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Fic rec: Hero Worship + Haru ramblings
This fic earns the "awesome sauce" award, and I want you to know that I don't hand it out to just any fic! ~_^ Some of you on my F-list have probably already seen
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snegurochka_lee's post and link to the fic, but for anyone who hasn't, or who hasn't had time to read it yet, I want you to know that this is an awesome fic and a must-read!
Hero Worship by
snegurochka_lee, NC-17, Charlie/Viktor, with non-pairing appearances by James and Albus Severus (see post at the Daily Deviant for full headers).The premise of the story is that a teenage Albus Severus and James are spending the summer at a dragon camp with Uncle Charlie, when an excited James rushes in to report that "VIKTOR KRUM IS IN MY SHOWER." Well, technically, it's the camp's group shower, but how can you not love a story that starts off with a line like that? ~_^
James is excited that a famous Quidditch star is at the camp, but Uncle Charlie isn't pleased at all, and it soon becomes apparent that there's some past history between him and Viktor, although James is too dense to notice, and there's a very uncomfortable moment at dinner when James rambles on about all the beautiful women that Viktor has squired around in public.
It turns out that Charlie and Viktor were an item, but are currently estranged because of Viktor's fear of his career being ruined if he comes out of the closet, and Charlie not wanting to be something he has to hide, "a bloke you pull off every so often between all the women you're apparently fucking." The relationship is beautifully written, and you can sympathize with both Charlie's anger and frustration, and with Viktor's fear and genuine love for Charlie. This line really got to me, and made me realize how much he really cares about Charlie: "You think I move here, learn everything about dragons and all of this, move in with you, only because I wish to get you off sometimes?"
In addition to Charlie and Viktor's problems, you have James casually throwing out insults like "nancy pervert." James knows that Charlie is gay and doesn't really mean any offense against him, but like many Muggle kids his age who say things like "that's so gay," he doesn't really think about what he's saying. He has some of his namesake's youthful arrogance, and to be honest, he's a bit of a jerk at times, but he's not a two-dimensional character, and despite his faults, he turns out to be a decent kid who genuinely loves his brother, which is something I really liked. In contrast, you have the more introspective and insecure Al, who is wrestling with feelings of attraction towards a handsome male camp worker.
And Uncle Charlie is just great--he lays down the law with James and makes it clear that words like "nancy pervert" will not be tolerated under his roof, and he offers reassurance and encouragement to Al. I just love Snegurochka's Charlie--he's frank and a bit foul-mouthed, and he now seems unashamed and secure in whom he is, but you get the impression that he's had to work hard to get there, since he talks about how he could have used someone telling him that it was okay to be gay when he was Al's age, and that Bill used to act a lot like James does now. He is a wonderful character and I love him to pieces!
There is hot sex between Charlie and Viktor, but the story is so good that, as one commenter said, you almost gloss over the smut. Almost, but not quite! ^_^ What I mean is that the smut is awesome, but the story can stand on its own without it. And it's a reminder for me to stretch outside of Snupin and check out other HP pairings, because this was just so good, and I would have missed it if the author didn't happen to be on my F-list.
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Haru ramblings:
While I was reading about Charlie and Viktor's conflicted relationship, I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this really reminds me of Kikuchi!" Of course it would be rude to ramble on about my own fics in a different fandom in the comments of the author's original post, so I'm making a separate post here to discuss the comparisons.
For non-Haru fans, Kikuchi is a minor character from the Embracing Love (Haru wo Daiteta) manga series. (See this post for more info.) He was a famous actor ten years before the main story in the manga begins, but his career was ruined and he was driven out of Japan when it became known that he was gay. He moved to America and managed to forge a successful career there, and later returns to Japan to make a comeback in Book 2 of the manga. The comeback goes awry, because the two main characters are male actors who have become celebrated in the media for their love, and Kikuchi tries to come between them because he is jealous and resentful that they have been accepted by the public when he was not.
