hdcup_mod ([info]hdcup_mod) wrote in [info]hd_worldcup,
@ 2008-04-08 07:37:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:fic, nc-17, prompt: the devil, round i, team epilogue

Better The Devil You Know (Mehen) - Team Epilogue
Title: Better The Devil You Know (Mehen)
Team: Epilogue
Author: [info]chaeldub
Prompt: The Devil
Wordcount: ~14,800
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Infidelity, misuse of magic, self-harm(inflicted by another), angst, mentions of character death.
Summary: Any chain is freely worn. You are enslaved only because you allow it. Throught the passing of time, Harry comes to realise we are each our own Devil.
Author's Note The meaning of The Devil card can be found Here Thank you to my teammates and to my betas W&W—I could not have done it without you.



Better The Devil You Know (Mehen)


Poll #1167696
This poll is closed.
Open to: All, detailed 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.

(Post a new comment)


[info]aayshah
2008-04-08 03:41 pm UTC (link)
Very interesting story. I really enjoyed it.

(Reply to this)


[info]allika
2008-04-08 06:37 pm UTC (link)
This was absolutely amazing. Harry and Draco were absolutely perfect. I loved your little subtle touches of things unexplained, unresolved; the gameboard and Mehen, the "maybe" applied to Dean, Seamus, and Luna. Harry and Draco, the facts about them, they were either unknown or very strange to me, but somehow, even though I usually hate unanswered questions, it made the story deeper, richer, and more wonderful. Harry was not "my" Harry, or a Harry that I could relate to or understand, really, but it still really, really worked for me. How did you do that?! :)

(Reply to this)


[info]ravenqueen55
2008-04-08 07:12 pm UTC (link)
Fabulous story. I loved the H/D relationship; the development of the need and want and desire between the two. And I LOVED the kiss at the end...it felt freeing.

Great job!

(Reply to this)


[info]gina87
2008-04-08 07:45 pm UTC (link)
Wow, really fantastic story. I loved the way Harry needed Draco.

I enjoyed it very much. Great job!

(Reply to this)


[info]casynne
2008-04-08 07:48 pm UTC (link)
Another subtly crafted story. I must admit that it took me time to understand the reasons behind Harry's desire for Draco to carve these names into his flesh. However, after Draco spelled his father's name on Harry's chest, I finally begun to 'get' it. It was not that Harry wanted to be hurt that way; it was more that he needed a kind of justification to himself for seeing Draco, and these scars only served as a pretense. And I liked how everything seemed to come together at the end; how Harry stopped hiding the truth from himself.

It didn't read like a usual epilogue-fic, it's as if you showed Harry leading two lives - the visible one, and the covert one.

Well done, and thank you for writing! :) Some spelling issues and missing commas, but it didn't interfere with the reading.

(Reply to this)


[info]tiger_iris
2008-04-08 08:00 pm UTC (link)
I really liked this story, and I can't exactly explain why. I think it was the tattoo obsession, clearly getting out of control, that fascinated me. Yes, everything was going down the tubes from the beginning, but neither Harry nor Draco was ready to recognize it.

I loved how you managed to remain true to Team Epilogue without having to deal with all the nastiness that generally goes together with infidelity, Ginny and the kids. As unlikely that the end may seem at first, it made sense and I loved it. The devil was at work and he could not be ignored any longer. *smirks*

(Reply to this)


[info]shoeboxer4life
2008-04-08 08:37 pm UTC (link)
Something inside him broke, and at the same time was fixed.

This line, and the fine line your Harry and Draco walk between pleasure and pain, was reminiscent of the Mudhoney Trilogy. A compliment, I assure you.

(Reply to this)


[info]zahavah
2008-04-08 09:44 pm UTC (link)
hmm ok let's see. some thoughts, in no particular order:

i really liked the premise of the story - with the tattoos, etc.

there were some major and consistent grammatical errors and distracted me all the way through, though (such as misuse of apostrophes and to vs. too, etc.).

i liked the way the epilogue was worked in, and how harry kept adding names in what he thought was some sort of logical order over the years.

the ending felt.. abrupt. like, all of a sudden we were at "19 years later" and it was time to wrap things up neatly, with no real regard for what had been crafted before in terms of the H/D dynamic.

randomly, i totally loved the board game.

