Complete Antithesis by Oceanbreeze7 -T

nevu · Jan 20, 2019

Title: Antithesis
Author: Oceanbreeze7
Rating: T
Genre: Unlisted (Probably Tragedy/Angst/Drama)
Status: Complte
Library category: Dark Arts/AU
Pairings: Harry/Luna (story says there are no pairings at the beginning...

Harry definitively says that he loved Luna after she dies, so it's basically the setup of a relationship without the payoff

)
Summary:

Revenge is the misguided attempt to transform shame and pain into pride. Being forsaken and neglected, ignored and forgotten, revenge seems a fairly competent obligation at this point.
Skylar is the boy who lived, that's why he's important. I'm not Skylar.
Going to Hogwarts is part of the plan, waking the basilisk is part of the plan, taking potions, learning spells, being tortured, murdering others, watching people di-
I’m going to tell you a story, although it’s a bit long. I’m going to make you listen, because I want you to understand how you made me a monster. I’ll call this story antithesis, and you’re going to learn every single moment where things went wrong. I want you to cry, and beg for me to kill you, and when I’m done with this, you’re going to want to do that to yourself. You’re going to listen, because in the end, you owe me that much. You owe me so much more, but here we are, and this is how it’s going to end. Who knows, maybe this useless battle between you and me and this bloody world, well, maybe we always were fated to kill each other.
Do you know what it is like to be unmade?
Click to expand...

Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/7322935/chapters/16633456

This is probably my favorite HP story from the past few months. It has a lot of things that would usually bother me, but it was executed well enough for me to not mind terribly much. Fanon things like blood adoptions.

The main differences are that Lily/James survive the attack, and the Lestranges don't attack the Longbottoms. This lets Voldemort be revived much earlier than in canon, as Bellatrix was considerably more competent than Peter, and he has a presence pre-Hogwarts.

WBWL story where Harry winds up with the Dursleys, but done in a more believable way than normal (he isn't instantly foisted off - it's only after there are legitimate threats to his family that they all go into hiding, and they only do it after asking him if he is OK with it). Eventually the Dursley's kick him off to an orphanage, which is attacked by the Lestranges who end up adopting him and he's raised by them and Voldemort.

Issues : While the writing is above average for fanfiction, it can get overwrought on occasion and sometimes it straddles the line of pretentiousness (read the last line of the summary for instance). Some people may be bothered that parts of Fantastic Beasts are used as canon, but I don't really see the issue with it. The first 7-8 chapters are extremely angsty, but the story picks up after that. Harry is given an over the top, pretentious name (but that's kinda fitting considering who adopts him).

Pros:
Pretty much everyone in the story displays a level of competency and self-awareness that is refreshing. There's no to very little bashing.

Halt · Jan 21, 2019

The writing really could be much better.

The author has a tendency to write in this overwrought, overdramatized, overwritten way. The fear of using said, the overuse of adjectives and adverbs, the need to explain every single thing that includes the most mundane of details - it's just way too pretentious to be what I call enjoyable prose. Closer to tolerable prose, if I had to call it anything. That said, it isn't complete garbage if you like this style and the author thankfully never used other grievous mistakes like walls of text.

It's hard for me to properly rate this since I can't bring myself to read through the whole thing, but from what little I've read, I'll have to go with a 2.5, rounded up to 3/5.

Dario · Jan 23, 2019

I read this story in a single day about two months ago and I wanted to put it up for review immediately, but felt as if there were many aspects that people would write off before giving the story a chance. You are a braver man than me my friend =P

As the OP mentioned, the first couple chapters are stereotypically angsty to the point where I almost dropped the fic, but after that brief period I was glad I hadn’t.

The author wanted to write a realistic WBWL fic (accompanying cliches included) with minimal to no bashing and I would say that they achieved that goal admirably. I felt as if I was engaged just about the entire time and there were many aspects of the story that, as far as I’m aware, are completely original and intriguing.

Just about every character is interesting and believable. I don’t recall any major instances of anyone behaving OOC, but I could be misremembering. Time and again we’ve seen WBWL fics where Harry’s brother is bashed and has no personality other than being antagonistic. This story does not do that.

Throughout the story Harry is traumatized again and again and I feel that he reacted believably most, if not every time. The buildup is well done and by the end of the story Harry is unrecognizable from the character in the beginning.

This story almost feels like an exploration of the repercussions of the different trauma that Harry goes through.

Something that may discourage some from reading this fic is the fact that it very much lives up to it’s listed categories. The words “Angst” and “Tragedy” seem almost too mild for this. It certainly isn’t to everyone’s taste, and while I myself enjoy stories where it seems like the protagonist is constantly getting fucked over, I sometimes had to take a bit of a breather in between chapters and after I was finished with the story.

