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Tweak says, "lookin very Makey Outy tonight"

hdcup_mod (hdcup_mod) wrote in hd_worldcup,
@ 2008-04-01 07:20:00

Entry tags:

fic, pg-13, prompt: the fool, round i, team epilogue

Riptide -- Team Epilogue
Title: Riptide
Team: Epilogue
Author: annafugazzi
Prompt: The Fool
Wordcount: 19,244
Rating: PG13-ish
Warnings: Infidelity, but hey, it's Team Epilogue, what do you expect?
Summary: (With apologies to George Lucas) "Who's the more foolish: the fool, or the fool who follows him?"
Author's Note Thanks so much to J, L, S, and V for extensive beta and Britpick and encouragement and sometimes, entire passages ;)

Riptide

Poll #1286
Open to: All, results viewable to: None

Is the author/artist true to their team? Yes/No vote ("yes" is worth 2 points, "no" is worth 0)

How well did the author/artist use their Prompt? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)

How much did you like this story/art overall? 1 to 9 (1 being the least)

For a description of teams, please see our FAQ.

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ciraarana
2008-04-01 04:08 pm UTC (link)

Thought-provoking and rather disquieting fic. And really, Harry was a selfish bastard. But he was typical Harry: taking great risks, going his way without thoughts about what his actions might mean to others, totally blind towards the fact that other people don't live - and don't want to live - their lives along the same lines he does. So, top points for having very a very ic Harry, and also a very ic Draco! Also, interesting use of the prompt. I daresay I'll be thinking about the answer to your summary-question for quite some time. ^-^

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unbroken_halo
2008-04-01 06:28 pm UTC (link)

Wow! Definitely a thought provoking piece. I really enjoyed the seriousness of how Draco approached Harry's lifestyle. The midlife crisis, Draco's feelings of inertia, Harry's restlessness as well as foolishness, and the ugliness that Harry spoke of was all handled extremely well. The humor sprinkled throughout the piece blended in nicely with the contrast of the serious topic. Many times I found myself laughing out loud. Nicely done, anonymous author.

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misterwalnut
2008-04-01 10:16 pm UTC (link)

Okay. Okay.

Let me just begin by telling you how much I loved with the ending. Draco was somewhat mellowed-out, quieter than I remember him to be, but it's all so believable because they're older and of course some portion of their personality has to chip away.

I always saw Draco as obedient but defiant in his own way, and it shows so clearly in the ending - Draco obeyed his duties to Astoria while, in the way no one else would, 'defying' Harry and whatever Harry'd been proposing.

There was none of the happy-ending-jumbo I wanted to see in this fic, but it made me think and just - that's more than I can say for most of the stuff I've been reading lately. Wonderful work!

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	ships_harry 2008-04-01 10:21 pm UTC (link)
	Mm, excellent! I remember the beginning from it as a WIP, but hadn't read the rest until now; awesome. Loved Draco's voice, and Harry kind of coming in and out of his life in fits and starts. Fascinating story with a lot to think about in it. And go Team Epilogue! (Reply to this)

yumikoyoshihana
2008-04-02 01:59 am UTC (link)

Somber, yet realistic in the way it dealt with infidelity and struggling with one's own confidence. Not the happily ever after I would like to see for my boys, but very well done nonetheless.

The newspaper articles in the story were, I think, a nice touch. I was also glad to see that Al and Scorpius were friends, and I enjoyed the Harry/Ginny dynamic - wich is saying quite a bit for someone who loathes harry/ginny.

Draco, though, poor Draco broke my heart. He's stuck in an empty life with an empty job and an empty marriage while Harry goes off in his exciting life and tramples all over Draco's heart in the process. Its sad, but very good

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	angelbabecj 2008-04-02 12:17 pm UTC (link)
	Great fic. I love the interspersed newspaper clips fuelling Draco's reactions and Scorpius making his way through all the Weasleys, great idea. Lovely :) (Reply to this)

this is twig_tea from livejournal, too lazy to get openID
(Anonymous)
2008-04-02 03:53 pm UTC (link)

AAAAAAAGH.

Okay. So. Harry was being totally selfish. But in a trying-to-share-his-selfishness kind of way. He never was very good at understanding that people's circumstances were different. And then again, Draco was always way too good at making his circumstances seem extra-special compared to everyone else's. I mean, there was a way, or even plenty of ways, for him to do what Harry had been doing, though he would have had to be far more careful about it. But Draco was always less willing to give up his known for someone else's unknown, and that's what got him into messes before, so it makes sense it'd keep him in his mess now. And as he said, he wasn't exactly unhappy with the way things were. That takes a special kind of character that Harry could not and would not want to understand--being satisfied with something despite being unhappy with it.

