[AlexG2490]

We Were Brave Once by JuicyJuice
Narrated by AlexG2490
Link to the story on he archive

Quote

Seventeen years after the vanquishing of Voldemort, Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione battle with a formidable and unfamiliar enemy: their own decaying and changing relationships. For the first time in their lives, love is not simple, and love is not always the answer.

Your Reviews Here

This post has been edited by LovlyRita: 12 August 2010 - 04:20 PM

[NGseries]

I liked it. Though I think my favourite part about it was the changing POVs. It kept it interesting. Especially Rose's POV. I thought it was sort of cute how she thought about it all. The writing style was nice, fluent, and easy to read (or in this case, listen to). Over all, I'd give it 10 stars. It was certainly gripping to listen to.

[LovlyRita]

Just listened to it and I thought you did a great job, Alex! One thing that really stood out to me in listening to this rather than reading it was the part where Harry had realized that Ginny had turned into Mrs. Weasley in a sense. That's kinda every man's nightmare, isn't it? I mean, unless their mother in law was a model or something haha. That really stuck out to me.

Also, I must of missed when I read it that Rose had overheard what Hermione said...I guess I kinda skimmed parts.

Over all a great job!!

[scooterbug8515]

Excellent job reading it Alex! It was really enjoyable... the sadness of the story seemed more pointed in the listening than in the reading.

[AmericanGinny]

This was wow. It was full of emotion. It was almost to wear you felt like it was monotone, but at the same time you felt like it was full of emotion. I absolutely loved this story. It was amazing.

[Broomsticks]

On a sidenote before I get to the review, I just wanted to say that I listened to this while eating my breakfast. Why is that important you ask? Well, my point is that the competition at HPFF forums has really opened my eyes (or more appropriately, ears!) to the world of HPPC. I've subscribed to HPPC and will keep coming back to listen and review when the competition is over. I just love how mobile HPPC is - I can listen to the stories when it suits me on my Ipod, and I don't think I've been read to sleep since I was little!

This was truley heartbreaking. I think in the world of fanfiction, it is so easy to be swept away by happy endings and teenage romances, but here the author captured something real. It is so full of emotion, yet so ordinary. It just shows that not everything is perfect on the surface and I think if I summed this one-shot up in a word, the word would be: honest. This story is real, it's honest and though it's sad, I think it is also something unique and is a pleasure to listen to, thank you HPPC for sharing this! It definately deserves the recognition of both story seekers and a recording.

I loved how the ending... was not inconclusive, because there was meaning there and the ending was great, but the story goes on. There wasn't a finality too it - and that was the beauty of it. It was dramatic without needing finality, the saddest thing about it was all parties involved resolved to do nothing. To simply let time pass. The title of the story is perfectly fitting.

I think one of my favourite parts was being able to see it through little Rosie's view, her innocence was brilliant and the story really needed her. But I think my favourite part was Harry, because that part was so brutally honest. It was Harry's true feelings, and his worry about seeing the Weasley family in Ginny was just perfect.

The sound quality was great, and the reading was really good. The reader's voice had all the emotion needed to create the atmosphere this story has. I understand what AmericanGinny means by "monotone" ... it was that kind of dull, acceptance, yet still filled with emotion that matched the story perfectly. Great job!

I loved this story so much... I think it is something you don't come across often, and one of those stories you finish and think "That's it. That is what I want to be able to right like."

Thank you to the author for inspiring me, and thanks to the recorder for giving this the attention it deserves!

[Miss Lily Potter]

I LOVED this story. The emotion that Alex put into the words was beyond brilliant, and the story was absolutely heartwrenching. I loved how the title fit into the story; I loved how the whole "We were brave, but now we're not" went into the entire thing, rather than just a few sentences of it. Like others, my favorite part was Rose's. It was a look at how while we might know what everyone was thinking, at the surface, it was all extremely confusing. I kind of wanted to cry when I was listening. I just wanted to shout at the characters, "Look at what you're doing! You're wasting your lives!"

Beautiful story, beautiful reading. Great job. (:

[eternalangelkiss]

I really enjoyed listening to this story, especially because it looked at the Trio's marriages in a realistic way. I loved the switching point of views and how the reader got a taste of every character's world. What was so sad is how realistic the story was. Most marriages are not perfect happily ever after stories. There is a time when a marriage goes through a time of disillusionment and we see this here. I liked that the author took this angle because it made the story relatable to a lot of people. Overall it was an engrossing story with nice amount of details that allowed the reader to see a slightly different side of the trio, which is hard to do.

