crack_van | the nature of humanity and badass spaceships (anyone else but you), by acchikocchi (R/NC-17)

the nature of humanity and badass spaceships (anyone else but you)
Fandom: Real Madrid RPF
Pairing: Raúl Albiol/Álvaro Arbeloa (past Raúl Albiol/David Silva)
Length: 11,300 words
Author on LJ:

acchikocchi
Author Website: archive of our own
Why this must be read: so far, the stories i've recced have treated football itself only fleetingly. this work, in contrast, is structured around the course of a season (2010-2011). even though it's about two players, it gives a great sense of the emotional roller-coaster of being a fan, both when things are great and when they're not so good.

that isn't to say, however, that people who don't know real madrid should avoid this story. on the contrary, the way the two main characters are written (especially the protagonist) means that they're really accessible to newcomers. alvaro is a dork, so there are a host of pop culture references that go beyond the world of sports, and the central relationship is realistic and strong enough that you don't need to know who these two guys are to care about what happens to them. also, the dialogue makes me laugh every time:

Raúl squinted at the cover. "Game of Thrones," he read aloud. "Never heard of it."

"They're making it into a TV series," Álvaro said. "I might let you watch it with me if you give back my glasses."

"Huh," Raúl said. "What's it about?"

"Intrigue, magic, creepy sibling relationships. Lots of medieval violence, you'll like that part."

"Oh," Raúl said, nodding wisely, "like Ring of the Lords?"

"Lord of the Rings," Álvaro said, "and I know you're fucking with me."

"That's what happens to nerds," Raúl said, "they get picked on."

the nature of humanity and badass spaceships (anyone else but you)