(Reply to this)


[info]romaine24
2008-04-08 10:03 pm UTC (link)
I really liked the story.

The carving of the tattoos was quite erotic and I'm not usually a fan of bloodplay.

Malfoy owning Borgin and Burkes *AWESOME*

The continued relationship and duel live over the years was fascinating, however the end was rather quick. I liked Draco saying he was exploring his boundaries, but I can't see Harry dissing Ginny in public just because she might know.

(Reply to this)


[info]oldenuf2nb
2008-04-08 10:43 pm UTC (link)
Well, well done. I thought this was brilliantly crafted, full of stark imagery and a taut sensuality right from the very beginning. I liked it very much.

(Reply to this)


[info]sesheta_66
2008-04-09 12:45 am UTC (link)
Mmm ... that was a delicious twist, with the tattoos over the years. The way they became an obsession for Harry was very cool, and the way you intertwined their relationship with their marriages was very well done.

The end, while abrupt (and I'm sure Ron would have decked Harry) and in your face (not caring who at the Ministry saw them), the fact that the two of them came together without the pretext of another tattoo was a win.

I also wanted to know more about the board game. *is curious*

(Reply to this)


[info]absynthedrinker
2008-04-09 12:49 am UTC (link)
This is definitely reminiscent of Calanthe and Frayach's stories. The passionate desire and the sensual abandonment of reason to the needs of the flesh are captivating. I always think a "later" happy ending makes more sense to me. When two men endure what this pair has the ending should read "and they lived happily ever after, after. The End" Very, very well done! This is my favourite story so far from the Worldcup. Thanks

Peace

Bubba

(Reply to this)


[info]yura_slash
2008-04-09 12:52 am UTC (link)
i really liked this story. A LOT. self-mutilation can be soooooo bad if done poorly, but this was done so damn well. i think that the names were a wonderful method, too, especially when you take into account the way harry named his children. PERFECT way to weave your story in with canon.

i'm not sure i like the pacing at the end as much as i absolutely LOVE the rest of this. but i do understand the limits of writing a fest fic and the way the ending can sometimes get a bit rushed.

great fic and a nice interpretation of the devil card.

Edited at 2008-04-09 12:52 am UTC

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]yura_slash
2008-04-09 12:54 am UTC (link)
oh- and ginny was wonderful. the way she doesn't say anything, but knows about the scars and harry's affair with draco.

and this line was awesome: This dark part of the wizarding world, this little black blotch on the Wizarding map, still took in its brethren, tucking them into the shadows like the folds of a skirt hiding frightened children.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

[info]tomatoe18
2008-04-09 02:34 am UTC (link)
The ending was more than just a little surprising. The PDA totally came out of left field but it pleased me nonetheless. :)

Anyway, I just need to say that I absolutely love, love, love Harry and Draco's interactions over the years here. Difficult, rough and often violent but the intensity is amazing. If I knew anyone in real life like the way you wrote about Harry and Draco here, I would never be able to look away, just like I couldn't look away from your portrayal of Harry and Draco. Again, the ending is quite fitting!

I wish there was an art for this fic. I'd really love to see all those names carved on to Harry's skin! <3

(Reply to this)


[info]empress_jae
2008-04-09 03:47 am UTC (link)
i thought this was an amazing concept. you kept the epilogue and then made the rest your own with your own twist, yet still reamined canon. *applauds* the magical tattoo using a modified version of sectumsempra was delicious, and totally got me excited while reading. (i may have a kink for blood play...maybe.) i had every tattoo pictured clearly in my head, and i'm hoping that someone will do some art for this fic, because it deserves a visual. :D

i wish you had elaborated more on the board game in draco's shop. i kept thinking it was going to have an intricate part in the fic, but it wasn't mentioned again. ah well. :D

i thought the ending was slightly abrupt, but it tied in well.

