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anemonenBecause I’ve been reading a bunch of those over the last ~1.5-2 years, and there are a few of them that I can’t stop coming back to, over and over, really. So here I’m just reccing them, on the off chance that any of you might be interested, but mostly for an excuse to flail a bit. I realised that they’re all quite long, so might be a bit too overwhelming to be much of a temptation. But I think the long fics usually are the ones that stick with me the most, simply because I get to live inside them for an extended period of time. Also, with one exception, these are all completely AU, so they can just as well be read as original fiction. So, if any of you are looking for MM romance novels, here are some you can read completely for free ;)
I must say, I think the One Direction fandom is a very interesting second fandom to follow when you’re used to Harry Potter, because they’re very different. For one, probably more than 90 % of the stories are complete AUs, and there’s little world exploration in the way we see in HP. Since the stories are all set in such vastly different universes, it’s fascinating to see how the characters are written in each of them, and how much is similar and different from story to story. There’s also a lot of themes that are recurring, like homophobia, internalised and otherwise, coming out, being out, accepting feelings and daring to embrace something new and learning about one self.
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capitu
Let's go then
Title: These Inconvenient Fireworks
Author: mdasch & everydayslike
Pairing: Harry/Louis, Zayn/Liam
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~190 000
Summary: Future AU in which nobody tries out for X Factor but the boys end up finding one other eventually anyway. Louis is a jaded bastard who owns a cat named Duchess and teaches drama to teenagers, Harry is an idealistic aspiring photographer/part-time footy coach, Zayn teaches English lit and wears leather jackets, Liam saves people from burning buildings, and Niall is Niall.
My thoughts: I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but since this is mostly a list of faves for me, there’s no way I couldn’t include it. It’s basically become a comfort blanket for me by now. In some ways it’s such a simple story, but it’s also such a complete story. The world building and the characters and everything still blows me away after the nth reread. It still makes me laugh and smile and cry and makes my chest ache.
Basically, Louis is living his life in a very going-through-the-motions kind of way, and his days are mostly the same and he’s basically given up on the thought that there might be more to life. Enter Harry, who’s his opposite in a lot of ways, but also a perfect match, and I really don’t know what to say without revealing too much plot. But it’s about personal growth and coming to terms and dealing with heartbreak and daring to let someone in and it’s so beautiful. This post basically sums up my feelings about this story. I really cannot recommend this story enough. (There’s a pdf floating around of it too, I think that post might link to it.)
*
Title: The King of Spades
Author: hazmesentir
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence. This is brutal, so heed the warnings.
Word Count: 109 000
Summary: Organised Crime AU. Undercover Metropolitan Police officer DC Louis Tomlinson has worked his way up the ranks of a prominent London crime family without raising suspicion, but when he finds himself pitted against a rising crime boss with a police background and a favoured employee by the name of Harry Styles, everything starts to unravel. Finding himself in the middle of an escalating war between two bosses whose bad blood runs deep into a violent past, Louis has to be even more careful where he steps in case his big secret catches up to him – and if it does, he knows he won't survive it.
Not to mention he's falling for someone he can't have – whose earnestness and honesty is a bright spot in a dark world – he can't sleep because his nightmares haunt him and he's in way over his head, but it's just a game, always just a game, and if Louis plays his cards right he might just make it out alive.
My thoughts: This fic! Holy shit! I’ve never read anything quite like it. It reminds me more of a movie or a crime series than a fanfic. Think 'The Departed' meets East London meets gay romance. The story itself is so complex and consistent and I don’t understand how it’s even possible to be honest. It’s the sort of story that makes you bite your nails and hurry along to see what happens next. And it feels so realistic too? I mean, I’ve obviously never been involved in London’s organised crime scene or lived in a council estate, but the author paints a picture that I believe. The characters are well rounded and rough and flawed and unpredictable, and I want to know what happens to them. The story also contains possibly my favourite OC ever, Jamal. He’s certainly not a perfect person, very much the result of having grown up in a semi criminal environment and a macho culture, but I believe in him and I want him to be okay. The plot is more the centre here than the romance, but it doesn’t make the romance less compelling. It may even add something to it; it feels like something is at stake. The writing is superb. So visceral I see each scene in my head as I read, and the dialogue so well done I can’t help hearing their accents. A unique and incredible fic.
