"Ask The Readers" (lol)

[shimotsuki]

LJ seems to be working now. ...Mostly. So I thought I'd stretch it a little and post a poll, heh.

Seriously, there's something that's been a sticking point for me in working out Kaleidoscope (my Remus/Tonks fic series), and that is how to incorporate Tonks's "tea and sympathy" scene with Molly at the Burrow. The Tonks in my head isn't the type to mope or pine just because she can't have the man she wants, so I think there's more than that going on (frustration, anger, worry). But then for this reason, I feel like the beginning of HBP is too early in the timeline for Tonks to have given up on her chances with Remus -- not to mention that there need to be that "million times" when they argue.

So I've written a piece for day_by_drabble where I try to flesh out what is going on with Tonks in that scene from HBP, and I would love some feedback on whether it works for (a) canon Tonks and (b) Kaleidoscope Tonks (if you've been reading the series).

The drabble: Invitation (326 words | PG, mild profanity)

[Poll #1765853]
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Comments

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Then in HBP we see her completely defeated, depressed and all because of Remus?

Exactly -- my reading of canon is that it doesn't have to be all because of Remus. And I agree with you that to make Tonks make sense, given what she was like in OotP, it really can't be all because of Remus.

I don't even think that what Tonks is reacting to is Remus's rejection of her, plain and simple. I'd say Tonks has too much self-respect for that. I think it's because Tonks knows that Remus is rejecting her even though he actually loves her, and needs her very badly -- this is why she doesn't give up or cut her losses.

Anyway, glad you thought this looks like it will work! I'm pretty confident my stories make Tonks fit into canon later in HBP, but I was glad to get some feedback on the way I'm handling her at this earlier timepoint. (And I may not write up this particular chapter for a while, but it influences some things I'm doing in some WIP chapters at the moment...)

[merryb87.livejournal.com]

I think it's because Tonks knows that Remus is rejecting her even though he actually loves her, and needs her very badly -- this is why she doesn't give up or cut her losses.

I have always thought that, he must have had feelings, strong ones for her, thus why she never gave up on him and why it seemed everyone, including McGonagall, was telling him to stop being such a git about it.

Because really, if he didn't love her, wouldn't they be telling her to cut her loses? And I would like to think that he would, you know, tell her instead of leading her on and giving some hope, that would be terrible.

The one thing that bothers me, is her lack of morphing abilities in HBP, that it was implied that she "lost" them because of Remus. I refuse to think that, I like to think that she was choosing not too, in order to appear more mature, and that it was Remus that convinced her, that everyone would be more cheery, and have hope if she stayed true to herself.

As for anger, yes I think she was angry, but more at Dumbledore than Remus, I can see her making frequent trips to the man and just yelling at him, for doing what he was doing to Remus, for NOTHING. Which is what I think you captured well in your drabble, this off putting of Dumbledore.

Err sorry for the rant... lol.

[shimotsuki.livejournal.com]

Ranting is welcome here! (hee)

The one thing that bothers me, is her lack of morphing abilities in HBP, that it was implied that she "lost" them because of Remus. I refuse to think that

I totally agree. In this ficverse, I want the lack of morphing to be also due to her grief over Sirius, and then later her worry over Remus's safety, plus the continual drain of working for the Order along with her job, and all those dementors.

But I've got her angry at Remus, too, for being so stubborn!