a few things though...i think you may want to have another thorough beta and britpick check after the fest before you publicly post or archive this. there are a quite few grammatical errors and some shifts in tense that would've been more distracting if the plot concept wasn't so captivating. you also may want to check some terms you used and replace them with canon terms. (i.e. healer instead of seeing a doctor at St. Mungo's)

regardless, i really enjoyed this. like i said, you hit my kinks and did it well. i love a good angsty and slightly dark fic with a good plot, and this hit all of those on the nose. well done! :D

Edited at 2008-04-09 03:48 am UTC

(Reply to this)


[info]magelet
2008-04-09 04:28 am UTC (link)
Oh, that was so, so, so, so good! I love how Harry need Draco and the pain more and more like an addiction without ever feeling ecstasy until he finally admitted it in public at the end. ♥

(Reply to this)


[info]plotting_pen
2008-04-09 06:07 am UTC (link)
this was absolutely addictive. It was angsty and haunting and definitely had the undertone of Harry being shadowed by the devil. I loved it loved it! Loved it when Harry realized everything Draco's done was for him. THAT part took my breath away. Granted, I found the whole mutilation thing a bit icky, but I think that's part of the reason why the entire fic was so haunting.

This was uber great! Thank you for a lovely fic!

(Reply to this)


[info]aquila_star
2008-04-09 07:28 am UTC (link)
yes, that was wonderful. I loved the idea of the tattoos, the sex...the end as great! thank you.

(Reply to this)


[info]aasaylva
2008-04-09 10:16 am UTC (link)
Quibbles first: To me, the beginning and the end seemed rather rushed and thus, psychologically not as convincing as I would have liked them to be, in order to to justice to the very well done middle section. For example, I found it hard to believe that Harry would let Draco draw a wand on him, let himself be sliced open (however superficially) just like that in a first encounter. Similarly, the sudden decision of both of them in the end after neither of them had ever even wanted to end their charade (in Harry's case, bone-deep denial may be argued, but Draco knew very well what was going on).
That said - the vast majority of the story was very well crafted indeed. Your idea of combining denial with bloodplay, guilt and desire is as twisted and true as it is ingenious. I will have to read it again to see whether my first ideas were right, but it seemed to me as if Harry masked his feeling of guilt (because of his "unnatural" attraction to Draco)by guilt over all the dead persons in his past, which enabled him to ascribe his temporary relief to some sort of exorcism/ penitance instead of to Draco's closeness and touch of skin. At the same time: such a Gryffindor way of handling lust - if you have to submit to it, make sure it hurts! While at the same time a very Slytherin way of veiling truths under several layers: first the charm for nobody to see them, then the names to detract from the one name that was the real reason for his sleeplessness (in fact, I waited for Draco's name to be etched in his skin one day), at the same time so deep (etched into his very skin) and still so outward, only skin-deep). Um, my head is spinning the longer I ponder this, so I'll shut up now...

BTW: The image of Harry with his tattoos reminded me of Guy Pearce in "Memento"

(Reply to this)


[info]raitala
2008-04-09 10:20 am UTC (link)
I enjoyed reading this story a lot. I like how you portrayed Draco healing Harry, and himself along the way, not with tenderness, though there was tenderness there, but through helping Harry find a way to release himself.

(Reply to this)


[info]melodytime
2008-04-09 07:04 pm UTC (link)
Oh -- to think I wasn't going to read anything more today! I loved this through and through. The story felt intimate, rich and "earthy". Sure there were some grammatical errors but not at all so it disturbed me. I LOVED the ending. And the beginning. And all of it. And Harry! It made me feel like the chapter The Forest Again did and THAT is a compliment, because that made me bawl my eyes out. (And I just happened to be listening to Crossroads by Tracy Chapman just now, so I had to cry a bit more :) )

(Reply to this)


[info]tulimeeria
2008-04-09 07:44 pm UTC (link)
This was an engaging fic on many accounts, but I think the skill with which you set moods impressed me the most. The scenes where Draco "tattooed" Harry? Simply electric. :)

It's hard to pinpoint what exactly it was that made many of the images so strong (even very small scenes, like the one where Harry waits for Draco to come out from B&B's - such a rich atmosphere of idleness and ... dusty streets on summer evenings, maybe), but one thing I paid attention to was that you kept a very nice rhythm throughout the piece. The one-word paragraphs, for instance, did the trick really well, I felt.