In the manga, the full details of Kikuchi's gay scandal aren't spelled out, but in my comeback series fics, I created an OC lover for him named Kenji, and they broke up because, like Charlie, Kenji was tired of being Kikuchi's dirty little secret. So while I was reading Charlie and Viktor's arguments in "Hero Worship," it really struck me that this is what Kikuchi and Kenji must have gone through: Kenji naturally not wanting to be treated like something to be ashamed of while his lover publicly dates beautiful women to stave off any gay rumors, and Kikuchi just as naturally wanting to protect his career. It's a difficult situation for everyone involved, with no easy answers. In Viktor's case, it's implied that he might be worrying too much and the backlash won't be as bad as he thinks, but in Kikuchi's case, it turns out that his fears were correct, because he was outed, and his career really was ruined as a result. At the end of Book 2, Kikuchi does concede that maybe he gave up too easily, and that maybe he could have fought harder and not run away ten years ago, although I really do think that his scandal paved the way and gave time for the public to gradually accept the idea of same-sex lovers by the time Iwaki and Katou become famous ten years later. If their affair had been the one to happen ten years ago, they might have found themselves reviled as much as Kikuchi was.
During the argument that led to Kikuchi being outed, I picture Kenji accusing Kikuchi of caring about his career more than he does Kenji. In my mind, Kikuchi really did love Kenji, but as with Daniel in "Unexpected Opportunities," he wasn't willing to give up his career for the sake of love. Except that despite his best efforts, his career was ruined anyway, but he still perservered and built up an acting career in a foreign country, which must have taken a lot of courage and hard work, so I figure that he must have a real passion for acting.
So now I find myself thinking a lot about Kikuchi and Kenji, and I'd like to write a short story or chapter about them--a flashback, or maybe Kenji bumping into Kikuchi and Onozuka in the present. Actually, the Christian imagery in "Viva la Vida" (my unofficial theme song for Kikuchi) sparked a plot bunny in my head of Kikuchi ducking into a church to take refuge from the paparazzi ten years ago, so maybe I'll do a short prequel fic, and hopefully I'll manage to actually keep it short this time, since I do want to get back to the current Kikuchi/Onozuka storyline!
I'm currently working on a Snupin fic that was supposed to be for the April Fool challenge, but obviously I've missed that deadline. Still, I thought I could post it as a regular fic, though I've been finding it hard to concentrate since Kikuchi and Onozuka keep intruding on my thoughts and demanding to take center stage--such divas! ^_^ But the Snupin is finally beginning to flow nicely, so hopefully I'll be able to finish it soon and get back to the Haru plot bunnies.
no subject
Now that I think about it, how do you get a Snape/Lupin pairing? I thought they hated each other (or at least Snape hated Lupin), plus Lupin was killed in Deathly Hallows.
I'm going to send you a message or e-mail you about the advantages of IJ over LJ. It seems like a lot of people maintain journals on both.
no subject
Re Snape/Lupin: I guess it's the opposites-attract thing that appeals to me, all the angsy UST between two enemies. Or rather Snape regards Lupin as an enemy, while Lupin seems to at least respect Snape's abilities and the work he does for the Order (until he apparently murders Dumbledore in Half-Blood Prince). I actually got into the pairing pre-Book 6, so I didn't have to worry about the Lupin being married to Tonks and eventually getting killed complications in Book 7, and most of my stories about them are AU. I first got hooked when I started wondering why Snape was so intent on finding out Lupin's secret in school, when it was really James and Sirius who seemed to be bullying him, and I thought, "Hmm, what if he had a secret crush on Lupin?" I was, of course, totally wrong, but I didn't really think that JKR would make them a couple in canon, anyway. You can see my Snape/Lupin ship essay for a more detailed answer if you're interested:
http://community.livejournal.com/snapedom/19010.html
I sent you a couple of messages on IJ vs. LJ.