u/Ravenhayrd

I’ve been taking some mental health time off and apparently reading Dramione fics is helping me take a break from reality and I’ve just finished what I think is an oldie in this fandom, The Fallout by everythursday and holy cow. What a uniquely structured and devourable story. It’s been so interesting to me seeing the different versions of D and H and this one was so peak in the dysfunction, doesn’t know how to communicate, despo for redemption but acting like an ahole Draco and the naive insecure hasn’t proven herself trying to learn to stand on her own Hermione. The way their relationship unfolds feels both realistic but also immature but also the wear and tear of war makes it hard to even know what “normal” is.

The plot is kind of meandering and somewhat repetitive IMO but the chemistry and struggle of the characters is FELT. I was IN it. Gaaahhh.

I was a little startled at how MEAN Dray gets in this but also I understand why. I also liked how it showed the realistic downtime during war as well as the difficult missions.

I just wanted to drop in and say every book in this series surprises me with its emotion. I feel like this isn’t explicitly talked about much but literally every volume (I’m on Dark Age now) makes me choke up and almost cry. PB really has a way of connecting the individuals to bigger themes and the emotional struggle in it. Aaaghhhh

Omg I have found another god tier fic and it’s so unique. And yet still feels close to canon. The plot is interesting even if leaning academic and H and D are sooooo them. It’s one of my favorite characterizations of them because it seems so realistic, like these could be the people they grew into in their late 20s. And their relationship and how it unfolds too is chef’s kiss. I’m only 70% of the way through and intentionally going slow to savor it!

Also the WRITING STYLE is amazing. So elegant and clever and sharp and descriptive. One of the best I’ve seen!!

Whoever wrote this one must be some kind of linguistical or runes scholar because the detail is so specific and deliberate that on some pages I feel like I’m learning about something real! (I looked up some of the runes, some of them real!)

I’m on Iron Gold toward the end and damn if this book doesn’t explore the endless cycle of violence so well. I’ve been finding it so moving. Death begets death begets death. Watching Darrow, Lysander, Lyria, Ephraim (new favorite character btw the cheeky psycho), and even Romulus and Dido to an extent struggle with the injustice of their trauma and what was done to their people but also WANTING TO BE BETTER and DO THE RIGHT THING but also wanting to enact violence to those they think they deserve it. I think PB did a great job showing the personal side of this struggle even the broader backdrop of an interplanetary space war. It is wild.

I really think the most compelling and realistic stories are the ones where you can see the characters trying so hard to do the thing they think is right and all of the consequences and reactions to that that make things so much worse at a bigger scale and it is just so heartbreaking. Now that’s good storytelling.

I don’t even know who to root for right now. I didn’t think I would be such a fan of Dido or Ephraim or Lyria but here I am. I don’t even know who I want to win in this conflict anymore!