Shit title.

Anyway, this is an odd one, but I suppose most requests are.

I haven't read as far or as wide as many people on here. I'm surprised I haven't come across anything like what I'm trying to accomplish. I'm wondering if there are any and I just haven't read them.

Basically, I'm after something like my fic on the relationship side. There are sort of two sides to that:

1. Harry dates several girls (dates, not just sleeps with) before he figures out who he wants. I really want proper relationships, but flings would do in a pinch.

2. The pairing is not revealed at the start of the fic, so you're not knowing all along that the other girls he dates are doomed and you're just waiting for the final pairing. (I'm well aware that opens me up to surprise slash recs. I'd appreciate that not happening.)

Plot I'm not too fussed on. I'm really just researching how to make my relationship aspects better by seeing how this sort of thing has been done elsewhere in the fandom.

 

That really is a problem.

Sometimes I think the whole fandom is circling around pairings, even DLP. Here some people (Sesc, I am looking at you) are on the bring to flame if someone dares to forget a pairing tag for a story submission. Sometimes that's actually killing parts of the suspense the story might have had.

The best I can suggest is to specifically look for stories featuring Harry/OC on ff.net. Though even then it quite often is obvious right from the first few paragraphs which girl Harry will get.

 

That's exactly it. The romance rarely has any suspense, just angst as the author prolongs the couple getting together (not that I mind that when done properly, but that's all there is). I don't want to know the end result at the start of the fic, but I guess I'm kind of in the wrong area of the literature world for that since such a large part of fanfiction seems to be wish-ship-fulfillment.

I've seen that story around before, but the summary never grabbed me (and I only found it after my H/G phase). I'll give it a shot. Definitely seems to fit the dates multiple girls properly side of things. It's a damn shame that the author decided to include that A/N though, some time into the story according to their profile. Had that not existed, that would be exactly what I was after.

Understandable about the x-outs. But if anyone has read any good ones, I figure it's here on DLP. Thanks for the rec regardless.

 

To OT:

You sir, are a brave brave man.

I don't think I could ever bring myself to read a serious romance fic that keeps the OTP a secret. At any moment it could devolve into something ridiculous... like Harry/MoaningMyrtle.

 

There was a time where this pairing was being explored here on DLP. It was pretty lulzy. I know for a fact there's like, 10 of them on AFF.

 

The only one I can think of is Harry Potter and the Litany of Blood by Jon3776. It's really old and unfinished but it was alright. It does say what the two possible pairings are from the start but it doesn't say who he ends up with, of course it's unfinished so you'll never get to find out. There are a few next-gen or marauder era fics that fit the bill, but I don't think you're looking for them.

 

The thing is, for this to work, there need to be lots of OCs that Harry could possibly end up with. The only story like that I know of offhand is The Star Empire, where basically all the characters but Harry are OCs. I didn't realize a suspenseful shipping war was one of the pluses of the fic as I was reading it, but looking back that might be part of why it sticks out.

 

Or, you know, you could stick with a story that has a 'conventional' character for the pairing and hope to god that the author does something new with the format, like have the relationship be constructed on mutual distrust/hatred and only held together by their lust or controlling instincts.

Or hell, you could really go balls out and find a fic that actually has a decent romance but then has the guts to have the relationship develop quasi-realistically and have problems beyond the typical 'others-disapprove', 'miscommunications', 'jealous stalker uses a love potion to destroy relationship' bullshit. Fuck, if you're looking for interesting literature rather than masturbation material you might even be able to find a fic where the romance ultimately fails and yet it still feels somewhat satisfying - but Lord knows, given the wankery that tends to surround most fanfic romances you won't find many of those.

But in all due seriousness and minus the majority of the dickishness in the above paragraphs, I don't see why you don't just read Harry/OC or Harry/Slytherin!female - hell, in most cases there, the Slytherin women have different personalities anyways, regardless of their names, so on a broader level, it still remains surprising... of course, that'd be more true if most fanfic writers didn't write female characters with the subtlety of a Final Fantasy heroine with severe brain damage.

(apologies for the somewhat acerbic temper - studying all day, reading bad fanfic in the evening, and the girlfriend being out of town is doing nothing for my temper)

 

Hey Scary. Remember all those things you promised? Still bitter man. Still bitter.

 

Before it ended Just Lucky, I guess had no set pairing. The Author made one towards the end and then changed the pairing representation to reflect that. He's currently rewriting it so I don't know if the main pairing will stay the same so here's the link. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7197822/1/bJust_b_blucky_b_bI_b_bguess_b

 

http://www.fictionalley.org/authors/e_e_beck/HPATFOC.html

Harry Potter and the Fall of Childhood... well, I think the best way to describe it is "unique". Given that it was started before OotP and finished before HBP came out, it resembles many fics of the era in wildly divergent (but interesting), new applications of magic, characterization, plotting, and worldbuilding. In terms of technical writing it's perhaps slightly above DLP's "average" standard, so it's really everything else that makes it worth reading.

I mean, beyond the pairing(s), and speaking of which, it doesn't explicitly say which one is the "final" one, and you can just skip that one line that starts with "Parings: " if you don't want to know them at all.

 

Thanks, I think. But I'm mainly hoping you guys can spare me some of that.

Yes, I had completely forgotten about this. This is ideal. We the reader have no idea if Harry will end up with Fem!Blaise or Fleur. Or both. I'll reread it. Fingers crossed what's there holds up.

Portus' post in particular makes me curious. Thanks.

I'm curious, what did I promise besides having Harry and Padma get together at some point? Oh, and showing you a scene I'd completed with the two once I got passed the major spoiler that's in it.

Cheers, I'll give it a chance.

Thanks. I managed to avoid the pairings line and read the chapter. Reasonable, but nothing special. Will give it a fair shot though.

No worries about the tone, I agree with most of what you said. You've pretty aptly described the breadth of drama/suspense in 99% of fanfiction romances. I'm hoping for that other percent, where there actually are some realistic issues, realistic depictions of relationships, and... well, the part you missed where Harry dates more than one person and it's uncertain to the reader who they end up with.

It's a bit disappointing that fanfiction is so divided into ships so that there are only a handful fics that have multiple girls (and Harry not choose all). I'd better get back writing and make one myself.

Thanks for the help everybody.

 

That's one of the central problems. Almost all romance fics are written by rather young girls or old virgins without any sense for plot and character and the development of a relationship. They try to write down their own dreams and fantasies which rarely correspondent with reality.

Oh, and we all know you don't have a girlfriend and aren't interested in girls .

 

scaryisntit... may I refer you to both of my stories at the bottom of my sig? Neither are finished, but what you are suggesting is definitely well within my steezy. Potter, No Angst is Harry/Pansy but is Harry/Hermione at the moment with Ginny and Luna chomping at the bit, and We'll All Fall is Harry/Parvati, with traces of Harry/Katie, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Fleur...

I am that dude who writes that shit. Peep.

 

Not sure if serious XD

 

No it is serious. That story has realistic relationship between rapist and victim.

 

I haven't read the story, but unless it has the victim either suffering breakdowns around the rapist or trying to kill him, I'd say it's far from realistic.

 

It was more in response to the multiple OCs thing, with regards to the more complex relationships in the story such as with

Spoiler

Claris, Selner, and Amande. There is a lot of legitimate angst about whether he ends up with Claris or not, since of course we don't have a pairing spoiler as is usual in the fandom.

And on the other point,

IIRC, in the two cases so far

Spoiler

one of them later tried to kill him with a starship fleet, and the other one broke down entirely.