*
This next story is by an author who’s written a huge amount of incredibly good stories in this fandom (she’s dropped out now, though), and this rec is most of all just that I had to choose one of them. It is my favourite out of the bunch, but I’ve never read a story by her that I didn’t enjoy immensely. Honourable mentions to ‘Hold My Breath’ and ‘Wear it like a crown’ too. (One has to be logged on to AO3 to see her fics.)
Title: Pull Me Under
Author: zarah5
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Liam/Zayn)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~140 000
Summary: Football AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake.
(Featuring Niall as Louis' favourite teammate, Liam as Louis' agent, and Zayn as Liam's boyfriend, who just happens to be good friends with one Harry Styles.)
My thoughts: This is such a well thought out and well done story, and it also feels really spot-on, sort of? Very kind of lodged in the current, as homophobia in sports, and in football in particular, is still very much an issue, and as of yet no active Premier League player is out of the closet.
Louis is a young football star on Manchester United who accidentally outs himself during the celebration of their league title, and has to deal with the consequence. Liam, his agent, suggests that a fake relationship might help ease the transition, and so Harry enters the picture. He’s out and proud in a way that Louis has of course never been able to, and the dynamic between the two of them is wonderfully done. Fake relationships is such a great trope, and this story is a wonderful example of how well it can be done. The characters are so well written. Realistic and flawed and utterly endearing. Also Louis’ background and the lengths he’s gone to closet himself and how that’s influenced him in a lot of ways. Just. Yeah. And the character development and the story arc. I just love it so much. Wonderful stuff. (This story is actually also published as an original novel version that has got 4.3 on Goodreads.)
*
Title: I love your demons (like devils can)
Author: ariadneodair
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Zayn/Liam)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 60 000
Summary: Girl Direction AU
"I am right here," she says loudly, and she can almost hear the crack when Louis' head whips around to stare at her.
"Why?" Louis asks, and Harry feels her insides shrivel up and die.
Harry didn’t plan to join the football team. She didn’t plan to sleep with the captain of the football team. She definitely didn’t plan to sleep with the closeted captain of the football team, who promptly acted as if nothing happened and left Harry a pathetic, pining mess.
My thoughts: This is, I think, the first ever femmeslash story I read, and I love it a lot. I loved discovering the similarities and differences between this and slash. It’s a sweet story that deals with internalised homophobia and young sexuality and coming to terms, and I found it a very compelling read. This writer has written other good femmeslash stories too, and I’ll also recommend That good girl faith 8and a tight little skirt).
*
The next two stories I think people in the fandom are a little ambivalent about, because Harry is a bit of an arsehole in them (in the beginning at least), but I love how they deal with the personal growth, and I liked both of these a lot.
Title: Young & Beautiful
Author: velvetoscar
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Zayn/Liam)
Rating: R
Word Count: 227 000
Warnings: drug use
Summary: Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn't stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.
My thoughts: In some ways I feel like I shouldn’t like, or even want to follow the characters in this fic. They’re privileged, aristocratic arseholes who are used to get what they want. But it’s told from Louis’ pov, who’s a bit of an outsider at the beginning of the story, and as we get to know the others through him you see different sides of them that makes you want to know more. Louis is thrown into this elitist environment thanks to his rich, estranged father who wants him to become something, and he approaches it all with a huge amount of scepticism. Which is probably what allows him to see through Harry when they first meet. Harry is put off by the fact that he’s not able to charm Louis as he’s able to with everyone else and their dynamic is so fascinating to follow. The story is at times quite disturbing and sort of eerie, and the language is really quite poetic. The character arcs are amazing. I was shocked when I looked up the word count for this story, because I really don’t remember it as this long. I feel like I did a terrible job describing it, but it’s a brilliant fic.
*
Title: Soft hands, fast feet, can’t lose
Author: dolce_piccante
Pairing: Harry/Louis, background Zayn/Liam
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 112 000
Summary: American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).
Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.
A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?
My thoughts: As in the last fic, Harry is a bit of a piece of shit in this story, although while the last was in a British aristocratic way, this is the American frat boy variety. It all starts with a party that leads to a ‘She’s all that’-esque bet that throw the seemingly so different pair together, and as in the last story it’s the development of their relationship and the character development that makes it such a compelling read. I loved learning about the characters and their backgrounds and see what’s shaped them and how they change throughout the story.
