Archived fic rec - Neither Timid Nor Tame

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: Neither timid nor tame

Author: tragicallydelicious

Fandom: Spartacus

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Agron/Nasir

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), suicidal ideation, self-loathing, PTSD, slavery, background character death, grieving, violence/gore, previous noncon

Other notes: character study, hurt/comfort, family, relationship study

Length: 6k

Summary: Nasir saves Agron’s life.

 

I must admit, this is one of many, many fandoms where I’ve read fic without watching the show. Well, I watched one episode, and giggled like crazy because it was so over the top. (I’m told it gets much better.)

However, I did see many gifs and this lovely scene of the two characters. It’s got a bit of an Othello vibe to it. And I’m guessing this scene takes place after the previous one. At any rate, even a few minutes of seeing these guys on screen was more than enough for me to go combing through fic.

Spartacus is concerned with violence, sex, and slavery, so the number of warnings I have to tag with is daunting.

This–I want to say this is hurt/comfort, after a fashion. It fits the definition: you have a character who is severely psychologically damaged, and a second character who helps him work through it. And yet, this seems–fuller, perhaps? It’s not the “magical healing cock” style of hurt/comfort. It’s not sudden, or quick, no, it’s a long process between two people.

There’s also so much love in this fic–just this outpouring of emotion from Agron. Now, I do notice than fanfiction does tend to delve very deeply into emotions, even when the characters are, say, the traditional bastion of masculine stoicism. Here, though, Agron is blazing with emotions–with fierce anger and self-loathing and love. We get to see his love go from his brother to his lover, and the intensity is startling. I tend to be drawn to that sort of emotional intensity in fic where it would scare me off in real life–that thin line between “wow, this person would move heaven and hell for me” versus “wow, this person is possessive and terrifying.” More than that, I wonder if I could ever feel so intently. I’m not sure.

Musing aside, this is a great read. Hot sex, emotional intensity–what else do you need, really?

 

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Originally posted on tumblr on 12/09/14