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by MaryMQC
NC-17/S
http://members.tripod.com/~migley/hiddenlove.txt
SYNOPSIS:
| After suffering a vicious beating, Sai is left to heal both body and soul as he confronts the real source of his pain. This story is somewhat of a dark fic that talks about the dangers of being gay and living in a world full of ignorance. |
MISH:
| I had such high hopes for this story and am pleased to say that I was NOT let down! I was so hooked on the story that I neglected to make comments as I went along. Instead, I chewed on Zippy, Jr. the entire time I read the fic. Zippy, Jr. is a bit deformed now, but I am one happy reviewer! |
MAKO:
| This is one of those fics that grabbed me by the throat and refused to let go. It deals with the very serious issue of hate crimes and, as far as I'm concerned, is very well written. The author did a fantastic job describing the emotions and how the boys reacted to them. |
MISH:
| There�s no sex in this story... |
MAKO:
| I'm not a hentai fiend all the time. |
MISH:
|
...but it is full of angst. (The NC-17 rating is for violence, and not even that lasts long.) It almost fits into the Soap Opera genre; however, it is so well written that I find myself not caring.
excerpt: Sai hastily sat himself up, refusing to meet Ryo�s concerned look. The bed sheets were clenched tightly in his fists. He was angry. Angry for not being able to brush his teeth by himself. Angry at the guys who left him in this mess, tired and hurting and helpless. Angry at himself for not defending himself. Angry at his secret, for making him different. Angry at everyone else who made him feel ashamed when he knew he shouldn�t be. He was furious at Ryo for being there, for caring - as a friend. For being so close, yet so very far away. And he was furious at himself again for being afraid of revealing his true feelings to his own best friends, especially Ryo. |
MISH:
| Sai has it BAD for Ryo. Nothing like unrequited love to fuel a good angst fic. One of the many things I like about this fic is its realistic spin on the subject. Unlike some other yaoi fics that go along the lines of "you�re gay? Me too! Let�s drop our trousers and have a good gay shag right now!", Ryo turns the cold shoulder and avoids Sai (which is much more likely to happen in real life...no matter how much I hope for the former scenario. Ah, wishful thinking). Of course, this turn of events spurns even MORE angst. |
MAKO:
| I was very moved by the fic and would recommend this to anyone who wants to see a yaoi fic deal with the darker side of a yaoi relationship. I personally loved how she managed to turn an ugly situation into a rather sweet story of first/true love. |
MISH:
| This story even succeeds in being serious without ever taking itself too seriously. Hate crimes are a very touchy subject, but I couldn�t help laughing at what happened in the epilogue. |
MAKO:
| For all the gushing, I was a bit disappointed with how she got back at the bad guys in the end. I think it's only one, maybe two sentences. |
MISH:
|
That's why I liked it; brevity is the soul of wit. I even considered posting it as an excerpt, but I didn�t want to spoil it. Just go read it and decide for yourselves, folks. :)
The only potential trap I see this writer falling into is too much description of characters' thoughts. I�d much rather have the writer describe what the character is doing so I can figure out what he�s thinking on my own; it gives stories more action and opens them up to multiple interpretations. However, MaryMQC pulls character thoughts off well. The only thoughts she describes in detail are Sai�s, which gives the story a unique point of view. It�s Sai�s POV as told by MaryMQC. |
MISH:
| 9/10. I enjoyed every bit of this fic. |
MAKO:
| 8.5 out of 10, only because I have a hang up with how she dealt with the bad guys in the end. |
MISH:
| What, you think she should have hanged them instead? |
MAKO:
| HELL YEAH! |
MISH:
|
Well, we'll just have to let the good people make their own judgment on that one. Go. Read. It's worth it.
Fic reviewed on April 11, 2000 |