*
Title: I’ll Fly Away
Author: juliusschmidt
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 122 000
Summary: American smalltown AU. Harry and Louis grew up together in Lake County, Harry with his mom and stepdad in a tiny cottage on Edward’s Lake and Louis in his family’s farmhouse a few minutes down the road. But after high school, Louis stuck around and Harry did not; Harry went to Chicago where he found a boyfriend and a couple of college degrees. Six years later, Harry ends up back in Edwardsville for the summer and he and Louis fall into old patterns and discover new ones.
ft. One Direction, the local boyband; Horan’s Bar and Grill; families, most especially children and babies; Officer Liam Payne; many local festivals and fireworks displays; and Anne Cox, PFLAG President.
My thoughts: This story is so beautiful! Like TIF, it’s the sort of story that makes my chest ache throughout. I don’t really know how real life American small town life is, but the author creates a world that feels so believable and I adore it a lot (and apparently is based on the place the author’s significant other grew up, which I suppose helped create such a believable environment). The sort of traditional macho culture of the countryside and the challenges that might pose for a not straight person is so well described throughout the story, and I love reading the dynamics this creates, even if it’s sometimes a bit painful. Harry left the town after high school and has been able to take an education and live freely for years in Chicago, while Louis is stuck in a life he’s not very happy with, but he also doesn’t seem to believe something better is possible to him. Following him and Harry through this story was a great journey, and I fell in love with the characters through this. Wonderful writing, great characters and a beautiful love story.
*
Title: Love is a Rebellious Bird
Author: 100percentsassy & gloriaandrews
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~135 000
Summary: AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.
My thoughts: It’s been a while since I read this, but I remember loving it a lot. I love classical music, and getting to experience the life of a Symphony orchestra through this was exciting. I obviously don’t know how believable it is, but there seems to have been done quite a bit of research throughout this. The story is so well told, and it’s riveting to read the way their dynamic develops, to discover their shared past and seeing them overcome it. Writing this, I feel like I should probably reread soon, because I think this is the one it’s been the longest since I read. All in all, fascinating subject matter, beautifully written characters, compelling story and great dynamics.
*
Title: I Had Rather Hear My Dog Bark at a Crow
Author: sunsetmog
Pairing: Louis Tomlinson/Nick Grimshaw
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 120 000
Warnings: This contains some pretty heavy kinks, so check out the tags on ao3.
Summary: ‘Canon’ compliant.
The first time Louis Tomlinson kisses him, Nick is three sheets to the wind, wearing a pirate hat, and so fucking tired of Louis being a complete and utter knobhead that he's spent the last ten minutes snapping at him.
The kiss takes him rather by surprise, all things considered.
Or: Nick and Louis don't like each other, not even a little bit, not even at all.
My thoughts: I’m pretty sure this was the second ever 1d fic I read, and one of the very few non-AU stories I’ve read in this fandom. It’s a rather angsty story, with the enemies to lovers trope (which I love), and explores a lot of internalised homophobia and fear and shame. It’s told from Nick’s pov, and he’s so well written. The characters are so nuanced and I get deeply involved with them when I read it. Their dynamic is so engaging and I do adore the banter and the tension, and yes the angst. This fic is proper chest achey, and it deals with a lot of important and tough themes. I think this is in my top 3 together with TIF and King of Spades up there. Which should surprise me, because it’s also surprisingly kinky, but in a way that works incredibly well. The writer manages to take it to such a personal and emotional level that makes it all seem all the more intimate. But like, heed the warnings, I suppose? Although, if you’re curious don’t let it scare you away, because this is an incredible fic. Oh, and this is also an absolutely brilliant writer, and you’ll usually not go wrong with any of their stories.
Sooooo, hoping I managed to tickle someone's curiosity, and if not it was still rather liberating just flailing a bit to myself :)
I must say, I think the One Direction fandom is a very interesting second fandom to follow when you’re used to Harry Potter, because they’re very different. For one, probably more than 90 % of the stories are complete AUs, and there’s little world exploration in the way we see in HP. Since the stories are all set in such vastly different universes, it’s fascinating to see how the characters are written in each of them, and how much is similar and different from story to story. There’s also a lot of themes that are recurring, like homophobia, internalised and otherwise, coming out, being out, accepting feelings and daring to embrace something new and learning about one self.