The entire concept of the tattoos bringing the boys together drew me in so completely that I almost ... want a tattoo now. You can congratulate yourself on a fantastic idea! It's believable, too; I'm no Freud but there's definitely something about surrendering yourself in that way, letting someone hurt you, that can act as as a turn-on. Combine that with the enigmatic blood symbolism and, phew. Harry and Draco's relationship struck me as very masculine, if you know what I mean - very powerful. An alpha relationship? (Excuse my home-made DIY terminology.)

The mysterious Mehen references remained quite mysterious for me, though. What/who is/was Mehen? An Egyptian snake god of some kind, I gather - but what did it have to do with Draco's tattoos and the board game? I confess to being a bit tired, so that may be it; but it did feel very obscure. Like I was meant to realise something, and didn't.

My only real complaint is with your misplaced apostropes. I caught at least three incidents where you had stuck one in a plural word ("reason's", "Black's", "Magnolia's"). If you were to fix that, my little stickler's soul would rejoice and declare its love of bloodplay and this story.

Good job! *warm smile*

Edited at 2008-04-09 07:45 pm UTC

(Reply to this)


[info]biffes
2008-04-09 07:47 pm UTC (link)
I don't even know where to start... I absoletely adored this fic. It hit the right buttons for me, I guess.
First of all, when I read about the Devil as a card, it seemed to be one of the most powerful and dangerous cards. I was glad to find this power, this rawness, these basic instincts appear in your story. I loved the internal battle Harry's been fighting. And somehow his fears took shape in form of tattoos/scars. His well-hidden addiction.

I was glad you started pre-epilogue time, I love the boys when they're still at school. You had me smiling at Ron's suspicion of Seamus/Dean (and I'm still not sure whether there was a Deamus/Luna threesome throughout the years...). Even Neville was funny!
And then came the tattoos. The boys' idea of getting them at the same time is very Gryffindor. (Though I admit, I like to imagine Sirius tattoo-free)Perception charm - sooo clever. I loved that Draco carved "Severus" over the Dark Mark, then the way you described how Draco's scar became visible to Harry was captivating. Btw did you know that you mustn't drink alcohol before having a tattoo because it'll take longer for the bleeding to stop? - or so I heard. Anyway, the process of doing the first tattoo it so intimate, dangerous even to do it in the open for anyone to see.

In later years there are some really awesome details I remember: like Narcissa sneaking back to Hogwarts to commemorate Bellatrix. The order the names are chosen to be carved into Harry's skin. Draco playing the prefect;) Or when Harry lets Draco mourn his father by marking him. So brilliant and heartbreaking.
("He'd been thinking of Ginny but his mind had been on other things—the Tournament—and so he'd thought nothing of it when Cedric had popped in there as well." - I wondered if it wasn't Cho he'd been thinking of instead of Ginny?)
I've never heard of Mehen before, but it sounds interesting, especially that Draco ended up at B&B's. I liked when James accidentally saw 'Regulus' and they kept it their little secret. And you let Percy be the Minister:P

Oh, and finally FINALLY that liberating kiss, the kind I imagine is closely related to the meaning of the Devil card, the figures stepping out of their chains, ending their self-inflicted slavery.

I was really impressed, I still am. Loved it! ♥♥♥



(Reply to this)


[info]ships_harry
2008-04-09 09:47 pm UTC (link)
IJ is sulking and not loading right now, so commenting on LJ.

The carving of the names, man. It got me right in the gut - and it was surprisingly erotic, too. I think because it was so loaded with messed up emotions, intimacy, intensity and trust. Which made the violence of the last name so excellent :D.

I was surprised that Harry let Draco mark him at their first meeting - I could see him being intrigued and coming back later, but it seems an odd spur-of-the-moment decision. For me, that was a little distracting.

I rather adored that Ginny knew and didn't say anything, and that Draco had figured out she knew, and the ending, yay :). Poor Ron was blustery and aggressive until the very end - that's a totally valid characterisation, it's just one I'm not personally into very much.