Basically what I'm saying is I thought it was beautifully constructed, really well done, excellently in-character, and totally heartwrenching and I hate you guys a tiny bit for ending it that way even though it was perfect and guh.

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tlp2107
2008-04-02 08:49 pm UTC (link)

very interesting. it was a bit jarring to see harry so...reckless. especially as it was interspersed with moments of seeming normalcy in his early interactions with draco. but it definitely added to the suspense and intrigue. harry was really a mystery, especially as the narrative was set against the newspaper clippings.

i really liked draco's characterization. his changing feelings toward harry throughout really came across as genuine.

as a happy ending lover, i wish they had ended up together, but i like how you made the ending a mirror of the canon epilogue.

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(Anonymous)
2008-04-03 09:02 am UTC (link)

I loved the... the love story, I guess. Well, Harry and Draco's interactions. I loved that glimpse. And Draco's... how he feels about risks. In the books at least, it's true that Draco's always back-fires and Harry's mostly pay off.

I liked Astoria.

I got me thinking a lot about Draco's and Scorpious relationship. You know, how Scorpious sees his father, and how Draco's attitude towards his life etc. affected all this and- Yeah. LOL. I got really invested in the story. Good job.

~vickevire

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marguerite_26
2008-04-03 01:23 pm UTC (link)

It took me a bit to decided if I liked the ending, because it was unexpected. But in the end I really really liked it.

As a happily married person, I thought this fic was a fascinating look at marriage and fidelity. The approach was one I'd never seen done before. By the end of the fic, as much as I felt sorry for Draco and his unhappy life, I still truly respected his struggle and the decisions he had to make. Far more than I respected Harry by the end of it all.

The fic gave me a lot of food for thought about my own marriage and decisions I will have to make in the years to come. And that is the mark of a very good fic. Well done.
:D

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	trubbleclef 2008-04-03 03:47 pm UTC (link)
	This made my heart ache. So beautifully frustrating. I just want to punch Harry. (Reply to this)

	feastonmyheart 2008-04-05 01:54 am UTC (link)
	Very good story! (Reply to this)

greenjuly
2008-04-06 12:36 am UTC (link)

A very good story!

Karaoke is indeed a heinous custom. To be honest, that almost had me hitting the back button, but I’m glad I read on. In fact, Draco's description of Harry's terrifically awful singing was hilarious.

I don’t see Harry Potter as someone who would ever do karaoke, but well ... I’ll let that one by. You've characterized Harry rather differently than he appears in the books - I buy his obliviousness, if not his obliviousness to awkward moments, but I have trouble seeing him as this reckless. Not sure that I buy Harry as the aggressor, either. I liked the way you voiced Draco in this fic; he is rather different from his canon self, but this is to be expected given that your story is set many years later. Somehow, I think you pulled this off better with Malfoy than with Harry.
I liked this part :

Draco nodded, forcing his face into impassivity. He was, frankly, a bit repelled. Just up and abandoning one's marriage, one's life, all of one's responsibilities, out of... what? Boredom? Thinking nothing of appearing in the papers, not caring what it might do to one's children to have their parents gossiped about. Not much caring what it did to one's friends to also be front-page fodder, and all for the sake of... a need for adventure? Selfishness?

Oh, and nice gentle mockery of the infamous chest monster!

The supporting cast were pretty good. I liked Asteria, and thanks for including that line about how Ginny having had 3 boyfriend in her 7 years at Hogwarts doesn't make her a slut. Yeah, that Ginny, she certainly gets around!

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	elfflame 2008-04-06 05:42 am UTC (link)
	Love the journey of this piece, and that you didn't take the easy way out and make it a happy ending, but a moment in time. I'd love to see more, of course, but I do love what you have here. A truly wonderful Draco. (Reply to this)

vickyducky
2008-04-07 03:55 pm UTC (link)

I very much enjoyed this fic - even the rather melancholy ending. I thought it was very well written and I liked the Harry/Ginny situation and how you revealed it. I've not read the mid-life crisis quite like that before. I also liked the little snippets about the children - I am a huge sucker for caring dad Draco. The plot reminded me rather of Brief Encounter, right from the moment where Harry and Draco share the table in the busy restaurant, and as that is one of my favourite films I think that reconciled me to the ending which was better on balance than the happy ending I usually like.

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lalaith_niniel
2008-04-08 04:51 am UTC (link)

Oh. Wow! This was a brilliantly done piece, and I love how well you worked with the conflicting views on what's acceptable and manageable for the characters. As far as epilogue compliant stories go, this was one of the better ones at dealing with how difficult such a situation is, so well done!

The moments of levity were also highly amusing; the comment about Ginny and McGonagall had me pausing to laugh and struggling to keep my screen clear.

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