Title: Despair
Author: Jeconais
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Tragedy
DLP Category: General
Words: 2,705
Published: May 6, 2005
Pairings: None pertaining to Harry. Some implied R/Hr and G/Dean
Status: Completed (One-Shot)

Summary: "All you had to do was give him a reason to continue - a single reason, but you didn’t. Is that not true evil?"

Link

One of Jeconais' older works. Didn't see this when I did a search, so forgive me if this is already posted. Some of you may have already read this, given how prolific Jeconais is as an author, but for those who haven't, reading this is a must.

It is one of the few, and by few, I really mean few, dark fics that Jeconais has written (the only other being "The Abyss", if I'm not wrong). It is also the only Jeconais fic where Harry isn't some sort of God-wizard with more power than water in the Pacific.

The fic explores something that is very rarely done so in fandom- What really keeps Harry going? What is he fighting for, so much so that it allows to unrealistically overcome all the burdens and adversities heaped on him. For those who feel it is unrealistic how Harry has turned out, how he had overcame all the challenged thrown at him even after the years of neglect and mistreatment by the Dursleys, this is the perfect fic for you. The Harry portrayed here is very human, certainly more so than how JKR and most fanfic writers have written him out to be, and the fic is overall very realistic.

And to top it off, I like how Voldemort is prtrayed in this too. Quite possibly my favourite Jeconais fic along with Perfect Situations (for the Harry/Daphne). A definite 5/5 from me.



Checked by Minion, March 24, 2013

 

It's too short and not detailed enough, also too angsty for my tastes, other than that, I liked it very much.
4/5

 

I remember this, from long ago. It's was a really good read and the angst was understandable rather than fake like some authors. The only thing I couldn't understand was why didn't Dumbles or anyone do anything to correct? I mean after you see/hear something like that then you would do something to help him right?

This reaction by everyone seems flat. But it is still pretty damn good.

4/5

 

'Tis an old premise with bad execution. Flat reactions, bad logic:

(post 5th year Fudge Doesn't have power to overrule Dumbledore)

(If Sirius can hide for years, why not Remus?)

(Why would Hermione and Ron Not tell Harry that they were a couple?)

(What else, what else... if Harry can survive Dursley's till 11 without being starved, he can surely do so at 15)

(Dursley's won't starve him...they have been cruel and horrible, but such obvious physical torture takes a courage that Dursley's do not posses: remember how easily they cowered after Mad-Eye threatened)

(Voldemort's reactions...laughable)

Crap fic, but a mediocre author.

 

I liked it - typical themes, and some faulty logic (he reasons his friends have utterly betrayed him by sleeping together? er...what?), but Voldemort made it for me. Nice balance of dark humour and casual cruelty there. 3.5/5

 

Definitely not Tim's best work. A fairly standard Bash Fic with quite a bit of stretching as far as the betrayal angle goes.

3/5

 

It was posted a little over 2 years ago. I think it would have done better back then now.

Still, when I first read it, it was a good fic to me. Unfortunatly, standards have risen so I'll have to give it a 2/5

 

This is like an extract from an Indy!Harry fic. Harry rants at everyone of his cruel life and kills himself. Voldemort comes and thanks the light side for making Harry kill himself. And Seamus is Death Eater. 2/5

 

Following Alexx around

This isn't a story, nor does it have characters. Its just a big monologue by the author, hiding behind character names.
I considered giving it 2 points for at least not being terribly written, but I can't.
1/5

 

I considered giving it 1/5 because it is minimum but it deserves even lower. 0/5. There is nothing positive here. Even formatting is bad.

 

Hey guys this is great and all, and I really do want to read this shit, but it doesn't help with the synopses, Alexx.

 

Meh. While it's not Jeconais's finest work, neither is it as horrible as folks are making it out to be. The story doesn't belong in the Library, but it's not "0/5" material either, no matter how badly one may want in on the whole "pan one of the most prolific and influential writers in the fandom" act.

The story is ~2k words, written in early 2005 when the whole Evil Dumbledore and heavy angst/betrayal things were just starting up in the fandom. The ideas are cliche today, but that's because this type of thing, edgy for its time, has been written into the ground with tens of thousands of bad knock-offs.

I'd give it a 3/5 for a mostly competent execution of an idea that hasn't aged well.