#feliz niver Tai!!! 🎉

[sitp-recs]

Rebel Rebel by @teacup-tai

Sirius/Remus (2020, Explicit, 5.7k)

Sirius has just turned twenty and life is changing around him, blossoming, like Remus wrote in his last letter. This is a story about life and exploration, about feeling lost and finding oneself in other people's bodies, about building love and community. This is a story about hope and sex and growing up.

And that’s it, really. This is real. This is the most real thing in Sirius' life. This is the only thing that never changes: this crazy feeling that makes his knees go weak and his mind go quiet. It’s always Remus and now they are here.

What a delight to rec one of my favorite coming of age fics to celebrate Tai’s birthday, and of course it would be on Pride month 🌈 Tai and I became friends after finding out we’re both Brazilians; we’ve been in the fandom for almost two decades now, we share a common culture, references, fic taste, and a profound love and respect for diversity. She’s personally involved with it in her daily life and work, and I know how deeply political and social topics matter to her, especially related to queer rights. Knowing that, I shouldn’t be mindblown when I first read this fic but for some reason I was - maybe because I rarely explore this ship and didn’t expect to feel so immersed and seen, or maybe because this story is greatly influenced by one of my all-time fave reads, the stunning Little Compton Street by @writcraft 😔🙌🏼

Within only 5k, Tai managed to take my breath away with Sirius’ journey of freedom, hope and love; this fic breathes those three words and takes me back to the exact moment in time when I fell in love with LCS and Bowie reading Writ’s work. Rebel Rebel somehow captures that exhilarating feeling of youth and discovery, amidst the chaotic and dizzying background of sound and color, music, sex, human connection and so much FEELING. OC Raya is an inspiring force of nature, and Sirius’s voice is an absolute triumph, full of joy for life and wistful yearning for Remus - it’s magical to see them finding home in each other again and again, each time more certain of how they feel and of what they have together. Their dynamics light me up and melted my very non-interested heart, leaving me emotional af and very nostalgic at the end.

I cannot express in words how lovely, powerful and atmospheric this fic is. Take the word from someone who’s not invested in Sirius/Remus at all: this is a special, carefully crafted love letter to both Sirius and the ship. And it comes from a place of personal investment for the author, which makes it all so much more meaningful and lovely. Thanks Tai for putting so much of yourself into your works, and for giving us the privilege to follow these characters and their journey of courage, resistance, hope and love, together with you. I don’t know how we make it work with these crazy timezones but I’m so so grateful for our friendship! Happy new cycle my darling, I wish you the happiest of birthdays and many more amazing fics to read and write! Ily viada ❤️ você é foda!!!!

Read on AO3