and after working til past eleven on Saturday (starting usually early that morning for prep for a weekend night, agh!) When I do have my one day off, I use it to sleep or run errands or, god forbid, see my family. Restaurant business is brutal. Meh. I've been working on this with any free time I do have, and I've been working on cutting my hours down a little. I was only supposed to be full time! Agh! I'll try and update more often, but that's all I'll say on the subject. No promises.

Aranel: Yes! Hahhaa. Good guess there, he's been a front runner for finding out first, but we'll see... I'll tell you this though - whoever finds out first does NOT find out in the way that you'd expect. I've been planning this from the very beginning and I am so looking forward to writing that chapter. It's not quite time yet, we're still getting to the good parts, but believe you me, it'll happen and it'll be insane.

vbabe: Thanks! There's definitely still more to be written. I hinted at it in the chapter I posted this morning, and I'll include more of it in chapters to come. There are some doubts, yes, but I addressed them in the forums and there will definitely be a chapter or two dedicated to testing the limits of the curse and seeing what exactly can and can't happen. Imagine the possibilities... heh. Also thank you thank you thank you for the support on that particular matter of the dubcon. I knew coming into it that it could be a problem, but I never expected to be forced to tag it with the things I had to tag it with. It's still a little irritating, but I'll continue posting on this site until it's over, I just may also post it elsewhere. Who knows. Hermione's mind is a haze, of course, and that too will work itself out in time. Thanks for the review!

Aren: While I have dedicated dates to write, that doesn't always mean I'll think something is quality enough for an update. The two weeks I actually had a Tuesday and Saturday off, I spent running errands and sleeping and writing in between, and when I'm writing after eating old poptarts and thinking about food prep for the next days shift, I can't think sexy. It happens. Now that I have even less time off, I'm still struggling to find writing time, but I am going to try and whittle out a dedicated hour or two to get into the swing of things and at the very least write an outline for a next chapter, which is what I've been doing. It's difficult. Very little time with a very demanding job + full time school does not leave much time for late night patrol thoughts. I'm trying, here, but I can only do so much. I wouldn't want to shoot out an update twice a week that was 1-3k words and didn't make much sense or develop any plot or anything. I'll take my time writing the best chapters I can, in the mean time, and when I do actually get two days off a week again, I'll get back into it. Thanks for reviewing!

[Guest Sierra]

I've never been a fan of.... how to put this... 'adult' fan-fiction seems most appropriate. To me, it always seemed to be about grabbing two characters that the author had always wanted to see shoved together, putting them in some non-canonical situation, and then having their clothes come off and touching one anothers naughty bits. But you, Miss Kate, have completely changed my mind about it.

I first came across this story whilst sitting around bored in my bedroom, staring at the blank walls and occasionally an empty word document that I'd opened to work on my own work, an original, as I try not to butcher canon characters too often, and that tends to happen when I attempt fan-fiction, but I digress. I decided to go back and read some of my favorite fan-fictions to get myself inspired, and one of them happened to be a Hermione/Draco pairing that didn't shove them in some ridiculous situation and make them fall in love just for the sake of it, but I couldn't remember the name of it so I was googling it and stumbled across this one instead. Boy am I glad I did.

Your overall dedication to not only characterization, but not straying from your plot for the sake of the sexual incounters is absolutely amazing, and the fact that you've found a way to make it seem like these characters aren't just shoved together for the sake of shoving them together is enough to have me foaming at the fan-girl mouth, begging for more. I sat for more than an hour yesterday reading every last word you'd written, and I found myself first sympathizing with Hermione, as she struggled against this curse on her, then with Draco, as you began exploring his side as well. You've caught me in the story so much that for a moment or two, I forgot that I was reading a fanfiction on a site geared toward 'adult' fan-fiction, and simply found myself sinking into the story happily and allowing myself to even enjoy the scenes that I would normally skim over, i.e. the sex parts. You're a brilliant artist, and your craft is well honed, and whilst I could be one of those annoying reviewers that simply begs for another chapter, and I'm not going to lie, the thought has crossed my mind, I won't, because I know that a skill such as yours takes time, and I will simply have to check back every week or two to see if I can continue my journey.

Thank you, for writing a story that is not only extremely pleasing to read, but for making it seem believable, and keeping the pacing steady so that it makes it feel more like an original work than something that has been imagined between characters from a world that another author crafted. Happy writing, and I look forward to seeing where you go in the future.

- Sierra

[kateofallpeople]

Sierra - Thank you so much! You have no idea what it means to me to hear praise like that, holy crap. I do my best and sometimes I worry that my best isn't enough, but then I hear from readers like you and I have a restored faith in my ability.

EEvans: Hence the yet

Silversal: Thank you for your kind words! I too have sifted through fics in this fandom/pairing on this site and others, and while there are a few good ones out there, most just leave me wanting and disappointed. I feel like as a writer, I have a whole different level of understanding and praise for a good fic, because I know what went into it! Thanks for reviewing!

Apple-Hime: I totally didn't even think about that until I saw your review, I started cracking up! Oh man. Now when I read it, I guarantee that song is going to pop up at the end of that line HAHAH. Thanks for reading!