I also found listening to it made the story better because the listener could here the emotions in the dialogue brought through by the pod caster. Excellent job!

[Haniewall87]

I enjoyed listening to this one. The author focused on a life that one can only imagine. I'm glad there were changes that had taken place in the trio's lives that had consequences on their happily ever after. For Ron and Hermione to be getting a divorce, it was kind of sad but their was a reason. It was good to see how they had matured even though they were no longer the three one was used to, they had undergo a drastic change. The title was appropriate too because it reflected on a past that has been good for them considering they won the war but at that present time they weren't courageous enough to admit that they were not happy with how things were.

Wonderful job by the Podcaster on this one. 

[Septyrikon]

What a wonderful take on the post-Hogwarts era. I agree with Broomsticks about how much fanfiction have a tendency to become these, sugar-coated love stories in a way, and this story really reeks of realism and everyday life. Harry and the whole gang might have been the bravest Gryffindors in a long time, but with no real threat in the magical world, there's nothing to inspire that braveness. The whole idea that they're too "cowardly" to make any real change in their lives is in fact a very human thing. Most people like the comfort of routines and daren't make those life-changing decisions. Well written!

The narrator lacked a pause every now and then in my opinion. Especially before phrase where Harry thinks: "Ginny never laughs anymore". I think there should have been a slightly longer pause here, just to add a more dramatic effect of sorts - but that's about it. I like the voice, and there were no issues with quality or such

Good job on both parts

[butterbeergal]

I thought this was a very realistic take on what lay ahead for both couples. More often than not, they are portrayed in stories as having perfect marriages, and are still perfectly healthy. However, we know that it doesn't always work that way. That's what I truly appreciated about this - the author managed to make them so human, yet still with hints of the Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny that we know from the series. Alex's narration was spot on - he managed to capture the defeat and sadness that, for me, was the overall feel of the story.

Good job, JuicyJuice and Alex!

[melian]

About the story: Ignoring the (few) canon errors, I thought this was a really interesting story. It's very common that relationships that start when people are teenagers fall into problems when they reach their thirties or forties and this was a very accurate rendition of that. The twist of Rose overhearing it though was what surprised me, possibly because it's not explored much further and there's not closure as to what happens with her when the divorce doesn't actually go through. I will say though that I loved the idea of "what had her parents ever done that was brave?" Brilliant, because the DH epilogue showed us that the kids were largely ignorant of what their parents had achieved when they were younger. Overall a very well thought out one-shot, I thought.

About the podcast: Well read, good sound quality and no awkward silences or tripping over words. Alex did a really good job with this one and it was a joy to listen to. Good work!

In all, well worth a listen.

[Singularity]

This story kind of broke my heart. I understand that it's unrealistic that Harry and Ginny, and Ron and Hermione would have perfect storybook marriages, but I hope that this takes it to another extreme. That being said, this story was beautifully written. I loved the description and characterization. The concept of the story was very interesting, although quite heart wrenching, especially when we got to Rose's point of view. It says a lot about how we see other people (especially our parents). We see people through the lens of our experience and tend to forget that they had a history before we met them. Rose is completely ignorant of everything that her parents and aunt and uncle did before she was born, and assumes that they were always the people they are now. It's interesting.

Anyway, Alex read this wonderfully. He managed to inject the appropriate emotion and really capture the tone of the story. It was very polished and professional sounding, and the pacing was done well. Another great podcast

[lia]

Again this is another story that is an anti-epilogue but it was so sad. Obviously, I knew things weren't going to run smoothly but all of them had come to a point where they hated each other. Though some parts of it may seem funny, thinking about it, it really isn't. They were unstoppable and brave in their youth but I suppose now it's all a joke. I agree with Septyrikon, they've become so used to their routine that making drastic changes would possibly destroy the very foundations their lives stand on. But would having a conversation about all their grievances make their situations better or worse? Would they appreciate the honesty of their spouses or become more resentful than the already are?

[Jenna822]

Story: Well, I can't really say that I feel bad for Ron, he knew exactly the kind of person that Hermione was when he married her. That's why I always wondered how they ended up staying together for 20 years. I don't remember Ginny being large in the Epilogue. Plus, she looked like Molly when they were young too. It just seemed a little weird, I suppose. I find it absolutely unrealistic that Hermione would tell other people before Ron about a divorce. The whole piece just felt like an attempt at being different and it made me a little uncomfortable. Not that I expected Perfect marriages, but this just didn't seem canon of the characters or very real.
Narrator: He was great.