Moratorium

By Darkpetal16

Status: Complete, Word Count: 218,000, Pairing: Female Harry Potter/Diary Tom Riddle, Genre: Parody/Humour

Read the Fic Here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9486886/1/Moratorium

Author’s Summary: Harry Potter could never be the hero. But, she might make a great villain.

My Thoughts:
Characterization: Since Moratorium is, at its heart, a very carefully plotted parody, all of the characters are a bit over the top. However, I don’t really have an issue with this. In fact, I’d argue that all of the characters are just over the top enough to be jaw-droppingly hilarious, while also being capable of having more serious, emotional moments. The three main characters are Harry, Moratorium, and Diary Tom Riddle, and they’re all written really well. The dynamic between Harry and Moratorium is absolutely fantastic. It’s fucking hilarious when it needs to be, but there are also some really powerful moments near the end of the fic that only work because of how well written they both are. Tom is a bit weaker. While he also has some excellent moments here and there, his presence doesn’t command my attention the way Harry and Moratorium do.

Plot: The plot serves the story well. Although the main plot-line is rather goofy, it works fairly well for me because this fic is a parody. The yearly arcs are actually really solid as well. I particularly like years three and five, but they’re all pretty great. I don’t really have too much to say about it. It’s goofy, it’s fun, it has some good emotional beats, and it pretty much works.

Dialogue and Tone: The Dialogue is excellent. It’s snappy, it has a good flow, and it’s often very funny. As is the case with all of the fics in this tier, the dialogue does not suffer from any of the stiffness that many fanfic authors write with. As for the tone, it’s an excellent blend of darkness and levity. When it’s being dark it can be horrifying and emotional, and when it’s being light and happy it can be jaw-droppingly hilarious. Sometimes the tonal shifts can be a bit sudden, but it usually flows fairly well.

Romance: While it’s definitely the weakest element of the fic, the romance still works for me. The pairing is Harry/Diary Tom Riddle, and it’s pretty cool to see it fleshed out over the course of the story. However, the writing is a bit awkward, and it’s, overall, a bit hit or miss. When it misses, the story reaches its weakest points, and when it hits it’s absolutely fantastic. Overall, it averages out to being a bit of an underwhelming romance with some extremely great moments.

Writing Mechanics: This fic is very grammatically sound. All the words are put in the right order and conjugated the right way. It also generally has a pretty good flow to it. The pacing is very good throughout as well. Spelling’s good as well. I never really have much to say here unless there are some noticeable flaws, which there aren’t here.

Overall Thoughts: Moratorium captivates me for a variety of reasons, but the main one is the story’s tone. The author manages to strike an incredibly delicate balance between serious, emotional character moments, and an incredible number of absolutely hilarious scenes and moments. This story truly earns its place in the parody genre, as it expertly pokes fun at several extremely overused tropes and cliches. However, what this story truly excels at, is exploring the character dynamics between Harry, the Horcrux in her scar, and Tom Riddle. Despite being primarily a comedy, this story does not shy away from delivering several emotional gut punches, especially near the end of the story. This story made me laugh, it sent me through emotional whiplash several times, and I will always love it for that.

Final Thoughts: I recommend this fic for fans of dark comedies, and for fans of exploring Diary Tom Riddle. For people who aren’t into that kind of thing, while you might enjoy it, perhaps you should skip this one. It works great for me though, and will always be an absolute favorite of mine.

Tier: Top Tier

Written on 05/20/2021