A Matter of Pretext, Context and Misconceptions
Marriage suffering a slow death by silence, career taking a drastic downwards turn, Harry re-analyzes his life through one of the best methods he knows: wanking and porn and wanking to porn. It’s not becoming an addiction, it’s not.
A/N: Epilogue compliant to a degree; 9 years later as opposed to 19.
Author: lacuidad
Rating: NC17
Warnings: Infidelity, professional misconduct, passing mention of heterosexual sex.
Word count: ~15,000
Wizarding Level:
Snape Says: ...What is the muggle expression? TMI?
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Zhein:
Plot: 4/5
Characterization: 4/5
Writing Skill: 3.5/5
Creativity: 3.5/5
Wrap-up: 5/5
Total: 20/25
I would like to take this time and remind everyone to read the warnings. Because when I first read this, I didn't and the "professional misconduct" surprised me too much to let me enjoy it. This is despite the giant hints throughout the fic about what will eventually happen.
That aside, I think this is the first time I've read a fic that addresses masturbation addiction. I mean, we've all probably read a fic or two where one character really likes to get off, but I don't think I've seen masturbation portrayed in a fanfic as something detrimental to one's life. And I'm really glad this does! The story itself is a journey with Harry through self-realization. I especially liked how things went with Ginny and their children. I especially loved the ending, with Harry trying to make amends (because he's a giant jerk). I think the ending is perfect, just the way I wanted this to end.
I'm not very fond of this Harry, but I do understand what he's going through. Admitting to any addiction is pretty tough, especially when you don't understand that it's destroying your relationships, and this makes him much more realistic to me. Maybe some would argue that this isn't very characteristic of Harry, but this can change anyone, even Harry (or maybe especially Harry, when we get to see how and why he starts). He is a bit of a dick here, so be warned! I also like this Draco, although I'm not a bit fond of his lapse in judgement. I don't really blame Draco, though. I love that Harry is the one who makes him lose his rationality and calm that came with his job. I like that Draco's job isn't that usually seen in the fandom either. (Reminds me of a friend of mine whose life goal is to become a sex therapist.)
Style-wise, the writing is really good at times, and lacking at others. There are some parts that confused me a bit because of the sentence structure as well. It's not that bad, but it removes some the enjoyment. Still, this fic is lovely and you should give it a try!
Cash:
Plot: 4/5
Characterization: 4/5
Writing Level: 4.5/5
Creativity: 5/5
Wrap Up: 3/5
Total: 20.5/25
An interesting one! Unique, which is always nice in a world of millions upon millions of Drarry fics. I was quite fond of the narration style; the writing was crisp and clever and read easily, with an intelligent flow but never too wordy. It had a freshness to it, which in part likely came from the content.
I think the content was a believable and different approach for Harry and his post-war life, and I appreciate the guts it took from the author to write a piece like this. There’s no shame in it, but it’s also not overly crass either, which I think is an accomplishment.
Character wise, I think Harry was very well developed; slightly different than what a lot of fics contain, but certainly with the same lazy sass that I love about canon Harry so much, and his inner thoughts were always a delightful read. Draco was fine.. but unfortunately I found that Draco in general, and their relationship was so under developed. I get why they happened, and it’s not that the scenario is unbelievable at all, but there was little to no development of their relationship, it was grazed over, but hardly ever seen in action, and the tension was minimal and obvious. We see that Draco gets a hard on from Harry’s sex talk, but that’s about it... it was lacking life and texture and then it was sort of rushed to the end.
The wrap up was sweet and I appreciated the issues of Ginny and the children dealt with—for the record I also really liked the inclusion of Teddy in this fic—though it loses points for the lack of development in the Harry/Draco situation. It sort of falls flat and when the it’s written in such a way that the getting together of the two boys is clearly supposed to be the climax, but it ends up feeling anticlimactic, it’s kind of hard to accomplish a conclusion that feels solid. I took off the points in wrap up, however, as opposed to plot, because the over all plot content and direction was good and creative, it was just the way in which is was executed near the end that left me feeling a bit disappointed.
Nonetheless, an enjoyable read for sure. Perhaps not something I will reread, but certainly something I would reccomend for a bit of fun!
SlytherInCashmere:
Plot: 3.5/5
Characterization: 4/5
Writing Level: 4.5/5
Creativity: 4/5
Wrap Up: 5/5
Total: 21/25
I greatly appreciated the ideas behind this story. And I also greatly enjoyed the execution of it. And excellent line from this story was, “They'd just let him walk in with his wand like he wasn't potentially a sex-crazed sociopath hell bent on destroying the world one orgasm at a time.” Most of all, I appreciated the ending and its simplicity. It was realistic and pleasant; it left the reader to conjure up the rest.
Final Grade: Exceeds Expectations; 4 stars
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