TL;DR - I really enjoyed this story and felt it was very well written. It took a few chapters for the angst to become bearable and the author to find their stride, but when I was able to slog through that I ended up becoming immersed in the story. It’s angst-ridden to all hell and some might not find that to their taste. It is an incredibly dark story and I certainly felt uncomfortable during certain parts, but overall it was believable and enjoyable.

If you can get past the cliches and the first few chapters, this story is very good.

4/5

(Sorry if this review seems jumbled, I kinda just wrote whatever came to mind >.>)

Tomster10010 · Jan 31, 2019

I liked it. It wasn't fantastic and I don't see myself reading it again but I have a soft spot for WBWL fics that are even halfway good. I'd say around 3.5 rounded to 4 stars.

Side note: is there any way to give stars on mobile?

Ched · Apr 6, 2019

Another story we needed a bit more review on before shifting it into either almost rec or the library. Basic premise is WBWL which I can usually roll with even if it's not my favorite, so I'm giving it a go.

The summary and intro though just make it sound so dark and dramatic and depressing and edgy and whatnot that I'm not really looking forward to reading. Before the first chapter starts we have a list of warnings including major depression, child abuse, eating disorders, PTSD, psychotic episodes, etc.

I was bored out of the gate in Chapter 1 and found myself skimming, since it's basically telling us that Voldemort showed up, tried to kill the kid, got himself killed. Rewriting the scene to be dramatic is great, but I want to get into the meat of the story and struggled to not skim.

Ah, I think this is one of those stories. The ones where James and Lily have twins yet treat one of them significantly different from the other because plot. These never seem to go well. There's plenty of these types of fics that do work but in the ones that work the parents either treat both kids similarly (Santi) or the fact that they don't is not accepted as normal in the story itself (and usually there's an in-story reason too - like Prince of Slytherin).

In the end it's a similar problem to what I had with that "Series of Unfortunate Events" series of books. I can't suspend disbelief at how the adults act. It's not that there is abuse of a sort going on, I know that happens in real life. It's the whole package that just pulls me out of the story.

I read the first 4 chapters then started skimming. Looks like Harry is resenting being left with the Dursleys (after being raised from birth thru age 8 with his parents) even though he chose to go there after being given some options. Granted I don't blame him for being sore, but he's just... it's clearly being used as a way to make him resent/hate things and use that to drive himself into being strong and good at magic.

I'm bored. Harry got bullied by some muggles or something. He's got a pet snake. Some other muggle is giving him shit and Harry retaliates in a darker manner than he would have in canon. He gets kidnapped by Rodolphus, who likes him on account of he's a little shit who killed a muggle and can do wordless magic.

And here we get to Chapter 9, where I suspect the actual story might start? Seriously, chapters 1-8 did have needed backstory but they could have been summarized into one chapter. It might matter what happened to Harry, but I suspect that most of those characters and events aren't going to play into the larger plot apart from how they affected Harry. I didn't need to see it happen, just summarize and get to where the story starts.

And story starts when Harry, raised by his parents but treated as an afterthought and abandoned at age 8, is informally taken in by Bellatrix Lestrange and gets friendly with the Dark Lord Voldemort in Chapter 9.

If this story hadn't needed another review (or two - get on it people) I'd never have made it past the first few chapters to find the semi-engaging content.

Then I started skimming again, after Harry Adrian starts meeting overly convenient people in Knockturn.

Frankly this is going to be a guilty-pleasure read for someone who wants to read the above story. It's not really my thing since I'm not into Dark!Harry.

Story gets a 2.5/5 from me. I'm rounding up to 3 because I can see this in almost recommended, but no way in hell do I think it belongs in the library.

Moon-With-Pearls · Sep 7, 2021

I truly adored it. It had a realistic feel - not like other WBWL stories. People aren't just good or evil. There's no true bashing in the real world. And I think the author captured everything beautifully. It's is a story of angst, and I almost didn't make it through, but I did, and I'm glad because the ending is absolutely stunning. I admit, I did skip past some blocky dialogue, but the incredible way of writing more than made up for it. I would honestly give the story a 4.8/5. Changed my life.

DLP Flash Christmas Competition + Writing Marathon 2024!

Hi there, Guest

Complete Antithesis by Oceanbreeze7 -T

nevu First Year

Halt 1/3 of the Note Bros. Moderator

Dario Squib

Tomster10010 Fourth Year

Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

Moon-With-Pearls Muggle

Abandoned Antithesis by Wind Whisperer - M

DLP Flash Christmas Competition + Writing Marathon 2024!

Hi there, Guest

Complete Antithesis by Oceanbreeze7 -T

nevu First Year

Halt 1/3 of the Note Bros. Moderator

Dario Squib

Tomster10010 Fourth Year

Ched Da Trek Moderator DLP Supporter ⭐⭐

Moon-With-Pearls Muggle

Abandoned Antithesis by Wind Whisperer - M

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