Ouran Fanfic Rec: "Sweeter Than Chocolate" by Chosuki

[timepiececlock]

When it comes to shipping, I'm usually very straight-up canon-going (Veronica Mars, Doctor Who, MulderScully), and when I'm not, it usually follows an obvious and particular pattern, for example Tasuki/Miaka, Zuko/Katara, Spike/Buffy before Spike/Buffy became so awesomely canon. In the case of Ouran High School Host Club, an anime series I finished about two months ago but haven't gotten to read fic for until recently, I felt the pull of multiple ships but eventually settled on Tamaki/Haruhi as my favorite, though it's not that the others don't have their appeal.

Although I like the pairing, its one that I like watching as opposed to identifying with on a personal level. I mean, Haruhi is very good with Tamaki, but if I were in her place I would KILL him. I would murder him for the good of world silence. But I like watching them onscreen and in theory, I ought to enjoy fic about them.

Unfortunately, almost all the fic I found when I went scouring last night was plagued by a consistent, recurring problem: very few fic authors can actually write Tamaki-- more precisely few can accurately write him as he appears on screen. Tamaki's character jumps wildly from drama to melodrama to obtuse stupidity to compassionate insight to painful heartfelt honesty to sly scheming wit, all wrapped in a package of over-emotional ridiculousness. Few of the fics I read could capture his speech style and verbosity right, and even fewer managed to insert any real depth beyond the typical character exclamations. Tamaki is meant to be simultaneously funny, pathetic, and inspired. The only fic I've read yet that really captured his thought process and wrote him in a believable manner was this one:

Sweeter Than Chocolate by Chosuki


It's a bit Tamaki/Haruhi, but almost in a one-sided way (because the fic is entirely in Tamaki's strange little brainview and thus we have no idea what Haruhi feels), and even if you're not into the ship I recommend the fic on a purely character and friendship basis as well. There's also a one-line comment related to Haruhi's father that I loved, and a very good use of chocolate as a continuous metaphor and thematic device.

Comments

umm... part 1 *coughs sheepishly*

[rasielle.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I loved those two fics, and strangely, it seems in both that Tamaki is the one making the emotional sacrifices for Haruhi. In Thread Count, he gave up his name and riches, and in Two Hearts he pretty much gave up whatever future he could've had without Haruhi. And these are by two different authors. I wonder how true this sacrificial portrayal is, and to what extent. Romantic, yes; irrational, definitely; but then I do think Tamaki has a stronger sense of self than that. Err. If that makes any sense.

(this is speaking as someone who keeps up with the latest Ouran chapters, in which Tamaki makes a decision about his future as potential Suoh heir! So that's probably why I'm a little skeptical about the pining away for Haruhi, when he actually ponders taking over from his father as a businessman, of all things. can you picture that?

also, this is not a spoiler because they haven't revealed the decision yet. He's thinking about it, though.)

You know, the preschool teacher!Tamaki future is actually foreshadowed hinted at in the manga, somewhere. He's going on about careers he could excel at (A king! A rocket scientist! A preschool teacher!), and I think bells rang in readers' heads when they read the last one. I mean, it's almost too perfect for his personality. Plus, that particular line had its own panel!

re: Kyouya/anyone fanfic

Hmmm... I think it's because Kyouya is actually very much a squishy, squishy person inside, particularly for the Host Club, Haruhi, and most of all Tamaki. Admittedly, this is much more obvious in the manga than in the anime (his working his butt off in Paris for Tamaki, and passing out in the street for it! For Tamaki! Too sweet.) Fanfic writers like to play this against his calculating, stingy exterior, I guess, though yes, I don't find it very interesting either. When it comes to Kyouya/anything, I like it best if the fic is serious, and Kyouya is actually out of his depth, which that bravecows fic executed perfectly. I don't enjoy those Kyouya/anything drabbles written in the Host Club-courting style. (that's best left for the twins)

Scarily enough, I ship Kyouya/Renge, and am kidding only about 40% of the time. They would shake the very foundations of the anime industry; whether it'd be for better or worse is hard to say. There was this marvelous businesswoman!Renge/businessman!Kyouya multichapter fic I visualized for about a week, and then realized that I had no idea how to characterize Renge. I mean, she's not so much a character as she is symbolism for otaku fangirls and labelists. So I just wrote a drabble for it and left it at that. I posted it into my LJ in case you want to see it.

And speaking of which...

I have to say, I like drabbles. I think they make fine writing exercises and can help writers refine their prose and make their writing more efficient, and all that jazz. They also encourage poignant, powerful fic endings that just don't work as well with longer, more conclusive paragraphs.

But. There is just. far. too. MUCH. I don't see, for instance, how some fanfic authors can practice to be novelists if everything they ever write is less than 500 words long. I also mourn for all the promising story ideas that are used within 300 words, and then promptly forgotten, when it's clear that they would've made thrilling multiparters. I miss those! Those are fun to read, and they're more comparable to novels than drabbles ever will be. It's like this huge, warm, homemade feast compared to a singularly delicate, artistically prepared gourmet dish. When it comes to substance and momentum, there's just really no comparison.