Banner by
capituLet's go then
Title: These Inconvenient Fireworks
Author: mdasch & everydayslike
Pairing: Harry/Louis, Zayn/Liam
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~190 000
Summary: Future AU in which nobody tries out for X Factor but the boys end up finding one other eventually anyway. Louis is a jaded bastard who owns a cat named Duchess and teaches drama to teenagers, Harry is an idealistic aspiring photographer/part-time footy coach, Zayn teaches English lit and wears leather jackets, Liam saves people from burning buildings, and Niall is Niall.
My thoughts: I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but since this is mostly a list of faves for me, there’s no way I couldn’t include it. It’s basically become a comfort blanket for me by now. In some ways it’s such a simple story, but it’s also such a complete story. The world building and the characters and everything still blows me away after the nth reread. It still makes me laugh and smile and cry and makes my chest ache.
Basically, Louis is living his life in a very going-through-the-motions kind of way, and his days are mostly the same and he’s basically given up on the thought that there might be more to life. Enter Harry, who’s his opposite in a lot of ways, but also a perfect match, and I really don’t know what to say without revealing too much plot. But it’s about personal growth and coming to terms and dealing with heartbreak and daring to let someone in and it’s so beautiful. This post basically sums up my feelings about this story. I really cannot recommend this story enough. (There’s a pdf floating around of it too, I think that post might link to it.)
Title: The King of Spades
Author: hazmesentir
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence. This is brutal, so heed the warnings.
Word Count: 109 000
Summary: Organised Crime AU. Undercover Metropolitan Police officer DC Louis Tomlinson has worked his way up the ranks of a prominent London crime family without raising suspicion, but when he finds himself pitted against a rising crime boss with a police background and a favoured employee by the name of Harry Styles, everything starts to unravel. Finding himself in the middle of an escalating war between two bosses whose bad blood runs deep into a violent past, Louis has to be even more careful where he steps in case his big secret catches up to him – and if it does, he knows he won't survive it.
Not to mention he's falling for someone he can't have – whose earnestness and honesty is a bright spot in a dark world – he can't sleep because his nightmares haunt him and he's in way over his head, but it's just a game, always just a game, and if Louis plays his cards right he might just make it out alive.
My thoughts: This fic! Holy shit! I’ve never read anything quite like it. It reminds me more of a movie or a crime series than a fanfic. Think 'The Departed' meets East London meets gay romance. The story itself is so complex and consistent and I don’t understand how it’s even possible to be honest. It’s the sort of story that makes you bite your nails and hurry along to see what happens next. And it feels so realistic too? I mean, I’ve obviously never been involved in London’s organised crime scene or lived in a council estate, but the author paints a picture that I believe. The characters are well rounded and rough and flawed and unpredictable, and I want to know what happens to them. The story also contains possibly my favourite OC ever, Jamal. He’s certainly not a perfect person, very much the result of having grown up in a semi criminal environment and a macho culture, but I believe in him and I want him to be okay. The plot is more the centre here than the romance, but it doesn’t make the romance less compelling. It may even add something to it; it feels like something is at stake. The writing is superb. So visceral I see each scene in my head as I read, and the dialogue so well done I can’t help hearing their accents. A unique and incredible fic.
This next story is by an author who’s written a huge amount of incredibly good stories in this fandom (she’s dropped out now, though), and this rec is most of all just that I had to choose one of them. It is my favourite out of the bunch, but I’ve never read a story by her that I didn’t enjoy immensely. Honourable mentions to ‘Hold My Breath’ and ‘Wear it like a crown’ too. (One has to be logged on to AO3 to see her fics.)
Title: Pull Me Under
Author: zarah5
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Liam/Zayn)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~140 000
Summary: Football AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake.
(Featuring Niall as Louis' favourite teammate, Liam as Louis' agent, and Zayn as Liam's boyfriend, who just happens to be good friends with one Harry Styles.)
My thoughts: This is such a well thought out and well done story, and it also feels really spot-on, sort of? Very kind of lodged in the current, as homophobia in sports, and in football in particular, is still very much an issue, and as of yet no active Premier League player is out of the closet.
