Fic: The Catalan Opening, Part IV (Fútbol, gen/various)

[spdfg]

Title: The Catalan Opening, Part IV
Fandom: Fútbol
Pairing: Puyol/Piqué, various others
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Word count: ~4000 (~18000 total)
Summary: AU cop dramedy. Police Chief Carles Puyol hunts for a killer and, in the process of doing so, saves his own life. A very loose interpretation of the "Piqué cheers Puyi up" prompt on the

Comments

[kitty69lover]

ok. i guess in my excitement caused by the last chapter's ending, i forgot to mention that Pique's reconstruction felt like Busquets to me. sorry if it's a weak shot, and i just badly want to see him in fic these days lol

the Pale Knight is Iker isn't it? lol. even if he's mayor of Madrid. or rather......especially because he is, right? i've been watching Weeds, you know [i recommend it!] lol

Ramos the flamenco singer. perfect.

all that part about Puyii's dad, :( but then:

“We had a sheep,” Carles remembered fondly. “Well, he was our neighbour's, really. They called him Queca. Only for a few months, though, and then we ate him.”

“Wow. Harsh.”

“Nah,” said Carles, smiling. “He was delicious.”

lololololol. thank you! this is hilarious.

and for the rest of dinner he watched Leo watch Piqué as he dissected the culinary history of the UK and told them about living on top of a fish and chip shop while working as a ball boy at Sheffield United. this is where i kind of died a little ahahahah

[spdfg]

I am so impressed that you recognised Busquets from like a two-line description! And you're right, he's underrepresented in fic (and underrated in the game). But that's why he gets to be Silent But Deadly, like he is on the pitch.

Haha I have no particular dislike for RVP, but somebody had to die, and this was my little way of commemorating his rather harsh early exit at the Camp Nou. And the pale knight was actually supposed to be the villanous alter ego of one of the main characters, but maybe I didn't make that clear enough. Of course, Iker is pretty pale as well; I didn't even notice that. :P I guess we'll just have to call him a white herring. ;)

P.S. your user icon = perfection.

[sparksfly7]

“Yeah,” Piqué catches his eye. “But not better than sex.”

Carles flushes. “No?”

“No. God, how slow are you?” Piqué demands.

I love this ending :) Carles is rather slow, but Geri can be a hard person to understand. I feel bad for Rafinha - poor him, falling for van Persie.

And Leo... It turns out that Leo's passed the entrance exams with flying colours and has been offered a scholarship - “Not that he needs it,” Piqué nudges him with a grin, “little bastard made forty grand from online poker this year” Aww :)

Your characters are written so well and this story is great, full of suspense and surprises but also sweetness and heart-warming moments. And the police investigation and interrogation parts are so realistic, it reminds me of CSI. Great work!

[spdfg]

Thank you! I couldn't pass up the chance to make Leo an improbably wealthy genius in this universe too. And thanks for the CSI compliment! I was pretty much living off cop shows while writing this -- mostly Castle (from which I stole several plot devices) and a little Law and Order -- so I'm glad all the "hard work" paid off. :)

[spdfg]

Haha yes sorry about the long delays in the previous chapters. I am a champion procrastinator and I suspect the only reason this part came together so quickly is that I was using it to put off starting another writing project which is due in less than ten days. :P

Anyway, thanks SO much for staying with me all the way through this fic! I'm glad the ending didn't disappoint. :)

[slyreflection]

this is awesome. AWESOME. it's quirky and interesting and entertaining and a page turner and it just makes you feel good. i couldn't stop smiling reading this chapter; a lot of AUs have issues with endings when they're multichaptered, but dare i say this is the best part yet? i love that you can keep introducing new concepts and characters but it all works; love love love your casting.
and this is total speculation but...was there some subtext that Andres is the Pale Knight? not at all the point of the fic but you can't help but wonder...there's already one expertly placed Crackovia reference XD...anyway this is all a testament to your power of suspense!
thanks for writing&sharing :)

[spdfg]

Thank you! I'm really glad you had fun and especially that you liked the last chapter, because I wrote it in pieces (some of it literally three months ago) and couldn't tell if it cohered.

And I am so, so pleased that you picked up on the Iniesta subtext, like, yaaaaaaaaay! I was trying to leave it suspicious but open-ended, so your response is exactly what I was hoping for. I had such a good time working in the Crackovia and real-life references, too, so it's extra nice when people let me know that they're getting them. Thanks so much for leaving this comment! :D

[angualupin]

This is brilliant! Very well-crafted and suspenseful, and hilarious as well. Your characterizations were spot on (especially if Andres is the Pale Knight!), and that's tricky in an AU. If you ever want to re-visit this 'verse it would be delightful.

[spdfg]

Thank you! And yes, you're right about Andrés; it was fun taking the stereotypical shy-retiring-flower characterisations of him and doing a 180 (or perhaps a 360?) on them.