So, with this fic, my reactions went something along the lines of:

Huh.
Ooooooooh
;alkjsdf;lkjas;lkdjfl;skjdflkjas;dlkjf;laksdc;lkjasdf;lkjasldkjfsd.
Eeeee!
A;LKJSDF;LKJAL;SKDJFLJSDFL;AS;LDJF;LSDKJF
Yay!

Loved it, basically :).

(Reply to this)


[info]marguerite_26
2008-04-10 01:25 am UTC (link)
I loved the journey through the years. And gah! the cutting names into his body was so hot. It was meaningful and painful and erotic and it was such an intimate thing for them to share. It helped to really justify the duel lives they were leading. Very well done.

(Reply to this)


[info]outofthisplace
2008-04-10 04:53 pm UTC (link)
I think this had a really great plot and development, and expresses the boys' psyches very well, I love that Snape was the first name that Harry had carved into him, I love all of the H/D interactions. Harry's Cedric fantasy paired with the hot Draco sex was fabulous. I loved his rapid succession of "tattoos" around the time he and Ginny were married, I think it's very indicative. And did I see a hint of Dean/Luna/Seamus in there? Sweet.
However, I found a number of spelling and grammar errors, enough so that I started taking a red pen to the printout of this that I was reading on the subway. And that's a shame, because I think it definitely affected my enjoyment of reading. Also, I found their "coming-out" at the end to be sort of abrupt: all of a sudden, Harry is willing to throw away his family for Draco? It kind of seems that as soon as you hit the 19-years-later of epilogue-compliancy, you wasted no time making a happy ending for the boys (...men).
Overall though, I found this a really well done story, and definitely good reading.

(Reply to this)


[info]ayes_sid
2008-04-10 07:53 pm UTC (link)
This was wonderful and so good. I loved all of it; the tattoos, healing the style it was told in. From Harry and Draco's first meeting to Draco's predictions about himself becoming the Minister. It was fabulous.

Although I'm still curious about what actually led to the ending and allowed Draco and Harry to be free.
And we didn't get any chance glimpses into their family life which made it seem like they didn't care about them that much.

(Reply to this)


[info]melusinahp
2008-04-11 04:17 am UTC (link)
This is the first fic I've read since posting started that gripped me this hard. Wow. I was enthralled. This is just how I like my H/D.

The bloodplay--the scene in Borgin and Malfoy's in particular--killed me. My heart sped up and my face flushed, it was so hot and so emotionally powerful. The way you described Harry's pain and how it translated into pleausre for him and Draco's rapt arousal at doing that to Harry... God. So wonderful.

The loved the tension vs. attraction/eventual affection between them. I loved the way the story progressed and how you structured it.

I was very much braced for a dark ending. In fact, I don't really buy the ending you wrote. It seemed too sudden and far too light. But it was so worth the journey getting there.

Also-- Why only men? No Lily? No Tonks?

I think you did a perfect job of living up to both your team's goals and your prompt's. A perfect way of expressing the meaning of The Devil card.

(Reply to this)


[info]raindrop150
2008-04-11 05:04 am UTC (link)
ohdearchrist.

i swear on my soul, i have no coherent words for this. only this- you must be bowed to and worshiped.

(Reply to this)


[info]pervyunitwins
2008-04-11 05:58 pm UTC (link)
This was highly interesting. Even though the whole cutting things made me a bit squeamish, I kept reading because I could see that Harry needed something. I believe that it was only the first one that Harry got to forget. All the other ones, even Cedric's name, were all an excuse to go back to Draco. But at that point Harry did not realize it. He did, of course, eventually realize and he knew that it was all for Draco. I loved that. And I must tell you that I loved the end. It was the perfect way to end it. Just loved it. I could just picture Ron's face when he was spluttering over that kiss.

(Reply to this)


[info]differente
2008-04-11 09:47 pm UTC (link)
i think LJ may have eaten my comment... what i meant was this was a formidable fic. i liked it. :)

(Reply to this)


[info]kennahijja
2008-04-12 05:11 pm UTC (link)
Damn! I *tried* to tear myself away from this a few times, mostly because tattoos are among the things that creep me out in RL and I like them even less in fic. But this was impossible to put down.