Louis is a young football star on Manchester United who accidentally outs himself during the celebration of their league title, and has to deal with the consequence. Liam, his agent, suggests that a fake relationship might help ease the transition, and so Harry enters the picture. He’s out and proud in a way that Louis has of course never been able to, and the dynamic between the two of them is wonderfully done. Fake relationships is such a great trope, and this story is a wonderful example of how well it can be done. The characters are so well written. Realistic and flawed and utterly endearing. Also Louis’ background and the lengths he’s gone to closet himself and how that’s influenced him in a lot of ways. Just. Yeah. And the character development and the story arc. I just love it so much. Wonderful stuff. (This story is actually also published as an original novel version that has got 4.3 on Goodreads.)
Title: I love your demons (like devils can)
Author: ariadneodair
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Zayn/Liam)
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 60 000
Summary: Girl Direction AU
"I am right here," she says loudly, and she can almost hear the crack when Louis' head whips around to stare at her.
"Why?" Louis asks, and Harry feels her insides shrivel up and die.
Harry didn’t plan to join the football team. She didn’t plan to sleep with the captain of the football team. She definitely didn’t plan to sleep with the closeted captain of the football team, who promptly acted as if nothing happened and left Harry a pathetic, pining mess.
My thoughts: This is, I think, the first ever femmeslash story I read, and I love it a lot. I loved discovering the similarities and differences between this and slash. It’s a sweet story that deals with internalised homophobia and young sexuality and coming to terms, and I found it a very compelling read. This writer has written other good femmeslash stories too, and I’ll also recommend That good girl faith 8and a tight little skirt).
The next two stories I think people in the fandom are a little ambivalent about, because Harry is a bit of an arsehole in them (in the beginning at least), but I love how they deal with the personal growth, and I liked both of these a lot.
Title: Young & Beautiful
Author: velvetoscar
Pairing: Harry/Louis (background Zayn/Liam)
Rating: R
Word Count: 227 000
Warnings: drug use
Summary: Louis, to his horror, attends an elitist university in which the name Zayn Malik means something, Niall Horan doesn't stop talking, there are pianos everywhere, and Harry Styles, only son of a drug-addled, clinically insane ex-rocker, has a perfect smile and empty eyes.
My thoughts: In some ways I feel like I shouldn’t like, or even want to follow the characters in this fic. They’re privileged, aristocratic arseholes who are used to get what they want. But it’s told from Louis’ pov, who’s a bit of an outsider at the beginning of the story, and as we get to know the others through him you see different sides of them that makes you want to know more. Louis is thrown into this elitist environment thanks to his rich, estranged father who wants him to become something, and he approaches it all with a huge amount of scepticism. Which is probably what allows him to see through Harry when they first meet. Harry is put off by the fact that he’s not able to charm Louis as he’s able to with everyone else and their dynamic is so fascinating to follow. The story is at times quite disturbing and sort of eerie, and the language is really quite poetic. The character arcs are amazing. I was shocked when I looked up the word count for this story, because I really don’t remember it as this long. I feel like I did a terrible job describing it, but it’s a brilliant fic.
Title: Soft hands, fast feet, can’t lose
Author: dolce_piccante
Pairing: Harry/Louis, background Zayn/Liam
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 112 000
Summary: American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).
Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.
A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?
My thoughts: As in the last fic, Harry is a bit of a piece of shit in this story, although while the last was in a British aristocratic way, this is the American frat boy variety. It all starts with a party that leads to a ‘She’s all that’-esque bet that throw the seemingly so different pair together, and as in the last story it’s the development of their relationship and the character development that makes it such a compelling read. I loved learning about the characters and their backgrounds and see what’s shaped them and how they change throughout the story.
Title: I’ll Fly Away
Author: juliusschmidt
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 122 000
Summary: American smalltown AU. Harry and Louis grew up together in Lake County, Harry with his mom and stepdad in a tiny cottage on Edward’s Lake and Louis in his family’s farmhouse a few minutes down the road. But after high school, Louis stuck around and Harry did not; Harry went to Chicago where he found a boyfriend and a couple of college degrees. Six years later, Harry ends up back in Edwardsville for the summer and he and Louis fall into old patterns and discover new ones.
ft. One Direction, the local boyband; Horan’s Bar and Grill; families, most especially children and babies; Officer Liam Payne; many local festivals and fireworks displays; and Anne Cox, PFLAG President.
