Name: javu (Signed) · Date: 05 Dec 2018 10:43 PM · For: Inevitable

Hey hey! Guess who's back for more! This girl! Woot!

 

I think one of your finest qualities is how you always do such a good job making me think about characters/events/things that I never thought about before. Like, I've never ever stopped and thought about what happened to Thicknesse after the war. Ever. He was a minor character, so I guess that's why? Anyway.

 

What I've taken away from this is how hard it must have been for those who were under the imperius curse. Maybe some low level people could come away from it better. Stan perhaps did because his personality was so different that no one would genuinely believe he joined out of his own volition. But Pius seems like he was naturally ambitious before he was cursed. (Or maybe not... I can't remember...) And he was such a high profile person to be imperiused (is that the right form? my mind is blah right now haha). I could see that because Pius was in such a high position and did so many bad things, people might not feel as sorry for him. Like, yeah, it wasn't him doing it; it wasn't his fault. But I could see some people hesitant to consider him a true victim. Like... I don't know if I'm making sense. 

 

Or maybe it's not about what other people think. Yes. That's what you're more saying in this story. Pius can't forgive himself. He's a victim, but he still can kind of remember his body doing things that have deeply traumatized him. Poor guy. He needs to forgive himself. Or accept that it wasn't his fault. But he can't, so he committed suicide. Man, that's gotta be hard.

 

Anyway. Well done capturing his emotions and his dilemna. Marvelous as always!

 

Alwynse for RvG December - Go GOLD!

Name: MuggleMaybe (Signed) · Date: 21 Jun 2017 10:16 PM · For: Inevitable

Transferred from HPFF

Hi! I'm here! I'm sorry I'm late but I did not forget about this! (I hope it's okay I'm replying here instead of on the forums - I thought this deserved to have a review!)

So, first of all, I am so impressed by your choice of character! I never even thought about what it would be like for him after the war, but you really hit the nail on the head. It makes so much sense that he would struggle with guilt, PTSD, and loss of identity. Plus, he was this important person before he was imperiused, and now that he's free from the curse he has lost all of that stature and his reputation is destroyed. 

The part about the shower is such an original detail to include. I also thought the death-like smell of Voldemort, and that the scent stuck with him, was chilling in the best way. I almost wanted him to be more dazed and unstable. (Not that this can really be called stable.)

I hope you won't mind if I make one suggestion for if you ever decided to edit this, which is to move the first sentence to just before "The moment that Voldemort died" - definitely a matter of opinion, though!

The last line is just fantastic. Outside of his control he became a villain, someone people root against. It's really so sad to imagine what that would be like.

My overall impression from this story is cold. He seems cold and empty, almost like he's already dead, so that (as you suggest) the end feels inevitable.

Well done, as always! Thanks for pointing me in this direction!

xoxo Renee

Name: Ineke (Signed) · Date: 29 Apr 2017 11:34 PM · For: Inevitable

Here for CTF!

I love the fact that Pius was so haunted by everything he did even having been under the Imperius Curse. It only goes to show that even while under it you have perfect memory of what happened and despite everything and anything you can still be haunted. It could be the feeling of not having been strong enough to resist it all. To be a victim yet wrongdoer at the same time and the feelings of guilt on many kinds of things just swallowing you whole. Its a really strong message you send here, maybe even unintentionally, because it only goes to show what things like this can do to people, whether under threat or not. And then the fact that he eventually chose death over forgetting it all, and then the last thought being how he's wondering if people will celebrate the fact that he's dead makes it all the more sad than it is already. Because in a way i think people will mostly pity him and that's a sad thing, even in death. I just hope that eventually, even when dead, he wouldn't have regretted the decision he made. But if you're so far down as it is, I actually wonder if any kind of help would have helped him at all, and maybe its better for him that he is finally at peace.

Author's Response:

Hello you lovely human being. Thank you so much for this encouraging review! It really means a lot to me. ~Kaitlin

 

Name: AbraxanUnicorn (Signed) · Date: 29 Apr 2017 11:19 PM · For: Inevitable

Well, this is a first. I can honestly say I have never read a Pius Thicknesse-based story before. I'm not sure what I was expecting from the title, to be honest, but not this.

I feel so sorry for Pius. I expect the poor man, who ruled whilst completely under the control of Lord Voldemort, via an Imperius Curse, probably would have had quite a few regrets about the whole Minister of Magic experience. Though it wasn't his fault, unwittingly, he caused the death of a number of people and permitted the despair and destruction to continue unabated. However, he shouldn't blame himself; only two people ever successfully stood up to Lord Voldemort. I imagine there was no choice for Pius but to obey against his will.

The imagery in this story is amazing and your creative use of words brings the scene to life. I can picture poor Pius, sitting vacantly in his armchair, wishing that things could have been so different andwondering whether he could have done anything to prevent it. In the end, his guilt clrearly becomes too much for him. I'm feeling such sadness for him at the end and I can see why he took his own life, but no-one should die alone and wracked with guilt like that.

Ugh. I'm all emotional now.

Amazing piece of writing, though.

Brax X

Author's Response:

Hey there! Thank you so much for the review! It truly made my day! I wish I could write you a longer response, but I've gotten so bogged down in review responses lately. I hope you know how much your words mean to me and how much I appreciate your support, encouragement, and critique. Thank you!

~Kaitlin