First of all, characterisation was great. Not just of the main characters, also the Gryffindor drinking party at the beginning, which rang extremely true.

I loved your Harry, who's far from perfect and so obviously damaged, and awesomely human. And I think I adored Draco even more for that brilliant 'edge' he has throughout, the bit of evil streak, enjoying vengeance, enjoying doing physical damage even though Harry wants it. My favourite line of the entire fic was

The corner of Malfoy's lip curled upward and Harry knew that he was enjoying this retribution of sorts.

That just... got to me in the best pushing-buttons way :).

There were a few typos, but the writing was excellent, and amazingly gripping. Especially the actual Sectumsempra-tattoo scenes were visceral with Harry's emotional turmoil so vivid and perfect. Harry's voice worked so well throughout, and rang very true.

Some exceptionally hot moments too - my absolute favourite being the one in which Harry sucks Draco off, with snaketattoo-bondage and Draco being all commanding ;).

If this hadn't been a hd_worldcup fic (for team epilogue, no less), part of me might have preferred it to end in some way before it could have turned into a long-term relationship, which came with not quite enough emotional preparation for my taste. As in, they go from mutual using that's intense but not romantic to being in a relationship. There was time enough in between open to imagining it, but it didn't ring quite true.

Though there were breath-taking bits in the second half, especially the 'Lucius'-moment where we got to see Draco working through his pain for a change. Wow! Oh wow (of course I adore Lucius, *g*).

The ending... ok, this is coming from a 'not romance!' person, so take with appropriate dose of salt. When I got there and got the vibes, I mentally groaned 'she blew it!' (as in, I love my twisted relationships, and this was way too fluffy for my taste). That said, however, I grinned my fool head off at Ron having hysterics over the kiss, and the 'almost but not quite' duel between him and Draco (totally aside, that's one battle I'd love to see at one point). But it's another example of how great Draco is here, because he's not been the slightest bit 'domesticated' by being with Harry, and I love that to bits.

So yeah, I didn't like the very end with Draco suddenly rehabilitated and brought into the Ministry because it feels too neat, but I loved the fic a lot, especially since it managed to sell me stuff (like tattoos, or infidelity) which usually really turn me off. Excellent job!

Also, it made me look at movie!verse-Sirius in a new way.

(Reply to this)


[info]sassy_cissa
2008-04-13 03:37 am UTC (link)
Amazing! I will admit that self-mutilation fics are not something I am drawn to, but once I started this, I was not able to stop reading.

Very well done!

(Reply to this)


[info]blamebrampton
2008-04-16 03:29 pm UTC (link)
I'm about to run out of power and am too tired (lazy) to go back out to the AC lead, so this will be shorter than I meant it to be!

I loved the way that you represented Harry's devils so physically. His quest for normalcy with Ginny, betrayed by his body's unwillingess to sleep, was a fascinating sideshoot of this theme, and one I thought worked very well. I liked that you did not fill in every detail re their friends, but kept them shifting in the background. The ending did seem a little abrupt, but I think that's where they would have ended up anyway. Most impressive was your ability to take something as potentially emo as bloodplay and invest it with a seriousness and magical resonance that few writers could carry off. Well done!

(Reply to this)


[info]mayfly_78
2008-04-17 06:19 am UTC (link)
The story had an interesting start and build up, the obsession with scars and naming the dead. The problem Harry had feeling alive ever since he returned from death. The evolving relationship with Draco. Only thing was the ending. I didn’t really get it. It felt like there were a couple of missing scenes building up to it and explaining it. Why at that particular moment in time did they decide that what they had was important enough to go public? And in such a way? And what about their wives and children?

(Reply to this)


[info]alaana_fair
2008-04-17 08:27 pm UTC (link)
Well, that was just about as hot as they get. :-) Very nice!

(Reply to this)


[info]hpstrangelove
2008-04-18 02:10 am UTC (link)
So I'm not reading in any order, and I am way behind so haven't really been taking the time to leave comments.