My thoughts: This story is so beautiful! Like TIF, it’s the sort of story that makes my chest ache throughout. I don’t really know how real life American small town life is, but the author creates a world that feels so believable and I adore it a lot (and apparently is based on the place the author’s significant other grew up, which I suppose helped create such a believable environment). The sort of traditional macho culture of the countryside and the challenges that might pose for a not straight person is so well described throughout the story, and I love reading the dynamics this creates, even if it’s sometimes a bit painful. Harry left the town after high school and has been able to take an education and live freely for years in Chicago, while Louis is stuck in a life he’s not very happy with, but he also doesn’t seem to believe something better is possible to him. Following him and Harry through this story was a great journey, and I fell in love with the characters through this. Wonderful writing, great characters and a beautiful love story.
Title: Love is a Rebellious Bird
Author: 100percentsassy & gloriaandrews
Pairing: Harry/Louis
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: ~135 000
Summary: AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.
My thoughts: It’s been a while since I read this, but I remember loving it a lot. I love classical music, and getting to experience the life of a Symphony orchestra through this was exciting. I obviously don’t know how believable it is, but there seems to have been done quite a bit of research throughout this. The story is so well told, and it’s riveting to read the way their dynamic develops, to discover their shared past and seeing them overcome it. Writing this, I feel like I should probably reread soon, because I think this is the one it’s been the longest since I read. All in all, fascinating subject matter, beautifully written characters, compelling story and great dynamics.
Title: I Had Rather Hear My Dog Bark at a Crow
Author: sunsetmog
Pairing: Louis Tomlinson/Nick Grimshaw
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 120 000
Warnings: This contains some pretty heavy kinks, so check out the tags on ao3.
Summary: ‘Canon’ compliant.
The first time Louis Tomlinson kisses him, Nick is three sheets to the wind, wearing a pirate hat, and so fucking tired of Louis being a complete and utter knobhead that he's spent the last ten minutes snapping at him.
The kiss takes him rather by surprise, all things considered.
Or: Nick and Louis don't like each other, not even a little bit, not even at all.
My thoughts: I’m pretty sure this was the second ever 1d fic I read, and one of the very few non-AU stories I’ve read in this fandom. It’s a rather angsty story, with the enemies to lovers trope (which I love), and explores a lot of internalised homophobia and fear and shame. It’s told from Nick’s pov, and he’s so well written. The characters are so nuanced and I get deeply involved with them when I read it. Their dynamic is so engaging and I do adore the banter and the tension, and yes the angst. This fic is proper chest achey, and it deals with a lot of important and tough themes. I think this is in my top 3 together with TIF and King of Spades up there. Which should surprise me, because it’s also surprisingly kinky, but in a way that works incredibly well. The writer manages to take it to such a personal and emotional level that makes it all seem all the more intimate. But like, heed the warnings, I suppose? Although, if you’re curious don’t let it scare you away, because this is an incredible fic. Oh, and this is also an absolutely brilliant writer, and you’ll usually not go wrong with any of their stories.
Sooooo, hoping I managed to tickle someone's curiosity, and if not it was still rather liberating just flailing a bit to myself :)
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Date: 2016-10-17 08:02 pm (UTC)What a lovely rec post! I can no way afford to fall down a 100k 1D rabbit hole right now but I may pop back some time and secretly devour these. Thank you!
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Date: 2016-10-17 08:08 pm (UTC)I hope you'll like them if you give them a chance at some point!!
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Date: 2016-10-17 08:10 pm (UTC)Have you ever read any Waspabi? She just dropped a magnum opus H/D (her only fic in HP) and I ran to see what else she'd written, which turns out it's mostly 1D.
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Date: 2016-10-17 08:38 pm (UTC)No, I don't know that writer. Looked them up on ao3, and seems they only write Harry/Nick, which I've read some of but not much. Maybe I should give it a go if they've written good HP fic! Seems like a lot of the 1d blogs I follow on tumblr has started to embrace drarry lately, and that makes me happy <3
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Date: 2016-10-30 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-10-30 06:45 pm (UTC)