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Tweak says, "I AM A GOLDEN GOD!"

hdcup_mod (hdcup_mod) wrote in hd_worldcup,
@ 2008-04-03 07:56:00

Entry tags:

fic, nc-17, prompt: judgment, round i, team epilogue

Take A Sad Song (And Make It Better) -- Team Epilogue
Title: Take A Sad Song (And Make It Better)
Team: Epilogue
Author: femmequixotic
Prompt: Judgment
Wordcount: 45,425
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: none
Summary: The last thing Harry wants is to lose his kids.
Author's Note: Many thanks to my two wonderful betas for their work. The card interpretation I used may be found here.

Take A Sad Song (And Make It Better)

Poll #1304
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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A+

greenjuly
2008-04-07 12:49 am UTC (link)

Wow. This story was INCREDIBLE. I don’t want to gush terribly, but I feel like I also can’t gush about it enough. This fic was total class. I was utterly caught up in it and almost didn’t want it to end ... just brilliant. I will certainly be rereading and reccing this fic!

Your characterization was very, very good. Although I love fics set in the years after DH, I sometimes have trouble with them because, no matter how well written and characterized, they feel too far divorced from the people we know from canon. But in this fic I loved the way you wrote the characters as older; they were somewhat different, as you would expect from their life experiences, but still firmly rooted in their younger canon counterparts. Your characters acted like real people, with all their petty squabbles and misunderstandings and annoyances.

Generally I don’t see Harry as someone who would ever cheat, but this was well-written enough that it didn’t bother me – I could accept it, even! I liked the fact that it’s a somewhat new twist on the Harry-and-Ginny-split-up scenario. At first I thought it seemed unrealistic for Ginny to be so horrible regarding the custody of the kids, but then I thought that in her place, I’d be pretty damn bitter. I appreciate the fact that you didn’t turn her into a stereotypical fanfic bitch!Ginny. I mean, sure, she did act pretty bitchy for much of this fic, but she had good reason, and I thought her character was fairly treated. Similarly, at first I thought that Ron was a bit too much of a bastard as well (perhaps just because I am sensitive to homophobic slurs) but on second thoughts I buy it. He hit Harry with some pretty nasty names at one point, but under the circumstances it’s a pretty understandable way to react. Everyone was so well written that you both felt horrible for Harry, yet wanted to see him called out because he deserved it. That is one really excellent thing about your story, that you inspired sympathy for both sides. I agreed with Ginny, even as I was thinking "well how can Harry know all about the kids’ school lives when you [Ginny] hardly let him see them"?

Your plot was fantastic too; the pacing was good and the subplots all came together brilliantly. I really enjoyed how the Harry/Draco romance was just one part of the overall fic, not its essence. Even if this fic didn’t have a H/D romance, it still would have been a great story. It would have worked equally well without it. A lot of (probably most) ship-focused fics would completely fall over if you sucked out the romance. I really like that you cast your net wider, and did it so well.

A few other things I noticed that really charmed and/or interested me :

-- Beatles references! That is an excellent way to start off a fic. Of course, it helps that I am a Beatlemaniac ... oh yes. (Off topic but I have to mention ... I love the White Album. Never got into Exile, though).
-- I love it that Albus asks Harry to explain Doctor Who.
-- Draco’s photos of Scorpius behind his desk.
-- He'd thought Harry'd decided to take a bird on the side; he'd not been entirely wrong, he'd discovered.
Ha! Was that a deliberate reference to Viktor’s ‘beak-like’ nose and him being ‘duck footed’?
-- Dean! He’s a minor character that I’ve always liked, so I was thrilled to see him turn up in your story. Even if he was implied to be homophobic.
-- I liked the fact that you made Scorpius deaf! I have quite an interest in Deaf culture myself and do sign a little, so I was personally very interested by this plot point.
-- Plus ... hot sex scene!

A small point – when Malfoy was ranting at him about going to see Lucius, I would have thought that Harry would have pointed out that he went to see him about Auror stuff. It’s a true excuse, even if his visit was largely not about that. But I guess it would have been superfluous to actually say this.

To finish up my ridiculously long comment, this is my favourite HD_worldcup fic so far. Thanks so much for writing! Mystery Author, I have my suspicions about who you are, but I could be way off base. I can’t wait for the big reveal!

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