Not that the other fics haven't been good so far - I've enjoyed every single one that I've read - but this one just did something special for me, probably the cutting/self-harm aspect was what I could relate to. Sad, yet happy at the same time. I really had no idea how it would turn out, but I liked what you did with it. Great job.

(Reply to this)


[info]orpheus_samhain
2008-04-20 09:27 am UTC (link)
Eeee! That was lovely! Hit a few of my kink buttons that are rarely being hit, like self harm: here it was just a perfect level for me :) I loved that Draco didn't change that much, Harry simply discovered that it wasn't all spite about him :)

(Reply to this)


[info]lire_casander
2008-04-20 07:41 pm UTC (link)
This Harry and this Draco are quite something. I can relate to the need of harm yourself just to get rid of your memories, and I can relate too to the need of having that something else they end up sharing.

Wonderful read!

(Reply to this)


[info]oboros
2008-04-23 01:42 am UTC (link)
i liked their development over the years. thanks for sharing!

(Reply to this)


[info]ravenna_c_tan
2008-04-25 07:56 am UTC (link)
Wow, this is... wow. I loved the whole concept of the magical cutting and the names of the dead. And hot, wow, the whole description of Harry's arousal during the cutting process just... yeah. Well done.

(Reply to this)


[info]noratrill
2008-04-27 08:46 pm UTC (link)
"Something in the dark recesses of his mind crawled and scratched for purchase."

Exactly. Beautifully written around the epilogue and adept use of "the Devil". Thank you for the Harry/Draco ending - freedom should always be so cherished.

(Reply to this)


[info]sugarsnapy
2008-05-16 09:02 pm UTC (link)
This story was strange...I'm not sure what to say but in the beginning I was feeling more like Harry, all dark and somber, but towards the end, it took an abrupt turn and I found things lightening! Amazing how fast I could change how I felt while reading it. There's something strange, like I said, about the story. I really like it but the only way I can describe it is to compare it to a Picasso painting. It's strange and maybe imperfect but it works, ya know? I dunno and it seems almost wrong to compare it to that but that's the closest I can get to it.

(Reply to this)


[info]lokifan
2008-05-17 08:31 pm UTC (link)
What an exhilarating ending! I'm still grinning. I loved Draco's teasing. The little James/Harry byplay was really nice and I loved the male-bonding pub sessions, they rang so true. The contrast between Harry's two lives was really well done - sessions in the pub and talking to Draco in the dark booth, the switching between Harry's family life and his times with Draco scene-by-scene. I also liked the show-not-tell element of this story, which I think is disappointingly rare in fanfic, and how dark it got.

Docked a point for some typos/grammar errors - otherwise, this was brilliant.

(Reply to this)


[info]inspiredlife
2008-05-21 07:42 pm UTC (link)
Oh, God, what an intense story. The self-mutilation and use of the spell was amazing. Reading about Harry and Draco's arousal during the process was incredibly powerful. You have some glorious vivid imagery that just brought the piece to life for me.

The ending did surprise me a bit (I was braced for something dark) but I enjoyed seeing that bit of freedom and joy we get to see. Overall, this was an engaging and intriguing fic...one that both pushed my buttons and made me think. Thank you so much for sharing.

(Reply to this)


[info]szefi
2008-05-22 07:23 pm UTC (link)
This was intriguing, and I liked that you made a happy ending after all the angst.

(Reply to this)


[info]aldehyde
2008-06-03 03:17 am UTC (link)
i loved every time harry went to draco to get a new tattoo. i'm usually not one for bloodplay or self-mutilation but this really made sense in a way. i read a fic abt sirius' tattoos a long time ago, where he explains to harry the story behind each one - and your fic reminded me of it a bit.

my only complaint would be that the ending seemed a bit rushed. the tension kept escalating, and i understand that getting 'lucius' tattooed on his skin acted as a final sort of release for both men, but i wish you'd spent a bit more time fleshing out the '19 yrs later' section. i'm still happy with the ending though, i love how things worked out ;)

(Reply to this)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…